CIMM – Committee & Appearance Overview – December 05, 2023
Committee Mandate
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) studies matters related to immigration, citizenship and federal multiculturalism policy.
The committee has oversight of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Appearance Background
The 2023-2024 Supplementary Estimates (B) were tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday, November 9, 2023. On October 31, CIMM adopted the following motion to invite the Minister and officials:
It was agreed, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to appear for one hour with officials, and invite departmental officials along with officials from the Immigration and Refugee Board to appear for one hour, on the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year 2023-24 after they are tabled in the House of Commons, and that they appear before the end of the current supply period.
The following officials will accompany the Minister for the first hour, and remain for the second hour to continue addressing committee questions:
- Christiane Fox, Deputy Minister
- Nathalie Manseau, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief and Financial Officer
- Louise Baird, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy
- Soyoung Park, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asylum & Refugee Resettlement
- Marie-Josée Dorion, Acting Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery
Recent Committee Business
Studies
A list of studies the committee has moved to undertake in the 44th Parliament can be found in the section of work.
Reports
A list of reports the committee has presented in the 44th Parliament can be found in the section of work.
Environmental Scan
It is anticipated that committee members will ask questions about broad departmental issues, as is customary with any appearance on estimates. The issues below are presently top of mind for CIMM members:
- Immigration Levels
- Service standards, processing times and immigration backlogs
- Interim Housing Assistance Program
- Recent progress by the Genuine Students Impacted by Fraud Task Force
- Temporary Foreign Workers and closed work permits
- Settlement and Integration
- Pressures on Canadians induced by non-permanent residents
- Francophone Immigration outside Quebec
- Human Trafficking
Committee Membership
Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey-Newton, BC)
Chair of CIMM
Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West, SK)
Vice-Chair of CIMM; Associate Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, QC)
Second Vice-Chair of CIMM; Vice-Chair of SDIR; Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Human Rights
Shafqat Ali (Brampton Centre, ON)
Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON)
Fayçal El-Khoury (Laval—Les Îles, QC)
Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
Arielle Kayabaga (London West, ON)
Member of LANG
Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, AB)
Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Member of CACN
Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, BC)
Caucus Chair; Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing
Paul Chiang (Markham-Unionville, ON)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Larry Macguire (Brandon-Souris, MB)
Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, AB)
Relevant Departmental Correspondence is saved here.
Conservative Party Of Canada
Top Party Position
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) outlines their commitments to a non-partisan, welcoming and well-managed immigration system in their Policy Declaration.
Their priorities include improving settlement support, benefiting from economic immigration through temporary and permanent residents, improving the application and processing system, improving foreign credential recognition, and providing support for refugees.
The party has been vocal on the subject of the exploited international students. The party’s position is that the students’ deportation orders should be stayed immediately.
The party members have recently emphasized the importance of in-person citizenship ceremonies.
Recent Party Activity
- November 24 – Facebook: Criticized the use of foreign replacement workers for Stellantis and NextStar factories (Kmiec).
- November 7 – CIMM: Enquired about contemporary forms of slavery and closed vs. open work permits (Redekopp).
- October 31 – Debates: Alleged the government cut funding to the Calgary Centre for Newcomers and the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society and that frontline services for newcomers were negatively impacted (Kmiec).
- October 31 – Debates: Accused the government of mismanagement over immigration and of failing to align immigration targets with integration capacity (Deltell).
- October 31 – Debates: Delivered lengthy remarks accusing IRCC ministers of poor performance. Alleged the Canadian immigration system has lost the trust of Canadians, and that economic needs are not being met through immigration (Kmiec).
- October 27 – Twitter: Highlighted a recent meeting with Hong Kong Watch, an advocacy group supporting immigration measures for Hong Kong (Kmiec).
- October 24 – CIMM: Expressed frustration over cases where jurisdiction is unclear between IRCC and CBSA (Redekopp).
- September 26 – Debates: Commented on housing shortages and remarked that “government [immigration] targets have nothing to do with the ability to build houses” (Poilievre).
- September 22 – Twitter: Shared his letter to Minister Marc Miller pushing to fulfill promises to allow Bangladeshi students to be part of the Student Direct Stream (Redekopp).
CIMM Members
Tom Kmiec
(Calgary Shepard, AB)
Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Topics of Interest
- Fiscal matters and the economy
- Equalization
- Foreign affairs and international development
- Rare diseases
Larry Macguire
(Brandon-Souris, MB)
Greg McLean
(Calgary Centre, AB)
Brad Redekopp
(Saskatoon West, SK)
Deputy Shadow Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Other Active Members
Pierre-Paul-Hus
(Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles, QB)
Québec Lieutenant; Former Shadow Cabinet Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
New Democratic Party
Top Party Position
The New Democratic Party (NDP) believes that immigrants strengthen our country and more needs to be done to ensure the immigration system is rooted in fairness, respect and dignity.
They recognize the importance of immigration for economic purposes and emphasize prioritizing family reunification. They commit to removing the immigration backlog, resettling refugees, and ending programs and policies that prolong the time families spend apart.
Regarding the issue of exploited international students, the NDP has a stance that their deportation orders should be stayed and they should be granted a pathway to permanent residency.
