Lena Metlege Diab

“Mr. Chair, it is always an honour to address the House of Commons, particularly on the matter of immigration as parliamentary secretary responsible for immigration. We have a discussion tonight that has unfolded, and unfolded sometimes in unfortunate ways. The issue has been politicized over the past few years. Regardless, we have an opportunity now to seize the moment and be serious about a fundamental pillar of Canadian society and the Canadian economy. What is true for Canada, of course, is true for democracies around the world. We are engaged in a global competition for talent. How could we not be? I used the term “pillar” before. The immigration system has always served as a pillar of our country. When we look at those fundamental aspects that Canadians care about in the present and in the future, we look to the health care system first and foremost. Mr. Chair, you and I come from southwestern Ontario. We know the importance of nursing in our area. We know the importance of doctors in our area. You are from Stratford, and the surrounding communities have often lacked family doctors. The immigration system can help with that. The immigration system can help to secure nurses as well. In fact, 25% of nurses in Canada are immigrants, 37% of doctors are immigrants and 25% of overall health care workers in this country are immigrants. When we hear the minister tonight talk about pathways that have been made available to immigrants to settle in Canada to engage and work in the health care system, particularly doctors, she focuses on the right things. This government will stay seized with that. What about the trades? This country is seeing playing out, on a global level, a rupture. The Prime Minister rightly described it as such at Davos in that landmark speech. This is a rupture that is happening across the world. We need to build this country up to address that and to ensure that we export our resources with a focus on oil, a focus on critical minerals and the list goes on. We have to ensure, beyond sourcing domestic apprentices, which are so tremendously important, of course, that skilled tradespeople can come, and the immigration system has always served to benefit this country in that regard. We can think about Portuguese immigrants, Italian immigrants, and I will not let down my ancestors here, Greek immigrants as well, working in the skilled trades. I could cite many other examples of celebrated heritage communities in our country that have made such an important contribution, and the future is bright in that regard. We have a Prime Minister and a government that is absolutely focused on the economy and recognizing fundamentally the natural tie that exists between the immigration system and the economic system. Immigration policy is economic policy. We cannot divorce ourselves from that reality. What about clean energy? What I just said about skilled trades aligns with that as well. We have seen the government pursue a number of initiatives. Just this week, we see the deal that has been set with the German government in terms of LNG. We will see much more work done on this in a variety of ways to advance that important priority. We are going to need skilled tradespeople in that area as well, and the immigration system provides an answer to that. On advanced manufacturing, our region, and Mr. Chair, we come from southwestern Ontario, is going through a very troubling time right now. We should not hide from that fact. The trade war that we never asked for, but has been put upon us, is a very real one, and so advanced manufacturing needs to continue to be a focus. Once we see, hopefully, the page turn, and the American government and the Canadian government come to an agreement that serves this country’s interests, we can see a better future for advanced manufacturing. The immigration system can help in that regard as well. My question to the minister is on how the main estimates and how her overall approach, and this government’s approach, help to serve the immigration system and the economy. If she could talk specifically about the inextricable link between the two, I would appreciate it.”