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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

Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal

Linked statement

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

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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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Brad Redekopp

Conservative
“Did the minister talk to Elections Canada about how new citizens will vote under this bill if they have never lived in Canada?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, we know that new citizens can vote, obviously. Did the minister consult Elections Canada about where these new citizens through Bill C-3 will vote when they have never had a physical address in Canada?

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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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Fred Davies

Conservative
“Our immigration system is broken and full of delays. Now, about 43,000 business founders are stuck waiting up to 10 years for a start-up visa, so they are taking their businesses to other countries. Is the minister okay with this?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, for 10 years, IRCC has spiralled from backlog to backlog while temporary migration numbers exploded beyond Canada’s capacity for housing, health care and infrastructure. Nearly two million visas and permits are now approaching expiry, exposing a system riddled with abuse by questionable colleges that turn immigration into a business model. One of the programs that got caught up in this chaos is the start-up visa program, which has not been talked about by anyone since the new government has taken office. There are now around 43,000 innovation founders waiting in the queue, having paid substantial fees to go through incubation and business building programs, but your website now says, Minister, that there is a 10-year wait for visas to be issued. These entrepreneurs are going elsewhere, where there is no chaos and where economic certainty exists. Is the minister okay with this?

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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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Fred Davies

Conservative
“The minister admitted there was corruption in this program, and her department shut it down. Did the department ever audit the group it hired to check these organizations?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, that is interesting, because my next question was going to be about the corruption in the program. The minister has just verified and validated that there has been corruption in her department in the program. It cannot handle the backlog of applications, so it shut it down because it was corrupted. I wonder if the minister can tell me, did the department ever audit NACO when it was subcontracted to do the due diligence on designated organizations?

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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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Fred Davies

Conservative
“The government's own reports found fraud, weak oversight, and corrupt schemes in this immigration program. Why did the government fail to act before the backlog passed 43,000 applications? Why did it hand off the approval process to an outside group?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it is not that I want to correct the minister by her trying to correct what she had already said, that the program had been rife with corruption, but the IRCC’s own evaluations identified problematic applications, weak oversight and pay-to-incubate schemes involving designated organizations. Why did your government fail to act before the backlog exploded past 43,000 applications? Why did you subcontract a designated organization approval process to NACO? Does the minister know what NACO is?

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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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Fred Davies

Conservative
“It takes over ten years to get a business visa approved in Canada, but other countries do it in months or days. I want to know if the minister is okay with that.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, let us talk about results. Right now, the minister’s website says the approval time for start-up visa program applications is in excess of 10 years. People can get approval in France in one to two months. In the United States, it is 15 days. In Germany, it is four to six months. In the U.K., it is two to four months. In Canada, it is 10 excruciatingly painful years. Is the minister okay with that?

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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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Dan Mazier

Conservative
“The immigration minister called things like physiotherapy, home care, and counselling essential services for rejected asylum claimants. Why are these services considered essential for them when Canadian taxpayers do not get them?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the immigration minister stated on the record that luxury health benefits like physiotherapy, home care and counselling are “essential services” for rejected asylum claimants. How are these essential benefits if Canadian taxpayers do not receive them?

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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.”

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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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Dan Mazier

Conservative
“Does the immigration minister understand that Canadian taxpayers do not get free physiotherapy, home care, or counselling?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, does the immigration minister understand that Canadian taxpayers are not entitled to physiotherapy, home care or counselling benefits?

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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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Dan Mazier

Conservative
“Does the minister know that people lose these services once they qualify for provincial ones?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, does the minister realize that once they become provincially eligible, they no longer get those services?

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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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Dan Mazier

Conservative
“Why did the immigration minister call people charged with assault and rape vulnerable people instead of criminals?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, the immigration minister referred to rejected asylum claimants who were charged with assault and rape as “vulnerable people”. Why is she calling criminals vulnerable people?

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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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Dan Mazier

Conservative
“Does the minister have a problem with paying for extra health benefits for criminals she calls vulnerable?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, does the minister have any issue with funding luxury health benefits for criminals she calls vulnerable?

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