HUMA - Parliamentary Context - HUMA Ministerial Appearance on the Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRC) has been invited to appear before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Person with Disabilities (HUMA) alongside senior officials from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) on the Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Departmental officials will be in virtual attendance to support the Minister:

• Catrina Tapley, Deputy Minister of IRCC
• Marian Campbell-Jarvis, Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic and Program Policy, IRCC
• Louis Dumas, a/Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations, IRCC
• Tara Cosgrove, Executive Director, Integrity Service, ESDC
• Philippe Massé, Director General, Temporary Foreign Workers Program, ESDC

The Minister of IRC will appear between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., with 10 minutes allocated to opening statements and IRCC and ESDC officials will attend between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Ministerial correspondence

MP Kwan (NDP)

• Apr 8, 2020 – Open Letter re: Government Assistance in the COVID-19 Pandemic as Related to Immigration Processes
  • Requesting assurance that applying for or receiving CERB/CEWS has no negative future impact on any immigration-related processes such as inadmissibility, ineligibility to sponsor or continue to sponsor family members.
  • Requesting assurance that caregivers will not be penalized if employer is unable to pay for their services as a result of COVID-19.
  • New immigration measures needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Apr 6, 2020 – Requesting to help repatriate the 4 year old Canadian orphan currently in a Syrian refugee camp safely to Canada amid COVID-19.
• Mar 25, 2020 – Irregular migrants & asylum seekers & COVID-19 restrictions.

MP Normandin (BQ)

• Mar 17, 2020 – Work Permit extension for Seasonal Agricultural Workers

MP Albas (CPC)

• Apr 9, 2020 - Correspondence relating to an interdepartmental task force dealing with temporary foreign workers coming to Canada.
• Apr 7, 2020 - Mexico Visa office closures until April 30, 2020 and the implications on obtaining visas for Seasonal Agricultural Workers for the upcoming crop season.
• Mar 16, 2020 - Impact of March 18, 2020 border closures on Temporary Foreign Worker and Seasonal Agriculture Worker programs and the Canadian businesses, especially the agricultural sector, which depend on this.
  • “Will the Temporary Foreign Worker and Seasonal Agriculture Worker programs be suspended this year? Will visa holders be denied entry to Canada or will an exemption be made? When will businesses receive additional information? In the event these programs are suspended, what additional supports will be made available to impacted businesses?”

Senator Yuen Pau Woo

• Mar 27, 2020 – Health care vacancies exacerbated during Covid-19

MP Hoback (CPC)

• Mar 20, 2020 – Temporary Foreign Workers in Agriculture

MP Powlowski (LPC)

• Feb 21, 2020 – Labour shortages at slaughterhouse facilities

Premier Dennis King (PEI)

• Mar 11, 2020 – Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Project for the seafood-processing sector

Miguel Antonio Guevara Quintanilla

• Apr 22, 2020 – Request to facilitate temporary foreign worker agricultural program between Canada and El Salvador

Media and news

Recent media attention has been largely focused on:

• Agricultural labour gaps left by migrant workers
  • Coronavirus: Southwestern Ontario farmers seek help to fill gap left by migrant workers
  • 'Death is so real:' Immigrant group says meat workers afraid after plant closure
  • Why it's naive to send unemployed Canadians to work on labour-strapped farms
  • 'We need all hands on deck': Canadian farmers struggle with labour shortfall due to COVID-19
  • Companies who violate temporary foreign worker COVID-19 quarantine face fines up to $1M, public naming
• Vulnerabilities faced by temporary foreign workers and immigrant workers
  • Welcome to the tent clinic where Toronto’s undocumented immigrants get medical care
  • Alberta’s COVID-19 crisis is a migrant-worker crisis, too
  • Vulnerable groups need special support during COVID-19: advocates
  • In The Shadows: Living and Working Without Status in Alberta
  • Migrant and undocumented workers plead for help during COVID-19
  • Migrants among most vulnerable, as IOM ramps up coronavirus response
• Border issues and Safe Third Country Agreement
  • Canada is releasing immigration detainees at ‘unprecedented’ rates amid COVID-19 fears
  • Canada-U.S. border cracks open to asylum-seekers under new closure arrangement
  • New Canada-U.S. border directive restores some asylum rules suspended by shutdown
  • Some refugee claimants can now enter Canada
  • Fewer than 10 asylum seekers tried to cross since border closure: Blair
• Other vulnerable populations
  • Prime Minister announces support for food banks and local food organizations
  • Canada announces support to those experiencing homelessness and women fleeing gender-based violence during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

