Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 1st, 2022

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I agree. Call the vote on the subamendment and then the amendment, please.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe, go ahead.

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

I wanted to say the same thing.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would now like us to move on quickly to the vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Seeing no further debate, we will vote on the subamendment proposed by Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

(Subamendment agreed to: yeas 6; nays 5 [See Minutes of Proceedings])

We have the amendment proposed by Mr. Genuis, as amended by the subamendment, on the floor.

Mrs. Lalonde, go ahead.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I hear my colleagues on all sides of this. For me, it's important that as we go through this process.... It would mean that basically anyone.... We agree that we fully support welcoming Ukrainians to Canada, those who want to. Listening to the news, we know that individuals who are being interviewed on the ground are saying they are going to stay and fight for the country that they call home. There are many others, as we saw, who have made their way out to various locations of NATO allies where they are being received. Possibly they have chosen to come to Canada and other countries. We're going to welcome those individuals.

For myself, I just want to reiterate the importance of the current system, which seems to generally have worked fairly well for close to 4,000 Ukrainians at this time.

I'm not sure what's going to be decided, but, as expressed here, as we welcome people, we want to also ensure the safety and security of our Canadians. I want to make sure I am on the record for that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mrs. Lalonde.

Ms. Kayabaga, go ahead.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to echo my colleague's comments as well. I think it's important that this discussion, and how we're going about it, is not translated as us not wanting Ukrainians to come here. It's the opposite.

I have lived through the war. I know what a war does to people. We want to welcome Ukrainians in this country and make sure people have a safe place to call home, but it's important to talk about Ukrainians who live in Canada already. Their security is also at stake. We have to consider that.

Our vote today is not to say no to Ukrainians. It's to keep in mind all Ukrainians, including the ones who are already living in our country today and the ones who are coming here. We look forward to welcoming all the Ukrainians who are going to come to Canada. We'll live alongside them and support them to heal through this process that is traumatic for everyone.

I also want to get on the record to make sure we're talking about our security being compromised. We're talking about Ukrainian Canadians who might be compromised through this process if it's not done the right way.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

Mr. Dhaliwal, go ahead.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I also want to echo my colleague's comment that we do welcome the Ukrainians, who are going through a very difficult time, but we can achieve those goals without compromising security using other means. That is what we believe. On this side of the committee, on the Liberal side, we fully support Ukrainians in a difficult time, but we can achieve what the opposition wants to achieve with a different process without compromising the security of Canadians.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. Dhaliwal.

Mr. Ali, go ahead.

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I echo my colleagues. Since this war started, to see those horrible stories, I've had a hard time sleeping. We stand with our Ukrainian friends.

I also would like to recognize that our Minister of Immigration and IRCC have done an amazing job, as 4,000 Ukrainians have been processed to come to Canada, and the work permits and student permits of those who are already here have been extended. They're doing an amazing job expediting those applications, and I'm sure in the situation they can get the process expedited.

At the same time, our intent is to keep Canadians safe. We're all on the same page, but at the same time, we all have concerns in terms of keeping Canadians safe. There are security concerns and our work was based upon that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. Ali.

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe, go ahead.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I think that everyone has been able to present their arguments. As my colleagues know, we are all working on behalf of Ukrainians, who are currently engaged in a war. All the political parties are in agreement.

But we are still divided on one issue. Dozens of other countries are not requiring Ukrainians to have a visa; Ukraine could, from one day to the next, become a member of the European Union, and people from several countries in which part of the population is pro-Russian do not require a visa to come to Canada.

Personally, I have confidence in our security services here on the ground. Many Ukrainians are asking us to remove the visa requirement so that they can help their families.

I believe that to be the right decision, but it doesn't mean that we should necessarily be divided. We may not vote the same way, but I know that each and every one of us wants the best for everyone and the safety and security of Quebeckers and Canadians.

As everyone has now had the time to speak, I would ask that we call the vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

Seeing no further debate, we will now go to a vote on the amendment proposed by Mr. Genuis, as amended by the subamendment.

(Amendment agreed to: yeas 6; nays 5 [See Minutes of Proceedings])

Now we have the motion proposed by Mr. Hallan, as amended.

Ms. Kwan, go ahead.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I move an amendment to the motion by adding the following: “increase staffing resources and adjust immigration levels as required while respecting Quebec authority on immigration, so that the existing backlog for all immigration streams is not further impacted by this humanitarian crisis.”

I would propose that this amendment be added as an additional point to the main motion. The language of this amendment—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The clerk has distributed the amendment proposed by Ms. Kwan to all the members of the committee.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I was just going to say that the language of this amendment, in both English and French, has been sent to the clerk, so that all committee members can receive that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

Mr. Dhaliwal, go ahead.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

The amendment brought forward by Ms. Kwan is a very important one, and I fully support it, because it would not put pressure on other immigrants who want to come to Canada.

During the Afghanistan issue, we got a tremendous number of calls. We were calling IRCC, and most of the staff there were busy. There's nothing wrong with that, but in fact, it takes attention away from other immigrants who want to come, and it takes a toll on them.

It's a good suggestion, and I would love to see other members support it, as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. Dhaliwal.

Mrs. Lalonde, please go ahead.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

I just want a few minutes to read it, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

We will go to Monsieur Brunelle-Duceppe.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I simply would like to say to my colleagues that the only thing I'm unhappy about is that this amendment could affect levels of immigration. I am aware of the fact that the wording gives consideration to Quebec and its powers, but if immigration rates are increased everywhere except Quebec, then the demographic weight of Quebec will take a hit.

I'm in agreement with the increased resources mentioned in Ms. Kwan's amendment, but humbly and amicably, if we could remove the reference to levels of immigration from the amendment, I would certainly support it. Otherwise, I will have to vote against it. If immigration levels increase everywhere in Canada except Quebec, then I'm sure you'll agree that it would affect Quebec's demographic weight. I don't think that's what we want and I don't think it's necessary in order to deal with the current crisis. For staffing resources, I fully agree, but I don't think there is a need to mention levels of immigration.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Mrs. Lalonde, go ahead.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

I'd like to thank my colleague for his comments, because that's approximately what I would like to say. I want to ask Ms. Kwan whether she would agree to modify her amendment by removing the following words: “adjust immigration levels as required while respecting Quebec authority on immigration”. The amendment would then read as follows: “increase staffing resources so that the existing backlog for all immigration streams is not further impacted by this humanitarian crisis.”

I'll let you think about that.