Evidence of meeting #42 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was applications.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Right, but...you've had no feedback. Is this the first time you've objected to the bill? Is this your first opportunity to speak against this particular bill as it's presented?
Executive Director, Canadian Arab Federation
In front of a parliamentary body, yes, this is the first time.
Liberal
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
I hope you're successful.
Mr. Cohen, you said this is a very regrettable departure from what you saw brought in with IRPA in 2002. Would you describe the attitude we're seeing in this legislation as “anti-immigrant”? Is that too harsh? What's the justification for the changes, based on your 30 years of experience? How would you categorize that if someone said, “Mr. Cohen, why are they doing this?”
Immigration Lawyer, As an Individual
This is the question that I ask myself, particularly because in my opinion everything the government desires to accomplish can be accomplished under the existing regulations. There really is no need to bring in this legislation to do what the government wants to do, so that leads me to believe there must be other motives. My own personal opinion on this is that they're political in nature.
Immigration Lawyer, As an Individual
Well, I don't think it would surprise anyone in this room if I were to say that, historically, newly arriving immigrants have been a constituency that the Liberals count on. And at the end of the day, the Liberals are going to have to stand up and vote with the government and, I believe, against the best interests of a constituency that they've been very close to for many years.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
I'm shocked, Mr. Cohen: you're saying that government members are actually playing politics with this legislation?
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
It's hard to believe.
Let's go quickly to the issue of transit here. What's an adequate level of funding?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Urban Transit Association
We've just completed a five-year survey of the infrastructure needs for the entire public transit industry across the country. That's come out at $40 billion over a five-year period from 2008 to 2012. That's what's been determined based on that next five-year period. That's the $40 billion that's needed, both for infrastructure replacement and renewal of existing, and for expansion to accommodate new ridership.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Let me ask you another question.
The Conservatives brought in a transit credit in the first budget, I believe, in 2006. So the transit credit came in 2006. What's been the result of that? Are you seeing transit usage go up as a result of that credit? Have you measured any impact at all of that on your ridership?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Urban Transit Association
It's a very interesting and a very good question.
It's hard for us to separate the cause and effect when it comes to ridership. There are so many different factors out there in terms of the growth of population, in terms of the fiscal incentives, in terms of the environment, and the cost of fuel and operating cars. We've seen a steady increase in ridership over the last 10 years across the country of somewhere between 3% and 4% a year.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Urban Transit Association
That has not changed measurably since 2006.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
So there's been no impact of this transit credit that you can put your finger on?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Urban Transit Association
What we have seen--and this is anecdotal--is that there's been a shift in the fare media, where people are more likely to buy monthly passes and less likely to pay cash or use tickets.
Conservative
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It is interesting to hear from groups with diverging objectives, namely urban transit associations. That is a hallmark of the bill that we are studying. Work has already been done on the urban transit file, and money is now being allocated. It is perfectly normal to find this type of thing in a budget bill.
With immigration, however, that type of examination has not taken place. If we had met with urban transit representatives 10 years ago to amend the act without taking into account what people wanted, then things might have turned out quite differently.
I would also like to point out that this committee adopted a motion asking the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to study part 6 of this bill because we felt that we did not have the necessary expertise to delve into that part of the bill. We hope to have their report in time. I think that we share the same feelings about the need to withdraw that matter from the bill.
Mr. Boudjenane, Mr. Cohen and Ms. Sherazee, Quebec has a special agreement on immigration. Will this bill affect Quebec in any way or has the province been sheltered from the negative consequences that were expressed so well in your presentations?
Executive Director, Canadian Arab Federation
I said earlier, in my introduction, that from 2000 to 2008, immigration from North Africa had increased by 45%. As you know, most of these immigrants go to Quebec, since they are French-speaking. If today we are witnessing decisions that are motivated by political interest, and if the government were to decide that a certain minority, certain ethnic groups or people from certain religions might represent a security risk for Canada, that will have a direct impact on those populations and an indirect impact on immigration to Quebec, since immigrants to that province are mainly francophone.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
You said that immigrants tended to settle mostly in Montreal. I live in La Pocatière, and I can cite the example of a family that has just moved there, the mother being a professor in agrofood processing. They are making a positive contribution to our community. We hope the trend will continue, since an extra francophone contribution is always welcome.
As for urban transit, you mentioned, Mr. Roschlau, that extra funding would be necessary over the next five years. Did I hear you say $40 billion over five years? The fund for this year is $500 million. Does that mean that you are expecting a much larger amount over the coming years?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Urban Transit Association
Of course, we need a permanent program to guarantee a certain level of investment for networks throughout the country, so that we can engage in planning. Projects such as the construction of a subway or a light-rail system take years to complete. Short-term, ad hoc funding is welcome, but that approach makes planning very difficult.
