Official Languages Committee on May 7th, 2018

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Of course, I want to thank you—

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mr. Samson. I must move on to the next person.

Mr. Bernier, the floor is yours.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, thank you for being here with us today. I have a few questions for you, and I hope you will be able to answer them. If not, I would appreciate if you would provide the answers to the committee in writing later.

Today we learned that over 26,000 illegal migrants crossed the Canadian border last year.

What will processing those 26,000 claims cost the Canadian government?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Did you say 26 million?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

I said 26,000.

It's thousand.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Oh, sorry.

You would have to—

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

What was the cost to the federal government of these 26,000 people who crossed the border illegally? Do you have that?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

There are the costs incurred by the federal government to process them at the border, then there are downstream costs incurred by provinces with respect to social housing and so on.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Do you have any numbers?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I don't know which costs you are referring to.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Both.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I don't have them with me, but I'm sure we can get them for you.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

We also learned that approximately 1% of those 26,000 people were sent back to their country of origin, which is about 260 out of 26,000 people.

With regard to those who remained in Canada, you mentioned that approximately 90% of these migrants entered irregularly or illegally, or whatever term you want to use—

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Mr. Bernier, I would like to remind you that your question must be related to the francophone community outside Quebec.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Please bear with me. I'm getting to that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Okay.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

As I was saying, 1% of these people were sent back to their own country. In your opinion, what percentage of people in the same situation will be sent back to their country of origin in the near future? Will it be about the same based on your analyses?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

I would be happy to answer that question if I were in charge of Public Safety, but as you know, that's not my portfolio. You would have to pose that question to my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, who is in charge of the CBSA, which is in charge of removals.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

You hired 50 new people to process these claims. I would like to know how long it takes to process a claim. That falls under your jurisdiction. On average, when an illegal migrant crosses the border, in this case a francophone—

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

That's pretty weak.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

—how long does it take to process the claim?

It could take a number of years if there are 26,000.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Chair, could I say something?

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Just a moment please.

Mr. Arsenault, you have two seconds.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

The reason for the objection is obvious. I rise on a point of order.

We have the minister and his team here with us to talk about a specific topic and that is francophone immigration outside Quebec. That is what everyone should be talking about.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

That is what I am talking about. How many francophone migrants—