Parliamentary Speeches
946 speeches by Adam van Koeverden — Page 11 of 19
Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, this trope that renewable energy does not work in cold climates or that renewable energy requires sunny days and windy days exclusively is tired and it is not based on facts. Alberta is the sunniest province in Canada. Its capacity for generating renewable electricity knows no bounds. The investments in renewable electricity in that province are also extraordinary, but this past sum…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned the bureaucracy, and the previous speaker, the member for Carleton, took credit for other people's work. One of these people is Mike Moffatt, author of the National Housing Accord. He had the chance to read the Conservative proposal for affordable housing. He said that “this bill is an exceptionally weak response to the housing crisis, riddled with loopholes.”…
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Madam Speaker, as I was saying, the clean electricity regulations, along with other complementary measures, will help spur investment in clean electricity, sending strong signals to avoid investment in new unabated natural gas generation products, and will help drive forward the development of emerging clean technologies. We really need to address the squeakiest wheels in Canada. I am angry at the…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. We are eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and encouraging smart government investments to increase Canada's competitiveness. In budget 2023, we also announced our $120‑billion clean economy plan to grow Canada's clean economy and create good-paying jobs.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. We are seeing the effects of climate change across the country, and we know that we have to do more. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge an important announcement that the minister made yesterday about methane emissions. He said that Canada will exceed its target of reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 2030. We are…
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Mr. Speaker, a serious and responsible government needs to have a plan for affordability and climate change, and more and more we are learning that the Conservatives do not have a plan for either. This summer, while Liberals were in their ridings meeting with their constituents, a few Conservatives, like the member for Cumberland—Colchester, the member for New Brunswick Southwest and the member fo…
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Mr. Speaker, I represent a rural riding too, and what the member does not get is that farmers believe in climate change and they want to help fight it. I spent the summer with my community listening to their concerns and I heard them loud and clear. Affordability is a major issue and we are reminded harshly, through the—
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, like the member, I live in a rural riding, and unlike the Conservatives, I spent the summer talking to my constituents and hearing their concerns. I heard them loud and clear. Affordability is a top issue, but we are also reminded harshly, through extreme weather events throughout the summer, that fighting climate change is more important than ever. We have a plan to …
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Mr. Speaker, we lost a dear friend last week, at just 34 years old: my pal from Pemberton, Liam Fisher. Liam was a fellow paddler, who recently moved to Grenada to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor at St. George's University. He was not content with just being the fittest guy in the lower mainland of Vancouver, but dreamed of doing more, helping more people, and he aspired to help people as a …
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Mr. Speaker, it is 2023, and if one does not have a plan to address climate change, one does not have a plan for affordability or for the economy either. It is clear that every single idea the Conservatives put forth makes it clear that they are out of touch. In fact, the only recommendations those Conservatives have put forward would cut social programs. I am talking about things that actually su…
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Mr. Speaker, a serious responsible government needs to have a plan to address both affordability and climate change, but all these Conservatives have are slogans and catch phrases to stick on T-shirts and bumper stickers. Groceries are too expensive, but one of the main driving forces behind, for example, expensive lettuce in drought-prone places is climate change. While that member was hobnobbing…
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Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives just do not seem to get is that there is a cost to climate change as well. I appreciate the opportunity to remind Canadians that the price on pollution is a rebate program. Over the next couple of weeks, the tax-free quarterly payment goes out. That is the first week of October. My colleague is from Ontario. For a family of four, this happens four times a year, …
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Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I get to stand in the House on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. I would like to express solidarity with and condolences to all of the families who suffered this year's unprecedented wildfire season. I will read a quote called “a good idea” from a well-known Conservative: “I wholeheartedly support, especially [in] the production of energy…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the government's approach to carbon pricing pollution is working, and any reference to the contrary is false. Industries are encouraged to become more efficient, and they are using cleaner technologies. The member opposite says they are all for technology and not for pricing carbon, but they work hand in hand, and any economist worth their salt would say the exact same. Indeed, Pres…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to see you here and to be here with my colleagues in the House this evening. It is good to be back. It was a great summer. I had a nice time having conversations with my constituents as well, but it certainly is excellent to be back in the House representing our constituents. I am here with a new role, and it is a huge honour and privilege to be the Parliamentary Secret…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to congratulate my colleague for the passage of Bill C-13. There is a small, but very strong francophone community in Milton. On Monday, I plan to attend a graduation ceremony at that school. I thank the hon. minister for her hard work passing historic legislation for minority language rights in Canada. Once again, I would like to acknowledge how historic our investments…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the National Transplant Consensus Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine was written by the Canadian Society of Transplantation’s transplant infections disease group, reviewed by its ethics committee and endorsed by the board of directors. The Government of Canada was not involved in these guidelines. The published document National Transplant Consensus Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine lays out the…
