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I call this meeting to order.
Welcome, everyone, to meeting 18 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on the main estimates for 2021-22 and the supplementary estimates for 2020-21.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from health authorities as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy in January 2021, in order to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person must maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from others. Please wear a non-medical mask when moving in the meeting room, and preferably wear a mask at all times, including when seated. Maintain proper hand hygiene by using the provided hand sanitizers at the room entrance. Wash hands well with soap regularly.
As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting. I thank all members in advance for their co-operation.
We welcome today the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. He is joined by officials from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration: Catrina Tapley, deputy minister; Hughes St-Pierre, assistant deputy minister, chief financial officer and comptroller; Marian Campbell Jarvis, assistant deputy minister, strategic and program policy; and Daniel Mills, assistant deputy minister, operations.
With this, we will start our meeting.
Minister Mendicino, please give your opening remarks. You have five minutes.
Thank you, Minister. The floor is yours.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
I'd like to acknowledge that I'm joining you from the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin nation.
I'm pleased to join the committee to discuss IRCC's main estimates and our supplementary estimates (C), as well as to provide a brief update of the early and encouraging results we are achieving with regard to our immigration plan for 2021.
First, members will recall that during my last appearance, I indicated that the main estimates for 2021-22 reflected a total funding request of $3.25 billion across all votes, which represented a net increase of approximately $412 million from the 2020-21 main estimates. This funding will be put to good use as we advance our ambitious levels objectives to accelerate our economic recovery, reunite families, stabilize and transform our digital platforms, invest in our borders and adhere to Canada's international obligations when it comes to resettling refugees.
Finally, we are seeking funds to fight fraud, protect those who wish to come here and maintain the integrity of our system by strengthening oversight, enforcement and public education regarding the use of immigration consultants. This will coincide with the opening of the new college of immigration and citizenship consultants, which will be funded entirely through licensing fees.
In addition, I wish to highlight items to be included in IRCC's 2020-21 supplementary estimates (C), which the is expected to table in Parliament. Through these supplementary estimates, the department is seeking total funding of $68.3 million, which will be dedicated to, among other things, supporting the Canada-Quebec accord and the transformation of our global case management system.
Before taking questions, I would like to reflect on the year that was, but more importantly on where we are going. There is no doubt that the pandemic upended global migration. That is true not only in Canada but around the world.
However, I want to assure members of this committee that since day one, IRCC has been rapidly adapting, innovating and evolving to better serve Canadians and those who wish to come here. We've added resources and personnel, opening a new office with 62 new jobs created in Sydney, Nova Scotia, just last week. We're going more digital, transitioning more of our services onto digital programs. We've created groundbreaking new pathways for permanent residency in recognition of the exceptional contributions of those immigrants who are already here and those who look forward to welcoming newcomers in the future.
[Translation]
We are digitizing paper applications and transitioning to a simple and accessible digital application process to better serve Canadians and anyone who hopes to come to Canada.
Modernizing our immigration system means that we will be better equipped to leverage Canada's many competitive advantages, as we will be better adapted to deal with global change and be in the best position to attract world-leading talent. To that end, the funds we are requesting complement my vision of an immigration system that will eventually be completely digital.
[English]
Further, IRCC has implemented several initiatives to allow certain categories of applications to be processed virtually. As a result, we've been able to improve processing rates in many categories over the past few months.
As Canadians have adapted to the new reality, so have we. We're beginning to hold asylum interviews remotely. We've welcomed nearly 50,000 new Canadians at virtual citizenship ceremonies, and we recently became the first country in the world to offer citizenship testing online.
Finally, we've helped service providers retool and address newcomer settlement needs, including boosting wages and helping them to deliver more services remotely. Our recent improvements have helped us to better serve those who want to come to Canada, those becoming permanent residents and those who are ready for citizenship.
However, we're just beginning. We will continue to break new ground as we deliver on our immigration levels plan. With travel restrictions due to the pandemic still in place, we're seizing the opportunity to engage the immigrants who are already here, working or studying. Their status may be temporary, but their contributions are indeed lasting. These exceptional measures across all categories—economic, family and protected persons—will offer those already hard at work in Canada the chance to stay permanently.
