Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I understand what Ms. Kwan wants to do with this motion. Unfortunately, I can hardly support that position, because the issue of work permits related to a given employer, or closed permits, is quite broad and extremely important to those who have that kind of permit. It's also important to our small farmers and to many sectors of economic activity in Quebec and Canada.
I feel it would be a mistake to add the regularization of temporary foreign worker status to the study. An individual who currently has a closed permit has status: They are a temporary foreign worker with a closed permit. It's a status, and we don't need to regularize it because that individual already has it.
The issue is not whether we should regularize the status of temporary foreign workers. We need to look at the impact of closed permits on workers. Do these permits give employers too much power over temporary foreign workers? Is there a way to phase out closed permits and create other kinds of permits, such as sectoral or regional open permits, or is that a bad idea and should the permits be kept closed?
What I'm proposing in my motion, which you have already received, is that we look into this matter and hear from experts so that they can tell us about the impact this has on workers and what it would mean to make changes to the status of closed permit holders. I believe we need to look at status regularization, but we mustn't confuse the two things.
Therefore, I would support a motion that we do a study on the relevance of closed permits and their impact on temporary foreign workers, and then do another study on regularizing the status of undocumented workers, which is part of the minister's mandate.
So we agree on the substance; I feel we have a difference of opinion on the form. I really feel we should do what I propose in my motion: first, a study with experts who would come and explain to us what closed permits mean and tell us whether and how we should make changes, and then a study on the regularization of undocumented workers' status to support the mandate given to the minister.
That's my position. I hope that my colleagues from the other parties will agree. Thank you.