Committee appearances

Recent interventions of interest at parliamentary committees include the following:

• May 7, 2020 – Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVI)
  • MP Atwin (NDP) spoke of temporary foreign workers and their impact on food sovereignty, and asked how the government is protecting them.
• May 5, 2020 – Standing Committee on Health (HESA)
  • In their opening remarks, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association noted the use of PHAC guidance on PPE use and the need for testing in particular in regards to the TFW.
  • MP Davies (NDP) asked for the per bed cost of a public room as compared to a private room. He asked about federal support to meet housing requirements for TFW.
  • MP Jaczek (LPC) asked about the lack of consistency across Canada for protocols for temporary foreign workers. She wondered if there should be a stronger guidance role.
  • MP Jansen (CPC) asked about PPE rationing. She was concerned for farmers about lack of incentive to work on farms since students were being paid to stay home. Mr. Lemaire noted it might have an impact on seasonal workforce, but other incentives could help.
• May 5, 2020 – Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI)
  • An LPC MP raised concerns about labour shortages and the need for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to be more flexible during this time.
• May 4, 2020 – Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) – Agricultural stakeholders related to the cattle and dairy industry
  • MP Lianne Rood (CPC) spoke of shortages to seasonal agricultural workers and the new Canada summer jobs stream that would match student salaries to provide experience. When asked, cattle industry stakeholders indicated that they are supportive and that even with a full complement of foreign workers, they are short labour.
• May 1, 2020 – Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) – Minister of Labour and officials from ESDC
  • In the opening remarks of Juliana Dalley, a lawyer from the Migrant Workers Centre, the importance of foreign workers and undocumented workers on frontline jobs was noted, who are largely underpaid, subject to abuse, and particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. She spoke of the shortcomings of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and recommended that undocumented workers be eligible for the CERB.
  • MP Jenny Kwan (NDP) remarked that TFWs who have expired Social Insurance Numbers have no recourse. She states that IRCC is having difficulties processing work permit applications. She asked if work permits should automatically be extended and changed to open work permits. She also asked if the government should consider using ITNs to provide financial support to undocumented workers.
• May 1, 2020 –Standing Committee on Finance (FINA)
  • MP Gabriel Ste-Marie (BQ) asked whether COVID-19 could lead to a food shortage in the fall. This was followed by a question regarding labour shortages in this sector, and whether there are bureaucratic obstacles for accessing the migrant workers labour force.
  • MP Peter Julian (NDP) asked about the negative impacts migrant and undocumented workers faced due to ineligibility for emergency benefits.
• May 1, 2020 – The Senate convened to consider and pass, at all stages, Bill C-15, “An Act respecting Canada emergency student benefits (coronavirus disease 2019)”
  • Senator Dagenais (Canadian Senators Group) asked if the Prime Minister would “keep the border closed to illegal refugees, or will we again start seeing what happened in the past, at the expense of Canadians’ health?”
  • Senators Saint-Germain, Coyle, (Independent Senators Group), Verner (Canadian Senators Group), and Harder (non-affiliated), all raised concerns over a perceived lack of support for international students.
  • Conservative Senators raised concerns over labour shortages in the agriculture sector, and fewer numbers of temporary foreign workers coming to Canada, asking why the Government was not proposing concrete measures to have students fill these shortages.
• April 30, 2020 – Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA)
  • MP Gill (BQ) asked if there will be more support for seasonal workers at the end of Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) period since they are unable to accumulate hours for Employment Insurance
• April 29, 2020 – House of Commons Second Reading debate of Bill C-15, Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act
  • Green Party and NDP both raised concerns over a lack of support for international students through the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB).
• April 29, 2020 – Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU)
  • Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food spoke of work done to facilitate foreign seasonal workers, and measures such as the 14-day quarantine and the $1,500 employer incentive per employee provided by the government.
  • Questions of interest focused on measures to improve the temporary foreign worker program to better support both the seasonal workers and the farmers and incentives to encourage unemployed Canadians to work on farms to fill labour shortages.
• April 29, 2020 – Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVI)
  • MP Yves Perron (BQ) raised the distress experienced on farms and by agricultural entrepreneurs. He indicated that simple things that can be done for temporary foreign workers, such as accelerating the processing of visas, automatic renewal of permits of workers already in Canada, providing them with open permits so that they may work everywhere, financial incentives to work on farms.
  • MP Erin O'Toole (CPC) indicated that recently, the Prime Minister closed borders, including Roxham Road, but has recently announced the allowance of resumed 'illegal migration'. He indicated that the border should be closed at 100% for national security reasons and that this goes against public health advice. He asked when the border will be closed 'for real'.
  • MP Brenda Shanahan (LPC) raised the outstanding understanding of farmers in face of the mandatory quarantine of temporary foreign workers on farms upon arrival in these difficult times. She asked which measures are in place to support farms and food security for Canadians.
• April 28, 2020 – Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVI)
  • MP Jenica Atwin (GPC) spoke of international students’ inclusion in Canada's COVID-19 Response Plan and MP Rachel Blaney (NDP) asked a question on the border, to which Minister Blair responded.
• April 24, 2020 – Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA)
  • Jenny Kwan (NDP) asked “On migrant workers with expired work permits and undocumented workers not eligible for CERB, will the Government be providing migrant workers with CERB even though their SIN are no longer valid because there is a backlog at IRCC for work permits? For undocumented worker forced to work in unsafe environment, can the Government address the issue with their Individual Tax Number?”

