House of Commons Hansard #98 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was immigration.

Topics

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:30 p.m.

Liberal

Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the issue of immigration in Atlantic Canada. This could very possibly be the most significant issue impacting the Atlantic region, not just in this Parliament but potentially for an entire generation.

I would like to take some time to thank the hon. member for Fundy Royal for her leadership on this issue within our caucus, in the House, and in her community as well.

Over the course of my submission, I hope to touch on why immigration is so important to Atlantic Canada. I will give a few examples on how immigration could transform the Atlantic region and then explain the key opportunities that currently exist to capitalize on the initiative and the study laid out in Motion No. 39.

The beginning point in this analysis for me is that Atlantic Canadians right now, myself included, are living in a house of cards of sorts. This is largely due to the demographic problem facing our region today. Nova Scotia, for example, has the highest proportion of seniors of any province in Canada. Having many seniors in our area can be a wonderful thing, but at the same time we are seeing a serious out-migration of youth and an overall decline in parts of the Atlantic region. This causes problems. As our population ages, the cost of health care increases and certain social benefits that seniors are entitled to become due. When we do not have a pipeline of young families and workers, we not only lose the tax revenue to cover the costs for these seniors, but we have a significant decrease in productivity as well.

The cost of inaction on this file is too great to ignore. If we do nothing, the Ivany report has suggested that by 2030 we could lose up to 100,000 workers just in Nova Scotia. This will see our schools close and our hospital services shut down. We need to act swiftly.

As far as I am aware, there are only two ways that we can boost the population of a region. This first it to increase fertility rates. The second is taking on an immigration plan. With great respect to the ambitious young people who may wish to replenish the population through their efforts to boost fertility, I would suggest that immigration would be a more effective way to achieve that important end.

I mentioned the Ivany report previously. This report lays out a path for future growth in Nova Scotia although it applies equally to Atlantic Canada. It identified immigration as a potential game changer. There are certain economy and social boosts that we can expect to see if we put together a robust and well-thought-out immigration plan that this study will help us achieve. On the economic side, there are a number of reasons why this is the right thing to do.

Increasing immigration to Atlantic Canada will allow us to fill gaps in the labour force. I am working with a well-respected manufacturing employer in Pictou County in my riding. This company has an employee with a very specific set of skills. He is an industrial mechanic for certain kinds of equipment at its shop. He is dealing with an administrative hassle that is causing him to apply repeatedly for temporary work permits. He is a wonderful guy and he is the exact kind of person we should be bringing in, not only so we can welcome more people to our region but so we can support the needs of that employer who employs about 100 Canadians.

Similarly, in the seafood processing industry, the jobs that we were talking about for temporary workers do not just support the seafood processing plant, but they support the local fishermen in my communities along the Northumberland Strait and the eastern shore as well.

In addition to meeting the shortage in labour supply, immigrants are often entrepreneurs. There is a doctor in my home community who has invested significant personal savings to invest in a local business. He wants to further invest, but he needs access to capital. Without permanent residency status or citizenship in Canada, he is unable to access the kind of capital that he needs to open a new restaurant in my community. Again, he is an upstanding citizen who plans to be here for life. We should be welcoming him and encouraging him to invest so he can employ more people in our region.

Immigrants and refugees also provide new markets. When we are dealing with people who are coming from another place, we are often dealing with people who need to buy everything from pillowcases and toothbrushes to fill their home, to the hardware and the lumber they need to build their home. These people make purchases from local shops that support entrepreneurs on the local scene as well.

In addition, immigrants can provide a significant boost to trade and tourism. When we bring in people from around the world, they often have relationships with businesses in another part of the world that they can do business with and that will help bring in foreign investment and capital into our region.

If we make a plan that brings in immigrants in significant numbers to Atlantic Canada, we should expect to see that friends and family members of our newcomers will come visit as well and give a boost to the tourism industry, which is already a very important strategic economic industry in my home province of Nova Scotia and across the Atlantic region.

