Hon. Amina Gerba moved second reading of Bill S-215, An Act respecting National Immigration Month.

She said: Honourable senators, I am speaking from the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe nation. This land acknowledgement is particularly important in the context of Bill S-215, an act respecting national immigration month. Indeed, we must remind ourselves repeatedly that Indigenous Peoples have been present in what is now Canada since time immemorial.

I am therefore deeply moved to rise before you again today to resume the process that began in the previous Parliament with Bill S-286, which died on the Order Paper.

This initiative honours the journey that many of us here in this chamber undertook, as did millions of our compatriots who came from all over the world to enrich our country with their experience and contribute to our history.

I’d like to start with an anecdote that will help you understand why this act is so important. This is one of those interactions that those of you who aren’t Caucasian likely experience on a daily basis.

A few years ago, my husband was chatting with a guest during a networking cocktail before a fundraising gala in Montreal. Apparently surprised to hear my husband speak excellent French, the lady asked him where he was from.

Mischievously, my husband pretended not to understand the meaning of the question. He replied, “I’m from Laval.” “No, I mean, where are you actually from,” she said. “Yes, I’m from Vimont in Laval,” he said.

He could see that she was perplexed and found his answer inadequate, so he finally revealed that he is originally from Cameroon. He then asked her the same question. She was very confused and asked him what he meant. That’s when my husband gently reminded her that, as far as he knew, with the exception of Indigenous peoples, we all come from somewhere else. He also suggested that she ask her parents and grandparents about her own ancestors’ origins.

As you see, colleagues, this matter is still relevant today. This anecdote and this interrogation happen all too often and are highly revealing. Interrogations like these were what prompted me to come up with a way to remember our shared status as people “from somewhere else” and enshrine it in a bill. The three clauses that make up this bill are quite simple, and so is its purpose, which is to designate a specific month of the year to commemorate the vital role that immigration has played in building our nation.

Immigration has shaped Canada. The hard work, courage and resilience of women and men from distant places have helped build the prosperous, inclusive nation we know today, a country that commands admiration far beyond its borders. In every area, from economics and science to culture, sport and community involvement, immigrants have played a vital role in major achievements that have become the pride of our nation.

One need only look at the diversity of backgrounds represented in this chamber to see the richness of this contribution, or pay attention to what’s happening in each of your regions to measure, on a daily basis, the positive and lasting footprint of immigrant communities. These contributions deserve to be fully recognized, celebrated and honoured. It is time to do justice to those who, through their commitment, continue to make Canada grow.

Before going into detail about why I want Canada to have a national immigration month, I’d like to set the record straight about something. It will not have escaped your attention that there has been a lot of debate in the news about our immigration policy on an almost daily basis. Some of the arguments in this debate are useful, even necessary. Others come dangerously close to a philosophy of rejection and exclusion that has no place in our country.

As a proud Quebecer and Canadian from an immigrant background, I can’t hide the fact that this feels personal and that I’m very concerned about the extremist and populist rhetoric I hear that appears to reject all types of immigration. The hard-liners who embrace that rhetoric insinuate that immigrants are largely responsible for our country’s economic and social problems, but they are wrong.

It is important to remember that our country was built by successive waves of immigration. The only difference is when people arrived. Whether we arrived centuries ago, a month ago or a year ago, we — or our ancestors — all came from somewhere else.

Even today, immigration remains essential for Canada to meet the demographic and economic challenges that lie ahead. The aging population and persistent labour shortages, particularly in several key sectors, mean we need newcomers more than ever. Just bringing them in is not enough, though. We also need to help them integrate. That’s important. That’s why immigration must be carefully thought out, planned and supported.

Successful integration doesn’t rely solely on the efforts of immigrants themselves. The entire host society must step up. It’s up to us to create the conditions that enable newcomers to flourish. We must facilitate immigrants’ access to services, language training and employment, and provide them with a framework to understand the values and codes of their new home, while respecting their identity and culture of origin. Integration is a process that takes time, but when it is well supported and done properly, it becomes a powerful lever for social cohesion, shared prosperity and the loyalty of future generations.

Colleagues, it is imperative that we guard against xenophobic and populist policies that seek to divide us. Canada must remain a model of tolerance and inclusion. My colleague, Julie, asked me a number of times to let this go, but I kept going because it’s important to understand the reason that led me to introduce this bill today. To succeed at this, we need to invest in improving the way we receive, retain and ensure the economic prosperity of our newcomers. We also need to invest in the immigrant selection process and hand out stiff punishments to people who traffic immigrants. Unfortunately, there are many of them.

