Public Safety Committee on March 24th, 2026

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

There's also our experience in Australia. As you're aware, right after Bondi Beach, Australia embarked on the second round of the compensation program. They launched it recently. I've spoken to their minister myself.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

That's a very different jurisdiction, Minister.

It's interesting that the PBO suggested that you're going to spend over $700 million on this gun confiscation. We see in your departmental reports that you're cutting $132 million from Correctional Service Canada. I've been told that most of that money is for the reintegration and rehabilitation of criminals.

Why are we spending nearly $1 billion to seize firearms from people who have never committed a crime and cutting funding for programming? You had the correctional investigator resign in protest against your government, and now you're cutting the funding even further for people who are the most at risk of committing a crime in our communities. How can you justify that, Minister?

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

That's another great question for which we will not be able to provide an answer right now.

MP Ehsassi, go ahead for five minutes, please.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you also to the minister for being here once again and for providing very comprehensive responses to all the questions put to him.

I want to follow up on a question that was asked of you. Unfortunately, you were interrupted.

I know you take the issue of IRGC individuals here on Canadian soil very seriously. You have personally told me that. Of course, I hear about this issue quite a bit from my own constituents and other Iranian Canadians.

Given that you are committed to doing a thorough job, could you kindly explain to us what your department is doing?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Ehsassi. It's a very important question.

I think there have been some misconceptions about the work of the federal government vis-à-vis ensuring that we are void of IRGC members.

First of all, Canada listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity in 2024. Canada listed Iran as a state sponsor of terror. Over 500 individuals have been sanctioned and are ineligible to come here. We have reviewed 17,800 applications for individuals who want to enter Canada through a number of different streams. Based on that, 239 visas were disallowed on suspicion of membership in the IRGC. Among people who are in Canada, there are 32 cases that we have thoroughly investigated.

It's very important to recognize that when somebody is alleged to be a member of a terrorist entity, we have due process. We also have a legal standard we must abide by. Based on the legal standard set by the Government of Canada, 32 people have been established as credible members of the IRGC, out of whom six have left. My previous number was 28. Six have left, and one has been removed, so we're in fact working on 23 individuals who are still in Canada, and we're aggressively trying to remove them.

Make no mistake. Every single individual who is a member of the IRGC in Canada will be removed.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you for assuring everyone that you're moving aggressively on this issue. It seems to me that the member opposite doesn't understand that there is due process and that we live in a rule of law country.

How are things proceeding? Can you give us a sense as to where we're going to be pretty soon?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

We're tracking one removal. By all accounts, it should be completed very shortly, barring any last-minute issues. The others are going through hearings. They will go through Immigration and Refugee Board hearings. In some cases, there may be an appeal to the Federal Court.

What I want to be very categorical about is that no one who's a member of the IRGC is entitled to be in Canada. They are inadmissible under Canadian law. Whether it's one, 23 or more—as some reports have falsely identified—the fact is that we need to ensure every single person who is credibly alleged to have been a member of the IRGC or, in this case, credibly determined to be a member will be removed. That is the mandate I have. That's the responsibility I have. That's the responsibility President O'Gorman has. I've talked to members of her team. I know they're aggressively pursuing every avenue for those removals.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

It would be fair to say, given everything that your department is doing, that it also has a deterrent effect in the sense that anyone who was considering coming to Canada is no longer considering that option, I would hope.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

There are two deterrents. One is someone outside of Canada who may be coming in, and of course, in a moment where the conflict is highlighted, there are dangers if people choose to come to Canada or look at backdoor ways of coming here. Our message to them is that this is not a country that is open for them to come here. That's why we cancelled 239 visas. We do a comprehensive security check before every visa document is issued.

The other deterrent is.... That's why we have six people who voluntarily left. As the law was catching up, and as our CBSA officials were aggressively pursuing the removals, individuals essentially gave up and said they were leaving. That is the second element of it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

Even though there was only one formal removal, the other six essentially speak to de facto removals.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you, Minister. I'm sorry to interrupt.

Thank you, MP Ehsassi.

I now give the floor to Mrs. DeBellefeuille for two and a half minutes.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Minister, we won't pursue our discussion on the RCMP. However, my question was so excellent that the chair himself asked if you could send us a written clarification with respect to my misunderstanding about the 1,000 officers that are supposed to be hired for border management, not for other things.

My question is instead about the fact that Bill C‑12 has been passed, that Bill C‑8 is about to be passed and that Bill C‑22 has been introduced. All these bills give a lot of powers to the Minister of Public Safety, to other ministers and to officials. These bills also have implications for people's privacy.

I'm therefore very surprised to learn that your government has cut 15% of the budget from the only review agency that monitors compliance and enforcement. I find that unacceptable. That's a lot, 15%. Out of $15 million, that's $2.7 million. You're eliminating the equivalent of eight analyst and lawyer positions from the only agency whose primary purpose is to monitor the application of legislation and ensure that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP are following laws and regulations as they are supposed to. You want more powers, but you're eliminating the positions of those who are supposed to ensure that the laws are respected. This erodes my trust in your government because, if I'd been in your place as Minister of Public Safety, I would have advocated for more funding for the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency to make sure that agencies like the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service comply with the law.

I'm very disappointed that I have not heard you mention the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency at all. Even in connection with Bill C‑22 they were not consulted, and that is very serious.

