Yes, Chair.
I move that Bill C-12 be amended by adding after line 34 on page 16 the following new clause:
35.1 Section 25.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
(1.1) The Minister must, on or before April 1 of each year or, if a House of Parliament is not then sitting, within the next 30 days on which that House is sitting after that date, table in each House of Parliament a report on the number of foreign nationals who, in the preceding calendar year, were granted permanent resident status or an exemption from any applicable criteria or obligations of this Act under subsection (1).
(1.2) The Minister must publish the report on the Department of Citizenship and Immigration’s Internet site within 10 days after the day on which it is tabled in a House of Parliament.
Colleagues, this is a common-sense reporting requirement that adds transparency and reports back to Parliament on how many PR cards were granted in the previous year and how many exemptions were granted. Additionally, of course, the minister must publish this on the website.
The rationale for this is to allow parliamentarians to better scrutinize decisions that are made—for example, comparing decisions with the immigration levels report. There are colleagues who have a difficult time obtaining information from the department and the minister on immigration levels. It makes it difficult to assess the department's function, the department's performance and the adequacy of the levels plan.
I encourage colleagues to support parliamentary transparency on these crucial items and to support this amendment.