In my experience, we have also seen with the immigration efforts we have taken on, a real social boost to our communities. We have seen a new vibrancy that is a new experience for many of us who have spent our lifetimes in Atlantic Canada. In the town of New Glasgow the multicultural association not only provides a forum for newcomers to connect with one another but showcases everything they have to offer to the community. They are hosting festivals that I love to attend. It gives us an opportunity to meet vendors who prepare ethnic foods at our local farmers' markets, and it is a wonderful thing for the community at large.

It also allows us to recruit professionals, such as doctors. The idea that we are facing a shortage of rural family practitioners, at the same time as we are capping the number of foreign trained doctors who can come and practice in Nova Scotia, is quite confusing to me.

Right now, there are certain key opportunities that I see in the Atlantic region that we need to capitalize on. If I look at our post-secondary institutions in Nova Scotia, we have 10 universities and the Nova Scotia Community College, which puts us at close to over 20 post-secondary education campuses in total. I see institutions that are attracting foreign students who fall in love with the region, who would love to stay, and who have a tremendous education and could become entrepreneurs in our communities. We make it very difficult for them to become permanent residents and citizens. This is an opportunity we must capitalize on for the sake of the future of our region.

I also see that there is a shift in attitude. We have had some great historical successes, like the Dutch farmers who came in the mid-20th century, including the family of the hon. member for Sydney—Victoria, who have made a real difference to primary industry in Atlantic Canada.

We have also had tremendous success, and I will point to the example my friend from Vancouver East made reference to. My friends from Antigonish, the Hadhad family, opened a chocolate shop, a small shed turned chocolate factory in Antigonish. However, it is not just the Hadhad family. Other new members to our community from this initiative are working for local construction companies, are performing with local theatre troupes in their first year they have spent in Nova Scotia. It is a tremendous thing because I know small communities across Atlantic Canada are sharing that similar experience.

This shift in attitude is something that is very heartwarming from my perspective, because historically I think certain small communities have a bit of a reputation in Atlantic Canada for labelling people who have not spent three generations there as “come from aways”. Now we have adopted an attitude where we are encouraging people to come from away. It is a wonderful thing, because over the past few years people have become acutely aware of the need to boost immigration. They recognize the demographic problem that we are all facing. We are seeing it in our own families, when our parents are having increased costs for health care, when our brothers and sisters and cousins are moving away for work because they cannot find it at home. People feel this in their personal lives.

I, personally, had to spend a few years moving out to Alberta to find work, like so many other people I went to school with. I have five sisters, each of whom have spent some time out of province. One is going to be an accountant in Halifax, and the only other one who stayed in the province has a husband who travels back and forth to the Middle East. Bringing more people in is not only going to create opportunities for them to come back but create opportunities for the newcomers to flourish as well.

I am going to be supporting the motion. I urge all other members of the House to do the same. Immigration is essential to the future of our region's economy and, quite frankly, our success. The cost of inaction is too great to ignore, and we will ignore it at our own peril.

The Atlantic growth strategy put forward by the government is an excellent first step that would see 6,000 new immigrants and their families in the region over the next three years, but we need to embark on this study to ensure we do it in the right way. We need to ensure that we create a plan to retain these immigrants once they call Atlantic Canada home.

Once again, I ask for the support of all members of the House for the sake of the future of the region that I care about most, Atlantic Canada. Please support the motion and undertake an initiative to promote immigration to Atlantic Canada.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:40 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak if I may for just a few minutes, only because I truly believe that what the member is proposing would be fantastic for the Atlantic region.

I was a provincial MLA for many years in Manitoba. We had a very similar problem, and I attribute the success of Manitoba's immigration policy to former prime minister Jean Chrétien. He and then premier Gary Filmon entered into an agreement on the provincial nominee program. When the standing committee on immigration looks at what works in immigration, the best immigration policy is driven by families. I know this because I have been dealing with it for over 25 years on a personal level. It is driven by allowing immigrants to become a part of the community. If we tie them into families and into employment, it does make a profound difference.

