Evidence of meeting #23 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was claim.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
There's always work in trying to ensure that we have the correct capacity to detain who we need to detain.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Would you undertake to table with this committee the locations and the data on capacity reductions that took place over the last year?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
Sure.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Thank you.
Are there people who were detained, who had been on a deportation order but who were released back into the community before deportation?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
To go back to the process that exists for detention reviews, they're legislatively entitled to detention reviews after 48 hours, seven days and every 30 days thereafter. While I don't have the data in front of me as to the numbers, most people we're detaining are, generally speaking, for removal. I would have to believe that some people are released after we detain them the first time.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
To be clear, you are confirming that people who have been detained for deportation have, prior to deportation, been released back into the community.
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
What I believe I said, Madam Chair, is that I believe this is probably true, but I don't have the data in front of me to confirm that for you.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
I would again ask for an undertaking from you to provide the committee with some data on the number of people who had been in detention, awaiting deportation, who were released back into the community prior to deportation.
I'd also like to follow up and ask you, do you have any data on people who had been released and were then actually deported? Otherwise, are they still at large, effectively hiding in Canada?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
I don't have the data on that series of questions with me today, so yes, we can undertake to get that for you.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
It's really important because, with the pressures on the citizenship file across the board in Canada, we are seeing a need for increased capacity, not decreased capacity.
Do you have any data on changes to holding or detention capacity at border crossings in Canada? Has this changed in the last year? That's fully within your jurisdiction. Were any detention capacities reduced at border crossings in Canada?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
To clarify, the question is this: Have we changed our ability at any of our border crossings to detain people while they're crossing the border?
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Have there been any changes to detention capacity? Let's say, for example, at the Peace Bridge, has the capacity decreased in the last year?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
I will simply say no, not that I'm aware of, but I'd have to take that back to confirm.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
I want to go in a different direction. The minister touted last week that the first cohort of graduates, of the new 1,000 CBSA officers, had taken place. First of all, do you know whether there were actually 1,000 people who graduated in the first cohort?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
I don't know the number of the cohort that graduated last week. I apologize.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Would you know what the capacity is for training new CBSA officers at any given time? I would suggest it's much less than 1,000.
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
I think that is true, but I'd have to take that away. To answer your question, I'd have to get that for you.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
I would appreciate it.
Within the confines of this recent graduation, would it be unfair to suggest that this cohort is simply filling gaps in the system that come up on a normal basis, year-over-year?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
Since I don't know the number, I can't answer the question, because the....
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Do you know what your turnover is every year, in pure numbers, at the CBSA?
Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy, Canada Border Services Agency
Do I know? No, I don't.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Julie Dzerowicz
Thank you, Mr. Davies.
Thank you, Mr. Bush.
Next we go to Ms. Sodhi for five minutes.
Liberal
Amandeep Sodhi Liberal Brampton Centre, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to go back to our officials from the IRB. Whoever wishes to answer may do so. Are you able to provide a specific example of a case that has gone through the file review system you implemented?
Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
I can give you claim types and examples, not a specific.... That is, of course, confidential.
When we look at China, for instance, if there was a case there, we would be looking for what kind of case it would give us. Christians, Tibetans and Uyghurs are people we could look at for types of claims to see if the evidence is there—if there is a minister's decision to intervene. If there's not, if there's a FESS and if the FESS detects anything suspicious, it would indicate that we should not go to that process.
Then we would look for the global evidence on the situation of those groups. We would also be seeking claimant-specific information to show and assure us that they are Tibetans, Christians or Uyghurs and that they have suffered and have reasons to fear persecution. There are police reports and doctors' reports from there and from here to bolster the case and make sure that it clears all the questions one might have.
If we find something wrong, we send it to the full hearing.
Liberal
Amandeep Sodhi Liberal Brampton Centre, ON
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much.
I want to shift to the members from IRCC today as well.
Could you walk us through the basic steps of an asylum claim from arrival in Canada to a final decision?