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Progressive Conservative Party Supplemental Opinion
Inky Mark, MP
Canada is a land of immigrants. Our past, present and future has and will continue to depend on immigration. The PC Party of Canada supports the recommendations of this report. As said many times, hopefully this report will not become another dust collector.
A lot of thought and work has gone into this report by all members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. No responsible Minister would ignore the recommendations of this report.
The PC Party of Canada’s view is that immigration enriches Canadian society, both through increased cultural diversity and new economic opportunities. Canada’s economic future requires a streamlined skilled workers processing system. It is not acceptable that the best brains of the world applying to enter Canada may take up to 5 years to be landed. The developed countries of the world are competing for those skilled workers. Improvements will not happen without hiring more personnel throughout the system. CIC is still experiencing the Liberal budget cuts of 1995.
We support the idea that both provincial and municipal governments should be involved in attracting immigrants to Canada. We support an immigration system that is both open and accessible to those who qualify. We oppose the notion that Canada should stop taking immigrant applications because currently there is a backlog. This is a recommendation by the Canadian Alliance Party. This idea would send a very negative message to the world community that Canada was closing its doors to immigration. Canada cannot afford to be perceived as shutting the door on immigration. There are other means to manage inventory.
Public confidence in the immigration system is essential. The abuse of refugee claims to gain a fast track to the benefits of landed immigrant status in Canada has undermined the integrity of the system. It is also unfair to those who follow the legal process and may wait up to 5 years to be processed. In a post 9/11 environment, Canada must send a strong message that we will not tolerate violations of our immigration and refugee system and that abusers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
The PC Party of Canada will continue to oppose the concept of retroactivity as found in the new Bill C-11 regulations which is supported by both the Liberal Party and the Canadian Alliance Party. Retroactivity is unreasonable, unfair and reprehensible.
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