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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

Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“Youth unemployment in Canada is almost 15%. I want to know if the minister thinks this is a crisis.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I am going to split my time. I want to thank the minister for being here tonight. I want to thank the officials for joining in. I want to go back to something that the minister spoke about. The youth unemployment rate in this country stands at almost 15% right now. Does she believe it is a crisis?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“We want young people to have good opportunities. There are thousands of summer jobs available right now for youth across the country.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we all have youth in our communities and homes. We want them to have good jobs and good opportunities. Right now is a great time to bring forth that there are thousands and thousands of Canada summer jobs that are available in every single riding in this country. I would recommend to the member that—

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Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“Many young Canadians cannot find jobs. The government should not approve visas for low-wage temporary foreign workers when youth unemployment is so high.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, there are thousands and thousands of youth who cannot find jobs, that is for sure, but should we be approving visas for low-wage temporary foreign workers at a time when youth unemployment is at a recession-level high, no matter what program she talks about?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Youth unemployment is going up, and there are many reasons for that. One factor is the temporary foreign worker program.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we do have a youth unemployment rate. There are many factors in that rate. The rate has recently been rising. The temporary foreign worker program—

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Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“The minister said fewer temporary foreign workers are coming to Canada, but the numbers went up this year. I want to know why.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the minister said earlier in her exchange that the temporary foreign worker program was down from 2024 to 2026, but I want to bring to the attention of the House that the minister activated 33,500 TFW permits in the first two months of 2026, compared to 24,000 in the same period last year. Why?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Our stricter rules are working. In the first three months of this year, 74 percent fewer new workers arrived in Canada compared to two years ago. That is over 103,000 fewer people.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, our measures are working. We have tightened regulations. Employers in the workforce have already tightened them. It is correct that there have been 74% fewer new worker arrivals. That is down 103,160 people in the first three months of 2026, compared to 2024.

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Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“Canada gave out more temporary foreign worker permits early this year than it did at the same time last year. Why is the minister increasing this program?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, let us compare 2026 to 2025. There were 33,500 TFW permits in the first two months of 2026, and there were 24,000 in the same period last year. Does she know that 33,000 is more than 24,000, and why on earth is she accelerating the TFW program?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Our government promised to lower the number of temporary residents, including workers, to under 5% of Canada's population by the end of 2027. We are keeping that promise.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we are reducing the share of non-permanent residents, including workers, to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027. That was the mandate and commitment we made in the election. Canadians elected this government. The Prime Minister has made that a mandate that he provided to all ministers. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed we are—

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Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“The minister is not answering my question. Temporary foreign worker permits went from 72,000 in 2015 to 190,000 in 2024, while youth unemployment is at 15%. The Prime Minister called this a failure. I want to know if the minister agrees with him.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the minister is failing to answer the question. She is failing to acknowledge that she has actually let in more temporary foreign workers. The TFW permits have gone from 72,000 in 2015 to 190,000 in 2024. That is a 163% increase, all while youth unemployment is at 15%. The Prime Minister himself called this a failure of execution. Does she agree with that statement, at least?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“In my first year as minister, immigration numbers went down. Asylum claims dropped by 60 percent. New student visas dropped by 80 percent, and temporary foreign workers are down too.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I am going to point to a track record in my first year as a minister of managing migration. The first is that asylum claims have gone down 60% in early 2026 compared to 2024. The second is that new student visas were down 80% in early 2026 compared to 2024. Temporary foreign workers are down—

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Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“The government investigates only 2,000 fraud cases a year, but there are 153,000 cases to check. It will take 76 years to finish them all. I want the minister to tell us if she thinks that is acceptable.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, temporary foreign workers are up. Let the record show it. The minister cannot mislead the House by saying otherwise. However, let us talk about study permits for a second. The minister’s department can investigate 2,000 fraud cases a year. The Auditor General flagged that there are 153,000 cases. At that pace, it is going to take 76 years. That is probably longer than I am going to be here and probably longer than she is going to be here. Is that acceptable to her?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“The Auditor General found that we are giving out fewer student visas. The number of international students coming here has dropped a lot. The member should talk to universities and local governments before saying no students should come.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, in fact, the Auditor General found clear evidence of improvements in that there are fewer student visas being issued. I have already talked about the arrivals of these students. It is a significant decrease. Perhaps the member does not want any to come to the country. Perhaps she should be speaking to the universities, provinces, territories, municipalities and people—

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Melissa Lantsman

Conservative
“The minister's department found 800 cases of fraud among people claiming asylum at taxpayers' expense. I want to know why so few people have been charged.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the minister cannot cast aspersions on any members of the House and what they want. I am talking about the fraud in her department. Of those flagged applicants, 21,000 filed asylum claims at the taxpayer’s expense. The minister’s department confirmed 800 fraud cases. Why are there so few prosecutions?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“The department investigated every flagged case. We also brought in a bill to fix the problems with people who applied when they should not have.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, there are two things. The first is that the department has investigated each and every case flagged. The second is that we brought in Bill C-12, which would eliminate all the irregularities of those who filed but should not have filed.

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Kyle Seeback

Conservative
“In 2018, the government stopped requiring companies to talk to unions before hiring foreign workers. That rule protected Canadian skilled workers from losing jobs. I want the minister to tell us if she thinks that was a good choice or if she regrets it.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, in 2018, the Liberal government removed mandatory union consultations from the LMIA process. It was a safeguard to prevent skilled trades workers from being unemployed. Does the minister think that was a good thing to do, or does she regret that decision?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal

Linked statement

“I was a provincial minister of labour and advanced education in 2020. I worked closely with unions, so I can speak about that experience.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the member mentioned 2018, which is fabulous. I was a provincial minister and, in fact, acted as the minister of labour and advanced education in 2020. I worked very closely with the unions in my province and can speak to some of that.

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Kyle Seeback

Conservative
“The minister clearly does not think removing the safeguard was a mistake, because she would not say so. How many skilled trades workers in Canada were without a job in 2025?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I can only take that as a “no”, she does not think removing the safeguard was a mistake, because she did not say it was a mistake. How many skilled trades workers were unemployed in Canada in 2025?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Our budget creates many well-paying jobs in the skilled trades for people of all ages.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I love to hear about skilled trades. That is something this budget is offering: lots and lots of positions for skilled trades for young people and people of all ages in terms of compensation, but we also want to attract people—

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Kyle Seeback

Conservative
“The answer to the last question is 127,000. Now I want the minister to tell us how many temporary foreign worker permits were given for skilled jobs in 2025.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, she obviously does not know the answer to that question, which is shocking, but it is 127,000. That is the answer to the question. Could the minister tell the House how many TFW permits were issued for TEER 0 to 3 skilled occupations, including skilled trades, in 2025?

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Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I understand the skilled trades and construction from my years as a minister. The government's actions are working.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, I was provincial minister for eight years before now and have been a federal minister for 12 months. I understand the TEER levels, the skilled trades and construction, having come from that world. The important thing is that the measures that have been implemented are working.

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