The Chair presented the First Report from the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, which read as follows:

Your subcommittee met on Thursday, December 16, 2021, to consider the business of the committee and agreed to make the following recommendations:

1. That requests for assistance regarding specific immigration cases be distributed to the committee at the Chair’s discretion.

2. That the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship for one hour and department officials for one hour on February 15, 2022 to provide a briefing to committee members on the current state of backlogs at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, current and projected processing timelines for immigration and refugee streams, citizenship applications and documentation requests, the state of application centers abroad and the rate of acceptance of francophone foreign students.

3. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee commence a study on the recruitment and acceptance rates of foreign students in Quebec and Canada, including francophone students from African countries; that the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship on February 17, 2022, experts, legal specialists and other immigration stakeholders to examine this issue; that the committee hold no more than five (5) meetings; that prioritized witness lists be provided to the clerk by January 20, 2022 and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.

4. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee conduct a study on systemic discrimination that leads to differential outcomes in Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decisions based on factors such as race and region, examine the factors used to assess the genuineness of a relationship for family sponsorships; that the committee explore the allegations of racism and discrimination included in the Pollara Strategic Insights final report on the IRCC Anti-Racism Employee Focus Groups; that the committee examine the scope and impact of the use of advanced analytics technology in the application process; that this study be comprised of no fewer than 5 meetings; that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, and Departmental Officials be invited for one meeting; that the Committee report its findings to the House; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response thereto.

5. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108 (2), the committee conduct a study of application backlogs and processing times for all immigration streams at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, including but not limited to, the status of actions being taken to reduce backlogs and processing times, measures being taken to prioritize processing vulnerable immigrants’ applications stuck in backlog, and how the government can modernize the current immigration system; that the committee dedicate no more than six (6) meetings to the study, that the committee report its findings to the House; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response in this regard.

6. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of the special immigration and refugee measures for the people of Hong Kong; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee adopt the report entitled ”Safe Haven in Canada: Special Immigration and Refugee Measures are Urgently Needed for the People of Hong Kong” adopted during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament; that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report; that dissenting or supplementary opinions be in Calibri 12-point font, left aligned, singlespaced, and be submitted electronically, in both official languages, to the clerk of the committee, not later than 4:00 p.m. (ET) on February 3, 2022.

7. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of the impact of COVID-19 on the immigration system; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee adopt the report entitled “Immigration in the Time of COVID-19: Issues and Challenges” adopted during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament; that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report; that dissenting or supplementary opinions be in Calibri 12-point font, left aligned, single-spaced, and be submitted electronically, in both official languages, to the clerk of the committee, not later than 4:00 p.m. (ET) on February 3, 2022.

It was agreed, — That the First Report from the subcommittee, as amended, be concurred in.

It was agreed, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

ORDERED — That the Chair present the report to the House.

It was agreed, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

ORDERED — That the Chair present the report to the House.

It was agreed, — That the committee consider the Main Estimates 2022-23 and Supplementary Estimates (C), 2021-22.

It was agreed, — That the proposed budget in the amount of $4,025, for the study of recruitment and acceptance rates of foreign students, be adopted.

At 11:28 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 11:45 a.m., the sitting resumed in public.

Larissa Bezo, Francis Brown Mastropaolo and Paul Davidson made statements and answered questions.