CIMM – Parliamentary Context – April 22, 2026

Committee and Appearance Overview

About the Committee

Committee Mandate

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(g) of the House of Commons, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) has a mandate to, among other matters:

review […] and report on the Public Accounts of Canada and all reports of the Auditor General of Canada, which shall be severally deemed permanently referred to the Committee immediately after they are laid upon the table [...]

Motion for this Study

It was agreed: That all organizations that have been subject to a performance audit or a special examination by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada provide a detailed action plan to address the audit recommendations which have been agreed to—including specific actions, timelines for their completion and responsible individuals—to the committee and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada within six months of the audit being tabled in the House of Commons; That organizations that are invited to appear before the committee to discuss the findings of an audit should provide an action plan to the committee no later than 48 hours prior to the hearing; That action plans and progress reports received by the committee be published on the committee’s website.

Past Reports

PACP - Report 5, Professional Services Contracts

PACP - Report on Cyber Security of Government Networks and Systems

PACP - Report 1, Registration under the Indian Act

Environmental Scan

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) conducted an audit to determine whether Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is effectively implementing reforms to the International Student Program, following the introduction of a cap in January 2024, to reduce intake. Reforms also included new measures to strengthen program integrity, address fraud, and increase diversity.

Media coverage regarding the OAG report on international students was high and included strong criticism from immigration critic Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who argued the Department must fix longstanding problems and warned that inaction could harm public confidence in the immigration system. In parliamentary activity, the Leader of the Opposition spent significant time on the topic, claiming immigration ministers have ignored proof of massive fraud in 150,000 cases of fake foreign students and have investigated only 3% of the cases. This comment was echoed by Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament (MP) and immigration critic Alexis Deschênes. In contrast, Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos mentioned that a reported 60 per cent drop in international student permits would improve efficiency and system integrity. While coverage was high, the Department received a low volume of media calls.

Appearance Details

The Deputy Minister has been invited to appear for two hours. He will deliver a five-minute opening statement, followed by rounds of questioning from committee members.

The following officials will accompany the Deputy Minister:

• Alexis Graham, a/Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic Programs
• Tara Lang, Director General, Integrity Policy & Programs
• Emina Tudakovic, Director General, Immigration Operations

Aaron McCrorie, Vice-President, Intelligence and Enforcement Branch, Canada Border Services Agency

Membership

Conservative party of Canada

John Williamson
Saint John—St. Croix, NB
Chair of PACP

Gérard Deltell
Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC
Shadow Minister for Revenue
Member

Ned Kuruc
Hamilton East—Stoney Creeek, ON
Member

Stephanie Kusie
Calgary Midnapore, AB
Shadow Minister for the Treasury Board and the King’s Privy Council
Member

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

• The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) would make the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) 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 temporary foreign workers (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 26 – Debates: Noted the nearly million foreign students on work permits the formal immigration minister allowed into the country in a two-year period (Rempel Garner).
• March 26 – Debates: Noted the 240,000 student permits issued in the last year, compared to 187,000 in 2015 (Holman).
• March 25 – X: Shared a clip on the passed motion at CIMM to investigate fraud in the international student program (Redekopp).
• March 24 – Debates: Voiced concern over the 150,000 fraudulent international students, where less than 3% were investigated by the government (Hardy).
• March 23 – National Post: Told reporters that the Auditor General’s report underscores the fact that there aren’t adequate checks and balances to forbade fraud (Rempel Garner).
• March 23 – CIMM: Inquired why the government is announcing scholarships for non-Canadian student instead of Canadians (Ho).
• March 23 – PACP: Asked if it would be better to stop working in silos regarding immigration and students (Deltell).
• February 25 – Debates: Noted the lack of accountability and control of the immigration system in terms of criminal offenses by international students (Kronis).
• 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: Voiced concern over the dangerous circumstances immigrant communities are facing in relation to housing for international students (Poilievre).
• February 4 – CIMM: Noted issues of temporary students lacking the ability to find and maintain jobs in Canada (Davies).
• December 4, 2025 – CIMM: Claimed temporary foreign workers and international students are taking jobs from Canadians (Menegakis).
• December 2, 2025 – PACP: Inquired on who decided to substantially increase immigrant student numbers and asked if it was recommended by the McKinsey firm (Deltell).
• December 2, 2025 – CIMM: Asked stakeholder if Canada should return to restricting and forbidding international students from working in Canada (Ma).
• November 27, 2025 – CIMM: Noted the high number of people admitted to Canada who were misled by the government thinking they could come to the country as an international student and stay (Rempel Garner).

