CIMM – Parliamentary Context – October 21, 2025

Committee & Appearance Overview

About the Committee

Committee Mandate

CIMM studies and reports on all matters relating to the mandate, management and operation of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

Motion for this Study

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study to examine ways to improve the order, fairness, and effectiveness of Canada’s immigration system, and, for the purpose of this study:

• a) schedule no less than 15 meetings, including the following themes:
  1. Immigration levels
  2. The asylum system
  3. Immigration processes
  4. Strategies that could be pursued in order to encourage a greater proportion of French-speaking newcomers to live, work, and contribute within Quebec and across Canada.
• b) invite the following witnesses to appear to give evidence on each of the above themes as the committee deems appropriate:
  1. Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar, Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
  2. Officials from the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
  3. Officials from the Immigration Refugee Board;
  4. Officials from the Department of Public Safety;
  5. Officials from the Canada Border Services Agency;
  6. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and
  7. any additional witnesses the committee deems appropriate, provided they are submitted to the clerk by members of the committee no later than three weeks following the adoption of this motion;
• c) report to the House, forthwith, that it is undertaking this study; and
• d) at the conclusion of the study, report its findings and recommendations to the House.

About the Appearance

Environmental Scan

The scope of the committee’s motion for this study is broad. Parties will take the opportunity to pose questions on a wide variety of matters under IRCC’s purview.

The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) intervenes regularly on immigration in the House of Commons and can be expected to scrutinize IRCC at CIMM. The Party has recently focused its efforts on temporary immigration, with proposals to eliminate the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and to end birthright citizenship for children of temporary residents. The CPC have long connected immigration levels, and especially international student numbers, to healthcare wait times, house prices, and the labour market. They have also been critical on processing times, security integrity, and perceived bureaucratic inefficiency at IRCC.

The Bloc Québécois (BQ) are critical on immigration, with a focus on its alleged impacts on Quebec. The Party argues asylum claimants should be proportionately distributed across provinces rather than concentrated in Quebec and Ontario. They express concern about the number of asylum claimants entering Quebec generally and point to claims’ processing times as an area in need of improvement. The BQ have recently contended changes to the international student program are damaging Quebec’s educational institutions and do not accommodate the province’s unique needs.

Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) MPs have been supportive of the government’s measures on immigration and tend to advocate for them in the House of Commons and at committee.

Appearance Details

The Deputy Minister will deliver a 5-minute opening statement, followed by rounds of questioning from committee members. The meeting is set for one hour only, with Public Safety officials following the second hour. The below officials are recommended to appear to support the DM:

• Pemi Gill, ADM, Service Delivery
• Louise Baird, SADM, Strategic Policy
• Soyoung Park, ADM, Economic Programs
• Jean-Marc Gionet, ADM, Protection and Family Programs

Conservative Party of Canada

Membership

The Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Vice-Chair of CIMM
Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Immigration

• First elected in 2011.
• Served as Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship from November 2015 – September 2019, and was the Vice-Chair of CIMM during that time. She was also a member of CIMM from October 2022 – September 2023.
• Has regularly expressed concerns about immigration policy across various platforms, with particular focus on temporary immigration and asylum.

Michael Ma

Markham—Unionville, ON
Member

• First elected in 2025.
• This is MP Ma’s first time as a member of a committee.
• MP Ma highlights his background as an immigrant. He came to Canada from Hong Kong.

Costas Menegakis

Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Member

• First elected in 2011, defeated in 2015. Returned to Parliament in 2025.
• Served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 2013-2015.

Brad Redekopp

Saskatoon West, SK
Member of CIMM
Associate Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

• First elected in 2019.
• Served as a Vice-Chair of CIMM from 2022 to 2025 and has been a member of CIMM since 2021.

Bloc Quebecois

Alexis-Brunelle-Duceppe

Lac Saint-Jean, QC
Vice-Chair of CIMM
Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

• First elected in 2019.
• MP Brunelle-Duceppe is also the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE).
• Historically most interested in Quebec autonomy over immigration, alleged discrimination against francophone international students, and IRCC’s responses to international crises.

New Democratic Party

Jenny Kwan

Vancouver East, BC
Critic for Immigration, Refugees, and Housing

Not currently a member of CIMM

• First elected in 2015.
• Longstanding Critic for immigration and Vice-Chair of CIMM.
• Historically very active on immigration files. With an emphasis on refugees, asylum claimants, undocumented foreign workers, and social justice broadly.

Liberal Party of Canada

Julie Dzerowicz

Davenport, ON
Chair of CIMM

• First elected in 2015.
• MP Dzerowicz previously served as a Member of CIMM from 2016 – 2017.
• This is her first time serving as Chair of a committee.

