Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 23rd, 2026

[Amandeep Sodhi, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

On enforcement, there have been claims that individuals who do not have a legal right to remain in Canada are not being removed in a timely manner. Can you outline the processes in place to ensure that decisions are being enforced and how the system maintains credibility through fair hearings and an appropriate follow-through process?

[Scott Harris]

Obviously, removals are the purview of the CBSA, so I'm sure they would be able to offer more detail on that.

What I can say about the removal process itself is that from the time someone is deemed to be required to be removed, they have access first to the IRB and then to the courts after that, should they feel that their circumstances warrant a review from an outside body. Once they've exhausted those options, the CBSA would work with international partners, in some cases, to ensure that we have the capacity to then remove them to their country of origin.

[Amandeep Sodhi, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Given some of the concerns and misinformation we've heard, what would you want Canadians to understand about how the asylum system is functioning today and how it ensures that it remains compassionate and well managed?

[Scott Harris]

Canada has a long tradition of offering humanitarian compassion to people who need protection. That's a reputation that Canada has fought hard to preserve.

I think we all recognize that the system is under strain, though, so we have taken significant steps to address some of the causes of the strains. We're seeing that now in the significant reductions in the last year and a half of asylum claimants coming to Canada, while not sacrificing access to due process and the entitlements that people have.

Obviously, as you all know, Bill C-12 introduces some additional measures that will strengthen our ability to ensure that the limited resources we have for asylum are focused on the cases that most require them and that we continue to evolve the system so that it's targeting the people who absolutely need Canada's protection.

[Amandeep Sodhi, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

As you know, budget 2025 included a one-time initiative to convert protected persons in Canada to permanent residents, in addition to the levels plan allocations. Could you clarify why this measure was introduced and what it means for Canadians?

[Scott Harris]

Protected persons in Canada are people who've already been deemed, by either the IRB or another process, to warrant Canada's protection. Their cases have been reviewed and they've been determined to warrant our protection.

Because of the limited space we have in the levels plan, converting people from that category—the protected persons in Canada category—to permanent residents takes a long time. This one-time initiative will basically offer the opportunity to address the backlog of people who are waiting for PR in that specific category and bring a resolution to their situation in a more expedited way.

[Amandeep Sodhi, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

That's perfect. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Harris.

Thank you, Ms. Sodhi.

Mr. Deschênes, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

I would take more like five or six minutes, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

You have only two and a half minutes. Sorry.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Is this the case even with a new panel?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

We aren't starting again. We're continuing.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

So that's how you do things here. Things move quickly.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Yes. Sorry.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

I have a question for you, Ms. May. You're the director general of the international students branch at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration.

How do you account for the 800 problem cases where study permit applications were based on fraudulent documents? In a number of cases, people submitted diplomas issued by non‑existent educational institutions, but your department didn't do anything to follow up.

[Scott Harris]

I would like to answer that question. Ms. May is responsible for the program and its management. However, the integrity measures are managed in other parts of the department.

The figure that you provided this morning from the Auditor General's report constitutes a somewhat vague number. In other words, it's an initial indicator. We centralized our process for auditing these cases, and we're working with our partners in—

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Mr. Harris, I'm not talking about centralization. I'm saying that there are 800 cases, and probably many more.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

You have one minute left.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

The Auditor General was able to identify 800 cases of permits issued based on fraudulent documents, and no action was taken.

[Scott Harris]

Yes. However, I believe that the report states that these constitute potential cases of fraudulent documents, or—

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

The report says that the people “had either used fraudulent documentation or misrepresented information to gain entry into Canada.”

[Scott Harris]

That's right.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

The Auditor General says that it's a serious issue. However, you didn't consider taking action to address even one of these 800 cases.

[Scott Harris]

Yes. However, that's why we created a centralized process to follow up on these cases. As you know, the measures that we introduced to improve the entry processes are new. Initially, our priority was to prevent the entry of these people in the first place. We're now working with our partners to handle cases of people already in Canada, in order to resolve these issues.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Harris and Mr. Deschênes.

Mr. Redekopp, you have five minutes.