New Ministers of Immigration

On January 15, 2002, Denis Coderre was appointed Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Mr. Coderre is the Member of Parliament for Bourassa (Montreal). He had been Secretary of State for Amateur Sport since August 3, 1999.

Following his appointment, Mr. Coderre, noted that Canada was largely built by immigrants, and called his new appointment "a great honor," but "not an easy task." Mr. Coderre, a rising Liberal star from Quebec, also indicated he would draw on experiences in his ethnically diverse Montreal riding to build links among communities. "It will be very, very important after Sept. 11 to share and to listen ... and to learn from each other."

The Honorable Denis Coderre also indicated shortly after his new appointment that the proposed regulations and the retroactivity were both issued that would need to be discussed further. Mr. Coderre wasted no time addressing these issues and just two weeks into the job, he gave the all-party Commons immigration committee another month to review 262 immigration regulations that take effect June 28. Mr. Coderre also requested the committee to draw up guidelines for regulating immigration consultants — those who charge to help foreigners enter Canada. Such consultants now operate unfettered by any ethics code or standards.

Quebec's Premier, Mr. Bernard Landry, also appointed a new Immigration Minister (Ministre des Relations avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration), Mr. Remy Trudel, following a Cabinet shuffle which took place on January 30th, 2002. Mr. Trudel was also appointed to the following Ministries:

- Ministre d'État à la Population et aux Affaires autochtones
- Ministre délégué aux Affaires autochtones
- Ministre responsable de la Politique de la natalité
- Ministre responsable de la région de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue