House of Commons Hansard #300 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.

Topics

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton

I would ask the hon. member to stay on his feet and go ahead with his questions.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 p.m.

Liberal

Randeep Sarai Liberal Surrey Centre, BC

Mr. Chair, can the minister or the parliamentary secretary tell us how they have reunited families in Canada, particularly through changes and improvements to the spousal program?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 p.m.

Acadie—Bathurst New Brunswick

Liberal

Serge Cormier LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Surrey Centre for his speech and for the excellent work that he does on the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

It is unacceptable for spouses to be separated for a long period of time. That is why we promised Canadians that we would reunite these families as quickly as possible.

We have reduced the backlog by over 80% and cut processing times from 26 months under the Conservative government to less than 12 months, so that spouses can be reunited as quickly as possible. We also simplified the application process so that these people can be repatriated as quickly as possible.

We are proud of that commitment. We promised to ensure that spouses are reunited as quickly as possible and we kept our word. Once again, processing times have been reduced from 26 months to 12 months, and we are very proud of that.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 p.m.

Liberal

Randeep Sarai Liberal Surrey Centre, BC

Mr. Chair, I would also like to ask what the department is doing to ensure that permanent residence applications for caregivers are being processed quickly and efficiently, and that caregivers who arrive as temporary workers continue to have a pathway to permanent residency.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 p.m.

Liberal

Serge Cormier Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Mr. Chair, we made it possible for caregivers, who are a tremendous help to Canadian families, to be reunited as quickly as possible. We are committed to guaranteeing that these caregivers will become permanent residents as quickly as possible.

We are also proud to have processed the backlog of caregiver cases. By the end of 2018, we will have processed all of the outstanding files. We have already made quite a bit of progress. For example, the number of backlogged files fell from 62,000 in 2014 to just 16,000 in February 2018.

We also have a processing time of 12 months for new applications, compared to the previous five to seven years under the Conservatives. We are committed to reuniting caregivers as quickly as possible. We also eliminated the $1,000 processing fee for the labour market impact assessment. We did this for spouses, caregivers, and other categories of citizens, to reunite these families as quickly as possible.

I think Canadians can clearly see that this is a priority for this government. These families will be reunited as quickly as possible, as long as we are in government.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Liberal

Randeep Sarai Liberal Surrey Centre, BC

Mr. Chair, tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in British Columbia, and in my riding of Surrey Centre. Hotels, restaurants, and the tourism industry depend on tourism. Could the minister tell the House how many visas were granted in 2017, particularly from the two fastest-growing economies, China and India? How many of those visitors were granted 10-year multiple-entry visas?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Liberal

Serge Cormier Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Mr. Chair, we know that people who come to Canada as tourists or to be with family are very important. As I said, we want those people to come to Canada. We also want people coming to Canada to be screened so they can come here safely.

Our priority is to make sure tourists and people with family members in Canada can be with their families here. In the past year, we have been working hard to process applications from people who want to come to Canada as quickly as possible. We will keep working hard to make that happen because we want our immigration services to be one of the best services we offer.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Liberal

Randeep Sarai Liberal Surrey Centre, BC

Mr. Chair, we keep hearing from the other side that all these resources are being taken away and wait times in regular streams of immigration are increasing. However, in my riding of Surrey Centre, the wait time for every single stream of immigration has decreased, whether it is live-in caregivers, family class, or spousal class. I would like to ask the minister whether there is any stream of immigration where wait times have increased past the 2015 Harper Conservative government, and whether we have had any delays to any stream of immigration, economic or family-wise.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Liberal

Serge Cormier Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Mr. Chair, what I can say is that, under our government, wait times have decreased considerably. For example, for spouses and live-in caregivers, processing times have dropped from 26 months under the Conservatives to 12 months under our government. We want to reunite families as quickly as possible. We want those families to contribute to the Canadian economy as quickly as possible. That is a priority for our government. The historic multi-year plan we implemented will help us continue to reduce processing times. We will shrink the backlog and reunite families as quickly as possible. That is what Canadians want from our government.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Liberal

Randeep Sarai Liberal Surrey Centre, BC

Mr. Chair, as a follow-up to my colleagues who thought that only we have gotten irregular migrants, I understand that irregular migrants have happened in the past. There were spikes in 2014 and 2012. Did the previous government ever shut this so-called loophole in the safe third country agreement, or did it ever designate the 9,000-kilometre border as a legal border crossing?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Liberal

Serge Cormier Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Mr. Chair, on the issue of making the 9,000-kilometre-long border almost impenetrable, I would remind members that the previous government slashed more than $400 million from border resources. The Conservatives are now asking us to put resources along the entire border which spans 9,000 kilometres. I thinks that is a ridiculous idea, and Canadians know that it is unrealistic.

We will continue to hold discussions with our American counterparts on different matters related to immigration, and we will continue to ensure that our immigration system is robust and effective, and that it protects the security and well-being of all Canadians.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:40 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, can the minister tell the House how many people who have had valid ETAs issued to them from countries that have have recently had visas lifted, meaning Mexico, Romania, and Bulgaria, have subsequently had to be removed on the direction of the CBSA or immigration officials prior to their boarding a plane?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

York South—Weston Ontario

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen LiberalMinister of Immigration

Mr. Chair, I would like to provide the member with the objective criteria that I mentioned earlier for the future head of the International Organization for Migration. Some of the criteria that we ask ourselves include, what is the candidate's experience working on global migration? What is the candidate's experience working in the area of humanitarian assistance? Does the candidate have experience working with national governments? Does the candidate have experience building consensus across national governments? What is the extent of the candidate's experience working in or with civil society? What is the extent of the candidate's financial and people management experience? Has the candidate demonstrated management excellence in previous positions?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, how many people from countries that have recently had visas lifted—Mexico, Romania, and Bulgaria—been offloaded from planes or been told they could not board?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, we have issued over 7.8 million electronic travel authorizations.

