Andrew Cash

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the government may be proud of its record on refugees, but the rest of the country is ashamed of the government's record on refugees.

Almost 60 million people around the world were forced from their homes, the highest number since the UN started counting. Syria alone counted for 11.6 million of the displaced. As refugees hit an historic high, Canada's response to the global calamity has hit an historic low.

Helping the world's most vulnerable is part of who we are as Canadians. It is a value that the Conservative Party has forgotten. Why is Canada not living up to its global commitments?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 17th, 2015]

With regard to the International Mobility Program: (a) how many applications were received for work permits in 2014 and in 2015 year-to-date, (i) in total, (ii) broken down by month; (b) how many applications for work permits were approved in 2014 and 2015 year-to-date, (i) in total, (ii) broken down by month; (c) how many employers using the International Mobility Program have been subject to an investigation for compliance from in 2014 and 2015 inclusively, broken down by (i) month, (ii) province; (d) how many investigations have revealed non-compliance by employers, broken down by (i) month, (ii) issues identified, (iii) industry of the employer; (e) how many employers have had to take steps to be considered compliant following an investigation, broken down by (i) month, (ii) type of action required, (iii) industry of the employer; (f) how many employers have received penalties for non-compliance as a result of an investigation, broken down by (i) month, (ii) type of penalty, (iii) industry of the employer; (g) how many investigations have involved an on-site visit, broken down by month; and (h) how many Citizenship and Immigration staff are currently assigned to conduct investigations for compliance?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 17th, 2015]

With regard to International Experience Canada, for the year 2014: (a) with which countries did Canada have an agreement; (b) what were the reciprocal quotas; (c) how many Canadians travelled to each country under the auspices of the agreement; (d) how many youths from each country travelled to Canada under the auspices of the agreement, broken down by (i) working holiday, (ii) young professionals, (iii) international cooperative work placements; (e) how many Canadian employers employed foreign youth in the young professionals stream; (f) how many Canadian employers employed foreign youth in the international cooperative work placements stream; (g) when will the government be finished its detailed labour market assessment of the program and will the assessment be made public; (h) how many Canadian employers have been subject to investigations for compliance; (i) how many Canadian employers have been found to be in non-compliance as a result of an investigation, broken down by type of issue; (j) how many Canadian employers have had to take remedial actions in order to be considered compliant as a result of an investigation; (k) how many Canadian employers have been subject to penalties as a result of an investigation; (l) how does Citizenship and Immigration Canada define reciprocal with respect to its goal to make the program more reciprocal; and (m) what is the Department’s target for reciprocity?

[Petitions, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition. We have many immigrants in Toronto who work hard and who are having a very difficult time with our current immigration system. They are calling on the federal government to make changes to make it simpler for them to bring their families here and to make it simpler for workers who are working hard here to have the right to stay and build a life in Canada.

[Petitions, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions I would like to present today.

The first petition pertains to the plummeting job quality index for Canadian workers. So many workers today are working part time, on contract, or freelance or are self-employed. Many are working for free as unpaid interns. This petition, signed by people throughout my riding and across the GTA, calls for the support of a national urban workers strategy to deal with and take seriously the issue of precarious work across Canada.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 16th, 2015]

With regard to individuals detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: (a) broken down by province and by gender, how many individuals were detained in the years (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014; (b) what was the cost of detaining the individuals in (a) for the years (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014; (c) broken down by province, how many of the individuals in (a) were under the age of six in the years (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014; (d) broken down by province, how many of the individuals in (a) were between the ages of six and nine in the years (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014; (e) broken down by province, how many of the individuals in (a) were between the ages of ten and 12 in the years (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014; (f) broken down by province, how many of the individuals in (a) were between the ages of 13 and 17 in the years (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014; (g) broken down by province, what is the average duration of stay in detention; (h) of those who were in detention between January 2011 and January 2015 how many individuals have remained in detention longer than (i) one year, (ii) two years, (iii) three years, (iv) four years, (v) five years; and (i) as of the most recent information, how many individuals are detained in cells with (i) one other person, (ii) two other persons, (iii) three other persons, (iv) four or more other persons?

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 15th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have landed in a familiar place once again: they are back in court.

This time they are throwing away taxpayer money, as they love to do, fighting a Federal Court ruling that told them their cuts to the interim federal health program were “cruel and unusual”.

Their pathological single-mindedness to attack children and pregnant women, to deny them health care, is an obsession that goes right against the main frame of Canadian values. These are some of our most vulnerable people. Therefore, will they do the right thing and reinstate health care for refugees?

[Consumer Protection, June 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, if they have an agreement from the banks, where is it? Is it in some secret code or invisible ink? What is going on there?

The House overwhelmingly voted in favour of banning pay-to-pay fees but, despite this, today, the government blocked us from banning these unfair fees in the budget bill. The Conservatives are standing in the way of immediately helping Canadians save upward of $180 million.

I do not get it, and Canadians do not either. They are fed up with getting their pockets picked. Why are these guys dragging their heels?

[Criminal Code, June 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, following the overwhelming support that my motion received to ban unfair pay-to-pay bank fees, I would like to seek unanimous consent for the following motion. I move that it be an instruction to the Standing Committee on Finance that it have the power to expand the scope of Bill C-59, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 21, 2015, and other measures, in order to protect consumers by banning all pay-to-pay practices by banks operating in Canada.

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 3rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure where that agreement came from with the banks. Is it some kind of nudge, nudge, wink, wink deal? We do not know. We have not seen it. We want a mandatory code. That is what the government agreed to yesterday. We want to see it happen.

Now, onto another issue. The government has supported adoptions from many Muslim countries. Nusrat Munshi has been working for two years to bring her child home with no success.

Other countries, like the United States and the United Kingdom, have figured this out and allowed legal recognition of guardianship for children from Muslim countries. Why has this government not?