Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 23rd, 2026

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My first question is with regard to the supplementary estimates. They include funding for the passport program of over $52 million. Could you please tell us about the department's efforts to improve the speed of delivery of the passport program and the progress that has been made already?

[Scott Harris]

We work with Service Canada, which is the service delivery arm for getting passports to Canadians. We're exceeding our service delivery standards and have been for a number of years.

A couple of initiatives have happened, such as the online passport applications for adult renewals. We are continuing to move forward with that, and it is showing great progress in making it both easier for people to get their passport and speedier, given that it's directly online.

The other thing I would say is that the resources in the supplementary estimates are meant to address a lingering fiscal concern in the revolving fund for passports as a result of the drop in applications that occurred during the pandemic. There was a significant decline in the revenue coming in on passports while expenses, obviously, were still being incurred in terms of delivering the service. This will situate the fund in a position going forward that will enable us to continue to assure that we can meet service standards going forward.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON]

I also see that IRCC is requesting $14.5 million for the 2025-27 immigration levels plan transition. Can you please explain what purpose this funding will serve?

[Scott Harris]

You'll know that the levels plan identified is the first levels plan that saw a reduction in the number of people coming into Canada. Our funding is tied to the number of people who come into Canada. As a result of that, we had a significant fiscal reduction in the previous fiscal year—so heading into 2025-26—and we had to reduce our workforce. That money was specifically identified in that earlier budget as being for workforce adjustment costs to reduce the workforce as a result of having to process fewer cases.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON]

My next question is with regard to the impacts you are seeing on the housing market, especially for a city like Toronto, with the reduction in international students. What effects have you seen? What impact is the reduction of international students having on the housing market?

[Scott Harris]

I wouldn't be able to specifically say whether it's international students exclusively who are affecting the housing markets in any jurisdiction. I will say, as the minister mentioned, that several reports have identified that the reductions in immigration more broadly have eased tension on rental prices in some locations and on housing prices as well. This is easing some of the pressure, particularly in the most populous cities, for people accessing housing going forward, but the degree to which I can attribute that to international students versus other populations...I can't do that.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON]

How much time do I have?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

You have one minute and 45 seconds.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON]

With regard to the modernization program for which you have requested money in these estimates, what exactly are you doing, and how would that modernization be beneficial to Canadians? Are there any major items that you will work on in the modernization project?

[Scott Harris]

Modernization is not just an IT project. It's a transformation of how we do business. It moves IRCC from being an application-based department to being a client-based department, which will enable us to serve clients better through the course of their immigration journey.

It will be enabled by IT platforms, and we're already seeing the early benefits of that. For example, visa applicants and some passport applicants today can create an online account, which is the first step, obviously, in being able to monitor your own case and track your case through the immigration process.

We have run a pilot project with e-visas for the first time, which will be transformative for Canada when we are enabled to roll that out. Foreign nationals will not have to submit their passports and have visas applied. We have already launched our client support service module, which enables our client support staff to better respond to the needs of people seeking information about their file.

As we move forward, these tools will continue to roll out in a gradual way to ensure we're improving every business line we work through.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Ms. Zahid.

Thank you, Mr. Harris.

Next we have five minutes for Ms. Rempel Garner.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Mr. Harris, welcome.

[Scott Harris]

Thank you.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Earlier, my colleague asked you a question in relation to a quote that Minister Fraser had given in the past, where he said that large numbers of international students were good for the economy. You said the context is different today. What's different?

[Scott Harris]

I think it was Minister Miller he was quoting—

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

It was both of them.

[Scott Harris]

Obviously, since 2023, the government has committed to reducing the number of people coming to Canada, to get to sustainable levels. That speaks specifically to a growing awareness about challenges with housing, health care and access to services more broadly, not just for Canadians, but for foreign nationals as well. That context has shifted dramatically, obviously, since 2023.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

That was probably because in roughly two years, over a million students were brought in.

[Scott Harris]

There was significant growth postpandemic.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

I call it the Fraser bulge, but nonetheless....

The context has changed. We have the Fraser bulge. With the Fraser bulge, those millions of people are on expiring and expired permits. You're about to bring in roughly 155,000 new permits. Are you assuming that all the people with expired permits will leave?

[Scott Harris]

It's our expectation that they would leave.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Okay.

[Scott Harris]

Now, do we assume that they leave? Obviously not. That's why we have integrity measures and why we work with our partners to take steps to do what we can to monitor.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Just to be clear, you've set the 155,000 new student permit levels assuming that all of those expiring visa permit holders will leave on their own, magically.