Rick Dykstra

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, certainly Bill C-49, our tough legislation to prevent human smugglers from abusing Canada's immigration system, gives us the tools we need to stop illegal smuggling boats. Longer detention will keep our streets safer. Preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining sponsoring relatives for five years reduces the incentive to queue jump. Finally, we will have the tools under our criminal law to pursue and punish the captain and crew.

We did it with Bill C-11, refugee reform legislation. We did it with Bill C-35, dealing with crooked immigration consultants. Let us work together to get this bill through the House.

[Canada's Citizenship Guide, November 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in this country if a document or book sells more than 5,000 copies, it is considered a gold best seller.

Over 250,000 copies of the new citizenship guide have been distributed across the country. This document cannot stay on the shelf long enough because Canadian citizens and those who want to become new Canadians are picking that document up. We have not had an update like this in decades.

People want to become Canadians. They want to understand the history of this country, whether they are in British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, or Ontario. They love it and they are going use it.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, every temporary foreign worker who comes to this country does so under Canadian labour law. It is upheld and enforced. It is there to protect those who come to work in this country. If the member has a specific example that she would like to bring forward, I can say that the minister and the ministry will act immediately on it to ensure that no labour law has been broken.

This program is for our country. This program is for the foreign workers. In fact, some say it is the best foreign aid program we have in this country.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this government will take no lectures or direction from the opposition in dealing with the temporary foreign worker program. It is, in fact, a program that has been successful from one side of this country to the other. It puts people from other countries to work in circumstances when we cannot fill positions here in Canada.

It allows them to help their families. It allows them to help their country. It allows them to lead lives that they would not have been able to lead had they had to stay in their countries. This is a program that works. Province after province after province is asking us to make this program bigger because of how successful it has been.

[Anaphylaxis, November 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, more than a million Canadians suffer from anaphylaxis, a potentially deadly medical condition caused by hypersensitivity to certain products, often food related.

The member for Niagara West—Glanbrook and I are working with families across Canada to raise awareness of life-threatening allergies.

This government takes tackling health concerns seriously, from breast cancer to heart and stroke. It is time to give anaphylaxis the same attention.

One in 13 Canadians suffers from life-threatening allergies. That is why I will be supporting Motion No. M-546 before Parliament that reads:

That, in the opinion of the House, anaphylaxis is a serious concern for an increasing number of Canadians, and the government should take the appropriate measures necessary to ensure these Canadians are able to maintain a high quality of life.

It is time to help those families affected by anaphylaxis. I encourage all members of Parliament to attend the luncheon on December 7 to discuss this important motion.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the last thing this government has been is soft on our views on immigration.

We have welcomed more Canadians to this country from other lands than ever before in the history of Canada. Landing fees were cut in half as soon as this government was elected. We just passed Bill C-11, refugee reform legislation, which is some of the best legislation this country has ever seen.

When it comes to people wanting to come to this country, our doors are open. We want to see more immigration.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we do have a visa system in place in this country that works across the world. We do in fact, on occasion, make sure that it is working, make sure that improvements that are made to it are done effectively and efficiently, and ensure that the work that is done regarding those who come to this country is done in a good and positive manner.

We have always made sure the system works and we continue to improve it wherever possible and wherever necessary.

[Federal Business Initiative, November 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, science and engineering graduates with innovative market-driven ideas will benefit from a new program to build their business skills. The minister for FedDev for southern Ontario and I had the opportunity to announce the new scientists and engineers in business initiative at Brock University.

This initiative will provide funding over the next four years to not-for-profit organizations and post-secondary institutions such as Brock University and Niagara College. This will help build the entrepreneurial skills of recent graduates and graduate students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields who have developed fresh ideas for business start-ups and support them as they bring their ideas to the market in order to expand their business.

This is a direct result of the economic reinvestment strategy in Ontario.

It is a major step forward in keeping our talented sons and daughters, our best and brightest in St. Catharines. It is another example of the economic action plan hard at work.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not keep statistics on lost files. However, the following procedures, implemented at various offices and missions, mitigate the chances of a file being misdirected: Files are kept in a secure registry. Access to the mail room and file storage registry is restricted to staff who require access. Each file or application is assigned a specific file number. A tracking database is used to record the movement of files. Staff are trained on proper use of the tracking database. Files are stored in the registry until requested for processing. Inventory exercises are conducted by registry staff for misfiled documents or files. Specific procedures are established for the transfer of files from one office to another.

[Immigration, October 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale for the support he has given to Bill C-49. No Canadian thinks that human smuggling is acceptable. It is a serious offence that puts human lives in danger. It takes advantage of our very generous immigration system.

We want to know why the Liberal Party is dancing around this important subject instead of giving Canadians an answer. Will the Liberals stand and support this tough but fair bill and, at the very least, get it past second reading to committee?