Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Madam Minister.
This committee has done a lot of hard and diligent work. We've heard from many witnesses on this issue.
When it comes to legislation, I try to understand the purpose behind the legislation and why we are passing these types of laws. I hear today that the purpose of this legislation design is to get rid of the backlog, to try to deal with that backlog and manage that inventory.
There are two ways we can manage that inventory. We can let more Canadians in faster and get their names out of the backlog, or we can shut down the application list and completely get rid of the backlog. You and the bureaucrats working with you have preferred to do the latter, instead of dealing with the backlog and letting more Canadians in quicker. We let in 262,000 Canadians when I first got elected here, and last year we let in 36,000 fewer. I don't see that as progress.
The riding I represent, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, is home to many families of new immigrants. Ms. Minister, what assurances can you give these families in my riding that the changes will not affect family unification?