Madam Chair, the funds we seek will address IRCC's priorities and my mandate commitments from the . They will help to modernize our operations and to continue safe, responsible and compassionate migration. As we emerge from the pandemic, these improvements are helping us to build a stronger immigration system that will support Canada's short-term recovery and long-term prosperity. I hope the committee will support this progress.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
[Translation]
I would be pleased to answer any questions.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Of course, on behalf of everyone here, thank you, Minister, for being here. It's always nice to have you here.
There has been a target of 401,000 set for new permanent residents.
We've been hearing heart-wrenching testimony here in our committee, and obviously through all of our offices, about real-life impacts—including people missing their child's first words and their first steps—and just the incredible mental health issues that are caused by the incredible delays in processing times.
We're definitely all happy to hear that 62 more employees were hired in Nova Scotia, but given that not all interviews are being done right now, and that not all services are being offered either, how long will it take to clear up the backlogs in spousal sponsorships so we can reunite families again?
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I want to thank my colleague for the question, and I want to take the opportunity to welcome him to his new role as my critic. I look forward to working with him, as we were doing before he took on this new assignment.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to acknowledge that this has been a very difficult time for families. There is not a single case that doesn't cross my desk or the desk of my department that doesn't really strike at us. We are motivated because of the cases and the stories of families who have been kept apart. That is why we have created pathways to allow loved ones to be reunited. In fact, since we created the travel exemptions for family members, we have processed over 55,000 cases for both immediate and extended family members.
When it came to accelerating our work with regard to spousal sponsorship, as my colleague knows, we made a commitment before the end of last year to process and prioritize approximately 50,000 spousal sponsorship applications. We made good on that promise, Madam Chair. Going forward, by adding additional resources, including the adding of 62 new full-time jobs in Sydney, Nova Scotia, we will continue to accelerate that progress so that we can get back to pre-pandemic service times.
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Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Minister, for appearing today.
I'm looking at the spending plans across the main and supplementary estimates. It looks like the government is gearing up for some very substantial changes, not only to how the immigration system is run but also to the policy to direct how it processes files.
We know the pandemic has been a catalyst for quite a few unique approaches to the immigration that our country will experience and also a myriad of upgrades to the department's infrastructure, which appear to be, from what I can tell, custom-designed to make sure our immigration system is as responsive as possible to what are ever-changing global circumstances.
One of the items is $40.2 million for the digital platform modernization project. Could you explain for members of the committee more about this project?
First of all, I want to thank my colleague for his question and for his advocacy with regard to immigration. I know, like me, he will be very encouraged by the creation of 62 new jobs in Nova Scotia, which will help to accelerate progress. I see he's giving a thumbs-up to that.
With regard to digital transformation, the investments we are making are designed to take what was conventionally paper-based processes and transition them to more digital platforms. By doing so, we will ensure that clients have a better experience and that our outcomes and decisions are taken with greater speed and efficiency, so we can accelerate our economic recovery. As was framed by him in his question, he understands—like I believe all members do—that by reaching our goals in our 2021 immigration plan, we will be bringing the best and the brightest from around the world.
Certainly in the context of a pandemic, we have the opportunity to look at the domestic temporary immigration pool that is already in Canada. By transitioning them from temporary residency to permanent residency status—through the transitioning of our platforms, which are becoming more digital—we will see them achieve better potential and better outcomes by having more career opportunities, earning better wages and giving back. That is the uniquely Canadian quality I have been able to see in my time as the minister. I have seen newcomers who have come to Canada with hopes and dreams and aspirations, who are working very hard, but who are, most importantly, helping us to give back in the midst of the pandemic.
By transitioning to digital platforms, by making these investments in our supplementary estimates (C), we will achieve those outcomes more quickly.
We've heard quite a lot about processing times and whether the government's response and adaptations to the immense challenges posed by the pandemic will be enough to address the effects of the pandemic-related processing halts throughout the immigration system.
A particular point we've heard about, including here in my riding of Halifax West, has been the rate at which spousal sponsorship applications are being processed. I know the government has been working hard, and you've been working hard, to optimize this process, most recently with the commitment to make nearly 50,000 decisions by the end of 2020.
Can you provide us with an update on the most recent directive to reunite families?
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With pleasure. Let me begin by saying that our government believes loved ones should be together during the course of the pandemic. We have taken great steps and made great strides to achieving that goal by prioritizing spousal sponsorship applications.
As you pointed out in your question, we made a commitment to prioritize the processing of 50,000 spousal applications by the end of last year. We delivered on that promise.
