Question Period Note: RESPONDING TO CURRENT ASYLUM VOLUMES

Le Canada continue de connaître un nombre élevé de demandeurs d’asile en raison d’un certain nombre de facteurs, malgré une baisse récente du nombre d’arrivées irrégulières depuis l’entrée en vigueur des modifications apportées à l’Entente sur les tiers pays sûrs le 25 mars 2023. Nous continuons de collaborer étroitement avec les provinces et les municipalités.

• Canada remains firmly committed to upholding a fair and compassionate refugee protection system and to aiding those in need of protection in the face of historical levels of global displacement.

• The number of irregular arrivals has significantly declined since we expanded the application of the Safe Third Country Agreement in March 2023. However, asylum claims at airports and inland offices have risen since the spring.

• The Government will continue to reduce administrative burdens to enhance fast and fair processes to access Canada’s protection system.

• We have already adjusted operational capacity; invested in interim housing supports and healthcare benefits for claimants; and introduced new processing innovations and funding for the asylum system.

• The Government is committed to working collaboratively with provincial and municipal partners to support and respond to the high number of asylum claimants, but we stress that solutions need to come from all levels of government.

If pressed on Peel incident

• We are deeply saddened to hear the news about the death of an individual in an encampment in Peel. Our hearts go out to the family.

• We are working closely with provinces and municipalities to ensure that the unprecedented volume of asylum seekers that are currently arriving in Canada are housed, especially with the winter months approaching.

• The Government of Canada will provide the Region of Peel with $7 million to open a new reception centre that will provide more streamlined services and supports to asylum claimants, as well as additional shelter.

• The centre will serve as both a reception centre and a temporary shelter, and will be operated in partnership with community organizations who possess the experience, skills and capacity needed to serve this population.

• There is no simple answer but we are confident that, with full engagement from all levels of government, we can implement real long-term, sustainable, and compassionate measures.

On interim housing - generally:

• In July 2023, the Government announced a one-year renewal of the Interim Housing Assistance Program until March 2024, with an additional investment of $212M in funding.

• Through IHAP, the federal government has provided almost $700M to provinces and municipalities, to address extraordinary interim housing pressures related to the increased volumes of asylum claimants since 2017.

• In addition since 2020, IRCC has provided temporary accommodations for those eligible and who otherwise would not have a place to shelter.

• The Government continues to explore options for support to provinces and municipalities that provide housing and services to asylum claimants, going forward.

If pressed on claimants sleeping on streets in Toronto and elsewhere:

• We recognize the immediate crisis related to homelessness and shelter space for asylum claimants in Toronto and beyond. We are working closely with other levels of government to find both short-term and long-term solutions.

• The renewal of IHAP and the additional funds of $97M directed to Toronto for interim housing expenses in 2023, are a critical federal investment to help address pressures faced by the City.

• IRCC has worked to speed up claim intake and work permit processing, and improve information-sharing with partners.

• We stress that provinces and municipalities have a key role to play in developing long-term strategies to address the need for affordable housing, including for all newcomers – as beneficiaries of immigration, and key partners in delivering on Canada's international legal obligations to refugees.

If pressed on the impact of temporary resident facilitation measures

• The Government continues to work to ensure that Canada remains a destination of choice for tourists, business visitors, and people hoping to visit their families.

• We are aware that policies related to temporary resident visas sometimes impact asylum claim volumes, and monitor trends to ensure efforts are working as intended.

Asylum claim volumes

• Canada has seen a surge in asylum claims, since pandemic-related travel restrictions eased in late 2021. Volumes have surpassed pre-COVID levels, with over 92K claims received in 2022, compared to 64K in 2019. Just approximately 96,450 claims have been received between January 1 and September 30, 2023, of which over 51,000 were made at ports of entry.

• On March 25, 2023, Canada and the U.S. expanded the application of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). This has resulted in a significant drop in irregular arrivals, notably at Roxham Road. There were just over 14,000 between January 1st and September 30, 2023, compared to approximately 40,000 irregular arrivals in 2022. However, overall volumes have remained high, due to an overall increase in claims made through other modes of entry, namely airport and inland claims.

• The drivers of asylum intake are often external to the Government of Canada’s control. However, intake can be a by-product of decisions regarding visa policies, public policies, and the prioritization of humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine. These decisions often generate significant benefits to Canada, alongside the potential for an increase in asylum claims.

Interim housing for asylum claimants

Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP)

• The federal government created IHAP in March 2019 to cost-share with provinces (and, if necessary, municipalities) the expenses incurred in providing interim housing to asylum claimants. This was in response to the high volume of irregular arrivals that began in 2017. The primary objective was to provide temporary assistance to allow provinces to adjust to new asylum pressures, and to increase interim housing capacity, reducing the risk of homelessness for asylum claimants.

• A one-year extension of IHAP was announced on July 18, 2023, to provide funding for 2023 calendar year costs. This includes a one-time infusion of $212 million, including up to $97 million for the City of Toronto was provided. Eligible costs under IHAP’s terms and conditions continue to include: temporary accommodations, triage and transportation, and other indirect costs (e.g., meals) for the provision of interim housing for asylum claimants.