Peter Fragiskatos

London Centre, ON
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Member

• First elected in 2015.
• MP Fragiskatos held a variety of parliamentary secretary roles prior to his current appointment.
• This is his first time sitting on CIMM.
• Worked in academia before politics.

Amandeep Sodhi

Brampton Centre, ON
Member

• First elected in 2025.
• This is MP Sodhi’s first time sitting on a committee.
• MP Sodhi is one of the first Members of Parliament born in the 21st century.

Salma Zahid

Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, ON
Member

• First elected in 2015.
• Former Chair of CIMM and longtime member.
• Record of interest in immigration and advocacy for marginalized populations globally.

Sameer Zuberi

Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Member

• First elected in 2019.
• Previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities.
• First time Member of CIMM.

Conservative Party of Canada

Top Party Issues

Since the conclusion of the 2025 federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has been vocal on immigration. The Party has regularly linked immigration to housing shortages, healthcare wait times, and unemployment.

The CPC have recently focused on their proposals to eliminate the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and to abolish birthright citizenship for children of temporary residents.

The Party’s Shadow Minister for Immigration, Michelle Rempel-Garner, has indicated more immigration-related policy proposals are coming from the CPC soon. Below are some key policy proposals the CPC put forth during the last campaign:

Processing Times and Client Service

• Committed to process refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis.

Border / Asylum Issues

• Drew a distinction between “fake” and “real” asylum seekers and committed to deporting the former.

French Immigration

• Released a “Quebec platform,” in which they committed to respecting the spirit of the Canada-Quebec Accord vis-à-vis Quebec’s powers over immigration and opposing the century initiative.

Settlement and Integration

• The CPC leader remarked newcomers should leave problems abroad at home.

Levels

• Proposed capping immigration levels and tying them to housing, labour market, and healthcare capacity.

Recent Party Activity

CPC Immigration Shadow Minister Michelle Rempel-Garner posts about IRCC matters numerous times a day on her X account.

October 10 – X: Posted the CPC would end “birth tourism” and restore the integrity of Canadian citizenship (Poilievre).

October 9 – Oral Questions: Asked the government to align with other jurisdictions in requiring one parent to be a citizen or permanent resident for a child to be granted citizenship by birthright (Rempel-Garner).

October 7 – X: Shared a lengthy post on the rationale behind a CPC amendment to Bill C-3 that would end birthright citizenship. Framed this proposal as a CPC policy priority on immigration (Rempel Garner).

October 6 – Debates: Contended the immigration system is broken, pointed sympathetically to “vulnerable persons from Hong Kong, Ukraine and Sudan who have been left in limbo on their path to permanent residency” (Ma).

October 3 – Conservative Party Website: Publicized a letter to the Minister criticizing IRCC on passport delays stemming from a Canada Post strike (CPC, Rempel-Garner).

October 2 – Debates: Remarked the immigration system has been “destroyed” by high levels impacting housing, healthcare, and the labour market, as well as unvetted criminals entering the country (Poilievre).

October 2 – Oral Questions: Posed several questions on a Pakistani national listed as a sex offender in the U.K. who was granted a Canadian visa in 2023 (Rempel-Garner).

October 1 – Debates: Alleged the government’s immigration policy as led to the “importation” of foreign conflicts and hateful ideologies (Lawton).

September 17 – Debates: Argued that “the government planned to cap study permits in 2024 and then blew right past their cap by over 30,000 people” (Menegakis).

September 17 – Oral Questions: Said that the government has welcomed “unsustainable” numbers of international students without adequate housing available and pointed to a CBC report on “extreme abuse by landlords” (Kirkland).

September 9 – X: For a fifteenth day in a row, drew attention to a specific Canadian company trying to hire a TFW and contended IRCC’s Minister was allowing this practice (Rempel-Garner).

Bloc Quebecois

Top Party Issues

The Bloc Québécois (BQ) is frequently vocal on immigration. The BQ advocate for Quebec to have greater control over immigration. Most recently, the Party has raised concerns about the number of asylum claimants housed in Quebec, which they believe is suffering under a disproportionately large burden. They have also argued government measures on international students and temporary foreign workers impact Quebec negatively.

During the 2025 election campaign, the Party made the following commitments:

Temporary Foreign Workers 

• Open sectoral and regional permits for temporary foreign workers.

Border / Asylum Issues

• Creating a Minister of the Border and implementing stronger border security measures. The BQ intend to introduce a PMB aimed at improving processing times for asylum claims.

