Mr. Speaker, I would briefly like to respond to some of the comments made by my friend from London. He does not seem to recall that many of the first refugees who were brought in by the present government had been approved under the previous government. I think he knows that.
I want to comment as well on the question of numbers because the real issue is the cap on private sponsors.
Why would we not allow refugees to come in under the private sponsorship stream when we know these people will have the support of existing communities, people in Canada who want to help and work with them to provide them with support, as well as to support them in the transition to being in Canada? Does it not make sense that we take full advantage of the private sponsorship stream when it is available? That seems advantageous to refugees, as well as to taxpayers, as well as from an integration perspective.