Evidence of meeting #37 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 applications.
A recording is available from Parliament.
1:35 p.m.
Bloc
1:35 p.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP, As an Individual
I agree. This is where you shouldn't have officers process at visa posts. You should have teams in Canada, who are much more equipped to deal with different situations from around the world.
1:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Thank you. The time is up for Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.
We will now proceed to Ms. Kwan.
Ms Kwan, you will have six minutes for your round of questioning. You can please begin.
1:35 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses for their presentations.
First I'd like to ask Ms. Long a question.
With regard to the processing delays that are happening pretty well in every single stream within IRCC, you made some suggestions on how to enhance the system. I really liked the idea of having specialized agents on various streams.
The other issue is that we also have over 500,000 people in this country who are temporary foreign workers or undocumented individuals. At the same time, we also have industry clamouring for more workers, and we tend to then turn to more temporary foreign workers.
Should the government be looking to regularize the people who are already here for a variety of reasons as well as to meet the immigration needs caused by the labour skills shortage?
1:40 p.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP, As an Individual
Yes, absolutely. We have a ready and available labour force in Canada. Many people who are out of status are out of status because of issues in the system. It took too long—for example, over six months—for a work permit to be evaluated in Canada.
When the Conservative government was in place before, it had a law that said workers had to leave Canada if they'd been working here for more than four years. Many people couldn't leave, and they had to stay.
Many of these workers are good workers. A system that allows them to go back into the system will provide us with taxpayers, and it will allow families to stay in Canada and finally be able to live their lives peacefully.
1:40 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Along those lines, if the government were to regularize these individuals, would it need to also address that with a companion piece to address the immigration numbers accordingly?
1:40 p.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP, As an Individual
Yes, it would. Immigration levels need to be raised in accordance with labour shortages. We are in competition right now with the rest of the world for labour. It's not just for high-skilled labour, but what the government says is low-skilled. It's across the board. If we don't increase immigration levels, we are going to lose out.
1:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees
We would like to see people who are in Canada regularized, and that includes people who have refugee status. As I was saying, even with refugee status, people are waiting a very long time for permanent residence, which causes great hardships.
At the same time, it's important for us not to do that at the expense of other people who are in need. The number of people in need of resettlement and refugees in need of resettlement around the world is extraordinarily high. Canada needs to do more to be responsive to them, as well as to respond to emergency situations in an equitable way. That would include emergencies in Africa, for example, which have always been neglected.
1:40 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Yes. Hence the immigration levels need to be adjusted accordingly. Otherwise, you will be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Did I interpret that correctly?
1:40 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you.
In a similar vein, with respect to regularizing people, what suggestions do you have for the government to streamline that process? Right now, the red tape is very burdensome.
Ms. Long, for people whose work permits have expired because they couldn't get them renewed in time, should the government streamline those individuals, regularize their process, do away with some of the red tape to save work and efficiency, and maximize efficiencies built into the IRCC?
I'll hear from Ms. Long and then Ms. Dench.
1:40 p.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP, As an Individual
Yes, absolutely. Right now, we have some very stringent timelines. For example, you have only 90 days to restore your status. Some people didn't get their decisions back, or they may have submitted something and it was returned after 90 days, so it made it impossible for them to do so. There are so many easy ways we can allow people to regain their status.
1:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees
I would say that, obviously, digital offers the opportunity to do things much more quickly and efficiently, but we haven't necessarily seen that paying off. Instead, what we've seen is that more and more, the applicants have the burden of doing all the paperwork, often with online tools that are very difficult to use, and the processing times don't seem to improve as a result. We don't seem to be benefiting as fully as we would expect.
1:40 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
One of the witnesses at our previous meeting, Ms. Desloges, suggested that streamlining the process may well mean there could be situations where some people would be able to get through without having met all the requirements. However, for the purpose of trying to streamline the process, she thought it was worth the risk, as long as criminality was not an issue.
Would you agree with that?
Please go first, Ms Long, and then Ms. Dench.
October 21st, 2022 / 1:45 p.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP, As an Individual
Yes, absolutely. We have the mechanism of the temporary resident permits right now to allow people to right their status. The problem is that right now, to apply for temporary resident permits, it's two to three years or more—
1:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
Sorry for interrupting, Ms. Long, but time is up for Ms. Kwan. You can come back in the next round of questioning.
We will now proceed to our second round.
Ms. Rempel Garner, you will have five minutes for your round of questioning.
1:45 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Thank you.
I will continue my line of questioning with Ms. Dench.
One of the potential avenues that was suggested for the government to have a regularization program was to include, essentially, amnesty for refugee applications that may have been denied.
Does your organization support that recommendation?
1:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees
We are supporting a broad regularization. It's something that also takes into account the various circumstances, so a particular category of people who are of concern to us and have long been a concern are people whose refugee claims may have been denied but who have remained in Canada because the situation in their home country is so bad that Canada does not deport them. They remain in Canada, and they think there should be an expedited way for them to get—
1:45 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Thank you.
Going back, taking out the categorization, or the requirement of refugee claims that have been denied, the applicant would have a moratorium due to the situation in the country.... If our nation determines that it's safe for someone to return to their country, and a refugee claim has been denied, is your organization supporting an amnesty, or regularization, for that class of person?
1:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees
We don't have a recommendation specifically on that point, no. We have a broader point around having a broad regularization.
1:45 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
I guess, asked another way, if the government announced regularization for refugee applications that have been denied, do you think that would perhaps create a pull factor into Canada for refugee claims that would fall into a similar category?
1:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Council for Refugees
It would depend on how it was framed. If it was a time-specific one.... Sometimes programs say you have to be in the country by such a date to benefit. Then, obviously, it doesn't create so much of a pull factor.