Let me get back to the objective criteria. We are looking for someone to head the International Organization for Migration who has leadership experience. Does the candidate have experience leading an organization of similar size, budget, or otherwise as the IOM? Does the candidate have experience leading organizational change?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, the minister just spent some time talking about tourism.

I have heard significant concerns from airlines that they are now being required to offload passengers from countries that have had visa exemptions lifted where valid ETAs have been issued. We have seen a spike in asylum claims from countries like Romania and Mexico and are now in a situation where airlines are being charged with removing passengers for whom the government has already issued ETAs.

I do not see any plans in these estimates by the government to indemnify or compensate airlines for having to remove passengers who have booked tickets, but whom the airlines then have to offload because the RCMP, the CBSA, or immigration officials have instructed the airlines to remove them. We know there are many people who have been in this boat in recent months, particularly Romanian nationals.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, the Mexican visa lift has done a tremendous job at restoring and revitalizing our important relationship with Mexico, a relationship that was damaged considerably by the party opposite.

The Mexican visa lift has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of tourists, international students, and other business travellers coming to Canada. It has already injected over $700 million into the Canadian economy, resulting in lasting economic benefits for Canada.

We are proud of the fact that we lifted the visa requirement on Mexico. We are working closely with Mexican officials to make sure that we address any risks and that the visa lift remains sustainable.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, I will just repeat the question because I am not sure the minister has understood it.

Airlines are expressing concerns to members of Parliament that they are absorbing costs because the government is issuing electronic authorizations for countries that have had recent visa lifts. I am wondering if the minister is considering indemnifying or compensating airlines for this issue given the volume of people this is happening to. If he is considering doing that, I am wondering why it is not in these budgetary estimates.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, the first and foremost responsibility of our government is the safety and security of Canadians. That is why we are proud of the fact that the electronic travel authorization allows us to push back our border and prevent people who are a threat to Canadian society from even being able to board a plane to come to Canada.

We are proud of the fact that we have issued over 7.8 million electronic travel authorizations. We have had the ability to use information-sharing abilities with the United States and other partners to ensure that people who may pose a risk to Canadian society do not get on those planes.

On the issue of moving forward with the eTA, we are proud of our record, and we will continue to make the necessary investments to make sure that it continues to operate smoothly.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:45 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, just to clarify for the minister, I would like him to give this some thought. The issue is that, yes, electronic travel authorizations are being issued, but they are then being rescinded for people who have bought tickets, and they are being rescinded and enforced by airlines. That seems to me perhaps not the best and most efficient or effective way to manage the eTA system. I believe this is going to have an impact on both tourism and our asylum claim system.

I think the minister misunderstood my question, but we will move on to something else.

How many cases have been finalized at the IRB of asylum claims that have been made by people who have illegally crossed the border into Canada from the United States since the beginning of 2016?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:50 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, what did considerable damage to our tourism industry were the inefficiencies in processing visas by the previous government. It did not make visa processing and immigration processing a priority.

I have made it a priority to make sure that I visit as many visa offices as possible to ensure that we institute best practices, we introduce efficiencies, we reduce red tape to make sure that we encourage more and more people to apply electronically so that they are able to follow and track their applications on line.

We will make sure that this year we succeed in making sure that this is the year of Canada-China tourism.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:50 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, will the minister table with the House, in the next week, the number of cases of asylum claims that have been heard by the IRB made by people who have illegally entered Canada from the United States and subsequently claimed asylum since the beginning of 2016?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:50 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that we are the government that is making the necessary investments in border security and making the necessary investments in the Immigration and Refugee Board. Why? It is because faster processing of asylum claims is critically important to legitimate refugee claimants so that they can proceed with their lives, and not live in limbo, and contribute back to Canadian society.

Those who are found not to need Canada's protection are removed from Canada.

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:50 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Chair, I will take that as a no. That is a very important number for parliamentarians to have, and it is unfortunate that the minister has decided not to table that with the House. In fact, I think that is a lack of transparency.

I am wondering if the minister is considering a change to the policy that essentially states that regulated career colleges cannot have international students attending their institutions become eligible for the post-graduate work permit. If he is considering a change to that process or that ruling, when does he anticipate seeing a change to it being implemented?

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2018-19Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:50 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, we work very closely with the provinces, and we listened to them when they asked us to make the necessary changes to the immigration system. This is an example of that. They came forward and told us that some private colleges were not abiding by the terms of the post-graduate work permit. They asked us to make those necessary changes. We listened, and we did that.

When it comes to international students, we welcomed 272,000 international students in 2016. That number jumped to more than 300,000 last year.

I am the first immigration minister in Canadian history to not only do outreach to prospective international students to tell them to come and study in Canada, but the first to tell them that we want as many of them to stay in Canada as possible, because they will make great Canadian citizens.