I attribute Manitoba's success in growth to immigration. In fact, Manitoba's population would have declined if it were not for immigration. The last 10 years is an excellent example of that. That one program and initiative that Jean Chrétien and Gary Filmon agreed to turned the tide for the province of Manitoba from an immigration point of view.

We know that it can in fact be done. I do applaud the member and the Atlantic caucus members, who I know have done a phenomenal effort in lobbying for this, not only inside but outside the chamber as well.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Resuming debate, we'll go to the hon. member for Fundy Royal for her right of reply, to conclude this debate.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:45 p.m.

Liberal

Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleagues for their thoughtful perspectives and overwhelming support for the efforts to increase immigration in Atlantic Canada. This debate in the House of Commons has drawn attention to this critical call for action, as Atlantic Canadians look for ways to achieve a more prosperous future, a future that allows for the repatriation of our youth, economic growth, and sustainability of communities throughout the region. Immigration will play a role in the outcome of all of these factors.

I would also like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship for his friendly amendment to Motion No. 39, which recognizes the challenges associated with the retention of newcomers to Atlantic Canada. I am pleased with his amendment and, to respond to my hon. colleague from Calgary Nose Hill, it would broaden the scope of the study for the committee. I also want to thank her for her comments today and her extensive work on this file. I think the study of retention is incredibly important and would add to the study of the Atlantic growth strategy. The member may not be familiar with the strategy, which was conceived by the 32 MPs from Atlantic Canada and supported by the government. It is essential that Parliament see the effect of this strategy.

By studying factors that increase the retention rates of newcomers, the committee would not only contribute to the success of the government's Atlantic Canada immigration pilot, a component of the Atlantic growth strategy, but would also provide a point of reference for best practices. The practices can then be shared across Canada, knowing that national demographic projections show that all regions in Canada will be impacted by an aging population. Atlantic Canada is facing that impact first.

I believe that best retention practices will include much broader actions in government policy. Increased retention will only happen when communities, employers, and individuals take steps to ensure that newcomer families will not only be settled into their work life, but also be involved in their communities. Extra efforts need to be made in rural areas to help newcomers develop support systems, which happen a little more naturally in urban areas with larger immigrant communities.

In the course of this debate, my colleagues have raised concerns about protecting the French language. I agree that we need to pay special attention to francophone immigrants who settle in the Atlantic provinces, particularly in my province, New Brunswick, which is Canada's only bilingual province.

New Brunswick's official languages commissioner says that Ottawa and the Government of New Brunswick must maintain the proportions of francophone and Acadian communities. She says that immigration is the only way to grow Canada's population and that New Brunswick's francophone population is no exception.

During the course of this debate, I have also heard concerns from my colleagues about the temporary foreign worker program and the provincial nominee program, with the suggestion that this pilot was introduced without consultation. This government has consulted and listened to Canadians, and it certainly has consulted with the Atlantic provinces. I am confident that the government will deliver based on the feedback received, and I look forward to the announcement of immigration levels on November 1.

I am also proud that the government's immigration pilot program was announced in July and was developed with the premiers of Atlantic Canada. It is designed to work in concert with the existing programs that are already contributing to the economic and demographic stability of the Atlantic region.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the Minister of Immigration's consultations with industry. I also know he has met with the premiers and economic advisers. All have confirmed that we need to grow the workforce in a targeted way that supports long-term sustainability. The growth of the economy will require more aggressive means than the provincial nominee program and the use of temporary foreign workers.

Historically, Canada has prospered when immigration was part of the plan for economic development. Studying the best ways to attract and retain immigrants in Atlantic Canada will benefit the entire country.

I am pleased to have brought this debate to the House of Commons, and to have provided the opportunity for parliamentarians to make a significant difference in the lives of my constituents of Fundy Royal, of Atlantic Canadians, and of all Canadians. When Atlantic Canada does better, all of Canada does better. To that end, I ask my colleagues of the House to support Motion No. 39.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The question is on the amendment. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the amendment?