Going forward, by investing in the additional resources, including the 62 new jobs that we created in Nova Scotia, by taking more of our processes and going online, and by creating policy flexibility that not only allows those who wish to come to Canada and establish themselves here on a permanent basis but also allows them to be with their loved ones during the pandemic, through the corridor of the COVID travel exemptions—where we have processed over 55,000 decisions over the last number of months—we are living up to that value of reuniting families, despite all of the challenges posed by the pandemic.
We have made great progress. We know there is still work to do. There are always cases that we're hearing about, and as is always the case, our heart goes out to them. However, we work with you and with all members to try to resolve them as quickly as we can, and this year will be a banner year for reuniting families.
:
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Minister, thank you for joining us today. Your presence is always appreciated.
I will put my questions to you by category.
I would like to begin with Quebec's skilled workers. For 2020, the threshold for skilled worker admissions in Quebec was 22,000, and according to the data provided on the open.canada.ca website, 11,480 applications have been processed and approved.
Did the minister prioritize the applications of people who were already in Canada?
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I'm looking for a policy change as opposed to case-by-case solutions. I think the minister should look at changing the regulation, so that we don't need to keep on having this conversation.
On the VFS Global issue, VFS has confirmed that the Canadian government knew right from the beginning that the visa application centre services in China was being handled by a subcontractor owned by the Beijing municipal security bureau. In response to former MP Andrew Cash, officials said there were no subcontractors. The Harper government, of course, was asleep at the switch and let this slip through. In 2018, the contract was renewed by the Liberal government and no changes were made.
Why didn't the government do its job to properly review these contracts? How can Canadians feel confident with the government's due diligence on these contracts if these important details keep falling through the cracks?
Through that process, the minister's officials did not pick up on the basic fact that there were subcontractors.
VFS Global confirmed that the subcontractor is a state-owned company. Even though VFS has failed to answer my questions about how many CCP members work with the subcontractor, I have obtained a copy of the report of a 2017 meeting of the Shuangxiong CCP branch, showing that it elected the deputy secretary of the party branch of the Shuangxiong company.
Chinese regulations require that the party secretary and chairman of the board of a state firm with three or more CCP members be the same person. The general manager position within a state company must be filled by a deputy party secretary. Chinese regulations also state that the first role of the executives is to execute the will of the party in performing their duties.
That means the Shuangxiong company, the general manager, the subcontractor doing visa application centre work for Canada, is under the control of CCP. Effectively, Canada is letting the CCP run and operate Canada's visa application centre in China.
Is this a concern for the minister? Did the minister, in due diligence, pick this up? Given this regulation, will the minister take the immediate step to cancel the contract with VFS Global?
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I know one thing, Mr. Saroya, and that is that in 2021 we plan to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents. In January, we made great strides towards that goal. In February, we delivered the single largest-ever draw from an economic and Canadian-experienced talent pool here in Canada.
Canada has been lauded around the world for its immigration system and for the way in which it integrates newcomers into communities by providing opportunities to take up work in some of the most essential parts of the economy. That includes in the health care sector, where, as you know, Mr. Saroya, our doctors, our nurses, our support workers, who've been going flat out, need reinforcements.
At the very core of our immigration plan is the belief that by welcoming those who possess those skills and experience, we will be able to accelerate our economic recovery and get beyond COVID-19. In the course of so doing, we hope those who have come will be encouraged to stay for the long haul. That's what we hope they will do.
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No, in fact I believe you'll see that we are making progress in reducing those processing times, not only with regard to the many pathways I've already mentioned but also when it comes to our visitor visa programs, including the start-up visa program, which was an innovation we created in collaboration with the private sector.
I have heard routinely from tech companies and self-starters who identify the start-up visa program as an incentive to come and invest in Canada by enticing those who wish to start a company. An example is ApplyBoard, started by the Basiri brothers who are international student graduates. They started a company here and are now able to encourage additional investments by helping international students navigate their way in Canada.
That sends a very strong signal to the rest of the world, to talent from around the world, that Canada is a place to invest in. Canada is a place to start that next idea, that next business, and through the start-up visa program, as we continue to make progress on our processing times, I believe we'll see more outcomes through this pathway.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister, thank you for joining us today.
I wanted to discuss open work permits and students with you. A few times during our study on the pandemic, a number of actors from all education sectors shared their concerns about a large number of foreign students not completing their final year project.
