This episode is a repost of our interview with John McCallum, Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from November 2015 to January 2017. He passed away on June 15, 2025.
A Member of Parliament from 2000 - 2017, he also served as Defence Minister under Jean Chrétien, and Veterans Affairs Minister, National Revenue Minister, Natural Resources Minister and as Chair of the Expenditure Review Committee under Paul Martin.
As Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, Mr. McCallum led Canada's effort to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees over a period of three months. He also increased the age of dependency from 18-22, repealed conditional permanent residency and reduced family class processing times.
5:00 – The resettlement of 40,000 refugees in Canada.
22:00 – The division of immigration repsonsibilities between IRCC, CBSA and ESDC. Should they be combined?
28:00 – What goes into reducing processing times. 33:00 – Abolishing conditional permanent residence.
39:00 – Mr. McCallum’s approach to being immigration critic towards the end of the Harper era.
42:30 – The Barbaric Cultural Practices Act and the Niqab ban.
44:00 – Caregivers
48:00 – Helping as Minister on individual files.
54:00 – What goes into levels planning?
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