HANSARD: Order Questions on immigration processing backlog
HANSARD: Will the minister grant these international students a pathway to permanent residency?
Debates of June 12th, 2023, 2:45 p.m.
House of Commons Hansard #211 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session.
House of Commons Hansard #211 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Oral Questions
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Oral Questions
Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP
Mr. Speaker, international students who have been defrauded by crooked consultants should not be punished with deportation and inadmissibility based on misrepresentation. They have invested everything they have for a better future. They work hard and study hard, and they do so under very difficult conditions. They are under enormous strain, and their lives are in limbo. The Liberals can eliminate this uncertainty by allowing them to stay in Canada and build the lives they dream of.
Will the minister do the right thing, the compassionate thing, and grant these international students a pathway to permanent residency?
Sean Fraser Minister of Immigration
Liberal
Mr. Speaker, I agree with much of my hon. colleague's question. I am glad to share that we have been working very hard, as we discussed in a recent meeting just a little more than a week ago.
We are working to develop a process to ensure that those innocent students, who are the victims of fraud, will have an opportunity to remain in Canada. However, to the extent that people committed fraud, or were complicit in a fraudulent scheme, they will bear the consequences of choosing not to follow Canada's laws. I am hearing stories of students who are dealing with serious mental health concerns because of the uncertainty they are struggling with. We will put a process in place to allow them to prove that they were taken advantage of and provide an appropriate remedy for them.
