“We are waiting for the committee's report so we can hear my colleagues' ideas.”

“Mr. Chair, as I said, we are awaiting the committee’s report because I hope my colleagues will also have useful insights for us.”

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“We have succeeded. A 71% drop is a clear success.”

“Mr. Chair, on the contrary, we have been successful. A reduction of 71% can certainly be considered a success.”

“I already talked to the provinces and territories at our last meeting, and we will talk more.”

“Mr. Chair, as I already mentioned, we had discussions with the provinces and territories during my last meeting and we will have more.”

“Our immigration system needs clear rules and strong security checks to stay fair and trustworthy. We are spending $188.1 million to collect photos and fingerprints from applicants around the world. This helps us confirm people's identities, stop fraud, and keep Canadians safe.”

“Mr. Chair, before I begin, I should inform you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Moncton—Dieppe. I want to thank the minister for working so tirelessly since taking charge of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, as well as for collaborating so constructively with Quebec on the management of asylum seekers. I am pleased to rise today to speak to the integrity and security of Canada’s immigration system, as well as the tools that enable us to keep the system fair, orderly and trustworthy. The strength of an immigration system does not depend on the number of people Canada takes in. It depends on clear rules, reliable controls, secure processing and public trust. That is why the main estimates 2026-27 provide funding for the individuals, systems and tools supporting identity verification, program integrity and secure decision making. A fair immigration system must also be secure. Rigorous screening and identity verification are not barriers to immigration. They are safeguards that protect Canadians and legitimate applicants while upholding trust in the systems. The Government of Canada’s approach to immigration screening is not based on a single decision point. It involves a continuum supported by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and international partners. It starts before a person travels to Canada and continues when they seek entry at the border. It may continue post-arrival as new information becomes available or as other immigration decisions are made. The goal at each step is to facilitate lawful movement and immigration while identifying risks and protecting the system’s integrity. Before someone arrives in Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, examines their application for a visa or electronic travel authorization. Officers examine the information provided, assess whether the applicant meets the requirements for entry to Canada, and review the application based on risk factors and other verification criteria. Personal information, including fingerprints and photos, helps confirm the individual’s identity and support criminal background checks. This information can be compared against Canadian databases and, as applicable, against information held by trusted international partners. These checks help officers to determine whether there are grounds for deeming someone inadmissible to Canada, including security concerns, criminal activity, false statements or other reasons set out in Canadian law. In some cases, applicants may have to undergo additional screening by security partners. IRCC works with the CBSA, CSIS and international partners to support screening and decision-making. This collaboration is vital. No one tool can protect the system. The system’s integrity depends on officer training, clear rules, reliable intelligence, security systems and strong government partnerships. Biometrics is one of these important tools. This data helps to answer one of the most fundamental questions of any immigration system: Is the applicant really who they claim to be? Biometrics make the system more reliable by helping to establish identity, detect identity fraud, conduct background checks and confirm that decisions are based on accurate information. This protects Canadians. It also protects legitimate applicants by ensuring that those who follow the rules are not adversely affected by those who try to use a false identity or fraudulent documents or those who make false statements. That is why the 2026-27 main estimates include $188.1 million under the Department of Citizenship and Immigration for the cost of biometric data collection. This funding helps maintain the continuity of biometric data collection services through a global network of visa application centres, or VACs. These third-party providers are mandated to provide administrative support to applicants, particularly with regard to the collection of biometric data, and to help deliver services in many parts of the world. Let me be clear. Visa application centres do not make decisions regarding applications. They do not provide advice on visas. Decisions remain in the hands of trained immigration officers who apply Canadian law. IRCC also provides oversight of visa application centres through performance-tracking agreements, inspections and requirements related to security and privacy. VACs help ensure that the process is secure and accessible. They allow applicants to complete important administrative steps, including the collection of biometric data, while officers focus on assessing applications and making decisions. Privacy and security are at the heart of this work. Information collected for immigration purposes must be treated with care and in accordance with Canada’s laws, policies and protections. The security continuum continues at the border. A visa or travel document does not guarantee entry into Canada. When an individual arrives at a port of entry, border services officers play an important role in assessing their admissibility and ensuring that they continue to meet the requirements to enter Canada. This means that, even if the screening is done before the trip, the system still has safeguards in place at the port of entry—”

“I want to thank my colleague for his hard work and for speaking up for his community.”

“Mr. Chair, I want to start by thanking my colleague for the great work he does as a member of Parliament. I know he is a very committed advocate for his community. I was with him in his riding and I attended a Black History Month event here in Ottawa. I thank him—”

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“I support our spending plan for immigration. Our changes have lowered the number of asylum claims and helped speed up decisions. I want the minister to explain our targets for French-speaking immigrants and how we will meet them.”

