Citizenship and Immigration Committee on June 14th, 2023

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

What about the number of foreign students who wish to come and study here in Canada? Will that number rise or fall as a result of this situation?

[Christiane Fox]

It's hard to predict for the moment.

As I mentioned, we received 737,000 applications last year. This year, we've already received 248,000 applications from January to April compared to approximately 170,000 during the same period last year. The demand is still there.

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

I see.

Do I have any time left, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

You have 10 seconds.

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

All right.

Thank you very much, Ms. Fox.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. El-Khoury.

We will now proceed to Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe for six minutes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much for being with us today. The subject we're discussing is extremely important.

You said we needed to work together. I completely agree with you.

Do you receive any information when applicants file complaints with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants in Canada?

[Christiane Fox]

Do you want to know whether we receive it directly from the department?

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Do you receive information when the college receives complaints?

[Christiane Fox]

Yes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

All right.

Do you know how many complaints were received last year?

[Christiane Fox]

I don't have those figures with me right now.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Would it be possible for you to get that information and provide it to the committee?

[Christiane Fox]

Yes, absolutely.

I'll follow up on that.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

That's great.

Then do you know how many complaints have been filed since 2019, not counting this year.

I see you don't. All right.

It's important to gather that kind of information when you work together in your department, and especially when you prepare to appear before a committee such as ours.

What method do you use to manage those complaints? Who is then responsible for investigating those complaints when the college receives them?

[Christiane Fox]

First of all, I should note that the college conducts its own follow‑up to complaints.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Yes, that's the question I'm asking.

[Christiane Fox]

At the department, we manage the investigations that are conducted within our department.

We have a team that focuses on managing all the complaints the department receives.

We also conduct investigations at the department. Approximately 119 investigations are currently under way in the various areas.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I see. That's great.

I'm going to ask you a question that may seem somewhat irrelevant, but I think it's important to mention it because the committee hasn't yet addressed this issue.

You will remember your department's response to the report on the unfair situation between the francophone African students and other foreign students entitled, “Differential Treatment in Recruitment and Acceptance Rates of Foreign Students in Quebec and the Rest of Canada”. Your department had 120 days in which to take action on the report, and it provided a response. In that response, the department categorically stated that it acknowledged the presence of racism within the IRCC in analyzing certain applications. The refusal and acceptance rates for those applications were thus biased as a result of that racism.

Do you ensure that IRCC officers and those of the Canada Border Services Agency don't judge fraud cases based on the same prejudices as are associated with the files of international African students, for example?

Are there any specific rules to follow to detect fraud?

If there was a risk of racism against certain foreign students, as your department has admitted, could that also occur in fraud cases?

[Christiane Fox]

Madam Chair, I want to make sure I clearly understand the question.

The member wants to know whether the individuals who determine whether a fraud has been committed might be influenced by prejudice. Is that correct?

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Yes, that's exactly right. If that has happened in the case of acceptances or refusals of foreign students, couldn't it occur, for example, in an analysis conducted to determine whether a foreign student had committed fraud?

[Christiane Fox]

Thank you for your question.

We offer training to all officers who make visa-related decisions. The department realized that there had indeed been certain practices in the past that were problematic, and we had to make changes. That was particularly problematic in the case of francophone African students, partly as a result of certain provisions of the act. For example, we have to determine whether the person intends to leave the country when his or her permit expires. The person must also provide certain financial details in order to be approved. I think that would need to be reviewed because sometimes students are refused as a result of those conditions. There may be good reason to adopt a different approach in order to increase rates.

In closing, I would say that when we present refusal rates, we often present them as an overall percentage. However, I think we should present the percentage of refusals for each reason, such as the percentage of students who were denied because they had committed fraud, for example. That way, people would be able to understand the reason for the refusal and would have a better understanding of the percentages.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I'm confused here. You just told me that should be reviewed, but I thought that process was already under way when you gave your response to the government.

[Christiane Fox]

Madam Chair, I'll clarify my answer.

I'm talking about the way we present the data publicly. We currently present it, but—

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

All right, but the work has been under way since you submitted your report, hasn't it?