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

(Amendment agreed to)

The next question is on the main motion, as amended. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion, as amended.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

All those in favour of the motion, as amended, please say yea.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

All those opposed will please say nay.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Immigration to Atlantic CanadaPrivate Members' Business

7:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 93, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, November 2, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

InfrastructureAdjournment Proceedings

7:50 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am rising again as I have so many other times in the chamber to talk about a border situation that is very important for this nation. Along the corridor that I represent in Windsor West, approximately 30% to 35% of the nation's trade with America takes place. Over $1 billion per day, often up to 30,000 trucks, or 10,000 vehicles traverse that border daily.

We have been trying to get a new border crossing for some time. In fact, in the year 2000 when I was then a city councillor, I proposed and established a community movement with others to create a new border crossing. It was described by some at the time as a pipe dream. If we fast forward over several years to where we are today, we finally have the potential for a new border crossing from Windsor to Detroit, which once again would provide modern, new infrastructure.

The government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to finally get a border solution, which it inherited from the Conservatives but the process is breaking down. The Windsor-Detroit border authority was basically put in a situation of having to build a new border crossing for our community and country, something that has been advocated not only for the community, to get international trucks off the city streets, but also for our economy, as we have a number of different suppliers involved, including those making just-in-time deliveries, and everything one could imagine from automotive to agriculture exports. In fact, 12% of the GTA's overall economy is dependent on the border crossing in Windsor, and even up to 8% to 10% of Montreal's.

We have a significant economic footprint that would basically grind to a halt if we do not fix the border crossings in Windsor. We are dependent upon the nearly 90-year-old infrastructure with the Ambassador Bridge. We also have a Windsor-Detroit tunnel and a more modern ferry service, but it is not as robust as necessary to service everything. It does an excellent job for chemicals and hazardous materials, but it cannot accommodate mass volume; hence, a border process has been in place.

However, we know that in the past the Liberals have succumbed to lobbying and the wishes of a few at the expense of the community. One of those concerns is the ownership of the Ambassador Bridge, which is in private American hands right now. A billionaire owns that bridge and basically controls the economic levers for Canada in many senses. Because it is private property, it was not until we had the International Bridges and Tunnels Act that we had a process in place to inspect the bridge properly and, as a result, enforcement powers over it.

When are we going to get this new border crossing completed? The road has been completed and the request for proposals was supposed to be out to build this new bridge. Everything has been done. Because of the government's lack of planning, we are doing all the work necessary. Why are there continuing delays in putting the RFP out and to the border crossing being built by 2020? Why is the government not meeting that mandate?

InfrastructureAdjournment Proceedings

7:55 p.m.

Honoré-Mercier Québec

Liberal

Pablo Rodriguez LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer my colleague.

I would like to begin by saying that the government recognizes the importance of the Windsor-Detroit corridor and is firmly committed to completing the Gordie Howe international bridge as quickly as possible.

As the member said, the Windsor-Detroit trade corridor is one of the busiest commercial land crossings on the Canada-U.S. border, and one of the busiest in North America. More than a quarter of our two countries' surface trade activity depends on this famed corridor.

The Government of Canada has made major progress on this file. The first phase of the tendering process, the request for qualification, was launched in July 2015 and completed in January 2016.

The process resulted in the preselection of three teams for the second phase of the tendering process, the request for proposals. Preparations to launch the request for proposals are under way. The Government of Canada expects to officially launch the process soon, and it is likely to take about 18 months.

At the end of this process, a public-private partnerships contract, or P3, will be reached with the selected private partner. Upon completion of the contract, the private partner must provide detailed information about the project, including the construction schedule and anticipated opening date.

Major infrastructure projects like the Gordie Howe international bridge require extensive preparatory work before construction can begin.

