Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition continues to fearmonger and play politics, this time on the issue of immigration.
Perhaps he should heed the words of his own deputy leader, who said, “...but I think I have to admit...that we did not get it done on immigration”.
That member is correct, because when his party was in office, it allowed the immigration backlog to balloon from 50,000 to over 800,000.
This backlog is unacceptable. It is not fair to immigrants who want to come to our country, nor to their families waiting for loved ones to join them, nor to the employers who want to hire skilled workers.
The government has allocated $109 million over five years to help reduce the backlog.
Last year, Canada welcomed close to 430,000 newcomers, the highest number in our history and the largest number of immigrants since 1911.
No leadership, no results to stand on and pro-backlog, that is the Liberal position. Leadership, results and pro-immigration, that is the Conservative position.