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Mr. Speaker, those are valid points. As I stated already, I do look forward to the co-operation of all parties in the House. It is important to remind members, as well as viewers, who have really been waiting for this for years, that the reason we are here today is that sections of this were declared unconstitutional by the Ontario Supreme Court on December 19, 2023, and Parliament has had x amoun…
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Mr. Speaker, again, I am going to reiterate that the reason we are here today is a decision made by a court that rendered these provisions unconstitutional. If we do absolutely nothing, it will put Canadians at risk, and it would really be a tragedy for those who have been waiting for years to have their citizenship recognized. I very much look forward to members discussing and debating this and r…
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Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleague. We worked together on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I am here to work on immigration issues with him and all the members of his team.
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Mr. Speaker, I am here today to speak to this bill to amend the Citizenship Act. I am here to say that it is very important to work on getting this bill through committee and the House. I look forward to the co‑operation of all parliamentarians who are working in the House to move this bill forward.
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Mr. Chair, the last I heard, the taxpayers were the Canadian population.
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Mr. Chair, when immigration documents expire, individuals are expected to leave the country, and those who do not comply, public safety—
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Mr. Chair, again, we will be reducing the number by 5% of Canada's population.
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Mr. Chair, it is 5% of the national population by 2027.
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Mr. Chair, it takes between 14 and 18 months.
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Mr. Chair, that is a question for the Minister of Public Safety.
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Mr. Chair, I say again that for people leaving the country, the exits are managed by CBSA—
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Mr. Chair, we know it is 40-some million people. I do not have the exact number—
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Mr. Chair, I met with the IRB chair and board, and they have advised me that they are working on their time—
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Mr. Chair, CBSA and the Department of Public Safety are in charge of those exit numbers.
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Mr. Chair, this is an important issue, and we are working with officials to reduce the numbers.
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Mr. Chair, the numbers are already available. I also spoke with my colleague—
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Mr. Chair, we are talking about 5% of the population by 2027.
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Mr. Chair, as I explained, in the estimates, when there is a rise in part of the estimates, there is a correlation decrease in another estimate.
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Mr. Chair, during COVID, my recollection is, our borders were all closed.
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Mr. Chair, I cannot discuss personal or individual cases on the floor of the House, for privacy reasons.
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Mr. Chair, it is an important question. I will go back with my officials, and we will work through details on that particular program.
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Mr. Chair, let me be clear. The number of expiring documents is not the number of people. Anybody whose visa expired is expected to leave, and when they do not—
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Mr. Chair, we believe in a well-managed, sustainable immigration system.
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Mr. Chair, the member would probably know more than me the colour of her shirt. She is wearing it.
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Mr. Chair, I believe I have been answering the questions.
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Mr. Chair, it is a known fact that if we do not have immigration to this country, we cannot fill our labour gaps. Immigration is what drives this economy. It is the people who are coming—
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Mr. Chair, what I have said is that the 2025 to 2027 targets have been set, have been labelled—
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Mr. Chair, I do not believe I alter reports. That is not my job.
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Mr. Chair, we have a robust system, but it is not a 100% tool to prevent fraud, which is why we are working to secure and protect our system.
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Mr. Chair, we have introduced Bill C-2 to ensure that we protect our integrity on the borders and—
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Mr. Chair, between January and April 30, which is the first quarter of 2025, I can say that total asylum claims across Canada had fallen by 36%.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute honour to be here this evening as the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship. I want to take a moment to really thank the constituents of Halifax West for placing their faith in me and electing me a second time as their member. I am joined this evening by the deputy minister, Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar. I want to take a moment to thank him and all the staff w…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert for the question. It is a very good question, a crucial question. My answer is that we are taking important steps to strengthen the integrity of our immigration system while honouring our humanitarian commitments. That is why we introduced changes to ensure that our immigration system can handle such challenges now …
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. parliamentary secretary is a member from my home province of Nova Scotia. He has been an absolute delight to work with since I was elected federally, but even prior to that when I was a member of the Nova Scotia Legislature. He reminds me often of how young he is, but there is no age in this place. We all come from such different backgrounds. The member is quite right that I …
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Mr. Chair, first of all, allow me to thank the hon. member for Moncton—Dieppe for her advocacy and for being a champion, not only for her community but for many members who have been here in Parliament, including me, for the last number of years. Through budget 2024, the government invested $411.2 million in the federal health program for 2024-25, topping up existing funding and ensuring that refu…
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Mr. Chair, temporary residents enrich Canada's economy and cultural fabric, so the government is committed to reducing temporary immigration growth to better align with the needs of our labour market, housing supply and community capacity. In order to accomplish this, a study permit cap has been introduced, and eligibility requirements for work permits have been tightened, including a reduced inta…
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Mr. Chair, again, the government is committed to sustainable immigration levels, so we are calibrating the volume of immigrants to help alleviate some pressure on the housing demand. As such, IRCC is stabilizing permanent residents as well as temporary admissions to less than 1% of Canada's population annually beyond 2027. We are focusing on attracting global talent from around the world in order …
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Mr. Chair, I have been the minister for a total of about three weeks already, and I do not recall saying statements like that.
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Mr. Chair, again, we are managing our targets. We have committed to reducing both our permanent residents and our temporary allocations. We have 2025-27 levels—
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Mr. Chair, we are working toward sustainable immigration by reducing our temporary resident numbers as well as our permanent residents. We have tabled the two-year levels plan, and it is there for the member to actually see.
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Mr. Chair, let us use the facts here; the member's numbers are totally inaccurate. There have been 290,000 net new arrivals in Canada through the international student program. I do not know where she comes up with numbers. I would contextualize the numbers that she seems to read.
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Mr. Chair, again I would say that we are working on sustainable immigration. We have committed to reducing the temporary numbers as well as our permanent residency numbers. Canada—
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Mr. Chair, again, those numbers are taken way out of context.
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Mr. Chair, we recognize that there are challenges in our housing and infrastructure. That is why we have tabled the levels plan that works on sustainable immigration. We are reducing our permanent residency—
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Mr. Chair, to be clear, when a person's visa expires, they are expected to leave the country. That is a question for CBSA and the minister of public—
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Mr. Chair, again, we have rules in this country, and we expect people to follow those rules.
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Mr. Chair, CBSA is in charge of removals. I would suggest that the member should be asking the public safety minister the questions on that. Again I say to her that we have rules in—
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Mr. Chair, people coming to Canada temporarily to work, to study—
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Mr. Chair, those people whose visas have expired are expected to be leaving.
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