Questions and responses All Sessions January 17, 1994, to present

With regard to part (c) of the government's response to Q-2104, which was presented on January 28, 2019, and states that “The client submits a completed application by mail to the Permanent Resident Card Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The application is verified for completeness. If it is not complete, the application is returned to the client.”: (a) what are the average wait times for the return of applications which are not complete; and (b) is there any priority given to applications that have been deemed incomplete, once they are returned back to the Permanent Resident Card Processing Centre for a second time, or are the applications subject to the same waiting and processing times as a brand new application?

With regard to the process for renewing expiring permanent residency cards: (a) what is the average processing time for a card renewal; (b) what is the average time between when an application for renewal is received by the government and when the replacement card is ready; (c) what is the specific process the government undertakes for card renewals; (d) what specific options are available to residents who wish to travel abroad and have submitted their expiring card to the government as part of the renewal application, but who are still waiting for the government to provide them with a replacement card; and (e) what specific changes will the government make in order to make it easier for permanent residents to travel aboard during the renewal period?

With regard to the government’s commitment to land government-assisted and privately-sponsored Syrian refugees in Canada: (a) what is the total number of government-assisted Syrian refugees who landed in Canada between November 4, 2015, and June 30, 2017; (b) what is the total number of privately-sponsored Syrian refugees who landed in Canada between November 4, 2015, and June 30, 2017; (c) what was the total cost to process applications and provide security clearance for those streams of applicants, to date; (d) how much did the government spend on (i) transportation, (ii) food, (iii) accommodation, (iv) healthcare, (v) clothing, (vi) furnishings, (vii) language instruction, (viii) miscellaneous or incidental allowances, (ix) supervision and support services, (x) all other associated costs related to Syrian refugees landed between November 4, 2015, and June 30, 2017; (e) with regard to both government-assisted and privately-sponsored Syrian refugees who have landed in Canada between November 4, 2015, and June 30, 2017, how many of these refugees are 14 years of age and younger and how many are over the age of 14; (f) of those Syrian refugees who have landed in Canada between November 4, 2015, and June 30, 2017, from all streams, how many are employed either full-time or part-time; (g) of those Syrian refugees from all streams, how many have accessed social assistance programs, including social housing, since arrival and how many continue to do so; and (h) with regard to both government-assisted and privately-sponsored Syrian refugees who have landed in Canada between November 4, 2015, and June 30, 2017, how many have either (i) returned to Syria voluntarily, (ii) been removed by the Canada Border Services Agency?

With regard to the office of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship since January 11, 2017: (a) what are the details, including costs and specific work done, of any renovations which have taken place at the Minister’s office at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Department headquarters at 365 Laurier Avenue West in Ottawa; (b) what are the details of any moving or similar expenses allowed for staff transfers following the appointment of the current Minister; (c) what are the details, including costs and dates, of any private car services used by the Minister or on his behalf by exempt staff; (d) how much was spent on contracts for (i) temporary employment, (ii) consultants, (iii) advice; (e) what are the names of the individuals and companies that correspond to each of the amounts in (d); and (f) for each person and company in (e), what were their billing periods and what type of work did they provide?

With regard to visa requirements for citizens of Mexico entering Canada since the removal of Canada’s visa requirement for Mexican nationals on December 1, 2016: (a) what is the number of asylum claims made by Mexican nationals to date; (b) what is the number of rejected asylum claims for Mexican nationals to date; (c) what is the number of removals of failed refugee claimants from Mexico to date; (d) what is the total cost to date of processing asylum claims from Mexican nationals; (e) has the government established a certain threshold of failed asylum claims that must be reached to require the re-imposition of a visa requirement for Mexican nationals traveling to Canada and, if so, what is the threshold; and (f) what are the details of any formal visa exemption reviews undertaken by the Department or the Immigration and Refugee Board?

