Senator Coyle: Thank you, Senator Gold. I look forward to that response, because it is very important if we are making an investment for a particular reason, which is to help people stay where they are, to know that the investment is actually going to be an appropriate one to achieve that end.

My supplementary question is: For the 50,000 agricultural workers from the region that Canada plans to welcome, could you tell us about any planned pathways that would allow them to apply for permanent residency if they so choose?

Hon. Mary Coyle: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, last week at the Summit of the Americas, Canada endorsed the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. This declaration commits us to promote regular pathways for migration and international protection, humane migration management, coordinate responses to mass migration movements and have a shared approach to reduce, mitigate and manage irregular migration. This declaration also includes a Canadian promise to welcome an additional 4,000 migrants from the region by 2028, as well as a pre-existing plan to bring in 50,000 more agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean.

Senator Gold, we know that most people migrate for economic, security and family reasons. Could you tell us specifically how the announced $118 million for initiatives aimed at providing support to people in their own communities and countries — so they don’t feel compelled to leave — is expected to actually achieve that goal?