Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 27th, 2026

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

Welcome to meeting 34 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. This meeting is taking place in a hybrid format.

I have a few comments before we begin.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking.

For those of you on Zoom, typical Zoom etiquette applies. Click on your microphone to activate it and mute yourself when you're not speaking. Make sure that you have the translation channel that you need prepared right now, before we begin.

Colleagues, all comments should be addressed through the chair.

For our witnesses, you will each have five minutes for your opening remarks. Please keep it to five minutes. I will try to signal you when you have about a minute left.

Colleagues, today we are continuing our study on the provincial distribution of asylum seekers in Canada.

Welcome to our witnesses for today's meeting: Professor Christina Clark-Kazak, from the University of Ottawa, as an individual; Randy Donauer, city councillor, from the city of Saskatoon; and Kailee Brennan, from Matthew House, Ottawa.

Let's start with Professor Clark-Kazak.

You may begin with a statement of five minutes.

Thank you.

[Dr. Christina Clark-Kazak, Professor, University of Ottawa, As an Individual]

Thank you, Madam Chair, for this opportunity to address this committee.

This is an especially difficult time for Canadians facing rising living costs and unemployment. History shows that, in times of economic downturn, it is easy to scapegoat newcomers.

As you consider how best to serve people seeking refugee protection in Canada, I urge you to ground your recommendations in rights and evidence. Any provincial distribution policy must take a rights-based approach. The right to seek asylum is protected by Canadian and international law. Freedom of movement is also a basic human right. Any dispersal policy must comply with the charter, which applies to anyone physically present in Canada. The charter guarantees socio-economic rights, like the right to housing and education, as well as civil rights, like the right to religion.

When identifying appropriate locations for asylum seekers, we need to consider which communities have the capacity to facilitate access to these charter-guaranteed rights. We also need to acknowledge the interconnectedness of rights. Our research on housing for refugee claimants, for example, shows how a stable address facilitates access to education, employment, health care and other rights.

We also need to draw lessons learned from previous attempts at provincial distribution in asylum and refugee resettlement. In 2024 and 2025, the Government of Canada relocated over 13,000 refugee claimants to smaller municipalities in Ontario and Quebec and to some other provinces. While this relocation relieved pressures on housing and services in Montreal and Toronto, prolonged hotel stays were both costly and ineffective in connecting asylum seekers with legal and settlement services.

There's also research available from analogous contexts of refugee resettlement to smaller communities across Canada. For example, in 1999, Canada launched Operation Parasol to evacuate over 7,000 Kosovars. Through a joint assistance program, Kosovars were matched to small and medium-sized communities across Canada.

Research indicates that most Kosovars remained in these smaller host communities three years after arrival in Canada. However, some faced limited job opportunities, lack of culturally specific settlement supports, and insufficient legal services. This then led to onward migration to larger urban centres in the longer term.

Similarly, there's research on refugee resettlement to rural areas across Canada through private sponsorship. While refugees in these contexts benefit from stronger social networks, they may face challenges related to limited public transportation, health care, post-secondary education and immigration support.

When considering where to relocate asylum seekers, we need to look at both sides of the ledger—not just costs but also contributions. Refugee claimants pay taxes and provide essential labour, contributing to economic growth.

Canada can also learn from long-standing asylum dispersal programs in other countries. For example, the United Kingdom has had a regional dispersal policy since 2000, following their 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. This policy has had uneven success, with some research indicating that dispersal did not facilitate integration.

These are some of the key lessons learned from the U.K. policy:

One, we need to identify areas with good-quality housing.

Two, there's a need to ensure adequate legal aid.

Three, there's a need to fund and support non-governmental organizations providing social support.

Four, there's a need for coordination with local authorities and communities.

In conclusion, I would like to offer the following recommendations for this committee's consideration.

First, an asylum dispersal policy would require increased coordination of services, including through the expansion of federally funded local immigration partnerships and legal assistance.

Second, it would require buy-in from provinces and municipalities. This is not solely a federal government decision. As you heard in the case of the Peel transitional housing strategy, from the testimony on Monday, refugee claimants' needs are well served when all levels of government work together.

Third, asylum seekers need to be given some agency in decision-making, including matching skills and experiences to host communities.

Finally, any policy must be rights- and evidence-based. Asylum seekers are human beings with human rights. They cannot simply be moved around the country like political pawns on a chessboard. There needs to be a well-thought-out and well-resourced plan that sets them up for successful resettlement outcomes.

Thank you.

I will be happy to answer your questions.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

Thank you. You're right on time.

We will now move to City Councillor Donauer, who is appearing on video.

