Ethics  Mr. Speaker, this government has demonstrated a level of transparency and integrity that Canada has not seen in 10 years. With respect to the event in question, the commissioner said before the event that there was no problem, and her opinion has not changed since the event. I do not understand why the opposition continues to ask questions about something that is not a problem.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report to the House that, while three weeks ago the proportion of refugees in permanent housing stood at 52%, as of yesterday the proportion of the Syrian refugees in permanent housing had increased to 78%. While I have always said that there would be bumps along the way, this is clearly strong progress, and I am confident that every single one of these refugees will be in permanent housing before the end of June.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, it is true that over the last 10 years, these Conservatives starved my department of money and diverted resources from families, to the point where it takes an unacceptable two years for a husband and wife to be reunited. We are putting more money in. We are learning from the Syrian experience to do things faster.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship tables the “Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration” on or before November 1 of each year, or, if a house of Parliament is not then sitting, within the next 30 days on which that house is sitting after that date.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, there is some sense in these laws applied in certain ways, but on the whole I would agree that this is part of the long legacy of things inherited from the previous government that must be reviewed and quite likely changed. I have sympathy with the point expressed by the hon. member.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the fact that Canada, in 2016, will admit the highest number of permanent residents in living history, with a focus on keeping families together, helping those in difficulty, and at the same time maintaining our economic immigration going forward. We will allow more caregivers, the highest number in the last two years.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, it is true, the Conservatives achieved something that was the highest in Canadian history in immigration: the highest processing times we have seen for 10 long years. My number one objective is not only to sustain and grow immigrants in every component, but to do everything possible to bring those Conservative processing times down.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, there always has to be a balance here. I would not deny that it is always a good thing for newcomers to Canada to have a good knowledge of English or a good knowledge of French, or even both. However, the balance has to be made between the situation of the newcomers and the situation they are coming to.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, one of the things we have found is that we have inherited a lot of situations that are not at all fair. There are many egregious issues we inherited that I find myself having to address, so I would be the last person to say that everything that has happened in the last 10 years or even the last 6 months is necessarily 100% correct.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I can say that I certainly make no apology for some employees being transferred around to expedite the Syrian refugee operation. It was a big commitment that we made and a big priority, and I think Canadians have come to support this initiative. Indeed, even the official opposition has supported our Syrian refugee initiative.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I do agree that both of those are very legitimate questions. On the point about the fees, we made no commitment to reduce the fees. It is something we will examine going forward, but this is not in this legislation. On the question of the language, there are two issues.

Citizenship Act  moved that Bill C-6, an act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a pleasure for me to rise to speak to Bill C-6, which is an act to make major amendments to the previous government's Citizenship Act, better known in some circles as the noxious Bill C-24.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Fredericton for his excellent question. International students are some of the best candidates for Canadian citizenship. They speak English or French, they received a good education here in Canada, and they know the country. It was therefore not very smart of the former government to do away with the 50% credit that these students received upon becoming Canadian citizens.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the hon. member that the Liberals have a great appreciation of history. He says I do not know history. I do have a PhD in the economic history of Canada, so I think I know a little bit. We are in the process of revising this document to make it a little less political.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague that the caregiver program, as it is now called because the people are no longer obliged to live in, is an integral part of our immigration program. It provides extensive and much-needed care, not only for seniors but also for young children.