Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have two quick points, and I thank the member for Edmonton Griesbach for the question. I believe that the Government of Canada should not be choosing which provincial program it wants to support. Provinces are better off making those decisions on the ground. They know where to allocate their resources most effectively. Secondly, on housing, the government could have done what the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, the member is inferring that I am opposed to wearing masks when my question had to do with vaccination status in—
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is a real honour to be able to follow up on some questions I had of the government related to infrastructure in the context of disaster recovery in the number one riding in all of Canada, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, and the number two riding in Canada, that of Abbotsford. Everyone in the House knows the challenges my constituents have faced, the challenges the constituents of …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Ottawa Centre for acknowledging that we need to make very real and very targeted investments in British Columbia right now to keep our population safe, update our infrastructure and account for these natural disasters, and we need to do so quickly. When does the hon. member think we are going to hear something from the joint committee? Has t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today I am tabling two petitions. The first petition relates to the U.S. Department of State's 20th Trafficking in Persons Report, which indicates that Canada meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. It also indicates that governments at all levels have failed to collaborate on a solution. My constituents are calling on the federal government, as the report urge…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am presenting today relates to Afghanistan. On the day the Prime Minister called a federal election, Afghanistan's capital city fell to the Taliban. In the chaos of the evacuation, many of our brave Afghan allies were left behind. My constituents call upon the Government of Canada to partner with the Veterans Transition Network and others to launch more evacuatio…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, it is a real pleasure to be in the House today. I thank my hon. colleague from across the aisle, the member for Surrey Centre, for his remarks today and for the collaboration we have had over the last few months as we dealt with the devastation impacting British Columbians. As the member knows, my riding is the heartland of agriculture in British Columbia. Right now, blueberry farme…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his discourse here today, and I have to say that I do miss him at the human resources committee. The member talked a lot about some of the positive things that we have seen or that he has seen coming from the Liberal housing strategy, but Prince Edward Island, like most other regions of this country, has seen drastic increases in the cost of…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan): (a) how many projects have received funding through PacifiCan since the announced creation of the agency in August 2021; (b) what are the details of each project in (a), including the (i) date of the announcement, (ii) project description, (iii) project location, (iv) funding recipient, (v) projected total project cost, (vi) amount of…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, earlier today, on my way to the agriculture committee with the hon. member, I spoke to some police officers from the Ottawa police force and the Toronto police force in town. I asked them how the weekend went and how things were going today, and they said that there were definitely some bad apples. As the grandson of grandparents from the Netherlands who suffered under Nazi occupati…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for Kitchener South—Hespeler on her very first speech in the House of Commons. One thing she said really stuck out to me, and that was that we need to work together in the House. Under the Liberal government, the cost of housing in her community in the fourth quarter of last year went up 36.2%. Is the hon. member willing to work with the Conse…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé for the good questions he asked this morning about the crisis taking place in my riding, in British Columbia. I agree with him today that there was not much in the throne speech about the housing crisis across Canada. Can the hon. member give us some ideas for improving the situation of young Canadians with regard to the housing crisis?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on August 15, Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban. The Government of Canada was completely unprepared to evacuate its own citizens as well as the thousands of Afghan allies and their families who supported our nation's military and humanitarian efforts, leaving them in country and at risk of Taliban retribution. The Veterans Transition Network, non-profit organ…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member for Ottawa Centre into the House of Commons in his new role as parliamentary secretary. I would ask him to answer a couple of my questions very specifically. First, the funds announced under the DFAA are for this fiscal year. Will they still be available in the following fiscal year? As the member mentioned, some of the requests coming from the province are still …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Insurance Bureau of Canada declared the B.C. floods the most costly severe weather event in the province’s history. The quote for insured private damages is $450 million, but the actual cost is much higher because many affected were uninsured or under-insured. This also does not account for public infrastructure lost. As well, $155 million in insured damage was incurred by wildfir…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the devastation impacting Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and all of B.C. is unprecedented. Farmers in the blueberry sector are especially terrified about the consequences of another flood and its impacts on food security and the economy of B.C. Will the Minister of Agriculture commit, especially for Matsqui, British Columbia, to funding the dike repairs and enhancements throughout the …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, yes, I did vote against the budget, and there is one big reason I voted against it. Just the other day, Bill Curry in The Globe and Mail said there was $600 billion of money that has not been accounted for. To function as a government, the government needs to be transparent and it is not, with more money spent ever than in the history of Canada. I welcome that line item in the budge…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, it is a true honour to stand here once again. My thanks to the hon. member for Brantford—Brant who may have just had his first speech in the House of Commons. I think that all of us Parliamentarians do better when we have more Crown prosecutors in the House of Commons to teach us about our justice system. It has been a really good, busy few weeks getting Parliament back and getting …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, it is incumbent upon the Government of Canada to meet the targets set by Stephen Harper a long time ago now and to see Canada move forward. Related to climate change, what my constituents