Business of Supply  No, Mr. Speaker.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that I am very amused by the hon. member's attitude and perception of reality. I guess he is entitled to feel good about himself, otherwise, what else could he do, resign from his parliamentary secretary role? The minister himself admitted in committee when he was there that the Conservatives cut the $20 million that was set aside to review that Citizenship Act.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I understand what the hon. member is saying, but for the record I want to let her know that the lowest minimum wages in this country are in provinces that are governed by NDP governments. Having said that, I also understand that she needed a podium to express her rhetorical position, but at the end of the day I know that she agrees with me and that she and her party will be supporting the motion that the Conservative government has not served immigrants in our country well and has no plan or vision to help new Canadian immigrants better integrate into our society.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, how cheap can one get? First, it was the previous government that cancelled that program. Second, I have no problem with telling the hon. member that if the Conservatives have no plan or vision, they should step aside. The Liberal Party is ready to take over and implement all of these plans to help immigrants and new Canadians integrate better into this society, not just for their benefit but for the benefit of our country, our nation and the collective well-being of all Canadians.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that we all have to accept responsibility. As parliamentarians, we must confront the challenges that our society is facing. I am very proud to say that the previous Liberal government and the Liberal Party were and are willing to take on that responsibility and have implemented a lot of steps to do so.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I rest my case. The hon. member did not listen to anything I said and in fact used rhetoric to make an accusation that was inaccurate. I want to take this opportunity to repeat what the previous government had done and what the current government has abandoned: a $700 million investment over five years to improve the immigration system; $920 million over five years in a Canada-Ontario immigration agreement; $150 million to help internationally trained workers, in contrast to Conservatives' measly $18 million; a $69 million investment over two years to process citizenship applications faster; helping parents and grandparents expedite their immigration sponsorship faster; a $20 million investment to conduct a review of the existing Citizenship Act; allowing international students to work off campus while enrolled at an eligible post-secondary institution; and allowing spouses and common law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, regardless of their status, to remain in Canada while their applications are being considered.

Business of Supply  moved: That, in the opinion of the House, immigrants to Canada and persons seeking Canadian citizenship are poorly served by this government. Mr. Speaker, I stand before the House today to express the concerns of Canadians about the direction or, more specifically, the lack of direction that the Conservative government has taken toward helping immigrants and new Canadians reach their optimum potential in society.

Foreign Credentials  Mr. Speaker, when it comes to hurting minorities, women, aboriginal youth and the environment, the Conservative government acted ruthlessly and cut essential programs, but when it comes to implementing much needed initiatives that the Conservatives themselves have promised, like creating day care spaces or helping those with foreign trained skills, the Conservatives are dragging their feet.

Foreign Credentials  Mr. Speaker, the minister also admitted yesterday that it is much easier to tear down than to create. She would know. Is the government really interested in helping Canadians with their foreign credentials? Apparently cutting does not require consultation, but helping new Canadians is complicated.

Maher Arar  Mr. Speaker, hundreds of Canadians from across our great land have gathered in Ottawa to honour Maher Arar and Monia Mazigh and pay tribute to their sacrifice. Tonight parliamentarians and fellow Canadians will express their gratitude and appreciation to the Arar family for their commitment to justice and fairness.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I am sure the parliamentary secretary was talking about three-sided cells figuratively because literally what we saw there were eight-sided cells, if not twelve-sided cells. If he is referring to it as a figure of speech, the courts, if we keep referring to the courts, have already decided that these individuals are under threat of torture and therefore they should not be deported to countries where they have reasonable fear of torture.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I am not really sure what the question was, but I can see that the hon. member is very passionate about this issue. She has expressed her concerns eloquently and passionately. I want to assure her that I share many of her concerns. Just to avoid any confusion, while there are a lot of questions around the issue of the security certificates and that is of concern to many Canadians, and remove any excuses from any individual who wants to vote against this motion, we are not going to vote on this issue today.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question actually illustrates what I said earlier. The Federal Court has ruled. Right now actually the Supreme Court is examining the principles and the fundamentals of the security certificate itself and whether or not it should apply to these men.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to this motion. I want to begin by thanking my hon. colleague, the member for Burnaby—Douglas, for his committed work and compassion on this file. This is a very serious matter. We have in front of us three detainees who have been on a hunger strike for at least 70 days; in fact, one of them has been on a hunger strike for over 80 days.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate the hon. member on his speech and his compassion. This is an issue of great importance to all Canadians. We cannot live with the guilt of letting any of these detainees die. We must deal with this issue with the greatest sense of urgency.