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Mr. Speaker, on November 13, 2020, Public Services and Procurement Canada signed an advance purchase agreement, APA, with Medicago for the supply of 20 million firm doses, with options for up to an additional 56 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. While Medicago’s COVID-19 vaccine was approved in Canada in February 2022, due to unanticipated manufacturing issues, Medicago was not able to market…
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Mr. Speaker, when the pandemic started, it was not known which vaccines would be successful or when they would be available. Experts therefore advised Canada to secure many different types of vaccines. To secure fast access to vaccines for everyone in the country, Canada set up advance purchase agreements, APAs, with seven manufacturers: Moderna, Novavax, Medicago, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sanofi and Glax…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, when the pandemic started, it was not known which vaccines would be successful or when they would be available. Experts therefore advised Canada to secure many different types of vaccines. To secure fast access to vaccines for everyone in the country, Canada set up advance purchase agreements, APAs, with seven manufacturers: Moderna, Novavax, Medicago, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sanofi and Glax…
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives love to stand up in the House and claim to be the stewards of the economy and to have presided over the previous government with balanced budgets, but they only balanced the budget once and it was a fake balanced budget. It was at the expense of a lot of infrastructure in Canada. The member opposite ran on a commitment in the last election to both price carbon and run …
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand in the House this evening on the final day of this parliamentary session. I am extremely happy to take part in today's debate to speak to our country's economic situation and the measures we are taking to make life more affordable from coast to coast to coast. Before I do that, I have two things to say. Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, so I would like…
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Mr. Speaker, it is now worth up to $467 for a couple with two children, and up to $234 for a single Canadian without children. My hon. NDP colleague down the way pointed out that it required a little collaboration, and I think that is actually the best part about this place. We come together, find solutions and talk about things that are going to help Canadians. I thank the New Democratic Party fo…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I am shocked that the Conservatives would say one thing but then do another. With all of the support for Ukraine in our budget, the Conservatives voted against it. With all of the supports for Ukraine through the most difficult time in that country's existence, they voted against it. Then, they stand in the House and suggest that the one way we should help Ukraine is by ex…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and for her interest in this very important issue. I believe it is a question of collaboration and responsibility. The constituents of my riding of Milton want a better education system and better health care. Over the past six years under the current premier of Ontario, we have seen cuts to the education system and the health care system. It is a…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby for doing what I did not do during my 20 minutes, which is to thank the resources of the House and the people who work so hard to make sure everything about democracy that we all love and hold so dear happens. I would also add the analysts, the Library of Parliament and all the clerks. The whip is saying I shou…
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Madam Speaker, June is Men's Health Month. This week has been International Men's Health Week, and we also recognized June 15 as Men's Mental Health Awareness Day. I sat down with representatives from both the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Centre for Suicide Prevention to talk about men's health, because unfortunately men do not prioritize or talk about their physical or mental health…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. government House leader for his speech and for sharing this evening. It was very touching. I am struck with the reality that every party in this House has used hybrid over a period of time. It has become a useful tool for a lot of different reasons. Can he speak to the diversity of reasons one might choose to or need to engage virtually? Can he also co…
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Madam Speaker, we cannot say members' names, and that would be an inappropriate name under that rule anyway.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Richmond Hill for his hard work, and for his excellent advocacy in his riding and at the health committee for foreign credentials qualifications. Yesterday, our government announced $78.5 million for three projects that support foreign credentials qualifications for internationally trained medical graduates to grow and support our hea…
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Mr. Speaker, the days of having to rely on images of crumbling glaciers and Amazon deforestation to express urgency with respect to the climate emergency we find ourselves in are history. The climate emergency is at our doorstep, in our neighbourhoods and, over these past few weeks, in our lungs. Whether it is the wildfires, floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes or other extreme weather events,…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have no credibility when it comes to supporting families. When they were in power, they sent out cheques to millionaires with their universal child benefit. Our Canada child benefit has supported tens of thousands of families in my riding alone. If the Conservatives really want to support families, then they should support dental care, which has provided dental care …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the speech from my colleague from the New Democratic Party. For most of the evening, we have been hearing some pretty fanciful stuff with respect to climate change and the efforts by previous prime minister Brian Mulroney to abate acid rain, which was historic and so important. However, the way that this former prime minister worked to deal with the issues of the time hav…
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Madam Speaker, people often call my riding office to ask about services for seniors and children of low-income families. Right now, my riding is particularly well off. Since dental care is a service for low-income people, what does my colleague have to say to voters in my riding and his riding who need help and who want this budget to be passed?
