House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2025, with 55% of the vote.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship December 6th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, to be clear, the citizenship guide has not been written yet. Unlike the previous government, we actually consulted Canadians and experts in order to find the right amount of diversity to put in there.
We are the party that ended conditional permanent residency, a policy of that party, which put vulnerable women in vulnerable situations of abuse. We eliminated that. On this day, I am proud of the fact that we did that.
Questions on the Order Paper November 3rd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, with regard to parts (a) and (b), there is no new citizenship study guide, therefore no content has been added or removed.
The citizenship study guide is being revised to produce a product that is balanced, accessible to all readers, and reflects Canada’s diversity. It will cover subject matter that would be included in the citizenship test that applicants take when they apply for citizenship, as outlined in the citizenship regulations.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is consulting a wide range of stakeholders over the next several months to ensure the revised content of the guide represents all Canadians, including women, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2 individuals, minority populations, francophones, and Canadians with disabilities.
As consultations progress, the content of the guide continues to evolve to incorporate ongoing feedback. As such, given the new guide is still under development, the content to date should not be considered final or complete.
With regard to part (c), the revised citizenship study guide will highlight the importance of Canada’s democratic institutions and principles. It will emphasize the importance of obeying the law as a responsibility of citizenship and that gender-based violence is illegal. It will be representative of all Canadians and their rights, including women, minority populations, francophones, Canadians with disabilities, and indigenous peoples, as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
With regard to part (d), no such decisions have been made.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship November 3rd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill for her question.
Our government is deeply committed to gender equality and combatting gender-based violence. The former Conservative government ignored women's rights groups, it ignored experts, and it ignored immigrant women's groups, which denounced the conditional permanent residency as a wrongheaded policy that trapped vulnerable women in abusive relationships. No survivor should ever feel afraid to come forward.
That is why I am proud that on this side of the House we have fully eliminated conditional permanent residency.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship November 2nd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we made a promise to Canadians that we will fix the immigration system to grow our economy and reunite families and eliminate the backlogs that were left behind by the Conservatives. Our multi-year immigration plan is the most ambitious yet. It supports GDP growth, attracts more investment into Canada, creates additional jobs for Canadians, and boosts innovation.
We on this side of the House understand that immigration, together with a welcoming society, is what has made Canada—
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship October 31st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we faced an extraordinary situation in the summer, but I am proud of the fact our agencies responded. We were able to move around resources to make sure we responded to the pressure points. We made sure we dramatically improved processing times for work permits so asylum seekers could support themselves and eliminate pressure on provincial health and social programs.
We have established a task force to make sure we collaborate across all levels of government. Our response has been efficient and has made sure we move forward together.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship October 31st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I am so happy the member opposite has finally found a priority in reducing backlogs. We inherited a system under that party, where we were waiting for 24 months for citizenship. We cut that down to 12 months. Under the Conservative members' party, when it was in power, it was taking 48 months for spouses to be reunited. We now have a new standard of 12 months. We eliminated 20,000 cases from the spousal backlog. That means 20,000 spouses are now reunited because of our efforts.
I am so proud the member has finally joined us in enthusiastically embracing and reducing—
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship October 31st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, speaking of the mess that is being created, the party opposite brought a grand total of three Yazidi refugees out of genocide. We have brought almost 800 survivors of Daesh to Canada.
The party opposite gutted settlement services for newcomers. We are investing more than $1 billion in settlement services.
The party opposite gutted health care for refugees, who are the most vulnerable people in the world. We will take—
Questions on the Order Paper October 23rd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, insofar as Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada is concerned, there have been no renovations performed within the minister’s office at IRCC headquarters at 365 Laurier Avenue West in Ottawa since January 11, 2017.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship October 23rd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, our government values our relationship with Ukraine.
I want to inform the hon. member that the visa policy decisions are based on a holistic assessment of risks and benefits. Our evaluation concludes that Ukraine, just like any other country, must secure travel documents, manage its borders effectively, and co-operate well internationally on migration and security matters.
We are working closely with Ukraine. I have met the Ukrainian ambassador. I continue to proactively engage them in terms of what it would require to move ahead on the visa issue.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship October 20th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for my hon. colleague's question.
The Atlantic immigration pilot program is a tremendous opportunity to attract skilled newcomers and their families to Atlantic Canada, and represents a new approach to immigration. This one-of-a-kind program works with employers to settle and integrate not only the skilled immigrants, but also their families, and will now be complemented by a specialized team at IRCC that will work with employers to make sure they work through the immigration process. Our government is very much committed to implementing real solutions through the Atlantic growth strategy to strengthen the Atlantic Canadian economy.