CIMM - Parliamentary Context - Mar 8, 2021

Background

On February 16, 2021, the 2020–2021 Supplementary Estimates (C) were tabled electronically in the House of Commons, and the 2021–2022 Main Estimates were tabled on February 25, 2021. Funding included in these Estimates are mainly comprised of the following items for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC):

• Interim Federal Health Program
• Multi-year immigration levels plans
• Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration
• Stabilizing the Global Case Management System for future digital platform transformation
• Security Screening Automation in response to pressures facing the in-Canada asylum system
• Passport Program
• Protect people from unscrupulous and fraudulent immigration and citizenship consultants

Environmental Analysis

With the impact of the pandemic trending in Parliament across all parties, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) applies this lens to their questioning. Recent parliamentary interventions and media attention has largely been focused on the following:

Throughout the year, the impact of the pandemic on immigration has trended in Parliament across all parties, with a recent focus on the downstream impacts of travel restrictions, border closures and quarantine requirements on immigration programs. Recent discussions have zeroed in on the role of immigration in Canada’s economic recovery, including the ability to achieve levels both through streamlining of processes and of digitization/modernization efforts. The Bloc Québécois (BQ) has been vocal about exempting those with Confirmation of Permanent Residence from travel restrictions, stating the inhumane situation of inviting immigrants to come to Canada but not allowing them to land. Recent media attention has questioned the capacity of the government to keep up with applications volumes, given various closures and high processing times.

Another topic of discussion has been temporary foreign workers. The recent focus in the media has been the burden of pre-arrival testing and quarantine requirements and the difficulty of landing workers to help labour needs in various sectors and regions. Negative conditions faced by workers, notably in the agricultural sector, and the need to better protect worker rights has gained a lot of traction in the past year, with top cases such as the death of Syrian front-line worker Yasin Dabbe. Opposition parties have stressed the importance of providing pathways to permanent residence for all skill levels and for workers in the front lines and there have also been talks of vaccine roll-out to workers.

All opposition parties are concerned with family reunification, with notable criticisms on processing times, the lottery system for Parents and Grandparents and spousal sponsorship. Opposition members are frequently interested in admissions data and processing times and the New Democratic Party (NDP) has called on the Minister to broaden the current narrow definition of family. The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has been a strong advocate for reuniting families separated by the Canada-US border and of improving the spousal sponsorship program.

With the current active situation in Hong Kong, the primary concern has been the safety of Canadians abroad, especially in light of non-recognition of dual citizenship. CPC and BQ have been vocal about the need for Canada to stand up to international ‘bullies’ and all opposition has called for the cancellation of the VFS Global contract due to security concerns. The government’s current Hong Kong measures have been called as restrictive, namely leaving out pro-democracy activists. Opposition has equally voiced inadmissibility concerns on the basis of the National Security Law or similar protesting charges.

Recent Developments

Parliamentary Business

• The House adopted a motion to grant permanent residence to Mamadi Fara Camara (Feb 16)
• The House adopted a motion regarding a request to grant citizenship to Raif Badawi (Jan 27)
• Minister Mendicino appearance on the 2020-2021 Supps B and Main Estimates (Nov 20)

Pandemic

• Pandemic recovery linked to immigration policy (Feb 13)
• Immigration to Canada dropped 46% in 2020 (Feb 12)
• Canada's economy won't recover, grow without increased immigration (Feb 11)
• Transport Canada travel restrictions will hurt immigration to Canada, says lawyer (Feb 4)
• Coronavirus: 6.3M travellers entered Canada and didn’t have to quarantine (Jan 28)

Temporary Foreign Workers

• Travel rules create 'anxiety' for farm workers (Feb 16)
• Alberta slaughterhouse will temporarily close after worker's death from COVID-19 outbreak (Feb 15)
• Group wants temporary foreign farm workers in N.B. to get priority on vaccine list (Feb 5)
• COVID-19 travel restrictions challenging for B.C. farmers, migrant workers (Feb 5)
• Canadian Travel Restrictions Causing Concerns Regarding Seasonable Labor (Feb 5)
• Complications in the arrival of temporary foreign workers (Feb 4)

Family Reunification

• Separated families await vaccines, government to reopen border (Feb 8)
• Letter: Separating many families at the U.S.-Canadian border (Feb 4)

Hong Kong

• Trudeau asks ministers to ensure integrity of visa-application system (Feb 10)
• Chinese police own Canada's visa application centre in Beijing (Feb 8)
• News release: Canada Launches Hong Kong Pathway that will Attract Recent Graduates and Skilled Workers with Faster Permanent Residency (Feb 4)
• Canadian dual citizen ordered to pick one nationality in Hong Kong prison (Feb 3)
• MP Kwan on Hong Kong human rights defenders and the Minister’s Mandate letter (Jan 8)

Other Immigration

• Ottawa assouplit ses règles d'immigration (Feb 16)
• Five years after call to add Indigenous rights to citizenship guide, no changes made (Feb 15)
• L'ange gardien qui ne croyait pas aux miracles (Feb 13)
• Canada's immigration policies create discriminatory outcomes for African applicants (Feb 11)
• Groups call for urgent action for the Rohingya following coup d’état in Myanmar (Feb 8)
• Express entry economic immigration timelines a 'joke,' processing times increase (Feb 3)