Citizenship and Immigration Committee on June 3rd, 2024

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you.

Mr. Wong, recently, on May 7, 2024, over three years after the introduction of three‑year open work permits for Hong Kongers, the Government of Canada announced a new public policy. This policy allows permanent resident applicants from Hong Kong to extend their status and obtain a new open work permit, in Canada, while they wait for a decision on their application for permanent residence.

Have you seen any improvement in the processing of open work permits for applicants from Hong Kong who are waiting for a permanent residency decision?

[Andy Wong]

I think the problem is that the policy is pretty new. It was just last week, so we do not know if the new policy actually has sped up the open work permit. As other witnesses have mentioned, no one has ever seen that AOR, which is a requirement for that new open work permit. That is a huge problem. It's not really helping those who are currently waiting for some kind of work permit to continue their status in Canada—those who are already waiting.

However, for the people who just applied recently for the Hong Kong pathway, they now have a clearer path and a bridge from their current permit, which is expiring, to PR status, and that is a good thing. However, for the majority of those who are waiting, that backlog, those people are still waiting. A lot of them waited for over half a year, especially if they're applying for the open work permit for Hong Kong recent graduates.

That open work permit was supposed to be for people who are still in Hong Kong, but they're now using it in Canada to continue their status here.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Wong.

Ms. Calverley, as of April 30, 2024, Canadian financial institutions held a 40% market share in the Hong Kong mandatory provident fund. In addition, mandatory provident fund administrators allegedly earn approximately $69 million a year in interest on the money held in the tied‑up funds of holders.

Since these are Canadian institutions based in Canada, do you think that the Canadian government bears any responsibility for resolving the situation? If so, how should it deal with these institutions?

[Aileen Calverley]

Yes, I think the Canadian government has the responsibility, because we have Hong Kongers moving to Canada, so this is a lifeboat scheme. It's supposed to help them to settle, to live in Canada and to become Canadian citizens, yet the money is withheld, actually, by some Canadian companies. To me, this is completely outrageous.

Not only are they suffering when they come here and wait for so long to get PR, but then they cannot get their money, so this is completely outrageous. This money is not being held by the Hong Kong government. This money is being held by Manulife and Sun Life.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

That was right on six minutes. Thank you.

Now we'll go to Madam Kwan.

Madam Kwan, go ahead, please, for six minutes.

Please mention who you want to question first; I would appreciate that. Thank you.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all three of the witnesses, from Canada-Hong Kong Link, VSSDM and Hong Kong Watch, not just for appearing today but for your ongoing work in support of Hong Kongers. I truly, deeply appreciate that.

My first question is around the interim measure. The government has announced that its interim measure is really meant to be a bridging process. However, related to that and as we heard, what Hong Kongers really need is permanent resident status.

Related to the permanent resident status are the immigration level numbers, because the level planned this year under the categories of H and C and protected persons is set at 13,500. Next year it will be at 8,000, and the following year it will be at 8,000 also.

In light of those limitations, in order to facilitate the processing of applications for PR for Hong Kongers, would the government need to change the immigration level numbers and have a dedicated path for Hong Kongers?

I'm going to start with you, Andy, please.

[Andy Wong]

I think the problem is that, yes, IRCC is saying that the immigration level plan is a problem, but I'm really not sure, because in 2021 and 2022, the PR admissions numbers were actually way above the high range of the target for H and C.

Then, last year, there was 10% that was not used, so is the target really that important? I'm really not sure. I'm really puzzled, and I think the public is also puzzled in this case.

However, if that actually affects the allocation of resources and all that stuff, then yes, of course, they should increase it. If decreasing the target means fewer resources in the coming years, then no, that is not dealing with the problem.

Thank you.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you.

I'll go to Aileen, and then I'll go to Mabel on Zoom for the same question, please.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you.

Madam Calverley, and then Madam Tung, please, go ahead.

[Aileen Calverley]

Thank you.

The admissions target for this year is 13,750. The upper range will be 18,000.

Our research is showing that for all categories under humanitarian, only 65% actually use up the admissions target. I don't know what's going on. Even if they do it at 100%, they still cannot process them. There are 9,000 applications pending.

I think it is a very good suggestion to take the Hong Kong pathway outside of the four categories, so we'd have a separate category to approve all of the PR applications as soon as possible. Otherwise, with 60,000 applicants and only 10,000 approved now, it will take a few decades to approve the rest of the 50,000 PR applications.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you.

Mabel, please go ahead.

[Mabel Tung]

Thank you.

I agree with the last two speakers, but I think it has to be increased in humanitarian and compassionate numbers as well.

