The federal parliamentary budget officer wants the Immigration Department to provide updated costs of failed asylum claims, which stood at up to $33,700 per person in 2018.
Budget Officer Yves Giroux wrote a letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller on April 19, calling for his department to provide all documentation relating to the costs of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
The letter, obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, also asked for projected future costs relating to asylum claimants and for statistics on processed claims of those who arrived by air. The budget officer also wants to know the maximum number of appeals failed asylum seekers can file, along with the average number of appeals they filed.
The data is to be made available no later than May 3 so the office can provide the information to parliamentarians, the letter says.
The report also said the cost per migrant could increase up to $33,738 if failed asylum seekers use up all appeals available to them and are ultimately removed from Canada.
In total, the report said the cost to taxpayers of dealing directly with illegal migrants by all federal departments, from the RCMP and CSIS to the IRB and Canadian Border Services Agency (CSBA), was more than $340 million in 2018.
“When it comes to asylum seekers, generally, we’re facing historic flows,” Mr. Miller told the committee, although he could not answer why in light of the rising number of Mexicans seeking asylum in Canada the government had not reimposed visa restrictions on Mexican nationals.
“We are very close to the breaking point due to the excessive number of asylum seekers arriving in Quebec month after month,” Mr. Legault told the prime minister. ”The situation has become unsustainable.”