Debates of Dec. 8th, 2021

Supplementary Estimates (B), 2021-22

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Madam Chair, that was part of our $65-billion support for the health needs of Canadians, including long-term care, home care, digital care, primary care and, as the member mentioned, mental health care. Mental health has been severely affected by the crisis, and we have to look after the mental health of Canadians.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Chair, the omicron variant has shown us that having a fast and coordinated genetic sequencing capacity across Canada is essential, and to make sure that we can keep Canadians safe and aware of new COVID-19 variants circulating in our communities. What has the federal government done to support building up Canada's capacity to detect new variants of concern?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Madam Chair, we have an immensely great centre called the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. I am not from Winnipeg, but I know how proud people from Manitoba and all Canadians are of that particular lab. It has been extremely forthcoming and often ahead of other nations when it comes to designing tests and procedures to protect Canadians from COVID-19. We can be very proud of the work it did with many other scientists across Canada.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Chair, thank you. That is all.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Nunavut.

I will be asking questions of the minister without preamble.

Will the minister waive the refugee determination requirements for Afghan refugees as the government has done for the Syrian refugee initiative?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Madam Chair, I would ask my hon. colleague to repeat her question as I missed the fundamentals of it.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, I hope that does not take away from my time allocation.

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I will start the member's time over.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, will the minister waive the refugee determination requirements for Afghan refugees as the government has done for the Syrian refugee initiative?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, as members know, our government is committed to bring the 40,000 refugees to our country, as we campaigned and as we are determined. The officials and the government are working very hard to bring these 40,000—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, that was not the question. It was about refugee determination. I know that the minister did not answer the question. Either she does not know the answer or she is refusing to answer it.

My next question is this. If they are not able to obtain a refugee determination from the UNHCR, they will not be able to seek refugee status from Canada. How can they then get to safety?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, again, we are committed to bringing the Afghan refugees and different communities here to Canada. We will continue to work hard to bring the refugees to Canada.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, again, the minister did not answer the question. Many Afghan interpreters and their families, human rights activists, women and girls are in a dire situation as they are not able to secure visas, or renew passports or other travel documents.

Will the Canadian government provide temporary travel documents to these individuals including a TRP?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, in August 2021, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Canada is extremely concerned about the deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation in Afghanistan. We will continue to evacuate the 40,000 Afghans we want to bring to the country. So far—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, the minister is refusing to answer or even touch on any of the issues that I am asking of her.

Has the cabinet approved the 40,000 Afghan refugee target announced by the Prime Minister?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, since the beginning of this crisis, our government has been working very hard to coordinate efforts to ensure that the 40,000 Afghans we promised to bring to Canada will be able to come here safely. So far, more than 3,800 members of the Afghan community have arrived in Canada, and we will continue—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, that is not even one-tenth of what the government said it would bring in.

Have the cabinet approved the 40,000 target that has been announced?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, once again, we are working very hard to meet our objective. As the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced yesterday, two planes transporting more than 500 Afghans arrived in Canada today.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, have any of the caps on refugee admissions been met this year?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, our objectives are very clear, and we will continue to do what is necessary to meet them.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, these are fairly straight-up questions for the minister. I do not know why she is avoiding answering any of them.

Can the minister tell us if the current immigration levels can accommodate the 40,000 Afghan refugee target?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, as I already said, we have an objective. We have been able to bring in more than 3,800 Afghans, 500 of whom arrived in the past 24 hours. We are concerned about people's health and safety and are working with our partners and allies to continue these efforts—