Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Bohbot, I want to correct a couple of things. First of all, the minister does not decide arbitrarily or in advance what countries he's seemingly going to pick on. That's not factual. The thing is, we deal with evidence, like the 95% of people who do abandon their asylum claims here in Canada. That's pretty compelling stuff when you see these folks come over here. In fact, some of the CBSA officials actually are told, right to their faces, “I'm here because you're going to pay me.”
Nobody's making that up. This is fact-based evidence coming from countries. It's based on statistics we get, and that's what's going on.
I'd like to put something else into context. Of our entire acceptance of refugee arrivals in Canada, what percentage is made up of irregular arrivals? The answer is less than 1%. We really do want to focus on the 99% of people who really want to be here and try to acclimatize and integrate into Canada and become great Canadian citizens. That's what our focus is on. It's not all on that small number alone. Though it's an important issue, it's not the only issue.
There are broader issues at stake in Canada, because all Canadian citizens have expectations of their government. This country is founded on four particular pillars: freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. All Canadians have a right to look to their government to protect them.
To you, sir, if somebody arrives in an irregular manner, say in Vancouver harbour, would you take any of those people into your home? I will redirect Ms. James's question to you. Would you unknowingly take these people into your home, to your family, to your kids? How would you deal with them?