SoVote

Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)

Feb/1/22 1:25:41 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to say happy new year to all my colleagues and to just say how great it is to be physically back here in the House with everybody. Last November's throne speech brought us the standard empty words with no real plan to solve any of the numerous problems Canadians are facing today: home affordability, inflation, rising home heating costs, a supply chain disaster and the labour shortage crisis that we see in this country. Everyday Canadians who do not have access to a trust fund like the Prime Minister does are hurting the most, yet the government would paint a happy picture and say, “Nothing to see here. All is good.” The people of Calgary Forest Lawn are some of the hardest hit by the out-of-touch Prime Minister's failing policies. He is out there virtue signalling and dividing Canadians, while my constituents live pay cheque to pay cheque. Some of them are worried about where their next meal will come from or how they will pay rent, let alone an even more expensive carbon tax. I really should not be shocked. This is the same Prime Minister who does not think about monetary policy or how his massive money-printing operation will effect Canadians. It is Justinflation. Instead of focusing on growing the economy, empowering entrepreneurs and attracting investors, the Prime Minister sells Canadian companies to China without any national security review. He ignores the untapped potential of Alberta's oil and gas sector, and instead imports oil from countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. While he might be making the green left happy with his “leave it in the ground” mentality, Canadians suffer the most with his ridiculous policies. Our energy industry's environmental, social and governance standards are the highest in the world, and supporting this sector creates good-paying, Canadian jobs. This mismanagement does not just stop with the economy. We have seen the government's failure to stand up for Canadian interests abroad. The Prime Minister and his cabinet would rather get close with the Communist Party of China than the people in Hong Kong who are standing up for democracy and freedom. Our global commitment to our allies is weak at best. In Ukraine, the Canadian government would rather give a loan and some non-lethal equipment than the defensive weapons that Ukraine needs. Other NATO countries, like the U.S. and the U.K., are supplying Ukraine with weapons, and European countries have committed ships and fighter jets to the defence of our ally. After what we saw in Afghanistan, we cannot be surprised that the government would rather deliver flowery statements than roll up its sleeves and get to work defending our friends. Much like what happened in Afghanistan, this is a pure failure on the government's part. Around 10,000 Afghan interpreters and their families remain stranded. Those people who served the Canadian government alongside our brave Canadian Armed Forces are now forgotten by the Liberal government. They are hunted by Taliban fighters looking for retribution while the government stands idly by. The Prime Minister pats himself on the back for a job well failed, while saying it is too hard to help the people on the ground. My office has received dozens of emails from Afghan refugees stuck in Afghanistan. They have applied for the special immigration programs, but still IRCC has ignored them. The government only sends auto-replies or leaves people unread. The stories these refugees are sharing with my office are heartbreaking. Families have had their homes taken by the Taliban, parents and siblings shot and children left to starve. The humanitarian situation is so bad that parents are now selling their children and organs to try to earn money to feed starving family members. Of the 40,000 promised Afghan refugees, there have been about 7,000 who have made it to Canada. Only 4,300 of those 7,000 were refugees who applied under the special immigration program for people who assisted the Government of Canada. Instead of working with veterans and NGOs to get the most vulnerable out of Afghanistan, or even the private sponsors willing to assist in resettling refugees in Canada, IRCC has shut everyone out. To say the situation in Afghanistan is dire would be an understatement, yet IRCC, Global Affairs, National Defence and the Prime Minister continue to be uncoordinated. There is no plan, and there seems to be no hope for our allies left behind in Afghanistan. A lack of a plan seems to be standard with the Liberal government. At IRCC, things are worse, as thousands of immigrants remain stuck in the government's massive backlogs. Liberals say that they will continue increasing immigration levels while also reducing wait times, yet IRCC has not released a proper plan. As of December, over 1.8 million immigration applications were stuck in the Liberal-made backlog, and it is growing. There are so many newcomers stuck, waiting months or years for applications to be processed. These are families who remain separated and businesses that are looking to fill jobs. This is hurting our economy and hurting families. There are several ongoing cases in my office that have not moved since even before the pandemic. Earlier this month, I wrote a letter to the Minister of Immigration asking him to finally deliver a plan to clear the Liberal-made backlog. I have not received a response, and 1.8 million people are still waiting for theirs. Newcomers to Canada deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. That honestly starts by developing a reliable, transparent and effective immigration system. Our country cannot afford to shut out hard-working immigrants, entrepreneurs and investors looking to come to Canada to live the Canadian dream. Temporary foreign workers and Canadian employers cannot wait years to get LMIAs processed and their applications approved. Our economy cannot handle the growing labour shortage crisis. The economic impact of this historic and increasing backlog has cost billions to our economy and cost Canadian businesses their future. It seems Liberals are focused on immigration for political gain instead of helping people looking to come to Canada. As it stands now, children, spouses and grandparents are left separated from their loved ones. Parents have missed the birth of their children, first steps and even graduations. Families cannot say goodbye to their loved ones or attend funerals. This is all due to the Liberal-made backlog in immigration. No one should be punished with family separation in this country simply because they want to start a new life here. The Liberals' mismanagement of the immigration system is absolutely unacceptable. Now is the time to have a real, concrete plan. The clock is ticking and immigrants and Canadians deserve to know how long it will take to clear this historic backlog. Now is not the time for more empty promises and flashy announcements that lead nowhere. There are so many people waiting for answers and hoping to call Canada home. Canadians are tired of the division and arrogance showed by the government. As we begin a new session of Parliament, let us address the concerns of everyday Canadians. The government must clear the backlogs at IRCC and get our allies in Afghanistan out of harm's way. We must stand up to the regimes in China, Russia and Afghanistan. We must show the world that Canada still has the guts to be a peacekeeper, a defender of democracy and an advocate for freedom. At home, the Liberal Prime Minister must reduce inflation and improve Canada's cost of living. As an Albertan, I will never stop fighting for Canada's energy industry, even when Ottawa gives in to to special interests and foreign influences. My colleagues and I in the Conservative caucus will continue to give a voice to all Canadians, especially those left behind by the Liberal government. Canada is at a crossroad, and choosing the status quo is a recipe for disaster.

