SoVote

Mar/29/22 12:11:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North just said it is important to present the facts. Earlier, my colleague from Montarville presented numerous facts. We did not get a response from the government about the possibility of setting up an airlift. As for waiving visas, we have seen some countries do this in a matter of hours, but the government says it could take 12 weeks and the offices are open from 8 to 4. Does my colleague agree that, when it comes to Ukrainian refugees, this government is sorely lacking in the initiative department?

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Context: House Hansard - 48 - Mar/29/22

Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Mar/29/22 12:46:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Vancouver East on her speech. Let me tell the House about Sylvain, a constituent of the riding I represent. His wife Viktoriia hid out in the basement of the school where she taught in the small town of Nizhyn, a little north of Kyiv. After three weeks, she was finally able to leave Ukraine and seek refuge in Poland. It was an extremely traumatic experience. She is currently in Poland, but she is running up against some truly appalling constraints, encountering every obstacle imaginable while trying to reach Canada. I have often asked the government the following question, but I only get very vague answers. That is why I will ask my opposition colleague the question. Can my colleague explain why it is taking so long to facilitate the arrival of Ukrainian nationals in Canada? Why is it taking so long to call in private airlines to set up an airlift, which would help in sending essential goods over there and bringing Ukrainians here? I would like my colleague's opinion, since the government is not providing any response on the matter.

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Context: House Hansard - 48 - Mar/29/22

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Mar/29/22 2:38:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel is a failure that is slowing the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in Quebec and Canada. The government needs to arrange to airlift them out and deal with the paperwork once they are safely here. The government can enlist border services officers to help with that. They are trained in immigration and can help collect the biometric data, and I think they would be very proud to contribute to this effort. Will the government airlift people out and ask border services officers to help families with the administrative details?

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Context: House Hansard - 48 - Mar/29/22

Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Mar/29/22 2:38:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the concern that he has demonstrated in recent months for the people of Ukraine and for his willingness to help the government design measures that are actually going to advance the arrival of Ukrainians. I would point out, with respect to the situation involving biometrics on the ground, that we actually are opening a second visa application centre in Warsaw. We have sent more teams, who arrived yesterday, and we are going to continue to boost that capacity. I should also point out that for certain low-risk cohorts, certain individuals will no longer be required to have biometrics so that we can facilitate the entry of more people into Canada as quickly as possible. Regarding the airlift, we continue to have conversations with airlines to arrange to get as many people here as quickly as possible. I look forward to continuing to co-operate with the member in this pursuit.

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