Questions and responses 44th Parliament, 1st session November 22, 2021, to January 6, 2025

With regard to asylum claimants who qualified under the over-14-day exemption to the Safe Third Country Agreement from 2019 to 2024: (a) how many claimants qualified under the over-14-day exemption, in each of the past five calendar years, broken down by year; (b) how many claims from (a) were processed in each province or territory, broken down by year; (c) how many claimants from (a) were from each country of origin, broken down by year; (d) how many claims under the over-14-day exemption (i) were approved, (ii) were denied, (iii) are still under review, (iv) were withdrawn or abandoned, broken down by year; (e) what was the average processing time for claims under the over-14-day exemption, broken down by year; and (f) What measures or processes are in place to verify that claimants meet the requirements of the over-14-day exemption?

With regard to asylum claimants who qualified under the four exception categories to the Safe Third Country Agreement from 2019 to 2024: (a) how many claimants qualified under each of the following exception categories, broken down by year, (i) family member exceptions, (ii) unaccompanied minors, (iii) document holders (valid visa, work permit, study permit, etc.), (iv) public interest exceptions; (b) broken down by each of the exception categories in (a), how many claims (i) were approved, (ii) were denied, (iii) are still under review, (iv) were withdrawn or abandoned; (c) what was the average processing time for claims under each of the exception categories in (a), broken down by year; (d) how many claimants in (a) were from each country of origin, broken down by year; (e) how many claimants in (a) were processed in each province or territory, broken down by exception category and year; and (f) what measures are currently in place to ensure the timely processing of claims under each of the exception categories in (a)?

With regard to the bilateral negotiations between Canada and the United States to modernize the Safe Third Country Agreement and Canada’s efforts with the United States to crack down on the human smuggling network that uses Roxham Road: (a) how many letters, emails or other items of correspondence has Canada sent to the United States since January 1, 2017, in relation to (i) the modernization of the Safe Third Country Agreement, (ii) the human smuggling network that uses Roxham Road, broken down by month and year; (b) how many letters, emails or other items of correspondence has Canada received from the United States since January 1, 2017, in relation to (i) the modernization of the Safe Third Country Agreement, (ii) the human smuggling network that uses Roxham Road, broken down by month and year; and (c) how many meetings have been held between Canadian and American representatives that addressed primarily (i) the modernization of the Safe Third Country Agreement, (ii) the human smuggling network that uses Roxham Road, broken down by month and year?

With regard to the new five-year lease that Public Services and Procurement Canada contracted with Guay's Import Co. Ltd. (Pierre Guay) in August 2021 to consolidate previous leases and retrofit two existing buildings (337 and 339 Guay Road, Lacolle): (a) did the lease, which was to run from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2027, end with the closure of Roxham Road, at midnight on March 25, 2023; (b) if the new five-year lease contracted with Guay's Import Co. Ltd. did not end with the closure of Roxham Road on March 25, 2023, when did it end; (c) if the new five-year lease contracted with Guay's Import Co. Ltd. has not ended as of November 6, 2024, when will it end; (d) if the new five-year lease contracted with Guay's Import Co. Ltd. did not end on March 25, 2023, is it possible to obtain the total amounts paid since that date; and (e) if the new five-year lease contracted with Guay's Import Co. Ltd. did not end on March 25, 2023, is it possible to obtain the total amounts that remain to be paid to Guay's Import Co. Ltd. until the end of the contract?

With regard to the federal government's commitment to resettle 15,000 refugees in Canada following the renegotiation of the Safe Third Country Agreement: (a) what is the breakdown by country of origin; (b) what is the breakdown by country of citizenship; (c) what is the breakdown by demographics of the claimants by (i) age, (ii) sex or gender; and (d) how many claims were (i) accepted, (ii) refused, (iii) still awaiting a decision?

With regard to the Government of Canada’s discussions with the United States of America on the Safe Third Country Agreement, since January 1, 2022: (a) how many meetings, virtual, in-person or by phone, have there been where Roxham Road was discussed; (b) for each meeting in (a), which public office holders participated in those discussions, including their full name and title; (c) what briefing documents, internal memos or emails were written in preparation for or as a result of those meetings; (d) which departments were involved in preparing for those discussions?