CIMM Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion by the Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada was pleased to contribute to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration’s study on application backlogs and delays in our immigration system. Conservative Members of Parliament worked in a constructive spirit with their colleagues in the other parties and had hoped to achieve a unanimous report. Unfortunately, due to the intransigence of the NDP-Liberal coalition majority on the committee that sought to protect the government at all costs, this was not possible. Eight years of their leadership has left the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) in what one witness described as “nothing short of a dumpster fire.”[1]

Conservative MPs can claim many victories throughout the study by bringing to the forefront key issues such as the failure of technology used at the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the role of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), the situation in Afghanistan and Ukraine, the plight of minority Christians, the judicial review process, and issues related to citizenship. The main report reflects this contribution and has been structured around those topics. Additionally, many of the recommendations that CPC MPs proposed to the Committee were adopted, either as is or with minor amendments which all parties were satisfied with.

That said, some common-sense Conservative recommendations were summarily rejected by the NDP-Liberal majority, while other recommendations made by that same costly coalition simply could not be accepted by CPC MPs.

Conservative MPs accordingly make the following recommendations in order to strengthen the report:

Citizenship Ceremonies

Conservative MPs recognize that recommendation 7 on citizenship ceremonies which reads “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada make clear to all individuals that it is their choice to choose the citizenship ceremonies process best suited to their needs; and that while in-person ceremonies should be the default option, virtual ceremonies should also be allowed; and further, that any self-administered oath of citizenship be subject to robust integrity measures” is a good start and represents a long-way from the NDP-Liberal position in Budget 2023 that called for click citizenship to become the norm for future citizenship ceremonies. However, Conservatives reject the premise that self-administered oaths of citizenship (click citizenship) should be allowed to take place, regardless of robust security measures or not. In-person citizenship ceremonies and the act of taking a citizenship oath are an experience that new Canadians will only have once in their lifetime. Moreover, the act of taking the oath of citizenship and becoming a new citizen of Canada should be treated with gravity and respect, which an in-person ceremony affords.

The operational practice of the Department has been to offer only virtual ceremonies as an option with in-person ceremonies becoming the exception. The recommendation supported by the NDP-Liberal MPs is a welcome reversal of their position but does not reflect what witnesses and the public have told us.

Therefore, Conservatives would replace recommendation 7 with the following:

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada prioritize granting citizenship to new Canadians through in-person ceremonies as the default option; allow virtual ceremonies only if specifically requested by the individual when in-person ceremonies are impractical due to health or safety concerns; and cease citizenship by “self-administer a digital oath by signed attestation.”

Minority Christians

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stop overlooking minority Christian refugees in Asia and Africa when selecting refugee claimants and instead ensure that minority Christian refugees are representative of their proportion of the population of the countries they are fleeing. 

Priority for Existing Applications

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ensure the inventory and backlog of existing applications is cleared before the government considers any program to address the position of out-of-status or irregular migrants currently in Canada.

Recommendations That Fail the Public Interest

The Conservative Party of Canada disagrees with several recommendations made in the report. Conservative MPs do not agree with the majority’s approach of providing unlimited financial resources to the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Pouring more taxpayer monies to fix the chaos in the immigration system won’t fix the Liberal-made backlogs of around 2.2 million applications. Provincial governments, especially the Government of Quebec, have expressed strong concern regarding previous rates of illegal border crossing through Roxham Road and the pressure it places on health and social services. The public’s trust in the integrity of the immigration system is shaken and public polls reflect this Liberal caused loss of faith. Unfortunately, the costly coalition of NDP-Liberal MPs pushed forward with nine recommendations that fall into these two categories.

At a time when Canadians are cutting back on basic necessities, the NDP-Liberal government is still spending money with abandon, not understanding that their out-of-control deficit spending is fueling the cost-of-living crisis. Canadians know different. Indeed, the reckless spending by the NDP-Liberal government has been on full display at IRCC where budgets have increased by billions and staff by thousands as the backlog continues to grow. Throwing money and people at the issue of backlogs has not and will not solve the problem. That is why Conservative MPs do not support recommendations 8, 35, 39, 40 which, if agreed to by the Minister, will only encourage the Government to waste more money.

Recommendations 1, 19, 20, 21, 24 are policies that if adopted by the Government of Canada, will bring more chaos to our existing immigration system. They will undermine legal paths to immigrate to Canada. They will encourage illegal entry into Canada and create new pull factors.

Conclusion

Overall, the Conservative Party of Canada is happy that their common-sense view of the backlog situation at IRCC has been mostly adopted by all the parties represented on the committee and the report reflects this approach. More taxpayer money is not the solution. The Liberal government is on their fifth IRCC cabinet minister in 8 years. After 8 years we know this prime minister is not worth the cost and his Liberal-made immigration backlog is causing more chaos in the Department as well as destroying the faith of Canadians in the integrity of our immigration system.

Let’s Bring It Home!

Respectfully Submitted,

Brad Redekopp, MP – Saskatoon West

Vice-Chair, Standing Committee Citizenship, and Immigration Committee

Tom Kmiec, MP – Calgary Shepard

Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Larry Maguire, MP – Brandon-Souris

Greg McLean, MP – Calgary Centre