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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

248 statements

Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Just because people want to come to Canada does not mean they can. We have clear rules, and we are watching the effects of them.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, again, I am delighted that everybody wants to come to Canada, but just because they want to come and are expressing their delight in coming, it does not mean they are going to be able to come. There are clear rules in place, and we are monitoring the impact.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“The department is watching this issue. This bill does not give everyone Canadian citizenship through their family. People must prove their family history for every generation when they apply.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as I said, the department is monitoring that. Bill C-3 does not create unlimited access to Canadian citizenship by descent. People have to provide proof of ancestry for every generation in the application.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Canadian citizenship must be protected. People must follow clear rules and steps to get it.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the integrity of Canadian citizenship is paramount. There are clear, identifiable steps people have to adhere to, follow and abide by in order to even get to that step.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Our record shows that we are managing immigration well. Asylum claims have dropped, and the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms that the number of temporary residents is going down just as we promised.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, again, I believe that the record shows that we are managing migration. It shows the decrease of asylum. It shows that the temporary resident population has decreased as we said it would decrease, and the PBO has confirmed that.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Applying for citizenship does not mean someone actually gets it. The department is watching this, and the numbers are not that high.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, again, as I said, applications do not necessarily mean and do not equate to people receiving citizenship. The department is monitoring that, and we are not seeing those types of numbers.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“The member already heard the answers to this when he was on the committee studying the bill. We will watch what happens going forward.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Relevance 48 of 100

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I believe that the member was a member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration when many people testified at that committee when the bill was going through. I believe he already had the answers at that point. Again, we will monitor what happens in the future.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Passing this bill was the right choice. The old law stopped citizenship from being passed down forever. This bill brings clear rules and control to citizenship by descent.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the bill stopped citizenship indefinitely. The right thing to do was to pass that piece of legislation. It provided clarity, structure and control to citizenship by descent.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We paused this immigration program because there was too much fraud, and the department could not handle all the applications. We need time to fix it so it works for the skilled workers Canada needs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, that is a very interesting and good question. I have been transparent and clear. In fact, I was at the Toronto Club and was asked exactly that question and questions along those lines. In fact the individuals who were there asking me were all business people and people who knew about this program. They told me there was so much fraud in that particular program and that they understood why we had to pause it. We have been clear and transparent. We paused the program because we, or the department before I got there, could not control the applications coming in. Therefore, we needed to pause it and take a look at it to ensure we have a system that works for the top talent this country needs.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Pausing the program was the right decision. Too many people were applying, and the department could not keep up. The pause gives us time to review the system and fix it.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, through you, I would please ask that people not put words in my mouth. I said the program was paused. That was the right thing to do. There were too many applications in the system. We have heard about that for a little while. It was uncontrollable, but it was not because of the IRCC and the people working diligently in that department. It was because too many people were applying, and they could not stop the applications. The right thing was done to pause it, take a look and see what was the best thing to do.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We paused that program. We are looking for the best way forward to control immigration numbers, bring in French speakers, and attract global talent. Our plan is working.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, again, as I have said, that program was paused. The department is actively looking at what the best way is, because part of my mission is to bring sustainability to our permanent resident numbers and our temporary resident numbers, to attract francophone immigration and to bring global talent to Canada. That is exactly the mission we are working on, and we are achieving clear results.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We process 80 percent of completed applications on time, even though demand is very high. We train our staff to handle this work, and we have been open with Canadians about it.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, let me tell everyone about processing and our service standards: 80% of completed applications are processed within service standards. There is high demand for the available level space that we have. We have been transparent. We have been clear with all Canadians and all members of Parliament on that. Our staff has cross-training so they can work with the demand we have.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I understand this is an important topic. These federal health measures are temporary and meant for vulnerable people.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Signal 27 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, again, I know it is an important subject. I appreciate my colleague. I know he cares; otherwise, he would not be asking me the question. I do appreciate that, but again, as I said, these are temporary, interim federal health measures for vulnerable—

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“This coverage is for essential services, just like provincial health plans.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the coverage is for essential services. It is aligned with similar provincial health insurance programs.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“These measures are temporary and limited. They are for vulnerable people who do not have provincial health coverage yet.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, these are temporary, limited measures for vulnerable people who are not yet receiving provincial coverage.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Anyone who commits a crime faces consequences, whether they are a Canadian citizen or not.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, no one can commit a crime with impunity, whether they are Canadian or not. People committing crimes face consequences.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Our government is spending money on police to protect Canadians. We have cut refugee health coverage and added copays.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I am proud to say that this government is investing in law enforcement. This government is protecting Canadians. That is our priority. We have reduced the IFHP coverage. We have instituted copay as well. The PBO has confirmed—

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Canada deported 23,000 people this past year. We work with border officers and police, and we are hiring more than 1,000 new officers to keep Canadians safe.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, the Canada Border Services Agency has deported 23,000 people this past year. We work with the CBSA and with our law enforcement. We are investing in over 1,000 more officers to ensure that we protect Canadians.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I do not understand what the member is asking about. He needs to clarify if he means temporary support for vulnerable people before provinces take over the funding.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I am not sure what my colleague is referring to. Is he referring to coverages that are interim for essential services for vulnerable people before they transition to provincial funding? He is going to have to confirm that.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“People who commit serious crimes should face serious consequences.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, again, let me get back to the question of criminality. Serious crimes deserve serious consequences, period.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We are saving money because fewer people are claiming asylum. Our new bill will bring those numbers down even more.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the good news is that we are saving money because the asylum claim numbers are down. We will continue to bring them down with Bill C-12 to curb those numbers.

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