Mr. Speaker, once again, I believe that I have participated in a few adjournment debates with the member for Calgary Nose Hill. This evening, she wants an answer to a question about the citizenship guide and female genital mutilation. That is exactly the question I am going to answer. If she would like answers about other matters, she can ask questions at other adjournment debates.
As we know, under the Canadian Citizenship Act, citizenship applicants between 18 and 54 must demonstrate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities of citizenship.
The current citizenship guide, entitled Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, is a study guide that newcomers use to prepare for the citizenship test, which they must pass to become Canadian citizens.
After they arrive, immigrants are given the guide at ports of entry or by service providers. It contains information about Canada's history, symbols, and regions, and even about how our government works. It is available in French and English, online and as a hard copy. It also contains questions similar to those on the test. Last year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began extensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders, including national indigenous organizations and many experts, with a view to updating the guide.
The goal was to ensure that the revised content of the citizenship study guide was representative of all Canadians, including indigenous peoples, minorities, women, francophones, Canadians with disabilities, and a broad range of other Canadians. As consultations progress, the draft content of the guide will continue to evolve based on the comments we receive. Once again, I would like to remind the member that we held these consultations in partnership with all of these groups, groups that the former government neglected and forgot about.
To come back to the question that the member for Calgary Nose Hill asked about female genital mutilation, I would like to remind her that, under the previous government, her good friend Jason Kenney removed all references to LGBTQ communities from the citizenship guide. I think the former minister of citizenship and immigration should be ashamed of that. I think the member for Calgary Nose Hill should be ashamed of what her former minister did when he removed all references to LGBTQ communities from the old citizenship guide. We want to make sure those groups are properly represented.
The consultations on the new guide are still ongoing, and its content has not yet been finalized. However, we can confirm that the new document will include information about Canada's laws against gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation.
Once again, that was the question that the member for Calgary Nose Hill wanted answered. I gave her the answer to that question.