Rick Dykstra

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 20th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with the premise on which the NDP members are trying build this case.

First, officials are working to process family class and privately sponsored refugee applications from Syria as quickly as possible. Let us not forget the difficult environment they are working within.

Second, almost all spousal sponsorships that were pending have been finalized. In family class cases where compelling circumstances exist, visa officers are issuing temporary resident visas to allow applicants to come to Canada while their application is being processed.

We are on this and we are going to stay on it.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 20th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Immigration has met and spoken with Syrian Canadians across the country on many occasions about the crisis in Syria. The fact is that Turkey does not allow potential refugees to even leave the country until the UNHCR has made a decision on their case and refers their case to a country for resettlement.

We are focused on this and we are doing what we can. The minister has worked extremely hard to assist those in Syria.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Citizenship and Immigration Canada, CIC, is concerned, with regard to (a), CIC does not compile statistics by constituency and therefore cannot identify the total number of permits issued in the Skeena—Bulkley Valley riding.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Citizenship and Immigration Canada, CIC, is concerned, with regard to (a), CIC systems do not capture the categories (i) “for whom French is the language spoken at home”, (ii) “who speak French at home” or (iii) “who speak French fluently”.

With regard to (b), the vast majority of federal skilled worker, or FSW, applications are not placed in a province but rather the appropriate visa office overseas. Only 15 applications representing 50 individuals placed their applications in Canada, at CPP in Ottawa. Please note that the FSW category does not include applicants who intend on residing in Quebec. These applications are submitted into the Quebec skilled worker category, which was not affected by measures contained in Bill C-38.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I think the growth and expansion of the program over the last seven years speaks for itself. Steps have been taken to expand the program, and to lessen our federal skilled worker program to make room for the provincial nominee program. How that is going to move itself forward is a constant evolution.

Whether we speak to expanding from 42,000 or 43,000 to a higher number in 2014 or we seek to achieve a reallocation of numbers across the country is an ongoing conversation that the minister has had with his provincial counterparts. It is an ongoing discussion that individual citizenship and immigration ministries have had across our country.

The fact is, I do not think we can talk about whether there is going to be continued growth or whether we need to diversify the program; it is about making sure that we do it right on a yearly basis.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member, my counterpart and colleague on the citizenship and immigration committee, for speaking about a program that he acknowledges, and we both agree, has been a major source of pride for a number of provinces, in terms of the growth they have witnessed over the past number of years.

We have had this discussion at committee. When we took government in 2006, there were around 4,000 individuals and family members who had the opportunity to pursue permanent residency through the provincial nominee program. The provincial nominee program had just started and was in its infancy. It gave provinces and territories across our great country the opportunity to participate, in a very regional way, in achieving and bringing federal skilled workers into their province. It gave them the opportunity to identify areas of the province that were in need of additional assistance, and for companies and small business that were looking for individuals they could not find in Canada to fill those positions.

Since 2006, when we saw this program as a bit of an afterthought of the previous government, we have actually expanded that program, to the point where this year, in 2013, we hope we are going to achieve a target of around 42,000 individuals and family members who are going to come to this country, achieve permanent residency and participate in this program.

The member is right about the point that there are provinces like his, Manitoba, which has done a considerably better job than a number of other provinces in terms of utilizing this federal program. They have grown in leaps and bounds because they have been focused on growth and on filling those positions. The province has been successful at achieving what used to be a larger percentage of individuals and family members moving to Ontario. Manitoba now has the ability, as have a number of other provinces in the country, partially because of the provincial nominee program, to grow their numbers in terms of the size of the province. From a percentage of 64% of all immigration taking place in the province of Ontario in 2005, it is now a little over 52%, in 2012.

Part and parcel of why we have such a great variance in the degree of growth in the country is because provinces like Manitoba have achieved that. I certainly see other provinces that have not had the same kind of success and focus. The member mentioned Ontario. Ontario has not put forward a prescribed plan that would see them enabled with a provincial nominee program in a much stronger way.

I am quite happy, on a regular basis, to talk about the provincial nominee program. It makes up a little over a third of the federal skilled workers program in this country. It is to bring to small and large businesses in this country, individuals who want to come to Canada to start a new life in the profession they have because we do not have people in Canada to fill those positions.

