Debates of May 28th, 2026

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

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

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time.

With hundreds of thousands of people from around the world about to enter Canada for FIFA World Cup, is the minister confident that the immigration measures she has enacted will ensure Ebola will not enter and spread in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Chair, as the member knows, two days ago, we held a press conference in which we put immigration measures in place to protect the safety of Canadians.

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

Mr. Chair, that was not a clear answer and does not fill me with confidence.

Several weeks ago, a plane carrying someone suspected of potentially having been exposed to the Ebola virus was redirected from the U.S. to Montreal. What immigration measures has the minister put in place to prevent future incidents like this from happening?

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

Mr. Chair, as I have said, we have taken the necessary steps to respond to the Ebola outbreak and protect public health in coordination with our partners, including the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada Border Services Agency and Global Affairs—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member.

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

Mr. Chair, after years of rampant misuse of the temporary foreign worker program, a national headline read, “Tim Hortons says Temporary Foreign Worker program ‘no longer necessary’”. However, it currently has more than 80 TFW positions advertised on the Government of Canada website. Will the minister cancel these permits and not issue any more?

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

Mr. Chair, as we have said, and we have been very clear with Canadians and all employers, Canadians must always be first in line for jobs.

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

Mr. Chair, I will take that as her saying she will not cancel the permits and that Tim Hortons will continue to get TFW permits. It also claims that it is committed to hiring locally, but then admitted it could include non-citizens on foreign student visas.

The minister is approving 250,000 new TFW and foreign student work permits this year during the middle of a youth jobs crisis. How many of those workers will be employed by Tim Hortons?

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

Mr. Chair, we have very strict rules for employers looking to hire temporary foreign workers. It was this government that tightened the rules as well to ensure that it is a last resort.

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

Mr. Chair, the Liberals' policy of bringing in too many low-skilled non-citizens too fast meant that public services that provinces maintain, such as social welfare, subsidized housing, health care and primary education, have become strained.

Does the minister support giving the provinces that want it greater control over immigration for the purpose of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving their own residents first priority for new job opportunities?

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

Mr. Chair, we share Canadians' concern, and we are working to ensure that we manage migration responsibly, because that is what Canadians expect. I have worked very strongly with all provinces and territories. In fact, so far we have held five meetings together.

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

Mr. Chair, the question, specifically, was this: If a province wants more autonomy over immigration, would the minister be open to granting it?

I will ask the minister this: Does she support the principle that the federal government should grant equal autonomy over immigration powers to all provinces that request it, rather than giving it to one province while denying the same power to others?

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

Mr. Chair, it is a wonderful question, because I was a provincial minister of immigration for eight years. Immigration is a shared responsibility between the two levels of government, and in my job, I will continue to work with the provinces and territories accordingly.

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

Mr. Chair, does the minister realize that her non-answer, putting it mildly, would be an irritant at a critical time for a certain province?

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

Mr. Chair, as I said, I have worked very closely with all provinces, territories and ministers responsible for immigration in all those jurisdictions, and I have excellent relationships with them.

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

Mr. Chair, the provinces' social services are being strained by the minister's policy. She is issuing 215,000 new foreign worker permits this year. The asylum system is still out of control. If a province asks clearly for more control over immigration, would the minister commit to advocating for that?

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

Mr. Chair, let me just set the record straight. In my first year as minister, we had a 59% reduction in asylum claims in early 2026 compared to 2024, temporary foreign work permits are down 75% in 2026 compared to 2024, and new student visas—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Saskatoon West.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, the IRCC had 105 misconduct and wrongdoing cases in 2024-25. Is the minister satisfied with this level of failure?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Chair, IRCC does not tolerate at all any misconduct. The report was proactively published. It is very transparent for all Canadians to see.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, how many IRCC officials were fired last year?

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

Mr. Chair, we have a proactive response to all misconduct, and action is appropriately managed. There have been some who have been fired.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, I take it that the minister does not know.

The Auditor General found many cases of fraud that were missed by IRCC. The minister committed to fixing this problem. Since her committee appearance, how many new cases of fraud have been found?

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

Mr. Chair, in fact we spent standing committee meetings on the Auditor General's report, which actually confirmed that a number of the actions that the IRCC department has taken were very effective.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, the minister still did not answer whether there have been new cases of fraud found. Have there been new fraud cases with permits that have been nullified?