My question now is about border officers. I never refer to 1,000 officers, because we've learned that 800 officers will receive full training for border services and the use of firearms. Another 244 officers will be trained each year, in addition to the 575 officers you were already training.

In the current context, you won't reach that objective with just the Canada Border Services College in Rigaud. The cohorts of recruits were added. Two more cohorts were supposed to start their training in Chilliwack. Have they begun their training and, if not, why?

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Mrs. DeBellefeuille, I'm sorry. That was a good question and an excellent comment, but unfortunately, there is no time left in your two and a half minutes for an answer.

Mr. Au, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

Mr. Minister, I have questions for you.

As for my first question, you keep talking about hiring 1,000 more RCMP officers, but we just got the Auditor General's report saying that over the audit period, the RCMP hired 2,262 officers and 2,200 left, resulting in almost no net growth. Also, in the last six months, they actually saw negative growth.

Did the RCMP ever realize recruitment was not keeping pace with attrition, and what corrective actions were taken at that moment?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Au, thank you for the question. This allows me to address the issues around the Auditor General's report.

Regarding the recommendations made by the Auditor General, I had a chance to meet with her on Friday. The commissioner has been working with her. The RCMP has accepted those recommendations. In fact, much of the work has already begun. Some of the lags occurred because of COVID. If you look at the time period of 2023-25, it was just post-COVID, and there were also some issues around policing around the world.

We are absolutely committed to implementing the contents of her recommendations. If you wish, I can ask the commissioner to elaborate, but what I can also say is that we can do both. We can recruit more individuals to serve in the regular service, including in contract and indigenous policing, and we can recruit directly for federal policing.

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

That leads to my second question.

In your opening remarks, you talked about the trust and confidence of the public in the system. Again, the Auditor General found that this is not only about a shortage. The report also talks about the failure of the RCMP to even determine how many officers it actually needs. There was a failure in setting recruitment targets too low, and it missed its own hiring timelines in 97% of cases.

How can Canadians have confidence in Public Safety when the RCMP cannot even plan for or deliver the officers it knows it needs?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

The RCMP is an independent agency of the government. They report through Public Safety, and I have very limited direction in terms of operations. I have every confidence in the commissioner and every confidence in the organization that the recruitment...and the commitments they made to the Auditor General and the commitments they made to me are fulfilled.

We have the resources for an additional 1,000 RCMP personnel for federal policing, and that plan is something I had direct oversight over. I'm absolutely confident that they will be able to implement the recommendations they have given me.

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

Minister, I take issue with the answer you just gave, because you are the person responsible for overseeing RCMP operations, and this problem is not new. It has been ongoing since 2018.

How could the government allow this to happen for this long? How could you, as the minister, not take responsibility for it?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

If you look at the Auditor General's report, it speaks to the time before I was the minister. Since I've become the minister, I've been very aggressive in ensuring that we meet recruiting timelines, but also in ensuring that we recruit the right type of people. It's a conversation I constantly have, not just with the RCMP, but with all of our agencies, including the Parole Board. These are very live conversations that we have to ensure that the agencies that serve Canadians reflect Canadians.

It is an absolute priority of mine, not just in this portfolio, but also in other portfolios in which I've served.

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

I find the Auditor General's report very interesting. It says applications were sitting for nearly 60 days waiting to be assigned to a recruiting analyst, and 50% of those positions were vacant. Why are these very important positions needed to process applications sitting half empty while we face a national policing shortage?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

There is definitely a disconnect, and I acknowledge the work of the Auditor General in recognizing the disconnect.

There have been 18,000 applicants since April 1, 2025, who have applied to the RCMP to join the list. There are a number of very important hurdles that individuals need to go through. One of the things we will do is streamline that process and ensure that we have a six-month window in recruitment, from the time they apply to the time they enter training, and we will continue to work with the RCMP on those changes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you, MP Au.

Thank you, Minister.

We'll go to MP Powlowski for five minutes, please.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Minister, I'm glad to see you here. You can probably predict my questions, as I always ask you the same ones.

In our budget of last fall, we stated:

As part of additional resources for Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on October 17, 2025, CBSA will work with Public Safety, Transport Canada, and Global Affairs Canada to identify additional ports for container import and export designation, particularly in the Great Lakes-St Lawrence Region, like Québec City and Hamilton. This will help catalyse private investment at ports and is essential to diversifying our trade.

I know Madame DeBellefeuille has this issue as well. We would like to see containers going through our ports.

I represent Thunder Bay, which is part of this process, but I've heard from Picton, Windsor, Goderich and Hamilton, and they're all at various stages of being ready. They want this. What's happened between the budget and now in terms of realizing this? You're welcome to ask the officials.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Powlowski, for the advocacy. Madame DeBellefeuille and I have had so many conversations. In fact, I think we're having another one very soon.

All around Canada, there are a number of demands from ports of entry for CBSA's presence. This reflects our overall frame of expanding trade over the next number of years and reflects the demands—and the opportunities, frankly—of the increased trade that happens in our community, including in Picton. There's a demand for Oshawa. I know Ms. Kirkland is aware of that. We also just advanced on the port of Hamilton very recently.

It's important to also understand the frame and the way we prioritize. I'd like to ask President O'Gorman to give us some further insight into that.