Humanitarian, Refugees and Foreign Affairs

CIMM: Jenny addressing immigration backlogs and processing times

In Canada, there are already over 500,000 people here as migrant workers or undocumented, which is to say, people who have lost their status for one reason or another. With regard to the immigration levels numbers, the government is silent on the undocumented workers or undocumented people who are here, and the migrant workers.

In your opinion, do you think that the government should put a laser focus on regularizing the people who are already in Canada to meet our labour skills shortage? That would include refugees who are here, people who came from a different country trying to seek refuge in Canada.

I'll ask Ms. Gilbert, and then I will go to Mr. Bhatti...

CIMM: Jenny addressing immigration processing delays and ways to regulatize undocumented migrant workers

With regard to the processing delays that are happening pretty well in every single stream within IRCC, you made some suggestions on how to enhance the system. I really liked the idea of having specialized agents on various streams. 
The other issue is that we also have over 500,000 people in this country who are temporary foreign workers or undocumented individuals. At the same time, we also have industry clamouring for more workers, and we tend to then turn to more temporary foreign workers. 
Should the government be looking to regularize the people who are already here for a variety of reasons as well as to meet the immigration needs caused by the labour skills shortage?

HANSARD - With Pakistan cracking down on Afghans, what action is the government taking to ensure Afghans who served Canada are not thrown into prison or sent back to the Taliban?

IN THE NEWS: Prominent Afghan women's rights activist denied refugee admission into Canada, upsetting sponsors

In one of the latest disappointments in Canada’s efforts to aid Afghan refugees, a prominent Afghan women’s activist has had her temporary resident permit application denied, seemingly because of a bureaucratic mistake.
Bessa Whitmore and Sharen Craig have been working for seven months to bring Farzana Adell Ghadiya to the safety of Ottawa.
As sponsors, they had agreed to open their home to Ghadiya and provide her safety once she was able to make it to Canada.
For more than a decade, Ghadiya has fought for women's rights in Afghanistan, starting schools and working with the United Nations. She's also Hazara, an ethnic minority targeted by the Taliban.
Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for East Vancouver, told CTV National News that many “feel that this practice is discriminatory.”
“The reality is this: the government is not offering the same or similar immigration measures for Afghans and they are being left behind.”

OPEN LETTER to Immigration Minister for his rejection of Afghan women’s rights defender Farzana Adell’s protection application

Farzana’s life is in danger and time is running out. Her visa will expire at the end of the year in the country where she is residing. Unable to work or access the healthcare she requires to treat diabetes, she is currently depending on supporters to send her money to afford basic life necessities.
As a dedicated women’s rights defender Farzana has spent her life advancing women’s equality. She has helped to build schools for girls and maternity hospitals, she co-founded Gender Equality Rights Organization Afghanistan, and worked as chief of staff for the UN Commission on the Status of Women in the office of former Afghan president Asraf Ghani. It is this dedication to advancing women’s equality that puts her life in such danger due to Taliban retribution. Indeed, the Taliban have a decade-long history of harassing and beating Farzana to within an inch of her life.

HANSARD: Jenny asked would the government lift the arbitrary cap for Afghans and immediately expedite their processing?

CIMM#34: Jenny’s motion for the committee to study the government’s response to the final report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan and to invite various officials to provide an update

The motion reads as follows:
That the committee study the government’s response to the final report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan entitled “Honouring Canada’s Legacy in Afghanistan: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis and Helping People Reach Safety”, following the tabling of the report; that the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and their officials, with two hours allocated for each department, to provide an update on which of the 37 recommendations related to their portfolio they have acted on and/or its progress and which they will not implement with an explanation; and that the committee report its findings to the House.

CIM#34: Addressing the nature of a new amendment

OPEN LETTER: The disastrous state of IRCC

It is with grave concerns that we write to you as the leader of the New Democratic Party, as the NDP critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and as Caucus Chair, to demand immediate action to address the ongoing system-wide delays and utter chaos at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It’s important to remember that these are more than just files in a system, each application number corresponds to an individual and delays often have profound and expensive effects on their lives and prevents loved ones from being able to reunite.
One of the highest demands at a MP office is on immigration-related issues. Sadly, IRCC is in complete chaos with over 2 million applications stuck in the backlog that continues to escalate. The unprecedented massive delays in processing in virtually every immigration stream is far beyond a few months above processing standards, whether it’s a permanent resident application, family reunification, renewal of CoPRs, verification of citizenship, work permit or study permit application or renewal, PR card renewal, or refugee applications. Applicants are informed of a processing timeline, only to have it changed months later. The Canadian Council for Refugees latest report highlights the dire backlog and slow processing times for permanent residence of those who have received refugee protection in Canada. For some, the threats are so severe that it’s a matter of life and death. Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans who have previously assisted Canada’s missions abroad are left behind and are being hunted down by the Taliban.

IN THE NEWS: CP24 - More than 1.3M immigration applications in backlog amid humanitarian crises

NDP Immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the minister's optimism is of little comfort to people who have spent months or even years languishing in the system.
“I find it astounding that the minister would talk glowingly about the work that he's doing, meanwhile, there's so many people who are struggling, who are suffering as a result of immigration processing delays,” Kwan said in an interview.
She wrote a joint letter with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express their concerns about the “utter chaos” at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.