House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2025, with 55% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, the safe third country agreement is based on the principle that is supported by the UN Refugee Agency. The UN Refugee Agency supports the principle that asylum seekers should seek asylum in the first safe country they land in. They also conduct analyses on both Canada's and the United States' domestic asylum policy. We do the same thing. Both those analyses indicate that the U.S. domestic asylum system will accord due process to asylum seekers.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that the UNHCR is the UN refugee agency that has the expert knowledge for monitoring the domestic asylum systems of both Canada and the United States. The UNHCR, as well as our own analysis, continues to indicate that the domestic asylum policy of the United States continues to offer opportunities for asylum seekers to claim asylum and continues to offer due process, fair hearings, and appeal processes for asylum seekers.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, Canada continues to monitor developments in the United States, and not only Canada but also the UNHCR has determined that the United States' domestic asylum policy remains in place and is a safe country for asylum claimants to seek protection.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, transforming the whole border into a port of entry would be impractical in terms of providing border and immigration services along its entire length of 9,000 kilometres.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, the safe third country agreement is an agreement based on a principle, supported by the UN Refugee Agency, that asylum seekers should claim asylum in the first safe country they land in. This is a principle the UNHCR supports. It is a principle that we believe in, and that is the principle that underlies the agreement.
The agreement, I must say, is really good for Canada as well as for the United States.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for that really important question. Reuniting families has always been a priority in our immigration system, and one of the first things we tackled was to reduce the processing time for spousal sponsorship applications and to eliminate the backlog in that immigration stream.
When we took office, spousal sponsorships took 26 months or more. Sometimes it would take many years, depending on the country the spouse and the children were being sponsored from. We made it a point to dedicate resources and created a tiger team to attack that backlog and make it a priority to reduce that processing time. I am proud of the fact that we have eliminated the backlog in the spousal sponsorship program and have brought down the processing time from 26 months to 12 months for the vast majority of cases.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for his really important question.
We have been very aggressive in terms of outreach and engaging with the diaspora communities as well as with service-provider organizations in the United States and beyond. This is important, because, as we discovered last year, there is a lot of misinformation being given to diaspora communities in terms of the scope and nature of Canada's immigration system, and more specifically, its asylum system.
We made sure, through town halls, engagement with community media, and engagement with service-provider organizations, as well as government officials, that people were aware. We were able to dispute misinformation at its source through the use of social media, strategically placed advertisements, our 12 consulates, and our embassy in Washington. We have been very successful in reaching those communities and answering questions.
This is the right thing to do, not only as a deterrent message but also as a humanitarian message, because we do not want people to uproot themselves and their families based on misinformation. We want people to know exactly what they are embarking on when they try to make their journey to Canada.
If people want to come and study or work in Canada, there are regular immigration streams to enable them to do so. The asylum system we have is only meant to be accessed by those who have legitimate grounds for refugee protection. That is why the outreach program is extremely important to us.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is an honour to be here with my colleagues and to address the committee of the whole with respect to the votes under Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the main estimates. I am pleased that my department was chosen to participate in this year's meeting of the committee of the whole, giving me the opportunity to highlight all that we have accomplished, to outline our current and future priorities, and to address some of the important questions raised by my colleagues.
I am pleased with the changes made by the government to ensure that our immigration system is functioning well and in the interest of Canada. To that end, we have made considerable progress in improving our economic immigration programs, which attract talented newcomers, people who will boost our economy, stimulate innovation, increase market opportunities, and create jobs for Canada's middle class.
At the same time, we have made the immigration system more compassionate and client centric. We are reuniting families more quickly, offering protection to the world's most vulnerable people, and reducing application backlogs and processing times across the board.
Allow me to spend a few moments addressing the subject of this evening's debate, my department's main estimates. In recognition of the important role that immigration plays in shaping our economy and contributing to our country's prosperity, a total of $236.6 million will go to support the immigration levels plan. This multi-year plan will gradually increase our immigration levels, beginning this year, with admissions of 310,000 permanent residents, moving to 330,000 permanent resident admissions in 2019, and 340,000 permanent admissions in 2020.
As numerous economists have pointed out, increased immigration will allow us to expand our workforce, address our skills shortages, grow our economy, support our health care and pension programs, and allow other social programs to thrive in the decades to come.
Another significant part of our estimates is a $89.8 million increase in funding for incremental costs to the interim federal health program. I am very proud that our government fulfilled our commitment to Canadians to fully restore this program, as it provides essential services to the most vulnerable people in our society. For example, the program is being used to support newly arrived Yazidi and other survivors of Daesh atrocities. These women and girls, as well as their families, have lived through unimaginable trauma and horrific conditions. It is our responsibility not only to provide them with a new home but also to make sure they have the necessary wraparound supports and are supported every step of the way toward rebuilding their lives in Canada.
