Business of Supply  Madam Chair, is the allocation based on the number of refugees that are assisted by the agency?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, do the supplementary estimates include the $3.6 million in additional funding announced this morning?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the provinces are going to face extra costs as well because of the influx of the refugees, including in the area of education among other things. Will the government be reimbursing the provinces for those additional costs?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what kind of support will the federal government be providing to help refugees find long-term affordable housing? Is that all going to be dependent on donations?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I will be using my time for questions and answers. My first question for the minister is, could he inform the House how much of the $178 million for operating expenditures at Citizenship and Immigration would go toward processing refugee applications overseas?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, how much of the $178 million would go toward processing applications for private sponsorships? I am trying to get the separation between the two categories.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, will the government meet its target to have 2,000 government assisted refugees in Canada by December 31?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the minister has committed $14 million for personnel and $156 million for professional and special services. Could the minister explain if this means the department will be relying on consultants, rather than full-time staff?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what is the $156 million for, then?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the minister announced this morning that the interim federal health program is being restored for all Syrian refugees. Could the minister confirm whether the restored interim federal health program is available to all refugees?

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, congratulations to you for you new position; and a big congratulations to the member for Mississauga—Erin Mills for her first speech. I enjoyed her speech very much, listening to her stories to learn about her constituents. She mentioned single parents in her comm

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, there is no question that safe, secure, affordable housing is needed everywhere in this country, from social housing to co-operative housing. They play an important role. In my riding, there are more than 3,000 units of affordable housing whose operating agreements a

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, we need a full continuum of housing options. There is no question that co-op housing is an important component, and there needs to be support there, but building social housing is equally important. In British Columbia more than 10,000 people are on the wait list. Pe

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, my riding is one of the poorest in this country. I would like to see the government give the tax breaks to the bracket of people who are not eligible right now for exactly those tax breaks. Many of the people in Vancouver East need that break. They need that support.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to indicate that I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. As this is my maiden speech in the House of Commons, I would like to thank the people of Vancouver East for giving me a