Mr. Speaker, today is World Refugee Day, and this year's theme is “To Feel at Home”.
The Bloc Québécois acknowledges the courage of the refugees of this world, salutes those who so generously provide them with assistance, and affirms our determination to defend their rights.
Some federal government policy changes are in order, particularly with respect to deportation practices and detention conditions, in keeping with recommendations from the UN committee against torture and the working group on arbitrary detention.
As for implementing the refugee appeal division, the government is not even respecting its own legislation enacted back in 2001.
The delays in unifying families have become a major problem, making refugees suffer needlessly and hampering their integration into their host communities.
The federal government must act promptly in order to remedy this situation. What better occasion to do so than this, World Refugee Day?