1349 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Feb/1/22 1:36:21 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Coutts border, which is what I think my hon. colleague is talking about, the Premier of Alberta made it very clear that he has asked for it to be cleared up, but I want to talk about what the underlying message of these hard-working truckers is. They just want to be heard. My colleague on the other side said that everyone needs to be listened to, yet the Prime Minister and the Liberal caucus refuse to listen to the real concerns of hard-working everyday Canadians. There is more division in this country than we have ever seen before, caused by the Prime Minister's name-calling and pitting one region against another, one industry against another and one group against another. Real leadership unites people. It brings people together. Even though we all have differing ideas and ideologies, true leadership brings people together.

151 words

Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Feb/1/22 1:38:08 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Barrie—Innisfil for his great advocacy for the people in Afghanistan. The failure in Afghanistan started well before the Prime Minister called a very selfish election, abandoning those who served Canada and putting $650 million more debt onto Canadians. This started way before that, because there were refugees of Hazara, Sikh and Hindu faith that were stuck in Afghanistan for many years. I was personally honoured to sponsor a family from there in 2015, and what I saw through my own experience was that it took the Liberal government four years to bring a persecuted family to Canada, a family that was afraid its daughter would be kidnapped, forcefully married and raped while all she was doing was going to school every single day. It took the government that knew that four years to get that family here. This epic failure in Afghanistan is a trend by the Liberal government. It needs to step up, take the recommendations seriously and defend and stand up for those who stood up for Canada in their time of need.

187 words

Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Feb/1/22 1:40:10 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I would inform my hon. colleague from Quebec that this is a study currently being done in the citizenship and immigration committee. The report that came out is very alarming regarding the systemic racism that has been taking place within the IRCC. It is not only discriminating against its own employees, but much like what my hon. colleague was talking about, there are reports of people from Africa being called “the dirty 30”. That is what Africa is being referred to. This is very concerning. I questioned the immigration minister about that the first chance I could in the last session. He was patting himself on the back for a job well failed. There is no action plan to address racism. I will say it again. What can we expect from the Minister of Immigration to address racism, when he could not even stand up to the Prime Minister's racist blackface? Until that is addressed, I do not think we can have very much confidence that the Liberal government is serious about addressing racism in the IRCC.

182 words