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Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. We had this debate in the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, and I do not agree 100% with the NDP's proposal. However, there are things we can look at. Recently, the Union des producteurs agricoles proposed facilitating access to permanent resident status for temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. There is a management problem at the immigration department and it starts at the top. It actually starts with the Minister of Immigration, whose scathing, abrasive and disrespectful tone is unbecoming of his position. Consequently, the debate on immigration, which should be sensitive, responsible and impartial, sometimes winds up going downhill.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, my plan is for Quebec to have full authority over immigration. It is not complicated. I have never heard a Conservative member tell me whether they agree with Quebec's immigration minister, so the next time a Conservative member rises to ask me a question, I would like them to answer the following question.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, I will answer by repeating what the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said. If the Quebec government wants to grow the labour pool or totally control economic immigration, it first has to have all immigration powers. Let us take the example of temporary foreign worker program.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Salaberry—Suroît, who is also my treasured whip. One must always be kind to one's whip. The federal government needs to revise its immigration targets if it wants to build a successful immigration model and make sure that newcomers find favourable living conditions here.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Vancouver East for her speech. I think that she is not only a person who is easy to work with on the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, but one who also knows everything there is to know about Canada's immigration system and all of its programs.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate my colleague from Calgary Shepard. He delivered a pointed speech, and he clearly has sound knowledge of the issue. He is also pleasant to work with in committee. Once again, I congratulate him on his speech. I completely agree with him that the management of the immigration portfolio is unacceptable.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Madam Speaker, my leader will correct me if I am wrong, but I think that when it comes to immigration, the substance is almost as important as the form. Let me explain. The tone we take when we discuss this sensitive issue of immigration is almost as important as when we talk about things in depth.
February 8th, 2024House debate
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Mr. Speaker, the federal government still owes Quebeckers $470 million for taking in asylum seekers, who are actually Ottawa's responsibility. The funding announced for housing future asylum seekers is good, but it will not cover the federal government's debt, which has been accumulating since 2021.
February 7th, 2024House debate
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister must also ensure that there are not too many asylum seekers entering the country at the same place. Quebec has exceeded its intake capacity. There are 289,000 asylum seekers in Canada, and Quebec has shown that it has taken in 160,000, or 55% of the total number.
February 7th, 2024House debate
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers have spent $470 million welcoming asylum seekers who are the federal government's responsibility. The federal government may feel that is a lot of money to have to pay back, but that is because we took in far more than our fair share of people. Now it is the Liberals' turn to do their bit.
February 6th, 2024House debate
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Mr. Speaker, they claim we are picking fights whenever they do not feel like debating. We have the member for Honoré-Mercier to thank for that. The federal government also needs to make it so that every province welcomes asylum seekers. Every time we raise the issue, the Minister of Immigration accuses Quebec of wanting to treat immigrants like cattle.
February 6th, 2024House debate
Business of Supply Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is obviously concerned about the situation. My colleague from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia wants to ensure that the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security conducts a study. Strangely enough, the Conservatives do not seem to want that study to happen.
February 6th, 2024House debate
Criminal Code moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑373, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (promotion of hatred or antisemitism). Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me today to introduce this bill to amend the Criminal Code so that religious beliefs can never again be used as a justification for hate speech or words meant to incite violence under the Criminal Code.
February 5th, 2024House debate
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers have spent $470 million on asylum seekers. Rather than reimbursing them, the minister is instead announcing $100 million for temporary accommodation for future claimants. That is fine if it means lower accommodation costs in the future, but he has yet to reimburse the costs that have been piling up since 2021.
February 1st, 2024House debate