Mr. Speaker, the private sponsorship program for refugees is a hallmark of Canadian immigration policy. It allows individual Canadian citizens to raise funds, come together as groups, and to bring people to this country and support them through their integration into our economic and social fabric. It is international best practice and many of the refugees who came into Canada late in 2015, whom the Prime Minister took pictures with at the Pearson International Airport, were brought in through the generosity of private sponsors.
Tonight, as we look toward ways of welcoming more refugees to Canada, we know that this is best practice. My party calls upon the government to lift this ban on privately sponsored refugees and to ensure that when the government is taking photo ops, it is thanking the generosity of Canadians who raised the funds to bring refugees and to support them.