Committee undertakings

• April 22, 2020 – At the Standing Committee on Health (HESA), two questions of interest were asked by MP Paul-Hus (CPC) and were assigned to IRCC as undertakings:
  • HESA 15.1 Border crossings and changes to STCA measures
    « J'ai une autre question. Aujourd'hui, on a posé une question au premier ministre et à la vice-première minister concernant la frontière. Il y a un enjeu avec les États-Unis. L'entente conjointe Canada—États-Unis a été renouvelée pour 30 jours. Par contre, il y a un changement. Les agents des services frontaliers ont été avisés hier qu'à partir de maintenant les gens doivent faire une demande d'asile via les postes frontaliers, comme celui de Lacolle, au Québec. Donc, ceux qui se présentaient à Roxham pourront aller au poste de Lacolle. Avez-vous des choses à spécifier là-dessus? Cela soulève beaucoup de questions. Compte tenu du fait que la frontière est censée être fermée, pourquoi accepte-t-on des cas de demandes d'asile? »
  • HESA 15.2 Cost of hotels for asylum claimants
    « Il faudra me revenir aussi avec de l'information sur ma première question, lors de la première ronde. Il s'agit de celle concernant la frontière et les demandes d'asile. On sait que l'hôtel St-Bernard est loué depuis trois ans. On veut savoir combien cela coute et s'il y a d'autres installations au Canada où on a pris ce genre de mesure ou si c'est seulement à Lacolle. »

Parliamentary returns

MP Falk (CPC)

• Q-174 on breakdown of admissions in various streams, such as economic class, temporary foreign workers, international students, temporary residents, refugees, including information on country of origin by class of migrant and number of applicants found be inadmissible.

MP Genuis (CPC)

• Petition 431-00115 on foreign affairs, Afghan refugees and vulnerable religious minorities.

MP Kent (CPC)

• Q-406 on the number of ministerial exemptions of the individuals admitted to Canada in 2019 via humanitarian, compassionate, and other grounds.

MP Kmiec (CPC)

• Q-407 on a detailed breakdown of visas issued to Cubans from May 2019 to January 2020 (including for temporary foreign workers, study permits, work permits, and breakdown by gender and marital status)

MP Viersen (CPC)

• Q-394 on passport refusals, revocations and cancellations since November 2015.

Annex A - Summary report from DG-level appearance at the Standing Committee on Health (HESA)

The Standing Committee on Health (HESA)

April 14, 2020

2:04 p.m. to 4:42 p.m.

