44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 26, 2023 02:00PM
- Apr/26/23 2:26:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all he has delivered is a bureaucracy that costs $20 billion more per year. That is $1,300 per Canadian family, a 50% increase, and for what? It is for immigration services not being delivered, for veterans who cannot get answers to their requests, and now for taxpayers who will not be able to get answers to their tax questions before the filing deadline on Monday.
Given that Canadian taxpayers are not getting the services they pay for, is it time for them to go on strike as well?
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- Apr/26/23 4:07:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to present a number of petitions to the House today.
The first petition deals with special immigration measures for people from Hong Kong. The petitioners note that recent Hong Kong graduates can apply for open work permits under a temporary public policy for Hong Kong residents. There are two pathways, stream A and stream B, that have been announced. Stream B requires graduates to have one year of work experience in Canada and to have graduated within the last five years from a Canadian or foreign equivalent post-secondary school. Canada has announced an extension of two years on stream A but has not addressed concerns around the time constraints for stream B.
The 2016-17 graduates who met the five-year graduation requirement at the time of applying for their open work permit are falling out of eligibility to apply for permanent residency under stream B of the scheme by the time their work permits are received and they have fulfilled the hours of work requirement. Those who signed this petition call upon the Minister of Immigration to remove the five-year restriction to include all persons who fulfill the educational credential requirement of stream B.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the important work of my colleague with respect to this bill. I know the issue of immigration is especially important to him. We know that there is a huge need to welcome francophone immigrants from around the world and that that is a big part of Bill C‑13.
Would the member be in favour of increasing funding for consular services and recruitment efforts to attract and process more francophone files from abroad?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, with whom I had the privilege of working on Bill C‑13.
With regard to francophone immigration, it is unfortunate that there is only one small paragraph in Bill C‑13 about identifying targets and indicators, but no obligation to achieve results.
We did a more pragmatic study in committee. We adapted our motion to be more in line with the NDP's, to ensure that we have accurate data to promote francophone immigration, and I hope the results will be very encouraging for the future of francophone immigration in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his efforts in committee. As a member representing a riding in British Columbia, I would point out that interest in learning French is very strong. Hundreds of thousands of students attend or have attended immersion schools.
The Liberal government likes to pat itself on the back for its efforts on behalf of francophone communities. However, francophone communities and francophone immigration lost ground during the pandemic. The federal government provided no support.
Here is my question. Is my colleague concerned that the bill will not make a difference?
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to represent a riding in northern Ontario that has a strong and vibrant francophone culture. The NDP fought for more post-secondary education and access to French health care and cultural programs.
The federal government must support francophone immigration in northern Ontario. Will my colleague support the NDP in its fight to increase francophone immigration services in northern Ontario?
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Mr. Speaker, we certainly support having an increase in francophone immigration. We have seen, for example, that more than 80% of student visa applications from francophone Africa are being rejected. I believe that is a real problem. We have spoken out about this many times, and our efforts seem to have paid off. We are told that the acceptance rate for francophone African students has increased.
I also hope that my NDP colleagues, who are supposed to support Quebec's self-determination and who regularly vote against measures in favour of Quebec's right to self-determination, will support these efforts. Charles Castonguay has studied this issue. The data indicates that francophone immigrants who settle outside Quebec are very quickly assimilated into the English culture.
Measures are needed to ensure that French becomes the common language in areas outside Quebec with a high francophone concentration; that would make it possible to integrate these newcomers. Otherwise, it is like putting water into a leaky bucket.
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