Mr. Speaker, I certainly would like to push back on the member for Etobicoke Centre. I would like to thank him for giving me the opportunity to respond, but at the same time his last sentence speaks volumes to what I think he should consider doing himself, which is to spend a lot more time in the House and in Ottawa working positively in a very focused fashion on behalf of his constituents rather than spending this time criticizing each other.
However, I am pleased to rise to speak to the question of the hon. member for Etobicoke Centre regarding emigration from Ukraine. My hon. colleague is completely and totally mistaken in his statements about staffing at the Canadian embassy and the impact on emigration from that region, so I am glad to have this opportunity to enlighten him.
Contrary to the hon. member's claims, there have been no reductions in staffing in the visa section of the Canadian embassy in Ukraine, which has been delivering all permanent and temporary resident services since 2006.
All aspects of the hon. member's questions are full of factual errors. For instance, I refute the claim that as a result of the cut in “consular staffing levels” there has been a one-third decline in emigration from Ukraine to Canada.
On the contrary, I can assure the hon. member and the House that the total number of immigration visas issued by our office in Kyiv rose from 1,399 in 2004 to 1,527 in 2008. We are planning to issue a higher number of visas this year. Perhaps the member should take a few minutes before he officially speaks about an issue relating to Ukraine to speak to the government first to ensure that his facts are correct.
Furthermore, I deny in the strongest terms his statement that the Canadian embassy in Kyiv has the fourth slowest processing time for visitor visas in the world. I am very proud to point out that in 2008 alone, 85% of applications made in Kyiv for temporary resident visas were processed within two days of the time the application was made. This turnaround time is in fact well above the worldwide average. Our visa processing office in Kyiv has maintained these processing times despite the increasing numbers of applicants from this area.
Our government has prioritized our relationship with our friends in Ukraine. Our government strongly supports the inclusion of Ukraine in NATO. Under a Conservative government, Canada was the first western nation to recognize a free Ukraine after the fall of Soviet tyranny.
We have also worked productively with the Ukrainian community in Canada. We are providing funding under the community historical recognition program to commemorate past mistreatment of Ukrainian Canadians during World War I. We were also the first Canadian government to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide. I would like to congratulate my colleague, the member for Selkirk—Interlake, for his work on this particular issue.
I also want to correct a misunderstanding on the part of my hon. colleague. If there were cuts to consular staffing anywhere in the world, these would have no bearing on any aspect of immigration, as consular staff do not deal with immigration issues.
My hon. colleague is mistaken in almost every respect. There have been no cuts to the number of visa officers in Kyiv over two years. There has been no drop in the number of immigration visas issued by our visa office in Kyiv and processing time for temporary resident visas in this office is in fact well above the worldwide average.
I am very glad to have been able to set the hon. member straight on these important points.