Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 25th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

I'm sorry, but your time is up—

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I don't know who you spoke to, but I can tell you I know what a CEGEP is because I attended one.

Yes, we should know that number, but the fact that they didn't give it to you doesn't mean our department doesn't have it.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

The officials told us they didn't know.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

We will go to MP Kwan for two and a half minutes.

Please go ahead, MP Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you.

I'd like to turn to the Lebanese community. As the minister indicated, there have been measures for people who are already here in Canada, but there are no measures for family members with loved ones who are stuck in Lebanon right now.

Why did the government not bring in special immigration measures for them?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I'd simply refer you, MP Kwan, to the previous answer I gave to MP Zahid. When it comes to Lebanon, it is a particularly—

You can shake your head at me all you want, but you either want the answer or you don't.

It is a particularly unique situation of having Canadian residents and permanent residents in numbers that we don't see in any other country pretty much around the world in a crisis situation. Our focus in all the logistics and planning needs to remain on them.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

It's actually not me who's shaking my head, Mr. Chair, it's the family members with loved ones.

I'm aware of a Canadian family member whose spouse and child are being left behind. They cannot get a visa to get to safety. They're being asked to leave their spouse and child behind. That is the reality. That's what people are reacting to. I'm pretty sure MP Zahid would have heard about these cases and is equally concerned with the situation.

In the immigration levels plan of the government, Minister, you're reducing the refugee numbers by 20% in 2025. We have not only the Lebanese Canadian community who cannot get to safety—there are no special immigration measures for them—but Sudanese communities' applications are also severely delayed. So far there's been a complete failure with Gaza. Hongkongers are going to be faced with eight years of waiting in trying to get their permanent residence.

I can go on. I have a giant pile of Afghan applications, and guess what? They've gone through all of their processing. Everything has been done. Do you know what? Their bring-forward date in the letter is July of 2025.

Minister, how do you explain that all these applications are faced with severe delays?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

As you know, we've welcomed 53,000 people from Afghanistan.

You're again sighing at that, but I mean—

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Yes, and people are dying—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Let's have one person at a time, please.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

—as the applications are going to be brought forward in July of 2025. Explain that to them as they're hiding from the Taliban and their lives are in jeopardy every second of the day.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

We've welcomed 53,000 people from Afghanistan. Your grandstanding won't change the great accomplishments we've been able to do as a country—

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I'm not grandstanding.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Ms. Kwan, time is up.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I actually have a pile of applications from people whose lives are in danger and are waiting for you to take action—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Time is up.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

—people who served Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

On behalf of the committee members, I want to thank the honourable minister for being with us.

We will suspend....

I'm sorry. Go ahead, Mr. Morrice.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I'd like to request consent from the committee for a minute for a question.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Chair, there's someone recording back there. That's not allowed, according to CPAC rules.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Clerk, can you please...?

There is a request for unanimous consent on the floor.

Is there unanimous consent?

There is not.

Thank you again, Minister.

With that, we will suspend for five minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Welcome back. We will now continue with a round of questions with the officials.

Mr. Redekopp has the floor for six minutes.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the officials.

You're requesting $1.2 billion of extra money in this update. Of course, this is for an immigration system described by your very government as a mess. Out of the $1.2 billion, $1.1 billion is for asylum seekers, people who have crossed our broken and weak border.

I want to understand exactly what benefits asylum seekers get. If an asylum claimant arrives at the Montreal airport, will the IRCC pay them for a hotel?