Student body management, university presidents, as well as former students who have had to stop working owing to the pandemic, explained that, when post-graduation work permits expire before their holders have been able to gain sufficient work experience, the long-term plans of those who must stay in Canada are severely impacted.
As you know, foreign students are excellent candidates for permanent residence in Canada. It is extremely important to make efforts to preserve their ongoing contribution to our country and our economy, especially during a pandemic.
Can you tell the committee members about the new provisions of the post-graduate work permit program?
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First of all, I would like to say that I fully agree with the comments of my colleague, my extraordinary parliamentary secretary. Thank you for your work.
With regard to international students, as you know, Madam Chair, this class of immigrants contributes over $21 billion to our economy every year. So there are many reasons to invest in that and to continue to look for ways to support this class of immigrants.
That said, it isn't just an economic priority. We know that international students contribute to our social fabric with their diversity and the experience they've gained outside Canada. Both of these values must be protected, which is why this class of immigrants has greater flexibility.
For example, we've made work permits more flexible. Students can start their courses abroad while they wait to return or come to Canada. We've even created more opportunities to take courses online. These are two concrete examples of our ongoing support for international students.
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Thank you for your response, Mr. Minister.
I wanted to touch on Hong Kong. During our study on Hong Kong, some things struck us. Several Hong Kong residents [technical difficulties] about their peaceful demonstrations, and witnesses wondered with some trepidation whether the officers processing their cases were aware of the environment and the rapidly evolving situation in Hong Kong.
I know the government invested resources in the Immigration and Refugee Board, the IRB, and has asked it to seek efficiencies at all times to improve its flexibility, its processing times and the accuracy of its decisions.
Can you tell us more about the changes implemented at the IRB to make it easier for Hong Kong residents to come to Canada?
Mr. Minister, I'll continue my questions on sponsorship. We know that the Canadian embassy in Cuba was closed long before the pandemic, which causes many problems for people waiting for sponsorship, who have to do their medical examination or interview in Trinidad and Tobago or Mexico City. This is virtually impossible during a pandemic.
I have two questions about this.
What steps are being taken right now to reopen the embassy in Cuba?
Why can't we encourage that visitor visas be issued so that the medical examination, among other things, could be done in Canada?
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I thank the hon. member for her question.
I wanted to correct something in my last answer. The board actually rendered 35,000 decisions. I apologize to Ms. Ferrada for that.
In response to Ms. Normandin, as I said, we work with the governments of the various countries. We need to work with them during the pandemic. All of our offices abroad must follow the rules that are in place in the country to protect not only the people who are there, but also our public servants working there, not to mention the immigrants who want to be part of the process.
The most important message I want to share with the committee is that over the past year, the process has been generally effective in bringing in foreign workers, and that we are continually making the improvements necessary to allow us to continue to support Canada's economy.
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I appreciate the question.
The first thing I would say, as you know, is that it's part of my mandate to create an additional pathway that provides refugee opportunities for human rights defenders and journalists.
I would point out to the members of this committee that the allocated spaces for that pathway are already in our 2021 plan. We're working very hard to design a policy that will implement that pathway.
Ms. Kwan, as I have said before to you in the past, we are exploring all ideas and options, including some of the ones that you have put on the table. We will continue to uphold our asylum system to accommodate those who are fleeing persecution in that part of the world, as well as everywhere else.
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I'm sorry, Minister. Respectfully, we did hear that in the last answer as well.
I wanted to move on and talk about a case that relates to a couple of questions I was asking in the last round.
Not all offices have all services being offered right now. It's causing incredible hardships on people. I'll give you an example.
There's a mother here with her really young son who's about 10 months old. The husband is in India and the application is with the NDVO. A DNA test was asked of that person. No DNA tests are being offered to be done in front of any officers in that office right now in India. It's causing incredible hardships. I deal with this person a lot. It's a heartbreaking case.
First, can we get a breakdown of what offices are offering what services, and what is not being offered at this time in our offices?
Second, when can we expect these services to be up and running, so we can reunite families and get people back into Canada to contribute economically as well?
:
Thank you very much for the question.
Again, I want to thank my colleague Mr. Dhaliwal for all his work in his community. I know that he's a tireless champion for immigration, not only in British Columbia but across the country.
