Mr. Speaker, yesterday our Conservative government listened to 55% of Canadians who think human smuggling is unacceptable. Our action will ensure Canada's immigration laws are respected and that criminals are sentenced properly.
The proposed bill to prevent human smugglers from abusing Canada's generosity will make it easier to prosecute human smugglers and will implement mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of this serious offence.
The proposed reforms reflect our government's strong commitment to fight the scourge of human smuggling through stronger criminal laws.
The bill has received glowing praise from cultural groups across the country. The United Macedonian Diaspora stated yesterday that they were pleased to see the government taking strong action to deter human smugglers from coming to Canada's shores and abusing Canada's generosity.
Our government is sending a clear message to human smugglers: the abuse of our immigration system will not be tolerated.