Ahmed Hussen

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, we have welcomed more international students than ever before. Every year, we see growth in the number of international students coming to Canada. We have opened more pathways for international students to become permanent residents and are giving international students more points under the express entry system because we value their talents, skills, and keenness to become future Canadian citizens. We are the first government in Canadian history that is not only telling international students to come to study in Canada, but also telling as many as possible to stay.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that we have doubled the number of resettled refugees compared to the Harper Conservatives. We have quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees compared to the Conservatives' numbers. We have reduced the processing time of privately sponsored refugees by 25 months. We are reuniting more families than ever under our spousal sponsorship program. We have doubled the number of spaces available for parents and grandparents because we value family reunification.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, if spending more money on border security operations and faster processing of refugee claims is doing a bad job, then I am guilty as charged.

The fact is that we are making the necessary investments, after the horrendous cuts made by the Harper Conservatives, in border security operations and in faster processing of refugee claims. We are reuniting more families than ever. We are providing refuge to those who are persecuted around the world. We are bringing talent to Canada.

We understand, unlike the Harper Conservatives, that investment follows talent, to grow our economy and create jobs for Canadians. That is why we are seeing a growth in the express entry system. That is why we are seeing a 33% growth in the provincial nominee program, which spreads the benefits of immigration all across the country.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, I will repeat this for the nth time. Refugee claimants are processed separately from all the other streams of immigration. The fact is that one does not affect the other. I hope the hon. member understands that.

The fact is that we are the government that has reduced processing times. We are the government that continues to reunite families. We are the government that has eliminated backlogs left to us by the Harper Conservatives.

We understand that investment follows talent. We have redoubled the number of resettled refugees from overseas. We have quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, repeating something that is an underlying inaccuracy does not make it real.

The fact is that the processing of asylum claimants is done separately from all the other immigration streams. We are proud of the work that we have done to reduce the processing times that were left to us by the Harper Conservatives. We understand the importance of reuniting families, which is why we have brought down the processing times for spouses and live-in caregivers.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, I wish the member opposite and her party brought the same passion to immigration processing when they were in power. Spouses waited longer under their watch. Spouses and children waited longer. Refugees waited longer. Live-in caregivers waited five to seven years under the Conservatives' watch.

We have improved processing times for privately sponsored refugees by 25 months, spouses by 14 months, live-in caregivers from five to seven years under the Conservatives' watch to 12 months under our watch.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, it is the record that our government has with respect to refugee processing. Not only that, we have doubled the number of resettled refugees under our plan. We have more than quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees compared to the party opposite. Therefore, we have a good track record, not only in increasing the number of refugees that we resettle into Canada, but also in the processing time.

The fact is that the Harper Conservatives had unlimited intake but very limited output, which resulted in huge backlogs that we inherited. We are working very hard to eliminate that. We have already reduced the processing time of privately sponsored refugees by 25 months.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member is actually speaking about the record of her party when it was in office. It was the Harper Conservatives who had really bad wait times for refugees. It was the Harper Conservatives who had really bad wait times on allocations for privately sponsored refugees. It was the Harper Conservatives who cut refugee health care. It was the Harper Conservatives who really did not put a priority on immigration processing.

I am really amazed at this newfound passion for refugee processing. This is quite the spectacle.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member knows that asylum claimants are processed in a separate stream of immigration by the Immigration and Refugee Board. All the other streams of immigrants are processed by IRCC. The two are separate and do not affect each other.

[Business of Supply, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Chair, we have dramatically improved the processing times for all streams of immigration, whether it is spousal sponsorship or live-in caregiver programs. We have a really good track record when it comes to economic immigration. Our federal skilled worker program is working really well to attract the best and the brightest from around the world. We will see an increase by 33% in the provincial nominee program.