Mr. Speaker, this morning the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration announced the establishment of four centres of excellence for research on immigration and integration.
Located in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver, these centres represent the combined talents of 15 of Canada's leading universities. Their objective is to examine the impact of immigration on cities around the world and to identify the best ways to promote successful integration. Their partners include local community groups, private sector organizations, international experts and governments at all levels.
A number of federal departments and agencies are collaborating to fund this visionary project because it has enormous practical applications in city planning, health services, housing and education to mention a few. Numerous countries will watch and learn from the work done at these centres which are Canada's major contribution to the international Metropolis research project.