Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for your presentation. I want to begin my comments by saying that while it's very important that we review the estimates, my major concern as critic of the Liberal Party is that, in fact, new Canadians are falling behind. They're over-represented in the poverty rates, the unemployment rate, and the gender employment rates of this country, and I question the government response to this reality.
I want to cite an editorial comment made recently:
Canada's future prosperity is tied to the economic success of its immigrants. Perennial wage gaps indicate success for immigrants is not a given. It is regrettable that amidst the ongoing stimulus spending, investments to ensure immigrants integrate as speedily and successfully into Canada's economy as possible are not being made.
I tend to agree with that assessment. That is the paramount issue of immigration in Canada. We welcome people, but their expectations are not being met, not because of what they're not willing to do but rather because the system is not allowing them the chance they rightly deserve. That's the macro-picture, Minister, that I want to paint to you.
Secondly, I have some very specific questions in reference to the main estimates. The main estimates indicate that Citizenship and Immigration net spending increases of $175.2 million are due in part to $80 million in funding related to the Canada-Ontario immigration agreement. Is that $80 million new money that was not originally contemplated as part of the $920 million over five years under the agreement, or is that unspent money from previous years? Could you please provide the committee with an accounting of the money that has flowed under the Canada-Ontario immigration agreement as of March 1, 2010, how much money actually flowed in each year?
As you know, this week the citizenship guide comes into effect. There are some questions, obviously, related to that guide, but I do want to give you, Minister, the opportunity to answer just some very straightforward questions related to the guide. That is, did you or anyone in your ministerial office request the removal of references to gay rights or same-sex marriage from the drafts of the citizenship guide? At any time during the process, did public officials suggest that references to gay rights or same-sex marriage be incorporated back into the final product, and if so, what was your office's justification for keeping them out of the guide? Given that the guide is now being used, can we expect that these issues will be reincorporated into the guide, and if so, when?
Thank you.