Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
You'll find that everything I'm saying is actually quite accurate. It just doesn't have the Tory spin on it. That's the primary difference.
If you take a look at the citizenship file...as I was saying, 338,000, it's far too many. They're waiting far too long. The minister talks about how, yes, they're putting in a sum of money. Paul Martin's government did designate some $60 million to try to shorten that processing time.
I've asked the minister inside question period to deal with this issue, Mr. Chairperson, and, at the end of the day, the minister has failed to recognize it.
What the Liberal Party would like to do is to see the minister at least make a commitment to get that processing time under 12 months. He was not able to demonstrate that. I would look to the minister, whether it's today or some other point in time, to address the House or the committee and make that commitment. That is that for at least 80% of those individuals who have landed in Canada, who have met the time requirements and other eligibility requirements, they will be able to get their citizenship within the 12 months. That is something that's reasonable, and I think most Canadians would respect that fact, if the minister would make that sort of a commitment.
The other point, which is a major issue, is in regard to the temporary foreign worker program. Like the NDP, I also met with some of the teamsters and actors and actresses who expressed concerns, but I also met with pilots and have had many discussions with constituents. At the end of the day, this minister is responsible for the issuing of temporary work permits. There's no way we can justify a need for 338,000 foreign workers here in Canada.
This is not something that's completely new. The minister has been aware of it, Mr. Chairperson. At the end of the day, he has to take responsibility for the 338,000-plus. What we would like to be able to do is to see the minister make the commitment, a serious, genuine commitment to fix the program.