Citizenship and Immigration committee  Ministerial instructions can touch on a diverse range of issues, from temporary residence processing or, in our case here, the super visas, whereas, as my colleague Ms. Kingsley previously mentioned, changes to the actual act itself will require legislative changes that take much longer to do.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Madam Kingsley. We will now proceed to our rounds of questioning. As a reminder to all the members and the witnesses, all of the questions should be directed through the chair. Thank you. We will begin our first round with Mr.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Chair, we take a step back and consider Statistics Canada's definition of the low-income cut-off, I think that's a good place to start. The low-income cut-off is the threshold below which a family will devote a much larger share of its income in comparison to the average family to basic necessities, such as food and shelter and clothing.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's correct. Legislation can take months and years to pass. Whereas, ministerial instructions, depending on the complexity of the issue involved, can be drafted in weeks to months, with a level of flexibility that is really desirable in these types of situations. I would say that in the context of the super visa, new ministerial instructions could be drafted and signed in weeks.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the government is watching closely what's happening with this bill and is open to making changes to enhance the super visa as well as other lines of business.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to join the committee, and would like to take a moment to acknowledge that the land from which I'm joining you today is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation. As director general of the Immigration Branch within the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, I am happy to speak today about the super visa and the proposed amendments presented by Bill C‑242.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would like to welcome the officials from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration who are appearing before the committee today as we consider Bill Bill C-242, an act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (temporary resident visas for parents and grandparents). I would like to welcome Michèle Kingsley, director general, immigration; James Seyler, director, immigration program guidance; and Ben Mitchell, counsel. Welcome, and thanks for appearing before the committee. You will each have five minutes for your opening remarks.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Ms. Kingsley. I'd like to thank the three representatives from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Ms. Corinne Prince, Ms. Alexandra Hiles and Ms. Michèle Kingsley, for having answered questions from the committee members.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for that question. I will now give the floor to Ms. Kingsley.

Official Languages committee  In 2021, for example, we had 20 webinars where we took time to meet with students and explain the requirements to be issued a study permit to Canada, the common reasons for refusal and how to successfully complete an application. Thank you for the excellent question. As Madam Kingsley mentioned, we are putting a fair amount of effort towards that.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. Yes. Absolutely. Combatting all forms of discrimination, whether based on language or anything else, is a priority at the department. We have a zero-tolerance policy against any discrimination, and that applies to the corporate culture, the workforce, the teams, the programs, the policies and the decision-making.

Official Languages committee  Serré. I'm going to invoke my privilege as chair to ask two questions. My question is for Ms. Kingsley. Earlier, you said that the applications submitted by African students were individual applications. I'd like to know whether it might be possible to provide coaching to those submitting these applications from individuals who, I infer, appear to be completing them badly.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for that question. The applications are in fact individual, but then so is each review. Every single application is evaluated separately. We do some coaching and awareness training abroad to ensure that the applications are properly completed by our clients. I'll give the floor to Ms.

Official Languages committee  We are trying to see…

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Dalton. I'll let Ms. Kingsley answer this one.