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:
- Christiane Fox, Deputy Minister
- Hughes St-Pierre, Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Deputy Minister, Finance, Security and Administration
- Daniel Mills, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations
- Marian Campbell Jarvis, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy
- Catherine Scott, Assistant Deputy Minister, Settlement and Integration
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
- November 18 - Twitter: highlighted a visit with the High Commission of Bangladesh in Canada on including Bangladesh in the Student Direct Stream and resettling Rohingyan refugees (Redekopp).
- November 15 - Debates: questioned the government on opening up illegal points of entry and putting $135 million towards temporary lodging for asylum seekers (Vis).
- October 24 – Debates: outlined his priorities for immigration, highlighted his desire to hold IRCC to account for errors, the Student Direct Stream, backlogs, and foreign credential recognition (Redekopp).
- October 21-Twitter: criticized IRCC with strong language over processing delays, pointing to separated families and labour shortages (Redekopp).
- October 20 – Debates: spoke in favour of Bill S-245, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians) (Hallan).
- October 18 – CIMM: expressed interest in privately sponsored refugees as a potential solution to processing backlogs (Redekopp).
- October 12 – CIMM: moved a motion to conduct a study into allegations of potential obstruction of justice at IRCC over tabling of College of Immigration Consultants documents (the motion was not adopted) (Redekopp).
- September 27 – Statements by Members: linked the “affordability crisis” to broader themes of government mismanagement including delays on immigration processing (Soroka).
- September 27 – Oral Questions: alleged the government is presiding over the “longest immigration backlog in Canadian history” and that the situation at Roxham Road was unfair to regular asylum seekers (Rempel Garner).
- September 27-Twitter: tweeted a National Post article on bonuses paid to government officials, framed these bonuses as undeserved in light of immigration processing delays (Rempel Garner).
- September 20 – Debates: remarked that MP offices are “inundated” with immigration cases (Vierson).
- June 23 – Statements by Members: accused the government of failing to provide passports to Canadians, to assist Afghan refugees, and to process immigration applications (McLean).
- May 3 – Debates: Demanded visa-free travel to Canada for Ukrainian refugees (Genuis).
- May 2 – Oral Questions: Requested action on wait times for passport renewals (Lehoux).
- April 29 – Oral Questions: Asked that the government speed up its processing of caregiver cases (Hallan).
CIMM Members
Tom Kmiec
(Calgary Shepard, AB)
Newly appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Topics Of Interest
- Fiscal matters and the economy
- Equalization
- Foreign affairs and international development
- Rare diseases
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
- November 3 – Oral Questions: spoke of anticipated immigration levels by 2025 and the effect on Quebec when most cannot speak French (Blanchet).
- October 24 – Debates: supported Bill C-242, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, in order to properly integrate and improve living conditions for immigrants (Beaulieu).
- October 20 – Debates: spoke in favour of Bill S-245, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians) (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- October 19 – Oral Questions: criticized the government for its handling of Roxham Road, alleged that a Liberal Party donor received a contract for leased land near Roxham Road, argued that funds should be allocated to IRCC to process asylum seekers at regular crossings (Blanchet).
- October 18 – CIMM: remarked upon his interest in an IRCC ombudperson, but indicated he harboured some reservations (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- October 18 - Twitter: highlighted a Radio-Canada article on racism at IRCC (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- October 7 – Oral Questions: urged the government to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement in relation to Roxham Road, accused the government of fighting refugee advocacy groups in the Supreme Court over issues stemming from Roxham Road (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- October 6 – Oral Questions: demanded a “tabling of complete, unredacted versions of all the contracts awarded in relation to Roxham Road since 2017” (Blanchet).
- October 6 – Oral Questions: advocated for more immigration powers to be granted to Quebec due to circumstances at Roxham Road (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- October 5 - Twitter: highlighted the case of French student impacted by an alleged IRCC form error as described in a La Press article (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- September 26 – Oral Questions: alleged that human smuggling is taking place at Roxham Road, urged the government to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- September 26 – Debates: pointed to immigration and an easier path for TFWs as solutions to labour shortages, alleged that immigration is being mismanaged (Simard).
- May 3 – Oral Questions: Alleged that IRCC is the worst department in Canada, demanded more immigration powers be granted to Quebec (Therrien).
- May 3 – Oral Questions: Characterized Canada as being in an immigration crisis due to backlogs (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- May 2 – Oral Questions: Raised the issue of backlogged applications, demanded Quebec manage its own immigration system (Brunelle-Duceppe).
