QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Immigration System
November 20, 2024
Senator Gold, over the weekend, Justin Trudeau released a video to address the mess he created with immigration in Canada. Far from offering a mea culpa, the Prime Minister did what he always does: He blamed someone else. The truth is the Trudeau government was directly warned by officials in June of 2022 that its immigration targets were dramatically outstripping housing availability. Under Trudeau, Canada has seen the fastest population growth since 1957, which has led directly to a record-high housing cost that Canadians are now facing. This was a direct consequence of Trudeau giving out a million student visas without paying any attention to how this would affect the country.
Senator Gold, how can Justin Trudeau continue to blame external forces, when his own decisions and mismanagement have directly led to the housing and infrastructure pressure that so many Canadians are facing coast to coast?
Thank you for your question. First of all, the Prime Minister was candid in acknowledging that the government that he leads was slow to respond to the growing issues surrounding immigration. But for some time now, as we all know, serious measures have been taken to find the right balance between our need for and desire for new immigrants under many different categories, including the economic needs of our businesses for such workers, and our ability to properly welcome, absorb them and house them.
It is, however, not a question of blaming. You are very good at asking about blame, and that’s your prerogative. The truth is that it is not immigration that is the cause of our housing shortfall. There are so many other forces, market forces —
Senator Housakos.
We in opposition actually believe accountability in Parliament is important, so yes, when the government screws up, we blame you. The problem is we have been blaming you for far more things than you’re taking accountability for. Mr. Trudeau was warned about these consequences about immigration targets by his own ministry, by his own officials. Even his university buddy and groomsman, now immigration minister, Marc Miller can see it. But it has been nine years that it took the Prime Minister to wake up and see the calamity of this problem. So how can he claim the system is out of control and be taken seriously when he has been warned for years that —
Senator Housakos, the government has taken measures to re-establish our targets and our goals. It has caused no small measure of discomfort amongst our universities, amongst our small businesses and our agricultural sector. It happens to be the right thing to do. This government will continue to do its best to address the challenges that it faces and act where it can, within its control, in the best interests of Canadians.
Leader, yesterday I spoke to you about your government’s plan to reduce the number of temporary immigrants; today I’m going to talk about your immigration targets.
Last month, your government announced that it would increase its francophone immigration targets outside Quebec to 8.5% in 2025, 9.5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027. However, a report published this week by the Conference Board of Canada revealed that Canada is losing 35% of its francophone immigrants, a trend that is particularly pronounced in Quebec and Ontario.
When your government set francophone immigration targets for 2025, 2026 and 2027, did it take into account this 35% loss of francophone immigrants? In other words, for the year 2025, should we count the 8.5% increase before or after the 35% loss?
Thank you for the question. Francophone immigration plays an important role in achieving Canada’s goal of maintaining the vitality of its French-language communities, whether in Quebec or elsewhere in the country.
I’m not aware of the reasons behind the loss that you mentioned, but I am sure that the government is doing everything it can, as your colleague just said, in the context of our immigration challenges, to strike a fair balance. This involves not only the number of immigrants, but also linguistic diversity, sets of skills and other criteria that are needed for Canada’s well‑being.
That is not a reassuring answer.
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, believes that integration is everyone’s business, whether we’re talking about individuals, cities, provinces, territories or Canada. Quite honestly, leader, we get the impression that the immigration file has taken a confrontational approach pitting your government against the provincial governments.
What specific integration efforts is your government making to align its actions with the provinces?
The Government of Canada is working closely with the provinces on shared jurisdiction issues, including immigration.
Concerning integration in a broader sense, whether in terms of day care spaces, schools, hospitals or even housing, the constitutional and practical responsibilities of the provinces and municipalities in this regard also need to be recognized.