With regard to that draw, what I believe it signals is that we are looking at ways to welcome workers who possess a range of skills on the continuum, when it comes to meeting the urgent needs of our economy and offering workers the opportunity to transition to permanent residency status. It is an opportunity that has been created by the pandemic. It is one that I believe will help us to address, for example, the needs in our health care system, but also in other areas. For example, in building and trades, we know that there are critical infrastructure deficits right across the country, not only in big cities but in suburban Canada and right across rural Canada.
By taking an approach to this particular draw that was more inclusive, perhaps, than some of the more recent draws, we are trying to act with great agility to address the urgent needs of our economy today. Certainly, I think, going forward, we still look forward to that moment when we can welcome newcomers from abroad, but as we navigate the pandemic, we are looking internally, that is, to the domestic temporary immigration talent pool that is already within our borders, and we see that there is a chance to offer them a pathway to stay here.
That'll be good for them in the short term, it'll be good for our economy, and it'll be good for our long-term prosperity, because as you well know, Mr. Dhaliwal, we also have long-term demographic challenges that we must address. Immigration can't solve all of them, but it can help to move the needle in the right direction.
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Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the officials for being here with us today.
I want to elaborate a little bit more. After we get those documents tabled about what services are not being offered, can we get in writing when those services will be offered again? I brought up that example of someone who is waiting for a DNA test and it's the only thing left. It's absolutely devastating to hear that.
Can we move towards something like private testing for those types of services that are not being offered?
First and foremost, can we get some type of update on what services are not being offered throughout our offices? When will they be opened up?
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank all the witnesses for their testimony.
I simply want to add to the point the minister made toward the end of his testimony.
First of all, Ms. Tapley, I'd like to make sure that you express our gratitude to all the staff at the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Since March last year, they have been working from home in difficult times with their families. In addition, they've done so during a global pandemic, which raised many issues. They have truly risen to the challenge and achieved results.
The minister mentioned that 30,000 new applications for parents and grandparents would be accepted in 2021. How do you plan to meet this target, the highest ever set?
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Thank you very much for your question and your comments. It's very kind.
[English]
I'll be happy to pass that on.
On parents and grandparents, we have a difficult task ahead of us. We have launched a successful round or successful draw under the parents and grandparents program, fully subscribed—more than fully subscribed. We are processing through those applications, so we're confident about the inventory that we have. We continue to work through this. In many or in most cases, these are individuals who are able to land in Canada, who are able to travel and come to Canada, and as a result, we have put a priority on many of these applications.
Madam Chair, I wonder if Mr. Mills would like to add some commentary to that.
We are pleased with the success we've had around our digitization efforts on the citizenship side with virtual ceremonies, but also with an online citizenship test. We are expanding the number that we are bringing in under that—I think we were moving to 5,000 last month—and that will be terrific.
The other enhancement that I'd like to point out on the citizenship side is that we're moving to an e-application. We are currently testing this and we're quite optimistic about how we'll roll this out.
On the bigger questions on digitization—and you'll see some comments on the main and supplementary estimates—we have a three-phase process for digital platform modernization. We're focused on the first two phases right now, which are to stabilize and standardize what we have now. We have a legacy system, and what we want to be able to do is, even with our legacy system, reduce our technical debt so that we're able to have a more stable platform, so that it doesn't go down as frequently and we don't lose processing time.
Our bigger goal is a new platform. The new platform will enable us to allow for full digitization and new client services. It will be a platform for the 21st century as we move forward.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'll repeat what Mr. Serré said. I'd also like to thank the senior officials and officers who work for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration because it's true that it's not easy. I particularly want to thank the officials. They provide a lot of answers to our questions, and even good information when we ask for it. We really appreciate it.
My first questions will focus on permanent residency confirmations. The first may be a more technical question.
Among the government's open data is the number of files admitted. Is an application considered an admission for statistical purposes from the time confirmation of permanent residence is received, or is it from the time the file is finalized?
We know that, in sponsorship cases, people who have received a confirmation of permanent residence can come to Canada, but some are subject to restrictions. So I have a sub-question, of the total number of people who have received confirmation of permanent residence since March 18, how many are currently subject to travel restrictions?
I would also like to know, in the same class, how many confirmations of permanent residence are currently expired?
:
Thank you for your question.
