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Business of Supply

This was a Committee of the Whole examination of the immigration minister’s spending plans, where Conservative members used their questions to press the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship on asylum numbers, border screening, visa decisions, fraudulent immigration consultants, temporary foreign workers, and the removal of people with no legal status. The minister pointed to falling asylum claim numbers, cooperation with provinces to relocate refugees, enforcement actions including the removal of 23,000 people last year, and Bill C-12 as a measure to further reduce asylum claims. Liberal members also used some questions to highlight immigration’s economic benefits and summer jobs for youth.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

171 statements

Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“Hundreds of thousands of people will visit Canada for the World Cup. Is the minister confident her immigration rules will stop Ebola from spreading here?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time. With hundreds of thousands of people from around the world about to enter Canada for FIFA World Cup, is the minister confident that the immigration measures she has enacted will ensure Ebola will not enter and spread in Canada?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“A plane with a passenger who might have had Ebola was redirected from the U.S. to Montreal recently. What immigration rules has the minister put in place to stop this from happening again?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, that was not a clear answer and does not fill me with confidence. Several weeks ago, a plane carrying someone suspected of potentially having been exposed to the Ebola virus was redirected from the U.S. to Montreal. What immigration measures has the minister put in place to prevent future incidents like this from happening?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“Tim Hortons said it does not need the temporary foreign worker program anymore, but it is still advertising over 80 of those jobs. Will the minister cancel those permits and stop issuing new ones?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, after years of rampant misuse of the temporary foreign worker program, a national headline read, “Tim Hortons says Temporary Foreign Worker program ‘no longer necessary’”. However, it currently has more than 80 TFW positions advertised on the Government of Canada website. Will the minister cancel these permits and not issue any more?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“Young Canadians cannot find jobs. Yet the minister is approving 250,000 new work permits for foreign workers and international students. How many of them will work at Tim Hortons?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I will take that as her saying she will not cancel the permits and that Tim Hortons will continue to get TFW permits. It also claims that it is committed to hiring locally, but then admitted it could include non-citizens on foreign student visas. The minister is approving 250,000 new TFW and foreign student work permits this year during the middle of a youth jobs crisis. How many of those workers will be employed by Tim Hortons?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“The government brought in too many low-skilled immigrants too fast, which has strained housing, schools, and health care. Does the minister support letting provinces have more control over immigration so they can lower the numbers and put their own residents first for jobs?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the Liberals’ policy of bringing in too many low-skilled non-citizens too fast meant that public services that provinces maintain, such as social welfare, subsidized housing, health care and primary education, have become strained. Does the minister support giving the provinces that want it greater control over immigration for the purpose of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving their own residents first priority for new job opportunities?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“I want to know if the minister will give all provinces the same power over immigration if they ask for it, instead of just giving that power to one province.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the question, specifically, was this: If a province wants more autonomy over immigration, would the minister be open to granting it? I will ask the minister this: Does she support the principle that the federal government should grant equal autonomy over immigration powers to all provinces that request it, rather than giving it to one province while denying the same power to others?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“Does the minister realize that failing to answer will upset a province at a critical time?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, does the minister realize that her non-answer, putting it mildly, would be an irritant at a critical time for a certain province?

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Michelle Rempel Garner

Conservative
“The minister's immigration policy is straining provincial social services. Will she support giving provinces more control over immigration if they ask for it?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the provinces’ social services are being strained by the minister’s policy. She is issuing 215,000 new foreign worker permits this year. The asylum system is still out of control. If a province asks clearly for more control over immigration, would the minister commit to advocating for that?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The immigration department had 105 cases of misconduct and wrongdoing this year. Is the minister okay with this?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the IRCC had 105 misconduct and wrongdoing cases in 2024-25. Is the minister satisfied with this level of failure?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The Auditor General found that the immigration department missed a lot of fraud. The minister promised to fix this. I want to know how many new cases of fraud have been found since then.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I take it that the minister does not know. The Auditor General found many cases of fraud that were missed by IRCC. The minister committed to fixing this problem. Since her committee appearance, how many new cases of fraud have been found?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The minister did not answer my question. Have new cases of fraud been found, and have any permits been cancelled because of it?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the minister still did not answer whether there have been new cases of fraud found. Have there been new fraud cases with permits that have been nullified?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“I want to know if the minister's department is investigating dishonest immigration consultants for fraud.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, does the minister really believe that all fraud has been found by the Auditor General? It sounds like she is not looking for any more in her department. That seems like a very naive belief. Much of the fraud in Canada originates with unscrupulous immigration consultants. Has IRCC opened up investigations into immigration consultants for fraud?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The government let Iranian regime terrorists enter Canada without checking them properly. I want the minister to tell us how many of these permits are now being reviewed.”
Official Hansard

However, Mr. Chair, it did not with immigration consultants, so I take it the minister has no concerns about immigration consultants. One category of people who did not have to enter fraudulently was IRGC terrorists. The government blindly approved these applications. How many permits have been flagged for review because of potential connections to IRGC regime officials?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“How many permits have been reviewed because of possible ties to the Iranian regime?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, how many permits have been flagged for review because of potential connections to IRGC regime officials?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“We know there are Iranian government officials in Canada. I want to know how many have been removed from the country.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, how many of them have been removed? We know that there are IRGC officials in Canada.

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“Canada has only removed one member of Iran's military guard. How can Iranian Canadians trust the minister to keep them safe?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, at our last count, only one IRGC official has been removed. How can Persian Canadians living in fear trust the word of the minister?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“Up to 700 Iranian military officials are in Canada right now. Why is the government taking so long to remove them?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the minister well knows that IRGC officials are here in Canada right now. There are many of them, up to 700 according to some numbers. Why is the government slow-walking the removal of IRGC officials from Canada?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“Liberals voted against our plan to add security screening to the citizenship bill. Is the minister worried this bill will let terrorists become Canadian citizens?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, in Bill C-3, Conservatives wanted to add security screening provisions, but Liberals voted no. Is the minister concerned that her chain migration bill will allow terrorists to gain Canadian citizenship?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“The minister said that people who get citizenship through their parents never needed security checks. Does she still stand by that?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the minister told committee that citizenship by descent has never required security screening. Does she still defend that?

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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“Should an adult be allowed to get citizenship through family ancestry without a criminal background check?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, should an adult claiming citizenship through distant ancestry become a citizen without a criminality check?

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