Mr. Chair, I want to thank the minister and his officials for being here this evening.
In the relaxed seating that we have in committee of the whole it is interesting to be sitting on the government front bench. I want the government to know that I aspire to this position and the NDP will achieve it through an electoral victory in this country, not by other means. Some day I hope to be sitting here.
I want to continue on the line of questioning that my colleague from Vaudreuil-Soulanges started with regard to the refugee appeal division. She mentioned that this is not a significant government expenditure. The former minister and I believe the current minister corroborated for us that it would take $2 million a year to operate the refugee appeal division and $8 million to set it up initially. This was a measure that was proposed by the government. It was part of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that was passed by Parliament in 2002, and yet the government and the minister and his department refuse to implement it.
I would like to know what the minister's relationship is with legislation that was proposed by the government and which was debated and passed in this House. Why does he refuse to move on that legislation that went through the process here?