Evidence of meeting #32 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 ircc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Maybe we can go further when we come back.
Now we will go to Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.
You will have six minutes for your round of questioning.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to thank all the witnesses who are helping us with our extremely important study.
I have a few questions for Ms. Launay.
I would like to start out by congratulating you and your organization for the work that you do with very little resources.
What are the biggest challenges that you face as an organization when you are dealing with IRCC?
What are the biggest challenges when you don't have a lot of resources?
5:10 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
We face the same challenges that immigrants do. All the members of our organization, Le Québec c'est nous, are also immigrants. It's difficult to communicate with someone at IRCC in general. That is our reality. It's hard to get any answers given the lack of transparency at the department.
That is why we are asking that IRCC be more transparent with regard to the directives given to its officers, so that we can better understand how decisions are made. We do not have this information. This means that we don't know what is causing the problem.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Would it help reduce the lack of transparency at IRCC if the position of ombudsman were created?
5:10 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
Absolutely.
We think that is a necessary step. There are many systemic problems with IRCC that should be studied by an independent party, such as an ombudsman, so that concrete solutions can be proposed.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
In your presentation, you said that IRCC should put in place an emergency mechanism. Could you tell us more about this?
We have made a similar suggestion to the government, but we are still waiting for a response from the Minister of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship.
5:10 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
Basically, it would be a unit within IRCC that would be exclusively responsible for managing humanitarian crises, and it would have full-time resources dedicated to these crises. Each time that such a crisis arises, such as the ones in Afghanistan or in Ukraine, resources would not be taken away from other units. It would be up to IRCC to decide how such a unit would be set up.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you very much.
I now have a series of questions.
Given your experience, what are the most contradictory aspects you have observed?
Have you or have immigrants been witness to absurd situations when dealing with IRCC?
5:10 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
On many occasions. In fact, the absurd has become the norm. I mentioned earlier the need to repeatedly file applications for a work permit while waiting for decision on a permanent residency application. That is particularly absurd. We are talking about people who, by definition, have been selected, and in our case, by Quebec. We know we need these people right now. The majority already live here in Canada. These applications create an excess workload for IRCC simply because the department is unable to process files within normal timeframes.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Do you think that the delays in processing occur in all categories, such as study visas for foreign students as well as temporary and permanent visas?
In January and August of this year, the minister made some announcements, actually, it was basically the same announcement, stating that additional funds were forthcoming.
Do you think that these funds will help processing times return to a more normal length?
5:10 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
We see delays in all categories of immigration applications, whether it's permanent or temporary visas.
That said, because new programs have been launched, as Ms. Kwan stated earlier, we also see some files being pushed through extremely rapidly, whereas two million applications are gathering dust. So we are seeing delays in all immigration categories as well as huge differences in file processing times.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I believe you often deal with people from francophone countries in Africa and therefore with the offices located in Rabat and Dakar.
Have you encountered problems in dealing with these offices that issue visas compared to the offices which are located in Europe?
5:10 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
Yes, we receive numerous messages from the office in Dakar, which is experiencing a real problem in processing volumes. Their volumes are much lower than the average.
We are talking today about efficiency and processing times. I would also like to say that we do not want any improvements that would undermine a fair approach to processing. Our organization testified in February about the problems of prejudice and discrimination toward francophone students, especially those from Africa. We wish to ensure, whatever decisions are made by IRCC to improve processing times, that the methods used do not replicate discriminatory practices or even make it worse.
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
The Chinook system was set up to process as many applications as possible.
In fact, has it not have had the opposite effect, given that less time is spent on each file so that as many files as possible can be processed?
5:15 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
That is indeed the risk.
It is precisely because of this risk that we seek more transparency, so that we could know exactly what algorithm Chinook uses, how the system works and what directives are given to the officers. We also need an independent party who would be charged with overseeing these operations and making recommendations.
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I have 30 seconds. As I do not think we will have another opportunity to talk, Ms. Launay, do you have one last message for the committee?
5:15 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
I just want to say that we are in dire straits. Two million files are waiting to be processed in a country that has fewer than 40 million inhabitants. That's really embarrassing. I see it as an opportunity for you to look at our problems and find solutions. I encourage you to be creative and to think outside the box to solve the problems.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Thank you, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.
We will now proceed to Ms. Kwan.
Ms. Kwan, you will have six minutes.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I want to carry on with Ms. Launay with the question.
On the issue around backlog, it is significant. It's pretty well in every single stream, although the government says they've put in resources and starting from this date they'll now abide by processing standards.
For the people who have been in the backlog who are not applying after the date, what do you think the government should do? Should we ignore those people and let them wait and wait? At some point in time, I suppose their application would be processed.
5:15 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
No. I think we should absolutely prioritize files that have been the longest in the backlog. These people have chosen Canada for a reason, and we definitely need them. We need to address those files first.
We were talking about absurdities earlier, and that's one of them. If you have to submit your file several times over to have a chance, to almost get picked up by the lottery of the backlog, that's not a system that works. Absolutely, pick the files that have been there the longest.
Also, I think we need a framework to determine Canada's responsibility. Once the standards of processing have been surpassed, let's say 12 or 18 months after processing, maybe we lift some criteria.
We need to decide what Canada can do for those people, because they've been waiting. Sometimes people have put their lives on hold with their immigration process. We can't let them just stay in the dark like we do right now.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much.
I think you just answered my next question; that is to say, for people who are stuck in the system year after year after year, at some point in time a decision has to be made. With regard to your point then, I guess, the government needs to expedite the application or even waive the requirements. Short of criminality issues, for example, they should actually get their application processed.
Is that the kind of thing that you're talking about?
5:15 p.m.
President, Le Québec c’est nous aussi
Yes, for sure.
I mean, I'm not going to decide what criteria should be lifted, but I think this is something that we should definitely be looking at.