"3,500 Temporary Foreign Workers in 60 Days" – Minister Grilled

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]a constituent who was strangled by her non-citizen partner and yet he remains in Canada. I believe he's trying to apply for humanitarian and compassionate grounds and she's living in a women's shelter. Um we have we have uh uh laws there's nothing in URA that so the temporary foreign worker program the number >> but I want to just bring to the attention of this house that the minister activated 3,500 TFW permits in the first two months of 2026 compared to 24,000 in the same period last year. Why >> this guy's garage?

[00:00:40]>> Like and subscribe.

[00:00:43]>> Debate. The honorable member for Calgary. No sale.

[00:00:46]>> Thank you. I will be spitting splitting my time. With hundreds of thousands of people from around the world about to enter Canada for FIFA World's Cup. Is the minister confident that the immigration measures she has enacted to will ensure Ebola won't enter and spread in Canada?

[00:01:02]>> Honorable minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. chair and good evening. Um, as the member knows, uh, two days ago we, uh, held a press conference in which, uh, we put immigration measures in place that to protect the safety of Canadians.

[00:01:20]>> Honorable member, >> well, that wasn't a clear answer and doesn't fill me with confidence. Several weeks ago, a plane carrying someone suspected of potentially having been exposed to the Ebola virus was the plane was redirected from the US to Montreal.

[00:01:36]What immigration measures has the minister put in place to prevent future incidents like this from happening?

[00:01:41]>> Honorable minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Uh, as I've said, we've taken the necessary steps to respond to the Ebola outbreak and protect public health in coordination with our partners. uh a public health Canada uh agency including Canada border services agency and global affairs >> after years of rampant misuse of the temporary foreign worker program. A national headline read, Tim Horton says temporary foreign worker program no longer necessary. However, they currently have more than 80 TFW positions advertised on a Government of Canada site. Will the minister cancel these permits and not issue anymore?

[00:02:20]>> Minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As we've said and we've been very clear with Canadians and all employers, Canadians must always be first in a line for jobs.

[00:02:32]Thank you, >> honorable member.

[00:02:34]>> That as she will not cancel the permits and Tim Hortons will continue to get TFW permits. They also claimed that they are committed to hiring locally but then admitted they could in include non-citizens on foreign student visas.

[00:02:47]The minister is approving 250,000 new TFW and foreign student work permits this year during the middle of a youth jobs crisis. How many of those will be employed by Tim Hortons?

[00:02:57]>> Honorable minister, >> you Mr. Chair, we have very strict rules for employers that are looking to hire temporary foreign workers. It was this government that has tightened the rules as well to ensure that it is a last resort.

[00:03:12]Honorable member, the >> Liberal's policy of bringing in too many low-skilled non-citizens too fast meant that public services that provinces maintain like social welfare, subsidized housing, healthcare, and primary education have become strained. Does the minister support giving provinces that that want it greater control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration, and giving their own residents first priority for new job opportunities? The honorable minister.

[00:03:42]>> Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. We share Canadians concern uh and we are working to ensure that we manage migration responsibly because that is what Canadians expect. I have worked very very strongly with all provinces and territories. In fact, I've held five uh so far meetings together. Honorable member.

[00:04:05]>> So the question specifically was if a province wants more autonomy over immigration, would the minister be open to granting it? So I'll ask her this.

[00:04:13]Does she support the principle that the federal government should grant equal autonomy over immigration powers to all provinces that request it rather than giving it to one province while denying the same power to others?

[00:04:26]>> Honorable Minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. It's actually a wonderful question because I was a provincial minister of immigration for eight years and uh immigration is a shared responsibility between the two levels of government and in my job I will continue to work with provinces and territories accordingly.

[00:04:46]>> Honorable member, >> does the minister realize that her non-answer there, putting it mildly, would be an irritant at a critical time for a certain province? The honorable minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As I said, I have worked very closely with all provinces and territories and ministers responsible for immigration in all of those jurisdictions, and I have excellent uh relationships.

[00:05:13]>> Honorable member, >> well, the province's social services are being strained by this minister's policies. She's issuing 215,000 new foreign work permits this year. The asylum system is still out of control.

[00:05:26]Will the minister commit to if a province asks clearly for more control over immigration that she will advocate for that? Thank you. Uh in my first year as minister, let me just set the record straight. We have 59% reduction in asylum claims um in the at early 2026 as compared to 2024. Temporary foreign work permits are down 75% from 2026 compared to 2024. and new student V.

[00:05:56]>> Honorable woman for Calgary Nos Hill, >> inaction speaks louder than words.

[00:06:00]Inaction speaks louder than words. And what my colleague just talked about is a constituent who was strangled by her non-citizen partner and yet he remains in Canada. I believe he's trying to apply for humanitarian and compassionate grounds and she's living in a woman's shelter. It's because this government has done nothing to enforce the law.

