Madam Speaker, I am most pleased to speak on Bill C-44 now before the House.
All of us have heard countless stories of successful immigrants to Canada. As representatives of the Canadian people we know in each of our ridings the stories of people who have chosen Canada.
Even before there was a Canada, waves of immigrants, many penniless, swept ashore to scratch out a life in this new country full of promise. Thousands were escaping famine, grinding poverty, religious persecution and other horrors too awful to mention.
Today despite the progress the world has made, immigrants still wash up on our shores escaping the same horrors, the same persecutions and the same unimaginable poverty. Some still climb blinking and stunned into the sunshine of a Canadian dockside after a perilous trip by ship. More step fearfully off an aircraft at one of our airports.
However, each immigrant has the same questions and the same fears as the immigrants of 150, 200 or even 50 years ago had: Will this country allow me to live here? Can I work to make a better life for my family in this place?
This bill marks a progression in the approach of this government and this country in the respect we accord people from around the world who come here. It also marks a step forward in the way we see Canada's role as a protector of individuals who are refugees from oppression.
The reasons for this improvement are numerous. They are not comforting reasons at first glance, but when we take away the rhetoric and the posturing the reasons for this progression are abundantly clear.
Since the very first immigrants came to this country a very minuscule number of newcomers have entered this country as criminals, liars, thieves, murderers and opportunists who seek to prey upon newcomers and citizens alike. One would suspect that even the earliest Vikings who settled and explored this land had their share of people with less than honourable intentions.
It is an immutable law of the human condition that there has always been and will always be those who are bad people. It is also an immutable law of the human condition that the vast majority of immigrants to any country are hard working, honest, loyal and very grateful to the country that opened its doors and its heart to the newcomer.
This is true of Canada. It has been true in the past. It will continue to be true in the future. However, we have before us a collection of amendments to the Immigration Act that seek to change Canada's response to this law of the human condition.
Bill C-44 may become very popular with the racist element of this country. Some may point to this bill as proof that all immigrants are crooks and dangerous to this country but they are wrong.
Bill C-44 is designed to honour the hard working immigrants to this country. Immigrant gangs and criminals grab more headlines and take up more air time than stories about immigrants who have contributed to the growth of Canada. As a result, the public has a false perception of our immigrant community.
Statistically, new Canadians are less of a burden on the public purse than natural born Canadians. They are less likely to commit crimes, steal, cheat, rob and murder, and they only want that which our own forebears wanted when they came to Canada: to be left in peace to make their way in this land of opportunity.
Bill C-44 promises to play a pivotal role in removing the minuscule percentage of the immigrant population who seek to steal, deal, intimidate, extort, rob, injure and even murder.
This may seem like using the heavy hand of legislation to solve a small problem, putting out a candle on a birthday cake with a fire hose if you like. However, the confidence of the Canadian people in our immigration system has been dealt many sensational and disheartening blows through the evil actions of a very few. Therefore, we will make it easier for all of us, descendants of immigrants, old immigrants and relative newcomers, to remove the bad apples from our country. We will do this with the provisions of Bill C-44 and the Immigration Act.
These conditions will demonstrate to Canadians that we will act vigorously with the full force of the law. The naysayers will have no response. Canadians of all walks of life will continue to respond generously to newcomers, secure in the knowledge that the new Canadian down the street, across the hall or in the next seat on the bus is a person worthy of the privilege of Canadian citizenship.
Canadians have demanded that their immigration and refugee systems not only be fair and effective but efficient and well managed. Bill C-44 represents a careful, reasoned approach to the principles of fairness and tolerance with the balance of the respect of the rule of law.
Bill C-44 closes loopholes that unscrupulous people have exploited. It gives the enforcement authorities the means to remove the thugs who would abuse our society, abuse our people and dishonour the name of new Canadians everywhere.
At the same time, we will honour the millions of new Canadians who over the years have built this country. We will honour our ancestors by forcing those who choose lawlessness to pay for their actions.
We will not open our doors and hearts to those who have little interest in contributing to our country's society in a positive way. We will not open our doors and hearts to those who seek to manipulate and pervert the refugee system.
We will do this because our newcomers deserve no less from us than that we as people of Canada expect of ourselves.
Canada does not tolerate lawlessness. That is our collective word. We will demonstrate that our sentiment about freedom, rights, tolerance, openness, and generosity are not merely words but ironclad pillars of character.
In closing, Bill C-44 is not about punishment. It is about standing by our word. It is about delivering on the promises that every Canadian and every immigrant to this country has ever made. We owe our new Canadians no less than we owe ourselves.