During that time, however, we are hardly twiddling our thumbs. In fact, while the procurement process continues, it may reassure my colleague to know that the Government of Canada is moving ahead in a number of other areas. For instance, nearly $60 million is being invested to prepare the plaza site in the Brighton Beach industrial area. This includes constructing the perimeter access road and relocating utilities, as well as backfilling, grading, and drainage operations. That work began last summer and is moving ahead at a very good pace.

On the Canadian side, nearly all of the properties required in Windsor have been procured, which means we can move quickly in preparing the P3 concessionaire site.

In addition, we are working to acquire all necessary properties on the other side of the bridge, in Detroit. Under the direction of the Michigan Department of Transportation, offers to purchase have been made to procure the many properties needed in the Delray area, where the bridge and border inspection plaza will be located. The demolition of the acquired buildings has already begun.

As I mentioned, the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of infrastructure, and is committed to investing over $120 billion over the next 10 years for the benefit of all Canadians.

InfrastructureAdjournment Proceedings

8 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I know that the work is taking place on the Canadian side. I was on city council when we assembled the land that is now being used for the actual border crossing.

On the Delray side, the Michigan side, we have a number of processes in place that have been passed for a number of years. It is called “condemnation”. The process there has been slowed, because the current government has fallen to the lobbying, for the Ambassador Bridge, by a private American billionaire who has been active in slowing the project down.

The deadline for the government was 2020. Is it going to make the 2020 deadline? What are the excuses if it is not?

The government dispatched someone from the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to meet about selling the Ambassador Bridge to us. Is the government going to purchase the Ambassador Bridge? How is it going to go about doing a P3 if it does not even know whether there is going to be one crossing or two crossings in the public sector?

I would like to know whether the 2020 deadline is still on. Why are the Liberals actually negotiating with a private American billionaire?

InfrastructureAdjournment Proceedings

8 p.m.

Liberal

Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's enthusiasm.

The 2020 deadline was chosen arbitrarily by the previous government. We are not going to throw a date around like that. We are going to be responsible about this.

The selected company will be the one to give us a date. When we know what company we will be dealing with, we will have more details and we will be able to move forward.

I want to assure my colleague that this project is just as important to the Government of Canada as it is to him. We are moving forward as quickly as possible, but in a responsible manner that takes into account the best interests of Canadians.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

October 26th, 2016 / 8 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Mr. Speaker, this evening, I was hoping to speak to the Minister of Immigration, but I see his parliamentary secretary will be representing him. I am therefore very pleased to speak to the member for Parkdale—High Park, and I thank him for being here this evening.

I would follow up with him on the arrival of refugee families. Various communities in my riding have been awaiting their arrival since January 2016. I would like to remind the minister that, in my riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, community groups responded to the government's call for assistance and mobilized to properly prepare for the arrival of refugee families.

Sponsoring committees were set up in Pont-Rouge, Saint-Ubalde, Saint-Basile, Donnacona, Portneuf, and Cap-Santé. Many generous people gave of their precious time and worked long and hard to raise a significant amount of money in order to be able to absorb the cost of housing the refugee families for a year. That was a government requirement.

In one case, people rented a house in February and made the necessary arrangements so that the home would be ready when a young family arrived. At the time, that family had a 20-week-old baby. By now, that baby will be needing a whole new wardrobe.

These people worked extremely hard to collect money and, unfortunately, have had to give these items to other families in the community and purchase new ones. It is unfortunate because the sponsorship groups are impacted by this government's inaction, as shown in this example.

This government has been in power for more than one year. During the last election campaign, it had a sense of urgency with respect to bringing a large number of refugees to Canada. We remember little Aylan, whose photo made headlines around the world. The NDP and the Liberals pounced on it as though it were a good news story. It was so urgent that it is no longer on the government's to-do list. The government failed the community groups that were mobilized. This government abandoned the honest people in our regions after the October 2015 election. That is another broken promise.

