Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
It is important that we don't just pursue large numbers of immigrants, which is essential, but that we also pursue fairness in the system, so people trust that the decisions made under the system are done in an equitable way, free from treating people from one country of origin differently than those from another.
We're looking for talent. We're looking for people who meet the eligibility criteria. One of the bright spots that I would point the honourable member to is what we've seen in the student direct stream, a program that's used to facilitate and expedite the welcoming of international students to Canada for the purposes of study. We've seen an increase in Pakistan with the student direct stream to, I believe, 46%—if I'm off from memory, I'll follow up with the member personally. That is going to be part of the path forward.
We are also seeing that in countries that have had more refusals, it's often a result of the fact that we're seeing so many applications coming in, and not necessarily that they're being treated differently than they have been treated before.
This is a huge opportunity to expand the student direct stream across different jurisdictions, so we can have a higher rate of acceptance, but more importantly, we can welcome more and more students here, because international students who settle in Canada show extraordinary social, economic, and cultural outcomes over the long term and have the opportunity, in my personal opinion, to make excellent permanent residents should they end up staying in Canada beyond their period of study.