CIMM#101: Briefing on the Temporary Immigration Measures Initiated in Response to Ongoing Conflicts in Sudan and Gaza

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the minister and officials for finally coming back to this committee.

Just to be very clear, Netanyahu is committing a war crime. As we know from what we're seeing in the news with what's happening, civilians are being targeted. There's an act of genocide taking place right now, and Canada should be doing everything that it can to support the Palestinian community and be more precise to hold Netanyahu to account in accordance with the International Criminal Court.

I want to turn to the immigration issue for a second.

On the last appearance on March 20, we were informed that 986 applications have been processed. The NDP has also submitted an order paper question that indicates that, as of April 24, that number remains the same.

Between April 24 and May 26, has that number changed? If so, what is that number now?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

This is for Gaza. The number of TRV applications that have been accepted into processing is 2,903. That is the stretch of time between when the pathway was launched on January 9 and May 24, 2024.

--------

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Let's just say that of all the applications that have gone through the process, even the ones that have gotten the TRV, only 356 names have been submitted to COGAT. I get there's a rolling number because some of them have already exited, etc.

That number is really low—I would just say that—so there is a holdup with respect to the security screening processing, which is what I'm hearing from families as well. This is not necessarily to get a biometric. It's the pre-screening in order to get them onto that list. What is the holdup with the pre-screening from IRCC's side?

Citizenship and Immigration Committee on May 27th, 2024
Evidence of meeting #101 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session.

11:35 a.m.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Thank you very much.

Now I will go to MP Kwan for six minutes.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the minister and officials for finally coming back to this committee.

I want to turn to the immigration issue for a second.

Between April 24 and May 26, has that number changed? If so, what is that number now?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

This is for Gaza. The number of TRV applications that have been accepted into processing is 2,903. That is the stretch of time between when the pathway was launched on January 9 and May 24, 2024.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Is this under the special immigration measure and not outside of the special immigration measure?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Outside that, there would be more, but this is within this particular measure.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Out of that, how many have crossed the border with the government's help?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

As you know, the program was designed, and I mentioned it to MP Zahid, to work with COGAT to get them out. People who have exited have had to do it themselves.

On a very individual and ad hoc basis, we have used our advocacy to get individuals out for medical reasons or other consular reasons, but that is not as part of the policy.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Is the answer then none?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Under this policy, the answer is none.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Okay.

As of March 20, 287 names have been submitted to COGAT and no one has been approved to date. Has that number changed? How many names have been submitted?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

I think there's an important clarification to that number, and we can give it to you in more detail, because I don't want to eat up all the time. We do list and relist, based on our knowledge of people who have exited or not, who are no longer part of that. We continue on a routine basis to submit that list, updated, and it hasn't changed from those numbers really in a material way, but it may comprise different people as part of it.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

It's just at 287?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Right, but those—

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Okay.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Hang on. Let's not presume that those persons—

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

No, I understand what you're saying. I understood that.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Half of those have left, or a third of those—

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

I understood that—

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Excuse me. One person at a time, please.

If you want to interrupt the minister, please raise your hand, honourable member, and I will make sure I stop the clock and get back to you.

I will give the floor to the honourable MP Kwan.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

What are the criteria to determine which name is added to the list?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Just a clarification to your earlier point: the number currently, to be precise, is 356. For the actual detailed criteria, I would pass it over to ADM MacIntyre.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Madam MacIntyre, please go ahead.

Jennifer MacIntyre
Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs and Crisis Response,
Department of Citizenship and Immigration

Thank you very much.

In terms of the process, before we provide a name to the Government of Israel, to COGAT, as the committee is aware, we are not able to do biometric screening inside of Gaza. However, in order to jump-start the security screening process, we are using an enhanced biographic form for applicants inside of Gaza.

As soon as applicants have passed the preliminary security admissibility screening, we provide those names to the Government of Israel and the Government of Egypt for exit. However, we are keeping families together, so once an entire family has passed through that initial stage, we provide those names to both governments.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Again, we're dealing with complete families. Indeed, these are numbers that reflect the current status of the screening and the submission to COGAT, but again, very recently we received indications from COGAT that they would accept this program, and we were hopeful, but obviously events have changed since then.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

You didn't answer my question, but I'm going to move on because I have limited time.

The Order Paper question the NDP has put in indicates that as of April 24, 4,467 codes have been issued. On the announcement today of changing the cap from 1,000 to 5,000, how many more codes will be issued from the 4,467 as a result of today's announcement?

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Honourable minister, you have 10 seconds to respond.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

I'll leave you to do the math, MP Kwan, but that number from January 9 to May 20 is 5,250.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

The time is up, honourable member. I'll come back to you.

