Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Oct. 21st, 2025

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

Okay.

Has the government asked you to complete any analyses on the costs to Canada's health care system that the excessive number of immigrants overall has caused?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

We have not actually gone into those levels of detail, but we have consulted with our health care partners, the provinces, the stakeholders and all those who would be involved in health care provision, as well as on housing and employment. We have done extensive stakeholder consultations for that.

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

Did you ever advise Minister Diab or any previous minister that the large number of immigrants coming to Canada was creating challenges in our health care system?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

We continually advise our minister about the impacts of the immigration—which does bring a lot of benefit. We have been constantly giving her the information.

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

Have you completed any analyses or has the government asked you to complete an analysis of the impacts on the housing market of the excessive number of immigrants that the Liberal government has allowed into Canada on an annual basis?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

We have worked with our colleagues in housing and infrastructure. We have actually done a bit of projection, which allows us to see, if we bring down the levels to 5% before 2027, how it will ease some of the pressure on housing. We've worked with CMHC and housing and infrastructure.

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

Did you advise Minister Diab or any previous minister of the impact on the housing market that this large number of immigrants coming on an annual basis will have, in your discussions and deliberations with the minister?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

We are actually advising the minister about what the permanent and temporary levels would result in, in terms of the impact on housing, health and everything.

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

Just as a point of clarification, earlier you said you were on track to reduce the government-stated target on temporary residents to 5% by 2027. The 2025-27 levels plan actually says 5% by end of year 2026.

Are you saying it's 2027 now?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

To our knowledge, 2027 has always been the commitment from this government, and that's how we are targeting that.

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

That's not what the 2025-27 levels plan said, from the information that is available to us.

What would be the most recent internal estimate that the government has on the total number of individuals living in Canada without legal status, currently?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

We do count, through Stats Canada and the census, but we would not have any estimation for those who do not have a particular status in Canada. We would not have that information with us.

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

We have no record of the people who have come in and have no legal status but are walking the streets in our country. Is that correct?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

That is not the information that we collect, as such.

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

Do you have a handle on how many people are estimated to be in Canada through the temporary foreign worker program, who are actually not working and are still in our country illegally?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

We have information about how many of the people have been issued the temporary foreign worker permit, and that is based on what we have done, in terms of the previous years, through LMIA, which is an ESDC thing. We are responsible for issuing the permit. We're not tracking whether they are actually in particular jobs. It is a combined responsibility of ESDC and the enforcement forces.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Menegakis. That's your time.

Next up, for five minutes, we have Mr. Zuberi.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the officials for being here today.

I'd like to continue with the deputy minister and start off with a vote in the House of Commons about vulnerable Uyghurs, which was passed unanimously by our previous prime minister and all parties. All who voted supported the motion to welcome 10,000 Uyghurs to Canada, who are facing great oppression in China.

I'm very happy and pleased that, in the levels plan in 2023, the government indicated that Uyghurs who are deeply vulnerable would be resettled to Canada. I met some who have come to Canada as a result of this program. They're extremely grateful to Canada and Canadians for providing security and safety, which, they said, was the first time they felt and tasted such a thing in their lives, in some cases.

I would like to ask what the progress is in terms of the implementation of M-62, which called for 10,000 vulnerable Uyghurs to be resettled in Canada from third countries. What is the progress, and what are the future expectations for the implementation of this motion and will of Parliament?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

I just want to start by saying that we're concerned about the serious human rights violations in Xinjiang affecting Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims. We haven't publicly announced the implementation details about this population in general, and the reasons for that are safety and security risks to the applicants, to our program delivery and referral partners, and also to the Canadian staff. What we can share with you is that, as of September 13 this year, over 140 people have arrived here in Canada, and the department has received applications for more than 740 more applicants, which are still being processed.

As I say that, our first priority is the safety of Uyghurs, who may live in fear of being returned against their will. This is why we do not provide a lot of details concerning the work under way to provide protection for these individuals, as this could put it under further risk. The numbers are something we are constantly watching, and we are actually working our way to bringing them here—as I said, there are 740 in progress.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

I'd like to underscore the importance of the implementation of this program, given that it's the only one, to my knowledge, that had a motion in the House of Commons that supports the work you're doing, and to thank you, the ministers who have been responsible during that time and all those working on the program. I want to impress upon you—and, in turn, I hope that you can thank your colleagues and also impress upon them—the importance of implementing this motion in full.

I'd like to go back to the issue of Sudan. Sudan, as the UN has said, is the most serious and largest humanitarian crisis, affecting millions of people: 12 million have been displaced from their homes, according to the United Nations. They're facing a grave danger in terms of famine and threats to life. Women are being violated, and men are also losing their lives.

I want to pick up on my colleague's question and ask about how you are facilitating the resettlement of this second deeply vulnerable population. Please add to what you already said.

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

As I said earlier, Canada remains very deeply concerned about the crisis.

I'll just make a couple of points in the time available. At the very onset of the crisis, IRCC immediately prioritized the temporary and permanent resident applications from this group, which were already in our inventory.

To help keep the families together, we facilitated a fee-exempt travel document for these people who were fleeing the conflict. We also waived the fees for biometrics for temporary resident visas or permits for eligible family members.

Since that—

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dzerowicz]

Thank you, Mr. Kochhar. I'm very sorry, but your time has ended. You'll have to respond, maybe, in the next round.

Mr. Brunelle‑Duceppe, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Deputy Minister, when a study permit is issued to an international student who has already received a Quebec acceptance certificate, which level of government is responsible for ensuring the student undergoes a medical examination and applies for police clearance, for example?

[Harpreet S. Kochhar]

Anyone who is actually coming into the country is subjected to the medical exam as well as to the security—

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

Pardon me, but my question is as follows: Which department is responsible for asking for these documents? Is it your department?