CIMM Member
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean)
Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Human Rights; Second Vice-Chair of CIMM
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
- Suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement and irregular migration at Roxham Road
- Quebec interests and protection of the French language
- Human rights conflicts
- Processing delays
- Family reunification
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
- November 14 - Twitter: called on the government to stop putting refugee claimants and migrants in immigration detention in provincial jails, even though they haven’t committed any crimes. (Kwan).
- November 1 - CIMM: spoke about reduced immigration levels when there is a global humanitarian issue and questioned the effects on backlogs and processing times due to this (Kwan).
- October 26 – Debates: spoke in support of bringing 10,00 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims to Canada, but remarked that the same measures should be extended to all persecuted peoples (McPherson).
- October 20 – Oral Questions: alleged that Pakistan is “cracking down” on Afghan refugees and that these persons are at risk while they wait for special immigration measure applications to be processed (Kwan).
- October 20 – Debates: spoke in favour of Bill S-245, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians) (Kwan).
- October 18 – CIMM: remarked that current delays for caregiver application processing are in excess of three years; described the backlog as “stagnating,” suggested increasing levels numbers as a measure to help alleviate processing delays (Kwan).
- October 18 – Oral Questions: alleged that “instead of suspending the safe third country agreement to streamline the process for refugees, the Liberals chose to funnel millions of dollars of public money to a Liberal donor without a call for tenders” (Boulerice).
- October 7 – CIMM: accused the government of lacking transparency in the context of rejecting international student applications when the applicant is deemed unlikely to return to their country of origin (Kwan).
- September 20 – Debates: advocated for an appeal process for rejected super visas, beyond the current option for judicial review (Kwan).
- June 8 – Debates: remarked that her office was “struggling” with a five case per day limit on contacting IRCC (Mathyssen).
- June 2 – Debates: indicated that the NDP is “strongly in favour” of encouraging paths to citizenship for temporary workers and permanent residents (Boulerice).
- May 4 - Letter: Wrote an open letter to the Minister on passport service issues and processing delays (Kwan).
- May 3 – Debates: Argued that the separation of families is often a by-product of “Canada's deeply broken immigration system” (Desjarlais).
CIMM Member
Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, BC)
Caucus Chair; Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing
Topics Of Interest
- Creating an Immigration Ombudsman
- Measures for Afghanistan and Hong Kong
- Adequate housing availability and affordability
- Processing capacity and backlogs
- Permanent residence on arrival for migrant workers
- Rights, safety and precariousness of Caregivers and other migrant workers
- Extending the definition of family for reunification
- Withdrawal from the Safe Third Country Agreement and Roxham Road
- Privacy concerns and transparency
- Parents and Grandparents lottery system
- Humanitarian and compassionate refusals
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
- November 1 – Twitter: retweeted a post stating that last year, Canada welcomed more than 405,000 newcomers and setting higher targets in years to come (Ali).
- October 31 – Oral Questions: spoke about the government needing to modernize the Safe Third Country Agreement rather than suspend it (Lalonde).
- October 19 – Oral Questions: assured that contracts pertaining to Roxham Road were awarded by public servants according to the government’s principles and all the rules in place (Trudeau).
- October 4 – Debates: pointed to immigration measures as an example of Canada “stepping up” to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia (Oliphant).
- September 29 – Oral Questions: highlighted the importance of immigration to Quebec and Canada, committed to continuing to work with Quebec and international partners on asylum (Freeland).
- September 23 – Oral Questions: noted that immigration is important to Canada’s economic recovery and asked what the government is doing to welcome more newcomers to Canada (Dong).
- October 7 – CIMM: highlighted efforts IRCC is making to streamline processes, as well as measures taken to allow international students to work more hours and help alleviate labour shortages (Sidhu).
- May 3 – Twitter: Highlighted francophone immigration efforts in Paris, France (Minister Fraser).
- Apr 26 – Twitter: Highlighted an exchange with the Minister at AFGH regarding Afghan refugees in Pakistan (Zahid).
- Apr 8 – Twitter: Posted a discussion at CIMM regarding spousal sponsorship, said the system needs reform (Zahid).
- Apr 7 – Debates: Pointed to francophone immigration as a means through which to preserve the French language (Blois).
- Apr 5 – Debates: Argued the immigration process should be made easier (Housefather).
- Mar 3 – Statements by Members: Raised concerns about anti-Black racism and about the plight of refugees fleeing Ukraine and subject to racial discrimination (Atwin).
- Feb 17 – CIMM: Asked the Minister if racism was at play in the rejection rates of francophone African students (Kayabaga).
- Feb 8 – Canada.ca: Announced new online case status tracker for family class permanent residence applications (Fraser).
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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