John McCallum

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, June 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have said, and I will say again, that language training is key to success. We have committed $600 million to resettlement in 2016-17 and an additional $37 million for Syrian refugees. There has been no cut. There is a three-year rolling average, where provinces that receive more, get more, and provinces that receive less, get less. That is fair. In addition, there are millions more dollars to accommodate language training for Syrian refugees.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, June 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of what our government has done for refugees.

We have accepted four times as many refugees as the previous government. We have accepted more than 25,000 Syrian refugees. We will be accepting a total of 44 refugees. A total of 99% have already found permanent housing, and they have made a lot of progress in terms of language and employment. I am proud of what we have accomplished.

[Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, June 6th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are working very hard through our funding to provide language training to men, to women, and to children. We also understand that many of the Syrian refugee mothers have significant numbers of children to look after, and therefore they need child care facilities to help them with the language training. We understand there is more work to do in that area, but we are working very hard through the settlement agencies to provide that funding to support language training for everybody.

[Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, June 6th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly have a comprehensive plan to provide language training, because we understand that success in English or French is key to finding a job and key to success in Canada. That is why the government has funded $600 million for settlement in 2016-17. That is $27 million extra for the new refugees, and language is very much at the top of our priorities.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, May 31st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as I was trying to explain, this is an excellent program that serves Canadians well, both the parents of young children who need care and older Canadians who need care as well.

As our population ages, this need for care will accelerate, so more Canadians will be the beneficiaries of a child care program and a caregiver program that serves all across the country.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, May 31st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, far from cutting this program, we cherish the program. The processing times have been coming down over time.

As the population ages, older people like my mother, who takes advantage of a Filipino caregiver, will increasingly benefit from the system. As the population ages, it will be of increased benefit for both younger and older Canadians.

It is a program that we cherish.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, May 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, many Canadians who have tight budgets use food banks.

I have stated that my comments on that issue were insensitive. I regret them. I repeat that in the House. I would also say that by my actions, I think I have shown myself unequivocally welcoming to all of our Syrian refugees.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, May 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud, as a Canadian, of the overwhelmingly positive welcome Canadians have afforded to the Syrian refugees. The downside is, to be frank, the welcome has been so enormous that my department has not been able to keep up with the number of refugees generous Canadians have been demanding. We have taken measures to guarantee that for all those who applied by the end of March of this year, the refugees will be here by the end of this year or early next year.

Canadians have been overwhelmingly—

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, May 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in response to the hon. member's question, I certainly do not think he is suggesting we have displayed an indifference toward refugees in general. That has been one of our major commitments.

We are also highly aware of the situation of refugees in other countries, including the Sikhs in Afghanistan. I can assure the hon. member this is one of the areas we are looking into with great interest and attention.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, May 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would question the premise of that question, but we will certainly look into it.

On the whole, we have had great success working with provincial governments on the refugees. I can tell the hon. member that, as of today, 98% of the refugees are in permanent housing, and I think I am about to run out of time.