Now I will go to MP Khanna for five minutes.

--------

11:55 a.m.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

We will now go to Madam Kwan.

Madam Kwan, you have two and a half minutes.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Could the Minister tell us how many more applications will be processed as a result of the announcement today?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

I gave you that number leading up until May 20. I would have to check how many individuals that translates into.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

By my calculation, based on your numbers, there's a difference of 583 codes. Based on the application numbers that were approved, by my calculations, it was 2,197. Maybe officials can confirm that at a later time so that we know how many more applications will be processed.

Could the minister explain if you need to have a code to be issued a TRV?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

No, not necessarily. Again, I broke down for colleagues at this committee the humanitarian visas for those who didn't have codes or others. That adds up to something that is different, so you don't necessarily, but you still have to go through the process of screening.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

You don't have to have the codes, yet people were told that they have to have the code. People were desperate to get onto the portal to apply to get the code, but as it turns out, if people can manage to find a way, however they can, to cross the border, they don't need the code and then they can get a TRV.

Officials have been telling.... Some families were told that they should apply for a TRV outside of the special immigration measure, and the minister just confirmed that they don't need a code, so families feel betrayed. I hope the minister understands that. Precious time was lost as people waited to go through this process, but this process got them nowhere because not one person under this process was able to get to safety. However, people who managed to get outside of the process are now able to move along.

How many duplications of applications are there and, because of the wasted time, how many lives have been lost?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

I think you're presuming a lot of things to come to that conclusion.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Actually I'm not. I've talked to family members who have lost lives.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

One person speak at a time, please.

I will go to the minister.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

It's not all as a result of this process. As you know, there is a war in place. We are doing our utmost to bring people to safety.

If people left with a code, then we are able to process them. If they left without a code and they're eligible under the program, we are doing our best to process them. If they are still stuck in Rafah or elsewhere, we are doing our utmost to advocate for their safe exit.

To the best of my knowledge, I don't believe people were told to stay until they got a code. We don't have the appreciation that people would have there about how their lives are threatened, and we don't judge them when they pay an exorbitant fee to leave to keep themselves alive.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Madam Kwan.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

If I could make a final comment, the truth of the matter, then, is people actually didn't need the code. That is the truth, and that should have been told to them right from the beginning.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Thank you very much.

I go to Mr. McLean for five minutes.

--------

12:30 p.m.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

We'll come back. Thank you.

I'll go to MP Kwan for six minutes.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Thank you.

I'm going to ask a few more questions on Gaza, and then I'm going to move on to Sudan.

Could the minister advise us of the number of people who have crossed to Egypt for Canada, and who have managed to cross from January until now? In the U.S., we know there are at least 435. In Italy, there are 317. In Australia, there are 300. What's the number for Canada?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

The number of individuals who have departed Gaza independently is at about 1,214. As for the assisted departures, which I think you were alluding to, since the beginning, it's 2,588. Again, though, you'd have to ask me a more precise question.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Okay. I'm going to pause this question then.

What work is being done to look at other borders and options for people to cross outside of Rafah?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Currently, we continue to advocate for a managed exit at any border that is available, but as you know, there are none that are open at this time. This is a continued diplomatic effort as part of the advocacy for a ceasefire and access to humanitarian aid.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Perhaps we can get something in writing, or perhaps when the officials are up, we can get a more detailed answer than, “Hey, we're trying, but nothing is happening.”

There are people in Egypt who managed to cross the border on their own, but they're stuck. Their applications have not been processed, so no TRVs have been issued, and this is supposed to be a first in, first out process.

Why have these people not been issued TRVs? How many people are stuck?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

I can't tell you that or presume that's an accurate statement. People have to go through the eligibility in the program. If they have crossed over from Gaza into Egypt, they are safe, thank heavens. They are eligible for the program. We are doing our utmost to get them to Canada.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Based on the survey of families, we have 914 applications that are in Egypt. Of those, 121 got visas, and they've been there for a very long time. The rest of them are just stuck in the system.

I'm going to come back to that with the officials later.

On Sudan, what we know is that the quota of 3,250 has now been reached. How many of those have been issued visas?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

That work is still ongoing at this time, so I don't believe any in the context of this program.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Okay. The conflict has been occurring since last year, and it took the government eight months to announce this program. To date, we're expecting, based on the answers, it will be almost two years before anybody can get to safety. What is the holdup?

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

The bells are ringing. Do we have unanimous consent to carry on with the meeting?

Brad Redekopp Saskatoon West, SK
Conservative

Normally, my colleague doesn't want to do that, but we would be willing to let the NDP finish their round and then suspend the meeting.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

I have stopped the clock.

