Mr. Speaker, these amendments are facilitative. It would be up to the provinces and territories to choose to introduce a period of residence to establish its length.
Unfortunately, from the way that the members of the opposition have presented this somewhat obscure change in the provision, they seem to think it is somehow an attack on refugees. I would point out that protected persons who have been determined to be genuine refugees but are not yet permanent residents are excluded from this provision. Victims of human trafficking who hold a valid temporary resident permit are also excluded.
I should also point out to the member that when we bring pieces of legislation before the House to facilitate the processing of legitimate refugees so they can get permanent and long-term assistance in our country, it would be nice to see the member and his party occasionally vote in favour of those changes. We are focusing on providing assistance in an expedited way as quickly as possible to those who truly need it.