The members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration for the 44th parliamentary session have been chosen.
Canada has named the 12 members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, who will monitor federal policy related to immigration and multiculturalism.
The Standing Committee, also called CIMM for short, oversees matters relating to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). It studies and reports on how each of these organizations are operating, whether they are sticking to their mandates, and how they are being managed.
Among other things, they examine statute law, the backlogs of immigration applications, program and policy objectives and effectiveness.
In the previous parliamentary session, CIMM conducted a major study of the COVID-19 impact on Canadian immigration, and made recommendations on how the immigration system can be changed. The leading political party is not obligated to make any changes based on these studies, but it can help inform policy.
The committee is made up of elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from each “recognized” political party. In Canada, a party is only recognized if there are 12 or more members in the House of Commons.
The new committee will not be able to carry out their responsibilities until members have been named and a chair is elected. Members will elect a chair at the first committee meeting on December 14.
Membership is subject to change throughout the parliamentary session. For now, here are the 12 MPs who are starting off:
Shafqat Ali from the Liberal Party represents the Brampton Centre riding, which is in Ontario.
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe from the Bloc Québécois is an MP for the electoral district of Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec.
Sukh Dhaliwal has been the Liberal MP for Surrey-Newton, B.C., since 2015.
Fayçal El-Khoury is a Liberal MP representing the riding of Laval—Les Îles, Quebec.
Rosemarie Falk is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster, Saskatchewan.
Jasraj Singh Hallan is from Conservative Party who represents Calgary Forest Lawn in Alberta.
Arielle Kayabaga represents the electoral district of London West as a member of the Liberal Party. She was elected in 2021.
Jenny Kwan is from Democratic Party. She represents Vancouver East, B.C., since 2015.
Marie-France Lalonde has been the Liberal MP for Orléans, Ontario, since 2019.
Brad Redekopp is the Conservative MP for the riding of West Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Kyle Seeback was elected as the Conservative MP for Dufferin—Caledon
Salma Zahid has been the Liberal MP for Scarborough Centre, Ontario
