The new minister of Border Security got a baptism of fire Tuesday morning as he was under pressure to explain just what his job is.

The Conservative immigration critic grilled Bill Blair during his appearance before the Common Immigration committee which is holding three back-to-back hearings on Tuesday into the influx of irregular migrants into Canada.

There has been confusion over Blair’s new ministry since his appointment last week and that prompted questioning by Michelle Rempel, who was seeking some clarity.

“Will minister Goodale be reporting to you?” she asked.

“No,” Blair replied.

“Will the CBSA be reporting to you?”

“No. I have not received my mandate letters from the prime minister just yet so I cannot speculate on what my role will be.”

Liberal Committee chair MP Rob Oliphant then jumped in, he said, to help Blair get a word in “for the sake of our interpreters,” as Rempel peppered the new minister.

The minister did manage to announce that some 800 refugee claimants currently housed in college dormitories in Toronto will soon be moved to hotels for an indeterminate amount of time. A spokesperson told iPolitics Tuesday afternoon after committee that the refugee claimants will be moved to permanent housing before September 30. They were facing eviction August 9 from several college dorms.

“I think this is an appropriate response,” Blair told committee.

By that time, the federal government is hoping to have a formal triage system in place that will move these refugee claimants from big cities like Toronto to other communities across the province who are able to accommodate additional refugees.

In a press conference after the first committee session Tuesday morning, Rempel said she was leaving with “less clarity than before” about the new minister’s role.

“This is a ridiculous and uncompassionate response,” she told reporters.

The federal government has set aside $50 million that will be split between Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec to help towns and cities struggling with an influx of migrants over the past year. About $11 million has been designated specifically to assist Toronto’s refugee claimants who have overwhelmed the city’s shelter system, according to Toronto Mayor John Tory.

“This (aid) falls short of the issues we’re facing in two of this province’s biggest cities — Toronto and Ottawa,” Lisa MacLeod, the Ontario minister responsible for immigration, told reporters on Monday.

During his first week in office, Blair told the committeee that he had taken a trip to Lacolle, Que. to see how irregular migrants were being held at the border and commended the officers for their organization.

“I observed the opposite of chaos,” the minister said. “I think we are well-positioned if we are to see an influx again in the near future,” he said.

Opposition critics also asked the federal cabinet ministers appearing before the committee about the idea of extending the Safe Third Country Agreement to cover the entire Canada-U.S. border. Enacted in 2004, the agreement allows Canada and the United States to send asylum seekers back to the country where they first filed an asylum claim.

Canada’s Safe Third Country agreement with the U.S. stipulates that asylum seekers are required to make their claims in the first “safe” country where they arrive, meaning those who come into Canada at an official land crossing are sent back to make their claim in the U.S. But it does not cover “irregular” asylum seekers — those entering Canada at unofficial points.

“If you are spreading the border, you are spreading the risk,” Public Safety minister Ralph Goodale told the committee. He added that the Liberal government has made it clear that simply entering Canada is not a “free ticket” for newcomers to stay in the country.

Goodale said the federal government has not asked the United States about extending the agreement to the whole border, citing logistical problems. The minister later corrected himself after the session saying the federal government has informed the Americans that they are looking to revise and update the Safe Third Country Agreement. “It’s a 20-year old agreement,” he said.

Goodale said that there is a national plan in place to deal with asylum seekers coming from the United States which includes outreach missions to diaspora groups in the United States and working with non-governmental organizations to create the necessary supports for refugees.

The federal government is also ensuring that all laws are followed and all international obligations are met from the moment asylum seekers started crossing into Canada from the United States, he said.

According to the most recent numbers, the RCMP intercepted 1,263 people at the border in June, which is down from 1,869 in May.