Evidence of meeting #115 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was students.
A video is available from Parliament.
Senior Economist, Financial Sector Policy Branch, Department of Finance
No, we are not involved in that respect.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
Can you please tell us in what respect you are involved in this matter?
Senior Economist, Financial Sector Policy Branch, Department of Finance
We have met with Hong Kong Watch in the past—about a year ago—and we have met with the Canadian financial institutions in question. Those meetings had a common theme, that we were trying to understand the issue a little bit better.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
Did your meetings with these people lead to anything regarding a course of action that would fix the situation at hand?
Senior Economist, Financial Sector Policy Branch, Department of Finance
There is no course of action under which the Department of Finance has any authority.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you very much, honourable member. The time is up.
We will go to Mr. El-Khoury.
We will give you six minutes.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to mention to you that I would like to share my last minute with my colleague, Mr. Paul Chiang.
I want to welcome the witnesses and thank them for joining us.
Mr. McNamee, in your opinion, what specific challenges do Hong Kongers holding BNO passports face when immigrating to Canada?
Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I would say that the first challenge concerns the lack of recognition of the BNO passport. As a result, the Hong Kongers holding this passport can't access the pension fund that they contributed to for years in Hong Kong.
With this passport, they can obtain a permanent resident card without any issues. The card is also valid. It can be used for anything that the card allows. I would say that the challenge lies in accessing the pension fund built up in Hong Kong.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
What steps is the department taking to address this challenge?
Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
We offered to provide another permanent resident card for people who want to use a new passport or new piece of identification. For example, if a person holds a passport from another country, even from Hong Kong or China, they can have their permanent resident card changed. This will make it easier for them to access their pension fund.
Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It's an open process. The people who want to change their permanent resident card can apply online. An option is also available to do this more efficiently than before, if necessary.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
What initiatives are in place to inform Hong Kongers in Canada of their rights and options when they face barriers and issues in accessing their assets abroad?
Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Thank you for the question.
Our website contains information on how clients can change their permanent resident card. In addition, we have the option of issuing a press release to inform everyone that the option is available.
However, we found that some people had already taken advantage of this option and had their documents changed. The current demand isn't as high as expected. This means that we can do more to inform our clients that the option is available.
Liberal
Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The department hasn't received the request. We know that a number of our clients have taken advantage of the option. However, we're wondering why the demand hasn't increased since the issue first arose a few years ago.
Liberal
Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Thank you, Mr. McNamee.
Ms. Wrye, have any agreements or frameworks been implemented to make it easier for Hong Kongers, in particular people who have become permanent residents or Canadian citizens, to access the mandatory provident fund, or MPF?
Kathleen Wrye Director, Pensions Policy, Financial Crimes and Security Division, Department of Finance
Mr. Chair, I want to thank the member for his question.
I'll respond in English, if I may, Mr. El‑Khoury.
Director, Pensions Policy, Financial Crimes and Security Division, Department of Finance
To confirm, when you speak to an agreement, I'm just not familiar with.... I can speak to federally regulated pension plans and how non-residency unlocking occurs here, but I'm not aware of any agreements in existence that would facilitate the unlocking of the MPF pension benefits.
Liberal
Paul Chiang Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to move the motion, which I put on notice on Friday:
That, upon the tabling of the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year 2024-25, the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to testify on the Supplementary Estimates (B) by no later than the end of the current supply period.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you.
We have the witnesses in place.
The motion is in order. We have to debate this.
MP Kwan, please go ahead.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Before we get into debate and all the next steps, perhaps you could clarify something for me.
Isn't it the practice of this committee to actually invite the minister for supplementary estimates? That is our regular practice. We have been inviting the minister.