The House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration met to study Bill C-12, which proposes measures to strengthen Canada's border and immigration system. Witnesses included Mark Weber, National President of the Customs and Immigration Union; Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants; Professor Michael Barutciski; lawyer Mario Bellissimo; and Azadeh Tamjeedi, Senior Legal Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Mark Weber said that while Bill C-12 contains positive measures, such as requiring commercial operators to provide access for export inspections, the Canada Border Services Agency lacks the staff and facilities to use existing powers effectively. He argued that the agency's focus on efficiency has degraded security, citing the "one-touch" system for refugee claimants, which he said reduces meaningful officer interaction and allows about 10% of claimants to disappear into Canada. Weber recommended ending the one-touch system, using accommodated officers for interviews, and allocating new hires to frontline security rather than management.
Debbie Douglas, whose testimony was partially disrupted by audio issues, raised concerns that Bill C-12 would weaken refugee protections and disproportionately harm women, survivors of gender-based violence, and racialized communities. She highlighted new ineligibility categories for refugee claimants, the use of pre-removal risk assessments without oral hearings, and sweeping powers to cancel documents and suspend applications in the public interest. Douglas warned that these measures could lead to people being returned to persecution, create precarious status, and increase vulnerability to exploitation.
Michael Barutciski said the bill should be evaluated in the context of what he called one of Canada's biggest public policy failures in immigration, with record asylum numbers and system abuse. He supported eliminating the 14-day exception in the safe third country agreement but questioned why the one-year filing deadline is calculated from first arrival rather than last arrival, as in the United States. He recommended inserting a requirement to consider UNHCR's "refugee sur place" concept in pre-removal risk assessments and creating parliamentary parameters around mass cancellation powers, and suggested financial incentives for voluntary departure.
Mario Bellissimo said Bill C-12 offers a meaningful opportunity to modernize the system but warned that undefined "public interest" cancellation powers and new ineligibility bars could expand discretion without adequate safeguards. He argued that pre-removal risk assessments are not designed to replace Immigration and Refugee Board adjudication and would require significant scaling and training. Bellissimo recommended a flexible expression of interest framework to manage intake across all streams, including refugee and family categories, and suggested that complementary reforms be referred for further study.
Azadeh Tamjeedi said UNHCR welcomes elements of Bill C-12, such as streamlining eligibility and enabling earlier appointment of designated representatives for vulnerable persons, but focused on concerns about new ineligibility provisions. She recommended adding a mandatory oral hearing for pre-removal risk assessments, a full appeal to the refugee appeal division with a stay of removal, and exceptions for individuals from moratorium countries and vulnerable persons with changed circumstances. Tamjeedi noted that 61% of asylum claimants in Canada are found to be refugees and emphasized that Canada can manage increased claims through flexible triaging systems.
The committee also debated and adopted motions to allow up to three associate members per party to receive meeting notices and access the digital binder until January 26, 2026, and to invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to appear for two hours on the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan and Supplementary Estimates (B) by December 4, 2025.
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