Mr. Chair, I really wish my colleague well with the work that is waiting for him in his riding with all the Filipinos who live in his riding. He has one of the largest Filipino communities in the country in his riding.
I think the Government of Canada should clearly state and signal that it will extend visitor visas for an indefinite amount of time until the situation back in the affected areas in the Philippines has been looked after. Anybody who is here should be given, possibly, a temporary work permit, even if they are visitors, in order for them to be able to provide for themselves and to be able to stay with loved ones here in Canada. As well, the government should make it very easy for loved ones who have been affected to visit from the Philippines and should expedite those visits. Certainly they are suffering right now from traumatic experiences.
We can sit here and talk about it, but it is not the same until we visit the areas. I happened to visite Gujarat, I happened to be in Sri Lanka right after the tsunami, I was in Muzaffarabad, I went to Banda Aceh, and I went to China. I have to tell members I will never forget the experience.
In China, there was one young lady who had been buried for close to four days. When I met her, it brought me to tears. She had exactly the same date of birth and was the same age as my youngest daughter. It was like, through my eyes, seeing my daughter. There is nothing more moving than to see somebody who is the same age as one's child who happened to go through this.