Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House and answer my colleague's questions.

We heard my colleague make personal attacks against a minister he disagrees with about the immigration system, but he also tried to stoke Canadians' fears over immigration. However, I want to say how important it is to our government and to the department that these matters be discussed at length and publicly. We cannot talk about specific cases, but I can speak to our general immigration guidelines. Every application is unique. Every applicant can apply for programs, but spaces are limited. It can take longer to enter the system if information is missing from an application or if applicants do not answer questions promptly.

My colleague mentioned doctors. He also mentioned skilled workers, who are part of our society. My riding of Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation is no exception. We have doctors who are there to support the community, who are willing to stay in remote communities. However, it is because of the immigration system that communities like ours in Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation can have good doctors. It is the same for agricultural workers. Farm workers depend on our culture. They depend on every type of product that reaches our plates. There are vineyards that benefit from immigration. Berry farmers benefit. It is also good for tourism development. For example, at Château Montebello in Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, foreign workers enable the hotel to offer world-class service.

We see that there is high demand to immigrate to Canada. Many applications are submitted every year. People want to benefit from the good quality of life that we have in Canada. The department is meeting its target of processing 80% of the applications, including in a certain number of important programs: citizenship, highly skilled workers in areas of federal jurisdiction, provincial candidates, family reunification for spouses and children. I am thinking about Tony, my barber, who is working on reuniting his family. They are in a war-torn country. We have an immigration system in place. We intend to modernize it, make it more accessible and easier, while taking into account the lack of housing in Canada. We have to reduce the level of immigration, but we have to do it the right way. We are also digitizing several programs to reduce the bureaucracy. We are improving services for clients and Canadians and aligning objectives for 2025 to 2027. I do have a message for my colleague, however: he needs to stop scaring Canadians.

Stéphane Lauzon

$485,555.00