Elinor Caplan

[Questions On The Order Paper, May 11th, 2000]

With regard to each of the groups consulted by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration during the period from February 27, 1998 through to March 11, 1998, the following received contribution funds (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, CIC, does not provide grants or subsidies to organizations) in fiscal year 1997-98* under one or more of CIC's settlement programs or services: Immigrant settlement and Adaptation Program, ISAP, which provides a variety of settlement services to immigrants, such as orientation, community information, interpretation/translation, para-professional counseling, employment-related services; Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada, LINC, which provides training in one of Canada's official languages to adult immigrants; the Host Program which matches immigrants to Canadians who help them with various aspects of life in Canada; and Reception House, RH, which provides temporary accomodation to government assisted refugees.

Organizations in Quebec do not receive contribution funds from CIC. As per the Canada-Quebec accord, the province of Quebec assumes responsibility for providing settlement services.

*Contribution agreements are signed for a total amount which covers the duration of the agreement. As the period of time for which the funding information was requested does not coincide with the periods covered by the contribution agreements, we are unable to give dollar figures for the exact period requested by the hon. member.

[Immigration, May 9th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his interest in this matter.

It is the policy of the government to see an expansion in the family class. During the discussions on Bill C-31 we are proposing an expansion to the family class.

However, immigration is a shared jurisdiction with the provinces. I am already having discussions with the province of Manitoba to discuss a pilot project on the once in a lifetime sponsorship proposal. Manitoba has a provincial nominee agreement and it may be possible to attempt to see how this would work. It is important that all of the provinces participate with us.

[Immigration, May 9th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the information is not accurate.

The information I have is that at this point in time applications have not fully been completed in their review. Many applications have not been fully completed and filled out as they should be. A number of requests are under consideration at this time.

I want the member to know that the Department of Citizenship and Immigration takes very seriously the request for visitors visas and people are expected to—

[Immigration, May 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the member and the House that we are preparing for all eventualities. There are a number of partners involved and we are working together to ensure that we are prepared. Whether one or none or many arrive and whether they come by boat or plane or car, the government will be prepared to respond as required to any eventuality this summer.

[Immigration, May 2nd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree with just about everything the member opposite has said.

We intercepted those boats last summer and detained the individuals. They have had due process and 100 are removal ready at this time. We are seeking travel documents. There are an additional 350 who are deciding now whether they want to drag out this process through the courts and make further appeals. That is their right because we believe in due process.

I want the member opposite to know that we are anticipating every eventuality and we are prepared. That is good management.

[Immigration, May 2nd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I want to inform the member that there have been no indications of any boats on their way to Canada. However, if there are, we are now prepared to handle the situation because as of what happened last year. That is simply good management. We intend to intercept the boats. We will detain them and we will have a speedy determination.

As the member knows, I recently went to China to discuss expediting removals with the Chinese government so that we can return those Chinese nationals who are ready to go home to China.

[Immigration And Refugee Protection Act, May 1st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, Canada recognizes there are those who would surreptitiously enter Canada. There are those who would try to enter this country in a way which would not give them status and would make them illegal in Canada. We also know there is a problem of transnational organized criminal activity that is attempting to traffic and smuggle people around the world.

This is not just something that Canada faces alone. This is an international problem which requires international solutions. That is one of the reasons the United Nations is developing a convention on transnational organized criminal activity. Canada has taken a lead on the development of protocols, particularly those that deal with trafficking in women and children.

While it is true there are some refugee claimants in Canada who break the law after their arrival, the number who engage in criminal activities is actually a very small fraction of the many who come to Canada each year asking for our protection.

I recently tabled the new immigration and refugee bill which in my view and I hope the view of the majority of the House will curb the criminal abuse of our immigration and refugee determination system. It is our intent to close the back door to those who would criminally abuse our immigration and refugee system so we can open the front door wider to both genuine refugees in need of our protection and the immigrants we want to bring here to help our country prosper and grow.

I would like to highlight a couple of things that are in the bill. I know I do not have time to do it all but I believe these will significantly address the concerns the member has raised.

We are increasing the penalties for human trafficking which will provide fines of up to $1 million and life imprisonment for people smuggling and trafficking in humans. There are more aggressive steps to seize the vehicles, vessels, aircraft and other property used in the course of smuggling and trafficking. There is the imposition of a screening mechanism for criminality and security considerations at the very beginning of the refugee determination system. As well we are clarifying the grounds for detention to better deal with people trafficking and smuggling.

I would say to the member and to all members of the House that there are occasions when genuine refugees arrive in Canada undocumented or with fraudulent documentation. We therefore need to be willing to hear their stories because often they have fled and not had documentation. We cannot assume that everyone who comes undocumented is not a genuine refugee.

The intention is to be faster and fair. We are going to be able to remove those who are inadmissible persons in a more timely way. Canadians are a fair and generous people but we will not be taken advantage of. We will honour our time honoured humanitarian traditions but we want to see our laws respected and people treated fairly.

[Immigration And Refugee Protection Act, May 1st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of education of children in Canada is one which is very dear to my heart.

Even though education is within provincial jurisdiction, there has been some interpretation of the current Immigration Act to suggest that there is a requirement for a student authorization before children are able to attend publicly funded elementary and secondary schools. Some persons and school boards across the country have interpreted these existing regulations as requiring student authorization.

It is my very firm belief that children should not be denied the right to an education. They should not be denied the right to attend elementary or secondary school whether they have been in Canada 10 years or 10 minutes. I further believe that the current regulation in the existing Immigration Act requires student authorizations only for students who wish to attend post-secondary or vocational courses.

On April 6 I was pleased to have the privilege to table the new immigration and refugee protection act, Bill C-31. The new act states very clearly in clause 26(2):

A minor child in Canada does not require an authorization to study at the pre-school, primary or secondary level.

It is important for people to know that there are many students who come expressly to Canada on a student visa in order to attend, usually university, post-secondary, but also on occasion secondary and rarely but occasionally elementary school. Those students who come here on a student visa specifically as foreign students to study in Canada will still require their student visa to study.

The intention of the new act is to clarify a situation which I believe already exists, that is, the Immigration Act is not an impediment to any child who is already in Canada. We believe they should have the right to go to school and get an education. We think that is in Canada's interests and also in the child's interest.

[Immigration And Refugee Protection Act, May 1st, 2000]

He was the best.

[Immigration And Refugee Protection Act, May 1st, 2000]

Or Mississauga.