Mr. Speaker, on May 3, I questioned the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration about the denial of visitors' visas to three Algerian actors, M'Hamed Benguettaf, Ziani-Chérif Ayad and Masrah El-Kalâa, by the Canadian embassy in Paris. They had been invited by the organizers of the Theatre Festival of the Americas, which will be held in Montreal in two weeks. Their play deals with the rise of fundamentalism in Algeria.
The minister has refused to intervene in this matter. He did so, however, in the almost identical case of Hafsa Zinaï Koudil, the Algerian filmmaker, whose application was supported by the Bloc Quebecois and by many organizations and personalities in Quebec.
One criticism I must make to the minister is that his policy and his decisions are often disjointed, inconsistent and unfair. Moreover, I find it unacceptable for immigration officials to demand Algerians provide written guarantee of their intention not to seek political asylum once inside Canada before issuing a simple visitor's visa.
I must point out that the vast majority of Algerians settle in Quebec and integrate well as a community, making a valuable contribution to Quebec society.
I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to pay tribute to Club 2/3 of Montreal, an organization for international co-operation, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. This organization has funded many projects to assist the poor in Africa, Asia and South America.
We must thank Club 2/3 for all of its work in this area and for its decisive contribution to heightening the awareness of young Quebecers to humanitarian aid and international solidarity.
A few Algerians have obtained refugee status in Canada. But the new immigration tax that the federal government imposed on February 28 prevented some of them from obtaining permanent residence, because they could not raise the required $975. In addition, the Department of Immigration refused to lend them the money, despite the assurances of the minister that this would not happen.
In such a context, these people who have been recognized as refugees can neither become permanent residents nor bring their families over, and that is inhumane.
I invite the minister and his government to be more open and to be more sensitive to the tragedy in Algeria and to the situation of people from that country who are seeking Canada's protection and aid.