Public Safety Committee on Nov. 20th, 2025

Evidence of meeting #14 for Public Safety and National Security in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was c-12.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Bill C-12

Members speaking

Jean-Yves Duclos

Frank Caputo

Ali Ehsassi

Claude DeBellefeuille

Before the committee

Dufresne Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada

Huebert Professor, Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary, As an Individual

Whitney Lackenbauer Professor, Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North, Trent University, As an Individual

Sauvé President, National Police Federation

Weber National President, Customs and Immigration Union

1:05 p.m.

National President, Customs and Immigration Union

Mark Weber

It is absolutely possible that I don't know everything. I know that there was a pilot project floated for our smaller campus in Chilliwack. That is pending approval. It has not been approved yet, as far as I know.

In terms of Rigaud, though, I do know the numbers they can graduate per year out of that one facility. It caps up at around just over 700. Based on that, unless the program is changing or there's expansion to Rigaud, I'm not really seeing how you do it with just the one college.

You're right, though; there might be plans that I am not aware of.

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Jacques Ramsay Liberal La Prairie—Atateken, QC

You also mentioned the importance of having human contact and human intervention. I would like you to comment also on the $1.7 billion that's been spent on CBSA upgrading and securing our borders with drones, helicopters, K-9 units and all of this. It feels as though this should improve the productivity, if I may say, of the manpower, and allow you to do more with the actual force.

November 20th, 2025 / 1:05 p.m.

National President, Customs and Immigration Union

Mark Weber

Yes, I think the things you mentioned, helicopters and drones and such, help specifically between ports of entry. The responsibility has been given over to the RCMP to do those patrols. When I speak about human interaction, it's specifically about how we do things at ports of entry. At airports, we've basically stopped doing that. For refugee claimants, it's almost a self-serve system now. Those are the specific areas I'm talking about, where we have to get back to doing the interviews we're no longer doing.

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos

Thank you for that exchange.

I'd like to thank both witnesses for their time and work today. We wish them a wonderful day.

I'm going to give committee members an overview of our upcoming work.

As indicated in the motion adopted a little earlier, you have until the end of tomorrow to table amendments to Bill C‑12. However, the clerk and his assistants invite you to submit your amendments as soon as possible, so that they can work on them tomorrow at the end of the day and in the evening.

You also have until the end of the day tomorrow to submit the names of witnesses you would like to invite for the study on foreign nationals.

At the meeting on Tuesday, November 25, during the first hour, we will hear the final testimony on Bill C‑12. In the second hour of the meeting, we will begin clause-by-clause consideration of this bill and spend the rest of the day on it.

Next Thursday, on November 27, we will resume the study on border management.

We are now past our scheduled end time, so I will adjourn the meeting.