“The immigration minister messed up a call on a terrorist. We don't know if he really got stopped. Why is the Prime Minister protecting her? Why isn't he firing her?”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
57 statements
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
19 statements
Arab Heritage Month Act
5 statements
The Economy
15 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Housing
12 statements
The Environment
2 statements
Oral Questions
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
A sweeping bill giving the government and security agencies more power, including: requiring other departments to give free facilities to border agents; letting Health Canada speed up drug bans; exempting cops from drug laws while investigating; expanding coast guard spying powers; letting the Immigration Minister share immigrants' private info with other government agencies; letting Cabinet block, suspend, or restrict immigration processing whenever it decides it's in the "public interest" and letting it suspend or impose new conditions on immigration documents; letting Cabinet cancel, suspend, or vary immigration documents whenever it decides it's in the "public interest"; expanding money laundering penalties and forcing more businesses to register with the Centre; making more people ineligible for refugee protections; and expanding sex offender tracking by border agents. After an Iranian terrorist almost got into Canada, the Conservatives pressed the Immigration Minister on dropping the ball. The Minister mostly talked about existing rules but eventually just listed various small measures the government is taking to crack down on immigration.
“We say we're keeping Canadians safe. We say that IRGC members aren't allowed in Canada. If they get in, we say we'll remove them quickly. I'm saying words to make us sound good. I'm not giving any new information about that terrorist at the border.”
“The immigration minister says she isn't responsible for letting terrorists into Canada. The government knew about this terrorist and let him in anyway. They could have stopped it easily. The Prime Minister is letting the minister keep her job. Is the Prime Minister responsible for his immigration minister? I'm trying to blame the Prime Minister for letting a terrorist into Canada.”
“I'm saying everything is fine. No terrorists got in. Canadians are safe. The government is doing a good job keeping terrorists out. You don't need to worry about the terrorist we maybe let in.”
“The media and even CBC are all saying the immigration minister is doing a bad job. They think she's incompetent and hiding behind excuses. Immigration is important. The Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for her failures and fire her already.”
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. Everything is fine. I'm doing a great job.”
“Wow. I want this minister fired. No one has faith in her. She's made everything worse. Even Liberal MPs want her gone. The Prime Minister meets with her every week and does nothing. Will he end this embarrassment and fire her already?”
“I need more time. Let me list how hard I'm working. Everything is getting better. We're kicking people out. I brought a bill with more security. We're tracking who leaves. I'm fixing this.”
“You're giving out too many student permits. Millions are already here on expired permits and you can't track who leaves. Your department is full of fraud and you can't detect it. You talk to the Prime Minister all the time. Does he actually think you're doing a good job?”
“I want to look good by saying applications and arrivals are down a lot from 2024 to 2026. It doesn't matter if that's not the real issue.”