Hon. Alice Wong, P.C.

On May 14, 2018, Alice Wong asked multiple questions of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration during the Business of Supply of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration — Main Estimates, 2018-19.

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Chair, I will spend my complete 15 minutes asking questions.

Why is the minister being so unfair? He is sending his staff to process illegal border crossers instead of bringing the children of live-in caregivers to come to Canada, over 80 of his staff.

Live-in caregivers care for so many of our children, yet their own children have to wait to come to Canada, while the minister sends over 80 of his staff away to process work permits for illegal border crossers.

Why is he being so unfair?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, the fact is that we have reduced the backlog by 63% in the live-in caregiver program and we have significantly cut processing times for caregivers, from five to seven years under the Conservatives down to 12 months under this government.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, why did the minister unfairly reallocate staff from processing family reunification cases to deal with the illegal border crossers? It is so sad that these grandmothers and grandfathers will not be able to come to care for their families.

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, under the Conservatives, spousal sponsorships used to take 26 months or more, depending on the country of origin the spouse was coming from. We have made that a priority. We have put extra resources and staff to process spousal sponsorships. We have cut the processing time from 26 months down to 12 months. We have eliminated the backlog in the spousal sponsorship program.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, why did the minister unfairly send staff to process illegal border crossers instead of helping process all the people who were trying to come to Canada as economic migrants, who want to start businesses in Canada? He sent over 80 staff to Montreal to process illegal border crossers while these business owners waited. Why?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, we have dramatically improved the processing times for all streams of immigration, whether it is spousal sponsorship or live-in caregiver programs. We have a really good track record when it comes to economic immigration. Our federal skilled worker program is working really well to attract the best and the brightest from around the world. We will see an increase by 33% in the provincial nominee program.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, veterans who fought for Canada are homeless. Right now there are only 20 open spots in Toronto homeless shelters because that unfair minister is helping people illegally cross the border from the United States into Canada.

Why has he filled Toronto homeless shelters with illegal border crossers?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, the hon. member knows that asylum claimants are processed in a separate stream of immigration by the Immigration and Refugee Board. All the other streams of immigrants are processed by IRCC. The two are separate and do not affect each other.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, the problem is that the minister sent 80 staffers to do the processing. It takes seven and a half years to come to Canada as a privately sponsored refugee from Djibouti. This is crazy. This is because the minister is sending his staff to process refugees from the United States of America. This is also crazy. We go to the United States to vacation. It is safe there.

Why is the minister making the world’s most vulnerable wait for seven years? Why is he being so unfair?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, the hon. member is actually speaking about the record of her party when it was in office. It was the Harper Conservatives who had really bad wait times for refugees. It was the Harper Conservatives who had really bad wait times on allocations for privately sponsored refugees. It was the Harper Conservatives who cut refugee health care. It was the Harper Conservatives who really did not put a priority on immigration processing.

I am really amazed at this newfound passion for refugee processing. This is quite the spectacle.

The Assistant Deputy Chair:
I want to remind hon. members that this is a team sport, but the team gets together in the lobby or quietly, not during the discussion.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Imagine, Mr. Chair, there are zero days for illegal border crossers, while so many Iranians have been waiting for many years to get their applications processed. Why is the minister being so unfair and sending his staff to personally process illegal border crossers while Iranians have to wait a very long time? Does he not know that Iran is not safe? Does he think that the United States is the same as Iran?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, it is the record that our government has with respect to refugee processing. Not only that, we have doubled the number of resettled refugees under our plan. We have more than quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees compared to the party opposite. Therefore, we have a good track record, not only in increasing the number of refugees that we resettle into Canada, but also in the processing time.

The fact is that the Harper Conservatives had unlimited intake but very limited output, which resulted in huge backlogs that we inherited. We are working very hard to eliminate that. We have already reduced the processing time of privately sponsored refugees by 25 months.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, it is one million times faster for the illegal border crossers.

I have a constituent who is sponsoring her spouse to come to Canada. Guess what. She has to wait, and wait a long time. She is watching all the people illegally crossing the border from the United States, and she says that it is not fair.

Why is the minister sending staff to process illegal border crossers, while my constituent’s spouse has to wait? Why is he being so unfair?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, I wish the member opposite and her party brought the same passion to immigration processing when they were in power. Spouses waited longer under their watch. Spouses and children waited longer. Refugees waited longer. Live-in caregivers waited five to seven years under the Conservatives’ watch.

We have improved processing times for privately sponsored refugees by 25 months, spouses by 14 months, live-in caregivers from five to seven years under the Conservatives’ watch to 12 months under our watch.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, the minister himself is only passionate about illegal border crossers. I have constituents from India who are trying to get their auntie to come to Canada for a visit. However, the unfair minister is sending his staff to process illegal border crossers instead of their aunt. Why is this minister so unfair?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, repeating something that is an underlying inaccuracy does not make it real.