I need to know if I have unanimous consent to carry on with the meeting or if we will stop the meeting.

Brad Redekopp Saskatoon West, SK
Conservative

Until the end of the—

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

I cannot have—

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Bloc

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe has a point of order.

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Bloc

The committee is sovereign. If Mr. Redekopp's proposal is that we allow Ms. Kwan to finish her comments, and then suspend the meeting, we are entitled to do that. If the Conservatives wish to allow Ms. Kwan to finish her round, I am definitely in favour of that.

Thank you.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Okay. I will carry on with Madam Kwan.

Madam Kwan, you have three minutes left.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

There was a question for me. Do you want me to take it?

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Yes. How many visas have been issued? I think you said none.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Let's not presume that nothing has happened. We have evacuated 846 people.

Under other programs, we have about 4,200 people who are here, but under this program, which was launched earlier this year, the process is still ongoing. The intake cap has been recently achieved, as of May 6, so no visas been issued in this context.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

The issue here is why it is taking so long. Is it a problem with issuing visas and getting people to safety because of staffing resources, or is it because of the immigration level numbers that are actually limiting the ability for the government to move people to safety in a much more expeditious way?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

In this case, it certainly isn't the immigration level numbers.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Then what's the problem?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

We launched the program a few months ago. It is at the intake cap as of May 6, and we continue the security processing and the landing of people, which was always planned to be around early 2025. We are moving that up to 2024. We're working as hard as we can.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Okay. Then it will be almost two years before people get to safety. It took the government eight months to actually announce the program back in December and then another two months to actually move forward with the application process.

With the 3,250 cap, is that to do with the immigration levels plan?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Again, let's not presume that no work has been done in the interim. This is a family reunification program of people from different locations who have been affected by this devastating reality.

The number we have set is one that we do to manage our ability to properly process people within the programs, and all of these programs, with very few exceptions, have caps.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Well, the immigration levels plan for 2024 for H and C is 13,750; for 2025, 8,000; and for 2026, 8,000. You can see how tight those numbers are.

If the minister says it has nothing to do with the immigration levels plan, can he provide the committee with a list of all the countries that are supposed to fit into these tight numbers that are needing special immigration measures or H and C applications to get to safety? As well, what are the allocations for those countries?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

To the extent that we have them, I'm sure we could provide a rough estimate of what will be comprised in those. As you know, there are many events that happen around the world, and we have to open our arms to people who are fleeing war and devastation. We do that, and we will continue to do that. Often that does put pressure on some of these things we try to predict years before but that don't necessarily turn out to be true. Take, for example, the situation in Ukraine.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Maybe we can get the breakdown of those numbers. How many are targeted for Ukraine? How many are targeted for the Americas with the government's special deal, the secret deal, for the safe third country agreement, for Sudan, for Hong Kong, for Gaza, etc.? Can we get those numbers, please?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

I just take issue with the 15,000 in the Americas program. It's far from secret. It's quite open.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

It was negotiated in secret.

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Liberal

Well, we don't negotiate things with Biden in front of a press gallery, that's for sure. However, we certainly talk to them and come up with a plan to make sure there's a safe way to migrate through the Americas, which, as you know, is exceedingly dangerous, especially through the Darien Gap.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

The time is up, Madam Kwan, so I will—

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

He just rambled on.

--------

1:45 p.m.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Thank you, Mr. Morrice. Your time is up.

We'll go to Madam Kwan.

Madam Kwan, please go ahead for four minutes.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

On the issue of differential treatment, the government could have brought in a temporary program for Sudanese to get to safety, and then, as they are doing for the Ukrainians, provide a PR program subsequently. The government could have done that, but they chose not to. It's going to take at least two years now for people to get to safety.

Now, I think the block here is on the immigration levels plan numbers. The deputy minister just said that out of the 3,250 special immigration measures for Sudanese, we'll be expecting 6,000 to 8,000 people from those applications.

Would that be coming out of 2024 immigration levels plan numbers or is that going to be coming out of the 2025 planned immigration levels for the H and C category?

Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration

As we continue to process, Chair, some of them will probably be landed in 2024, so they will be in the 2024 levels. The rest, as they are processed, will be in the other levels, which are subsequent years.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Could the officials provide the committee the list of countries of PR applications under the H and C program that have been approved so that we can see how many of the spaces are allotted for 2024, which is 13,750, and how many they expect for 2025, for which the allotted space is 8,000?

