Response from Dr Ruby Dhalla M.P. (Brampton-Springdale)

Conservatives and Liberals Turn Their Backs on Immigrants

Liberals allow Bill C-50 to be passed: Conservative Party
"Bill also contains controversial changes to Canada's immigration law"

The following email was received from Conservative Party's Media office. Globalom Media requested views of Federal Leader of the Opposition and other MPs of Liberal Party but nobody other than Dr Ruby Dhalla responded.

On June 9 night, Members of Parliament voted 121 to 90 in favour of Bill C-50, the 2008 budget implementation act. The bill received third and final reading in the House. 

The amendments to the Immigration law, which are embedded in the budget bill, will give the immigration minister greater selection powers to limit the number of new immigration applicants.

Only 15 Liberal MPs joined Stephane Dion in showing up to vote against Bill C-50.  Why, after spending months fear mongering over Bill C-50 did the Liberals allow this legislation to pass?  Could it be that Dion and his Liberal colleagues really agree with the proposed immigration changes?  In fact, former Liberal Immigration Minister Judy Sgro (York West) said that her cabinet colleagues, including Dion, supported her proposed changes to immigration when she was minister.  Interestingly, Sgro and other Liberal MPs who have previously acknowledged the serious problems created under the Liberals in the immigration system, all missed the vote last night.  Now that Liberals have allowed this legislation to pass the House of Commons, will they admit that they were misleading Canadians with their cheap partisan attacks and apologize for their fear mongering?

The facts:  

*  Judy Sgro (York West): The federal government needs to make a dramatic move such as limiting the number of foreigners who can apply to enter Canada if it hopes to tackle the ballooning backlog of applications, a former immigration minister says .  (Toronto Star, November 2, 2006) 

*  Judy Sgro says she had the support of the former Liberal cabinet for a sweeping - and controversial - overhaul that would have all but eliminated the immigration backlog that now stands at 800,000. "The world looks to Canada like we have this great immigration system. We do, but you're not doing the system justice by taking applications that aren't going to get processed for years and years and years," she said. "It doesn't make any sense to us to be continually taking these names ... the reality is we need to change the system," Sgro said in an interview yesterday. (Toronto Star, November 2, 2006) 

*  "If we said we'll take 1,000, when we have that first 1,000 we shut the door until we get those processed," – Judy Sgro. (Toronto Star, November 2, 2006) 

* Michael Ignatieff (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) said he was proud of many Liberal achievements, "but I think I have to admit . . . that we didn't get it done on immigration."  As an example, he pointed to the failure of the immigration system to address labour shortages that have been "a real drag" on booming economies in Western Canada.  (The Province, September 17, 2006) 

* Ignatieff said that the "paperwork and hassle in the immigration system is a scandal." (Vancouver Sun, May 15, 2006) 

* Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre): “I’m almost reaching the point where I believe that our whole immigration system has become dysfunctional.  That in fact it’s at the point of being broken.” (CBC.ca, September 14, 2004)

* Omar Alghabra (Mississauga-Erindale): "For a long time we've been measuring success by the number of immigrants who come in to Canada," he said, "but we should be measuring our success by the economic and social progress of the immigrants who arrive here." (Mississauga News, January 25, 2007)