Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Actually, I did not move my notice of motion. I was simply making a point that I would have, on Tuesday, and I was putting the notice on motion that I would have put on record. I was moving into the discussion to say that the amendment and that of the main motion before us are very similar in intent to what I wanted to accomplish. That was really the point I wanted to make, if members were listening carefully, Mr. Chair.
On this point, Mr. Chair, I was saying that back in 2017, last year, the irregular asylum seeker numbers were at 20,593. For 2018, for January and February, the RCMP have intercepted 3,082 individuals to date, of which 2,944 were in Quebec, Mr. Chair. Those are the numbers that are available before us. I do think we do have a situation in which it would be much better for the government to devise a plan on how to go forward to address this issue.
I do think it is absolutely essential that resources be provided to the communities on the ground that are dealing with this situation.
I do take issue, Mr. Chair, with the wording in the main motion that says, I believe, “illegal asylum seekers”. I take issue with that. I believe the appropriate term is “irregular”, Mr. Chair. I want to state that very clearly on the record.
In the comments that....