Business of Supply  Madam Chair, we are very proud of our record with respect to caregivers. We inherited a system in which caregivers were waiting five to seven years to reunite with their family members. We engaged with the community. We promised them that we would work on this issue.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, again I want to correct the record. We are not spending taxpayer money to encourage people to cross the border irregularly. That is simply not true. Even though the member opposite continues to repeat that, it is inaccurate.

Business of Supply  That is why we prioritize client service and faster processing of applications. We have made it a priority to eliminate backlogs. We are proud of having the best record in terms of family reunification. We have doubled the number of resettled refugees and provided a home for the most vulnerable people in the world, including Yazidi women and girls and other survivors of Daesh, something that the party opposite could not do in 10 years in power.

Business of Supply  Chair, we have dramatically improved the processing times for all streams of immigration, whether it is spousal sponsorship or live-in caregiver programs. We have a really good track record when it comes to economic immigration. Our federal skilled worker program is working really well to attract the best and the brightest from around the world. We will see an increase by 33% in the provincial nominee program.

Business of Supply  Chair, I am proud of the fact that we have a good working relationship with the Province of Manitoba. A few weeks ago, I met with the premier of Manitoba, Premier Pallister. He is on record as applauding our government's response to Manitoba and our working relationship. Of course, we continue to work with Manitoba to address any pressure points that are emerging out of this issue.

Business of Supply  We have seen a doubling of the number of francophone applicants, under the express entry system, who have been invited to come to Canada through permanent residency. We are proud of that record.

Business of Supply  We will work hard on these processing times and eliminate the backlogs that have kept families apart for years. We have a record that is second to none in the world.

Business of Supply  Refugee claimants are processed separately from all other immigration streams. We are proud of that. We are proud of the record in which we have fulfilled our campaign commitment to double the number of spots for parents and grandparents. We are working very hard to reduce processing times in the parent and grandparent stream, as well as eliminate the backlog in the parent and grandparent stream.

Business of Supply  This year, our government aims to admit 20,000 parents and grandparents, with increases in 2019 and 2020. We are proud of that record. We are reuniting more families than ever.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Speaker, as stated a number of times, we continuously work with our American counterparts on all issues related to our common border, including discussions related to the safe third country agreement. What I have also stated on the record, numerous times, is that there are no formal negotiations with respect to the safe third country agreement. What I find very rich is the party opposite talking about the border and immigration processing, when its record on both of those issues is abysmal.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much for the question. I would like to begin by putting on the record the fact that I respect all members of Parliament regardless of party status. Second, we recognize the importance of economic immigration programs as a great tool for Canada to continue to grow our economy, to continue to address labour market challenges, to continue to address skill shortages, and yes, to continue to shore up the vitality of our francophone communities outside of Quebec.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Speaker, what the party opposite does not seem to understand is that we can protect the security and safety of Canadians while meeting our international obligations for refugee protection. We have a proud record of doing both. The party opposite wants to set one group of immigrants against another. That is the politics of division and fear that Canadians rejected in 2015.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  We will always make sure that Canadian law is respected as well as meet our international obligations. Our record speaks for itself. We have invested $173 million in border security operations as well as faster processing of refugee claims. What is irresponsible is cutting $400 million from border security and pretending to care about the border.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Those who are deserving of refugee protection get to stay and those who do not get to be removed faster. In fact, the members opposite are on record, calling for more resources to be put into refugee processing. I hope they can join us because that is exactly what we are doing.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  We are making the necessary investments, putting money in place for more border security operations, and processing refugee claims faster. The fact of the matter is the opposition members can run from their record, but they cannot hide.