SECU – Parliamentary Context – April 30, 2026

Committee And Appearance Overview

About the Committee

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security reviews the legislation, policies, programs, and expenditure plans of government departments and agencies responsible for public safety and national security, policing and law enforcement, corrections and conditional release of federal offenders, emergency management, crime prevention, and the protection of Canada's borders.

Motion for this Study

It was agreed: That, given reports that 1,635 foreign nationals with criminal records are facing deportation, of which 600 have failed to attend their deportation proceedings and their whereabouts are unknown, 431 have been found guilty of serious crimes, and 361 have been avoiding deportation for more than two years, the committee undertake a study, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), into Canada’s ability to deport foreign nationals with criminal records with a view of recommending measures to prevent these criminals from entering Canada in the first place, and to identify more effective ways of ensuring such criminals are deported.

Past reports

SECU - Supplementary Estimates (C), 2025–2026

SECU - Canada's Ability to Remove Foreign Nationals with a Criminal Record

SECU - Canada–United States Border Management

SECU - Bill C-12

Environmental scan

The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has consistently stressed the importance of quickly and efficiently removing foreign nationals convicted of crimes in Canada. On February 24, the Party moved an Opposition Day motion that, among other measures, called for “policies to immediately expel foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes in Canada.” The Party has advocated for transparency and efficiency in determining the location of 33,000 foreign nationals who have been identified for removal. Members also regularly emphasize the need for criminal background checks when evaluating immigration applications.

The Bloc Québécois (BQ) have contended that foreign nationals convicted in Canada should serve their sentence in Canada prior to removal. They have argued repeatedly that immediate removal could mean the individual serves no sentence for their crime, as there is no guarantee the country they are removed to will apply a foreign conviction. The Party also responded critically to the CPC Opposition Day Motion calling for the removal of foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes, noting Section 36 of IRPA already provides for their removal.

Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) MPs can generally be expected to support government measures and highlight existing provisions to remove convicted foreign nationals.

Appearance Details

It is anticipated that both Ministers will each be invited to deliver a five-minute opening statement. Opening statements would be followed by rounds of questioning from committee members. The Minister and departmental officials are not required to remain for a second hour.

The following officials are recommended to accompany the Minister for the first hour:

• Ted Gallivan, Deputy Minister

Membership

Conservative Party of Canada

Frank Caputo
Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC
Shadow Minister for Public Safety
Vice-Chair of SECU

Chak Au
Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
Member

Rhonda Kirkland
Oshawa, ON
Member

Dane Lloyd
Parkland, AB
Shadow Minister for Emergency Preparedness and Community Resilience
Member

Claude DeBellefeuille
Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC
Vice-Chair of SECU
Critic for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• Processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis and implementing departure tracking to determine how many people are overstaying their visa.

Temporary foreign workers (TFW)

• The CPC would make the TFW program more restrictive, with additional requirements to hire Canadians and to limit the program to in-­demand industries and farming. They have committed to collaborating with businesses facing labour shortages to help them access TFWs.

Processing times and client service

• Processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis.

Border/asylum issues

• The CPC have drawn a distinction between “fake” and “real” asylum seekers and have committed to deporting the former.

French immigration

• The CPC have released a “Quebec platform,” in which they commit to respecting the spirit of the Canada–Quebec Accord vis-à-vis Quebec’s powers over immigration and opposing the century initiative. The leader has remarked he will work with Quebec to halve the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

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

Levels

• Cap immigration levels and tie them to housing, labour market, and health care capacity

Recent Party Activity

• March 12 – SECU: Noted that foreign governments can be very uncooperative in some cases when countries try to return their citizens (Lloyd).
• March 10 – Debates: Noted the government said it could not deport IRGC regime officials, allowing bad actors to stay in Canada (Redekopp).
• March 10 – SECU: Asked if the stakeholder sees foreign criminals and local criminals interacting to pose a danger to Canadian communities (Au).
• February 25 – Debates: Noted the lack of accountability and control of the immigration system in terms of criminal offenses by international students (Kronis).
• February 25 – Debates: Asked why the government is doubling down on a policy that gives sentencing discounts to foreign criminals (Sheer).
• February 24 – Debates: Mentioned the failure by the government to manage the admission of temporary foreign workers and international students into non-essential jobs and fake universities (Konanz).
• February 24 – Debates: Noted that the current system is allowing foreign criminals to stay in Canada and harass communities (Poilievre).
• February 24 – Debates: Discussed the need to remove foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes due to the straining health care system (Guglielmin).
• December 9, 2025 – SECU: Asked if visa requirement changes have led to spikes in those with criminal records in Canada (Lloyd).
• December 6, 2025 – SECU: Inquired how many foreign nationals under the act removal order have been apprehended in the past 12 months (Gill).
• December 6, 2025 – SECU: Inquired on the 200 criminal investigators and if they are tasked to finding the foreign nationals with criminal records who are being removed (Lloyd).
• November 6, 2025 – SECU: Noted inconsistencies in the number of foreign nationals on removal orders (Caputo).
• October 29, 2025 – X: Posted a clip from the House on the cost of the Interim Federal Health Program dure to bogus asylum claimants and foreign nationals (Mazier)
• October 23, 2025 – SECU: Inquired on how many foreign nationals are awaiting deportation in Canada (Caputo).
• October 9, 2025 – SECU: Asked where were the 600 foreign nationals that were supposed to be deported due to violent crimes (Caputo).
• September 25, 2025 – SECU: Noted the 700 foreign nationals employed illegally without authorization (Kirkland).