The fact is that the processing of asylum claimants is done separately from all the other immigration streams. We are proud of the work that we have done to reduce the processing times that were left to us by the Harper Conservatives. We understand the importance of reuniting families, which is why we have brought down the processing times for spouses and live-in caregivers.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, the fact is that the minister moved the other resources into just processing the illegal border crossers. There are so many people who want to come to Canada to start businesses, but the unfair minister is sending his staff to process people who are illegally crossing the border from the United States of America.

The United States of America is a place where people go to be safe. What is he thinking? Why is he making people who want to start businesses in Canada wait while he processes illegal border crossers? Why is he so unfair?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, I will repeat this for the nth time. Refugee claimants are processed separately from all the other streams of immigration. The fact is that one does not affect the other. I hope the hon. member understands that.

The fact is that we are the government that has reduced processing times. We are the government that continues to reunite families. We are the government that has eliminated backlogs left to us by the Harper Conservatives.

We understand that investment follows talent. We have redoubled the number of resettled refugees from overseas. We have quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, the illegal border crossers are using our regular resources. The 80 people all came from other resources. I do not understand. I do not understand why the minister is prioritizing illegal people coming into Canada from the United States. This is one of the most free countries in the world.

Now, talking about money, he is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to let illegal border crossers get work permits while people in my riding are unemployed.

He is doing a really bad job. Why is he being so unfair?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, if spending more money on border security operations and faster processing of refugee claims is doing a bad job, then I am guilty as charged.

The fact is that we are making the necessary investments, after the horrendous cuts made by the Harper Conservatives, in border security operations and in faster processing of refugee claims. We are reuniting more families than ever. We are providing refuge to those who are persecuted around the world. We are bringing talent to Canada.

We understand, unlike the Harper Conservatives, that investment follows talent, to grow our economy and create jobs for Canadians. That is why we are seeing a growth in the express entry system. That is why we are seeing a 33% growth in the provincial nominee program, which spreads the benefits of immigration all across the country.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, he is spending more money, but doing much worse. That is a job done badly. There are so many Ukrainians being persecuted. It is so bad for them, they need to come to Canada, too.

Why is the unfair minister sending his staff and all other resources to process illegal border crossers from the safe United States instead of helping persecuted Ukrainians?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that we have doubled the number of resettled refugees compared to the Harper Conservatives. We have quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees compared to the Conservatives’ numbers. We have reduced the processing time of privately sponsored refugees by 25 months. We are reuniting more families than ever under our spousal sponsorship program. We have doubled the number of spaces available for parents and grandparents because we value family reunification.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, there are so many international students from China who want to come to Canada for their education, but the unfair minister is sending his staff to process illegal border crossers from the United States. This is crazy.

Toronto mayor John Tory says illegal border crossers are filling Toronto homeless shelters. Why is the unfair minister prioritizing illegal border crossers over students and the homeless?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, we have welcomed more international students than ever before. Every year, we see growth in the number of international students coming to Canada. We have opened more pathways for international students to become permanent residents and are giving international students more points under the express entry system because we value their talents, skills, and keenness to become future Canadian citizens. We are the first government in Canadian history that is not only telling international students to come to study in Canada, but also telling as many as possible to stay.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, so many people who have legally come to Canada through the temporary foreign worker program are waiting such a long time to become permanent residents. Then they see the unfair minister sending staff to give work permits and benefits to illegal border crossers. This unfair minister is not being fair to the people who run our farms. Why is the unfair minister being so unfair?

The Assistant Deputy Chair:
I want to remind hon. members that this is between the hon. minister and the hon. member for Richmond Centre. There are a couple of people getting involved. The only people who are to give advice are the people in front of the minister. If members want to go outside to talk, that is fine.

The hon. minister.

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, we are proud of the fact that we have an immigration system that welcomes the best and the brightest from around the world. That is why we prioritize client service and faster processing of applications. We have made it a priority to eliminate backlogs. We are proud of having the best record in terms of family reunification. We have doubled the number of resettled refugees and provided a home for the most vulnerable people in the world, including Yazidi women and girls and other survivors of Daesh, something that the party opposite could not do in 10 years in power.

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Chair, the system should be planned and orderly. This unfair minister has broken the system. Is he proud of allowing illegal immigrants to cross the border easily and illegal immigrants to wait?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen:
Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that it is the long processing times and huge backlogs that frustrate potential immigrants, which is precisely what we inherited from the Harper Conservatives. The fact of the matter is that we have made faster processing of immigration cases our priority and have delivered with respect to the spousal program. I will give an example. The live-in caregiver program went from five to seven years to 12 months under our government.

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