Immigration

Open Letter: Gaza Family Reunification Measures

Over the past two months, I have become aware of more than two-hundred Palestinian Canadians with either citizenship or permanent resident status across the country that have applied to sponsor their family members in Gaza to come to Canada through the family reunification program. These families have begun the application process to bring nearly 2,500 loved ones from Gaza in total. Of these family members stuck in Gaza, 78 per cent are still waiting to receive the code from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that is required to proceed to the next phase and complete their application.

Your department has stated that 986 people have received a code and used it to submit a temporary resident visa (TRV) application which has been accepted into processing. It is apparent that the code issuing system works in lockstep with the 1,000-person cap to severely restrict the inflow of applications. It should be abundantly clear that you must lift the cap.

It has been almost seventy days since the program opened for applications on January 9. These families are desperate to know when, or if, loved ones will be allowed to come to Canada. For many, the news is consuming their life as they anxiously await to hear from IRCC officials regarding their application. Yet they are met with radio silence from IRCC. The process is frankly excruciating to for family members. The federal NDP caucus has already condemned this non-communicative approach, called on you to lift the arbitrary cap, and change the discriminatory lens through which this policy approaches Palestinians.

 

 

CIMM#93: Closed Work Permits and Temporary Foreign Workers and Briefing on Recent Changes to International Student Policy and Plans for Future Measures

On the question around student housing, I absolutely think that it is essential for institutions and provinces do their part and I think that the federal government should show leadership and perhaps initiate a program wherein the federal government contributes a third of the funding, institutions provide a third of the funding, and the provinces and territories provide a third of the funding towards the creation of student housing, both for international students and domestic students. That way you can have a robust plan to address the housing needs of the students.

I'm going to park that for a minute and quickly get into the students who were subject to fraud. We have a situation in which students have now been cleared and found to be genuine by the task force, but they have not gotten their passports back yet. I don't know what the holdup is, and I wonder if the minister can comment on that.

Second, there are students who are still waiting to be evaluated by the task force, and the task force work can't proceed because they might be waiting for a date for the IRB to assess the question on their permit on whether or not it was genuine or whether or not there was misrepresentation. They are consequently in a situation in which people are just chasing their tails and they can't get to the task force.

On that question, will the minister agree that instead of making people go through that process with the IRB, the task force evaluation can move forward first so that they can be found to be either a genuine student or not a genuine student?

 

HANSARD: Will the minister lift the arbitrary caps arbitrary for Canadians with families in Gaza and Sudan ?

OPEN LETTER: Concerns with the Application Process for the Special Immigration Measure for Gaza

The special immigration measure that our caucus called for on December 4, 2023, opened on January 9. It is riddled with problems. At the outset, nobody knew when the online portal would open. The arbitrary quota for applications only heightened anxiety as people felt that they had to compete with others for limited spots.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not been proactive or clear in communicating with applicants and has been largely incapable of answering any questions about their files. Many people who completed the first stage of the application are still waiting to receive a code that will allow them to proceed and IRCC cannot explain why some people who applied on January 9 received a code quickly and others still have not. Others have been rejected without any explanation from IRCC or for reasons that were later contradicted. People have been rejected and then subsequently approved with the exact same application.

To highlight the absurdity of the situation, one family was told only two weeks after their application was rejected that the reason was due to a missing ‘notary seal or stamp’ even though no stamp is required by law in British Columbia. Notwithstanding, the application was in fact stamped. The applicant did resubmit with the stamp on a gold seal so that it’s more visible to the scan, but IRCC then approved the original application anyway.

 

CIMM#90: Briefing on Migrant Trafficking and Smuggling

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC

I think it would be useful to have that. Seeing as the specific study of the motion is to talk about Mexico, I think it would be useful to have that information. We know that migrant workers, temporary foreign workers with a closed work permit, are subject to abuse, and this is an ongoing issue that I know the minister is aware of and the committee is as well.

From that perspective, there have been ongoing reports. In a recent report in Ontario, I think some 67 migrant workers were subject to abuse in that regard, but it's not the only example. There are many. I won't bother citing all of them. Many people have said over and over again that the reality is that, when people are subject to a closed work permit environment, they are actually at a severe disadvantage and are subject to exploitation.

I know that there's a system whereby the people themselves can report and go through the ministry to apply for an open work permit as vulnerable workers. Will the minister consider providing open work permits to people from the beginning—so that they're not having to face exploitation and then seek recourse—to be more proactive and pre-emptive in the face of this ongoing situation?

Marc Miller Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC

It's something that we're definitely looking into. Obviously, we want to deal with the exploitation as it occurs, regardless of the conditions that people are in. It is clear that, when you have a closed work permit, it does make you more vulnerable. It makes you more hesitant to report abuse and take action, and it gives you less of an ability to move from one place to another.

Looking at the next policy options we have in our tool kit is something that both I and Minister Boissonnault are looking at intensely. I think it's something that we will be working to fix in the coming months.

Globe: Organized crime, including Mexican cartels, smuggling migrants to Canada

Asked by NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan about the exploitation of migrant workers who are tied to their employers, Mr. Miller said he was looking at reforming closed work permits, and was working with Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault on changes that may be unveiled within months.

HANSARD: Question on removing the immigration cap for Palestinian Canadian families

CBC: Teenage surfing star Erin Brooks granted Canadian citizenship, now sets sights on Olympics

Brooks's citizenship bid was initially turned down. But Immigration Minister Marc Miller had a change of heart after a December ruling by Ontario's Superior Court of Justice that it is unconstitutional for Canada to deny automatic citizenship to the children of foreign-born Canadians who grew up abroad.

The Brooks family then refiled its application under a hardship status, based on the recommendation of the Immigration Department, to accelerate the process.

"I love Canada. I have never been prouder to wear the Maple Leaf," Erin Brooks said in a statement released by the family. "To Minister Marc Miller and MP Jenny Kwan, you have changed my life. I believe that I will do something truly special for my country thanks to your gift of citizenship."

Kwan, the NDP's immigration critic, helped advocate for Brooks.

Surfer: Teenage Surfer Erin Brooks Granted Canadian Citizenship for Paris 2024 Olympics Bid

“Lost Canadian Erin Brooks has been granted her Canadian citizenship after reconsideration by the Minister of Immigration. Erin Brooks, a 16-year old surfing prodigy and has worked hard for her whole life for the chance to compete for Canada at the Olympics.

“When Erin was born, she’d the right to Canadian citizenship. Conservative C-37 revoked that right in 2009. As a result of this unjust law, Erin was denied this life-changing opportunity to represent Canada in the 2024 Olympics.”

OPEN LETTER: Calling for Change in Policy Directive of 1000 Application Cap to the Special Family Reunification Program for Gaza

Many civil society groups and stakeholders have been vocal in their condemnation of an arbitrary application cap for over a week. Many feel the cap was unfair and discriminatory when they look to other temporary special immigration measures, such as the CUAET measure for Ukraine, that have not arbitrarily limited applications.

The confusion caused by the public policy and the unfortunate delay in clarification created tense conditions for the Palestinian-Canadian community. To many families, these applications mean the difference between the life and death. Not knowing when the online portal would open but understanding that spots are limited caused many people to stay awake through the night, continually refreshing the application portal to not miss the chance for a spot. I know you agree that Palestinian- Canadians have endured enough and do not need their anxieties needlessly exacerbated.