Diane Finley

[Immigration, March 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite simple: the amendments we have proposed will have no impact on the immigration agreement between Quebec and Canada.

[Immigration, March 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, over the course of their tenure in government, the Liberals allowed the backlog to balloon from 50,000 to over 800,000.

Now, because people must wait five to six years to get here, we are losing much needed talent to other countries. We need that talent here. We need to ensure our systems are streamlined so we can get the people we need to fill the jobs so businesses can stay in business.

I appreciate the support of the Liberals in our budget.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we have made significant progress on reuniting immigrant families. In fact, we are now processing those cases 20% to 40% faster than they were before we took office. We want to get families reunited faster and more skilled workers here sooner. That is our objective. We are going to do it, even if the NDP continues to vote against us.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I can hardly believe the members of the NDP would have the nerve to ask us about immigration when we look at their record.

They voted against an additional $1.4 billion for resettlement funding for newcomers. They voted against the foreign credentials referrals office. They voted against cutting the head tax on immigrants. Now they want to vote against reducing waiting times.

NDP members should be ashamed of themselves.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, our government has two objectives. The first is to bring more newcomers here to fill jobs and be reunited with their families. The second is to do it faster.

Let us contrast that with the Liberals' record on immigration. They ballooned the backlog from 50,000 to 800,000. They took processing times from three to six months to three to six years. They voted against reducing the head tax that they brought in. They voted against launching the foreign credentials referral office. We are fixing the Liberals' immigration mess.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is absolutely wrong. In fact, last year this Conservative government welcomed more immigrants to Canada than has been done in almost 100 years.

Not only are we doing more, we are doing it better. In the family reunification class we have made that a priority and now cases are getting processed 20% to 40% faster than they did under the previous government. We are making great strides in cleaning up the Liberals' immigration mess.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that finally some Liberals actually want to do something positive for immigrants. It was they who brought in the head tax on immigrants. We cut it. They voted against it.

Not only are we doing more for immigrants, we are doing it better. Family reunification cases are getting done 20% to 40% faster than under the previous government. Immigration is important to this country. That is why, unlike the Liberals, we are getting the job done.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has it completely backwards. It was in fact the Liberal government that allowed the backlog of immigration applications to balloon from 50,000 to over 800,000. That is not fair to immigrants, to their families, or to the employers that want to hire them.

We want to increase the number of newcomers coming to Canada. We want to get families reunited faster. We want to get skilled workers here sooner. With the Liberals' support of our budget, we will get the job done.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not have this information as there is no application form for requests for ministerial permits.

[Citizenship and Immigration, February 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, each case is evaluated on its own unique merits and circumstances and based on all of the facts. We are happy to look at the situation on that basis.