Skip to main content
;

FAAE 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.

For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Previous day publication Next day publication

Minutes of Proceedings

44th Parliament, 1st Session
Meeting 66
Tuesday, May 16, 2023, 11:00 a.m. to 12:54 p.m.
Webcast
Presiding
Garnett Genuis, Vice-Chair (Conservative)

• Chad Collins for Randeep Sarai (Liberal)
• Shelby Kramp-Neuman for Hon. Michael D. Chong (Conservative)
• Kyle Seeback for Randy Hoback (Conservative)
• Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe for Stéphane Bergeron (Bloc Québécois)
Library of Parliament
• Allison Goody, Analyst
• Billy Joe Siekierski, Analyst
 
House of Commons
• Marie-Hélène Sauvé, Legislative Clerk
• Jean-François Pagé, Legislative Clerk
Canada Border Services Agency
• Richard St Marseille, Director General, Immigration Policy and External Review
• Jeff Robertson, Manager, Inadmissibility Policy
• Scott Nesbitt, General Counsel, Department of Justice, Legal Services Unit
Department of Citizenship and Immigration
• Saman Fradette, Director, Migration Control and Horizontal Policy Division
• David Chan, Acting Director, Asylum Policy, Performance and Governance Division
Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
• Stephen Burridge, Director, Sanctions Policy and Operations Coordination
Pursuant to the order of reference of Monday, February 13, 2023, the committee resumed consideration of Bill S-8, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

The committee commenced its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

The Chair called Clause 1.

Clause 1 carried.

Clause 2 carried.

Clause 3 carried.

Clause 4 carried.

On Clause 5,

Robert Oliphant moved, — That Bill S-8, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 33 and 34 on page 2 with the following:

“5 (1) Paragraph 35(1)(c) of the Act is repealed.

(1.1) Subsection 35(1) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (b) and by repealing paragraphs (d) and (e).”

By unanimous consent, after debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

Clause 5, as amended, carried.

On Clause 6,

Heather McPherson moved, — That Bill S-8, in Clause 6, be amended

(a) by replacing line 3 on page 3 with the following:

“sanctions on an entity or person against which”

(b) by adding after line 19 on page 3 the following:

“(3) In this section, entity does not include a foreign state.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Heather McPherson and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: — 0;

NAYS: Rachel Bendayan, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Dave Epp, Hedy Fry, Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Heather McPherson, Robert Oliphant, Randeep Sarai, Kyle Seeback, Sameer Zuberi — 10.

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe moved, — That Bill S-8, in Clause 6, be amended

(a) by replacing line 3 on page 3 with the following:

“sanctions on a person, entity or foreign state, within the meaning of section 2 of the Special Economic Measures Act, against which”

(b) by adding after line 19 on page 3 the following:

“(3) In this section, entity means a corporation, trust, partnership, fund or unincorporated association that has committed human or international rights violations or a grave breach of international peace and security.”

Debate arose thereon.

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the amendment be amended by deleting paragraph (b).

By unanimous consent, the question was put on the subamendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

By unanimous consent, the question was put on the amendment of Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, as amended, and it was agreed to.

At 11:47 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 11:52 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Clause 6, as amended, carried.

By unanimous consent, Clauses 7 to 22 inclusive carried severally.

On new Clause 23,

Heather McPherson moved, — That Bill S-8 be amended by adding after line 40 on page 7 the following new clause:

“Review of Act

23 (1) As soon as possible after the third anniversary of the day on which this Act receives royal assent, the provisions enacted or amended by this Act are to be referred to the committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that may be designated or established for the purpose of reviewing those provisions.

(2) The committee to which the provisions are referred is to review them and submit a report to the House or Houses of Parliament of which it is a committee, including a statement setting out any changes to the provisions that the committee recommends.”

By unanimous consent, the question was put on the amendment of Heather McPherson and it was agreed to.

The Title carried.

The Bill, as amended, was adopted.

ORDERED, — That the Chair report the Bill, as amended, to the House.

At 11:59 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:12 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.

The committee proceeded to the consideration of matters related to committee business.

It was agreed, — That, in relation to the study of the security at the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border and the implications for peace and security, the proposed budget in the amount of $ 246,821.08, for the committee’s travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Poland and Ukraine in fall 2023, be adopted.

It was agreed, — That the committee proceed to sit in public.

At 12:30 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:33 p.m., the sitting resumed in public.

On motion of Heather McPherson, it was agreed, — That the committee proceed to resuming the adjourned debate on the motion moved on Thursday, May 11, 2023.

The motion read as follows:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), and in light of recent events in Israel and Palestine, the committee conduct a study on the actions Canada should take to foster peace and respect for human rights and international law in the region; that the study consist of at least eight meetings; that the Minister of Foreign Affairs be invited to appear and that the committee invite witnesses from Canadian civil society, international humanitarian organizations, and Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations; that the committee reports its findings to the House, and that pursuant to Standing Order 109 the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

Debate arose thereon.

Amendment

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “and Palestine” with the words “, the West Bank of Gaza”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

Amendment

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the motion be amended by adding the word “, protect civilians, combat terrorism and uphold” after the words “should take to foster peace”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

Amendment

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the word “eight” with the words “four”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

Amendment

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “the Minister of Foreign Affairs” with the words “relevant ministers”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

Amendment

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “and” with the words “as well as” and by adding the words “and peacebuilding” after the words “human rights”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Oliphant and it was agreed to.

The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Chad Collins, Hedy Fry, Heather McPherson, Robert Oliphant, Sameer Zuberi — 6;

NAYS: Dave Epp, Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Kyle Seeback — 3.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), and in light of recent events in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, the committee conduct a study on the actions Canada should take to foster peace, protect civilians, combat terrorism and uphold respect for human rights and international law in the region; that the study consist of at least four meetings; that relevant ministers be invited to appear and that the committee invite witnesses from Canadian civil society, international humanitarian organizations, as well as Israeli and Palestinian human rights and peacebuilding organizations; that the committee reports its findings to the House, and that pursuant to Standing Order 109 the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

Motion

Dave Epp moved, — That the committee proceed to resuming the adjourned debate on the motion moved on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, and that the committee complete the debate on the motion before this meeting is adjourned.

The motion read as follows:

That, as part of its ongoing study on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the committee study and report to the House on how Canada can support its allies who are affected by resource access challenges stemming from the invasion and steps that the Government of Canada should take to respond to these challenges.

Debate arose thereon.

Motion

Robert Oliphant moved, — That the committee do now adjourn.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Rachel Bendayan, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Chad Collins, Hedy Fry, Heather McPherson, Robert Oliphant, Sameer Zuberi — 7;

NAYS: Dave Epp, Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Kyle Seeback — 3.

At 12:54 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.



Ariane Gagné-Frégeau
Clerk of the committee