Hon. Céline Hervieux-Payette (Leader of the Opposition):

Honourable senators, I want to go back to what is not in the Speech from the Throne. I want to tell the Leader of the Government that, we, in Canada, have a tradition of equal opportunity. We also have a tradition of inclusiveness and compassion. The Leader of the Government is probably aware that, in Quebec, a commission is currently dealing with the issue of reasonable accommodations, and that one of the main complaints received at the hearings concerns the lack of funding to integrate the new immigrants that Canada needs to fill job vacancies in every province of the country.

In my opinion, it is a well-known fact — unless people in Ottawa do not have access to Quebec TV channels — that learning the language is currently one of the main obstacles to the integration of immigrants, along with the all the transitional measures relating to trades and professions.

Could the Leader of the Government tell us where I can find, in the Speech from the Throne, measures that will provide to people in Quebec and in the rest of Canada, wherever there are immigrants, transition programs that will help these immigrants integrate into our society and make a contribution to Canada?

 

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