SoVote

Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

May/3/22 6:45:12 p.m.
Watch

I am honoured to rise this evening to respond to the hon. member's question. I want to start by saying that Canada remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukrainian immigrants have helped build this country, and we will continue to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine in upholding the values that our countries share. More than 24,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada since January 1 of this year. As the hon. member knows, Ukraine shares borders with the European Union. IRCC has offices and visa application centres in neighbouring countries. We have implemented strong contingency plans to ensure that we can continue to support Canadians, permanent residents, their families and our clients. We continue to prioritize applications from Ukraine across our global processing network. As part of the Government of Canada's response to Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, IRCC introduced the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel. This is a special, accelerated temporary residence pathway for Ukrainians who are seeking a safe haven while the war continues in their home country. With respect to the hon. member's suggestion regarding visa-free travel, I would say that our new program is the fastest, safest and most efficient way for Ukrainians to come to Canada. All Ukrainian nationals and their families can apply through this new pathway while waiting for the security check. The security check is how we confirm the identity of those seeking to come to Canada and how we protect the safety and security of Canadians. We have exponentially increased our biometrics collection capability. We have also exempted applicants under the age of 18 and over the age of 60, as well as those who have previously travelled to Canada and abided by our rules and laws. The vast majority of these three low-risk cohorts will no longer need to provide biometrics. Between March 17 and May 1, we received about 196,000 applications through this new program and approved over 85,000. I would also like to point out that we are meeting the 14-day processing target. We are committed to processing 80% of applications within 14 days, and we continue to meet this standard. All Ukrainians and their family members who come to Canada under this program can work immediately upon arrival, thanks to an open work permit that they apply for when they receive the authorization, allowing employers to quickly hire Ukrainian nationals. This would not be possible with visa-free travel. In addition to this program, the IRCC is also issuing open work permits and study permits to Ukrainian nationals and their families who are currently in Canada and who cannot safely return home. This will allow them to extend their stay in Canada for up to three years. We also know that Ukrainians will need support when they arrive. That is why we recently announced that Ukrainians will have access to hotel accommodation for a maximum of two weeks and income support for a maximum of six weeks. I would like to close by stating that we recently partnered with Air Canada, The Shapiro Foundation and Miles4Migrants to establish the Ukraine2Canada travel fund, which lets Canadians donate their Aeroplan points with the goal of providing at least 10,000 free plane tickets to Ukrainians who want to come to Canada. We will continue to do more, as quickly as possible, to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Putin's war and to take care of them upon their arrival.

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Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22

Mr. Garnett Genuis

May/3/22 6:49:08 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, with great respect for the parliamentary secretary, I think that answer provides some obvious effort to distract and to say, “Look at some of these other things happening over here. Isn't it great that people have an opportunity to work when they come to Canada?” Yes: People should be able to work when they come to Canada, obviously, but the question was specifically about visa-free travel. This is the issue that was raised in this question. This is the issue that was raised when a majority in the House of Commons voted to have visa-free travel. It does not make sense at all to say that having the visa requirement in place is necessary for us to be able to do all of these other things over here. What we are saying is that there are other measures that are valuable, of course, for supporting Ukraine and supporting Ukrainians, but one of those measures is lifting the visa requirement. There is no reason that the government cannot proceed with, for instance, having an open work permit while also lifting the visa requirement. I would submit that it obviously would be easier and faster if the requirement for the issuance of the visa was no longer there. Why does the government not do this simple thing? It would make life easier, because it is not meeting its targets in many cases that I am hearing about from constituents. Let us lift the visa requirement.

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Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22

Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde

May/3/22 6:50:19 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I realize how much my colleague wants to make this happen, but the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel really is the fastest, safest and most efficient way for Ukrainians to come to Canada. I also want to point out to my colleague that we have approved over 85,000 applications under this special program, and we have welcomed 24,000 Ukrainians to Canada since the start of the year. Hundreds more are arriving every day. We have also worked closely with the provinces and territories, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, resettlement organizations and the business community to ensure not only that Ukrainians can come to Canada, but that they will be taken care of once they arrive. We have partnered with the Red Cross, and I have had the great pleasure of going to see the people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organization for helping us with this process.

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