Honourable senators, immigration isn’t a burden. It’s part of our history, our prosperity and our future. Bill S-215 doesn’t call for more or less immigration to Canada, and it doesn’t promote a particular aspect of our country’s immigration policy. Rather, the bill is meant to educate successive generations of our nation’s immigrants, the people who shaped Canada into a multicultural society that mirrors a multicultural world. These generations are present here, in this chamber, from all over the world, and they deserve to be celebrated.

Although I’m no historian, I’d like to briefly review the major waves of migration that have shaped Canada. This is only an overview, as I already addressed this aspect in greater detail at second reading of Bill S-286, the predecessor to this bill that unfortunately died on the Order Paper in the previous Parliament.

I invite you to read that speech if you would like to review that detailed historical analysis. It is important to remember that the territory we now call Canada was inhabited long before the arrival of Europeans. Indigenous Peoples had been living here for thousands of years, and Vikings are believed to have reached the coast of Newfoundland as early as 1021.

Canada’s migration history is part of a long process that began when the first Europeans settled here, notably with the founding of Quebec City in 1608. After the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the country welcomed American Loyalists, followed by waves of immigrants from Europe, particularly Ireland.

At the time of Confederation in 1867, Canada had a population of approximately 3.6 million and immigration was considered essential to its development, particularly in terms of settling the West. However, its immigration policies remained selective, discriminatory even, for a long time, favouring Europeans and systematically excluding Asians, Black people and other populations.

This intensive settlement created tensions with Indigenous Peoples, leading to conflicts such as the Northwest Rebellion in 1885. After World War II, Canada became a more welcoming country, ending its discriminatory laws and welcoming refugees and people displaced by war. For example, the private sponsorship program allowed thousands of refugees from Southeast Asia to come to Canada.

By the 1960s, one-third of Canadians had origins that were neither British nor French. These waves of immigration contributed to shaping a multicultural society, making Canada the G7 country with the highest proportion of immigrants.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, more than 8.3 million people, almost one-quarter of the population, were or had been landed immigrants or permanent residents in Canada.

Given that Canada’s population is gradually aging and that its birth rate remains below the replacement rate, immigration is now the country’s main driver of population growth. According to Statistics Canada projections, immigrants could represent between 29.1% and 34% of Canada’s population by 2041. These numbers underscore the critical importance of having a well-thought-out, inclusive and forward-looking immigration policy.

Colleagues, through this brief look back at the history of the Canadian people, I wanted to remind you of a fundamental truth. As I said at the beginning, all of us, apart from Indigenous people, come from somewhere else. Centuries, decades, months or even days ago, we all came from somewhere else to build and populate this country, Canada.

However, we must never forget that the process of settling the land and occupying the territory has often led to the loss of Indigenous cultures, languages, traditions and lands.

Our country is therefore a product of the hopes and dreams of millions of immigrants arriving from the four corners of the planet to build a better life. Unfortunately, for Indigenous Peoples, it has meant a tragic erasure of their rights and their tangible and intangible assets.

These two realities are two sides of the same coin. They make up our history, and we must never deny that. They create a demand for justice, reparation and compensation, as well as a duty to remember that we must pass on to future generations.

Another reason I introduced Bill S-215 is the proliferation of motions and laws in this chamber and the other place celebrating the heritage of this or that community living in Canada. Colleagues, there’s no doubt that the aim of these various initiatives is legitimate and stems from the same observation I made: the need to highlight immigrants’ invaluable contributions to our country.

I see national immigration month as a useful wake-up call, at a time when some people have no hesitation in blaming immigrants for certain complex and difficult social situations. It could act as a showcase, an opportunity for all our immigrant groups to highlight their contributions and their communities. By bringing the new celebrations together, this national month, far from diluting them, would act as a forum for them.

It will be a forum to bring together all of these communities and celebrate them, because they deserve to be celebrated, no matter how big or small they are. It will also be a shared space to highlight the bountiful contributions, great and small, of all immigrants, no matter the size of their community.

Colleagues, I’ve had the opportunity to present this bill to many groups, and I’ve seen how much support there is for establishing a national immigration month. On May 15, 2024, my team and I held a virtual round table to hear first-hand from groups representing immigrants’ interests. We brought together about 30 organizations to get their feedback on the initiative I am sponsoring.

