Mr. Speaker, last week, the daily Le Devoir reported that Ottawa had developed and implemented a far-reaching plan of action in preparation for the last referendum in Quebec.
To that end, the number of people who were granted Canadian citizenship increased from 24,000 in 1993 to 44,000 in 1995, the year the referendum was held. Since then, their numbers have been dropping consistently.
How can the minister claim that the increase was not due to the referendum when the numbers show just the opposite?