Hon. Paula Simons: As you know, minister, Canada has set ambitious immigration goals for the coming years — an immigration target of 500,000 people by 2025. But rural communities that are often keen to attract immigrants find it difficult to recruit and retain them because of a lack of support services for new Canadians in rural Canada.

I am wondering what you can tell us, beyond the rural and northern immigration pilot program, what your department is doing to assist with the challenge of settling newcomers to Canada in rural communities that are desperate for that infusion.