“Mr. Chair, I am pleased to speak today about the main estimates 2026-27 for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. I would also like to take a moment to thank my friend and colleague, the minister of this department, who works tirelessly, puts in a tremendous amount of effort and manages a very complex portfolio. I was very pleased to welcome her to Moncton in January when it was announced that we had surpassed our francophone immigration targets. We can talk more about that later, during questions and answers. Immigration affects every region of the country. It bolsters our economy, supports community growth, reunites families and helps Canada attract the people and skills we need. It also reflects Canada’s values, including our commitment to protecting people fleeing persecution, violence and serious harm. As global conflicts, climate pressures and changing migration patterns continue to displace people around the world, Canada must respond with compassion and through an orderly, fair and sustainable system. These main estimates support that balance by helping to maintain the services, safeguards and partnerships needed to respond to humanitarian and asylum pressures in a very responsible way. Over the past few years, the increasing number of asylum claims has really strained the system. The number of claims exceeded processing capacity. Delays got longer and costs went up. The delays are significant. They can make the process unfair for people who need protection and certainty about the future. They also put pressure on housing, health care and legal and community supports, and they can make a system more vulnerable and prone to abuse. That is why our government is working hard to ease that pressure, strengthen integrity and make our asylum system more sustainable. We introduced measures to strengthen the integrity of migration and we modernized the asylum system. Measures to better manage the number of temporary resident applications and improve the integrity of temporary programs also contributed to reducing the number of asylum claims entering the system. I have to say that these measures are working. From January to March 2026, the number of asylum claims was about one-third lower than in the same period in 2025 and almost two-thirds lower than in the first quarter of 2024. Here again, things have clearly improved. Bill C‑12 created new eligibility rules to protect the system from a sudden influx of applications, to discourage abuse and to support timely decisions. These rules apply when an application is submitted more than one year after a person first arrived in Canada or after an irregular crossing of the U.S. border. At the same time, safeguards are in place. If an application is inadmissible, the applicants can still go through a pre-removal risk assessment to determine whether they would face risk if they were sent back to their country of origin. Over the coming months, the government will continue to improve the way asylum claims are received, handled and decided. With the new inadmissibility rules, these reforms will help make the system more efficient, more sustainable and better managed. The main estimates support this work. They provide the resources to support better processing, faster decisions, and essential services while applications are being considered. Timely decisions offer certainty to applicants who need and deserve Canada’s protection. They also help resolve cases where individuals are not eligible to remain, so the system can continue to focus on the people who are most in need. The main estimates also support essential services for eligible asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups while their status is being determined. People fleeing persecution, violence or serious harm may arrive with urgent needs. Canada has a responsibility to respond with dignity and care, while ensuring that these services remain reasonable, temporary and well managed in the long term. This balance is important, especially at a time when health care, housing and social services are under strain across the country. By providing a clearer plan and a more sustainable path forward, we can maintain the public trust needed for the system to function more effectively. Once again, as I clearly mentioned at the beginning, in Canada, when we talk about immigration and the French-speaking community, we want to ensure that we maintain a level of French-speaking population that will at least offset the loss, if you will. I was wondering if the Minister of Immigration could discuss the immigration targets that have been set, tell us whether we have met those targets, and explain what measures and objectives we have put in place to ensure that we can still achieve those goals.”

“We beat our goals for bringing French-speaking immigrants to Canada. Getting more French speakers to move outside Quebec helps our economy, protects the French language, and keeps our country bilingual. Our government is working hard to bring in even more.”

“Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member for Moncton—Dieppe for her many years of service and for the excellent work she has done on behalf of all Canadians. Her leadership on official languages and her support for francophone and Acadian communities have been extremely important. As she said, earlier this year, I had the opportunity to travel with her to Moncton, where we announced further progress on francophone immigration. We have surpassed our francophone immigration targets. Francophone immigration is a national priority. Outside Quebec, it is essential for Canada’s future. It helps strengthen francophone minority communities, supports economic growth and helps protect the French language across the country. It is also part of Canada’s bilingual identity. Our government remains fully committed to increasing francophone immigration outside Quebec, and we are working very hard.”

“My family and I are immigrants. Except for Indigenous people, everyone here comes from immigrants who arrived at different times. I value the hard work immigrants bring to Canada.”

“Mr. Chair, I appreciate the member’s opening remarks because my family and I are also immigrants. I say that everyone in this chamber is an immigrant unless they are from a first nations community. The only difference is some have come here before the others. I very much value the contributions that immigrants and hard-working people make to Canada.”

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“Anyone who commits a crime in Canada will be punished. That is true whether they are a Canadian citizen, an asylum seeker, or an international student.”

“Mr. Chair, my colleague is talking about criminals and crime. Whether someone is Canadian or not, if they commit a crime in this country, they will pay the price of that crime. This is the case whether they are an asylum seeker, an international student or a Canadian.”

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“We work with police and border agencies to check every applicant. We make sure they are not a security threat.”

“Mr. Chair, we work very closely with public safety partners, including the CBSA, the RCMP, policing partners and provincial authorities. We review each applicant to ensure that they do not pose a threat prior—”

“Since 2023, we have added rules to check international students' acceptance letters and follow up on suspicious cases.”

“Mr. Chair, since 2023, we have introduced integrity measures, including stronger verification and letters of acceptance to all international students. We have made consistent follow-ups on flagged cases—”

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