Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague from Gaspésie—Les Îles‑de‑la‑Madeleine—Listuguj for his open-mindedness.
He mentioned at the outset that there are currently 300,000 asylum claims. In light of that, it is easy to see why Bill C‑12 is so important. He rightly observed that he thought Bill C‑12 might help clear up this huge backlog.
As for the integrity of the process, I agree with his comments. However, I want to remind him that the government has earmarked $1 billion to develop the CBSA. We are now increasing the number of officers responsible for deporting people without a valid reason to be in Canada to 500. In 2025, we increased the number of deportations to 22,000. That has been steadily increasing for the past four years.
As for the distribution of asylum seekers, there are some things the government can do, but at a certain point, it becomes artificial. At a certain point, employment becomes the main motivator. I would like my colleague to talk about that issue. What can we do to encourage asylum seekers to settle outside the cities—