Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of hundreds of constituents in my riding of Surrey Centre.
The petitioners would like to draw the attention of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to the burden that transportation loans have on government assisted refugees who seek to make Canada their home. They note that Canada is the only country worldwide that issues interest bearing loans to cover their transportation costs to resettle in Canada.
The department has promised that it is looking into this issue, and I want to thank it for doing that.
The Federal Council of Municipalities has called for the end of these travel loans to refugees.
I am proud to say that this was led by two councillors from Surrey namely, Judy Villeneuve and Vera LeFranc.