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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

8 statements

Elizabeth May

Green
“I want to know if the government will stop treating the United States as a safe country for refugees. American officials have locked up more than 900 children for over 20 days.”

  • Question or comment in debate

    Signal 23 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, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Vancouver East. I want to say that moments of tonight’s discussions have been encouraging. After the horrors of the passage of Bill C-12 and international condemnation that it attacks refugee rights, it was so refreshing that some of the points I was going to make were made by the hon. member for Pierrefonds—Dollard on the long delays in getting people out of Gaza and out of the horrible situations found in Sudan. Also, it was wonderful to hear the words one wants to hear of compassion from a Canadian from the hon. member for Spadina—Harbourfront. My question to the minister is the following. Is the department considering that it is long since time to recognize that the United States is no longer a safe third country after ICE has arrested over 900 children who have been held for more than 20 days?

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Elizabeth May

Green
“My office is overwhelmed with people facing long delays from immigration officials. Security checks can take years. What is the department doing to speed up the process?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I consider myself at least bicoastal, having spent much of my life on Cape Breton Island. I also went to Dalhousie law school, so I am at least partially Haligonian. I hear a lot of concerns from my constituents. My constituency office is pretty much overwhelmed with people who need help as they are caught up in the long delays of trying to get processed by IRCC. It is not uncommon for security assessments to take several years, and we know that a lot of the international partnering agencies that work with IRCC create tremendous bottlenecks. What is the department planning to do to expedite the process and to find a better balance between security and compassion?

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Elizabeth May

Green
“We need skilled and talented people to move to Canada. If our immigration process is too slow and hard, these people will choose to go to other countries instead.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we know that we want to attract, as the minister has mentioned tonight, skilled and talented people, new Canadians who bring the talents and skills we need, but this is not just a compassion exercise. This is also a steep competition. It was recently pointed out in Policy Options magazine, just last month, that Canada risks discovering too late that the real consequences of a burdensome and cumbersome process are not just delayed applications but losing eligible and desirable people, who go elsewhere.

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Elizabeth May

Green
“The home care worker immigration program opened in March 2025 and then paused shortly after. I want to know when it will start again.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, another big concern for my constituents is the home care worker program. The home care worker immigration pilot, as the minister knows, was opened in March 2025 and closed soon thereafter. We understand from her department that it has been paused. When will it restart?

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Elizabeth May

Green
“It should not be so hard for permanent residents to get visitor visas for their parents to visit their grandchildren. Why are these visas taking so long?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it should not be so difficult when people are living in Canada as permanent residents and want to bring their parents here on a TRV to visit their grandchildren. Why is that so bottlenecked?

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Elizabeth May

Green
“I want to know why immigration takes so long. Does the department need more money or more workers to process people?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, does the minister believe there is a lack of financial resources to her department? Is it a lack of people power that makes this a grinding misery for so many people who either are here and wanting their permanent residency or are overseas and wanting to come here?

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Elizabeth May

Green
“I am worried that Canada is not living up to its reputation for helping others. Does the minister agree that we need to do more, and is there a plan and a timeline to fix this?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as the minister hears from every corner of the House, there is deep concern that her department is not delivering for the safety and security of Canadians, but my concern is far more that we are not delivering on our own reputation for being compassionate and humanitarian people. Will the minister agree that much more needs to be done, and is there a timeline and a strategy to deliver on these concerns?

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Elizabeth May

Green
“This spending plan is not enough. The minister needs to take this problem to the rest of the cabinet.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, with all due respect, it is not adequate. If the main estimates discussion tonight ends up being a cry for help, that this is not adequate, that should be taken to the cabinet table. It is not adequate.

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