Debates of May 28th, 2026

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2026-27

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, how many of these cases are being reviewed right now?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, CBSA is reviewing 176 that are under investigation.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, Conservatives gave the minister multiple opportunities to admit tonight that the Liberals have failed the victims of foreign criminals. Her answer was “Oh well”, and she demurred on the importance.

I will give her one more chance. Will she commit tonight to amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act so foreign criminals no longer get sentencing discounts?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, if I were not a lawyer who practised law for 22 years, I might fall into that trap. The point is, there is nothing to amend. It is not in the act.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, we gave the minister 10 separate opportunities to denounce the Kitchener strangler. She refused. Does she condone the strangling of women by foreign criminals in the city of Kitchener, yes or no?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, serious crimes deserve serious consequences. It does not matter who criminals are and what status they have in Canada.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, the minister brags about her first year, but what people see is fraud, security failings, compassion for non-citizen criminals, and an immigration system that Canadians do not trust anymore. How does she defend that record?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, I disagree with the member totally. If he really wants to look at my record, I am going to need a bit of time here, but asylum claims are down and temporary resident work permits and foreign students are down. Perhaps the member wants them at zero. I am not sure. Maybe he should be talking to his community.

We have strengthened our program to attract the talent we need—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, the law requires that non-citizens convicted of a serious crime be deported, yet the minister refuses to close a loophole that keeps them here.

A temporary foreign worker assaulted a woman then robbed her, yet he was given a lenient sentence to avoid deportation. Can the minister tell the victim why this person is still in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, I will continue on the fact that we are strengthening our communities. We are protecting our population. We are managing immigration. We are bringing in talented tradespeople, strengthening rural communities, attracting health workers, fast-tracking physicians and—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, a non-citizen in Kitchener battered his girlfriend, then a judge gave him a lenient sentence so he would not be deported. Can the minister tell the victim why this person is still in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, criminals, regardless of their status, whether they are Canadian, temporary residents or permanent residents, face consequences.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, they do not. A non-citizen trucker received a lenient sentence specifically so they could dodge deportation after they caused a fatal crash in Ontario. Can the minister tell the family of the victim why this person is still in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, there is nothing in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that reduces sentencing or disallows people from receiving it. CBSA investigates those cases, and deportations are conducted.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, the minister claims that, yet it is still happening over and over again. A non-citizen was found guilty of assault then broke his no-contact order, yet he was still given a lenient sentence to avoid deportation. Can the minister tell his victim why he is still in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, serious criminals face serious consequences.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, this non-citizen did not face serious consequences. He was caught trafficking cocaine and was given a lenient sentence to avoid deportation. Can the minister tell Canadians, in spite of all her claims, why he is still in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, again, I am the immigration minister. I am looking at the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and regulations. There is nothing in that document and in those rules that permits what the member is alluding to.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, there is nothing to prevent it, either, and that is why the Conservatives brought in a bill to close this loophole. The minister could have told the justice minister to support it, but in fact she voted against it. This is her fault.

A non-citizen was convicted of major theft, a crime that carries a punishment of 10 years. Instead of being deported, she received house arrest to avoid deportation. Why should she be allowed to stay in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, we would be glad to work with the member if the member would bring a law that is constitutional and within the law. That is not what the member did. Her law that she brought in was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Canada had ruled on that over a decade ago, that it is not within the Constitution.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Chair, as a lawyer, she should know that what the court ruling actually said was that there was nothing in the charter that gave people these rights, and my bill was constitutional, so shame on her. She voted against it.

A non-citizen spied on his roommates while they used the bathroom. The minister is sitting here arguing that it is okay for this person to be in Canada, yet he was given a lenient sentence so that he would avoid deportation. Can the minister tell the victims of this disgusting rapist why he is still in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, the court clearly and unequivocally stated that public safety is paramount, and that is exactly what this government is doing. We have hired officers. We are complying with our obligations, and we will continue to do that. There is nothing in our law that offers otherwise.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Exactly, Mr. Chair, we need a new law, but the minister voted against the law that would have prevented this. People who are sitting at home and who are listening to example after example of the lived experiences of non-citizens getting sweetheart deals and being able to stay in this country after serious crimes are listening to her drivel and wondering how Canada got this way.

A non-citizen sexually assaulted an 18-year-old girl in a nightclub in Calgary and then was given a lenient sentence to avoid deportation. Can the minister try again? What is she going to tell the victim of this criminal? Why is he still in Canada?