CIMM Committee Report

Minority Report

Special Immigration Measures for Haitian and Zimbabwean Nationals

The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) agreed to study the Special Immigration Measures for nationals of Haiti and Zimbabwe. I would like to extend my thanks to the committee for studying this important issue and I thank the member from Longueuil-Saint Hubert for bringing the issue to my attention. I would also like to thank the member from La Pointe-de-l'Île for his interventions at the committee on this important subject.

As critic for Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees for the NDP, I believe that this situation warranted examination in order to ensure that all individuals and their families potentially impacted by the lifting of the temporary suspension of removal to Haiti and Zimbabwe are not unduly displaced after they have worked so hard to rebuild their lives here in Canada. While the government has decided that these two nations are stable enough to recommence removals, there is no denying that for some people, returning to those nations would be unjust, as established families in Canada could be torn apart, and removal from Canada could still put people in potentially dangerous situations.

To assist committee members to better understand the situation for the effected Haitians and Zimbabweans nationals, I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the witnesses who were able to attend and present to the committee on this important subject as well as those who came to observe the proceedings but were not able to secure a witness spot.

The committee had the opportunity to listen to expert testimony from three perspectives on this issue[i][ii]:

• -Officials from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration provided program and policy details around the special immigration measures, outreach activities to the impacted communities, and rationale for the lifting of the temporary suspension of removals.
• -Representatives Ms. Marie-Jocelyne Simon, President of Concertation-action des citoyens et des citoyennes d'origine haïtienne and Mr. Pierreson Vaval, Director of Équipe Rivière-des-Prairies provided valuable insight from the perspective of the community organizations on the ground in these immigrant communities.
• -The lived experiences of and realities of Mr. Jean-Fritz Cima, a Haitian born man in Canada personally impacted by these policy decisions

In addition to those who presented, I also had the opportunity to speak with and bring to the committee for attendance, Mr. Serge Boucherau, a representative from the Action Committee for Persons Without Status, and Mrs. Oriol, an individual in Canada without status. During the committee hearing, I was able to use some of my allotted time to bring to the committee some of the issues that Mr. Bergeron and Mrs. Oreal would have raised, had they been selected as witnesses. These issues included: The difficulty in reaching out to all individuals who were impacted by the lifting of the suspension; the difficulty individuals have navigating the application processes and paperwork; the role fear has in preventing individuals in these communities from coming forward and applying for status; and their support for regularizing the status of Haitians and Zimbabweans impacted by this special measure. 

The witnesses provided the committee with important perspectives surrounding this complex issue. The Committee was able to hear both from individuals dealing with these issues personally as well as from the valuable community organizations that are reaching out and working with affected communities, to the best of their ability, to ensure individuals impacted have access to the appropriate services and processes to remain legally in Canada. It was important that policy makers are made aware of the fact that there is a policy-practice gap – a difference between how a policy is developed and written versus how it is actually put in practice. This is especially true in cases where the target population is a small minority group facing high stakes. For example, the witnesses were very conscious of the fear in the community about coming forward and applying for status. Because of their experience in Haiti and Zimbabwe dealing with various levels of government with less accountability than that which exists in Canada, individuals are understandably fearful that the special measures are an attempt to find people and remove them from Canada. Policy, no matter how well intentioned, will not be able to be adequately developed if these practical aspects are not known and accounted for[iii].

Report Recommendations:

Based on witness testimony, the committee was able to develop six recommendations which are included in the report, and will be sent to IRCC. While these recommendations touch on very important aspects of Special Immigration Measures and I support the direction of the recommendations, I also note that on the whole, the recommendations are not action oriented. The recommendations in the main report, while acknowledging the fact that serious problems do exist, only request that these problems be examined and considered.  This is deficient in my view, given the gravity of the situation.  As well, we must keep in mind that these current Special Measures will expire on August 4, 2016.  If appropriate action is not taken in a timely manner, there will be significant negative consequences for individuals and families. It could put people at risk, and break up families that are well established in Canada.

We heard from witnesses that the impacted individuals and families are much more comfortable coming forward and completing the applications when they are working with the organizations they know they can trust[iv]. This could help address the fear aspect. We also heard from an affected individual about the dangers of having poor counsel. On top of what can be considered extremely high fees, there are less than qualified individuals claiming to be immigration consultants and lawyers that are providing people with services that ultimately lead to their applications being rejected[v]. Beyond the monetary cost, there is a chance that these inadequate services can lead to someone being unjustly removed from Canada. One way to address this is to provide funding to well established, legitimate community organizations to offer these services to the Haitian and Zimbabwean community.