[00:06:19]Will the minister commit to talking to the justice minister and telling her to close the loophole which allows judges to give sweetheart sentences to allow disgusting non-citizen criminals like the person that my colleague referenced to be deported from Canada.

[00:06:33]>> Honorable minister, >> thank you very much. Uh Mr. Speaker, I recognized the uh member opposite had a uh private members bill that was voted down. Um you know, you know, I appreciate her advoc advocacy. Uh we have we have uh uh laws. There's nothing in URA that allows that. If we find a person in Canada that has committed a crime that is non-Canadian Canada Border Services Agency investigates all of them, that person could become inadmissible and removed. Does >> the min Does the minister realize how inane and uncompassionate she sounds like? Oh, there's nothing in the law that says it says it in the law. my bill would have closed this loophole and she could have gone to the justice minister and told him to close this loophole. She sat back and said, "Oh, it's fine." No, the result is what my colleague just said. People being strangled and their abusers staying in Canada. Why won't she advocate to deport them?

[00:07:32]>> Honorable Minister, >> thank you, Mr. Chair, when a noncitizen is convicted of a serious crime, immigration consequences follow.

[00:07:43]CBSA will investigate and there is due process if it's there and then they do get deported. Thank you, >> honorable member.

[00:07:52]>> That's just not the case. Every day there's a new headline. For example, this one, judge gives lenient sentences so trucker can dodge deportation after fa failed on fatal Ontario crash. That's not a consequence. They're get to stay in our country. Guests in our country have to abide by the rule of law. The rule of law is part of our national identity. Can she just say that she'll go to the justice minister and saying we're getting roasted on this and rightly so. We need to close this loophole.

[00:08:21]>> Honorable minister, >> very much Mr. Chair, uh I have said that serious crimes deserve serious consequences. CBSA has deported as the public safety minister said today 23,000 people. this uh uh there is nothing in the immigration law that allows for discounting sentences. Sentences must be proportionate to the crime uh and the context and as I said we >> that translates to that translates to blah blah blah another raper stays in Canada blah blah blah another thief stays in Canada blah blah blah another extortionist stays in Canada. We have to this is integral to canadian national identity. They have to respect the rule of law. And what the Liberals are saying is is I guess in our country if they commit a serious crime can stay here because they refuse to close this loophole that is being exploited by a woke judiciary. Will they do the right thing and finally close it?

[00:09:19]>> Honorable Minister, >> thank you, Mr. Chair. Public safety is our top priority. In fact, I was a justice minister proincially in 2013. I understand that more than anyone else.

[00:09:32]We have multiple crime bills before us in this house that that party and that member has been obstructing since we have come here. We are investing in law enforcement uh and we our priority is to ensure Canadians are kept safe.

[00:09:50]>> I'm glad that she I'm glad that she uh talked about another justice bill. Bill C16 [applause and cheering] renders all man mandatory min minimum penalties meaningless. And that will mean that this problem of giving sweetheart sentences to non-citizens convicted of serious crimes will only get worse. Will the minister go to the justice minister and recommend an amendment to Bill C16 that will not juice this problem of judges giving lenient sentences to non-citizens convicted of serious crime like the strangler my colleague just talked about to ensure that they don't get to stay and have the privilege of staying in our country and are deported like they should be.

[00:10:28]The honorable minister, this will be the final answer.

[00:10:30]>> Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Really appreciate this discussion here tonight because it's really important. It affects a lot of people. Uh, you know, we we take that very seriously.

[00:10:42]Criminals, whether they're Canadians, visitors, whatever their status is in Canada, will be held responsible by the law. courts do their best. If their non-Canadians, CBSA investigates, our priority is to always protect Canadians.

[00:11:02]>> I want to go back to something that the minister um uh spoke about. Um you the youth unemployment rate in this country stands at uh almost 15% right now. Does she believe that that's a crisis?

[00:11:13]>> The honorable minister, >> thank you very much. Uh Mr. chair. Uh we all have youth in our communities, in our homes. We want them to have good jobs and good opportunities. Uh right now is a great time to actually bring forth that there's thousands and thousands of Canada summer jobs that are available in every single riding in this country. And I would recommend uh to the member that >> there are thousands and thousands of youth who can't find jobs. That's for sure. But should should we be approving visas for low-wage temporary foreign workers at a time where youth unemployment is at recession levels highs no matter what program she talks about?

[00:11:57]>> Minister, >> so thank you again for that question. Uh we do have a youth unemployment rate.

[00:12:04]There are many factors for that rate. Uh again the rate has been recently rising population. So the temporary foreign worker program the number >> minister said earlier in her exchange that the foreign the temporary foreign worker uh program was down from 2024 to 2026. But I want to just bring to the attention of this house that the minister activated 3,500 TFW permits in the first two months of 2026 compared to 24,000 in the same period last year.

