CIMM Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
The committee proceeded to give drafting instructions to the analysts for a draft letter.
At 11:21 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:31 a.m., the sitting resumed in public.
By unanimous consent, the committee resumed consideration of the motion of Greg McLean moved on Monday, February 5, 2024, which read as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of pension transferability and access to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) for Hong Kongers now residing in Canada; that the committee allocate one meeting to pursue this study; that the committee invite representatives of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, representatives of Global Affairs Canada, Manulife Financial, SunLife Canada, immigrants from Hong Kong that have tried to move their funds from the MPF, as well as any other witnesses the committee deems relevant; and that the committee report its observations and recommendations to the House.
and of the amendment of Tom Kmiec moved on Monday, February 5, 2024, which read as follows:
That the motion be amended by adding after the words “Global Affairs Canada” the following: “and Finance Canada,” and by adding after the words “SunLife Canada”, the words “and financial institutions,”.
Debate arose thereon.
By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “Global Affairs Canada” the following: “and Finance Canada”, by adding after the words “SunLife Canada”, the words “and financial institutions”, and by replacing the word “representatives” at two places in the motion with the following: “ministers and officials”.
At 11:41 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:53 a.m., the sitting resumed.
The debate continued.
The question was put on the amendment and was agreed to.
Fayçal El-Khoury moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “to the house” the following: “and pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment and was agreed to.
After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of pension transferability and access to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) for Hong Kongers now residing in Canada; that the committee allocate one meeting to pursue this study; that the committee invite the minister and officials of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, ministers and officials of Global Affairs Canada, and Finance Canada, representatives of Manulife Financial, SunLife Canada, and financial institutions, immigrants from Hong Kong that have tried to move their funds from the MPF, as well as any other witnesses the committee deems relevant; that the committee report its observations and recommendations to the House; and pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.
Jenny Kwan moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada and department officials to appear before the committee for two hours to update the committee on the temporary immigration measures initiated in response to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan and Gaza.
Debate arose thereon.
Salma Zahid moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the word “committee” the following: “as soon as possible” and after the words “two hours”, the following: “and have officials appear for an additional hour following the minister appearance”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment and was agreed to.
At 12:03 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:05 p.m., the sitting resumed.
At 12:06 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:20 p.m., the sitting resumed.
Shafqat Ali moved, — That the motion be amended by adding before the words “to appear” the following: “, and Global Affairs Canada officials,”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment and was agreed to.
After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada and department officials, and Global Affairs Canada officials, to appear before the committee as soon as possible for two hours and have officials for an additional hour following the minister appearance, to update the committee on the temporary immigration measures initiated in response to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan and Gaza.
Jenny Kwan moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and relevant officials together for two hours, or invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship with relevant officials for two hours, and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities to appear separately with relevant officials for one hour to update the committee on:
(a) the work of the task force addressing the exploitation scheme targeting international students as many students are still reporting that they are in limbo and have not heard back from officials about their status;
(b) the measures taken by IRCC and institutions to help prevent and protect international students from fraud schemes;
(c) the justification to increase the financial requirements for international students by more than 100% to $20,635;
(d) the justification for putting a cap on international study permits; and
(e) the plans to address the housing crisis for international students and efforts made to collaborate with provinces, territories and post-secondary institutions.
Debate arose thereon.
Paul Chiang moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “two hours” after the words “with relevant officials for” with the following: “90 minutes”.
At 12:38 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:44 p.m., the sitting resumed.
The debate continued.
The question was put on the amendment, and the amendment was agreed.
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “post-secondary institutions” the following: “and (f) the justification for the new measure concerning open work permits for spouses of international students”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment, and the amendment was agreed.
After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and relevant officials together for two hours, or invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship with relevant officials for 90 minutes, and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities to appear separately with relevant officials for one hour to update the committee on:
(a) the work of the task force addressing the exploitation scheme targeting international students as many students are still reporting that they are in limbo and have not heard back from officials about their status;
(b) the measures taken by IRCC and institutions to help prevent and protect international students from fraud schemes;
(c) the justification to increase the financial requirements for international students by more than 100% to $20,635;
(d) the justification for putting a cap on international study permits;
(e) the plans to address the housing crisis for international students and efforts made to collaborate with provinces, territories and post-secondary institutions; and
(f) the justification for the new measure concerning open work permits for spouses of international students.
Brad Redekopp moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to appear for one hour with officials, and invite departmental officials along with officials from the Immigration and Refugee Board to appear for one hour, on the Supplementary Estimates, (C) for the fiscal year 2023-24 after they are tabled in the House of Commons, and that they appear before the end of the current supply period.
Debate arose thereon.
At 12:54 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:57 p.m., the sitting resumed.
After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.
At 1:02 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.