Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member asked that question, because it gives me an opportunity to clarify some of the confusion around this. The year of 2016 was unprecedented for our country. We welcomed more than 40,000 Syrian refugees, from November 4, 2015, and we are proud of that record.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, our government has been recognized widely as being a great government for welcoming and resettling refugees from across the world. We are committed and proud of the fact that all members in the House supported the resettlement of victims and survivors of Daesh. We have a plan that is under way.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, Canada continues to be a welcoming country to newcomers, including those refugees fleeing persecution and war. U.S. authorities have assured us very clearly that anyone with a Canadian passport and Canadian permanent resident cardholders will be allowed entry into the United States.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the 1,000 cap on refugees only applies to groups of five members. There are other avenues that sponsorship agreement holders and others, the hon. member must know, can use to sponsor privately sponsored refugees. Our immigration level plan for 2017 includes a historic level of 16,000 spots for refugees.

West Park Healthcare Centre  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the house today to speak about a great institution in my riding of York South—Weston. Founded in 1904, West Park Healthcare Centre has been vital not only to my riding but across the province of Ontario. West Park offers specialized rehabilitation: ongoing complex care, long-term care, and community health services that help individuals manage chronic health problems such as pulmonary diseases, diabetes, strokes, amputation, and musculoskeletal conditions arising from injuries or illnesses.

International Decade for People of African Descent  Mr. Speaker, the UN General Assembly has proclaimed 2015 to 2024 the international Decade for People of African Descent. Themes for this decade are recognition, justice, and development. Each theme sets out a list of goals that all countries should try to meet. We can achieve these goals by bringing back Canada's action plan against racism to address the problem of systemic racism directed at African Canadians.

Nominate Your Neighbour  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a new campaign I have launched in my riding of York South—Weston named “Nominate Your Neighbour”. The Nominate Your Neighbour campaign is about thanking and celebrating exceptional individuals in York South—Weston. In addition to recognizing organizations, it is always important to formally recognize individuals who continue to make our communities stronger, safer and better.

Department of Public Works and Government Services Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak to my private member's bill, Bill C-227, an act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, regarding community benefits. Community benefits are defined as the benefits obtained by a community, above and beyond the infrastructure project itself.

Summer Jobs Program  Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Canada summer jobs program and the impact that it has had in my riding of York South—Weston. This program is meant to fund organizations to create jobs for young people. Due to the rise in violence in certain parts of Toronto, York South—Weston received extra funding this year from the Canada summer jobs program.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, the fifth replenishment conference of the Global Fund was recently held in Montreal. Canada generously pledged $800 million from 2017 to 2019 to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Will the Minister of International Development update the House on the leadership role played by Canada and on the progress made at this conference to eradicate these three terrible diseases that have claimed so many lives?

Foreign Affairs  Madam Speaker, the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya constitutes the world's largest refugee camp. The Government of Kenya recently announced that it will close this camp, thereby breaching its international obligations to protect asylum seekers and refugees. This is not only inhumane, but it also puts people in danger who will often make positive contributions to economic growth.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for giving me best wishes on my speech. I want to respond to him by saying that our response has been comprehensive. We have not only tripled the amount of training we are doing on the ground, but we are also embedding more officers into the Iraqi forces so that they can better hold territory that they liberate from ISIL.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the genocide convention clearly sets out the terms that need to be met for the determination that a genocide has indeed taken place. We in this government believe that the crime of genocide is one of the most serious of international crimes and that the legal test must be met.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard. This government shares the opposition's outrage at the atrocities committed by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL. ISIL continues to commit widespread abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in Iraq and Syria, including indiscriminate killing; deliberate targeting of civilians; persecution on the basis of ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity; destruction of cultural and religious sites; kidnapping; forced displacement of communities; and rapes and other forms of sexual violence.

Portuguese Heritage Month  Mr. Speaker, the month of June represents Portuguese heritage month. The Portuguese Canadian community is a vibrant community that has enhanced the Canadian mosaic with its history, language, and culture. Portuguese explorers were among the first Europeans to see Canadian soil.