Joe Volpe

[Immigration, March 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the House should automatically reject any accusation and allegation of corruption unless it can be substantiated.

Every year the minister puts a report on the table for Parliament to consider showing where all of these permits came from. That member should know better. It is there for her reading.

As for what we do with respect to these permits, I have already asked the committee to help the Government of Canada determine how some of these things will be applied.

However, let me tell the member that everything is done above board, and the matter to which she refers, all of those--

[Immigration, March 10th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, considerations for that legislation were designed to provide claimants with an opportunity to appeal a negative decision.

I might remind the House that all failed claimants can make an appeal to the federal court. They are also subject to a pre-removal risk assessment and have applications for H & C in the process.

I refer to a specific case just this last year: a country from Central America, 2,000 applicants and 99% of them were refused. Would she have those 99% clogging up the system that she abhors?

[Immigration, March 10th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, first, I wish the member would quote me accurately and do the complete quote. What I did indicate was that the Refugee Appeal Division, which was proposed by the committee and accepted in Parliament, was an additional impediment to streamlining the process, which she apparently favours.

I gave an indication in the House and elsewhere that last year we had an additional 6,000 refugees that were approved in the process and, therefore, with an increase of close to 25% in refugees' acceptance, we hardly needed that mechanism.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 8th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, as the member will no doubt know, the Quebec-Canada accord was signed by the Mulroney government in the wake of the Meech Lake accord and there are a couple of escalator clauses that have led to the current situation.

I think what is most important, as the member will recognize, is the amount of money that we spend strategically in those areas, especially in Ontario, where we have the critical mass of good quality immigrants who are contributing to the growth of the GDP in the country and have become the envy of other places in the country as well.

[Citizenship, March 7th, 2005]

I guess it was a bit of a soft and tender skin that I touched, Mr. Speaker.

The member opposite has acknowledged that what we do accomplish is the appropriate processing of all those who meet the qualifications, even if there are those who are in a volunteer capacity to do the swearing in. May I compliment all those Canadians.

[Citizenship, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to see the new found love for immigrants by members of the Conservative Party.

However, we can see that at least they acknowledge the fact that--

[Citizenship, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for acknowledging the fact that the government is acting to address the issue by flying in members of the Citizenship Court to address an immediate need.

I am sure the member would also agree that he would want the government to put in place a merit based system whereby we make all the appropriate appointments and where people fit, with their competency, the requirement of the period. We are in the process of doing that. When that process is completed, we will then make the appropriate appointments.

[Immigration, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, all of this rhetoric flies in the face of the reality. There is no such program. I made that clear in the House, as I did on W-FIVE . There is no such program. People can accuse the government of doing anything they want to accuse it of doing, but there is no program to bring in exotic dancers.

[Immigration, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the decision was made several months ago. The Prime Minister reiterated the position, then elaborated on by the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. There is no blanket assessment for any exotic dancers. The program does not exist.

Any application by temporary workers comes on a case by case basis. I think the people on W-FIVE indicated that was the case. The Prime Minister made a promise and he kept it.

[Immigration, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, last year 33 refugees were accepted into this country. That is an increase over previous years. I would say, therefore, that the hon. member's claim is not substantiated by the facts. If there are more refugees, it is a matter of a promise made, a promise kept.