Thank you very much and thanks to all three of you for giving up your time to participate in this critical debate. I certainly appreciate your contributions.
Having taught for years and dealt with students from diverse backgrounds and, over the last number of years, looking at research, Francisco, I certainly agree with the very factual information you put in front of us about certain students from diverse communities, from lower socio-economic communities, representing a higher proportion of those who are in our penitentiaries. That's a known figure. That's just a fact. That is not making excuses, but what it does to us as a government is it challenges us to look at some of the circumstances and conditions that cause that and it gives us pause to reflect.
From the work that OCASI does, and the vast majority of your work was with newcomers, I think we are in agreement that most new Canadians, people who come to Canada are law-abiding people who simply want to come to this country to make a better life for themselves and their children. They have all come here for different reasons and by different routes, but eventually they want a better life. As Jacques said, we are a country built by immigration and we're proud of that.
While on this side of the table we support the efforts to make sure violent, serious non-citizen criminals are removed from Canada quickly, we need to accept that they are a tiny minority.
In fact there is no evidence to suggest that permanent residents are any more prone to commit crime than citizens are. We really wish this government would make more effort to ensure the vast majority of law-abiding newcomers are treated fairly and can be reunited with their loved ones and provided the support system they need.
Sadly, we have a minister on the committee who seems keen on spending most of his time talking about immigrants as bogus—