CIMM - Parliamentary Context - CIMM Ministerial Appearance on Spending Priorities

Background

The Supplementary Estimates (A), 2020-21 were tabled electronically in the House of Commons on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. The Department is seeking a total of $123.8M for the following:

• $102.5M (Vote 10a) for the Interim Housing Assistance Program;
• $21.3M (Vote 1a and Vote 5a, including statutory appropriation for employee benefit plan) for Information Technology Systems Interoperability, which is part of enhancing integrity of Canada’s Border and Asylum System, announced in Budget 2019; and,
• Internal transfer of $97.5M (Vote 10a) from the Settlement Program contribution to the grant for the Interim Housing Assistance Program to increase the grant ceiling up to a total of $200M.

The second Interim Supply of the Main Estimates 2020-21 was also tabled electronically in the House of Commons on June 8, 2020. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship portion granted is $1.5 billion, equivalent to 7/12^th of the full Voted Appropriations allotted through Main Estimates 2020-21.

On June 10, 2020, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) has requested that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration appear at an emergency session to discuss spending priorities on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

• It is expected that at the beginning of the meeting, a motion will be moved that the appearance take place. If the motion is adopted, a brief intermission will occur, after which the Minister will be asked to provide 5 minutes of opening remarks.
• The Minister, accompanied by the Deputy Minister, ADM SPP and CFO will appear for the first hour. ADM Ops will join officials for the second hour once the Minister has left the meeting to respond to further questions.
• Of note, since the Supplementary Estimates (A), 2020-21 have not been formally referred to the committee, votes will not take place at the end of the appearance and the committee cannot make any changes to the estimates.

In addition, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has been invited to appear at a Committee of the Whole on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, to consider the Supplementary Estimates (A), 2020-2021.

• The duration of the Committee of the Whole will not exceed four hours. Members will not be recognized for longer than 15 minutes or speak in debate for more than 10 of those minutes. There will be no opening remarks or officials appearing.
• It is not yet known whether the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will be in attendance or another Minister will be responsible for IRCC as the format of the Committee is unknown. It is likely to be determined at the last moment.

Expected Lines of Questioning

Although it is anticipated that questioning will focus on 2020-2021 Supplementary Estimates (A), questions may be asked on anything related to our department’s mandate. Recent topics of interest include:

• Safety of migrant workers
• Family reunification
• Essential service workers
• Labour shortages
• Emergency benefits
• Processing times and backlog
• Expired work permits
• International Students
• Racism and discrimination
• Border restrictions and closures
• Undocumented workers
• Hong Kong refugee claimants
• Housing
• Delays in Citizenship ceremonies, oaths

Media and News

Recent media attention has been largely focused on:

• Recent deaths and outbreaks on farms, migrant workers facing unsafe working conditions, labour shortages and impacts on the economy
• International students decreased enrollment and limited support during the pandemic
• Supports and status for front-line workers, including both temporary foreign workers and asylum claimants
• Border restrictions and closures, including recent loosening of border restrictions to allow family reunification, and Hong Kong refugee claimants
• Racism and discrimination experienced by migrants
• Immigration intake and impact on the Canadian economy
• Delays in Citizenship ceremonies, oaths
• Undocumented workers

Parliamentary Environment

Other interventions, correspondence, returns and committee follow-ups (undertakings) related to IRCC in the House of Commons and Senate fall under the below themes:

Supplementary Estimates (A)

• Peter Kent (CPC) said the Supplementary Estimates reveal a $200 million line item for IRCC for the housing of border-crossing asylum claimants. He said this appears to be a down payment for future payments to Ontario and Quebec, citing a $77 million ask by the City of Toronto alone. He asked the Minister to comment about supplementary spending.

Parliamentary Environment

Other interventions, correspondence, returns and committee follow-ups (undertakings) related to IRCC in the House of Commons and Senate fall under the below themes:

Supplementary Estimates (A)

• Peter Kent (CPC) said the Supplementary Estimates reveal a $200 million line item for IRCC for the housing of border-crossing asylum claimants. He said this appears to be a down payment for future payments to Ontario and Quebec, citing a $77 million ask by the City of Toronto alone. He asked the Minister to comment about supplementary spending.

