Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 18th, 2022

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Well, maybe I'll ask the minister, because the government uses the term “modernizing”. I think “modernizing” is actually euphemistic. We've seen that the Liberal government has actually extended the application of the safe third country agreement to Five Eye countries.

To that end, on the Five Eye countries, how many people have tried to make a claim to Canada through that process?

[Christiane Fox]

Within Five Eyes countries, how many of them have claimed asylum in this country?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Yes. How many have tried to and then been rejected because of the safe third country agreement?

[Christiane Fox]

I will check. I'm not sure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Ms. Kwan. Your time is up.

We will now proceed to the CPC for two and a half minutes. Then we will go to the Liberals for two and a half minutes.

Who will be taking the round from the Conservative side?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

I will, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Ms. Rempel Garner, you have two and a half minutes. Please begin.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you.

As part of the government's posture in arguing the Supreme Court case that's currently pending regarding the safe third country agreement, it's my understanding that the government has asked the court, if there is an overturning of the agreement, for a year's grace period to provide an alternative.

Has the department provided advice to the government to date on what that alternative could entail?

[Christiane Fox]

We definitely have been preparing for all scenarios of a decision. Therefore, we are kind of looking at what the impacts of the decision would be and the time frame in terms of phasing out a new system. Then, of course, we're always looking at the various options around what would be—

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you. Can you please provide what you can to the committee with regard to that advice?

[Christiane Fox]

Yes. I think we have to be mindful of what the public service advice is to ministers and to—

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you for that undertaking.

I'm also wondering if you could provide to the committee, or speak to it now, the total number of persons who have made inland asylum claims after irregularly entering Canada since November 2015 who have been removed from Canada after having had their claims denied. Could you break that down by category of inadmissibility and country of origin?

[Christiane Fox]

I don't think I'm able to do that on the spot, but I can definitely take that back.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Yes, I can imagine. If we could get that data prior to the committee ending, that would be great.

I do appreciate some of the confidentiality of advice, but on the first instance that we talked about, the general principles, particularly if the government anticipates having to change posture on the United States being a safe third country for the return of refugees per the definition of international law, that would be something we'd be interested in. If you could comment on that right now, that would be great as well.

[Christiane Fox]

I think I would say that our position in court has been clear. We do consider the U.S. a safe third country.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

If the Supreme Court rules against this posture, could you perhaps speak to some of the potential implications for processing and whether you have done any extrapolation on the potential increase in demand on Canada's asylum system?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, Ms. Rempel Garner. Your time is up. You'll get an opportunity in the second round.

We will now proceed to Mr. El-Khoury.

You have two and a half minutes, and then we will end this panel.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair,

Thanks to the witnesses for being with us today.

My question is for Ms. Fox.

A witness at our committee's last meeting confidently stated that the number of persons accepted on arrival was, as she put it, quite high.

Can you corroborate that assessment and clarify for us certain subtleties that some people may not perceive?

[Christiane Fox]

I'm not sure I understand your question.

What did the person say?

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

The witness confidently stated that the number of persons accepted on arrival was, as she put it, quite high.

Can you corroborate that assessment and clarify for us certain subtleties that some people may not perceive?

[Christiane Fox]

I would say that we in Canada have a system that prioritizes the protection of refugees in an equitable and humane manner. We at IRCC cooperate with our colleagues at the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and with the provinces and territories, in welcoming asylum claimants and offering them options in a system that promotes access to education, employment, social services and health care.

We do need to work on claims processing times and to make improvements in that area. However, looking at the system as a whole, and taking the cooperation of the provinces, territories and municipalities into consideration, you can see that our system supports the most vulnerable persons. We will continue to prioritize that work within the department.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Some witnesses recently told us that intake conditions were entirely adequate and reasonable, even in cases where people cross the border irregularly.

Could you give us some clarification on the way things work and explain how Canada ensures that claimants are always treated well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, Mr. El-Khoury. Your time is up.

