CIMM – Committee & Appearance Overview– November 18, 2022
About the Committee
Mandate
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) studies matters related to immigration, citizenship and federal multiculturalism policy. The committee has oversight of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Studies
An overview of the committee's studies and reports in the 44th Parliament can be found here: CIMM - Work - House of Commons of Canada (ourcommons.ca).
Appearance Background
Background
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) adopted a motion on October 7, 2022, to begin a study on the situation at Roxham Road as soon as possible. The motion is as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(b), the Committee undertake a study as soon as possible on the conditions faced by asylum-seekers using the irregular administrative path maintained by the Safe Third Country Agreement; that the Committee consider the safety, security and health of people and families of migrants who cross the Canada–United States border at Roxham Road in particular; that the Committee hold no more than three meetings to hear witnesses; that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response thereto.
The Parliamentary Affairs Unit (PAU) anticipates that the Minister of IRCC will be invited to provide testimony for this study in mid-November. The Department is targeting November 18 as the earliest possible date expected.
In October 2022, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) had also invited the Minister to appear regarding the use of public funds at Roxham Road. However, after its first meeting on the subject, ETHI moved to adjourn the study, and no further witnesses were required.
It is anticipated that the Minister will be invited to deliver a 5-minute opening statement, followed by rounds of questioning from committee members. It is recommended that the following officials appear to support the Minister:
- Christiane Fox, Deputy Minister
- Scott Harris, Associate Deputy Minister
- Michèle Kingsley, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations
- Jason Hollmann, A/Director General, Asylum Policy Branch
Should the department be invited for two hours, the Minister would lead the first hour of the meeting, supported by yourself and officials. Officials would remain for the second hour to continue addressing committee questions, led by you.
Environmental Scan
Key topics and possible lines of questioning surrounding Roxham Road include:
- Use of public funds
- Safety and security of migrants
- Permanent residency
- Processing times of asylum seekers
- Refugee exploitation by traffickers
- Quebec immigration
Committee Membership
- Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON)
- Chair of CIMM
- Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West, SK)
- Vice-Chair of CIMM; Associate Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship
- Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, QC)
- Second Vice-Chair of CIMM; Vice-Chair of SDIR; Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Human Rights
- Shafqat Ali (Brampton Centre, ON)
- Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey-Newton, BC)
- Chair of SAFG
- Fayçal El-Khoury (Laval—Les Îles, QC)
- Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
- Arielle Kayabaga (London West, ON)
- Member of LANG
- Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, AB)
- Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Member of CACN
- Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, BC)
- Caucus Chair; Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing
- Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, ON)
- Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Larry Macguire (Brandon-Souris, MB)
- Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, AB)
Please note the Departmental Correspondence received from Members of Parliament in relation to this appearance.
Conservative Party of Canada
Top Party Issues
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has criticized the government for what it perceives as inaction on irregular migrants crossing at Roxham Road.
The party has voiced concerns over the Roxham Road access point, the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, and what the CPC alleges are broader strains on the immigration system as a result of administrative burdens incurred through operations at Roxham Road.
Recent Party Activity
- Nov 10 – Twitter: States that government “gatekeepers,” rather than immigrants, are standing in the way of new houses being built (Redekopp).
- Oct 21 – Blog: Stated the government had bad policies, which cost $500M and that allowed tens of thousands of uncredentialed foreign nationals to use an illegal border crossing at Roxham Road (Rempel Garner).
- Oct 19 – Oral Question: Inquired about the identity of the owner of the land at Roxham Road and how much the contract is worth (Paul-Hus).
- Oct 18 – Debate: Compared current Roxham Road border crossing to border crossing enforcement when CPC was in power with no need to spend a lot of money (Viersen).
- Oct 18 – Twitter: Suggested the government was not being transparent about the leasing of land near Roxham Road from a Liberal Party donor (Paul-Hus).
- Oct 5 – Q-859: Asked for specific details regarding contracts signed by the government since Jan 1, 2020 related to the Roxham Road border crossing (Morrison).
- Sept 27 – Oral Question: Stated that the Liberals have falsely claimed that the immigration system is both fair and delivering value for money when considering the longest immigration backlog in Canadian history and the management of Roxham Road (Garner).
CIMM Members
- Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West, SK)
- Vice-Chair of CIMM; Associate Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship
- Topics Of Interest
- Family reunification and welcoming newcomers
- Temporary Foreign Workers Program
- Backlogs and delayed processing times
- Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, AB)
- Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Larry Macguire (Brandon-Souris, MB)
- Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, AB)
Other Active Members
- Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles, QB)
- Former Shadow Cabinet Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
New Democratic Party
Top Party Issues
The New Democratic Party (NDP) commitments include working with Canadians to support refugees in building successful lives and new homes in Canada while ensuring the industry is regulated by the government.
The party has criticized the government for the backlog of asylum seekers and ongoing problems at the Roxham Road border crossing as the world experiences an unprecedented refugee crisis.
Recent Party Activity
- Oct 18 – Oral Question: Inquired about the Liberal Party secretly spending $28 million to lease land near Roxham Road rather than suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement (Boulerice).
- Dec 13, 2021 – Oral Question: Stated that migrants seeking refuge in Canada are “not illegal, just desperate.” Argued that rather than withdrawing from the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, the Liberals are encouraging leased land near Roxham Road to house asylum seekers (Boulerice).
