Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I also acknowledge the fine comments made by the member for Newmarket—Aurora and his contributions in this chamber on behalf of his constituents. I wonder, in his experience in noting the diversity of his own riding and the diversity of other areas in and around Toronto, for example, if he would comment on the path to complete integration.

Tibet  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising. On March 10, 1959, thousands gathered in front of the Potala Palace, in Lhasa, to rise up against injustice in Tibet. That year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an honorary citizen of this country, and 100,000 other Tibetans, became refugees.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, the member for Durham invited a lot of responses and questions. First of all, he started his commentary with respect to the intent-to-reside provision actually posing no conflict or confusion in the minds of newcomers. Simply put, currently, if one does not indicate an intention to reside, citizenship is not granted.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech and thank him for his comments. I want to ask the member about, in part, the comments that were raised opposite, which I find quite incredible. Even after legislation was enacted by the previous government, which explicitly put in an intent-to-reside provision in the legislation and which we are removing, somehow the effects of that impact are being denied by the members opposite.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, the issue of the Yazidis is a complex issue, a pressing issue, and a human rights violation that is occurring in the Middle East as we speak. We recognize that and we understand that. However, it is not the only crisis that is occurring in the Middle East, and it is not the only community affected in the Middle East.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her statement today and the interventions she has made on this issue. Obviously on International Women's Day, it is a very timely topic of discussion. This government and my party stand steadfast in solidarity with women in Canada and around the world, including the Yazidi women who were mentioned by my friend, the member for Calgary Nose Hill.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to inform the House that we are meeting this important campaign commitment. Bill C-24, enacted by the previous Conservative government, set a very dangerous precedent. It created two tiers of citizenship in this country. Regardless of whether one is born here or whether abroad, like myself and many members of the House, we deserve a government that values and respects our citizenship.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, in respect to caregivers, the House and the government stands behind the significant contribution that caregivers make to Canadian society. We stand by our campaign commitment, which is to eliminate the LMIA fee of $1,000 that is required to hire a caregiver. We also stand behind our commitment to work with provinces and territories to facilitate the work and the hiring of caregivers.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, in terms of our specifics that were announced today, let me elaborate on the plan. It considers the economic needs of our country and it considers the pressing need for family reunification and our humanitarian tradition, which are important vis-a-vis refugees and people coming in under the agency category.

Immigration  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to subsection 94(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, I have the honour to table this morning, in both official languages, the annual report on immigration, 2015.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali  Mr. Speaker, today we mourn the loss of Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former secretary-general of the United Nations. Mr. Boutros-Ghali's storied legacy includes a vision of lasting peace for the Middle East and his role in the negotiation of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Canada Labour Code  As I mentioned in my original comments, Madam Speaker, the financial impact on increasing the size of the bureaucracy would have been extremely significant. The numbers that I provided in my original speech were provided by the CRA and the Parliamentary Budget Officer. It would cost approximately $11 million to start up the oversight and $2 million thereafter.

Canada Labour Code  Yes, Madam Speaker.

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, I will respond to both questions. First, the only inference that can be drawn by tactically deciding to promote this legislation, which was a private member's bill, on the eve of an election call is that it was ideologically motivated and democracy, or lack thereof, within the union processes was at the heart of the motivations of the Conservatives.

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Fredericton. I am proud to stand today to speak in support of Bill C-4. The war on organized labour is over. This legislation would reverse the legacy of the previous government, which rushed through two anti-union measures, Bill C-377 and Bill C-525, just prior to the last election.