Evidence of meeting #1 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
3:35 p.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Mr. William Farrell
Honourable members, I see a quorum.
In conformance with Standing Order 106(1), the first item of business is to elect a chair, and I'm ready to receive motions to that effect.
Mr. Jaffer.
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Conservative
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The Clerk
Are there any further nominations?
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Liberal
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The Clerk
Okay. I declare the nominations closed.
(Motion agreed to)
It is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Norman Doyle as the chair.
Does the committee want to proceed to the election of the vice-chairs?
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Some hon. members
Agreed.
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The Clerk
There are two vice-chairs. The first one is for the official opposition, so we'll go there first. Are there any nominations?
Ms. Guarnieri.
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Liberal
Albina Guarnieri Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
I'd like to nominate Andrew Telegdi, who has infinite wisdom on this topic.
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The Clerk
Are there any further nominations? Nominations are closed.
(Motion agreed to)
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The Clerk
Mr. Telegdi, congratulations as the first vice-chair.
Now we'll proceed to the second vice-chair.
Mrs. Deschamps.
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Bloc
Johanne Deschamps Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I'd like to nominate my colleague Meili Faille for the position of second vice-chair.
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The Clerk
Are there any further nominations? Nominations are closed.
(Motion agreed to)
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The Clerk
I declare Madam Faille as the second vice-chair.
Now I will invite Mr. Doyle to take the chair.
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Some hon. members
Hear, hear!
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Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Thank you for the opportunity to chair the committee. Having won this very difficult election by such an overwhelming majority, I must say I'm overwhelmed.
I want to congratulate the vice-chairs as well.
Maybe we should go around the table, at the advice of the clerk, to introduce ourselves, say hello, and whatever. Then we'll get on to our next order of business.
We'll start with you, Albina. Just introduce yourself, your riding, and what have you.
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
Albina Guarnieri Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
I've been elected since 1988, and some of my colleagues keep pointing out that I'm getting very long in the tooth here on the Hill.
I represent the riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville, which has a healthy percentage of new Canadians, and I'm very much looking forward to working collaboratively with all of you.
Thank you.
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Liberal
Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
I was elected in 1993--the class of 1993. I've sat on this committee since 1998, most of the time as an official member. There was a time when I wasn't an official member, but I sat here anyway.
In the next months I'm looking forward to getting some of the work done that was interrupted by the election.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
I'm Meili Faille, the Member for Vaudreuil-Soulanges. I was first elected to the House in June 2004 and this is my second term of office. I've always found it a pleasure to serve on the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. I'm better known these days as Ms. Refugee Appeals Section. Therefore, don't be surprised if I bring up once again the need to have a refugee appeals section. I also intend to focus on having foreign degrees and skills recognized. I think we're going to have some very interesting discussions on these topics.
I'm delighted to serve as vice-chair and to contribute to the work of the Citizenship and Immigration Committee. In the past, I worked for Employment and Immigration.
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Bloc
Johanne Deschamps Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Good day. I'm Johanne Deschamps and I'm also beginning my second term of office. I was first elected in 2004. I represent one of the loveliest ridings in Quebec, a riding that boasts a number of tourist attractions as well as scenic mountains and lakes. I'm referring to the riding of Laurentides--Labelle, home to Saint-Sauveur, Intrawest and Mont-Tremblant. Please come and visit us if ever you have the chance.
I'm the foreign affairs critic for Africa and Central America, a responsibility I share with Ms. Francine Lalonde. Also, along with Meili Faille, I'm my party's representative on this committee. I look forward to drawing on everyone's experience as well as to putting my own to work. I wish us all a productive session.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and congratulations on your election, and to the vice-chairs as well.
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NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
I was first elected in 2004 in the riding of Burnaby--Douglas, but I worked in Burnaby--Douglas for 18 years before that, first, briefly here on the Hill, and then for 16 years in the constituency office. I did a lot of immigration casework in those days. That's where my interest in the work of this committee is based.
My riding has a large immigrant population; almost 50% of the population in my riding is immigrant or visible minority. The largest group is people of Chinese background, from either Taiwan or PRC or Hong Kong. There's also a large Korean community in the riding as well, but almost everybody else is represented in the riding.
I'm looking forward to the work of the committee. I think we did some excellent work on citizenship issues in the last committee, and I hope the government will consider that work, but I think there is lots to be done on refugee and immigration interests. I hope we will spend some of our time in those areas this time around.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
