Mr. Speaker, I rise out of concern with the continued attempts by members of the Reform Party to portray immigrants and refugees as criminals.
As reported in a recent article in the Montreal Gazette , ``A Reform MP asserted that almost 25 per cent of refugee claimants have criminal records, when in fact all reliable figures place the rate at less than 2 per cent''.
By making statements like these, Reform members not only imply an inability to grasp the concept of decimal points but also imply an overzealous desire to paint refugees in a negative manner regardless of the facts.
It is disappointing that neither the member concerned nor his party has come clean and apologized for their mistake. In the name of integrity and honesty, I ask the leader of the Reform Party to apologize to the House for misleading Canadians.