During that very productive session, we got input from stakeholders across the country representing Canada’s largest immigrant communities. The message we received was clear. All the stakeholders confirmed their support for a bill to establish a national immigration month.

Of course, the consultation wasn’t exhaustive, but it was a meaningful way to find out whether organizations affected by this bill would welcome such a month.

We also continued our consultations all last summer, this time by phone. I asked what month would be best for the initiative. Something of a consensus emerged around November, which seems appropriate for a number of reasons. First of all, National Francophone Immigration Week takes place in November. Second, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which sets out the fundamental principles governing in this area, received Royal Assent on November 1, 2001. I want to emphasize how important this act is, given that it governs Canada’s modern-day immigration policy. Allow me to give you a brief historical overview of the key steps that led to the passage of this legislation, to show why it’s so important to us.

For a long time, Canada’s immigration policy favoured White immigration. Overtly racist laws excluded many applicants. You may recall the head tax imposed on Chinese migrants as far back as 1885, the almost total prohibition on Black immigration in 1911, the restrictions on Japanese and Indian immigrants, and the refusal to take in Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis in 1939. The situation changed after 1947 with the removal of certain prohibitions, and again in 1967 with the creation of a points system based on skills, education and family ties, rather than ethnic origin.

The 1976 Immigration Act modernized the system. It affirmed the principles of diversity and non-discrimination and recognized refugees as a protected category. As a result, more than 327,000 refugees came to Canada as part of the private sponsorship program launched in 1979. Since 1980, Canada has had five major immigration pathways: independent immigration, humanitarian immigration, family reunification, assisted immigration and economic immigration. Finally, on November 1, 2001, the 1976 Immigration Act was replaced by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The new law maintained many of the principles and policies set out in the previous law, particularly the different categories of immigrants. It also expanded the family class to include same-sex couples and common-law relationships. This law is the cornerstone of Canada’s current immigration policy.

The choice of November to celebrate national immigration month is based on a powerful milestone: the passage of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which came into force on November 1, 2001. This law is one of the modern pillars of our immigration policy, and associating it with this month reinforces the historical and civic scope of the initiative. It is a pillar of immigration policy, which is why it must be linked to Bill S-215, since that act is still in force today.

In addition, November is a unique time in Parliament. It’s a good time to organize parliamentary activities. It usually coincides with an active period in the House of Commons and the Senate, which will facilitate political and institutional engagement around this commemoration. Aside from Remembrance Day, there’s not much on the calendar in November, so there’s space to give a national celebration of immigration all the visibility it deserves.

Colleagues, this bill is an acknowledgement of the generations of people who developed our country. The goal is to remind ourselves that nearly all of us are from somewhere else. By bringing together all of the activities related to celebrations, this month will strengthen support for all the motions in Parliament to celebrate our diverse communities and showcase who we are as Canadians from all over the world.

I would like to tell you all a little bit about myself. I came to Canada in 1986 with my husband. We chose to immigrate to this country to pursue our studies. My husband had received funding from the now-defunct Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, to complete his doctorate in communications. We were supposed to return to Cameroon after his studies. However, we decided to stay in Canada to provide a better life for our four children, three of whom were born here.

Today, thanks to the various initiatives of my family members, all of whom are entrepreneurs like me, I can say that all of us have contributed to this country’s prosperity. We have done it by creating jobs and taking in immigrants as foreign workers. I have been doing it here alongside you for the past four years. However, we still get asked the same old question that I mentioned at the start of my speech: Where are you from? My children were born here, in Montreal North, in Laval, in Saint‑Lambert and in Lorraine, but they get asked the same question. My grandchildren were born here, but they get asked the same question. The purpose of this bill is to bring about change, to promote acceptance of the fact that we all come from somewhere else, and to convince people to stop asking this question. It may be a legitimate question, and people will not stop asking it. However, people need to be taught, told and reminded that, apart from Indigenous people, all Canadians are immigrants or descended from immigrants.

Colleagues, as you have seen, Canada is fundamentally a land of immigration. Immigration has shaped the country we love today.

Recognizing a month dedicated to immigration would send a powerful message to all Canadians and to the international community. Therefore, I urge you, honourable senators, to stand with me and support this bill.

Immigrants are not strangers. They are part of our nation. Immigrants are the past, the present and the future of Canada.

That is why I urge you, honourable senators, to refer Bill S-215, an act respecting national immigration month, to committee as soon as possible, so it can be studied and become law in Canada.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.