CIMM Member
Jenny Kwan
(Vancouver East, BC)
Caucus Chair; Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing
Topics of Interest
- Rights, safety and precariousness of Caregivers and other migrant workers
- Processing capacity and backlogs
- Extending the definition of family for reunification
- International Students impacted by Fraud
Other Active Members
Alexandre Boulerice
(Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, QB)
Deputy Leader; Critic for Labour; Deputy Critic for Climate Change, Official Languages
Randall Garrison
(Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, BC)
Critic for Justice, 2SLGBTQI+ Rights; Deputy Critic for National Defence
Recent Party Activity
- October 31 – Debates: Argued that immigration should not be blamed for the housing crisis and accused former IRC Minister Sean Fraser of throwing newcomers “under the bus” with respect to housing shortages (Kwan).
- October 31 – Debates: Delivered substantial remarks in response to a BQ motion on immigration. Contended newcomers are facing homelessness and alleged the government and other opposition parties are fostering hatred and division by highlighting immigration’s role in the housing crisis (Kwan).
- October 31 – Debates: Remarked that the definition of family should be expanded to allow new Canadians to sponsor extended relatives through family class immigration (Davies).
- June 21 – CIMM: Stated “the NDP believes in the principle that if you're good enough to work here and if you're good enough to study here, you're good enough to stay here” (Kwan).
- June 19 – CIMM: Inquired on the potential tuition fee increases for international and domestic students (Kwan).
- June 16 – Oral Questions: Called on the government to expand the exemption in the Safe Third Country Agreement to migrant women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people (Kwan).
- June 12 – Debates: Encouraged the government to remove the cap on the number of Afghan refugees (Kwan).
Bloc Québécois
Top Party Position
The Bloc Québécois (BQ) prioritizes Francophone immigration to Quebec and ensuring immigration does not contribute to the decline of French in Canada.
In May 2023, the BQ led the debate on an opposition motion on Immigration Levels, calling on the government to reject the Century Initiative objectives and not use them as a basis for developing future immigration levels.
Recent Party Activity
- November 25 – Facebook: Demanded that the federal government reimburse Quebec for costs incurred welcoming asylum seekers (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- November 23 – CIMM: Gave notice of the following motion: “That the Committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs to appear as soon as possible for a period of two hours to answer the Committee's questions concerning the smuggling and trafficking of migrants and the measures the government intends to put in place to put an end to these illegal activities that exploit vulnerable people and jeopardize their safety'‘ (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- November 7 – Oral Questions: Alleged government immigration targets exceed Quebec’s capacity to integrate newcomers (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- November 6 – Oral Questions: Accused the government of setting its immigration targets based upon McKinsey & Company’s “Century Initiative” (Bergeron).
- November 2 – Debates: Remarked that the new immigration levels plan does not respect Quebec’s capacity to integrate newcomers (Michaud).
- November 2 – Oral Questions: Contended the federal government failed to consult with its Quebec counterparts in setting immigration levels plan targets (Blanchet).
- August 23 – Twitter: Shared an article criticizing comments about limiting international student admissions to address the housing crisis (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- June 19 – CIMM: Questioned if the Government of Canada was responsible for exacerbating the mental health problems of international students threatened with deportation (Brunelle-Duceppe).
CIMM Member
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe
(Lac-Saint-Jean)
Second Vice-Chair of CIMM; Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Human Rights;
Topics of Interest
- Francophone immigration, including international students from French-speaking countries in Africa
- Immigration measures for Afghanistan
- Taking a stand against China in relation to the Uyghur genocide
- Quebec's interests and protection of the French language
- Human rights conflicts
- Processing delays
- Family reunification
Other Active Members
Yves-François Blanchet
(Beloeil—Chambly, QB)
Leader of the BQ
Christine Normandin
(Saint-Jean, QC)
Former Critic Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; BQ Deputy House Leader
Liberal Party of Canada
Party Position
The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) outlines their immigration commitments in their 2021 Platform. They made commitments to reform economic immigration programs, to support Francophone immigration outside Quebec, to increase immigration levels and decrease wait times, and to welcome more refugees.
Recent Party Activity
- November 3 – Oral Questions: Highlighted the importance of immigration to the Canadian economy and to communities (Zahid).
- November 3 – Debates: Argued the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan promotes “stable growth to balance pressure on housing, infrastructure and essential services” (Chiang).
- November 2 – Statements by Members: Commented favourably on Canada reaching its 40,000 goal for Afghan refugees (Dzerowicz).
- October 31 – Debates: Asked the Minister to elaborate on steps the government intends to take to promote Francophone immigration to British Columbia (Dhaliwal).
- June 19 – CIMM: Inquired on the approach of the new Task Force for distinguishing between genuine misled students and those who purposefully engaged in fraudulent activities (Dhaliwal).
CIMM Members
Sukh Dhaliwal
(Surrey-Newton, BC)
Chair of CIMM
Topics of Interest
- International Students
- Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship
- Family Reunification
- Settlement and Integration
Shafqat Ali
(Brampton Centre, ON)
Salma Zahid
(Scarborough Centre, ON)
Fayçal El-Khoury
(Laval—Les Îles, QC)
Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
Arielle Kayabaga
(London West, ON)
Member of LANG
Paul Chiang
(Markham-Unionville, ON)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
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