Citizenship and Immigration Committee on June 19th, 2023

[Kamaljit Kaur Lehal]

That's where I've stated there needs to be procedural fairness processes in place—with fulsome disclosure—so individuals can answer concerns that may have been raised in their application.

However this task force conducts its assessment, it will obviously have potentially significant consequences for individuals. I will just restate that it's imperative the process be procedurally fair and transparent, and that it allow individuals the opportunity to fully share what they have been through before a decision is made.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

It will be very fair and they will have every chance to go through the other channels available now, whether it is having a lawyer, going to a judicial review or whatnot.

My question was simply, would you suggest we consider that the students who came here, went to school and worked are genuine? For those who took advantage in order to get their feet on our land here and never went to school, do you think they should be treated as victims of fraud, as well, or should those people not be given the advantage this task force will give to other people?

[Kamaljit Kaur Lehal]

It's a delicate situation, and I think the integrity of the immigration system is something that, as lawyers, we are very mindful of, as well. Individuals coming into Canada need to comply with the act and regulations when they are seeking admission into this country.

If there are other extenuating circumstance, such as duress or fraud—it would depend on the particular facts of the case—those would have to be looked at carefully. I can't give a yes-or-no answer, except to say that I fully agree that our immigration system is based on its integrity. We need to ensure that students who have been defrauded and have come into this country and studied hard, worked and planted roots are supported and not victimized again.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

Thank you.

I'm going to pass it on to Ms. Sidhu for the next question, please.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Dhaliwal, for sharing time with me.

Thank you to all the witnesses.

My question is to Ms. Boyden. We are hearing heartbreaking stories from international students. Suicides are on the rise. They are not getting quality education in these so-called plaza colleges. What is the province doing to maintain high standards of education and support for international students?

The second point is I know when the pandemic began Alpha College, a private career college in Kingston, had more than doubled its enrolment. They have a capacity of 420 students, but they have more than 4,000 students.

Where's the oversight, and what is being done to audit these DLIs? We know it's a shared jurisdiction. The federal government is responsible for study permits, and the province oversees the education component and selects DLI institutions.

Exploitation is happening to the students. Where is the oversight? Why is the audit not happening? Can you tell us?

[Anna Boyden]

I think it's important to recognize the role of a registered private career college and differentiate that from the term we have been using tonight around plaza colleges.

We have nearly 550 registered private career colleges in Ontario. They are inspected quite regularly and do maintain quite a rigorous relationship with the ministry in terms of reporting. They have KPI outcomes that come back to the ministry. There is subject matter expertise required in terms of review of their curriculum, and approval through our superintendent to ensure the quality and integrity of the program; and it's renewed on a yearly basis.

I would say there is a lot of oversight and work done very proactively to ensure the integrity of our education for students attending our private career colleges.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

How do you explain that the increase in new DLIs in Ontario outpaces any other province based on population?

[Anna Boyden]

I can't speak to other provinces, because I don't have an understanding of the number of DLIs—

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

No, we are not just talking about the sheer numbers. We are talking about per capita. I'm talking about just in Ontario.

[Anna Boyden]

Our role in issuing the DLIs is to review the application received from the interested party and, in accordance with the memorandum of understanding that we have with the IRCC, we would grant the DLI to the interested party if they meet the criteria outlined in the MOU.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is up for you, Ms. Sidhu.

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

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would also like to thank the witnesses. It’s getting late and everyone must be feeling tired.

Ms. Boyden, good evening.

You told us about a letter sent by your department to minister Fraser. What was the response? I imagine there was an acknowledgment of receipt. Did you receive a direct response to the letter?

[Anna Boyden]

I can confirm that the letter was sent from our Minister of Colleges and Universities, and I am unaware of any response.

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

Point of order, Madam Chair. There was no interpretation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Can you please repeat that, Ms. Boyden?

[Anna Boyden]

I'm happy to confirm that the letter was sent by the Minister of Colleges and Universities. I cannot confirm and I am unaware of any response that was received.

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

Was there at least an acknowledgment of receipt?

[Anna Boyden]

I'm sorry, but I don't know.

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

All right. I imagine it would be easy for you to check. If you did receive a reply, I’d be grateful if you could forward it to the committee. Thank you very much.

I will now turn to Mr. Jade.

I imagine you’ve observed many cases where your customers’ mental health has been affected by the pressure or misadventures they were experiencing, depending on their different situations.

Can you tell the committee how the victims of these frauds feel, which is why we’re here today? In your opinion, how is their mental health affected by the situation they are currently experiencing?

[Dory Jade]

In fact, all immigrants who decide to come to Canada, but especially students, who are usually the most vulnerable because they are young, experience anxiety when trying to figure out how to get into the system. They feel pressure even before they get here.

In my opinion, people who have been through what we’re talking about now can certainly experience trauma, especially those who didn’t know until they got here that the document they had was fraudulent or allegedly fraudulent.

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

If I understand correctly, even before being threatened with deportation, the simple act of entering the system from a foreign country and arriving in Canada, finding housing and enrolling in a secondary school has consequences for a person’s mental health and anxiety.

If you add to that a threat of deportation, the pressure increases tenfold. From what we understand, these people have nothing to blame themselves for and are, in fact, victims.

Am I mistaken?

[Dory Jade]

I think that’s exactly right.

I’m sure we all know a young student who arrived here and…

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Mr. Jade, I'm sorry to interrupt. There is a point of order.

Yes, Mr. Longfield.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

The interpreter has asked if the presenter could turn up the volume. She's having difficulty hearing his statement and can't translate for us.