In recommendation 4, IRCC is being advised to consider providing extra resources to the organizations working within the communities to assist people as they attempt complete the applications. We heard very clearly how important these organizations are in providing these services, and how funding is a considerable issue for them. Providing additional funding to these established, legitimate community organizations is necessary and should be recommended.

Currently, the application fees are $550 per adult, and $150 per dependent. For those who have had applications rejected in the past, they have already spent a considerable amount of money.  One witness informed the committee that he has spent $16,000 on multiple rounds of applications[vi]. Permanent residence and citizenship in Canada should be based on merit, not income. The high fees, which have been greatly increased in recent years, need to be addressed. From the witnesses, we did not hear the fees needed to be eliminated. What we heard is that the fees should be changed, specifically to $100.

In recommendation 5, IRCC is being asked to examine reducing fees associated with applying for permanent residence, and to consider lowering fees for this special measure. This was also discussed quite clearly by the witnesses. The costs of the various applications, especially when it involves an entire family, can be incredibly onerous. A family should not have to be faced with the choice of paying for permanent residence applications or paying rent.

New Recommendations:

In addition to strengthening the report’s recommendations, I would also like to draw attention to a number of issues that witnesses identified as major concerns that the IRCC should address.

The Interim Federal Health Program exists to extend healthcare services to refugees, refugee claimants and certain other groups. An issue that was brought to the attention of the committee is that due to the administrative burden the IFHP places on healthcare providers, it is far easier for providers to simply refuse to provide services to individuals covered under IFHP. This is simply unacceptable. We heard at committee that there is only one hospital in Montreal, where a sizable Haitian community exists, which will provide services to those covered by IFHP[vii]. This could be preventing individuals from obtaining care they need and are entitled to, which in turn can add to the burden on our healthcare system because individuals are forced to wait until the health concern is unbearable and they end up in our emergency rooms. For those that do seek care, additional transportation costs and travel times can negatively impact their already precarious situations.  To that end, the NDP recommends:

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada work to ensure that healthcare providers do not refuse healthcare services to individuals covered by the Interim Federal Health Program

If a member of the Haitian or Zimbabwean communities submitted a standard application for permanent residence after April 4, 2013 and prior to the 1^st special measure which began on December 1, 2014, there is a possibility that their application will not have a decision reached prior to the special measures ending on August 4, 2016. According to IRCC, the current processing time for humanitarian and compassionate cases is 40 months[viii]. For any Haitian or Zimbabwean national that submitted a standard humanitarian and compassionate case application after the 1^st window closed and prior to the 2^nd window opening, their case could not have a decision until May 2019.

As the acceptance rate under the special measures is considerably higher than the general acceptance rate of humanitarian and compassionate cases, it would be unjust for an individual who submitted forms at the wrong time to be subject to removal, when they would have been accepted if they applied at a different time. Additionally, part of the special measures is that individuals that have been rejected in the past - even on humanitarian and compassionate grounds - are able to apply. For an individual who applied in August 2015, it is unlikely they will have a decision prior to the special measures ending. It is unfair for this individual to be subject to removal from Canada on the basis of the timing of their application. To ensure a fair and just system, the IRCC should identify standard cases currently in the system that are eligible for the special measures, and process them accordingly. The NDP recommends:

That those who applied for permanent residency as humanitarian and compassionate cases either before the 1^st six-month window (December 1, 2014 to June 1, 2015) or in between the 1^st window and 2^nd window (June 2, 2015 to February 4, 2016) be flagged in the system and moved into the special measure processing.

Finally, it is important to draw attention to the words of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Refugees, mere months ago. On January 25, 2016, in response to a question on this very issue in Question Period, Minister McCallum stated:

“Mr. Speaker, I have spoken with my Quebec counterpart. We made a firm decision to allow these people to stay in Canada. That is what we decided, and that is what will happen.”[ix]

Less than one month later, the Minister seems to have completely changed course, and only opened up a 2^nd limited window for applications. We heard from the witnesses quite clearly that providing permanent residence to the relatively few people impacted by these measures was by far their agreed upon approach. It appears that this was also the opinion of the Minister. My recommendation therefore is:

That, on recommendation of expert stakeholders and understanding the current realities facing individuals in both Haiti and Zimbabwe, that the Government provide the ability for all individuals impacted to regularize their status within Canada without imposing an arbitrary and unnecessarily rushed deadline.