Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Madam Minister, and your officials, for being here.
I have to agree with Mr. Alghabra. I mean, he's mentioning a number of issues that are in the pipeline, and some slow movement. I understand his frustration. There's a big mess that our government had to clean up from the previous government. So I can understand his frustration.
I know, Madam Minister, that in the short time you've been there, it's clear that you've been working very diligently to not only get caught up on, I think, such an important file, but you're bringing forward some really important processes and doing that carefully, as you say, by consulting with the provinces. I think that's something our government feels very strongly about, respecting provincial jurisdiction.
Looking particularly in the area of Alberta--I say this at the outset, and then I have a specific question on lost Canadians--we have a huge challenge right now with labour shortages. We have a huge challenge trying to process, often, the temporary workers' permits. I think you're very well placed, being that you've had the chance to sit with HRSD, and now, Citizenship and Immigration, to help move some of those challenges along.
It's really a crisis we're facing in Alberta when it comes to meeting the labour shortages. We're working, as you know, because of the leadership of our government, on expanding the provincial nominee program and also on coordinating better with the temporary workers' permits. So I encourage all the work you can do, Minister, to continue to streamline it and improve the timelines for processing some of those temporary workers' permits. Because as I deal with industries, particularly in Alberta, I continually hear that that is a huge challenge. I do appreciate your hard work on that file.
Specifically, I remember that in 2005, one of our colleagues, John Reynold--he's no longer here--co-sponsored a private member's bill, Bill S-2. That was the first time I learned about the issue of lost Canadians, and I remember the debate that took place. From what I remember, the bill amended the Citizenship Act to change the resumption of citizenship provisions for people who ceased to be Canadian citizens as minors between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977. The one thing that was interesting about this bill was that it actually did receive royal assent. I think all parties were behind the bill and appreciated the fact that it needed to be passed.
Since this issue did actually become law, from what I understand, I was wondering whether you or your officials could comment on the course of action the department took to deal specifically with the provisions in this bill and whether it was successful. Is that why some of these things are happening that we've heard in your report today, Madam Minister?