Evidence of meeting #42 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 safe.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
The people accompanying you today aren't here for no reason, and they haven't been in their positions only since July. Could they tell us how many meetings have been held on modernizing the safe third country agreement since 2019?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No, but I could provide you later on with a list of the dates when those meetings were held.
However, you have to understand that these are bilateral negotiations between Canada and the United States and that some of that information is sensitive.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I know you discussed this in your opening remarks, but how many irregular entries do you expect in 2023?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Based on projections for this year, we expect to see a total of between 84,000 and 94,000 entries, including regular and irregular entries.
Bloc
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
There have been approximately 27,000 irregular entries to date. To date, there have been a total of 55,000, or rather 62,000. So, if you add—
Bloc
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No. Those figures are solely for the period from January to the end of September, and it's 62,000 regular and irregular entries.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
No, pardon me. This is my last question, and I want it to be clear. I'm talking about irregular entries only. I understood that they had reached 27,000, but how many irregular entries do you expect for the entire year? I imagine the department has made projections. So what is the projected number of irregular entries for all of 2022?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It will probably be around 50,000.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
I'm sorry for interrupting. The time is up, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.
We will now go to Ms. Kwan.
You have two and a half minutes. Please begin.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Could the official tell us what the processing time is right now for asylum seekers who are crossing over irregularly into Canada?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I'll turn to Michèle Kingsley for this one.
Michèle Kingsley Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Thank you, Chair.
I think it depends on which exact process you want to know about. The deputy has spoken about the fact that—
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
I'm sorry. Could I get the entire process?
How long is it taking for someone to go through IRB processing and for it to be completed? What's the average processing time?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I believe the deputy indicated earlier that right now, on average, it's taking 26 months.
That would be a question to pose to the IRB.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Could the officials provide us with all the data or information around the processing timeline? Could we also get information on the top countries of origin in terms of asylum seekers whose claims have been denied and rejected?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes. We can definitely provide that.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Could you also further break down the information on rejections on the basis...that are gender-based claims?
November 18th, 2022 / 1:55 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Okay.
Along with that, how many of the people are being returned or rejected with their application to countries where the countries are in turmoil or unsafe? Could you list what those countries might be?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes, we can do that. I would also say that just before there's any type of decision made, there is a pre-removal risk assessment that the department conducts—
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Yes. I'm aware of that.
The government engages in these bilateral discussions. Has the government at any point in time raised the issue of suspending the safe third country agreement?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I think it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the conversations that are happening around the STCA in a bilateral negotiations context.