Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Oct. 21st, 2025

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

Thank you, Chair.

Thanks to all the witnesses.

I asked this question to immigration, and now I'd like to ask this question to the CBSA officials.

I'm seeing, and I think most of our members of Parliament see, that a lot of the immigration casework is stalled due to the lengthy delays for the security screening. Some cases have been pending for years. This is for all categories. I'm not just talking about refugees or asylum seekers. It's from TRVs to spousal applications.

I agree with the importance of thorough security screening, but the process seems to be a black hole with no accountability or transparency. What can be done to improve this process? What are you doing to improve this?

[Aaron McCrorie]

As I noted earlier, it is a continual challenge in terms of how we manage this program, between the volumes we face and the need for timely decisions. We're very cognizant of the importance of those timely decisions versus the time it takes us to do it right.

As I've said, for a simple, easy case, we can do it in a matter of days. More complex cases are going to take more time. They may be more complex because we're missing information. They may be more complex in terms of where somebody's coming from. It may be because we're waiting for information from partners and we don't have any control over that.

That doesn't mean we don't strive constantly to improve our level of efficiency. I've seen significant improvements in our productivity over the last two to three years, but as I've noted, our volumes have gone up as well. The improvements we've made in productivity have been outstripped by the increase in volume. We had about 50,000 people in our inventory three to four years ago, and we have about 195,000 in our inventory now. What I'd say is that about half of those are in-Canada asylum claimants, so bear in mind that they are here in the country. The other half will be TRV and other visa applicants.

We get a portion of that. The very first step is taking that risk-based approach and allowing IRCC decision-makers, based on our thematic indicators, to make a decision on whether or not security screening is required. If it does come to us, we do need to take the time to do it right.

I apologize if I'm repeating myself, but we are looking at, for those in-Canada asylum claimants, how we can do a better job at more rapidly moving through those cases. We'll probably move from a first-in, first-out process to identifying simple, easy, less complex cases that allow us to clear them out of the inventory more quickly. That's going to do two things. That's going to provide quicker decisions for some people, but then it will free up resources to work on the inventory as a whole and will address some of those visa applications as well.

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

Would a deadline for a yes or no for security clearance make any sense? Many people just want an answer either way, so they are not left in limbo. I have seen spousal cases where two or three kids have been born and the spouse has not been able to come to Canada because they are in security clearance.

I see that as particularly very high and long for people coming from certain countries. Are certain countries being targeted?

[Aaron McCrorie]

I wouldn't say any countries are being targeted. We assess each application on its own merits, but there are going to be different challenges in different geographic settings and different state environments in terms of our ability to get information and the timeliness for getting information.

I think you asked me if there should be a deadline. I'd be very concerned if we had that, because we would be operating within a false time frame. Simple, easy cases we can do in a matter of days, but if we have a complex case involving a national security issue, we need to take the time to get it right, so that person does not come to this country.

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

For certain files, it is between five and 10 years.

[Aaron McCrorie]

When I look at our inventory, I know we have some that are lengthy, but I don't think we have any that are five to 10 years.

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

Would it be possible to get more specific information on where the screening process is right now? All we are told is that it is “in security screening” or it's “in progress”. It is very difficult to give that information to constituents again and again.

[Aaron McCrorie]

In the previous panel, the deputy of IRCC referred to a body called the permanent body of senior officials. Those are ADMs from Global Affairs, CBSA, IRCC and CSIS. We are seized with this issue and we are looking at what we can do to improve transparency. Part of it will be around perhaps better, more accurate service standards and publicizing those. It's also how we can provide more transparency to people.

We don't have an answer yet, but we're seized with the issue, and we're looking at what we can do.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Ms. Zahid. That's your time.

Now we go to Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe for two and a half minutes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I read on the Internet that between 2017 and 2022, contracts with Pierre Guay to lease land alone cost the federal government approximately $30 million. From what we can tell, I suspect that contract renewal for the 2023 to 2027 period will cost even more.

Today, I put that question to representatives of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and all of them told me that they did not know whether the contracts were still in force.

In contrast, I got a great response from Mr. McCrorie to the effect that in 2025, the land was put back into use for some activities. I thank him for his response.

However, I would like to understand one thing. If you know that you have been using this land as of this year, then you should be familiar with how the land was used during the 2023 to 2025 period covered by the contracts, or from when Roxham Road was closed until your activities resumed recently.

[Aaron McCrorie]

I am sorry.

I don't have that information. I'm not familiar with that.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

To your knowledge, are there comparable contracts in Canada to those the federal government signed with Mr. Guay’s company, or are these contracts so unique that they cannot be found anywhere else? Again, there is no wrong answer to this question.

[Aaron McCrorie]

I don't know.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

You know that there are previous contracts with Mr. Guay, but you don’t know whether there are other contracts elsewhere in Canada.

In your opinion, is there a possibility that these are one-of-a-kind contracts, with no equivalents anywhere else? If you know that other contracts were issued to Mr. Guay, then you ought to know whether there are others somewhere else. If none exist elsewhere, it means that Mr. Guay is the only one who was issued these contracts.

[Aaron McCrorie]

I don't think you can reach that conclusion. In my knowledge of all the contracts the CBSA may have across the country.... I don't have that knowledge.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

How would you know about the existence of contracts issued to Mr. Guay and not about contracts issued elsewhere?

[Aaron McCrorie]

It's because I heard your question, and I got some information so I could answer your question.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Okay, I understand. So someone sent you a stock answer. Do ask them whether there are contracts in other parts of the country and let me know what they say. I have a feeling that my two and a half minutes are over, but you have time to find that out before my next turn.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

Because we only have about six minutes left, I think we're going to do two minutes each, if that's okay.

We are going to start with Mr. Menegakis for two minutes.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, all of you, for your service and for being here with us today.

Mr. McCrorie, did you mention that 30,000 people is the number of people removal orders in Canada today?

[Aaron McCrorie]

That's the number in our inventory that we're actively working on.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

For how many people removal orders does CBSA know exactly the person's location and where they are?

[Aaron McCrorie]

I can give you an example. I apologize as I flip through my papers here....

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

I have only two minutes. Can you give us any—

[Aaron McCrorie]

Okay. We don't track the location of each and every individual.

For example, in the inventory of people who are working through the IRB process, there are 200,000 or 300,000 in that. We don't have the capacity, nor would it make sense for us to track each and every one of them.