French Immigration and Quebec

• The BQ is opposed to the Century Initiative and want full autonomy over immigration for Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

• The BQ have committed to a policy for integrating immigrants into Quebec society. The Party would also remove all references to the British Monarchy in citizenship ceremonies

Recent Party Activity

October 9 – Debates: Argued changes to the international student program did not take into account Quebec’s education system and its differences, alleged IRCC officials were unfamiliar with CEGEP (Brunelle-Duceppe).

October 6 – X: Shared an article in La Presse about an increase in trucking related fatalities in Quebec. The article suggests banning temporary residents from trucking, and associates immigrants with a number of issues in the industry (Brunelle-Duceppe).

September 25 – Debates: Advised the BQ have asked for a moratorium on further adjustments to the TFWP to allow business to adapt, expressed concern about labour shortages stemming from fewer TFWs (Perron).

September 23 – CIMM: criticized the immigration system, stating that criminals dupe the authorities and the federal immigration department (Brunelle-Duceppe).

September 17 – Debates: Claimed that a “host” of international students arrived in Quebec with fake acceptance letters and then made asylum claims (Simard).

August 20 – X: Called on Prime Minister Carney to intervene with IRCC on a matter involving French speaking international students’ applications being delayed, jeopardizing their enrollment at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (Blanchet).

August 18 – Le Quotidien: Spoke with media outlet on delays facing international students from France, who’s applications were delayed to within a week of classes beginning at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Pointed to layoffs at IRCC as a potential cause of long processing times (Brunelle-Duceppe) (Simard).

June 18 – Debates: Expressed relief the government is acting on border issues, characterized the refugee system as “not working” (Brunelle-Duceppe).

June 18 – Debates: Remarked that IRCC’s powers to suspend, vary or cancel visas and documents could impact immigrants selected by Quebec (Fortin).

June 9 – Committee of the Whole: Inquired about the status of IRCC’s client experience modernization efforts, remarking “I would like to know how the department spent $85 million in 2022 to hire people and reduce processing times, only to reduce the number of officers and increase delays in 2024. What happened to that $85 million?” Mentioned he would seek an answer to this question in committee (Brunelle-Duceppe).

June 9 – Committee of the Whole: Asked about the government’s targets for asylum claim processing times (Brunelle-Duceppe).

June 9 – Committee of the Whole: Contended asylum claimants are disproportionately residing in Quebec versus other provinces, and repeatedly demanded the government reimburse Quebec $500,000 for costs associated with the claimants (Brunelle-Duceppe).

Liberal Party of Canada

Top Party Issues

The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) made the following commitments during the 2025 election campaign:

Refugees

• Supporting legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees and expanding the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership.

Temporary Foreign Workers 

• Capping the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.

Processing Times and Client Service

• Stated they would enhance cooperation between governments, agencies, and organizations for real-time information sharing to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Border / Asylum Issues

• Plan to strengthen border integrity by increasing resources for security screenings, tightening visa requirements, and enhancing enforcement against fraud.

Digitization

• Leverage digital tools to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs.

French Immigration

• Committed to increasing French immigration outside Quebec to 12% by 2029.
• The LPC leader said it is important to improve the distribution of immigration between provinces.

Levels

• Stated they would stabilize permanent resident admissions at less than 1% of Canada’s population annually beyond 2027 and to cap immigration until it can be returned to a sustainable trend.

Recent Party Activity

October 9 – Oral Questions: Asked about how Bill C-3 would promote fairness in granting citizenship (Joseph).

October 9 – Oral Questions: Contended Bill C-12 would protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration system (Malette).

October 2 – Debates: Pointed favourably to Bill C-2’s expected impact on Canadian immigration (Deschênes-Thériault).

September 16 – Debates: Remarked positively on a measure preventing international students from claiming asylum if they have been in Canada for over a year (Dhaliwal).

September 10 – X: Shared a graphic on the TFWP and said the Program ”has grown far beyond its original intent. Our government is rebalancing it—with stricter limits & new caps to protect Cdn workers and ensure a stronger economy & fair labour market” (Derkson).

July 29 – X: Highlighted an award received from the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project and remarked that Canada is a haven for those fleeing oppression (Zahid).

July 16 – X: Wrote the government remains committed to reuniting families and highlighted “IRCC will invite up to 10,000 sponsors under the Parents and Grandparents Program from the 2020 pool” (Dhaliwal).

June 20 – Oral Questions: Claimed that if members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are in Canada, they are here illegally and will be removed (Gasparro).

June 19 – Debates: Referenced past work at CIMM on Bill C-71 and encouraged parliamentary colleagues to support Bill C-3. Urged that no amendments be introduced to would slow the Bill’s passage (Kayabaga).

June 19 – Debates: Spoke at length on Canada’s legacy of immigration and support for refugees in the context of Bill C-3 (Dhillon).