Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday several Latin American labour leaders were detained at Pearson airport as they tried to enter Canada to attend the Labour Forum of the America's, a conference hosted by the Canadian Labour Congress.
Many of those who were detained were people of colour and workers who appeared to have been deliberately singled out, pulled from lineups at customs and then detained, grilled, badgered, harassed and spoken to in an abusive way by immigration officials.
Meanwhile, leaders of the business community entering Canada to attend the business forum on free trade had their visas and fees waived so they could enter the country hassle free.
What a blatant double standard. What an insult to our guests from the international trade union movement and what an insult to working people in general.
I am outraged and embarrassed that the government has treated my international colleagues so shabbily at our international customs points.