Last spring, I asked the Minister of Immigration many times, in writing and also during statements and question period in the House, why he did not show any empathy and why he was not keeping his promise to ensure that refugee families were brought to Canada. Sponsors had been anxiously waiting for them to arrive, not just in my riding, but across Quebec and Canada.

The response to the many inquiries by my office to that of the Minister of Immigration is always the same: we are working on a plan to try to continue bringing more refugees to Canada, but we do not have any arrival dates; things are proceeding, but given the nature of the file, everything is confidential.

The minister even criticized Canadians for being too generous.

Therefore, I am asking the government to expedite the process and to give a clear answer: will the refugees be brought in, yes or no? If yes, when?

It is unacceptable that we are given that kind of answer and that Canadians are being blamed for their generosity.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

8:05 p.m.

Parkdale—High Park Ontario

Liberal

Arif Virani LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier for his question and his support for this truly national plan.

As the hon. member said, there has been non-stop processing of files of government-sponsored and privately sponsored Syrian refugees. The refugees began arriving in early March and others are due to arrive in the weeks and months to come.

Once an application is fully approved, in other words, the applicant has cleared a medical exam and a security check, a visa is issued and the government-sponsored or privately sponsored refugee can come to Canada. That is how it works.

Last spring, the minister promised that every effort would be made to process by year end or early next year all the applications for privately sponsored refugees that were filed on or before March 21, 2016. The government has made every effort to keep that promise.

Throughout most of May and June, extra staff joined employees and partner organizations that are already working in the Middle East to process applications of privately sponsored Syrian refugees.

After this blitz period, mission staff in the Middle East continued to process private sponsorship applications and finalize cases.

Again, every effort is being made to finalize the processing of privately sponsored Syrian refugee applications filed on or before March 31, by the end of 2016 or early 2017. This also applies to my colleague's riding.

To meet this commitment, and in light of the Syrian crisis, privately sponsored Syrian refugee applications were processed first. There are other refugee populations that the respondents would like to help and those applications need to be processed as well.

The processing can also depend on a number of factors, including the volume of applications, the security situation in the region, and the rate at which requirements such as security and medical screening can be met.

I imagine that the hon. members across the way know full well that these requirements are very important and need to be met.

The public response to the Syrian refugee crisis has been extremely generous. My colleague talked about that. Between November 4, 2015, and September 25, 2016, 11, 695 privately sponsored refugees were resettled in Canada. The government has not seen such massive support since the Indochinese refugee resettlement at the end of the 1970s.

With so many people joining refugee sponsorship groups or helping to welcome government-sponsored refugees, it was a truly national effort.

I would like to thank my colleague opposite for supporting this national effort. Once again, I thank the member for his question.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Mr. Speaker, as an aside, my esteemed colleague's French is very good. I congratulate him and very much appreciate that he is speaking French. We are proud to live in a bilingual country here in Canada.

Speaking of comprehensive criteria and application packages, I have here a list of the various committees and municipalities. I have one in particular in which all the criteria were met: criminal, medical, and security. From what I understood from his response, this means that we should have an answer very soon. I therefore invite the minister to go ahead an let the committee know in the coming days.

My hon. colleague mentioned how honourably Canadians responded to this crisis. We must encourage Canadians' humanitarian qualities. We must support them. I find it unacceptable that the minister has said that it is because of the generosity of Canadians that his department is swamped. Tonight I learned that he has assigned additional staff to deal with this. That is good. Now, when will be able to respond to our generous—

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON

In answer to his question, I can tell my colleague opposite that, once the security, health and testing criteria have been met, there is still another step involving the country itself. For example, if the person is in Lebanon, Jordan, or Turkey, the country has to issue that individual an exit permit or visa. These additional requirements sometimes cause longer delays. That being said, we are here to help members from every party and their constituents.

We thank Canadians and my colleague's constituents for their generosity. We are going to try to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipAdjournment Proceedings

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The hon. member for Brantford—Brant not being present to raise the matter for which adjournment notice has been given, the notice is deemed withdrawn.

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 8:13 p.m.)