- 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/30/24 2:43:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, it appears that the member opposite is asking the question of the wrong legislature.
It should be noted that under the Canada-Quebec agreement, Quebec holds the majority of the power to select francophone immigrants. It has the power and the ability to do so. Considering the $5.2 billion it has received in transfers since 2015, it also has the financial capacity to do it all and without accountability, either.
When it comes to accountability, Quebeckers are the ones who need to demand answers.
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- May/30/24 2:42:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is precisely what we are doing in the task force with Minister Fréchette and other provincial ministers. The member across the way seems to forget that Bill 101 has been around for a long time. He also seems to forget that we have been transferring $5.2 billion since 2015 to Quebec, without accountability, for francization.
Obviously, if Quebec needs more francophone immigrants, we are here to help.
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- May/28/24 3:13:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and respect the member's passion in this matter, particularly for a set of people who indeed are in Canada and are subject to abuse at times. There should be regular pathways for people who are here irregularly.
I can confirm to the House that pursuant to the minister's mandate letter, we are looking at a number of options. I would say for all Canadians that there is no clear consensus as to the path forward. However, as this is work that is ongoing, I cannot comment any further.
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- May/28/24 3:01:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that Quebeckers and Canadians will agree with me that we have taken action by transferring $5.2 billion to Quebec under the Canada-Quebec accord. We are always prepared to do more.
It is also very clear that Canada, like many other countries, is dealing with historic levels of irregular migration, but I believe that we can overcome that challenge, in partnership with the provinces and territories, obviously.
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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/27/24 2:26:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that the group will be meeting over the coming week. That does not mean that there is no preparatory work being done. Obviously, a working group with ministers requires advance preparation, and that work is currently under way. I spoke to Minister Fréchette this morning.
I, too, am looking forward to some news because the status quo is unacceptable.
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- May/23/24 10:06:03 a.m.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024).
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- May/21/24 2:50:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the status quo is the Bloc Québécois doing nothing for 30 years, while we make $5.2 billion available to Quebec for French language training, with clear results.
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- May/21/24 2:49:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we do not invite at these meetings is bickering.
Working together is very important to us. For once, Quebec fully agreed with the news release we issued.
In terms of French language training, we have given Quebec $5.2 billion since 2015. We are committed. We want to ensure, once again, that French, the common language, is strengthened in Quebec.
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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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- May/9/24 3:01:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as nice as he is, the member across the way will not be surprised to know that he is not invited to the conference I am attending tomorrow with my provincial counterparts. Obviously, my colleagues and I need to coordinate to ensure that we act responsibly when it comes to temporary residents, access to permanent residency and Canadian citizenship, and asylum seekers. My colleague will have to hold his breath a little while longer.
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- May/7/24 3:12:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Scarborough—Agincourt for her tireless advocacy on this matter.
The Hongkongers who are here are safe, and we have absolutely no intention of sending them back.
I am pleased to announce today that we will be announcing, as of May 22, that the Hongkongers who are here and have a valid status will be able to apply for a three-year open work permit while they wait for their permanent residency. This is an important measure. We will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong.
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- May/6/24 2:41:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether the member changed his notes between his three questions, but as I just said, I will be meeting with my ministerial colleagues this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to talk about exactly that. That is our commitment to the provinces. Co-operation is needed. We will see what happens next, but of course we will be reviewing this with the provinces. We have not committed to an increase or decrease, or something in between, but we will see.
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- May/6/24 2:40:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think I answered the previous question the same way. This is practically the same question, and I already answered it before.
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- May/6/24 2:39:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member should be well aware, I am off to meet with my provincial counterparts this Thursday for precisely this purpose. I am looking forward to the follow-up. In particular, the provinces will be asked to define precisely what this integration capacity is. I am anxious to see what happens next.
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- May/3/24 11:31:02 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we continue to work hard to get people out of Gaza. Yes, over 100 visas have been issued. People are travelling to Canada. We continue to push to get people out.
Obviously, Canada does not control exits at Rafah. If people manage to get to Cairo, they can go through biometrics and from there, if successful, they can be directed to Canada.
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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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