Citizenship and Immigration committee  I totally agree with Ms. Calverley on this, because people who are still in a temporary status are afraid that they might need to go back to Hong Kong. Their status is not permanent. If their status were permanent, then perhaps they could stay in Canada. That would be better.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  My understanding is that financial institutions operating in Hong Kong are in a situation whereby they're asked to comply with two sets of laws: one in Hong Kong and one in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The problem is whether the Canadian banking institutions are actually standing for Canadian values. That is the question that needs to be asked. Thank you.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I agree with that recommendation. That would be good.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  After 1997, the situation in Hong Kong gradually deteriorated, especially since 2014, 10 years ago, when people were occupying the streets to demand democracy. Then the control got even worse. In 2019 the anti-extradition bill movement was the most important. The next year, in 2020, there was the national security law.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I absolutely support that. That will help the people who are currently in maintained status, but that is not the final goal. Thank you.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the problem is that, yes, IRCC is saying that the immigration level plan is a problem, but I'm really not sure, because in 2021 and 2022, the PR admissions numbers were actually way above the high range of the target for H and C. Then, last year, there was 10% that was not used, so is the target really that important?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the problem is that the policy is pretty new. It was just last week, so we do not know if the new policy actually has sped up the open work permit. As other witnesses have mentioned, no one has ever seen that AOR, which is a requirement for that new open work permit. That is a huge problem.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The simplest way, of course, is to expedite PR applications. That is the ultimate goal. That's the only way people would feel they really have settled in Canada. Yes, providing an open permit, as the committee motioned earlier, will help. The problem is that it's still temporary status.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Chair. Good morning, esteemed members of Parliament. I'm Andy Wong, president of Canada-Hong Kong Link. We are a non-partisan, non-profit organization established in 1997. We promote freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, and we stand on guard for Canada's democracy. Thank you for having me.