While we continue to pursue our objectives of growing Canada's economy through immigration, reuniting families, and fulfilling our humanitarian obligations, we must also respond quickly and efficiently to emerging issues. Irregular migration is increasing globally, and Canada is not immune to this. In my international travel and meetings with counterparts from around the world, it has been clear that many countries, including Canada, are experiencing significant challenges associated with the fact of irregular migration, the result of 62 million persons currently displaced by wars, persecution, and natural disasters.
Having said that, our government takes this issue extremely seriously, and our primary responsibility has always been and remains the safety and security of Canadians.
Anyone who crosses the border between official ports of entry is arrested and detained until security agencies can verify their identity and conduct a thorough background check.
Make no mistake, law enforcement officers do not release anyone into our community unless they have cleared background checks, and if someone is found to pose a risk, they remain in detention and are deported without being able to make a refugee claim.
In order to ensure the safety and security of Canadians, it is imperative that we make the necessary investments in our front-line agencies. That is why budget 2018 invests $173.2 million to support security operations at the Canada-U.S. border, including $74 million for the Immigration and Refugee Board to process asylum claimants faster.
Entering into Canada irregularly is not a free ticket, and it does not give anyone an advantage. To ensure that potential migrants are aware of Canada's laws and are not driven by misinformation, we have implemented an extensive and aggressive outreach strategy targeting key communities in the U.S. and beyond, as well as in Canada. In fact, over the last few months, we have engaged almost 600 community leaders, diplomatic representatives, non-profit organizations, and government officials in the U.S. and beyond.
I know there have been questions about the safe third country agreement under which Canada and the United States co-operate in the orderly handling of asylum claims across our joint border. We have raised the subject of modernizing the agreement with the United States, and they are aware of our concerns. This has not matured into formal negotiations, but we continue to engage with the U.S. closely.
We are also working with the United States to prevent the abuse of U.S. visas, and these efforts have already shown results. Canadian officials, for example, have been stationed on the ground in Nigeria. Just last week I travelled to Nigeria to meet with senior government representatives, community leaders, and civil society to enlist their co-operation on this issue.
At the same time, we will continue to respect Canada's international obligations to provide safety and security and sanctuary to those who are legitimately fleeing persecution, and who also have a right to claim asylum.
To support this, we are making the necessary investments and adding staff to ensure that asylum claims are decided in a timely manner, and that unsuccessful claimants are promptly removed from Canada. We are working closely and collaboratively with provincial partners, particularly Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, to resolve emerging pressure points and to address issues such as housing and contingency planning.
While we continue to address the issue of irregular migration, we have not slowed our progress in advancing all of our other priorities. We have made changes, for example, to the express entry system to award extra points to applicants who demonstrate strong French language skills, as well as those who have family in Canada. These changes are proving successful and are having the desired effects. More French-speaking immigrants are going to francophone minority communities.
Moreover, the global skills strategy is bringing more talented people to Canada to create jobs in Canada. We have made the start-up visa program permanent. We have created the Atlantic immigration pilot program, the first-ever employer-led program, to attract more skilled immigrants and grow the Atlantic region's economy.
Over the past year, we have made the spousal sponsorship process faster and easier. We have doubled the number of parent and grandparent applications. We have reduced the backlog in the live-in caregiver program. We have removed unnecessary barriers to citizenship for newcomers. We have eliminated the conditional permanent residents measure that put vulnerable women at risk. We have raised the age limit for dependent children to keep more families together. We are re-establishing Canada as a global leader on immigration.
People who come to Canada are much more than newcomers to this country. They are nation-builders. That fundamental belief informs all of our actions.
I am proud of what we have accomplished so far. The government will continue to work very hard for Canadians.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that the hon. member knows that under her government and her party, refugees languished for years in refugee camps. We are the party that addressed this issue. We have brought down processing times for privately sponsored refugees by 25 months. We have made the necessary investments to almost quadruple the number of privately sponsored refugees. We have doubled the number of resettled refugees. We are making the necessary investments to increase the money available for resettlement and integration programs. That is a record the Conservatives simply cannot match.
Business of Supply May 24th, 2018
Mr. Chair, we are making sure that all Canadian laws are respected and that we are meeting our international obligations with respect to providing safe haven for legitimate refugees.
The fact of the matter is that once someone claims asylum in Canada, we have to accord them due process and a fair hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board. Those who are determined to need Canada's protection get to stay, and those who do not will be removed by Canadian authorities.