Temporary Foreign Workers  

• Safety and support for workers (NDP) (ISG) (CSG) (BQ) (CPC)
  • Recent deaths and outbreaks on farms, measures to help protecting workers safety and their rights, physical abuse and food shortages, COVID-19 testing for migrant workers, supports for sick workers, eligibly for and impact of emergency benefits on the immigration process, reaching the most vulnerable feign workers, housing arrangements, pathways to residency
• Labour shortages and landings (CPC) (BQ) (ISG) (GPC) (CSG)
  • Pathway for immigrants to work in LTC facilities, farmers’ difficulty of accessing financial supports, temporary workers in the agricultural sector, effect on fall farming season, impact on horticulture, access in fisheries sector, delays in lobster season, including inconsistencies with number of TFW landings, foreign credentialed medical professionals and the role they can play in staffing shortages, New Brunswick ban on temporary foreign workers
• Work permits (BQ) (NDP) (CPC) (ISG) (LPC)
  • Including the issue with closed work permits, renewal of expired permits, difficulty processing work permits, reducing red tape for work permits, delays in processing due to the countries of origin/foreign governments
• Funding supports for employers (CSG) (BQ) (NDP)
  • Mitigating the costs to farmers for TFWs including housing/accommodation costs, inadequacy and complexity of government subsidy funding provided for TFWs, $1.5k per TFW to farmers as being a maximum

Asylum Claimants and Border Restrictions

• Front line workers (BQ) (NDP)
  • Including granting PR status to asylum seekers under humanitarian and compassionate grounds, prioritize and fast-track the files of asylum seekers working in the front lines and their families
  • Peter Kent (CPC): “It’s admirable that they stayed in these positions to care for the most vulnerable, but we don’t believe that that should be a shortcut to Canadian PR.”
• Family reunification (CPC) (NDP) (BQ)
  • Including allowing and prioritizing applications for family reunification at the border, couples being separated at the US border, asylum seekers being allowed but not American relatives
• Border restrictions and asylum claimants (CPC) (GPC)
  • Closure of the Canada-US border, STCA exemptions, funding for border management and hotels, backlog of asylum claimants, asylum seekers from Hong Kong and the Pakistani Christian community in Pakistan and Thailand, Condemning China's persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, Persecuted minorities in Afghanistan

Other Program Areas

• Caregivers (NDP)
  • Including those who lost employment and cannot meet the 24 month requirement, whether the period of interrupted work due to COVID can count towards their two-year work requirement, what caregivers should do if forced to work in unsafe environments
• International students (BQ) (ISG)
  • Mental health, precariousness of financials, ineligibility for CESB and lack of supports, exemption of valid visa to re-enter Canada, broadening of 20-hour work limit in essential services, completing up to 50% of course load abroad, whether COVID-19 has impacted registration levels, support and access to employment opportunities, allowing extensions of study permits
• Visas (PSG) (NDP) (CPC) (CSG)
  • Speeding up the processing of work visas in offices abroad, visitor visa refusal stats, Visas issued to Cubans, Visa waiver for citizens of a foreign countries (Mexico, Romania, Bulgaria)
• Human trafficking (CPC)
  • National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, temporary resident permits specific to victims of human trafficking
• Ministerial Exemptions (CPC)
  • Individuals admitted to Canada by ministerial exemption, those under Humanitarian & Compassionate Grounds, including backlog and processing times
• Other
  • Lack of access to psychologists and psychiatrists for refugees, in native tongue (PSG)
  • Francophones outside of Quebec (LPC)
  • Immigration Ombudsman (BQ)
  • Passports refused, revoked, or canceled (Criminal Code) (CPC)
  • Review of Immigration Policies (CSG)
  • Chandigarh Office (CPC)
  • PSR Statistics (NDP)
  • PGP lawsuits (NDP)
  • Data on Marriages of Convenience (CPC)
  • New immigration measures needed during the COVID-19 pandemic (NDP) Correspondence
  • Expedite applications for Sikhs and Hindu communities in Afghanistan (NDP) Correspondence
  • Regarding inconsistent requirements for the privately sponsored by Groups of Five and Community Sponsors (NDP) Correspondence
  • Funding allocation for Mount Pleasant Family Centre Society’s Circles of Care and Connection Program (NDP) Correspondence

Annex A

Committee of the Whole: 2020-21 Supplementary Estimates (A)