Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 3rd, 2022

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

In the 30 seconds or so I have to answer the question, I won't do it justice. There are a number of organizations that are working to bring people from the different communities that you've referenced. I mentioned specifically the Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation, which has been working with our team to see if we can bring more Afghan Sikhs to Canada.

We expect that we're going to continue to see more arrivals in the fairly short term. As these numbers continue to grow—now at more than 8,500 Afghan refugees with more arriving every week—I anticipate that our partnerships with some of these organizations, which are not just seeking to bring people here but are willing to support them when they arrive, are going to lead to a very successful settlement outcome in the very short term.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Minister.

We will now proceed to Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe. You have six minutes for your round of questioning.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Welcome, Mr. Minister. It's great to see you again. I think you're becoming a committee pet. I certainly wish you a speedy recovery.

I have a question about the motion before this committee to propose the lifting of visas, which the Liberals opposed. The arguments raised by your political party were specifically related to security issues. We were only told about security issues.

Can you explain to me how a biometric test could prevent a pro‑Russian Ukrainian from being approved, after the administrative process, to come to Canada? I'm not sure I understand.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

This is really important, and it's something I've become acutely aware of in the context of our effort to resettle Afghan refugees. It's obviously come up again.

For those who aren't aware, 80% or so of the cases that are inadmissible by virtue of security reasons are uncovered through biometric analysis. We are able to partner with like-minded countries around the world, because we share intelligence with them about individuals who potentially pose a security threat to Canada. By tapping into our partners' databases of individuals who may be part of foreign fighting forces, for example, we can understand with a greater degree of certainty who these individuals are and deny them access to Canada if they present a security threat to Canada.

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

Mr. Minister, you're telling me that 80% of pro‑Russian Ukrainians are detected through biometric tests. That's what I understood.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

No.

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

Okay. That's not what's being said.

How could a biometric test prevent a pro‑Russian Ukrainian from coming to Canada? I don't think that would change anything.

So what is the difference between having a biometric test done abroad and having it done in Canada?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

To be clear, the statistic that you've described is a misinterpretation of what I said. I said 80% of the cases that are deemed inadmissible are discovered by biometrics, not 80% of the Ukrainian pro-Russian fighters. It's a very different point that I'm making.

When we have the ability to have a person's fingerprints, photographs and so on, and we can run them through a database that we have in partnership with other international partners, we can better identify people who present a security threat to Canada. It will reduce the number of people coming who pose a security threat.

To be clear, a primary motivation for the path that we've established is speed as well. Setting up a different opportunity for visa-free travel would have delayed things by a few months, and that was unacceptable to me.

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

I don't think we understand each up, but we'll come back to it later.

Your government has prioritized Ukraine‑related applications, and I applaud that. However, Mr. Minister, I'm wondering where you're getting the human resources to process these applications. Are you taking them from within the department or have you hired new people?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

With respect to Ukraine, let's not forget that the further Russian invasion into Ukraine sovereign territory started seven days ago. We responded immediately, and in fact in advance, with the resources we had.

We will be looking to profile additional resources to help out with the effort to make sure that our other lines of business are not impacted more than is necessary. In the short term, you're right, it requires us to put people who are already on deck to help out with the emergency, but over the long term we intend to make sure that the resources are put in place so we continue to meet the goals we've set for our department to resettle newcomers in accordance with the standards we hope to achieve. There will be short-term pressures, though.

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

Don't you think that puts the processing of other applications a bit at risk? I'm thinking of Afghanistan in particular, but also of foreign workers, students and family reunification cases.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

I don't expect it will have a significant impact on Afghanistan because that's a separate humanitarian effort, and we're using something more akin to a temporary residence visa stream.

There is the potential for a shorter-term impact on some of our lines of business around other temporary resident visas, around the work permits and around study permits, which we're also processing for Ukrainians. There might be some impact on other lines of business, but we intend to deploy the resources that were recently made available and I am hopeful we'll still be able to see progress.

For what it's worth, just for the awareness of the committee, as a result of some of the investments we've made—including the 500 staff we hired not too long ago—there have now been more than 100,000 approvals for permanent residency in January and February of this year; the process has picked up pace, but we expect there will be some impact as a result of Ukraine.

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

You've set up a hotline reserved for Ukraine‑related applications that accepts collect calls. Is that correct?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Yes.

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

Is it the same line as the one for Afghanistan‑related applications?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

No.

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

Okay. So it's a different line.

Do you have any idea of the costs that will be incurred by this line and by the staff assigned to it?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

I don't have that figure in front of me. We can probably provide that after the meeting—

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

Okay. You can provide this for us for information.

I'll move on quickly.

At the Special Committee on Afghanistan, witnesses told us that it would be good to send more staff to Pakistan to deal with Afghan refugees. Do you intend to do this?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Madam Chair, I'm out of time, but we'll do whatever is necessary to process people as quickly as possible. We'll need to work with our partners in the region, including Pakistan in this instance, but I don't have time to complete an answer, given that I've been shown the red card.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Yes, maybe when we come to the second round you will get an opportunity.

We will now proceed to Ms. Kwan.

Ms. Kwan, you have six minutes. You can please proceed.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the minister. I also hope that you will have a speedy recovery.

The Safi family fled the Taliban and were in the refugee camp in Ukraine. With the unprovoked invasion from Russia, they find themselves fleeing once again. They have just given birth to a daughter. The Safi family made numerous attempts to cross to the Slovakian border. At one point they were told that the border was open to everyone except Afghans, while they noted that others were allowed to cross without passports or any sort of identification.

Given the outright discriminatory practices the Safi family experienced, will the minister provide targeted supports and work with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to use diplomatic channels to ensure that ethnic minorities, such as Afghan, Indian and African students who have faced discrimination in their attempts to flee Putin's war in Ukraine, have equal access to reach and cross borders?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

It's an important question. Any kind of discrimination based on a person's skin colour or country of origin is completely unacceptable to me. I was pleased to see a statement issued by the Ukrainian foreign minister to similar effect, to insist that safe passage be provided to everyone fleeing the war.

We're also interested in looking at what Canada may do for people who may not qualify for an easy return to their own country, who had some kind of permanent status in Ukraine and who may be discriminated against in this fashion.

Let me just be unequivocal in calling upon those who are working at the borders to the west of Ukraine...that discrimination against a person based on their country of origin or skin colour cannot be accepted.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Yes. That's exactly the problem. The laws prohibit it, but the practice is different. That is critical. I hope Canada will step up pressure in that regard to make sure that discrimination is not taking place at the border there.

Ms. Safi's family are seeking to come to Canada as refugees. They have sent documents to IRCC, but to date there has not even been an acknowledgement from IRCC. Will the minister look into this case and help this family and others like them come to Canada expeditiously?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Certainly. We can't discuss the specifics of any case. I'm happy to look into whatever sensitive cases may come across our desk. A number of people have come from Afghanistan through Ukraine to Canada already. To the extent that there are others who are there—obviously every file is unique and I can't state perfect timelines for everyone—and to the extent that we can look at specific files, we're always happy to do that.