However, one thing I want to emphasize.... Someone just mentioned May 27. That extended the work permit. What I heard from Hong Kongers in Vancouver is that none of them were able to get the extension because of the AOR. I think the department should look into it and see if there's anything it can do to improve this process. Otherwise, you put the policy out, but nobody benefits from it.

Thank you.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you for that.

Related to this issue, one of the things the government has not done is automatically extend people's work permits. If it were to do that, I think it would save a lot of resources for the department, and then you would ensure that people can seamlessly continue their work.

This question is for all of the witnesses, in the same order they answered before. Would you call on the government to automatically renew Hong Kongers' work or study permits?

Alternatively, would you automatically provide them with an open work permit so they don't have to go through an application process, as is required right now?

[Andy Wong]

I absolutely support that. That will help the people who are currently in maintained status, but that is not the final goal.

Thank you.

[Aileen Calverley]

I think for those who have an OWP, or open work permit, it's possible, but for those with a spousal open work permit, it may not be possible. This is because a lot of permits actually expire after eight months, so it will be a difficult task for this group of people.

[Mabel Tung]

Yes. No matter what, I agree 100% with automatically renewing work permits.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you to all of the witnesses for the comments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you very much, Madam Kwan.

For the second round, we will go with four minutes for the Conservatives, four minutes for the Liberals, two minutes for the Bloc and two minutes for the NDP.

We'll start with Mr. Kmiec. You have four minutes. Please, go ahead.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

It will be for Ms. Calverley.

I'll go back to this MPF issue. The MPFA administrator released a statement on March 10, 2021, saying that because the British national overseas passport was no longer recognized by the Hong Kong government as a valid travel document or proof of identity as of the end of January 2021, those trying to withdraw their MPFs early, before retirement, wouldn't be able to rely on the BNO passport. There are not a lot of BNO passport holders who have come to Canada. Many people have admitted to that. There are some. There are documents. When the PR card is printed, it will look like this and it will say “GBN” on it.

I've taken the time to go through the website. I'm going to ask you whether this is a potential solution. I want IRCC to fix this problem. It's allowing the Hong Kong and Beijing governments to repress Hongkongers who are trying to come to Canada and re-establish themselves, as all three of you have mentioned.

On the website are four options for PR nationality. They are “GBS (UK—Brit[ish] subject, subject to control)”; “GBR (UK—British citizen)”; “GBO (UK—British overseas citizen)”; and “GBN (UK—Brit. Ntl. overseas)”. Nine times out of 10 this is a Hongkonger. This then appears on the PR card. When the Hongkonger gets PR—and there are many of them waiting to get PR, so this will become a bigger and bigger problem—we're basically identifying them though the MPF accounts, whether they're with Manulife or Sun Life, when they're applying through the process.

Then they get these rejection letters. I have one right here. It says, “You can't have it, because the BNO is not a recognized document.” The only way to know that a Hongkonger came to Canada and is a permanent resident of Canada is that their PR card says GBN instead of saying that it's for the Hong Kong special administrative region, CHN.

Wouldn't the solution be for IRCC to change their administration and label the PR cards of all Hongkongers as CHN?

I'll go to Ms. Calverley first, Mr. Wong and then Ms. Tung.

[Aileen Calverley]

I think this is a wonderful idea. I think there's no need to identify these people holding a BNO passport. I think changing the code will make that much easier.

Also, all of these people who got a BNO passport were born in Hong Kong. They can get ID cards and they can get Hong Kong passports. That means, actually, it's possible to use CHN.

[Andy Wong]

I agree with that recommendation. That would be good.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Madam Tung, go ahead, please.

[Mabel Tung]

I totally agree.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

To Ms. Calverley and to any of you who've been told this, back in October 2023, 20 individuals were arrested in Hong Kong for trying to help Hongkongers obtain their mandatory provident funds. These were privately held. We've established that these aren't government funds. These are privately held retirement funds. This is a form of transnational repression that Beijing is using on Hong Kong SAR to basically go after Hongkongers overseas.

Have there been other arrests? Have you spoken with Hongkongers who are worried about this process of obtaining their own pension retirement funds either now or later, when they're in Canada?

[Aileen Calverley]

This is very worrying for everyone with a BNO passport or for Canadians with PR here with a BNO passport, who are coming to Canada. They're afraid of being arrested. Some of them are even afraid to go back to Hong Kong with their identity with a BNO passport. This is a very serious issue.

This is, to me, transnational repression. Even if you escape to Canada or escape to the U.K., you're holding a BNO passport, and that's no good.

I think, after the arrest, a lot of Hongkongers are very afraid to go back to Hong Kong.