Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 7th, 2024

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

I thought that I had some time left, Mr. Chair.

Minister Miller, Ms. Fréchette has just stated publicly: “To date, I haven't personally received any overtures from Mr. Miller.” What's your response?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Minister, I can give you a brief 20 seconds. Otherwise, the time is up.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I'll need to speak to her directly. I can do that. I won't make any public comments before talking to her.

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

She just did that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you very much.

We're going to move on to Ms. Kwan.

Ms. Kwan, go ahead, please. You have two and half minutes.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you.

Minister, earlier in your response, you talked about the regularization program that is about to go before cabinet. In it, you spoke a little bit about one of the categories being construction workers. Could you advise whether or not in this regularization scheme is it limited only to certain categories of workers, such as construction workers, or would it be open to all workers?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

No, and it's not based on working necessarily. We should really—

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I'm sorry—my apologies.

When I said “workers”, I meant undocumented migrants.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

What I hope to bring to cabinet is something that is broad and comprehensive. What I was talking about separately was that, when we look at new public policies on the temporary foreign workers that we bring in to fill labour shortages in Canada, there are options for us to carve into those people who are here anyway who have fallen out of status and to regularize them. In my mind, that's something that would be separate and discrete from a broader regularization process.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

All right. Just so I'm clear, it would be that the regularization program would actually be open to all workers and not just to specific professions or occupations.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

My thinking behind that, without betraying any cabinet confidence, is that it would not be based on that theme. If there are certain categories of people who have fallen out of status, it would sort of be an ancillary approach to it. However, I'm looking at something a little broader and more comprehensive.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you.

Just very quickly, as I know I'm running out of time, with respect to individuals who are vulnerable workers and for the people coming through the border applying for asylum, etc., what is the average processing time for those who are from Mexico? How long are they waiting for their applications to be processed to determine whether or not they have a valid asylum claim?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

There are two things. I think we do our best to get work permits into people's hands, but the processing can take two years.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much.

What's the turnaround time for the process of providing open work permits to claimants?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

What's the fact pattern? This is for someone who has been exploited because of a closed work permit, and they're to be issued an open work permit?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

No, I'm talking about people who have come into Canada and made asylum claims and are then waiting for their claims to be processed by the IRB. In the meantime, they're provided with a work permit. What's the turnaround time for them to get the work permit?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you.

The time is up, Minister.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

We strive for 30 to 60 days. It can be longer at times.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you.

We'll move to Mr. Kmiec now.

Mr. Kmiec, we'll go to you for four minutes. Please, go ahead.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister, I'm reflecting on the answers you gave me 10 minutes ago.

In 2016 there were just over 200 asylum claims made by Mexican nationals who arrived in Canada with a visa. Last year that number had surged into the tens of thousands. The numbers at the air borders especially are increasing exponentially. There's been about a 2000% increase.

When I asked you a direct question on that specifically, you couldn't provide me with a single thing the government has done since 2016.

Last month or the month before, you said the immigration system was out of control. Is this an example of its being out of control?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I said quite clearly that the flows that are coming into the country, regardless of the country of origin and particularly in terms of asylum seekers and regular migration, are very high. I think it's important to take a look at our public policies to see where we can tighten those up. That includes for Mexico.

Your specific reference was with respect—as you well know—to international students, who are in a completely different category. Under that category, however, because of lax policies—particularly of provinces and designated learning institutes—you will find inland asylum claims from a number of those institutions.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Minister, a few months ago the previous immigration minister—who's now the housing minister and is still kind of moonlighting as a senior immigration minister sometimes—on the housing issue specifically said the situation was a mess. He was specifically talking about immigration to Canada. He said on CTV Power Play that it was a mess. He mentioned the same in the National Post, and it was printed in The Canadian Press.

Did you agree with him on that? Is the asylum situation in Canada—with the surging number of claims that are specific to one country—a mess?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I would caution people against judging those who seek to come here. Clearly the flows—

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Are you saying that Minister Fraser judged them?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Honourable member, let the minister finish, and I'll make sure that I respect your time.

Honourable Minister, go ahead.