Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, I would like to thank the minister and the departmental officials who have come here this morning.
Minister, in your opening remarks you acknowledged that foreign credential recognition is a number one issue on the newcomer's mind. I know our government has worked hard to allow qualified immigrants to have their foreign credentials recognized. As provinces have the primary responsibility for credential recognition, what plans do we have to engage the provinces in these efforts? Also, I note that we had set aside $50 million to support the development of the common approach to foreign credential assessment. What does that mean? Would it be possible in future that foreign credential assessments done in one province would be recognized in another?
Second, in recent years our government has substantially increased settlement programs and services to help newcomers integrate into Canadian society. Can you tell me how this funding to increase immigrant outcomes is being spent and what types of outcomes we hope to achieve?
The last question I have this morning is this, Minister. You spoke of immigration fraud being a serious problem. What plans do we, as a government, have to address this in the year ahead?