Evidence of meeting #31 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 know.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
I'm talking about the student stream in the IRCC department.
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, there are two light touches mentioned in the OAG report. The first is the student direct stream, which has been discontinued, so that stopped the go-forward. We still have the people who came while that program existed. The second is—
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
On that one, she also mentioned that if a file was re-looked at down the road, that would still apply a light touch to that file.
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, the member is correct.
As always, in terms of precision, there's a second light touch that was described in the OAG report, on the renewal. Once somebody has been a student for two years, when we were renewing it, there was an absence of going back to check the financials, in particular. The department has taken the responsibility, particularly with those who came in through the student direct stream in the first instance.... They're a higher risk. When those people are renewed, we need to dig into the financials and ensure that the same controls we have for all students now exist.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
There's no light touch done in IRCC anymore. Is that what you're saying?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Of the two light touches described by the OAG, one was discontinued in 2024, and the other is—
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Okay, fair enough.
Are there other light touches that were not described that are still happening?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That's the reference to.... It's out of my responsibility. The IRB had a paper process—
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London Centre, ON
The deputy minister was trying to get a full answer on the record. I don't believe he was able to do so.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
I'm happy to hear the answer, but what are the other light touches that are being used in the department?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The other process that I believe has been described as a light touch is one by the IRB where there was a paper process rather than an in-person interview. I believe the IRB has suspended that process under review to make sure that they have all the appropriate controls.
That was the third program that I was aware of that was described as light-touch.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Would you say that when Chinook determines things and an agent then has a very brief look at it to confirm Chinook, that is also a light touch?
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I wouldn't comment. I'm describing other people's use of the words “light touch”. I, myself, might not use those words in any instance.
Conservative
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister, you have said to me several times during this committee that IRCC is no longer paying for hotel rooms. You reiterated that today. Do you agree that municipalities should be using taxpayers' money to purchase real estate? Isn't that just a backdoor way, a sort of bait and switch, to spend taxpayers' money to house refugee claimants?
Liberal
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
I did say that, and that is correct. There was a system in place where hotels had been used for asylum—
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
They're still being used, Minister. Instead of you paying them directly, you're giving money to municipalities.
Is there a contribution agreement attached to that funding?
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Does it allow them to buy real estate with taxpayers' money?
Liberal
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
There is an agreement. Of course, there's an agreement in place.
Conservative
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Does it allow them to use taxpayers' dollars to buy real estate to house asylum claimants?