[Randy Donauer, City Councillor, City of Saskatoon, As an Individual]

Madam Chair and committee members, thank you for allowing me to present to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration today.

My name is Randy Donauer. I'm a city councillor in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but today I'm speaking to you as an individual. However, I would like to note that I did discuss my presentation with the mayor of Saskatoon, Mayor Cynthia Block, and she's in full support.

It's my understanding that you are debating whether to redistribute potentially large numbers of asylum seekers across Canada, and I would urge caution.

Saskatoon welcomes newcomers to Canada, and we support Canada's long-standing tradition of supporting and protecting refugees. Clearly, Canada's asylum system is under pressure. There is a large backlog, and communities are left managing the consequences. The solution is not in moving people around; it is to improve the system and the processing of legitimate refugee claims faster and in a more efficient manner.

Saskatoon is facing a serious housing and homelessness crisis, and we thank the federal and provincial governments for partnering with us to find housing solutions. My city has grown by almost 80,000 people in the past decade—a 30% growth in 10 years. That may not sound like a lot for Montreal and Toronto, but it is overwhelming for us. Despite our best efforts, we have not built enough homes to keep up with the growth in our region. This causes housing prices to rise artificially, increasing the cost of living and putting more people on the street.

The Saskatoon 2025 point-in-time count identified 1,931 unhoused people in Saskatoon, and we know this figure is growing every week. Statistics show that many of these unhoused come from the north in the hope of finding a better life in the city. Saskatoon is also a common destination for those evacuated from northern communities due to forest fires and flood. Last year we accepted over 8,000 evacuees and provided safety and shelter for them. We did not ship them all over Canada.

To be clear, we are overwhelmed, and our systems are beyond maximum capacity. We need help caring for those we have, and we do not have the capacity to take on a large influx of newcomers in need of a safe place to live. The citizenship and immigration system has a problem. There is a large backlog, and it's growing. The solution is not to move that problem around the country; it is to solve the problem. Instead of using resources to move large numbers of people across the country, I recommend that we use these resources to simply process their cases more efficiently and bring them to an expeditious conclusion.

Canada would benefit from the use of tools to minimize false claims or to restrict access to our borders. This can be done by imposing visa requirements and/or a safe third country policy. A robust screening and processing system for asylum seekers would be more fair to genuine refugees and more accountable to taxpayers. Accelerating removals would eliminate the cost of supporting false claimants for years on end, and a fast decision is best for everyone. Genuine refugees should not wait years to know their future.

Saskatoon is a beautiful city, full of compassionate and welcoming people. We are becoming more diverse every day, and we are proud of it. It is our honour to welcome newcomers to Canada, including refugees. However, as there is a shortage of skilled labour, we would encourage the continuation of qualification-based selection criteria, which would attract immigrants who are able to stand on their own two feet and support our tax base rather than adding pressure to our housing situation and our social support network. If there's a problem with Citizenship and Immigration's ability to process asylum seekers, we recommend you fix the problem.

Thank you for your time.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

Thank you, Councillor Donauer.

Now we'll proceed to Ms. Brennan, from Matthew House Ottawa.

[Kailee Brennan, Executive Director, Matthew House Ottawa]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Kailee Brennan, and I'm the executive director of Matthew House Ottawa, a local NGO providing transitional reception housing and settlement support to refugee claimants. Less than two years ago, I was also working as a policy strategist for the Province of Nova Scotia in the department of immigration when Nova Scotia relocated asylum seekers from Roxham Road, and I later co-chaired the FPT asylum working group examining the potential of a national relocation model. Therefore, I come to this from both a policy and an operational perspective.

From my perspective, the pressures facing Ontario and Quebec are real, but the solution is not as complicated as we want to make it seem. Canada does not have a capacity problem; it has a coordination problem. Across Canada, experienced NGOs already operate reception homes, transitional housing and integration supports for refugee claimants. Much of the infrastructure for a national reception model already exists in pieces across this country. What has been missing is the mandate of coordination and strategic investment.

Having been a part of these discussions since 2023, right now I believe there's a real risk that this conversation is simply becoming an academic exercise about provincial distribution rather than a serious discussion about how to actually build a system that works, one that can endure beyond jurisdictional debates and shifting political priorities. The reality is that building a coordinated national reception system does not need to be particularly complicated.

At Matthew House, we scaled from one reception home to 27 homes in the last few years, and we now operate approximately 230 beds across Ottawa at a cost of less than $3 million per year, because we already possess the operational expertise and partnerships required to grow effectively. If you break down our expenses, our housing program operates at approximately $37 per bed, per day, with an average length of stay of roughly three months. It's an incredibly effective model. We aren't unique. There are dozens of reception homes just like ours across Canada.

