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Mr. Speaker, we support the Auditor General's recommendations and have been taking action since 2025. In fact, 100% of cases flagged by institutions are followed up on, and we are investigating high-risk cases. The results are clear. Controls and checks are being strengthened. The number of student arrivals has decreased by more than 60%. We are restoring integrity to the system and getting it und…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said a couple of times already this morning, since 2025, 100% of discrepancies that were referred by the educational institutions to IRCC received follow-ups. The high-risk ones were fully investigated. The results are clear. We welcome the recommendation. We will continue to improve our systems, but the Auditor General made it clear that we had already started to implement all o…
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Mr. Speaker, let me tell Canadians, this member and his caucus that the report examined 18 months. The government had already initiated improvements to the system way before the audit started. The Auditor General confirmed that the system is tightened, the student visas have been examined, and improvements have taken place. Since 2025, 100% of referrals from institutions have been examined.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected this government last year because they know that it has a plan. Our plan has results. It is not based on a script, as happens on the other side. Over the last year we have reduced temporary residents by more than half. We brought down the asylum seeker numbers by more than a third. We have refocused economic immigration like it has never been done before. Canadians c…
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Mr. Speaker, temporary status is exactly that: temporary. This is nothing new. Under our plan, Canada has set clear targets for temporary residents and extensions. We are sticking to our plan, but our expectation is clear: When a permit expires, the permit holder must leave. We will maintain our targets and enforce our rules.
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Mr. Speaker, let me repeat for that member and his entire caucus. As I said, since 2025, 100% of the discrepancies reported were followed up. They were followed up 100% of the time since 2025, with the high risk investigated. The Auditor General confirmed improvements took place. IRCC has tightened its approach, and we have control over the student visas. The numbers prove it.
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Mr. Speaker, I really feel sad for that member who always sees her cup as half empty. We have a plan. We have a system that is working. TD, Stats Canada, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and CMHC have all commented that our plan is working. Over the last year, we have reduced temporary resident arrivals by more than half. We brought the asylum numbers down by a third. We refocused on economic immi…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent work. Last week, on the International Day of La Francophonie, I announced new funding in support of francophone immigration. With these investments, we are strengthening the ability of francophone minority communities to attract and retain skilled workers. That is how we are going to reach our objectives and ensure the vitality of French here, in…
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Mr. Speaker, we commend the work of the Auditor General. We are focusing on identifying fraudsters and those who attempt to deceive us. We are improving our case reporting and prioritization processes and are closely monitoring students who do not comply with our rules. We take the integrity of all our programs very seriously.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her performance. With regard to the Auditor General, we welcome that report. We agree that strong oversight helps improve the international student program. We will improve how cases are flagged and prioritized, and will consistently follow up on potentially non-compliant students. Our focus is on identifying organizers of coordinated fraud and those who attempt…
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moved: That, in accordance with section 9 of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act, S.C. 2024, c. 16, s. 113, the House approve the appointment of Anton Boegman as Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner, for a term of seven years. (Government Business No. 8)
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert for his question. Yes, we fully understand the challenges that businesses and communities are facing. The good news is that I have been working closely with Quebec to come up with a solution, and today we announced a new measure designed to help workers in the process of obtaining permanent residency contribute to Quebec for up to an addit…
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Mr. Speaker, that is not true. That is not true at all. We are strengthening our borders and we are making it more difficult for people to abuse our system. We reduced the number of asylum seekers by 33% last year. Bill C-12, which we passed, will improve our systems. We are here to work for all Canadians, for all Quebeckers, for everyone in every province, including those who truly need our help.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will never jeopardize the safety and health of Canadians. Our program keeps all Canadians safe. We will continue to work here, and we are asking the other parties to work with us for all Canadians, including Quebeckers.
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Mr. Speaker, the new government takes these issues very seriously. That is exactly why our mandate was to restore immigration and to strengthen our immigration system. I agree with the foreign affairs minister that our system is the envy of the world. We are proud of the system we have. We have curved asylum by one-third. We have introduced measures to bring in physicians and health care workers, …
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Mr. Speaker, we have a robust immigration system. Our system works. We have an IRB that handles claims. The people who are inadmissible and ineligible are not going to the board; they are ruled out. Those who clearly fit in the system are in there, and we will continue to honour our humanitarian, constitutional and international obligations.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are focused on strengthening our immigration system and building Canada strong. If the Conservatives were really serious about health care, they would support our investments in hospitals, they would support dental care, they would support pharmacare and they would support the immigration program under the global talent stream that I just announced. Last …
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Mr. Speaker, the figures cited by the member are projections. They are not actual figures. They are projections that do not take into account the changes made to the program or the significant improvements we are making to the asylum system in Bill C‑12. This work is already well under way. We are reducing costs and we will protect vulnerable people.
