Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, it is very rich for that member to talk about compassion and refugees when Conservatives only had a target of 4,500 in the privately sponsored refugee program. We more than quadrupled that program to 18,000. That member should never talk about settlement

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to convince Canadians that Conservatives are serious about the border, when they cut $400 million from CBSA. The party opposite wants to pretend that it cares about immigration processing. What was its record under its system? Wait lines

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, we will never apologize for our welcoming nature in Canada. We will always make sure that Canadian law is respected as well as meet our international obligations. Our record speaks for itself. We have invested $173 million in border security operations as well

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, what the party opposite does not seem to understand is that we can protect the security and safety of Canadians while meeting our international obligations for refugee protection. We have a proud record of doing both. The party opposite wants to set one group

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship   about processing times. Under the Conservatives, the processing time for spouses was more than 26 months. Spouses, children, and families were kept apart for a very long time. We have brought that down to 12 months or less. Let us talk about the live-in caregiver program. Families

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, our system of immigration puts priority on the safety and security of Canadians while continuing to meet our international obligations. Let us talk about the Conservatives' record. They had an abysmal record when it came to refugees, privately sponsored

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, as stated a number of times, we continuously work with our American counterparts on all issues related to our common border, including discussions related to the safe third country agreement. What I have also stated on the record, numerous times

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship   able to provide a home to 1,300 survivors of Daesh atrocities. What was the record on the Conservatives' watch? They brought a grand total of three Yazidi refugees to Canada. What was their record in terms of treatment of refugees? They cut refugee health care to the most vulnerable

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives would not know what compassion is if it hit them in the face. The Harper Conservatives cut $400 million from border security operations, and they pretend to care about the border. The Harper Conservatives kept families apart, with spouses

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives never understood a very simple thing about immigration, that investment follows silence. They did not make the necessary investments in immigration processing. Let us stick to the numbers. Under that party, parents and grandparents had

Official Languages committee  I made my comment with respect to what I felt was the record of the Conservative Party when it was in government. I felt that cutting health care to refugee claimants, a practice that the Federal Court called “cruel and unusual treatment”, is something that demonstrated a lack

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much for the question. I would like to begin by putting on the record the fact that I respect all members of Parliament regardless of party status. Second, we recognize the importance of economic immigration programs as a great tool for Canada to continue

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, only the Harper Conservatives would talk about border security after they cut almost $400 million from border security operations. Only the Harper Conservatives would pretend to care about compassionate treatment of refugees after they cut refugee health care

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship   spots, to 18,000, so that more Canadians can sponsor refugees. We have doubled the number of resettled refugees who come to Canada. We have invested more money in the Immigration and Refugee Board, so that genuine refugees can get their claims heard faster. The Conservatives have

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, promoting the rights and dignity of LGBTQ2 people at home and abroad has been a priority for this government. What was the Conservatives' record when they were in government? They were forced by the opposition to put LGBTQ2 rights back into the citizenship guide