Ahmed Hussen

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Oakville North—Burlington for the question and for her hard work.

Our government strongly supports the attraction and retention of international students to Canada. This is why we made changes to our express entry program, which has made it easier for international students to stay in Canada. It has led to them creating economic growth, jobs, and spurring innovation in our country.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank my officials for processing 367,000 international student visas last year, which is a 22% increase over the previous government.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should know or ought to know that the safe third country agreement pertains to domestic asylum seekers and has no relevance to resettled refugees. Having said that, Canada has a system in place that is considered to be the most generous and compassionate in the world. We in Canada and the United States view the safe third country agreement as a proper system to handle local asylum seekers, and we will continue to be an open and generous country to those seeking protection and refuge.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada continues to remain a compassionate and generous country. We have one of the most compassionate and generous refugee systems in the world. The safe third country agreement with the United States enables both countries to better handle asylum claims. The executive order has no impact on asylum claims made in either country. We will continue to monitor the situation, and we will continue to be a country that is open to refugees and protected persons.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to let the member opposite know that I spoke to the mayor of Vegreville a few weeks ago. That is an example of outreach. That is an example of me letting the mayor tell me the concerns of the community.

We are aware of the impacts on staff and families of this relocation. I want to assure the member opposite that all current employees in the Vegreville case processing centre will have their jobs in the new location.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's refugee system is recognized as being one of the most compassionate and generous systems in the world. The safe third country agreement with the United States enables both countries to better handle asylum claims made within both countries. Asylum seekers in Canada have access to a fair hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board, and all cases are assessed based on their merits.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada can be proud of its tradition of being an open society that welcomes refugees. We have tripled the number of privately sponsored refugees. We have engaged with our American counterparts to make sure that the implications of the executive order are closely monitored. We continue to inform Canadians as we get updated daily.

We will continue to be a country that opens its hearts and its doors to those fleeing war and persecution.

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify one thing that the hon. member has stated, which is that there is a cap, a limit on Syrian and Iraqi refugees, of 1,000 persons. In fact, that is not accurate. That is only one stream within the group of five sponsorships. There are many other streams that are available for Canadians to sponsor Iraqi, Syrian, and many other refugees, including the sponsorship agreement holders.

We are open to reviewing the situation, to make sure that we always have room for improvement, but our privately sponsored refugee numbers are triple what the previous government allocated in its immigration levels plan, and we are proud of that record.

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, from the moment this executive order was issued, I and other governmental colleagues have been continually engaged with our American counterparts. We have received assurances. We have continued to monitor the situation.

I have used my ministerial authority to make sure that folks who are stranded in Canada and have a valid Canadian visa, but who cannot now enter the United States, will have temporary residency through ministerial authority.

I will continue to monitor the situation. I am also working very closely with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Transport, and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to ensure that Canadians are up to speed and are informed and updated as quickly as possible.

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has asked an important question, and it gives me a chance to reiterate our commitment to refugees to provide protection to those who seek refuge in our country. We are open to new ideas. We are open to people. We are open to newcomers. Our refugee system has been widely acknowledged as being one of the most generous and compassionate in the world. All refugee claims are heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board, and they are heard on their own merits. We have one of the most generous and compassionate refugee systems in the world.

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the responsible thing for our government to do once the executive order came out was to engage with our American counterparts and seek clarification on the implications of the executive order. We have received assurances from the White House and other U.S. authorities that Canadian citizens, Canadian dual citizens, and permanent residents with valid permanent resident cards continue to have access to the United States and are not affected by this executive order.

In terms of the safe third country agreement, the conditions of that agreement continue to be met.