CIMM – B.2. Response - CIMM 8.1 Meetings and participants at asylum relocation committee – March 23, 2026

Question

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: ...in June 2024, the then minister Mr. Miller, accompanied by a number of provincial ministers of immigration, announced to great fanfare that he was going to form a committee to distribute asylum seekers throughout the provinces. I remember that because it was a huge press conference. We were told that a committee would be set up. You were on the job at the time and so I guess you had some responsibility with respect to the formation of this committee. Am I mistaken?

Mr. Harpreet S. Kochhar: That is right. It was mentioned by the minister at that time that there would be an interprovincial committee of ministers that would actually be working towards looking at a relocation of asylum seekers.

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: How many meetings have taken place since the committee was set up?

Mr. Harpreet S. Kochhar: The committee was set up by the minister. They had, to my knowledge, three meetings on that context.

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: Who attended the meetings? Are you in a position to share that with the committee?

Mr. Harpreet S. Kochhar: T That meeting with the minister was actually conducted by the minister. I was a participant. We can get you the information. We have noted the minutes of that. We can get you how many provinces.... I think most of the provinces did participate in that. Quebec was an observer in that particular....

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: My understanding then is that you will provide the minutes of all these meetings. Can you confirm that with the committee and tell us how long it will take to get access to these minutes?

Mr. Harpreet S. Kochhar: promised to answer your question, and we will give you names of those who participated in that. I just mentioned that we have kept minutes of the meeting, which would be under minister's privilege, actually. We can give you the information of who participated and when these were conducted.

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: What was the outcome of these committee meetings in relation to the distribution of asylum seekers?

Mr. Harpreet S. Kochhar: There was a mixed result from that one. A couple of provinces—two provinces, to be more precise—were interested and have actually followed through via relocating the asylum seekers who were in the hotels.

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: What was the outcome? How many people have been involved in this distribution?

Response

The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Asylum was established at the May 2024 meeting of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) with agreement to meet on an ad hoc basis to work on better managing the flow of asylum claimants in Canada, and the necessary resources to support them.

All provinces and territories (PTs) were participants in the working group, with variable attendance at meetings based on availability. While Quebec participates in regular FMRI engagements as an observer, the province fully participated in the working group’s meetings.

A total of 11 meetings with all PTs invited were held between June and September 2024. Meetings took

place at a variety of levels, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers and Directors General. This includes:

• Ministers (3 meetings)—June 6, August 15, September 23;
• Deputy Ministers (4 meetings)—June 4, July 25, August 12, September 17;
• Assistant Deputy Ministers (3 meetings)—July 4, August 7, September 10;
• Directors General (1 meeting)—June 20.