Canadians — and Liberals — split on giving the undocumented status: immigration minister

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the federal government is continuing to investigate options for giving status to some undocumented people in Canada — but he doesn't see consensus on the issue in the country or in the government caucus.

In an interview airing Saturday on CBC's The House, Miller spoke positively about the idea but cautioned that the ongoing debate over the prospect prompted him to "reflect" on taking any action.

"I think from a humanitarian perspective it makes sense. From an economic perspective, it makes sense," he told host Catherine Cullen.

"That said, I don't think there is a consensus in Canada as to whether to do this or not. I would venture even to say that there isn't necessarily a consensus in our caucus. That causes me to pause."

[AUDIO WILL GO HERE]

The Liberals pledged in late 2021 to "explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had no timeline for putting this proposal into effect.

"There needs to be either a pathway towards regularization and citizenship, which I know the (immigration) minister is working on. In some cases, we need to accelerate deportation proceedings," Trudeau said in May of this year.

Miller discussed planning a "broad and comprehensive program" for regularization in an interview with the Globe and Mail last December.

In that interview, Miller estimated the number of undocumented people in Canada at somewhere between 300,000 and 600,000. A range of academic sources cited by the government last year provide a range of 20,000 to 500,000.

They're "not Canadians, but for any other purposes, they are Canadians, fully integrated into the society. [They're] not an impact on housing but they're working in the grey market because for a variety of reasons — and this has been documented over time — they just don't have the right papers," he said.

The government has been under pressure from groups representing migrants, including the Migrant Rights Network, which in May urged Miller to follow through on the government's proposal.

Protesters in Montreal in March said they want the federal government to regularize the status of migrants, and end deportations and immigration detention. (Sharon Yonan-Renold/CBC)

"Regularization is a litmus test of Prime Minister Trudeau's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion," said Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

Miller said that the issue has been discussed but cabinet has not come to any consensus.

"We are in the process of looking at this as a cabinet and there is no agreement as of yet as to where this will go," he said.

Immigration more broadly has become a major point of political debate, especially as it relates to affordability issues like housing. A significant majority of Canadians said in a poll last year that higher immigration numbers were putting strain on housing in Canada.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to link immigration to the number of houses built in Canada, as well as the capacity of the health care system, but has not commented on whether he would cut permanent resident targets or reduce the number of non-permanent residents.

Speaking to The House, Miller noted other countries had experienced both success and controversy with regularization programs. He said that while he supports the idea of regularization, ultimately it's not his decision.

"We've taken on a lot as a government and with a year and a half to go [before the next fixed election], the question is, is this the right time?" he said.

"I think it is. But I'm not the final voice in this and not the final authority in this, nor should I be."