- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Liberal
- Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $97,404.09
- Government Page
- May/30/24 2:45:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, he is going to blame immigrants for rising food prices. Come on, we have to be reasonable.
It is clear that Canada is going to play a role, and it must bear some responsibility in all this. That is why we are working closely with Quebec to send asylum seekers to other provinces. There is work to be done at several levels. It is a job I look forward to working on with Ms. Fréchette.
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- May/28/24 3:00:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to highlight the Bloc Québécois member's passion for immigration. Obviously, when we talk about a willingness to take in newcomers, we are entitled to wonder why, for example, PRAIDA, Quebec's regional program for the settlement and integration of asylum seekers, has not increased its capacity for several years.
Obviously, this responsibility is shared between Quebec and Canada. That is what we are doing. We announced weeks ago that we were going to do it. We expect to see results, but it is a positive development in our relationship.
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- May/27/24 2:27:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is confusing capacity and willingness to integrate newcomers. What I said very clearly to my Quebec counterpart was that we would work together to distribute asylum seekers across the country. Ontario and Quebec have an excessive burden in terms of the number of asylum seekers relative to their population. We need the rest of the country to follow suit.
That is what we are going to do.
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- May/21/24 2:48:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if he is criticizing the working group, perhaps he should direct his criticism at the Government of Quebec, because it was the Government of Quebec's idea. We were happy to work with the other provinces and agree to it. That is very important.
The member was not at the meeting eight days ago, but we issued a unanimous news release announcing that we agreed to work together, better coordinate our efforts and do better, because we know that the way we welcome asylum seekers has to be properly coordinated. That is something we can do, as a country, with all the provinces.
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- Apr/30/24 2:53:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is very clear is that we will be there for Quebec to do more more to support the French fact in Quebec. We have contributed $54 billion since 2015. That is a lot of money.
I have a question for the member opposite. If he thinks that we should accept more asylum seekers from Haiti, would he be willing for Quebec to take in more?
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- Apr/30/24 2:52:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, sometimes I wonder if the Bloc Québécois is confusing the willingness and the ability to take in asylum seekers.
What is clear is that Quebec is doing more than its fair share. However, 54% is an exaggeration. If we look at all the humanitarian streams that Quebec covers, the figure comes down to 24% or 25%. Yes, Quebec is doing more. Clearly, it needs to do more concerted work with the Canadian government, but it will take this partnership between Canada and Quebec that we have and that we will continue to work on.
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- Apr/29/24 2:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I will address the mistake the member made. He said it takes two years to get a work permit. It actually takes three months. Clearly, we can do more, but we need to be factual in the House of Commons.
If I am hearing the member correctly, I understand that he is going to support our budget, which puts billions of dollars on the table for the provinces, for housing in particular.
As for asylum seekers and how we should be welcoming them as a country, I think we can do better, but Quebec and Canada will need to work together.
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- Apr/15/24 3:00:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are indeed in the process of expediting the permits that will be granted to asylum seekers.
I have a question for the member for Lac-Saint-Jean. Does he agree with his party leader, in other words, the leader of the Parti Québécois, who wants to freeze immigration? Does he realize what that means in rural ridings like Lac-Saint-Jean? It means no more fishing, no more Quebec agriculture, nothing, not even wind turbines.
It takes responsible people in power. We need to have a responsible discussion about reducing the number of immigrants temporarily, but let us do it responsibly.
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- Feb/27/24 2:48:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is partly right. It is true that there has been a historic influx of asylum seekers in Canada and that those numbers have gone up by about 50% to 60%. There is more work to be done, but it does not involve sending money to Quebec because Quebec does not spend that money on asylum seekers.
I admit that the distribution of asylum seekers must be fair, and we are working on that. For example, a lot of people move to Ontario. We are helping them, but these people have to give their consent. First and foremost, we need to treat people humanely. We are willing to do that, and I am sure that Quebec is too.
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- Feb/27/24 2:47:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that it is fair to talk about reality. Imagine if I send someone a bill for $500, we talk and the next day I hold a press conference to double the bill without justification. That is kind of what we are dealing with here. We are responsible governments.