- Feb 17, 2021 – CIMM: Spoke on the issue of asylum, stating there is basically no asylum measure since people cannot apply for asylum unless they are in Canada (Kwan).
- Feb 6, 2020 – Debates: Indicated that it is never illegal for refugees who are in fear of their lives to make a claim in Canada, however the safe third country agreement says refugees cannot do so at border crossings and therefore suggested the solution of terminating the agreement with the United States (Garrison).
CIMM Member
- Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, BC)
- Caucus Chair; Long-standing Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Critic for Housing
- Topics of Interest
- Withdrawal from the Safe Third Country Agreement and Roxham Road
- Rights, safety and precariousness of Caregivers and other migrant workers
- Processing capacity and backlogs
- Extending the definition of family for reunification
Other Active Members
- Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, QB)
- Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, BC)
Bloc Québécois
Top Party Issues
Bloc Québécois (BQ) has been extremely interested in the situation at Roxham Road, and the government’s decisions and management of the border crossing.
The party, supported by Conservative and New Democratic Party MPs, introduced the motion to investigate the use of public funds to build facilities near Roxham Road at ETHI.
Recent Party Activity
- Oct 27 – Oral Questions: Inquired about the U.S. Secretary of State’s visit being used to push for the suspension of the Safe Third Country Agreement (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- Oct 27 – Twitter: Stated that at the current rate, there will be over 30,000 irregular entries into Roxham Road, which is an inhumane situation, and the government is making the Safe Third Country Agreement last (Brunelle-Doucette).
- Oct 19 – Oral Questions: Criticized the government for its handling of Roxham Road, alleged that a Liberal Party donor received a contract for leased land near Roxham Road, argued that funds should be allocated to IRCC to process asylum seekers at regular crossings (Blanchet).
- Oct 18 – Oral Questions: Stated the Liberal donor who received the Roxham Road contracts disclosed in committee that it was the government that insisted the contract clauses remain confidential (Therrien).
- Oct 7 – Oral Questions: Urged the government to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement in relation to Roxham Road, accused the government of fighting refugee advocacy groups in the Supreme Court over issues stemming from Roxham Road (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- Oct 6 – Oral Questions: Advocated for more immigration powers to be granted to Quebec due to circumstances at Roxham Road (Brunelle-Duceppe).
- Oct 6 – Oral Questions: Demanded a “tabling of complete, unredacted versions of all the contracts awarded in relation to Roxham Road since 2017” (Blanchet).
- Oct 6 – Oral Questions: Argued that in 2022 alone, the RCMP intercepted 23,196 asylum seekers at Roxham Road when customs officers at regular land border crossings have dealt with 499 Refugee Claims (Michaud).
CIMM Member
- Alexis Brunelle -Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean)
- Second Vice-Chair of CIMM; Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Human Rights;
- Topics Of Interest
- Processing delays and family reunification
- Suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement and irregular migration at Roxham Road
- Francophone immigration, including international students from French-speaking countries in Africa
- Quebec interests and protection of the French language
Other Active Members
- Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, QB)
- Leader of the BQ
- Alain Therrien (La Prairie, QB)
- House Leader of BQ
- Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QB)
- Critic for Climate Change, Youth, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Liberal Party of Canada
Top Party Issues
The Liberal Party of Canada commitments include strengthening family reunification and reducing processing times to increase immigration levels and build a fairer system and. They believe immigration is important for economic growth.
Their current focus is modernizing the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States in order to provide a safe passage and access for asylum seekers.
Recent Party Activity
- Oct 27 – Oral Questions: Stated closing Roxham Road is not the solution but the government is focusing on modernizing the agreement (Lalonde).
- Oct 19 – Oral Question: Stated the contracts pertaining to Roxham Road were awarded by public servants according to our principles and all the rules in place (Trudeau).
- Oct 7 – Debates: Debated that closing Roxham Road is not a good solution as it would move the problem elsewhere and the focus is on modernizing the agreement with the United States (Fraser).
- Oct 6 – Debates: Stated the attention is on working with the United States on a permanent, sustainable solution (Fraser).
- Oct 5 – Debates: When people come to Canada, the government makes sure to follow the rules and protect them at the same time, while supporting Quebec in their work with Roxham Road (Trudeau).
- Oct 4 – Debates: Roxham Road gives officials an opportunity to obtain identification documents from these asylum claimants and prevent dangerous crossings (Lalonde).
- Oct 3 – ETHI: Indicated that Canada proudly makes space for those who need refuge and it is an issue of concern that they have safe passage and safe access in ways that both protect them and make sure the border services are doing the job they need to (Saks).
- Sep 29 – Debates: The refugees are helping alleviate the labour shortage across Canada and have many examples of positive contributions made by refugees which contribute to investing in the necessary resources to resolve the situation at Roxham Road (Mendicino).
CIMM Members
- Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON)
- Re-elected Chair of CIMM; Chair of SCIM; Member of AFGH
- Topics of Interest
- Health and safety protocols regarding COVID-19
- Gender equality
- Advocacy for Muslim women
- Shafqat Ali (Brampton Centre, ON)
- Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey–Newton, BC)
- Chair of AFGH
- Fayçal El-Khoury (Laval—Les Îles, QC)
- Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees; Member of AFGH
- Arielle Kayabaga (London West, ON)
- Member of LANG
- Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, ON)
- Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
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