It is not a capacity problem; it is a coordination problem. If done properly, a national reception model could be stood up at a fraction of the cost of prolonged emergency hotel responses, while also creating a more organized, accountable and trusted system. That system could include coordinated referral pathways to provinces and municipalities with capacity, supported by trusted NGO reception hubs already operating across the country. Successful relocation also depends on ensuring claimants are aware of opportunities outside of major urban centres, including lower housing costs and employment opportunities in regions facing labour shortages.

The role of the government should be to establish outcomes, provide strategic resourcing and support coordination infrastructure. That will allow the sector to do what it already does best, which is to collaborate, scale and deliver effective community-based models. Provinces and municipalities should absolutely be partners in this work, but building effective systems and networks first is likely the best path forward towards eventually reducing long-term federal involvement in emergency housing responses altogether.

With the renewal of IHAP, Canada could strategically support a backbone organization responsible for mapping existing beds and coordinating referral pathways, operational standards and regional collaboration amongst existing providers.

We're already seeing promising examples of this type of approach. In British Columbia, the provincially funded BC Charms has created a shared housing referral and coordination system amongst organizations serving refugee claimants. In Newfoundland and Labrador, IHAP-supported relocation initiatives have shown encouraging early outcomes related to housing and integration. Matthew House continues to have discussions with partners there about acting as a referral hub for future voluntary movement initiatives.

Canada also has a blueprint for this type of collaboration. During the response to the Ukrainian displacement, Operation Ukrainian Safe Haven brought together different orders of government and NGOs to support reception and integration efforts across our country. Canada has already taken significant steps to tighten and manage the asylum system, but regardless of policy changes, individuals with legitimate protection needs will continue to arrive in Canada. The question is whether we respond through coordinated planning or continued crisis management. One approach has a significantly lower price tag and delivers better long-term outcomes.

My recommendation to this committee is straightforward. Do not treat equitable distribution as a transportation problem. Treat it as a reception infrastructure problem. Invest in a national coordination body among existing refugee reception providers. Invest in shared referral and data systems, standardized claimant support training and dedicated IHAP funding for coordinated community-based reception models, not emergency hotel beds.

Canada already has much of the expertise required to do this. What's missing is the coordination infrastructure and strategic investment needed to bring those pieces to life. If we get this right, Canada can create a more equitable, efficient and humane asylum reception system that supports both claimants and the communities welcoming them.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

Thank you very much.

We'll now proceed to our rounds of questions. This is our six-minute round.

We will start with Mr. Redekopp.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Thank you, Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here today. I appreciate you for spending the time.

Mr. Donauer, you're from my city. I'm going to start with you. You ended, I think, with saying that redistribution of asylum seekers is not the solution, and perhaps solving the core problem of why we have so many asylum seekers is a better use of time and money. Can you just elaborate on that a bit? Am I quoting you correctly, and can you elaborate?

[Randy Donauer]

Yes, you are. Obviously there's a problem. This is a problem decades in the making. I actually worked for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration a number of decades ago. The problem existed then and it still exists now. An awful lot of money can be spent moving people around, providing for them and taking care of them.

My solution, instead of accommodating the problem...and I'm not saying people are the problem. We have a systems problem with Citizenship and Immigration. I don't think moving that problem around is necessarily the best solution.

My recommendation would be to actually use those resources to fix the problem. Process these people's applications more quickly, so that those who are legitimate refugee claimants know their future more quickly. With those who aren't—who have not gone through the proper refugee screening process but have shown up here—removing them more quickly would save resources years into the future.

If we use those resources to actually process these claimants more effectively, I think we'd be better off, and we wouldn't have to sort out where we're going to put all these people for a lengthy period of time.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Let's just imagine there was an influx of asylum claimants into Saskatoon. What sorts of burdens would that place on the city?

[Randy Donauer]

I can speak in the present tense. In the present tense, we have a housing crisis in Saskatoon. We have an unprecedented number of people living unhoused. That number's doubled within the past year or two. That would exacerbate the problem. I'm not saying all these people would be unhoused, but all these people would need accommodation.

All our accommodation right now is full to capacity, and there are lineups outside all of them. This is something Saskatoon has never dealt with before.

Taking a large influx of newcomers who would probably need some settlement assistance and a roof over their heads would be extremely problematic for the city of Saskatoon. As I indicated in my remarks, we're just moving back into evacuation season. We've already had flooding in the north that has brought hundreds of people into the city of Saskatoon, and if we experience the same with forest fires.... Last year we saw 8,000 people in Saskatoon.

