Mr. Speaker, as chair of the immigration and citizenship committee, I am presenting two reports today.

I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, entitled “Reconstituting Canada’s International Student Program”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

In addition, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, in relation to the motion adopted on Wednesday, March 25, regarding Canada's immigration system.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(b), I rise as a member of the official opposition supporting the dissenting opinion appended to the report. We found that the government failed to consult communities on whether they could sustainably handle the massive influx of international students. While institutions collected record profits, international students were left at food banks and suffering from the heightened local housing crisis their large numbers were causing.

The lack of oversight from the government has recently come to light in the Auditor General's report, which found that the government investigated only 2.6% of the 153,000 suspected cases of international student fraud.

For these reasons, our recommendations include, among others, one, that international study permit approval be tied directly to regional housing availability, health care capacity and employment; two, that there be stronger language proficiency requirements to ensure student success; and three, that financial liability for institutions should be established when students overstay or file asylum claims.

I ask that the dissenting report opinion be appended to the committee report.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of residents of Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford who are raising concerns about individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a listed terrorist organization in Canada. The petitioners warn that such actors threaten national security and may be operating within Canada. They also note that sanctions and the closure of Canada's embassy in Iran have delayed immigration applications and prolonged family separation. They call upon the Government of Canada to enforce its designation of the IRGC by investigating and removing affiliated individuals where warranted, freezing linked assets and expediting immigration processes for affected Iranian nationals while supporting the Iranian people and protecting democratic values.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to table this petition on behalf of petitioners who are part of the peace train movement. They highlight that for lasting peace, military deterrence must take place within the context of long-term solutions identified through research and analysis.

They also note that, within its NATO funding commitment, Canada can and should establish a national centre dedicated to peacebuilding and should contribute much more funding, training, equipment and personnel to UN peacekeeping, and that Canada's pre-eminent free institutions dedicated to peacebuilding have been terminated, including the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre and the Canadian Institute for Peace and Human Security. They point to a national defence report that recommends that the Government of Canada re-establish the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre with a mandate that includes, but is not limited to, conflict research, conflict prevention, mediation and civilian protection.

Lastly, they recommend that the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association also advocate for the re-establishment of the former peacekeeping centre.

The petitioners' call to action is to establish and fund, as a fundamental part of Canada's increasing commitment to defence and security, an independent Canadian centre for peace dedicated to peacekeeping and global security through research, education, policy and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy and peace operations for Canadian civilians, police and military personnel, and the international community.

As members can imagine, this is a timely petition given the global conflict that we are enduring right now.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present petition e-7104, with over 700 signatures.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to establish a comprehensive legal framework to protect minors from predatory drug dealers; to monitor social media, target online trafficking and require social media companies to implement policies to prevent it; to enact a federal law against child criminal exploitation based on the approach of the United Kingdom's crime and policing bill; and to empower and require police to thoroughly and effectively investigate all reports of drug trafficking and criminal exploitation involving minors, and to provide witness protection when needed.

Sixty per cent of all illicit drug users in Canada are young people aged 15 to 24, and drug overdose is the leading cause of death among youth ages 10 to 18 in several Canadian provinces.

Mr. Speaker, my first petition is being presented on behalf of citizens and residents across Canada who are calling on the government to reverse the planned cuts of 665 AAFC staff and closures of the organic and regenerative research program at the Swift Current office and the Lacombe, Guelph, Quebec City, Indian Head, Scott, Portage la Prairie and Nappan research facilities that serve our agriculture industry.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition that I am presenting today is in regard to Bill C-9.

I have many petitions on this issue, which has passed from this House to the other place. I have been requested to continue to present them because the bill will come back. The petitioners are hoping that this particular concern around the ability of all scriptures for all religions in our country to be protected as they are supposed to be is addressed and that, in the future when the House on the other side is doing the research, it will truly do its job and have the witnesses and stakeholders that will present what we hope will bring what Canadians want, an end to Bill C-9.