Currently, more than 15,000 permanent resident confirmations received before March 18 have expired. We contacted over 13,000 of those 15,000 people to find out whether they wanted to come to Canada or not. Of that number, over 4,500 people have expressed interest in coming to Canada, and over 3,300 have been admitted and are already in Canada. Some of the people who are left haven't responded. There are others that we haven't yet reached and for whom we cannot extend the confirmation of permanent residence because their passport or medical certificate has expired. So we're working with these individuals on ways to get them a new medical certificate or other documentation.
In fact, we're working very hard to sort out the situation of these people.
So this is for people who received their confirmation of permanent residence before March 18, but March 18 is very soon. By that date, the confirmation will have expired for a number of people, if it hasn't already, because the deadline is sometimes a little less than a year, if the medical certificate was sent long before.
Can you tell me what you envision for these people? Could there be a systematic extension for a certain period of time, regardless of the medical certificate or the criminal record? Have letters been sent to reassure these people, since a number of confirmations are expiring? This is why they're coming to Canada, even though they have a travel restriction.
Could you tell me where we are on this?
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It would be great if I could get that information and in separate categories so that we can have clarity on how many people have been impacted by expired COPRs and, as a result, are also struggling with expired medicals, expired passports and other documentation.
Moving on to a different question, my constituents are experiencing huge delays in IRCC processing of PR and citizenship card renewals. They are often urgent, as people use them as proof to qualify, for example, for health care and other services. I've had cases where their PR renewal applications can't be flagged for urgent processing because they're somewhere in the system, in the mailroom, and people can't find exactly where that document is.
Can officials table for committee how many applications are backlogged in the system across all the different streams and how long people have to wait to get their PR card renewed, along with their citizenship card renewals?
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the deputy minister. She is always good, and she's always thinking of us when we are stuck.
This question is for the deputy immigration minister.
The biggest issue that we see, time after time, day after day, night after night, is New Delhi. The biggest complaint I'm hearing from the people who are dealing with the New Delhi office is that they are saying nobody is working. One of the people sent me an email the other day saying that it used to be 150 hands-on people working at immigration, but none of them are working.
Can you confirm how many people are working or whether people are still home due to COVID? What are the main issues behind the huge backup situation in New Delhi?
:
Thank you for the question. Thank you for your nice comments too.
First I want to say a couple of things about India. Because of country conditions, our visa application centres were closed for most of 2020—from March on in 2020—and this had a significant impact on our business. I'm happy to say that visa application centres have reopened. However, we ask visa application centres to put a priority on spousal and family class and on students, as they work through the backlog they had before the visa application centres reopened. I'm happy to report that they've now worked through that backlog and are returning to business as normal.
We have people in the office in all of our offices in India. Where we're still suffering a bit is with locally engaged staff. We still don't have all of our locally engaged staff back, given requirements around distancing and some health requirements, and that too is causing us some problems. However, the situation improves every day in terms of who is there.
Our people are back. Mr. Mills, do you have any further numbers on the number of people who are back in our offices?
:
Thank you, Deputy Minister.
The other thing is the timeline. The second thing I hear about is the timeline. I asked the minister for the information, but I didn't get the answer.
With regard to any PR application, when they say it will be processed in 12 to 16 months—I think this is what somebody sent to me—a year later, when the person checks on it, now it says 34 or 35 months.
If I calculate it, that means we are going to start having a backlog. Somebody is still in the queue for 35 months. We keep taking the applications, but these people assume they're going to get it in the next 12 months or 13 months.
Are you concerned about the backlogs? If there's going to be a backlog at the end of the year, how big is the backlog going to be?
I have many concerns about operating in this pandemic environment. My first concern would be how long the border will remain closed, because this affects a number of our PR applicants in particular. These are people whose applications have been processed since March 18, 2020, and the border remains closed. I worry about that. I worry about how long the border will continue to be closed and what effect that will have on our business.
The other thing I worry about a little bit is that we've been very generous with people in terms of extending timelines for when they have to submit materials to us, because we recognize that it's difficult for people to get some of those materials due to local country conditions. Granting these extensions and leniencies plays havoc with our timelines and what those look like.
I would be a little more concerned about the backlog if we didn't have generous immigration levels for the next three years, with 401,000, 411,000 and 421,000—
:
I'm happy to provide an update on that.
This is a good news story, Madam Chair.
Last fall and last summer we tackled two things. One was how we could better digitize applications that were coming in. We contracted a company called Iron Mountain to come in and pick up those files and help us to digitize them and promote them in our network so that people could continue to work safely at home while processing those files in a timely manner.