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Mr. Speaker, to speak to the PBO report, those are projections in that report. They do not take into account the changes that would come in Bill C-12, nor do they take into account the interim health measures that we have introduced, including copay and other provisions, so I look forward to that.
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Mr. Speaker, to keep our program sustainable, we have made and are making measured changes to the health coverage. We have already introduced copay to the system. We are already curbing the misuse. We have introduced a lot of integrity measures. Bill C-12 is currently in front of us, and I thank the Conservatives for supporting that. That would also reduce misuse of the system. We also have intern…
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Mr. Speaker, the safety of Canadians and Quebeckers is our priority. Officers carefully review each refugee claim before referring it to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Ineligible claims are not referred. Under our government, the number of refugee claims has dropped by a third. With Bill C-12, we will be able to do even more to prevent sudden surges.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are working hard to ensure that our system integrates asylum seekers. We have reduced asylum claims by a third. We also introduced Bill C‑12. I want to thank my colleagues for helping us with this bill. The good news is that asylum claims are down by a third and we are making adjustments to our program to keep it sustainable. We will continue to work hard…
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member to this important discussion. We have already introduced and made changes to the interim federal health program that will considerably reduce the costs. We are also making significant changes and have introduced Bill C-12, which would curb the misuse of asylum. We will control costs and we will truly protect those who are vulnerable, in line with our international…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to point this out to the member, who I respect quite a bit; last session we were on the same committee. In 2014, it was a Conservative government, and the Supreme Court ruled that its changes were unconstitutional. It took away health care coverage for the most vulnerable, including children. This is not something we will do on this side of the House. Again, we are curbing misu…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave the government a clear mandate to bring sustainability to our immigration system. We have been clear that we are reducing the temporary resident population. Our student numbers are down. Our worker numbers are down. The temporary resident population fell by 176,000, and our asylum numbers are down by a third. We will stick to our targets. We will enforce our rules so th…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have a clear mandate. Canadians gave us a clear mandate. We are, in fact, working to strengthen our immigration systems. The most recent data show that the temporary resident population fell by 176,000 in the fall. We will keep working to improve our economy for all Canadians and for all businesses.
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Mr. Speaker, again, for the member's benefit, I will say that Canadians gave the government a clear mandate to bring immigration to sustainable numbers. That is exactly what we are doing. In The Globe and Mail on January 15 there was a great article. TD stats show as well that rent is decreasing and housing starts are up. There has been economic recovery. We are bringing more population to our rur…
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Mr. Speaker, we have a sustainable and strategic immigration plan. This plan aims to attract the top international talent to build a strong economy, bring top researchers to Canada, invest in foreign credential recognition and support francophone and rural communities. We will protect our borders and strengthen our immigration system with Bill C‑2 and Bill C‑12. I encourage the opposition to suppo…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. On Monday, as part of our international talent attraction strategy, I announced new express entry measures to attract doctors, specialists and surgeons who are ready to practice in Canada and to retain foreign doctors who are already here caring for patients in our communities. Thanks to our plan, our government is going to build a more stable he…
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Mr. Speaker, again, I am correcting the record for that member and those who are listening. Virtual citizenship ceremonies started during the pandemic. That is correct. There are still some that are happening. However, for all new Canadians, it is still being done under a secure, fully fledged citizenship ceremony, with officials present.
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Mr. Speaker, here are the fact: Virtual citizenship ceremonies started during the time of the pandemic. We all know that during COVID, life shifted. Even in Parliament, we now have the voting app, for example. We are always looking for opportunities to celebrate our citizenship, to bring people together, to celebrate and build the Canadian economy and make it strong. We will continue to do that.
