CIMM – Committee & Appearance Overview – November 29, 2022

About The 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.

Studies

A list of studies the committee has moved to undertake in the 44th Parliament can be found here.

Reports

A list of reports the committee has presented in the 44th parliament can be found here.

About The Appearance

Background

The President of Treasury Board tabled the 2022–2023 Supplementary Estimates (B) on November 17, 2022 in the House of Commons.

IRCC and IRB expenditures were referred to CIMM, where they have invited the Minister and departmental officials to appear to speak to the relevant line items, as well as other departmental priorities. The departmental appearance will take place on November 29, 2022 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Minister will deliver a 5-minute opening statement, followed by rounds of questioning from committee members. The meeting is expected to conclude with members votes on the Estimates.

The following officials will accompany the Minister for the first hour, and remain for the second hour to continue addressing committee questions:

Environmental Scan

Questioning is anticipated to be broad, as members are equally empowered to consider and report on expenditure plans and priorities for future fiscal years. It is anticipated that committee members will ask questions about broader departmental issues, as is customary with any appearance on estimates. For an in-depth overview of potential lines of questioning, please consult the Appearance Strategy.

Committee Membership

Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON)
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)

Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey-Newton, BC)
Chair of SAFG; Previously a CIMM member

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)
Newly appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Member of CACN

Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, BC)
Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing

Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, ON)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Larry Macguire (Brandon-Souris, MB)
Previously a CIMM member

Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, AB)
Former Vice-Chair of CIMM; former Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Please note the Departmental Correspondence from Members of Parliament in relation to this appearance.

Conservative Party Of Canada

Top Party Issues

Processing delays and backlogs have been at the forefront of CPC questioning. Their most recent platform committed to implementing an express processing fee aimed at reducing backlogs.

The CPC often raise concerns around labour shortages, pointing to immigration measures such as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program as a potential solution. The party has committed to working with the provinces to reform the foreign credential recognition system as a means through which to help alleviate skilled labour shortages.

The party has focused on issues of racism and discrimination at IRCC, with questions often centering around accountability and action being taken in response to the Pollara Report. Advanced analytics have also been pointed to by the CPC as a potential source of differential outcomes when processing applications, with particular scrutiny directed to the Chinook Tool.

The party has been critical of the situation at Roxham Road, and has advocated for changes to border and asylum, including ending the Safe Third Country Agreement and expediting Immigration and Refugee Board asylum hearings.

The CPC has called on the government to lift visa requirements for Ukrainians hoping to flee to Canada. The party has frequently drawn unfavourable parallels between Afghanistan and Ukraine in their messaging.

The integrity of the immigration system, particularly as it relates to data breaches, safety and security remain an area of interest for the party, with VFS Global and Huawei both attracting attention in recent months.

On refugees, the party has historically been critical of the Government Assisted Refugees stream, and shown preference for privately sponsoring refugees.

Recent Party Activity

CIMM Members

Tom Kmiec
(Calgary Shepard, AB)
Newly appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Topics Of Interest

Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West, SK)
Vice-Chair of CIMM; Associate Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship

Larry Macguire (Brandon-Souris, MB)
Previously a CIMM member

Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, AB),
Former Vice-Chair of CIMM; former Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Other Active Members

Raquel Dancho (Kildonan—St. Paul, MB)
Shadow Minister for Public Safety; former Shadow Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC)
Shadow Minister for Public Services and Procurement

Matt Jeneroux (Edmonton Riverbend, AB)
Shadow Minister for Housing and Diversity and Inclusion

Michael D. Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills)
Vice-Chair of AFGH

Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB)
Active on immigration and security issues pertaining to Hong Kong

Bloc Québécois

Top Party Issues

Quebec’s interests and the protection of the French language are at the forefront of party interventions. Francophone immigration is a top interest, and the party has proposed settlement incentives for Quebec (e.g. tax credits). The BQ has focused on acceptance rates of international students from African countries, and often suggest racism and discrimination are prevalent at IRCC.

The party has been vocal on Roxham Road, consistently call for increasing Quebec’s jurisdiction over border and asylum, and ending the Safe Third Country Agreement as a means to stop irregular migration.

With regard to labour shortages, the party has proposed changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program including a transfer of the program to Quebec, a halt in annual LMIAs, and an increase on work permit and visa duration. They call for improvements to processing times and stress the crucial role of migrant workers in food security.

On economic immigration, the party advocates for digitizing and expediting the processing of Quebec permanent resident applications.

On family reunification, the party calls for a transfer of the program to Quebec.

Recent Party Activity

CIMM Member

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean)
Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Human Rights; Second Vice-Chair of CIMM

Topics Of Interest

Other Active Members

Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, QC)
Former Critic Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; BQ Deputy House Leader

Yves-François Blanchet (Beloil-Chambly, QC)
BQ Party Leader

New Democratic Party

Top Party Issues

The NDP calls for the appointment of an immigration Ombudsperson to provide independent oversight over IRCC in response to reports of security breaches and alleged racism within the department.

On economic immigration, the party often advocates for aligning immigration levels with labour force needs. They call on the government to bring back an economic program for all skill levels.

On family reunification, the elimination of the lottery system and of caps to sponsoring parents and grandparents is a top issue, as is the reduction of backlogs in this line of business. The party has advocated for broadening the definition of family to include extended family.

On Afghanistan, the party has criticised the government for inaction and called for a need to do more in response to the humanitarian crisis, particularly for those at most risk who are inside their source country. They also seek to relax requirements for Afghan refugees to come to Canada.

On Ukraine the NDP has called for the government to lift visa requirements for Ukrainians seeking a safe haven in Canada. NDP members have frequently compared the situation in Ukraine to Afghanistan.

Providing permanent residence upon arrival is a key recommendation put forth by the party as a means to reduce the precarious status of migrant workers.

The party often intervenes on issues of migrant worker rights and safety, has called for expanding on healthcare, and for terminating both the Live-In Caregiver Program and Temporary Foreign Worker Program. They also advocate for removing language requirements in permanent residence applications.

With regard to refugees, a permanent resettlement program for LGBTI refugees is a frequent request by the party.

Recent Party Activity

CIMM Member

Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, BC)
Caucus Chair; Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing

Topics Of Interest

Other Active Members

Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, AB)
Deputy Critic Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic Diversity and inclusion; Deputy Critic 2SLGBTQI+ rights

Alastair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC)
Critic Public Safety; Critic Agriculture and Food

Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, AB)
Deputy Whip; Critic Foreign Affairs and International Development

Liberal Party Of Canada

Top Party Issues

Party efforts are focused on achieving the Immigration Levels and they have committed to resettling 40,000 eligible Afghan refugees.

Transformation and digitization in various lines of business is actively highlighted by the party and pointed to as a solution for modernizing the immigration system.

The government committed to improving processing times, collecting evidence to improve various policies and programs. They frequently highlight the importance of immigration in Canada’s present and future.

Recent Party Activity

CIMM Members

Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON)
Re-elected Chair of CIMM; Chair of SCIM; Member of AFGH

Shafqat Ali (Brampton Centre, ON)

Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey–Newton, BC)
Chair of SAFG; Previously a CIMM member

Fayçal El-Khoury (Laval—Les Îles, QC)
Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees; Member of AFGH

Arielle Kayabaga (London West, ON)
Member of LANG

Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, ON)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Member of SCIM

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