The second thing, which I think is really paying off, was that we pushed hard to make sure critical staff were, in our case, in processing centres. Whether it's in Sydney or Mississauga or Edmonton or Vancouver or Ottawa, it has become really important to have those people in place.
On AORs, we have cleaned up most of those. I see Mr. Mills on the screen, so I'm going to ask him to provide the number on that.
We know that, in response to The Globe and Mail, IRCC officials advised that they only just recently found out. We also know that back in 2013 when this question was asked of officials at committee, officials including the deputy minister then were not able to answer. Actually, they said that it was not being subcontracted out. I think this is really important for us to find out. When did IRCC know, given that this is immigration?
With that being said, the other issue, of course, is that the general manager for the subcontractor is selected and elected by the CCP. That means that this subcontractor's company is run and operated by the manager of the CCP. That, I would think, is cause for concern. If I were somebody who was submitting an application to that visa office centre, I would be very concerned knowing it is owned by the Beijing police and that the person who is the general manager for that company is selected by the CCP.
Given this information, are officials at all concerned? Just give a quick answer.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
On February 13, there were 27,000 invitations, as we know, through express entry to the Canadian experience class. Previous draws averaged about 3,500. The 2019-20 service targets were not met, and now we're piling more applications on top of that.
How is the IRCC going to process all of these applications within the standard processing time, especially considering the current delays?
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
On this International Women's Day, to you, the leadership of our deputy minister and all women across the globe, happy International Women's Day. Thank you for all the great work that women do in our society every day.
Madam Deputy Minister, I'm going to carry on with my friend on the other side Mr. Saroya's question about the New Delhi office. With the very little staff that it has—and our office is the busiest in Canada when it comes to immigration cases—it is doing a great job. I have no questions about the work it has done during the pandemic. Our office was very impressed with the work it did.
What are you going to do to meet the requirements it has when it comes to staff levels? All the FC1 spousal applications and the FC4 PGP applications are paper applications.
:
Thank you for your nice comments on International Women's Day.
For those paper applications that are coming in, I'm happy to talk about what we have done over the past year. The pandemic hit us hard. We sent staff home, particularly in our case processing centres. This was not a labour force that was equipped to work from home. As many of you know, we operate two shifts and sometimes three shifts a day in our case processing centres, where we have computer equipment that is bolted to the wall.
Getting this workforce equipped and able to work from home has been a struggle. I'm happy to say it is working well at the moment and finding the balance among the number of people we need in the office, in our case processing centres, to make sure we can smoothly work through those paper files, get them promoted into the system and then process them.
A lot of the delays and the challenges we saw mid-2020 have been overcome. It doesn't mean it's easy, but with the work around digitization of those files with Iron Mountain and the work around critical staff in all our case processing centres.... At Sydney, Cape Breton—Sydney, Nova Scotia—because it has been in a better COVID zone than some of the rest of our case processing centres, we've really been able to keep numbers, relatively speaking, high. All of that has played into being able to promote spousal and family class files, and work them through the system.
I'm confident, going forward—and that's what we've seen already on spousal files this year—that we're moving those files through at what was the pre-pandemic pace.
:
Shall I report the votes on the supplementary estimates (C) to the House?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you.
Now we come to the voting on the main estimates, 2021-22.
DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
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Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$1,276,918,158
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Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$32,934,299
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Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$1,690,568,408
(Votes 1, 5 to 10 agreed to on division)
IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$255,954,529
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
The Chair: Shall I report the votes on the main estimates to the House?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
:
Before we end, I just want to clarify one thing with the members. VFS Global submitted written responses to questions and requests that were made by Ms. Kwan and in the meeting. I just want to have members' input as to whether the follow-up documents should be made public on the committee website.
Seeing no objections, we can make them public on the committee website.
With that, I thank the deputy minister and all the officials from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration for appearing before the committee.
Deputy Minister, happy International Women's Day, and thank you for all the work you are doing on behalf of Canadians. I know it has been a difficult year for everyone in terms of trying to adjust to new norms, but all your officials have been doing an amazing job so a big thank you to everyone.
Happy International Women's Day also to all the women committee members. Thank you for your leadership, and thank you for all you are doing on behalf of your communities. Many young girls are looking at you and seeing you represent them in the House of Commons in Ottawa.
The meeting is adjourned.