Evidence of meeting #35 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 visa.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Liberal
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
Mr. Caputo, you are a gentleman of the court. You were, and maybe still are, the barrister of an association. You practised law for a long time. You understand the reason we are unable—
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
We know each other well enough now. Once we observe conversations overlapping, we know the interpretation cannot function properly and therefore some can't follow the conversation.
I will ask you not to overlap the conversations of others so we can all follow the discussion.
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
Yes, I took an oath, just as other lawyers have, Minister. One of those oaths was to the rule of law, in my view, and the rule of law demands transparency.
There are Canadians here who have suffered under the IRGC. If you will not tell us exactly what you know, will you table your briefing notes for today, yes or no?
Liberal
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
Member, listen, you and I know that, for all of us in this room, the safety and security of Canadians is our priority. That is the reason we are in these positions of trust.
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
I get that, Minister. Here's the problem: It can be a priority, but there can still be a colossal mess-up.
I asked how it happened. Did you see something in the Privacy Act? No. The Privacy Act, I guess, doesn't apply there. I've asked repeatedly where in the Privacy Act that is. It took an independent journalist—a whistle-blower—to bring this about to both of you, Ministers.
Here's the problem. The TRP visa is there to overcome inadmissibility. He was not admissible. Somebody gave him the visa.
Who gave him the visa? Just give us a name.
Liberal
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
Again, Mr. Caputo, the member in question was not admitted to Canada. No IRGC—
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
I thought you couldn't comment for privacy reasons. “Oh, we can comment on that for privacy reasons, but on other things, we can't.”
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
I'm sorry, MP Caputo. The minister is trying to answer. You cut her off, which I let go the first time. This can't happen all the time.
I'll invite the minister to provide her answer.
Liberal
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
We've taken strong action to hold the IRGC to account. We will continue to do that. We will continue to act in the best interests of Canadians. That is our priority, and that is what we will be doing.
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
How many—what number—have you expelled? How many have you expelled? You're the minister. You should know this. Is it one or two?
How many from the IRGC have you expelled in the last year? Is it one or two?
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
Minister Anandasangaree, how many have been expelled—one or two?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Caputo, I answered these questions prior. You're aware. We have had over 17,800 applications reviewed for potential inadmissibility—
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
Minister, we have five seconds left. How many have you expelled?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
—and 239 visas have been cancelled.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
I'm sorry. That is all the time we have for this first intervention.
Conservative
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
How many expulsions, Minister? How many expulsions?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
We'll come back to others in a moment, but first we need to turn to MP Housefather.
You have six minutes, please.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ministers, thank you for being here.
I think this is important, just for clarity. Mehdi Taj, the head of the Iranian football federation who allegedly was a commander in the IRGC, was denied entry, according to reports, at Pearson airport. That was the proper thing to do. Such a man should not have been admissible to Canada. He was not allowed to enter Canada, reportedly, according to the press.
Minister Anandasangaree, you'd agree with me that, hypothetically, any IRGC commander should not be allowed to enter Canada. Is that correct?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
I would say that in general terms, Mr. Housefather, senior members of the IRGC, members of the regime, are inadmissible to Canada.
If I may continue what I was explaining to Mr. Caputo, 17,800 applications were reviewed for potential inadmissibility, for those who wanted to come to Canada, and 239 visas were cancelled by IRCC because of potential links. As well, 174 investigations have been opened by the CBSA, and 79 of these investigations have been concluded by the CBSA. We're still investigating about 63. These are for people from the outside who are trying to come to Canada.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
That's 100% understood, Minister.
I just want to clarify again that the CBSA at the border is still capable, even if somebody were in possession of a visa, of denying entry if the CBSA determines that they are inadmissible to Canada and should not be entering the country. Is that correct?