I know one of the speakers said it's not a capacity issue. I'm just asking that the regional and municipal interests and abilities be taken into account when you consider these things.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

You talked about the 1,900 or so unhoused people at the last count. What sort of an impact does that have on services and demands for services in the city?

[Randy Donauer]

Not only do we have 1,900 people, but our city is growing by about 13,000 to 15,000 people a year. We're not keeping up, despite all of our best efforts. We can't build houses that fast in Saskatoon, we haven't built extra hospitals and we haven't built extra schools to accommodate them all. Everything is overflowing.

Thank you, sir. You're from my city. You can see, and I suppose your colleagues can't, the impact in Saskatoon. We have people wandering the streets looking for a place to stay, and it's not because Saskatoon's not a compassionate city. We're doing everything we can to accommodate the needs of these people, but, frankly, there are just too many who have these needs for the size of our city.

To think about adding a significant influx, population-wise, to that specific demographic would be very troublesome for us.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

I'm assuming you speak with councillors from other cities. Is what you're describing unique to Saskatoon? I know you can't speak for other cities officially, but in the conversations you've had, would you say this would apply to many other cities that you're aware of?

[Randy Donauer]

Yes, it does. As a matter of fact, a year and a half ago I was speaking at a conference in Calgary of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We were on a tour of downtown Calgary's east side, which is where a lot of the problems they're experiencing are. There's homelessness there, and a lot of their shelters are located there, and the City of Calgary was explaining what their attempts have been to accommodate these people, to get them into safe shelter and make the downtown feel safer.

While we were walking, I was walking with the mayor of a small community in B.C., out on the island actually, and he asked how things were going in Saskatoon. I explained the problems with homelessness, people living on the street and crime. He stopped me, and he said, “Everything you've said for the past five minutes you could drop right into a city council meeting in my community. Everybody in my community thinks we're the only ones dealing with it and that it's all my fault.”

That's pretty much how my residents feel. The more I talk to people across Canada, my colleagues, the more I learn that we're all dealing with this.

I do think Saskatoon is perhaps in a bit more of a stressed situation than others, because, as I indicated, we are typically the destination of an exodus from the north. Quite frankly, as long as—

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

I'm going to interrupt you for a moment, because I have only a few seconds left.

[Randy Donauer]

Sure. I'm sorry.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

You talked about a lack of skilled labour. Does bringing more asylum claimants hurt or help that situation in Saskatoon?

[Randy Donauer]

It will hurt. It's a kind of chicken and egg situation. We need houses, and we need places to accommodate people, but we don't have the skilled labour to build them.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

That is time. Thank you.

We're going to Mr. Chang.

[Wade Chang, Liberal, Burnaby Central, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My first round of questions is for Professor Clark-Kazak.

Thank you for joining us today.

Professor, your research highlights the importance of coordination among governments, service providers and researchers in refugee policy. What progress have you seen in recent years, and how can the federal government further strengthen collaboration to support a more stable and sustainable asylum system?

[Prof. Christina Clark-Kazak]

Thank you for the question.

You heard on Monday the evidence from Peel Region. I think that's a really good example of different levels of government working together.

Also, as Ms. Brennan has said in the Matthew House example, we did research with 20 non-governmental organizations across Canada that have been providing housing and wraparound support for refugee claimants for decades. This is not a new phenomenon. Canada has had asylum seekers for decades.

It's often the non-governmental organizations that have stepped up, and there is coordination among them. I think that could also be built upon in terms of thinking about next steps.

[Wade Chang, Liberal, Burnaby Central, BC]

Given the scale of global displacement and ongoing humanitarian crises, how important is it for Canada to maintain an orderly and rules-based asylum system that balances compassion, operational sustainability and public confidence?

[Prof. Christina Clark-Kazak]

I think it is really important to acknowledge that we're in a global context where there is massive displacement, for a lot of different reasons, and also that it's very difficult to get to Canada. In a previous career, I worked for the Canadian government as a diplomat. I was in Uganda when we had tens of thousands of Congolese crossing the border every day. We don't see that scale of displacement in Canada because we have systems in place, including the safe third country agreement, carrier sanctions, etc.

I think it's important to put it in perspective. I acknowledge the city councillor's remarks about the capacity issues, but we're a rich country, and we do have the capacity. I think it's more around coordination.

[Wade Chang, Liberal, Burnaby Central, BC]

Thank you, Professor.

Canada has continued to welcome refugees while maintaining one of the strongest immigration systems in the world. In your view, why is it important to recognize both the challenges and the success of the current system?