HANSARD: What happened to caregivers' PR on arrival promised by the government?
Madam Chair, will the minister waive the refugee determination requirements for Afghan refugees as the government has done for the Syrian refugee initiative?
HANSARD: Asks Treasury Board President series of questions on government's slow action to their commitments to Afghan people
Debates of Dec. 8th, 2021
House of Commons Hansard #13 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session
Supplementary Estimates (B), 2021-22
Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
10:45 p.m.
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, as members know, our government is committed to bring the 40,000 refugees to our country, as we campaigned and as we are determined. The officials and the government are working very hard to bring these 40,000—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, that was not the question. It was about refugee determination. I know that the minister did not answer the question. Either she does not know the answer or she is refusing to answer it.
My next question is this. If they are not able to obtain a refugee determination from the UNHCR, they will not be able to seek refugee status from Canada. How can they then get to safety?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, again, we are committed to bringing the Afghan refugees and different communities here to Canada. We will continue to work hard to bring the refugees to Canada.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, again, the minister did not answer the question. Many Afghan interpreters and their families, human rights activists, women and girls are in a dire situation as they are not able to secure visas, or renew passports or other travel documents.
Will the Canadian government provide temporary travel documents to these individuals including a TRP?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, in August 2021, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Canada is extremely concerned about the deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation in Afghanistan. We will continue to evacuate the 40,000 Afghans we want to bring to the country. So far—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, the minister is refusing to answer or even touch on any of the issues that I am asking of her.
Has the cabinet approved the 40,000 Afghan refugee target announced by the Prime Minister?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, since the beginning of this crisis, our government has been working very hard to coordinate efforts to ensure that the 40,000 Afghans we promised to bring to Canada will be able to come here safely. So far, more than 3,800 members of the Afghan community have arrived in Canada, and we will continue—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Supplementary Estimates (B), 2021-22Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
10:45 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, that is not even one-tenth of what the government said it would bring in.
Have the cabinet approved the 40,000 target that has been announced?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, once again, we are working very hard to meet our objective. As the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced yesterday, two planes transporting more than 500 Afghans arrived in Canada today.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, have any of the caps on refugee admissions been met this year?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, our objectives are very clear, and we will continue to do what is necessary to meet them.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, these are fairly straight-up questions for the minister. I do not know why she is avoiding answering any of them.
Can the minister tell us if the current immigration levels can accommodate the 40,000 Afghan refugee target?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, as I already said, we have an objective. We have been able to bring in more than 3,800 Afghans, 500 of whom arrived in the past 24 hours. We are concerned about people's health and safety and are working with our partners and allies to continue these efforts—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, the minister is not answering any of my questions. She keeps on reciting the message box, but not answering any of the questions.
Canadians are extremely generous even during these difficult times. Many want to privately sponsor refugees to Canada, so will the government increase the number of sponsorship agreement holders?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, we must thank those Canadians who are helping with the effort to bring Afghans to Canada. As I mentioned, we will continue to do our best to ensure we get them to Canada as quickly as possible.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, will the government increase the number of sponsorship agreement holders?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Madam Chair, we continue to look for different ways to bring the 40,000 Afghans to Canada as we promised in our election campaign, and we confirmed it again during—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, November is usually when the new immigration levels plan is released. This year, no immigration levels plan has been made public. When will the immigration levels plan be made available?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, the 2021-23 immigration levels plan was tabled in October 2020. We will continue to follow this plan that we established. The immigration minister will obviously revise—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, as the minister knows, normally a new immigration level plan is tabled every November and there is not one this year. There is a huge backlog in the immigration system with every stream.
When does the minister anticipate we will get back to pre-pandemic levels?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, we know that the pandemic has put a lot of pressure on us to continue our efforts to receive immigrants and refugees in Canada. The minister responsible has told the House that we will propose targets—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Alexandra Mendes
Liberal
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Madam Chair, families are waiting two to three years for their application to be processed. At the rate in which things are going, it is going to take three years to process and get us back to pre-pandemic levels to clear the backlog.
A number of caregivers have passed Canadian nursing exams and have met all licensing requirements to practise, but are unable to do so because of employer-specific work permits. This is a waste of talent, especially at a time when we have a nursing shortage.
Will the minister expedite their PR applications or provide them with a bridging open work permit so they are able to work in the health care system?
Mona Fortier Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Liberal
Madam Chair, once again, I am very pleased to answer my hon. colleague's questions. It is important and one of our government's priorities to welcome skilled immigrants to help us with the labour shortage in several areas, including health care.
