Mr. Speaker, the situation in Afghanistan is nothing short of heartbreaking. The reality is that we have made a substantial contribution by committing to bringing in 40,000 Afghan refugees, and I point out to the member that the effort is well under way. More than 4,000 Afghan refugees are living in Canada today, another 1,200 in third countries have been approved to come to Canada and another 9,500 who are still in Afghanistan have been approved for onward travel.
I am pleased to take this occasion to share with the hon. member that on Thursday evening of last week, the first cohort of privately sponsored refugees landed in Toronto, with 243 new Canadians who will be calling our country their home going forward.