Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
This afternoon or late morning, we received the press release sent out from the clerk regarding the motion that was passed on June 7. The motion was very specific in calling on the government as follows:
...to condemn the actions of these fraudulent “ghost consultants” and call on [CBSA] to immediately stay pending deportations of affected international students, waive inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation and provide an alternate pathway to permanent status for those impacted, such as the Humanitarian and Compassionate application process or a broad regularization program....
That is the specific language that was passed for this motion.
The press release was editorialized in terms of that language and is definitely not a reflection of the motion that was passed. I remember this distinctly, because there was an amendment that tried to eliminate the words “alternate pathway”. That does not even show up in the press release.
I don't think that is a very cool thing to do. Instructions were given by this committee. We voted unanimously on the language that was passed. However, the press release does not reflect that. I am very perturbed by this. I'm very unhappy about this. I don't think this is an honest approach and I'm just dismayed. In the past, when a press release was issued, it took the language of the motion that was passed, specifically. It didn't this time. There was never a draft sent to committee members for review before it went out.