Bloc Québécois

Sébastien Lemire
Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Vice-Chair of PACP
Critic for Aboriginal Relations, Northern Development, Sports and Public Accounts

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 Bloc Québécois (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 27 – Hill Times: Voiced deep concern abut IRCC’s “disregard” for potential fraud with study permits and is shocked the government didn’t consider acting in the 800 cases of fraudulent documents (Brunelle-Duceppe).
• March 26 – Debates: Noted to Office of Auditor General (OAG) report on international students, and concerns about the integrity of the process (Deschênes).
• March 23 – CIMM: Spoke on the OAG report, flagging IRCC’s 150,000 cases of students who potentially failed to comply with the terms of their study permits (Deschênes).
• March 23 – CIMM: Inquired on how IRCC will account for the 800 problem cases where study permit applications were based on fraudulent documents (Deschênes).
• February 9 – CIMM: Noted all processing times are increasing in all programs, such as international students (Brunelle-Duceppe).
• November 25, 2025 – CIMM: Asked a stakeholder about the integration and welcoming of new international students to note current reception capacities (Brunelle-Duceppe).
• November 25, 2025 – CIMM: Inquired on if the decline in the number of foreign students is affecting the sustainability of some postsecondary programs (Brunelle-Duceppe).
• November 20, 2025 – FAAE: Asked if there has been a large migration movement of asylum seekers and students coming to Canada on fake invitations from universities (Simard).
• October 21, 2025 – Debates: Voiced concern over asylum claims filed by some fake international students to visas to enter Canada (Blanchette-Joncas).
• October 9, 2025 – CIMM: Inquired on the international reputation of the current education system for international students in Canada (Brunelle-Duceppe).
• September 25, 2025 – CIMM: Noted that international students are of crucial importance to Quebec, especially to universities outside of major centres (Brunelle-Duceppe).

Liberal Party of Canada

Jean Yip
Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Vice-Chair of PACP

Ron McKinnon
Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
Member

Tom Osborne
Cape Spear, NL
Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board
Member

Kristina Tesser Derksen
Milton East—Halton Hills South, ON
Member

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• The Liberal party of Canada (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

• Expressed concerns about resource and productivity issues within the Department leading to delays in processing asylum and refugee files.
• Committed to enhancing cooperation between governments, agencies, and organizations for real-time information sharing to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Border/asylum issues

• Noted the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) allows Canada to return asylum seekers to the United States and that this practice remains appropriate, especially given a potential increase of asylum seekers at the border.
• Plans to strengthen border integrity by increasing resources for security screenings, tightening visa requirements, and enhancing enforcement against fraud.

Family reunification

• Committed to having an immigration plan that will allow for the reunification of families.

Digitization

• Plans to leverage digital tools to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs.

French immigration

• Committed to increasing French immigration outside Quebec to 12% by 2029.
• The party’s 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

• 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: Spoke on the 60% decline in the number of international students on an annual basis (Fragiskatos).
• March 25 – Debates: Claimed the number of international students has fallen by 70% (Carney).
• March 24 – Debates: Noted the government has already initiated improvements to the immigration system before the audit started, and that student visas have been examined (Diab).
• March 23 – CIMM: Claimed that new arrivals of international students have dropped by 53% in 2025 (Diab).
• March 12 – Debates: Noted that anyone in the process of becoming Canadian, such as international students, will face the full consequences of the law, including deportation, if they have committed a serious crime (Dzerowicz).
• March 9 – Debates: Inquired how can stronger federal and provincial coordination improve integrity and consistency in nominee programs in relation to international students (Sodhi).
• December 4 – CIMM: Voiced concern of the 130 Palestinian graduate students who have secured admissions and full scholarships who are facing prolonged delays in obtaining study permits (Zahid).
• December 2, 2025 – PACP: Noted changes and review of policies for temporary foreign workers and international students (Tesser Derksen).