For my part, I talk to the people in my riding, in downtown Montreal, who are welcoming asylum seekers. They have not received one red cent from the Government of Quebec. These sums need to be justified. We are prepared to work with the Government of Quebec.
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- Feb/15/24 2:39:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously all of our initiatives to send asylum seekers to other provinces need to be done humanely and consensually.
The language criterion is one of many, but should not be the main criterion. We all need to make an extra effort. The federal government has a role to play; Ontario, Quebec and all the provinces do as well.
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- Feb/12/24 2:57:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are definitely two provinces that are doing more than their fair share: Ontario and Quebec. Quebec has made superhuman efforts with respect to asylum seekers, whether it is those who have crossed at Roxham Road or those who arrive at Trudeau Airport.
We have transferred $5.2 billion to Quebec since 2015. Half of that federal money is going to Quebec for temporary housing. We are going to do more with Quebec. We can do it together, as a beautiful country.
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- Feb/5/24 2:26:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois members are acting like back-seat drivers, as they often do.
Quebec received $50 million, along with another $100 million to house asylum seekers, and that is this year alone.
The Bloc Québécois picks any old statistic it likes and draws whatever conclusion it chooses. The Bloc Québécois is just a bunch of back-seat drivers.
In the meantime, we will work with the Quebec government to do our job, and we will do that job of meeting the needs of asylum seekers properly and responsibly.
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- Feb/5/24 2:25:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is the only one who thinks that $70 million, $50 million and $100 million is just small change. That money is very important to the asylum seekers who will end up in Quebec.
As the member knows full well, we have a good relationship with the Government of Quebec. We are going to act the way a responsible government should and work with them. Quebec's finance minister will speak with Canada's Minister of Finance today. Our great relationship will carry on.
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- Feb/1/24 2:43:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as people heard yesterday, we are providing the money. Quebec has done more than its share, and we applaud its efforts.
There is still work to be done to speed up the work permit process, and we are doing that. We are working with Quebec to speed up the process so that asylum seekers can work in the health care sector.
That is very important, but the starting point is working collaboratively with the Government of Quebec.
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- Feb/1/24 2:28:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is true that this affects real people. People should not be treated like cattle. They need to be treated with respect and compassion. It is true that we are making efforts to send asylum seekers to other provinces when they request it, but people need to be treated with respect.
That is why I announced yesterday more than $300 million to house asylum seekers. Canada is not exempt from the historic influx facing the west.
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- Jan/30/24 2:40:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member was here in the House. He did not learn about it in the papers, unless he did not listen.
I was the one who announced that there would be good news this week. It will deal with matters under my authority, and naturally, Quebec will not be getting all that it asked for. That is very clear, but it will deal with matters under my authority.
It is our responsibility to support asylum seekers and to support Quebec in its efforts to ensure that these people are well supported. It is a dual responsibility. We will continue our good work together.
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- Jan/29/24 2:43:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, good news is coming this week.
It is clear that relationships go both ways. We will continue to work with Quebec to deal with the record number of asylum seekers who have arrived this year. That is not something that is going to end any time soon. More work needs to be done by both levels of government.
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- Dec/12/23 2:59:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member may be disappointed to learn that we have a good relationship with Quebec. Last week, we spoke in a reasoned and reasonable way about reasoned and reasonable immigration to Quebec within the context of the Canada-Quebec accord that gives Quebec more than $700 million to do the work that falls within its jurisdiction, which is to take in immigrants, especially French-speaking immigrants.
Asylum seekers are a shared responsibility. We have to work on this together, because it is a challenge for all western societies. Canada and Quebec are ready to take up the challenge.
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- Nov/24/23 11:29:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, playing petty politics is to presume that this is a one-way relationship, when it is actually a two-way relationship. It takes two to tango.
Obviously, both levels of government have to assume some responsibility. That is what we are trying to do. Obviously, under the Canada-Quebec accord, Quebec has all the responsibility and a duty to welcome asylum seekers. We can do this together as a country.
However, given the reductionist approach of the Bloc Québécois and its friends in the Quebec National Assembly, which are sending questions to the Bloc members, I would ask them to sit down with us to sort all this out. We will be able to see that the bill would very quickly fall to Quebec to pay. We can all work it all out together.
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