[00:12:38]Why?

[00:12:39]>> Minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Our measures are working. We've tightened regulations. Employment and workforce uh has already tightened them. 74% correct of fewer new worker arrivals. That's down 103,160 people in the first 3 months of 2026 compared to 2024.

[00:13:00]>> Honorable member, >> let's compare 2026 to 2025. 33,500 TFW permits in the first two months of 2026. 24,000 in the period of the same period last year. Does she know that 33,000 is more than 24,000? And why on earth is she accelerating the TFW program?

[00:13:20]>> You're here.

[00:13:21]>> Honorable minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. We are reducing the share of non-permanent residents, including workers, to less than 5% of Cana Canada's population by the end of 2027. That was the mandate.

[00:13:35]That was the commitment we made at the election. Canadians uh elected this government. The prime minister has made that into a mandate that he provided to all ministers. The budget officer has confirmed we are >> to answer the question. She's failing to acknowledge that she's actually let in more temporary foreign workers. The TFW permits have gone from 72,000 in 2015 to 190,000 in 2024. That's 163% increase.

[00:14:04]All while youth unemployment is at 15%.

[00:14:07]The prime minister himself called this a failure of execution. Does she agree with that statement at least?

[00:14:13]>> Honorable minister.

[00:14:14]>> Thank you, Mr. uh chair. In my first year as a minister, I'm going to point to a track record of managing migration.

[00:14:22]One, asylum claims have gone down 60% in early 2026 compared to that of 2024.

[00:14:29]Two, new student visas are down 80% in 20 early 2026 compared to that of 2024. Temporary foreign workers are down foreign workers are up. Let the record show it. The minister cannot mis dis mislead this house in saying otherwise.

[00:14:49]But let's talk about uh study permits for a second. The minister's department can investigate 2,000 fraud cases a year. The auditor general flagged that there is 153,000.

[00:15:00]At that pace, it is going to take 76 years. That's probably longer than I'm going to be here. That's probably longer than she's going to be here. Is that acceptable to her?

[00:15:09]>> Honorable minister, >> thank you so much, Mr. Chair. In fact, the auditor general uh found clear evidence of improvements that there's few student arrivals that uh student visas that are being issued. I've already talked about the arrivals of these students a significant significant decrease. Perhaps she doesn't want any to come to the country. Perhaps she should be speaking to the universities and to the provinces, territories, municipalities and people >> for a short question on any members of the house and what they want. I'm talking about the fraud in her department. 21,000 of those flagged applicants filed asylum claims at the taxpayers's expense. The minister's department confirmed 800 fraud cases.

[00:15:56]Why so few prosecutors?

[00:15:57]>> The honorable minister.

[00:15:59]>> Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh Mr. Chair, uh two things. One, the department has investigated each and every case flag. Two, we brought in C12 which will eliminate all the irregularities of those that filed that should not have filed.

[00:16:15]>> Does the minister consider the IRGC to be a terrorist organization in this country? Yes or no?

[00:16:20]>> Honorable minister. So thank you Mr. Chair for that question. Uh this this government uh the Liberal government has recognized IRGC as an you know registered that organization and it is inadmissible uh to Canada. Thank you >> honorable member >> Meditage then a terrorist yes or no >> honorable minister >> Mr. Chair as I said IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada. There is a long-standing ban. That ban continues to be enforced.

[00:16:54]>> Honorable member, >> if that ban is enforced, Mr. Chair, then why was he allowed to come to Canada?

[00:17:01]>> Honorable Minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Our priority is the safety and security of Canadians. IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada.

[00:17:13]>> Remember, >> she didn't answer the question. I'm just going to ask her one more time. Why was Meditage the FIFA official who she granted or her her department granted a visa to allowed to come to Canada? It is a very simple question.

[00:17:26]>> Honorable Minister, >> thank you very much, Mr. Chair. IRCC and public safety review each and every application at multiple stages. As I have said, IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada.

[00:17:40]>> The minister just stated by her own rules, this man was inadmissible.

[00:17:45]Somebody in her department overruled that. Is she satisfied then with how this was handled? Yes or no? The >> honorable minister, >> Mr. Chair, safety and security of Canadians is our priority. We work with CBSA. We work with policing partners. We work with the public safety minister and others to ensure we protect Canadians.

[00:18:09]All of those who are watching at home who have been terrorized by IRGC officials who are still here who one of which who has been deported. This man a FIFA official was allowed to come to Canada because somebody in her department allowed her to. So I've asked her the simple question. Is she satisfied with that outcome? Yes or no for everybody watching at home?

[00:18:31]>> Honorable minister.

[00:18:32]>> Thank you very much Mr. Chair. Again I will repeat again. IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada. We 17,800 applications have been reviewed for potential inadmissibility.

[00:18:46]239 visas have been cancelled by IRCC.

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