Committee summaries/Blues: Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security: Bill C-12 – Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act (November 6, 2025)

SECU Summary from November 4 tech briefing

Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Report prepared by: Parliamentary Affairs, Canada Border Services Agency

Witnesses

Canada Border Services Agency

• Brett Bush, Director General, Immigration and Asylum Policy Directorate
• Graeme Hamilton, Director General, Traveller, Commercial and Trade Policy Directorate

Canadian Coast Guard

• Ryan Tettamanti, Senior Director, Maritime Security Force Development

Department of Citizenship and Immigration

• Tara Lang, Director General, Integrity Policy and Programs
• Christopher Hamilton, Senior Director, Asylum Policy, Performance and Governance Division

Department of Health

• Aysha Mawani, Director General, Controlled Substances and Overdose Response Directorate
• Jennifer Pelley, Director, Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

• Mike McGuire, Director General, International and Border Policy
• Chad Westmacott, Director General, Community Safety, Corrections and Criminal Justice

Key takeaways

Conservative members focused on border enforcement gaps, deportation operations, criminal prosecution rates, and potential government overreach. Key concerns included: the adequacy of resources for tracking 32,000 individuals wanted for deportation; security vulnerabilities in rail transport monitoring between border crossing and inland ports; the effectiveness of drug enforcement (particularly fentanyl seizures in British Columbia) without corresponding prosecution and sentencing data; accountability for criminal consequences; and safeguards against mass visa cancellations targeting specific countries.

The BQ member focused on refugee protection safeguards, Coast Guard mandate changes and resource adequacy, information-sharing powers and potential conflicts with civilian mission, and insufficient staffing for rail inspection at switching yards and facilities.

Liberal members inquired about money laundering enforcement, auto theft prevention through outbound inspections, asylum claim procedural fairness and court challenge risks, pre-removal risk assessment exceptions, personal information protection in information-sharing provisions, and potential delays from increased inspection powers.

Highlights

The unedited transcript will be provided once available.

Public Safety Director General Mike McGuire noted in his opening remarks that Bill C-12 targets illegal immigration, fentanyl trafficking, transnational organized crime, money laundering, and terrorist financing through modernized laws and enhanced information-sharing. He highlighted key provisions including expanded inspection facilities, broadened Coast Guard services, new asylum inadmissibility grounds, stronger investigative tools for drug and financial crimes, and increased penalties.

Committee members pressed witnesses on gaps in enforcing deportation orders, drug trafficking, stolen vehicles, and the bill's new powers. Questions focused on the 32,000 foreign nationals with outstanding removal orders, rail-corridor vulnerabilities between border crossings and inland ports, drug seizures without corresponding prosecutions, potential misuse of C-12 to target specific countries, money-laundering penalties, expanded powers to inspect outbound cargo to combat auto theft, refugee protection safeguards, Coast Guard mandate changes and resource adequacy, and rail inspection staffing gaps at switching yards and facilities.

Officials emphasized risk-based enforcement, advance cargo data, and expanded legal authority for earlier supply-chain searches to address security gaps. They outlined safeguards including cabinet approval and judicial review, denied plans for country-specific visa cancellations, and confirmed no unauthorized onward information sharing. The Coast Guard described an enhanced security mandate with expanded information-sharing while maintaining civilian status, noting that additional funding would be sought. CBSA highlighted that 1,000 new officers would help address enforcement gaps. Officials assured members that asylum claims and procedural fairness will remain intact with special exceptions for minors, and clarified that immigration authorities are designed to streamline asylum processes rather than directly combat transnational organized crime.

Follow-ups

to be verified against transcript

• CPC Caputo (12:14): How many officers have as their daily job tracking down individuals wanted for deportation? (CBSA)
• CPC Caputo (12:16): Number of weapons seized from rail searches, confirmation that trains are not routinely searched until they reach inland port, and number of random rail searches conducted in the last year (CBSA)
• CPC Au (12:35): Number of prosecutions related to fentanyl seizures at the border, particularly in British Columbia (Public Safety)
• CPC Au (12:39): Future quarterly reporting on drug seizures, prosecutions, and sentence outcomes (Public Safety lead with input from responsible OGDs)
• CPC Gill (12:48): Statistics on gun crimes committed with illegally imported firearms (CBSA)

Next steps

The committee is expected to dedicate the next few meetings to continued study of C-12, and intends to complete clause-by-clause review at the end of November. They will also devote some time to Bill C-8.

CIMM summary/Blues – October 30

Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration - October 30, 2025 meeting evidence