Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 4th, 2026

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

All right.

Can you locate those 39,500 people? Do you know where they are?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

There is ongoing work with the department, as well as with CBSA, to clarify all of these. There's an action plan happening. There's also a pilot in progress that will work toward looking at the entry and exit or departures—not just of these students but of any temporary residents.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Could you table, within three weeks, a breakdown of this 153,000 number, the 800 number, which is another one, and the 39,500, just to let us know what the current status is of those people?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Yes. We will provide you with the details that we have available.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Okay, that would be good.

Since the Auditor General's report, has IRCC signed any new protocol, service standard or agreement with CBSA to ensure that fraud, misrepresentation, inadmissibility and removal files are tracked from referral to actual removal?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

There has been a lot of communication back and forth between IRCC and CBSA.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Have new protocols been agreed to?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

There certainly has been.... If you would like to have the information, I can have the official talk about that.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Go ahead, very briefly.

[Ted Gallivan, Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration]

On both security screening inventories and managing the departure, entry/exit, there have been discussions with CBSA jointly on the way forward. We've agreed on the way forward.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Do discussions equal a protocol, or is that something to come?

[Ted Gallivan]

There were detailed discussions. There were decks. I think we understand in detail the priority we need to apply to this.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, I'm going to pass the remainder of my time to Mr. Davies.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

You have one minute.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Roughly 21,420 would represent the percentage of what you've just identified. Do you know how many of those people are staying in the new hotels the government has just funded?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

We don't have any hotels. The IRCC doesn't run any hotels.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

You funded hotels in Ottawa and in Pickering through your housing program. There was $40 million for Ottawa and $22-odd million for Pickering. Those communities have purchased hotels.

Do you know how many of these students who have claimed asylum are living in those hotels?

[Ted Gallivan]

Madam Chair, may I?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Please go ahead, Mr. Gallivan.

[Ted Gallivan]

IRCC does provide funding to other orders of government to arrange for housing. There's been an active discussion about how that's used, particularly around the question of using hotels. As per my prior testimony—

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Does that include purchasing real estate?

[Ted Gallivan]

We're writing the question of hotels into the terms and agreements of the funding that we provide to other orders of government and—

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

I only have a second. Does—

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

I'm sorry, Mr. Gallivan and Mr. Davies, but that is the time.

Next, we go to Ms. Sodhi for six minutes.

[Amandeep Sodhi, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Thank you, Minister and Deputy Minister, for attending today.

Minister, I have two questions.

First, I understand that IRCC has prepared a response to the Auditor General's report. I know you mentioned a little bit about it in your opening remarks as well. Are you able to detail for us what that response will look like and why it's so important to have that response?