Citizenship and Immigration committee  Sure, absolutely. It was tremendously important for our government that Canadian values, values based on equality, human dignity, human rights and understanding of the vulnerabilities that different populations, including women and girls, face when they are in migration or refugee situations, were all included in the final draft of the compact.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think everybody at this table would or should agree that Canada cannot on its own, nor can any country on its own, address the significant challenges out there as they relate to global migration trends. It's important that Canada have a seat at the table, that we work not only to share our best practices and learn from the best practices of others as they relate to the ways that we resettle and provide integration and settlement supports to refugees, but also that we better understand the situation that host countries face in some of the least developed countries of the world, that we understand how better to provide humanitarian supports and development assistance, that we continue to work with other countries on diplomatic efforts and other efforts of international co-operation, to make sure that basic needs are met and that human rights are always upheld.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Our officials have been satisfied that it still meets the safe third country definition that was part of the original signing. I can assure you that it's part of the responsibility of government to constantly be reviewing our international agreements to make sure that countries we're in agreements with are still maintaining the responsibilities they have in signing them.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Actually, the compact speaks explicitly—in a proposed action item—about the idea that countries should enter into multilateral, regional or bilateral agreements to manage migration issues. In objective 23, which speaks to strengthening international co-operation and global partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration, there is reference to this in paragraph (e) under the action items.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I will speak for the Government of Canada. Our view is that the compact is consistent with the values we want to share with the world. It's consistent with an agreement like the safe third country agreement we have with the United States. I know that within his mandate, the Minister of Border Security has undertaken to initiate conversations with his counterparts in the U.S. to modernize that agreement.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I won't speak for other political parties. I won't speak for anyone but the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada firmly believes that this compact, through its principles, through the objectives and action items outlined within it, seeks to strengthen the rule of law and foster safe, orderly and regular migration as a means to deterring irregular migration and instances of irregular migration that we see around the world.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, one of Canada's contributions was to ensure that national sovereignty was maintained as a principle within the compacts, but additionally, we worked hard to make sure that specific reference to the vulnerabilities of women and girls in refugee situations was mentioned within the compacts.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In conclusion, at a time when populism and anti-immigrant sentiment are on the rise, it is important to build international momentum to better anticipate and respond to global migration and refugee flows. The global compact for migration and global compact for refugees both provide Canada with an opportunity to showcase our best practices and explain how they can help to balance domestic and international considerations and interests related to migration and refugee protection.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, in fact, this global compact speaks explicitly about countries of the world retaining their sovereign right to manage their borders and their migration systems. What it does is provide a compendium of best practices so that countries around the world can work co-operatively, collaboratively and across a range of initiatives to better manage—as I mentioned in my opening comments and you reiterated—the largest trends of global migration that we've seen since the Second World War.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank my colleagues for being here to discuss an issue that is important not just for Canada, but also for the entire world. I'm certainly pleased to be here today to discuss the Government of Canada's support for the adoption of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration and the global compact on refugees.

Criminal Code  I hear one of my colleagues snickering about my use of the word “deleterious”. I would encourage that colleague to look it up and perhaps use it in debate in the House before the end of the coming session. I am sure he will find the usage of such words can be helpful in really painting a picture of the negative consequences that not addressing these issues seriously can have on individual Canadians and our population as a whole.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill S-240, which is private member's business relating to trafficking in human organs. To begin, let me clearly state that our government is entirely committed to ensuring that our criminal justice system keeps communities safe, protects victims and holds offenders to account.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak about the specifics of this case due to privacy laws, but I can assure my hon. colleague that like all matters that deal with inter-country adoptions, we take all cases seriously. In all cases of inter-country adoptions, our first priority is the health and well-being of the children involved.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow.