Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 27th, 2026

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London Centre, ON]

Boil it down for me. You talked about housing and putting money into temporary housing rather than.... I'm sorry. It's not temporary. You're talking about housing instead of hotels.

What is at the core of a coordination response or solution that would solve this coordination problem? There's housing. What else is there?

[Kailee Brennan]

Right now, there needs to be a forum for non-profit partners across the country to speak to each other about that.

When I was a part of the asylum working group, we had the federal, territorial and provincial governments working on it. The reason it didn't work is that it got very partisan, and then it fell apart—

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London Centre, ON]

I apologize for interrupting you, but I have limited time.

In your view—I know you don't speak for the entire sector—what are the key things that go along with or are at the centre of fixing the coordination problem? There's housing. What else do we need to see?

[Kailee Brennan]

Of course, it's your other services, like your legal aid or your settlement services. Again, a lot of those exist already. If you want to distribute people more equitably across the country, you need to understand where your beds are across the country. Who's operating in British Columbia? What is available in Alberta?

Right now, there is not a coordinated map of existing resources. We've turned to this quick-fix, “band-aid on a bullet wound” situation of renting out big hotel blocks when we could instead look at the resources that already exist on the ground and fund them in a way that would be much more efficient and have better outcomes.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London Centre, ON]

Thank you very much.

Professor Clark-Kazak, we heard on Monday that the German example is a very interesting one as far as the settlement of asylum seekers is concerned. You mentioned the U.K. here today.

Would you point to examples? Do those stand out in your mind? You said there are problems with the U.K. model. What other democracies can Canada learn from? What other democracies should Canada look to when we're thinking about what kind of response is sustainable, meaningful and just for everyone?

[Prof. Christina Clark-Kazak]

The EU countries and the U.K. are good examples, because they get many more asylum seekers than we do. They have the volume. Germany is also a federated state, so that's a good model to look at, because it's similar in the ways that there are different levels of government.

What we need to think about is how there's a different political and cultural context there. These models are based on sending them to economically deprived areas, and that doesn't always work, because you have a situation where, in fact, you're bringing in people who are just trying to get back up on their feet and are in a situation where there aren't a lot of opportunities. That actually—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

That's the time. Thank you.

Mr. Deschênes, you have two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Clark‑Kazak, let's continue the discussion a bit.

I fully understand your concerns regarding integration and legal services. We also need to ensure there are employment opportunities; that goes without saying.

Generally speaking, do you see any benefits to having an equitable distribution of asylum seekers across the country?

[Prof. Christina Clark-Kazak]

Yes, I see advantages in that, because they are human resources. We need people to work, to support the economy. I think there are advantages to that.

In fact, we see this to some extent in the case of refugee resettlement. That is another planned system. Across Canada, small or rural communities are welcoming resettled refugees, and it's working. If we can use the same model for asylum seekers, I think it could work.

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

This would be an advantage for the communities that would welcome workers in this way.

In terms of integration, do you also see an advantage there? I'm thinking a lot about Quebec. What about the ability to properly integrate asylum seekers if the number decreases?

[Prof. Christina Clark-Kazak]

We see this in small communities. In these settings, there are sometimes more support networks. Because neighbours know each other, they can help people. This is another aspect of integration into society in general.

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

I have another concern. In recent years, polls have shown that Canadians' perception of immigration has become increasingly unfavourable.

Do you think that a fair distribution of asylum seekers among the provinces could improve public perception of immigration?

[Prof. Christina Clark-Kazak]

Yes. I think the public needs to recognize people as human beings. That is one of the reasons why we advocate for resettlement through private sponsorship, which is truly effective because the contact is person-to-person. People are then seen as human beings, not as strangers.

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

So it's about having a personal experience with asylum seekers and building connections.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michelle Rempel]

Thank you, Mr. Deschênes.

We will now go to Mr. Ho for five minutes.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

My questions are for Councillor Donauer.

Councillor, you're a Saskatoon city councillor. You previously worked for the federal immigration department in Canada, including working at the Saskatoon office.

You understand the federal immigration system and the impact it has on municipalities. Is that correct?

[Randy Donauer]

Yes, sir.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Immigration targets, asylum intakes, processing of refugees and removal of bogus claimants are all federal responsibilities. Is that correct?

[Randy Donauer]

Yes, sir.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Saskatoon does not decide how many people enter Canada, how many asylum claims are accepted for processing or how quickly rejected claimants are removed. Is that correct?

[Randy Donauer]

That's correct. If the federal government is asking, we would like to have a voice in that.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Yes. According to the reports, the province of Saskatchewan has seen a surge of 98% in asylum claimants year over year, but Saskatoon has to deal with the consequences of federal Liberal decisions, with the increased pressure, housing shelters, transit, health care and local services.

Is that correct?

[Randy Donauer]

Yes. We tend to be the lowest common denominator when it comes to government responsibility.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Essentially, it's not the people who feel the brunt of it—it's not the Liberal MPs making decisions in Ottawa. It's the local communities in Saskatoon.

Would you agree that when the federal Liberal government fails to plan properly, the burden gets downloaded onto local councils like yours, local taxpayers, local shelters, charities and service providers?

[Randy Donauer]

That's our concern. We don't want that to happen.