Bloc Québécois

Claude DeBellefeuille

Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC

Vice-Chair of SECU

Critic for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Top Party Issues

Temporary foreign workers

• Open sectoral and regional permits for temporary foreign workers

Border/asylum issues

• Create a Minister of the Border
• Stronger border security measures
• Will introduce a bill on asylum claimants to improve processing times for asylum files

French immigration and Quebec

• The BQ is opposed to the Century Initiative.
• All immigration powers should be transferred to Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

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

Levels

• The BQ is opposed to Century Initiative, which they believe will exceed Quebec’s integration capacity.
• Federal government must discuss levels with provinces and consider their capacity
• Asylum influx puts pressure on Quebec health care services

Recent Party Activity

• March 10 – SECU: Asked if as soon as foreign nationals are arrested, if they could be placed in preventive custody while facing allegations and awaiting trial (DeBellefeuille).
• March 10 - SECU: Asked if the stakeholder agrees with the principle that foreign nationals should be tried under Canadian laws and serve their sentence in Canada before being removed (DeBellefeuille).
• February 24 – Debates: Noted concerned that people who are convicted of serious crimes will be immediately deported without having to serve their sentence (Ste-Marie).
• February 24 – Debates: Noted that section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act already provides for the deportation of individuals convicted of serious crimes (Deschênes).
• December 9, 2025 – SECU: Inquired on how Canada could intervene more quickly to neutralize foreign criminal nationals (DeBellefeuille).

Liberal Party of Canada

Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
Québec Centre, QC
Chair of SECU

Sima Acan
Oakville West, ON
Member

Anthony Housefather Mount Royal, QC
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
Member

Marcus Powlowski
Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Member

Jacques Ramsay La Prairie—Atateken, QC
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Member

Marianne Dandurand
Compton—Stanstead. QC
Member

Amandeep Sodhi
Brampton Centre, ON
Member

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• The LPC will support legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees and expand the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership.

Temporary foreign workers

• The LPC commits to cap 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

• The LPC has expressed concerns about resource and productivity issues within the department leading to delays in processing asylum and refugee files. The LPC have committed to enhancing cooperation between governments, agencies and organizations for real-time information sharing to improve efficiency and service delivery.
• The LPC have committed to enhancing cooperation between governments, agencies and organizations for real-time information sharing to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Border/asylum issues

• The LPC has noted the STCA allows Canada to return asylum seekers to the US and that this practice remains appropriate, especially given a potential increase of asylum seekers at the border.
• The LPC plans to strengthen border integrity by increasing resources for security screenings, tightening visa requirements and enhancing enforcement against fraud.

Family reunification

• The LPC has committed to having an immigration plan that will allow for the reunification of families.

Digitization

• The LPC will leverage digital tools to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs. French immigration The LPC committed to increasing French immigration outside Quebec to 12% by 2029. The LPC platform recognizes that immigration is a shared responsibility with the Government of Quebec. The LPC leader said it is important to improve the distribution of immigration between provinces.

Levels

• The LPC has committed to stabilizing permanent resident admissions at less than 1% of Canada’s population annually beyond 2027 and to capping immigration until it can be returned to a sustainable trend.

Recent Party Activity

• March 26 – Debates: Noted that the 2013 Supreme Court decision, the Pham decision, makes it clear that when it comes to assessing criminal actions of foreign nationals, public safety always takes precedence (Fragiskatos).
• March 12 – SECU: Inquired if there is clear data to know the number of illegal foreign nationals who have offended (Ramsay).
• March 10 – SECU: Asked about how the stakeholder would evaluate the effectiveness of Bill C-12 in supporting the removal processes (Acan).
• March 10 – SECU: Noted that IRCC screens foreign nationals who wish to enter Canada before they can enter the country (Powlowski).
• February 24 – Debates: Noted that the use of the sayings “fake refugees”, “deport foreign nationals”, and “bogus refugees”, is simply Trumpian language (Naqvi).
• February 10 – Debates: Noted that foreign nationals already subject to a removal order cannot make a refugee claim (Dhaliwal).
• December 6, 2025 – SECU: Inquired on the modernized lawful access capabilities proposed in Bill C-2 on locating foreign nationals evading removal better (Acan).
• October 23, 2025 – SECU: Asked for further details on the warrants targeting 32,000 people and the 600 foreign nationals being looked for (Sari).