want to see, and what the village of Lytton wants to see right now, are concrete actions related to climate resiliency and adaptation in the reconstruction of their homes and of their communities. …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, that was a unanimous consent motion. All I can say is that we talk a lot about Quebec jurisdiction. We also need to talk about British Columbia jurisdiction. British Columbia only has six senators. I do not think there is a Supreme Court judge from British Columbia right now. The reality is that British Columbia needs a strong voice in Parliament right now. I am very pleased that in…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the new member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill for probably one of her first speeches. Right now, forestry workers in my riding do not want to hear rhetoric about a win-win because this has already been a loss-loss. They have already lost the jobs, the mills are already closing and forestry companies in B.C. like West Fraser are looking to go south of the borde…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, it is a real pleasure to stand this evening and talk about timber, to talk about softwood lumber and the impact it is having across rural Canada. I appreciate the member for Timmins—James Bay raising the plight of workers. In my riding, workers have lost their jobs. They have lost their livelihoods and the ability to provide for their families because of government policy and government…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, twice in as many weeks, my constituents in the Fraser Valley and the Fraser Canyon have been impacted by widespread flooding. Washed-out highways, flooded fields and swamped barns have impacted agricultural production. Canadians are incurring huge losses across the board. Food security and our livelihood depend on federal support. Can the minister responsible for Pacific economic deve…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, yet another atmospheric river is hitting B.C. We are bracing for and actively experiencing even more flooding. I will be pushing the recently formed federal-provincial B.C. flood recovery committee for the critical infrastructure small communities cannot afford, dike repairs and a revamp of our emergency response policy to learn from our mistakes. It goes without saying that highways …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I will mention to the hon. member that reaching a deal is very important for British Columbia. When you move forward in the coming weeks and months, there should be a degree of transparency that lets industry know that the government is on their side and that you are giving a clear timeline about the actions you are taking when you are taking them. The economic loss is felt. The job…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the news last week that the Americans were doubling duties on softwood lumber for Canadian producers is yet another blow to B.C.'s economy. The communities I represent continue to be hammered by either natural disasters or now a failed trade policy. We simply cannot seem to catch a break. B.C. is the largest Canadian exporter of softwood lumber to the U.S., and our forestry industry…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, sometimes the lessons we do not like are the best lessons learned. It was over six years ago that the hon. member for Abbotsford negotiated the last softwood lumber agreement we had in Canada. Now, due to Liberal inaction, the Biden administration has doubled the tariffs, and the workers in my riding, where mills have been shut, are wondering when the Liberal government will give them…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the answer is absolutely yes. I worked hard with the member for Vancouver East on a study and it is very clear, especially in rural and northern communities, that indigenous people are not getting a fair shake from the federal government in terms of equal access to government programs. It is incumbent upon this new Parliament to address those rural deficiencies, especially in indige…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I owe my colleague from Vancouver East an apology, because during my caucus meeting today I missed our panel on CBC Radio in Vancouver. I apologize to her for that. I hope she stood up for the opposition. Regarding my colleague's question, I spoke with the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion about the supports the Government of Canada is going to p…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Vancouver Granville for his first speech in the House of Commons. Indeed, many of the disasters we have seen since the summer and into the fall, in my riding especially, are caused by climate change. However, we cannot forget that early in the 20th century the Government of Canada drained the Sumas Lake and created a system of dikes that have art…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, it has been a very reassuring evening in the House of Commons. The people in my communities in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon are in the midst of a very difficult year, which is bringing home the impacts of climate change in ways none of us thought about even a short time ago. On June 29, Canada's heat record was shattered as temperatures soared to 49.6°C, marking the hottest day in …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year I requested that special funding through the Treasury Board Secretariat management reserve be delivered expeditiously for the Village of Lytton. Can the Prime Minister provide any assurances about the type of funding the Village of Lytton will receive and what funding stream will be utilized by the Government of Canada to provide the support he just assured the House…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on June 29 my riding suffered one of the worst disasters in recent memory: Lytton burned to the ground. Now floods and mudslides have destroyed critical infrastructure and private property in every corner of my riding in the last few weeks. My constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon are hurting. B.C. is hurting. We are resilient and we will get through this, but we need help. Th…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I agree with the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap. I have already been pushing the Minister of Infrastructure in this House since we have been here together. I had the most productive hour of my month on Monday when everyone was in the House of Commons and I could go from minister to minister, impressing upon them the need to take action for British Columbia. What I heard tonight i…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the other day I had a meeting with Chief Patrick Michell. He is a very dynamic individual and has worked really hard to get the federal government out of the way so Kanaka Bar Indian Band can build housing. Right now, as part of its infrastructure plan, I think the federal government needs to get housing built. It took three years for Chief Michell to get 24 units built. Let us work…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for keeping it real with respect to the impacts people are feeling right now. A friend on Facebook who I went to high school with said, “My house is flooded, but I can't leave my dogs.” For many people, and those of us who door-knock, basically one in three Canadians has a pet that is considered a part of the family. Those are very traumat…
Read full speech →