Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, to answer the member of the Bloc Québécois, over the past few months, we have shortened existing wait times, and we can do even better. From what I am hearing, the member wants to move toward regularization, so I expect the Bloc's support when we introduce a bill to regularize people who are here in Canada who should be Canadians.

The Budget  It is a government that has presided over a record expansion of the bureaucracy and an exponential expansion of the use of private consultants. Despite this record bloat, access to government services has never been worse. The immigration decision queue is 2.5 million people long. The CRA call centres continue to give false information to Canadians or are unavailable when they need them. Most distressingly, the Canadian Armed Forces are in a “death spiral” crisis of retention and recruitment.

Human Resources committee  It was about the care workers, the care economy and the gendered nature of that work, and how it's time that the care economy receives the respect and attention it deserves. These workers, as I mentioned, are mostly immigrant women and gender-diverse people. I was pleased to see in the budget a proposal to launch a sectoral table on the care economy, as well as the intention to launch consultations on the development of a national caregiving strategy.

Human Resources committee  I just want to add one point, because I heard a story of a palliative care worker who worked in homes. Their work was looking after someone who's dying. Immigrant care workers who are working in palliative care get no time for any grieving. They get no time to transition from one working home to another. That is one point that I really want to make sure of.

Foreign Affairs committee  On one hand, Canada has a reputation of generous foreign assistance and of being quite welcoming to refugees. On the other hand, domestic challenges in Canada have stalled welcoming immigration policies. I would remind this committee that nobody wants to be forced to leave their home, yet that is increasingly happening all around the world today, in Africa and elsewhere.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, this morning La Presse reported that five families of Indian origin are crammed into a single apartment because of the housing crisis. That is beneath Canada and, unfortunately, it is the norm for thousands of asylum seekers. These people are arriving here and realizing that they do not even have the right to work to support themselves because the federal government is taking two years to give them their work permit.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I think that maybe three months is all in his head. We are talking about the same families that are lining up at the overrun food banks in Parc-Extension and elsewhere. These families are enduring years of hardship because federal government delays are preventing them from working and from focusing on their asylum claims.

Veterans Affairs committee  There were many other situations where students could not afford to go places because financially they could not afford it. It was very hard for me as an immigrant to see this. Never mind that we see homeless people on the street, and never mind that we see people in retirement homes passing away with nobody there for them to hold their hand. I've witnessed a few of these things as well.

Veterans Affairs committee  I keep hearing that the supports are there for veterans. However, not all veterans are in a position to access those supports. As an immigrant, I'm fortunate, and I'm proud of our country. However, being here for the past 50 years, I have also witnessed hardships, especially those our veterans are enduring—the cost of living crisis, inflation eating into veterans' affairs, the government delaying construction of the national monument to the mission in Afghanistan, the housing crisis, homelessness and too many others to mention.

Government Operations committee  I also see that McKinsey & Company was intimately involved in the Century Initiative. However, that initiative suggested that we accept 500,000 immigrants a year without considering the social repercussions it would entail. Mr. Barton talked about this at committee. The government seems to have turned a blind eye to this, as if McKinsey & Company always suggested how to proceed and we had to go along with it.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, this is the same housing minister who lost track of one million immigrants when he was the immigration minister. This is the same housing minister who unleashed absolute out-of-control chaos in our immigration system, not according to me but according to his Liberal successor and the Prime Minister, so the member opposite should stop using that source.

The Budget  There is a criminal legal aid package in this budget that includes $440 million over five years. There is also immigration and refugee legal aid. Unfortunately, since the provinces have wholesale resiled from their involvement in this portfolio, since 2019, we have been stepping in with annual funding.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  The worker loses, the family loses and the business gets left in the lurch. Is the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship planning to fix this situation right away?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I would ask the member to come see me later to discuss the situation in person. Obviously, people who have to apply for a visa need to do so from Mexico. That is the rule. If exceptions need to be made, he can come and see me and we can discuss them together.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the great member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. Whether one is an immigrant to this country like myself, or has lived here throughout one's life, it is really hard not to feel like Canada is not the same Canada anymore. After nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, it feels more broken than it has ever felt.