Mr. Speaker, our country is about to close its doors to refugees who travel through the United States to get here, which is approximately one-third of refugee claimants.
The proposed Canada-U.S. agreement allows for the returning of a refugee to whichever of the two countries they had reached first. The U.S. has a sorry record when it comes to dealing with refugees, especially those from South and Central America. It has a record of rejecting and refouling 98 per cent of refugee claimants from El Salvador and Guatemala. Amnesty International has warned that the U.S. is not a safe destination for refugees.
This proposed agreement is just another example of the downsizing to the lowest common denominator. It strips away compassion from our society. It abrogates our moral responsibility to those fellow human beings fleeing danger and persecution. It makes our country less.
This agreement will be signed by a Liberal government that in opposition strenuously opposed this measure. Concerned Canadians would say, shame to this government.