• To date, IRCC has issued IHAP payments totaling $698.8M to cover costs incurred between 2017 and 2022, as follows: $440.9M to Quebec, $215.4M to City of Toronto, $26.1M to City of Ottawa, $8M to Manitoba, $6M to British Columbia, $2.2M to Region of Peel and $220K to City of Hamilton.

Temporary accommodations
• Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, IRCC began to provide temporary accommodations support to asymptomatic asylum claimants who did not have a suitable plan to carry out their quarantine requirements. IRCC-funded hotels have continued to provide asylum claimants, who arrive at the Lacolle POE or between the ports and meet an STCA exemption or exception, with temporary accommodations while they seek permanent accommodations, to uphold Ministerial commitments made in November 2021 to backstop Quebec’s provincial shelter capacity.

• As of June 2022, the Department began transferring asylum claimants (voluntarily) from Quebec who required temporary accommodations, to a city or province outside Quebec where capacity permits.

• Due to the unprecedented high number of claimants arriving at the Montreal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, on June 12, 2023, at the request of the province of Quebec, IRCC began providing temporary accommodations to asylum claimants arriving by air as their provincial shelter system, PRAIDA, reached full capacity. When required as capacity is reached in Quebec, this cohort of claimants may be transferred out of Quebec to accommodations in other provinces.

• As of October 27, 2023, IRCC’s hotel footprint consists of approximately 3,400 rooms (in 28 hotels housing approximately 6,000 claimants in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and British Columbia).

Shelter Situation in Toronto

• There is an ongoing crisis related to the lack of shelter space and homelessness in Toronto. The City of Toronto has reached out to IRCC for assistance and in particular with accommodating asylum claimants from churches in the city, which had stepped up to support those in need during the summer, but who now no longer have the capacity to continue doing so because other programs have started with the onset of the school year. All levels of government are working together to find a solution.

• IRCC has been gathering information and working on accelerating the issuance of the Refugee Protection Claimant Documents (RPCD) and work permits for claimants residing in shelters and churches. This work is ongoing, however, to date, municipal partners have shared positive feedback on this initiative and have informed us that IRCC’s site visits and processing surges have been impactful for clients.

• To further address shelter and housing pressures in relation to asylum claimants, IRCC is chairing an ongoing interdepartmental Deputy Minister operational table with the Government of Ontario, the City of Toronto and other impacted municipalities, as well as relevant federal partners, to focus on logistics, assets and options, and emergency preparedness. Responses to immediate shelter pressures for claimants require support and engagement from multiple levels of government.

Early impacts of TRV Inventory Public Policies on asylum claim rates

• IRCC has been working to reduce the inventory of temporary resident visa (TRV) applications, while continuing to process new applications. The Department is pursuing a number of innovative policy and operational solutions to address the inventory in an effort to ensure Canada remains a destination of choice for tourists, business visitors and those wishing to visit family.

• IRCC has worked to reduce the inventory through two new temporary public policies (TPP) to expedite and streamline the processing of the majority of visitor visa and parent and grandparent super visa applications in our inventory from before January 16, 2023. Approximately 240,000 applications (228,000 visitor visa and 12,000 parent and grandparent super visa applications) were eligible under these initiatives.

• IRCC is aware of the increase of asylum claims at certain Canadian airports and inland since the implementation of these facilitation measures and recognizes that a portion of these claims were made by travellers who were issued a TRV under the temporary public policies. IRCC continues to monitor any trends as a result of these policies and will consider any additional measures that may be required.

• In introducing these time-limited TPPs, which are set to expire on December 31, 2023, the Department recognized that there may be an increase of asylum claims from clients issued TRVs under these policies. This risk was weighed against the priority of improving processing times for TRV applicants, and the long-term, invaluable benefits this will provide to our economy, travel and tourism, and Canadian families.

CIMM Report on “Asylum Seekers at Canada’s Border”

• On May 16, 2023, the Committee tabled its sixteenth report, Asylum-Seekers at Canada’s Border. The Report comprised observations and conclusions of the conditions facing asylum claimants crossing irregularly at Canada’s border, notably at Roxham Road since 2017.

• The Report’s 13 recommendations speak to the 2022 border context during which the study was undertaken, and aim to address the challenges that asylum claimants have faced following irregular crossings into Canada, as well as the management of the border and processing related to these claims. As such, it does not take into consideration the March 2023 expansion of the application of the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement and the significant reduction in irregular arrivals to Canada that has been seen since.

• The Government commits to minimizing impacts on asylum claimants who cross Canada’s border irregularly, and supports (fully, partially, or in principle) the Report’s recommendations (except for 2 recommendations - #7 related to STCA exceptions to include gender-based claims and exceptions to include claimants from moratorium countries, and #10 related to automatic extension of Refugee Protection Claimant Document validity if the final determination of the claim is not made before the document’s expiry). The Government agrees to reduce administrative burdens where possible when processing asylum claimants in Canada, whether they are irregular arrivals, or arrive through regular routes and make their claims at ports of entry or at inland offices.

• This response was jointly prepared with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Public Safety (PS), and in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada (GAC). It was tabled on September 18, 2023.

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