Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, as I said, the efforts Canada made certainly resonated in the international world, but we also know there were challenges and obstacles along the way. I represent a beautiful riding called Orléans, which has a very large Afghan community and also has active military persons and military veterans.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, it is quite interesting actually that the hon. member asked me that question in the House, when last Friday he and all of his party colleagues could not even stand up when the President of the United States actually made reference to what—

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for presenting some points of view that are indeed very important. From the beginning, we brought in a number of measures to temporarily fulfill our commitment to help the Afghan people. However, these measures have their limits. When we introduced Bill C-41, representatives from the Red Cross were right there beside us, talking about the additional work they would be able to do thanks to this bill.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I want to be very clear. In 2021, no one anticipated the fall to occur that quickly. We also need to be very candid here in saying that the government made a huge commitment in actually bringing at least 40,000 Afghans to this country. We are very near 30,000. As this bill is being proposed, and we are engaging with all partners and all NGOs, we certainly want and hope that the House will pass this bill as early as possible and will be as quick with the review process that my hon. colleague is alluding to.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, the hon. member raises a very good point. We did not expect the Taliban to overtake the government as quickly as it did, but I am very proud of the fact that since then, although we had a significant amount of obstacles facing us, we were able to bring almost 30,000 Afghans to Canada.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to the legislation that was introduced by my colleague, the hon. Minister of Public Safety. As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I know our team needs to work closely to keep Canadians safe while also responding to the humanitarian crisis and bringing people to Canada.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, is concerned, the answer is as follows. With regard to part (a), engaging with United States officials is not the exclusive purview of IRCC. As of February 6, 2023, IRCC officials had not made any representations with U.S. officials.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I hope that he heard President Biden's speech in the House on Friday. Once again, Canada and the United States just announced an update to the safe third country agreement. That is great news, because this new agreement will allow us to better manage refugee claimants from both our countries and ensure that our refugee system is caring and compassionate.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member of the Bloc Québécois that, every time he asked questions in the House, he asked us to suspend the agreement. Let us be clear. I would like to confirm that with my colleagues today. The Quebec government strongly supports our new agreement.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate an announcement that we made Friday. We have finally updated the safe third country agreement, the agreement that applies to the entire Canada-U.S. border. On top of that, we will be welcoming 50,000 people from America to promote safe and orderly migration.

Local Community Association of Francophone Seniors  Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of representing a community of active and engaged seniors in Orléans. That is why I was proud to attend the monthly breakfast hosted by the Rendez-vous des aînés francophones d'Ottawa, or RAFO, on March 19 to announce $99,450 in financial aid under the community spaces fund.

The Francophonie  Mr. Speaker, the month of March symbolizes our francophone pride and our linguistic duality. Yesterday, on March 20, francophones in my community of Orleans, across Canada and throughout the world celebrated the International Day of La Francophonie. My colleague, the Minister of Official Languages came to my community, to the Collège catholique Mer bleue, under the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-est, and we met with students to talk with them about the importance of speaking, studying and living in French.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague, I know that the Bloc Québécois will never form the government. That is what we hope. However, I want to clarify one thing here in the House. Bilateral negotiations take place in private. Our minister was in Washington. He met with his counterpart.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The United States is our neighbour and closest ally. We are working closely with the Biden administration. As mentioned, the minister had a bilateral meeting with his American counterpart. We will continue to defend Canada's interests.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, the world is in turmoil, and we should be very happy with the government and its efforts in protecting and supporting. My heart goes out to all the women and girls who are affected by a regime that we need to condemn, which we will continue to do. Our government will always welcome the most vulnerable individuals.