Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 28th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

I call this meeting to order. We are meeting in public.

Welcome to meeting number 118 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format.

I would like to remind participants of the following points. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. All comments should be addressed through the chair. Whether participating in person or via Zoom, please raise your hand if you wish to speak. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as best we can.

Ms. Kayabaga, you will be able to vote, but you will not be able to speak, because you do not have an approved headset on.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee at the meeting convened on October 21, 2024, the committee is resuming its study of the recent reforms to the international student program.

I would now like to....

MP Kwan, do you want to say something?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Why don't you finish your sentence? Then I would like to say something, yes, before you proceed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Before I introduce the witnesses, I will give MP Kwan a chance to speak.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

At our last meeting, we were debating a very important motion that the Liberals had put on the floor relating to the need to have a study regarding Gazan family members, the situation they are faced with and the inability for them to get to safety. We were in the midst of almost wrapping up that motion, and there were a number of amendments on the floor.

At the time, I moved an amendment for the production of documents, Mr. Chair, to which the Conservative MP Greg McLean moved an amendment to add that the production of documents include the period in which the Sudan special measures had come into play.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Go ahead on a point of order.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Chair, I believe the bells are ringing in the chamber. You need unanimous consent to continue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

The bells are ringing. I either need a—

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

You don't have unanimous consent.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

I don't have unanimous consent, so I will not be able to continue the meeting.

Go ahead, Mr. Chiang.

[Paul Chiang, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Chair, I move to adjourn the meeting.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I'm sorry; the bells have rung. We should not be proceeding. You don't have unanimous consent, so we have to pause.

I have the floor, so Mr. Chiang will not get the floor when we come back.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Right. We have to come back in 30 minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

I call the meeting back to order.

Before I give the floor to MP Kwan, I see that the witnesses for the second hour are here. I'm going to release the witnesses from the first hour.

With that, MP Kwan, I have given you the floor. Do you have a motion that you want to bring forward, or are you done?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

No. I have something to say, Mr. Chair.

As I was saying before we paused, we were debating the motion that was about the Gazan community, and then—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Excuse me. I have a point of order from MP Redekopp.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Thank you.

With all due respect to Ms. Kwan, I don't think we were debating that motion. I think she was starting to talk about a motion. I would suggest, if there is a motion, to move the motion. Otherwise, we should move on.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you.

It's perfectly right what Mr. Redekopp has said.

MP Kwan, because I gave you the floor, you have the opportunity to bring in a dilatory motion to resume the debate. If we have a vote, then you will be able to speak.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I am going to be moving a motion. I was trying to remind both committee members and the public where we are, because I don't think the public knows exactly what's going on. It's just a reminder to let people know where we left off. Last time, where we left off, there were a series of amendments, Mr. Chair—

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Go ahead, Mr. Redekopp.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

I'll repeat myself. Again, either there's a motion on the floor, or we move to our witnesses. I don't know what else we're doing here. I would ask the member, if she has a motion, to move her motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

That's absolutely right, Mr. Redekopp.

MP Kwan, if you want to bring the motion forward, please raise it. Otherwise, I'm going to go to the witnesses.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

All right. Before I move my motion, I want to check with the clerk to make sure that we have all the language in the amendments in both French and English available.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Yes, it is.