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Mr. Speaker, I regret having to play fact check. First, on foreign direct investment, the five-year snapshot of the foreign direct investments in the last five years is upward of $1,141 billion, so over $1 trillion is an average. In the Harper years, it was almost half of that, $617 billion over a five-year period per year. On foreign direct investment, there is really no comparing the federal Lib…
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Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed the scholarly history lesson. I have enjoyed a lot of the speeches tonight. They have been quite wide-ranging. I heard a bootstrap argument about the agency to make more decisions about one's own economic future. I agree with that. However, I would note that it came from a member who would like for women to have fewer choices about their own reproductive futures. I also hear…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, once again, the member opposite just pulled numbers out of thin air, stating that 60% of somebody's paycheque is going to housing. Those are examples, not statistics. We are driven by evidence on this side of the House to make sure that we are investing where it is needed. For example, recently the federal government and Ontario's provincial government came together to find an infil…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to talk about something that I care very deeply about, and that is affordable housing in Canada. Before I get to the substantive question, I note that in an earlier debate this evening, we were talking about child care. Since we are talking about home finances, I think it prudent to put down that there is a calculator on the federal government's website …
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Madam Speaker, in fact, I would go a step farther in saying my goal is not just so that my children, knock on wood, as I do not have any yet but I would like to one day, could survive. My goal in the House of Commons, and one of the main reasons I put my name on a ballot, and I know I share this with many of my colleagues in the House, regardless of party stripe, is so that my future children thri…
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Madam Speaker, thank you for being here this evening and into the wee hours of the morning. I would like to thank my friend and colleague, the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, for her question this evening, but not just for that. I want to thank her for her decades of service and her leadership. I would also like to thank her for being an incredible steward and spokesperson, a voice of reason in t…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the member opposite was able to personalize a little, and I can too. Last Friday, I was walking through Milton and knocking on doors. In between doors, I talked to Teddy, who was pushing his son in a little stroller. Teddy's son was driving the stroller, actually. I asked how his family was doing. I said I knew there are tough financial times right now and asked if everybo…
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Madam Speaker, yes, I am offended. As the product of a single mother, I am quite offended by that. The suggestion that it costs too much to provide an early learning and child care program was also false. When women go back to work, they tend to earn money and pay taxes, and that pays for programs like this. I would like the member to appreciate that.
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Madam Speaker, the notion that somehow anybody in this House has devalued the importance of women in parenting roles is absurd. This is all about choice. This program has helped so many women and fathers go back to work earlier as a result of this subsidy. For what it is worth, I know lots of men who are the primary caretakers and lots of women who are the primary earners in those relationships, a…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to hear that my friend, the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, is among the thousands of British Columbians saving $550 or $450 a month on child care fees as a result of these investments. However, I agree that more needs to be done to increase spaces. Certainly the labour shortage across the country is not specific to child care but is in every sector. I am also th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), since the start of the pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada, PHAC, has conducted several reviews and assessments of its emergency response activities, including linkages with key emergency management plans. During this time, these plans have provided a useful framework for establishing key governance and operational structures to drive response activit…
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Mr. Speaker, the pan-Canadian vaccine injury support program, VISP, provides financial support to people in Canada in the rare event that they experience a serious and permanent injury as a result of receiving a Health Canada authorized vaccine, administered in Canada, on or after December?8, 2020. The program also provides death benefits and support for funeral expenses in the rare case of a deat…
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Madam Speaker, I have a brief question, but first I have a comment. The member mentioned electric cars. I do not think electric cars are the solution for climate change. I think they are one of them. I live close to a big city, so I drive an electric car. I enjoy it very much. Madam Speaker and I were talking about an electric car purchase and I hope hers is going well. That is not the point. The …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend for his question. I think my colleague from Mirabel and I are friends. I think it is fair to say that the only questions worth discussing in this conversation are those of the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Greens, because they also believe in climate change and in carbon pricing, and we have the same goal. I recognize that Quebec is way ahead of the…
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Madam Speaker, I think my colleague opposite is doing exactly what the Parliamentary Budget Officer expressed dismay about in an article in the Toronto Sun just recently. My colleague can look it up. It is picking and choosing bits and pieces of the report and not seeing the big picture. The point is this: There are costs to doing nothing, and there are costs associated with every type of regulati…
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Madam Speaker, it would be remiss of me to go on at all, but it is great to know that they are attentive, at least. Putting a price on pollution is both effective and an essential part of any serious response to the global climate change. That is why all parties in the House, all 338 members who were out knocking doors in the campaign in 2021, committed to a price on pollution in one way, shape or…
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