If you look at the numbers accordingly, 6,000 to 8,000 coming out of the 3,250 applications for 2025, let's say not all of them; let's just say even 5,000. That's the bulk of the numbers. You then have only 300 left. That's supposed to cover Ukraine; that's supposed to cover Gaza and that's supposed to cover Hong Kong. It's supposed to cover all the other categories, including protected persons. How is the government going to make those numbers work? Is that the real reason there is such a delay?

Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration

First of all, Chair, we will provide you with our estimates as requested in terms of the numbers.

Second, we continue to process the applications as quickly as we can and actually find the spaces in the current program. However, if there is an opportunity, there might be other ways which we can explore in terms of adding more numbers.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

I'd love to hear from the deputy minister and, if we don't have time, perhaps have him submit to the committee what other streams they are going to raid to make these numbers work. Unless the government actually increases the immigration levels numbers, the numbers are not going to add up, so which stream are they going to raid?

As I mentioned earlier, my intent, Chair, was to say that there is a yearly renewal of the multi-year levels plan. Those are the ways in which the adjustments are done for the purpose of all those pending.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

On the yearly renewal, we're already talking about 2024-25, so now we're talking about 2026 and beyond. The numbers just don't add up. In any event, I'll wait for the breakdown so that we can see, because this has implications not just for the Sudanese community but for all the other communities that are in desperate need of the PR numbers and the processing delay that is jammed up in the system.

I want to just touch on the issue of finances and financial barriers. If the deputy can also provide the exact breakdown of why some communities have had their fees waived and others have not, we have a fulsome comparison using Ukraine as the gold standard and then comparing that to all the other communities that are in need of support.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

The time is up, Deputy Minister.

Do you want to respond?

Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar
Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration

Chair, I've already mentioned that we will provide that information, which was requested in terms of what exactly is the breakdown of different categories of people who would be coming in, over the previous years.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

The time is up. We agreed on four minutes each. I'm going to adjourn the meeting on behalf of the committee members.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Mr. Chair, before you adjourn, I have a point of order.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Yes, but let me thank the officials first. I want to thank the officials.

Greg McLean Calgary Centre, AB
Conservative

Chair, we have 10 minutes. We can still have—

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

It's agreed.

On behalf of the committee members, I want to thank the deputy minister, assistant deputy minister and the director for coming here and sharing their time with us.

I also want to thank the interpreters, the support staff and of course the public that has come to this meeting.

With that, I will let the officials leave.

I have two points of order. One I think I've already dealt with.

Madam Kwan.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Mr. Chair, I just want to make sure that the committee would be able to get the information that was requested of the minister . He was not able to provide the data for the committee members. I want to be clear that this is not missed. I asked the minister for the numbers of TRV applications that are in the system for those in Egypt—this is related to Gaza—and to indicate if they are part of the SIM, the special immigration measure, and whether or not they issue a code, and of those, how many TRVs have been issued to them.

The minister said that he actually didn't know. I said that I was going to bring that to officials, so I want to make sure that the officials will provide that data to us as well.

The Chair Sukh Dhaliwal
Liberal

Thank you.

Madam Kayabaga.

Click this link to read the full transcript of this committee meeting:

https://openparliament.ca/committees/immigration/44-1/101/?singlepage=1

Latest posts

CIMM#115: Pension Transferability and Access to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), and Delays in Permanent Residence and Visas for Hong Kongers Recent Reforms to the International Student Program

James McNamee, Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I would say that's generally the case. If the work permit they obtained was originally connected to the public policy, that's correct. I don't know if that's the situation in all cases. In some cases, applicants may have had an LMIA-based work permit to begin with.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC, NDP
That's right. However, under the special immigration measure, the LMIA is not required. I have a list of applicants in those circumstances. Their work permit renewal application was rejected. They were asked to submit an LMIA, which makes no sense. I want to flag that as a deep concern now emerging for people whose open work permits are being rejected as they wait for their permanent resident status. At this rate, given the immigration levels plan numbers and the processing delays happening, and with the number of applicants in place, you can imagine that it's going to take something like eight years to get through the backlog of people getting their PR status. This means that if they are trying to get their pension, they will not be able to do so for eight years, because they are required to provide proof of permanent residence.
I want to flag this as a major concern. I hope the department will take action to fix the error being applied to applicants whose open work permits are being rejected under this stream. Can I get a confirmation from officials that this will be undertaken?

James McNamee, Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes, that issue has been raised with the department already, and we're looking into it to see what exactly happened in those situations.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC, NDP
Okay. Officials are aware of it, and yet it's still happening. I have cases coming to me that are happening. I'm about to prepare a giant pile of this stuff for the minister, so I hope the officials will fix that. The other thing related to the pension, of course, is lengthy delays for people to get their permanent status. Based on the immigration levels plan and the number of applicants in place, is it the officials' anticipation that it will take about eight years to get those applications processed?

