Mr. Speaker, I am sure that your constituents in Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon are very proud of you. They never thought they would see you in Ottawa wearing a gown, but you look good in it.
I would also on behalf of the people of Calgary—Nose Hill, the people I represent, pay tribute and extend condolences to the loved ones and the comrades of Lieutenant Chris Saunders and to those who were injured in the line of duty on the HMCS Chicoutimi . We all grieve with them and our prayers are with them.
I would also like to take this opportunity with my first speech in the House of Commons in this new Parliament to thank the voters of Calgary—Nose Hill for their wonderful support for me over the years and for returning me to the House of Commons. I take my responsibility to represent them, to listen to them and to work on their behalf for our great country very seriously. I want them to know how much I appreciate their trust and support.
My reply to the Speech from the Throne today will focus on immigration issues because I am the Conservative Party senior critic for citizenship and immigration. Two main immigration issues were highlighted by the government in the Speech from the Throne. One was the recognition of foreign credentials. The other was changes to the Citizenship Act.
I want to begin by telling the House about my constituent, Matthew Bijak. He was sponsored by the Polish government to study medicine in Italy. He was so successful in his studies that he graduated cum laude and decided that he did not want to return to Poland after he obtained his medical degree. He then spoke with the Canadian embassy, where officials encouraged him to come to Canada. They told him the more education he had, the better for being accepted as an immigrant to Canada. He came to Canada, but then the story changed.
He prepared to practise his medical skills, but the dean of one of our largest medical schools told him flat out that we have enough doctors in Canada. That is what he was told, and that he would never get a medical residency. Still, Mr. Bijak persevered. After discussions with the Medical Council of Canada, he pursued his goal, but in spite of glowing references from medical mentors here in Canada, he encountered only roadblocks from Canadian authorities. The rules and regulations seemed to keep changing. All this time Mr. Bijak was taking odd jobs to support his family, never going on welfare or EI. Today, 15 years later, someone who graduated cum laud from medical school in Europe now works as a computer technician.
There are 168 doctors at least in Alberta alone in that very same position. All of these people received their medical training in English. Language is not a barrier. They had fine training. They came to Canada because they were told their skills were needed, only to find that they cannot be given the opportunity to practise medicine in this country. One man who was a doctor in Hungary for 14 years is working in Canada as a cook.
Mr. Bijak tells me that if it had been made clear up front to him that he could not practise medicine in Canada, he would have accepted that as being fair, but in fact he was given the opposite assurance. He was told that we need people with medical skills here. He was encouraged to come on that basis. He said something very interesting. He said that he left a corrupt system. He believed he was coming to a country where opportunity would be based on merit.
A friend of his who went to the U.S. instead of to Canada has been practising medicine there for years. This friend graduated with Mr. Bijak in the very same class in medical school in Europe. He was been practising in the U.S. for years. But this man who chose to come to Canada is not allowed to practise. Canada has failed Mr. Bijak. Our country has turned away a fine potential physician with desperately needed skills.
This story is multiplied thousands of times over to the shame of the Liberal government. Newcomers with solid training and skills, with experience, with enthusiastic hopes and dreams for the future find themselves on a treadmill of low paying survival jobs instead of on the path to success that they believed would be open to them. The Conference Board of Canada tells us that over half a million Canadians would earn another $4 billion to $6 billion if their experience and credentials were recognized in the Canadian workplace, but they are not.
Back in 1994 the Liberals promised that they would develop “a national clearing house to assess foreign credentials”. That was in 1994. What a surprise; they failed to follow through on that commitment. In almost every throne speech, including this one, the Liberals keep tossing out that same old promise because they know how critical it is for hundreds of thousands of people and their families in this country.
How shameful and how sad that the same party that showered a quarter of a billion dollars on sponsorships of dubious value cannot get serious about this issue of credentials recognition, an issue that would clearly make such a great difference to so many people. The Liberals talk a good game about the critical shortage of doctors and nurses, about the need for skilled workers to revitalize an aging workforce, but their real lack of commitment is evident. They have had over a decade now with the reins of government in their hands and have barely made it out of the starting gate on the recognition of foreign credentials. Shame on the Liberals.
A Conservative government would ensure speedier recognition of foreign credentials and prior work experience. This would be a major priority under the Conservatives and I look forward to that change.
Since the government has yet to introduce its changes to the Citizenship Act, I cannot comment except to say the Conservative Party of Canada will absolutely oppose the revocation of citizenship by politicians behind closed doors and will oppose citizenship being denied on any vague and undefined grounds. We will uphold Canadian values of due process and certainty in the law.
There are many other key issues in the immigration portfolio that were not mentioned in the Speech from the Throne. I urge the government to pursue resolution of these other issues to the benefit of our country. They are: settlement program funding; more attention to the needs of children of newcomers; the backlog of applications; the frustrating difficulty in obtaining permission for family and friends to visit in Canada; the serious need for further reform of the Immigration and Refugee Board; the current inaction on visa overstays, which leads to disrespect for our country; the dysfunctional removals process for those illegally in Canada; the incredible security lapses in our missions abroad, where valuable paper repeatedly ends up being sold on the street; and a clear plan to coordinate operations with the Canada Border Services Agency.
There are other issues, but these nine are critical and I hope they will not fall by the wayside under this Liberal government as the credentials issue has done for a decade.
It is an honour to be given the responsibility for citizenship and immigration in the Conservative shadow cabinet. I fully intend to carry out our constitutional responsibility to hold the government to account for better management and fair policy in the dynamic nation-building exercise of immigration.