It was agreed, — That the motion pertaining to the study of conditions faced by asylum-seekers, adopted by the committee on Friday, October 7, 2022, be rescinded and replaced with the following: That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(b), the committee undertake a study as soon as possible on the conditions faced by asylum-seekers using the irregular administrative path maintained by the Safe Third Country Agreement; that the committee consider the safety, security and health of people and families of migrants who cross the Canada–United States border at Roxham Road in particular; that the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to appear; that the committee hold no more than four meetings to hear witnesses; that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response thereto.

It was agreed, — That the Second Report from the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure which read as follows, be concurred in:

Your subcommittee met on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, to consider the business of the committee and agreed to make the following recommendations:

1. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(b), the committee undertake a study as soon as possible on the conditions faced by asylum-seekers using the irregular administrative path maintained by the Safe Third Country Agreement; that the committee consider the safety, security and health of people and families of migrants who cross the Canada–United States border at Roxham Road in particular; that the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to appear; that the committee hold no more than four meetings to hear witnesses; that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response thereto.

2. That the committee study the government’s response to the final report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan entitled Honouring Canada’s Legacy In Afghanistan: Responding To The Humanitarian Crisis And Helping People Reach Safety, following the tabling of the report; that the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and their officials, with two hours allocated for each department, to provide an update on which of the 37 recommendations related to their portfolio, they have acted on and/or its progress and which they will not implement with an explanation; and that the committee report its findings to the House.

3. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee conduct a study on people with temporary status and undocumented people in Canada, including those who are subject to removal from Canada and/or have a warrant for their arrest, examine their experiences and contributions to Canada’s economy, options on how to regularize their status, and explore regularization initiatives implemented in other countries; that the committee invite government officials and expert witnesses in this field; that the study consist of up to five meetings; that the committee report its findings to the House; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

4. That pursuant to Standing Order 108 (1), the committee request the following information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regarding out of status persons: (a) the number of out of status persons currently in Canada; (b) how many out of status persons have submitted an application to IRCC; (c) how many applications from out of status persons are beyond the service standards, and how many are beyond processing times; (d) how many persons are out of status because their visa or permit expired while they were in Canada waiting for another application to be processed; (e) how may persons are out of status because of IRCC’s backlog; (f) what is IRCC doing to reduce the number of applicants who fall out of status; (g) what does IRCC plan to do to decrease the number of out of status persons currently in Canada; and (h) how many out of status people in Canada have been given removal orders; and that a response be presented to the committee within 45 days.

5. That the committee undertake the studies in the following order: (1) study of the conditions faced by asylum-seekers; (2) study of the government's response to the Final Report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan, (3) study of regularization programs for undocumented persons; and that the work plan is dependent on witness availability and orders of reference received by the committee.

6. That the study of the conditions faced by asylum-seekers begin on November 15, 2022 and that prioritized witness lists be sent to the clerk no later than Friday, October 28 at 5:00 pm EST.

7. That the committee complete the draft report consideration of the study of differential outcomes in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Decisions prior to commencing new studies.

8. That the clerk be instructed to liaise with the respective missions on pre-visit briefings and potentials dates of proposed site visits in 2023.

At 1:18 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 1:21 p.m., the sitting resumed.

At 1:52 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 1:55 p.m., the sitting resumed.