House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2000, with 65% of the vote.
Immigration November 15th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong.
I cannot describe the situation because of privacy information. However, I can tell the member that when it comes to assessing, English and French language requirements are assessed equally.
If in this or any other situation the suggestions of the member opposite prove to be correct, then I will take the appropriate action to ensure that the situation does not occur again and that the situation is corrected.
Immigration November 5th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, I cannot discuss individual cases as a result of privacy laws. If she would like to give me a written consent that will allow me to answer those questions in the House of Commons then I would be happy to discuss it here.
I would suggest to the her that there are often many details which are unknown to the member. When cases are raised, the whole story is often not told.
I would encourage her to work with the department so that we can explain those issues to her, but I cannot comment on them publicly.
Immigration November 5th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, while not perfect, the refugee determination system in Canada is not charade. I think most Canadians are proud of the fact that we have due process in Canada and that we protect individual rights.
The issue of multiple refugee claims is one that I hope will be discussed and addressed during the legislative review process that parliament is undertaking right now. If the member opposite has any positive ideas I would be happy to hear them.
Immigration November 5th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and proud to answer the question.
In the response to the Speech from the Throne, the Prime Minister said that Canada should be the destination, the place to be, in the 21st century.
We are committed to achieving the levels announced, to encouraging the best and brightest from around the world, to streamlining our processing, to using resources and information management. We want to look at innovative programming like temporary workers and foreign student visa programs to encourage them to come to Canada and ultimately decide to emigrate here and help us build a better and more prosperous life for all Canadians.
Immigration November 2nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I am thankful to the finance minister and even to the member for St. Paul's for giving me the opportunity to clarify this.
In the last budget, the funding formula for transfers under the CHST was changed from the Mulroney formula to one of per capita which includes all new immigrants, all refugees and all refugee claimants.
As a result of the new funding formula, Ontario will receive $4.4 billion for health care over the next five years and an additional $962 million in unconditional, no strings attached funding that could be used for immigration, housing and other important purposes.
Immigration November 2nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I will repeat once again that I cannot discuss individual cases in this House or publicly.
I will tell the member that the Immigration and Refugee Board is an independent quasi-judicial body. I respect its independence and I will not interfere inappropriately in cases. I will undertake to the member to look into his allegations if he will give me that information.
Immigration November 2nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, as the member and all members of this House know, I cannot comment on individual cases because of the individuals' right to privacy in the legislation which gives them that protection. If the member would like to give me the details of this case I would be happy to look into it.
Immigration November 1st, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House and the member opposite that today I announced that our commitment of 1%, which was in the 1993 red book, remains a long term goal for the government. I am committed to discussing that goal, not only with provincial and territorial governments but with NGOs and Canadians because we recognize the importance of immigration to the country.
The levels that I announced today are similar to the levels of last year. I am hoping that by working with the department to streamline processes, we will be able to achieve the targets that were announced today.
Justice October 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I would like to put out to the member and to all Canadians that Canada has among the world's toughest legislation to deal with people smuggling, with up to half a million dollars in fines and up to 10 years in jail. It is up to the judges to determine what sentences are appropriate.
Having said that we have among the toughest legislation, we are also proposing to increase those fines and jail terms to send a message to our courts that we will not tolerate people smuggling. We want those individuals who are found guilty to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and for the courts to do their part as well.
Immigration October 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, the government takes very seriously the obligations of those who sponsor immigrants.
The Harris government and others would prefer to look at failure rates and default rates. The government prefers to look at success rates. The facts are that in Toronto, 86% of sponsorship applications are met. Across this country the rate of successful sponsorship is 90%. When I was in school if we got a mark of 86% or 90% we got an A and that was pretty good.