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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

462 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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Two days ago, we announced new immigration rules to keep Canadians safe.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as the member knows, two days ago, we held a press conference in which we put immigration measures in place to protect the safety of Canadians.

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We have taken the needed steps with our partners to respond to the Ebola outbreak and protect public health.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as I have said, we have taken the necessary steps to respond to the Ebola outbreak and protect public health in coordination with our partners, including the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada Border Services Agency and Global Affairs—

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Canadians must always be hired first for jobs.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as we have said, and we have been very clear with Canadians and all employers, Canadians must always be first in line for jobs.

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal

Linked statement

“We have strict rules for employers who want to hire foreign workers. Our government made these rules even tighter so hiring them is only a last resort.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we have very strict rules for employers looking to hire temporary foreign workers. It was this government that tightened the rules as well to ensure that it is a last resort.

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We hear people's concerns about immigration and are working to manage it responsibly. I have met with the provinces and territories five times so far to work on this.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we share Canadians’ concern, and we are working to ensure that we manage migration responsibly, because that is what Canadians expect. I have worked very strongly with all provinces and territories. In fact, so far we have held five meetings together.

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I was a provincial immigration minister for eight years. Immigration is a shared job between federal and provincial governments, and I will keep working with the provinces and territories.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it is a wonderful question, because I was a provincial minister of immigration for eight years. Immigration is a shared responsibility between the two levels of government, and in my job, I will continue to work with the provinces and territories accordingly.

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I work closely with the provinces, territories, and their immigration ministers, and I have a great relationship with them.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, as I said, I have worked very closely with all provinces, territories and ministers responsible for immigration in all those jurisdictions, and I have excellent relationships with them.

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I want to correct the facts. In my first year as minister, asylum claims dropped by 59 percent, temporary foreign worker permits dropped by 75 percent, and student visas are down too.”

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  • A repeated line

    “Let me set the record straight.”

    Said 3 times by 2 members since May 28.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, let me just set the record straight. In my first year as minister, we had a 59% reduction in asylum claims in early 2026 compared to 2024, temporary foreign work permits are down 75% in 2026 compared to 2024, and new student visas—

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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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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“The immigration department does not allow bad behaviour. We released the report ourselves so Canadians can see it.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, IRCC does not tolerate at all any misconduct. The report was proactively published. It is very transparent for all Canadians to see.

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We act quickly when workers break the rules. We have fired some people for it.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we have a proactive response to all misconduct, and action is appropriately managed. There have been some who have been fired.

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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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