Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, hundreds of people volunteer in election campaigns. I am not sure about Conservatives, but in Liberal ridings we have lots of people who volunteer. Let me tell the House that issues of national security are extremely important to all of us on this side. If the member has any allegations or any evidence to support this allegation, I suggest he should bring it forward and not just use his mouth to put the words.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is well aware of the fact that we continue to have a very fair and generous system. It is quite effective, and there are lots of avenues of recourse for anyone who disapproves of the decisions that a refugee board makes.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, let me just assure the hon. member that the door is open on the other side, and it is the same thing. If any of our people go across the border and claim the same thing, they can also do that and claim refugee status. We have a fair system; we have a just system. Under the UN convention, if someone claims asylum or refugee status in a country, they are entitled to due process.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, let me just read part of a letter from the Anglican Church of Canada. Archbishop Hutchison, who attended that meeting, said: We were very appreciative of your offer of an interim solution to address the issue of failed convention refugee claimants who are currently residing in churches in Canada.

Immigration  Mr. Speaker, as I think the hon. member is aware, we cannot talk about particular cases. However, I can assure the House that Canada's refugee determination system is a very fair and generous system and that anyone who applies has full access. Upon completion we expect the individuals to return to their homes.

Citizenship and Immigration  Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 94 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the annual report on immigration for the year 2004.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, it is my government's intention to consult with Canadians, refugee advocates, and other interested parties on how we can better meet the challenges that are facing our government. Canada is well known as a world leader on human interventions. We will deal with the challenges that are facing us.

Refugees  Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the critic from the Bloc. I look forward to working with her as we move forward on a variety of these issues. As I have indicated before, we will be initiating in the very near future a variety of issues to do with refugee reform. In particular, on the issue of the churches that she raised, I have had various meetings with the churches.

Refugees  Mr. Speaker, as you know, Canada is renowned throughout the world for having a very strong, effective and fair process for refugees. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that the process is fair and that diligence is present all the time for all of the applicants.

Refugees  Mr. Speaker, may I congratulate the hon. member on his election and his appointment as the critic for immigration. We need to applaud the many Canadians who are sponsoring refugees from around the world. CIC continues to work with international organizations on uniting people in refugee camps with Canadian families who want to sponsor them.

Patent Act  moved that Bill C-9, an act to amend the Patent Act and the Food and Drugs Act (The Jean Chrétien Pledge to Africa), be read the third time and passed.

Immigration  Mr. Speaker, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the U.S. have both published the draft regulations. We are awaiting comment back and we are looking forward to implementation before the end of the year. It is a very important piece of legislation that is going to improve the safety of both the U.S. and Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that making changes to the appointment process of the IRB is extremely important. It is also very important that we continue the process. We currently have delays and we are trying to speed them up. We do not want further delays. Some people have been reappointed for a one year period in order to keep the system working and decrease the backlog.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite the member to sit in on a few of these hearings and look at what the new test is all about. It is extremely important that the people who do the interviews have the proper skills, and that we enhance them in any way that we possibly can while they are making life and death decisions on people who want to stay in Canada.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109, I am pleased to present today, in both official languages, the government's response to the 25th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, concerning chapter 5 of the April 2003 report of the Auditor General of Canada.