James McNamee, Director General, Family and Social Immigration Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
We have looked at that possibility. Certainly, it will take longer than we had previously indicated to the committee. I would note that the first year of the levels plan is the fixed year. The years that follow, in this case, 2026 and 2027, are flexible. There are opportunities to adjust those numbers in the future, and that could affect that timeline. It's hard to say whether eight years will be the timeline, but it will be longer than had been originally predicted because the numbers have gone down.

CIMM#114: Recent Reforms to the International Student Program

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
Aside from looking at patterns of potential violators—the groups and organizations taking advantage of students with these fraudulent letters of acceptance—will you be including in the analysis what types of institutions are being utilized for these fraudulent letters? In other words, is it private institutions versus public institutions, colleges versus universities and so on? Will that be part of the analysis?

Bronwyn May, Director General, International Students Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It's not always the case that a letter originates from an institution. We would need to look at various possible sources.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
Maybe I can reframe that.
Obviously, as these are fraudulent letters of acceptance, they wouldn't be issued by the institutions. However, regarding the list of institutions being used for the purpose of these fraudulent letters, I would be interested in obtaining information to determine what percentage are private institutions and public institutions, how many of them are colleges, how many of them are universities and so on. That will tell us very specific information that I think is important when trying to tackle fraudulent activities.

Bronwyn May, Director General, International Students Branch, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I completely agree. That's a very important line of analysis.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
I will make the further request to make sure you share this information with the committee. I'll argue that this information should not be kept secret. It should be public and transparent—shared with all Canadians—so that we're aware of what the landscape is and of how international students are being taken advantage of. With respect to that analysis, will there be information and data on what countries are being targeted?

Click to read the full discussion from the Committee meeting

CIMM#113: Pension Transferability and Access to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), and Delays in Permanent Residence and Visas for Hong Kongers

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
All right. Thank you.
Hence, we have this problem. You have the Canadian government, which created this lifeboat scheme for Hong Kongers who are fleeing persecution in Hong Kong as a result of the national security law. The government, in its wisdom or lack thereof, created this lifeboat scheme that only provides for temporary residence by way of a work permit or a study permit. Then these people have to go to the queue to make an application for permanent residence, and we know that there is a huge backlog and delay in processing.
In the beginning, there was swift action, but as time has passed, it's been lengthened by way of the delay, to the point where the former minister even made an announcement to further extend people's work permits and study permits for another three years. That is to say, a person could be here for six years—as long as six years—under this current scheme without getting permanent residence. This is because the minister anticipated that people would not be able to swiftly get their permanent resident status. That is the reality.
As a result of that, people are not able to provide proof of permanent residence, because the application is in process. To make it even worse, the government—the minister—just made an announcement about the levels plan, cutting levels to the tune of 105,000 permanent resident status applications.
You can imagine how long the wait-list is for Hong Kongers as they continue to wait. Now, these Hong Kongers have zero intention of returning to Hong Kong, because they know that they would be persecuted if they did. People know that. I think the Canadian government knows that.
This is my question, then, to you as the manager of their pension, which, because of this rule, they're unable to access: Would your organization be willing to write to the regulator to ask for consideration for these applicants who are in a prolonged period of waiting for permanent resident status, to ask that their declaration indicating that they do not intend to return to Hong Kong be accepted as proof that they intend to leave Hong Kong permanently so that they can access their pensions? Is that something that your organization would consider doing?

Maryscott Greenwood, Global Head, Government Relations, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company
I think I understand the question.
The basic premise of your question has to do with the period of time it takes for the Government of Canada to determine and provide permanent residency or citizenship. It seems to me that this is a function of the Government of Canada, as opposed to a regulated entity. That's how I would answer that.

Laura Hewitt, Senior Vice-President and Head, Global Government Affairs and Public Policy, Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc.
Yes. I would say that it's not within our authority to change the criteria.
However, our numbers show that once that permanent residency does come through, we're able to process the applications and approve Canadian permanent residents.

CIMM#101: Briefing on the Temporary Immigration Measures Initiated in Response to Ongoing Conflicts in Sudan and Gaza

Latest posts

CIMM#115: Pension Transferability and Access to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), and Delays in Permanent Residence and Visas for Hong Kongers Recent Reforms to the International Student Program

CIMM#114: Recent Reforms to the International Student Program

Click to read the full discussion from the Committee meeting

CIMM#113: Pension Transferability and Access to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), and Delays in Permanent Residence and Visas for Hong Kongers

Are you ready to take action?

Vancouver Constituency Office

Ottawa Parliamentary Office