Andrew Telegdi

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for St. John's East. It is refreshing to have somebody stand and talk to the specifics of the act.

The member agrees with getting rid of citizenship court judges but he wonders about the need for citizenship commissioners. One of the problems we have in this country is that Canadians do not know enough about our history, which is an incredible history, and that we are not promoting Canadian citizenship the way we should be.

The issues the member raised regarding the language requirements will be a topic of debate in committee and we will get to committee as soon as we pass second reading in the House. After we deal with this act we will be returning with other acts.

The member raised a good question as it relates granting citizenship status. To the Reform Party I say it really is enlightening to have a pan-Canadian party, as the Conservative Party is, instead of a regional party, which the Reform Party is, stand in the House and seriously debate the substance of the bill.

The member raised the concern about granting citizenship to people born in this country. He raised the issue that it could be a child of a refugee. He is concerned about the implications. We are not aware of this being abused. Is the member aware of some situation where it has been abused? If so we would like to know about it.

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, to my friend opposite, one must first apply in the investor program. One of the criteria for the investor program is that one also has to be ready to invest $250,000 into Canada, not $50,000, but $250,000.

My friend tells me there are consultants that create misimpressions about what the policy is about. I do not disagree with him. That is one of the reasons we have to review the act, which we will do after we deal with the Citizenship Act. The matter of consultants is one area we have to pay particular attention to because all too often there are consultants who prey upon people wanting to go to another country. We as a government have to guard against that.

Is the member against the legitimate use of the investor program to come into the country and is he against the entrepreneurial designation as well?

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, to wrap it up and pose the question, how can the official opposition exhibit the kind of intolerance it has toward aboriginal people, immigrants and refugees, and expect to promote good citizenship in this country when it is forever slandering those people?

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, they seem kind of touchy on that side and I can understand it, being a party that is compassionately challenged.

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, not only do they attack refugees and attack immigrants, they attack aboriginal people on a continuous basis in the House.

How does the member opposite—

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, when we are dealing with Bill C-63 we are dealing with an act of citizenship.

I might point out for the member opposite that it deals with all Canadian citizens and there are 28 million plus Canadian citizens in this country.

I personally and on behalf of the government take great exception to having opposition members stand in their place day after day attacking immigrants and attacking refugees. They say that they are only dealing with a small percentage. But the fact of the matter is if one is to examine everything the Reform Party has said about immigrants and refugees, it is making links to criminality.

I came to this country as a refugee. There are many refugees in this country who became citizens. I tell the members of the Reform Party that you will not get support from new Canadians when you continuously attack and smear them.

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, we are dealing with Bill C-63, an act respecting Canadian citizenship. Reform has time and time again not talked about this bill but instead goes off and talk about some other issues related to immigration, not to citizenship. That debate is going to come to this House at some point in time and then the members opposite can address the issue. Right now they are irrelevant. They are not addressing the citizenship act before this House.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that you direct the member of the opposition to speak about the citizenship act. Otherwise he should not speak at all.

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of relevancy. The member is not addressing the substance of Bill C-63. Bill C-63 is about citizenship. We do not need members of the opposition getting up and slandering immigrants to this country.

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Reform Party continues to refer to this as the Immigration act. I would like to remind the member from the Reform Party that Bill C-63 is the Citizenship Act. Members of that party have continually referred to it as the Immigration Act.

[Petitions, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by approximately 270 people from my riding of Kitchener—Waterloo.

The petitioners ask the House to fund all groups, including students involved in the RCMP public complaints commission investigation into the actions of the RCMP at the 1997 APEC summit, and not to engage and create activities at the expense of national and international human rights. They call for a full judicial inquiry.