It is a program that works. It is a program that we are continuing to expand. It is a program that we are focused on in 2013.

[Retiring Journalist, March 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a native of St. Catharines.

After 30 years at CTV, Roger Smith will be retiring. Roger had a long and distinguished career in Canadian journalism. Throughout his career, Roger covered many significant events, both here in Canada and around the world.

As an international correspondent, he covered political and economic reform in China, the revolution that ousted Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and Nelson Mandela's release from prison.

For the last 15 years, Roger has covered federal politics where he has reported on six federal campaigns. Roger Smith was dedicated to journalism, and his presence in the press gallery will be missed. In fact, I can think of a few others who I would like to see go instead.

On behalf of the people of St. Catharines and members in this House, I would like to wish Roger and his wife, Denise, all the best and hope he enjoys a peaceful, restful and hockey-filled retirement.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, if there are illegitimate claims from bogus refugees in this country, it does us no good to continue to allow that to happen when individuals across this country are clamouring for health care and trying to find a way to address their health issues.

In fact, when we go across this country, there is no one who thinks that a gold-plated interim federal health program is somehow the answer to the question of delivering services to those refugees who are truly in need.

It is not right for the so-called asylum seekers to come here simply to take advantage of our Canadian way of life: our health care system, our social services system and our education system. To take out of the hands of those who truly deserve it by those who do not is not the answer. The answer to the question is that those who deserve it should get it; those who deserve it will.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, while I disagree with almost everything the member has put forward in terms of her argument, she has done a reasonably decent job at least of doing some homework in coming to put forward her position today. I want to commend her on that.

To that end, the member made an important point that supports the government's position. She indicated there was an individual in her riding who had been told that treatment would not be available to him. Due to the work of her office and herself, I am sure, that individual actually ended up receiving treatment. What I am basically stating is that the program does work. A mistake was made with the individual in the member's riding and that care was returned.

What is important to understand is that the interim federal health program, which was put into place in 1957, more than 50 years ago, was meant to be a supplement to assist those who came to the country and did not have provincial health care when they arrived here. The interim federal health plan was able to help these permanent residents in the early seventies when we began to take refugees into our country. This was an opportunity to say we had a program that was available to them, so from a health care perspective at least on an interim basis, we could assist these individuals in the practical health care they needed.

We watched that program grow to the point where it was not just providing the basic health care benefits that most Canadians received who did not have or had not purchased additional coverage in terms of things like eyeglasses, dental work, prescribed medication. These were offerings and health care benefits that many of the Canadian public did not receive, but those who applied for refugee status did.

The changes we made in June 2012 were that those who were refugees would continue to receive those benefits. Those who were granted refugee status by the UN would receive supplemental benefits to assist them in their transition into permanent residency in Canada. However, we were not going to allow, and Canadians across the country have agreed with us, bogus refugee claimants who came to the country simply to take advantage of our system with the same types of benefits that those who truly deserved them should have.

To that end, the last three months have proven this to be true. In November, December and January we have seen a 70% reduction in bogus refugee claimants who were making claims in our country simply to stay here to take advantage of the Canadian system and our good-heartedness and our spirit of trying to assist.

We put this in place. We have seen a 70% reduction. That means two things. It means those who do not deserve the benefits are not getting them. Those refugees who truly deserve asylum in our country, those who are fleeing from persecution, are now in a much better position because there is an additional $2 billion in health care benefits over the next five years that will be available to those who have earned permanent residency. Canadian citizens will be able to undertake and receive some of those $2 billion in savings that we have achieved.

[Housing, March 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we do not call investments in homelessness, investments in housing, investments in people across this country who are in need of assistance, whether it be at the municipal, provincial or federal level, “stupid”.

I think the member should stand in her place at the next opportunity and apologize for making that comment.

Homelessness across this country is something we need to assist in, make investments in, and not stand in the House of Commons, lose our temper, and determine that the individuals and families we are trying to help actually fall in the class of “stupid”. On this side of the House, we would never, ever make a comment like that.