Industry Committee on June 17th, 2022

[Philip Somogyvari]

With respect to IRCC, as the member has mentioned, as the COVID pandemic has waned, the department is looking at, in some cases, a gradual return to work for some employees, but it's a heterogeneous workforce, so there are different needs depending on the different sectors of IRCC. Also, the department is exploring hybrid work where feasible and where possible, so that there is opportunity for employees to be able to work from home when appropriate.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Okay. Thank you. I'm sorry to cut you off. I want to hear from the other three departments, and there's just a minute left.

[Philip Somogyvari]

I'm sorry.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

That's okay.

To Stats Canada, are there any centralized efforts?

[Greg Peterson]

Yes. Statistics Canada has operations from across the country, and we've always had a mobile workforce, particularly in terms of interviewers.

We will continue to work in a hybrid fashion, since we have for years. We are monitoring this centrally, and we're working on making sure that we maximize our effectiveness and our ability to deliver service to Canadians.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Okay. Thanks very much for that. Stats Canada is an anchor tenant in the office building where my constituency office is in downtown Halifax, and it's a dark, quiet, empty anchor tenant office there at the moment.

How about you, Mr. van Raalte? Do you have anything to report on?

[James van Raalte]

Those employment responsibilities are delegated to each and every deputy minister, so they're centralized through the efforts that deputies are making within their departments.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Okay. Did I get everybody? Who am I missing?

[Anthony Durocher]

The Competition Bureau.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Yes, go ahead.

[Anthony Durocher]

I'm happy to give a response. The Competition Bureau is an independent agency, but we take guidance in this respect from Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and these policies are being communicated to employees in real time as to what the future of work and the return to the workplace will look like.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Thanks for that. It sounds like the broad answer is that there remains a lot of flexibility, but probably no centralized directives to get people back to work. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you very much, Mr. Fillmore.

We still have about seven to 10 minutes left. I have Mr. Masse, Mr. Lemire, Mr. Dong and Mr. Hallan, so you each get about two minutes. Keep your questions brief and, witnesses, keep your answers brief, please.

Mr. Masse, the floor is yours.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be very quick.

I just want to reconfirm with IRCC that we'll get a response back about, especially, the strategies evolving around the closing of infrastructure. In the Windsor area in particular, where I am, we have a battery plant that's been announced and thousands of new jobs in the auto sector that are at risk by not having the skilled labour force. I'm just hoping that I get a response as to whether or not this infrastructure could be reopened for the particular problems that I outlined before.

[Philip Somogyvari]

Thank you, Chair. The member's request has been noted.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the work that all your members do. We have really good, hard-working people. It's a difficult one but it's also an opportunity. Thank you again, and thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you.

Mr. Lemire, you have the floor.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to make the same heartfelt plea to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration regarding the urgent need to do something about access to services in the regions. In my riding of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the issue is extremely critical. It's important that Service Canada offices be able to respond to immigration-related requests. This is an essential need for the people who come here and for our businesses.

The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has called on Immigration and Citizenship Canada to address the many barriers faced by applicants from French-speaking Africa. The refusal rates for study permits, which are issued by Ottawa, have soared in Quebec in recent years. The refusal rate for students from Algeria, the Republic of Congo, Togo, Senegal and Cameroon is as high as 80% or more.

A number of institutions welcome foreign students. This gives them greater financial flexibility and, in some regions, it ensures their survival. In my riding, over 50% of our students come from abroad.

Why are we seeing this high refusal rate? Could visa officers' decisions be biased? According to the report, IRCC employees have had to deal with problems like this.

What can be done about this, practically? The problem isn't that more time is needed to process applications, it's the high number of refusals.

[Sarah Hayward]

As my colleague said earlier, we are training all our officers on anti-bias and anti-racism training, and we are working hard to address unconscious bias and to ensure consistency in decision-making across the globe.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Have you fixed the problems with the Chinook system?

[Sarah Hayward]

Chinook is just a processing tool. It does not add any bias to a person's decision-making. It just makes it easier to see all of the information for specific files in front of you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you, Mr. Lemire.

Mr. Fillmore, you now have the floor. I'll ask you to be brief.

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

To go back then to the question of credentials, I'm wondering if Stats Canada has any data on how many people are trained but have not been credentialed in Canada. We've all been in a taxi driven by an engineer. Is there any quantification of that phenomenon that Stats Canada has or could make?

[Greg Peterson]

I can refer that question to Madam Bégin.

[Josée Bégin]

Yes, we do have some information on Canadians who were trained outside of Canada and whether or not they are working in the same industry as their credentials.