Topic of Meeting / Sujet de la réunion

Briefing on the Canadian Response to the Outbreak of the Coronavirus

Members in Attendance / Membres présents

Liberal

• Ron McKinnon (Chair)
• Mike Kelloway
• Marcus Powlowski
• Sonia Sidhu
• Tony Van Bynen
• Helena Jaczek
• Richard Lehoux

Conservative

• Matt Jeneroux (Vice-Chair)
• Robert Kitchen
• Dan Albas
• Michelle Repel Gartner

Bloc Québécois

• Luc Theriault (Vice-Chair)
• Yves Perron

New Democratic Party

• Don Davies

Witnesses / Témoins

As an individual

• Amir Attaran, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

• Dr. Michael Strong, President

Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food

• Steven Jurgutis, Director General, Policy, Planning and Integration Directorate

Department of Citizenship and Immigration

• Matt de Vlieger, Director General, Immigration

Department of Employment and Social Development

• Philippe Massé, Director General, Temporary Foreign Worker Program, Skills and Employment Branch
• Tara Cosgrove, Executive Director, Temporary Foreign Worker Program and International Mobility Program, Integrity Services Branch of Service Canada

Department of Industry

• Mitch Davies, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Industry Sector

Summary

This is the second meeting held via videoconference by the Committee. The general decorum of the meeting was orderly from all parties.

Each witness gave approximately 10 minutes of opening remarks with the officials from IRCC, ESDC, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) sharing their time.

Matt de Vlieger (Director General, Immigration, IRCC) spoke about the legislative and regulatory framework governing the entry of temporary foreign workers, including new measures put in place in the context of COVID-19. He spoke about the travel ban that was lifted for temporary foreign workers under the Quarantine Act and the Aeronautics Act. He also spoke about the new regulations that were tabled in the House of Commons that require foreign workers to self-isolate for 14 days and require employers to provide wages, benefits and accommodations during isolation.

Philippe Massé (Director General, Temporary Foreign Worker Program, Skills and Employment Branch, ESDC) experienced technical difficulties and provided his opening remarks later in the meeting. In his opening remarks, he stated that the Government recognized the importance of the agricultural sector and that measures were taken to lift the travel ban for temporary foreign workers.

Steven Jugutis (Director General, Policy, Planning and Integration Directorate, AAFC) spoke of the role of temporary foreign workers in the food supply, how the demand was the same as last year, and bringing workers in safely and quickly. He also mentioned that many Canadians were not working and should be encouraged to work in the sector.

There was no reference to IRCC activities in opening remarks from ESDC or AAFC.

Questions directed at Mr. Attaran, Dr. Strong, and Mr. Davies focused on provincial and territorial information sharing with the federal government, flattening the curve, strategies to stimulate the economy after the pandemic, privacy concerns with tracking COVID-19, expansion of testing, and measures that the Government can take to improve its response to COVID-19.

During questioning, Yves Perron (BQ) sited concerns of transportation and housing with the quarantine measures in place for temporary foreign workers. He proposed that the federal government take responsibility and centralize quarantine measures rather than making it the responsibility of the employer.

• Matt de Vlieger responded that there has been collaboration across all levels of government to have measures in place for seasonal agricultural workers. Transport Canada have protocols in place to screen travelers. He referenced his opening remarks for the new measures in place requiring foreign nationals to self-isolate and for employers to support it.

Later in the meeting MP Perron sought the opinion of Mr. Attaran on the same issue. To which Mr. Attaran replied there needs to be more than just financial support from the federal government.

Luc Therault (BQ) asked about reducing the administrative burden and extending validity of work permits.

• Matt de Vlieger responded that visas and work permits are issued to align with the labour market impact assessment and that there has been a lot of flexibility that has been built in year-over-year.

Dan Albas (CPC) asked questions on labour market impact assessments (LMIAs), prioritizing Canadians that have lost their jobs and preventing foreign workers from causing community outbreaks.

Don Davies (NDP) asked ESDC how the government is ensuring that temporary foreign workers have full access to health care.

Richard Lehoux’s questions (LPC) were focused on utilizing the subsidy that was announced to better implement the quarantine by isolating foreign workers at a single location. He also called for more information and guidance to be provided to employers.

Follow-up Items / Suivis

There were no follow-ups for IRCC.

Next Steps / Prochaines étapes

Next steps were not discussed before the meeting stream was ended.