All of us know the problems in our ridings and the problems in the past. All of us try to find better ways of making the system better. Clearly, our immigration is still a huge challenge. I recognize the intent, and I am actually supportive of the intent of the motion. The problem is that there are a million other problems that go with this motion.
I apologize that I'm just popping in today to fill in, but I would suggest we have the minister and departmental officials come to the committee and continue to raise how important this is. It puts huge pressure on the minister to have to intervene in various cases. We need to find ways of enabling the bureaucracy to deal with them in a much more expedient way.
There's not a thing wrong with allowing people to work while this process is going on, and they shouldn't have to be going to ministers and bureaucracies for it to happen. If we're going to allow them to be sponsored in Canada, they should be allowed, at a minimum, to be able to work. Certainly, there's lots of work out there.
The whole issue of the automatic stay of removal, and a few other issues that are there, is not as simple as it looks. I don't think adopting the motion and sending it to the House, with all due respect to my colleagues, will achieve what many of us who care about immigration would like to see it achieve.
A suggestion is to have the departmental officials come in and address the motion and then move forward with something. You need to continue to put pressure on this whole issue, so that people have a better understanding of it and so that the kinds of changes that have to be done long-term in our immigration get done. Adopting the motion and tabling it in the House may sound fine, but nothing is going to happen, because the minister is under no obligation to do anything.
A suggestion might be to have the departmental officials come in and address the motion.