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Mr. Speaker, I respect that member, and I know he knows that is not correct. I know he recognizes that we have a robust system in this country and that there is no such thing as one system. We have multiple layers. When it comes to citizenship ceremonies, there is no such thing as that. There are multiple layers of defence when somebody is coming out of a port of entry, 100% of those people spend …
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Mr. Speaker, let me thank the colleague and member for placing her confidence in me and in the government. Let me tell you one thing: Canadians elected the government with a big mandate. We have brought in a generational budget that includes a sustainable immigration plan, one that will deal with permanent immigration as well as temporary immigration, and bring global talent. Why do the member and…
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Mr. Speaker, I want every Canadian and certainly every Quebecker to know that I am not focused on past squabbles. I am fully focused on ensuring that our immigration system remains strong and attracts the best talent in the world for Quebec and Canada. What is more, under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec selects its permanent immigrants.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is focused on the future. We will reduce the number of temporary residents, give priority to economic immigration and strengthen francophone communities. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives will support us.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are delivering for Canadians every day. The government's highest priority is the safety and security of Canadians. Let me be clear: A foreign national who has been convicted of a crime is inadmissible to Canada. We work with the IRB, we work with CBSA, we work with CSIS and we work with the RCMP to ensure that we deport anyone who needs to be deported.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his dedication. In 2023 and 2024, we surpassed our target for French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec. Today, while stabilizing the overall intake of permanent residents, we still plan to welcome over 30,000 francophones every year for the next three years by increasing the francophone immigration target. That is how we will meet our 1…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: Foreign nationals who are convicted of a crime are inadmissible to Canada. On this side of the House, we take the safety and security of all Canadians very seriously, and we act. We work with our RCMP, policing partners and CBSA to ensure that we act in accordance with the law and with the immigration and refugee protection regulations and act.
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moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in with further amendments.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to speak to Bill C-3. The bill would remedy the status of people who, were it not for the first-generation limit imposed in 2009, would be Canadian citizens by descent from birth. This is largely a cohort of children who were born after 2009, which means they would be 16 years of age and younger; it also includes descendants of previously lost Canadians. It also addr…
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Mr. Speaker, the member has a very informed question and was at the committee when I was there. I respect the manner he always presents himself and his respectful question. Again, we respect Canada's institutions. The courts are those institutions, and the fact is that this legislation would remedy what the court said was unconstitutional. If we do not do anything, it would mean that citizenship b…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-3's approach enables individuals to show their commitment to Canada and their plans to participate in and contribute to Canadian society. Most of the applications concern children born after 2015, who are 16 years of age or under. If those children want to become Canadians, then I hope that their parents will submit the appropriate application on their behalf, and that they wil…
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Mr. Speaker, the legislation is extremely important, but it affects a minority of people in the population. For those we are trying to rectify this for, it is of significant importance. Even if we can rectify the situation for a few thousand people, that is why we are here. This is for people who have a tie to Canada, have lost their right to citizenship and whose situations were not remedied by t…
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to clarify things a little. The purpose of the temporary foreign worker program is to allow Canadian employers to hire foreign workers when no qualified Canadian or permanent resident is available. We are still reducing the number of temporary workers. We are also going to work with the member. Our purpose is to protect Canadians, but also to protect employers and businesses …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, to talk about the strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act. Our immigration system is one of our greatest strengths. It fuels our economy, builds our communities and reflects who we are as a country. As patterns of global migration evolve, our system must also evolve. Our government is committed t…
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Mr. Speaker, we have introduced the bill to provide us with the tools we need to curb abuse and to process more quickly so case loads and costs can go down. The member knows, and the party opposite knows, we published the charter statement on Bill C-2. The member knows that the provisions in the current Bill C-12 with respect to immigration are identical to those in Bill C-2. The immigration measu…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I really enjoy questions that are exactly on the point we need to address here in public policy and as legislators. The government is committed to increasing trust in Canada's immigration system. We are making our borders stronger, more resilient and more responsive, and our efforts are working. Asylum claims are down by a third compared to last year, bu…
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Mr. Speaker, I can tell my colleague opposite that we are working with Quebec. For study permit applications in Quebec, a Quebec acceptance certificate issued by the provincial government is required. It is mandatory. The province is in the driver's seat when it comes to accepting students in its territory. Nearly 100,000 fewer new students arrived between January and July compared to 2024. We wil…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Bill C‑3 is our solution for lost Canadians. At the same time, we will ensure that children born or adopted abroad will be able to access citizenship if their Canadian parents, themselves born or adopted abroad, have a substantial connection to Canada. That is how we strike a balance between fairness and protecting the tremendous value of Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has her facts wrong. This country and this government will not create a two-tier system, and we will never penalize the children in this country who were born here.
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