With regard to irregular migration and the arrival of asylum seekers and refugee claimants at Canada’s southern border since November 8, 2016: (a) what is the total number of border crossings; (b) at what geographic locations have these crossings taken place, broken down by (i) number of individuals crossing, (ii) province; (c) what has been the average time for individuals who have crossed Canada’s southern border since November 8, 2016, from their crossing to obtaining a hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board; (d) what has been the cost to the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to process these arrivals; (e) how many arrivals have been refused by the CBSA on security grounds; (f) how many asylum claims have been approved to date; (g) how many asylum claims have been rejected to date, and of those individuals, how many have been removed; (h) what contingency plans have been put in place by departments and agencies to deal with the phenomenon of irregular migration at Canada’s southern border going forward; (i) how much funding has the government provided to other levels of government and to settlement agencies to handle this increased demand for services; and (j) what are the details of all meetings, discussions, reports, emails, and other documentation regarding the status of the Safe Third Country agreement and other relevant bilateral agreements and international conventions in light of irregular migration at Canada’s southern border?

With regard to visa requirements for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania entering Canada, what are the details with respect to: (a) any formal visa exemption review that the department has undertaken; (b) each consultation undertaken with respect to lifting the visa requirements, including for each consultation (i) the date, (ii) the location, (iii) the organizations and individuals consulted; (c) how the situation with respect to Bulgaria and Romania differs from the recent decision to provide a visa exemption for citizens of Mexico; and (d) the criteria applied for lifting the visa requirement for the Czech Republic and what, if any, differences are there between the situation with the Czech Republic and that of Bulgaria and Romania?

With regard to visa requirements for citizens of Mexico entering Canada, what are the details with respect to: (a) any formal visa exemption review that the department has undertaken; (b) all evidence used to justify a lifting of the current visa; (c) all plans with respect to a possible influx of asylum claimants from Mexico; (d) consultations that were undertaken with respect to lifting the visa, including for each consultation (i) the date, (ii) the location, (iii) the organization and individuals consulted; (e) all assurances given by the Government of Mexico with respect to this decision; and (f) Mexican citizen assylum claimant levels that would trigger a re-imposition of a visa?

With regard to the government’s refugee-intake priorities for 2016, what are the government’s planned 2016 refugee allocation numbers for both privately-sponsored and government-assisted categories, broken down by country of origin, including Syria?

With regard to the government’s commitment to land government-assisted and privately-sponsored Syrian refugees in Canada: (a) what is the total number of government-assisted Syrian refugees landed in Canada between November 4, 2015 and January 31, 2016; (b) what is the total number of privately-sponsored Syrian refugees landed in Canada between November 4, 2015 and January 31, 2016; (c) what was the total cost to process applications and provide security clearance for those applicants, to date; (d) how much did the government spend on (i) transportation, (ii) food, (iii) accommodation, (iv) healthcare, (v) clothing, (vi) furnishings, (vii) language instruction, (viii) miscellaneous or incidental allowances, (ix) supervision and support services, (x) all other associated costs related to Syrian refugees landed between November 4, 2015 and January 31, 2016; (e) with regard to both government-assisted and privately-sponsored Syrian refugees who have landed in Canada between November 4, 2015 and January 31, 2016, how many of these refugees are 14 years of age and younger and how many are over the age of 14; and (f) what is the complete and detailed breakdown of all resources, methods and procedures used during screening and security checks of Syrian refugees?

With regard to The Highland Companies’ proposed limestone quarry to be located in Melancthon Township, Dufferin County, Ontario: (a) with which departments has the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency communicated in any way concerning a possible environmental assessment on this proposed project and what were the specific subjects of these communications; (b) what was the specific nature of any communication between the Minister of the Environment or his office and other federal departments or agencies, including the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, on this matter; (c) what specific information does the government currently possess that contributes to its determination that a federal environmental assessment is not required; (d) what communication has the federal government or its agencies had with the Government of Ontario or its agencies on this matter; and (e) what communication has the government or its agencies had with the project proponent, its parent companies or its subsidiaries on this matter?

What has the government paid out in the riding of Dufferin—Caledon in grants and contributions since fiscal year 1999-2000 broken down by recipient and year, in each case, specifying: (a) the amount disbursed; (b) the government department involved; (c) the recipient organization or business; and (d) the location of the recipient organization or business?

With regard to the H5N1 bird flu, what steps is the government taking to ensure that this country has an adequate early warning and crisis management system in place, as well as a sufficient supply of vaccine available for Canadians?