With that, we will end our panel. I will suspend the meeting for two or three minutes, so that we can do a sound check for the minister. I see he's logged in.

Minister, welcome. The clerk will do a sound check, and then we will resume the meeting.

The meeting is suspended.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call the meeting back to order.

I would like to welcome the minister.

Thank you, Minister, for appearing before the committee.

We have with us in this panel the honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Minister, you will have five minutes for your opening remarks, and then we will go into a round of questioning.

Please begin.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon, everyone. It is a pleasure to be with you today.

Today I'm joining you from my home province of Nova Scotia, which rests on the traditional and unceded territories of the Mi'kmaq people. This territory is covered by the Peace and Friendship Treaties.

To turn to the issue of the day, persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations happening all across the world are forcibly displacing people in record numbers. This is resulting in unprecedented rates of global migration.

Like many other countries, Canada has seen an increase in the number of people coming to our country and claiming asylum in search of a safer future for themselves and for their loved ones. When someone seeking this safety arrives in Canada, we have a duty to uphold our international and domestic legal obligations and to provide protection for those fleeing persecution.

First, it is important to understand Canada’s asylum system is separate from our Refugee Resettlement Program. The in-Canada asylum system is for people making refugee protection claims from within Canada, whereas the Refugee Settlement Program is for people who have not yet arrived in Canada.

For asylum claims made here in Canada, an acknowledgement of claim letter is provided to the individual, which helps them with securing access to certain services in Canada. At this stage, eligible claims are referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board, where objective and independent decision-makers review the claim. Individuals can expect a fair assessment on the merits of their claim and whether they require protection. If there's a positive decision on their asylum claim, they are able to receive protected person status, which renders them eligible to apply for permanent residency in Canada.

If they receive a negative decision on their asylum claim, they will be issued a removal order and released on conditions to report for a future removal proceeding.

The IRB and the Canada Border Services Agency share a role in this system as well. These departments work together to ensure that cases flow through as quickly and as efficiently as possible. In addition to this collaboration, the government is investing new resources in the asylum system to increase capacity and timely processing.

I want to highlight something that's not always obvious at first. The fact is that nobody chooses to be displaced. In this role and even before, I've had the opportunity to meet with many displaced people. No one who has a great life at home just wakes up one day and decides to risk everything to cross the border in search of a safer future. You don't uproot your life and all that you know—your family, your cultural and language connections, your professional skills, and really the sense of who you are—to live in limbo with an uncertain future. The people I've met decide to do this because they have no other choice in order to survive or to ensure their family's well-being.

Just as we work with CBSA, we also work with our American counterparts since Canada and the United States share the longest international border in the world. Our discussions include, for example, modernizing the Safe Third Country Agreement reached between Canada and the United States.

Since its implementation, the Safe Third Country Agreement has been an important tool for working with the U.S. to ensure the orderly processing of asylum claims at our shared border.

The agreement applies at all ports of entry. It states that refugee claimants are required to request refugee protection in the first safe country they arrive in. This is the case unless they qualify for an exception to the agreement. Exceptions to the agreement consider the importance of family unity, the best interests of children and the public interest.

My provincial counterparts have expressed an empathy for the issues facing asylum seekers and want to be able to do their part to help accommodate them as well.

That said, supporting asylum seekers is a shared responsibility and the federal government assists provinces in the delivery of services to asylum seekers. One such way is by providing provincial and municipal partners with support for temporary housing. Since 2017, support has primarily been through the interim housing assistance program. This program provides compensation to provinces and municipalities for the extraordinary costs of interim housing for asylum seekers on a cost-sharing basis.

The Government of Canada is going to continue to support provincial and municipal partners to help develop shared solutions.

Madam Chair, I know you said I had five minutes. I've prepared somewhat longer remarks and I expect I am close to the end of my time, so perhaps I'll leave it there and deal with the remainder during the time we set aside for questions.

I do want to say thank you so much to members of the committee.

Thank you for this invitation today.