Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of Canadians who are aware that the Liberal Party was elected on a promise to revoke charitable status for pregnancy counselling centres, and it is deeply disturbing to them. They indicate that Canadians actually want more pregnancy counselling centres, not fewer, and they have concerns for young women who are, perhaps, expecting their very f…
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Madam Speaker, after over two years of uncertainty and lockdown, small businesses are only starting to get back on their feet. A small business in my riding received support through the Canada emergency business account. As an entertainment company, it was among the hardest hit during the lockdown. It originally qualified for the CEBA loan and depended on this loan to keep the lights on. Now the b…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, there is no translation.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is very pleased with this legislation, which would give him more power to extend the national security reviews of investments. By doing so, the power would be moved from the Governor in Council and would place the responsibility in the hands of two ministers: the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Public Safety. Why should we trust the government to remove the accou…
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Madam Speaker, the truth of the matter is that the minister has shown his hand. He has no intention of not making this law come into effect. That is where Canadians have drawn the line. The reason they have stalled is because they realize they are not reflecting the values and the desires of the majority of Canadians. For once, I would love to see the Liberals function as a government on behalf of…
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Madam Speaker, there is so much that is being left on the table in the back room, I do not know where, that is not being done, and it raises doubts in veterans' minds as to the true intent of the government in truly meeting their needs. I am serious. We have a backlog that continues to grow, while the minister is talking about the billions of dollars we are throwing at this, and it is the same wit…
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Madam Speaker, the truth of the matter is that this issue exposed something that is happening in our society, and it is happening without oversight. When the previous minister of justice indicated in the House that the first bill on assisted suicide, or MAID, had to be studied extensively before we moved forward with any other considerations, the government just flew right by that and immediately …
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity this evening to speak to Bill C-39. At the outset, I believe it is important, first of all, that my constituents know that this bill is not a complicated one. It does not propose anything new to Canada’s euthanasia laws, nor does it propose to appeal laws that are currently in place. This is a simple bill that delays the expansion of medical assistanc…
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Madam Speaker, this morning I had a great meeting with representatives from the CLC. We talked about the issues around a just transition, and they were very concerned. Right now, there is funding to assist people in retraining into more environmentally friendly jobs, however, they are very frustrated because the government has indicated that they have to quit their existing jobs before they can ge…
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Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to present this evening. The first is from citizens and residents of Canada who wish to draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: The Liberal government promised, in its 2021 platform, to deny the charitable status of organizations that have convictions about abortions, which the Liberal Party views as dishonest. This may jeopardize the char…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition is from petitioners who point out that, although Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were recently released after 1,000 days of unjust detention in China, there are at least 115 Canadians still being detained in China, including Huseyin Celil, who has been detained for over 5,000 days. The Chinese government has refused to accept his Canadian citizenship an…
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Madam Speaker, I respect that. Unfortunately, these are issues that I am not as familiar with, but I was asked to present them. I will do my best to shorten this particular one. The citizens of Canada draw the attention of the House of Commons to the fact that Abdul Rahman Khan, the emir of Afghanistan, was installed by the British government and received a subsidy from it. They waged a genocidal …
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-311, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (violence against pregnant women). Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the member for South Surrey—White Rock for seconding my bill. It means a great deal to me. It is my honour to rise to introduce this private member's bill, which would go a long way to addressing violence against some of the most vulnerable people in our …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, Bill S-219, an act respecting a national ribbon skirt day, was introduced in the Senate by the Hon. Mary Jane McCallum on November 24, 2021. I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend and participate in the study of the bill at the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs this past Monday, where it passed, and now here we are in third and final reading. I want to t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, it is -40°C. Welcome to the first week of December in the Prairies. Cold winters do not shut us down, and driving long distances is something we have to do even when it is freezing cold outside. However, something we should not have to do is wear our winter coats inside our homes. When will this Liberal government stop forcing its failed carbon tax plan on Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, I have to say my colleague and I agree on more than just one thing, because we serve on the veterans affairs committee together, and I really appreciate what he brings to the table there. Are these important issues? Absolutely they are. I have to say my concern is for seniors who require assistance. It is always really important that we make that clarification. Sometimes I have troubl…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand today to speak to the fall economic statement. I know the members across the way will struggle with the first thing I have to say, but it is true. This plan does nothing to address Canada's cost of living crisis. As a matter of fact, the economic update shows that the government revenues have increased by $40.1 billion in this year alone. This means that the infl…
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Mr. Speaker, the reality is that Canada is one of the breadbaskets of the world on so many levels. I am touting Saskatchewan today, there is no question, but I want to say that when I go home I talk about this entire nation, and I have a different perspective from the one I had before I became a member and found out, as I say to my communities back home that are very rural, that it is not east ver…
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Mr. Speaker, Louis Roy of the Quebec college of physicians recommended expanding euthanasia to babies from birth to one year of age who come into this world with severe deformities and various serious syndromes. Recently, the college sent another witness to AMAD, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, to double down, claiming further that this is not a moral issue and society …
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first one is expressing that the increasing concerns of many Canadians about international trafficking in human organs removed from victims without consent have not yet led to a legal prohibition on Canadians travelling abroad to acquire or receive such organs. The petitioners are also concerned that there are currently two bills before Parli…
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Mr. Speaker, my frustration is that the member opposite and her party are choosing to prop up the government. Removing the GST is one small part of what that party should be doing to ensure the government does not continue on in power.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, how do we encourage someone when they are discouraged? Can hope be restored when everything feels broken? So many Canadians have given so much in the worst of these recent times. Our nurses and doctors put their lives on the line, sacrificed time with their families, and were championed as heroes by this government until they revealed their personal medical choice. Farmers across Cana…
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Madam Speaker, it is deeply disturbing to me when I see that, among the European Union, U.K., New Zealand and Australia, none of our allies has chosen to use a tribunal. The power is there for their commissioners to make sure that the various entities are being held accountable with regard to an individual's privacy. Their rules are far more specific than ours are in this bill thus far, and it jus…
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Mr. Speaker, as many of my colleagues already indicated, this is a large and complex bill, and we believe that its individual components are too important for them to be considered as one part of an omnibus bill. I am pleased with the ruling of the Speaker. There are three separate pieces of legislation to this bill. In part 1, the consumer privacy protection act would repeal and replace decades-o…
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Madam Speaker, for the average citizen in the digital age, we have entered uncertain times. To almost everyone, at face value, the convenience of our time is remarkable. Access to any piece of information is available at our fingertips. Any item imaginable can seamlessly be ordered and delivered to our doors. Many government services can be processed online instead of in person. Canadians have tak…
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Madam Speaker, I do not know if, throughout my speech, members heard my concerns around the fact that this falls short of what our international colleagues have created. It is so much stronger in the European Union's 2016 general data protection regulation, or GDPR. Obviously, we have indicated on this side of the House that we have a lot of concerns, especially with the lack of definition of so m…
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Madam Speaker, I agree that this is an area in which Canada is way behind. It is absolutely crucial that we get started on creating that framework. However, what disturbs me is the fact that it was tossed into this bill that also deals with other issues, which are significant on their own. Consultation on this did not even begin until June. It is very rash of us to consider it in this legislation.…
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Madam Speaker, there are many areas where Canada is on the short end of the stick. I think of our ability to have Wi-Fi and cellphones at a reasonable price compared with other countries. In this case, it is really important that we do the due diligence needed. Canadians need to have the same level of ability to have their privacy protected that any other nation has. I would encourage members to l…
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Madam Speaker, that is my deepest concern as well. We have seen the government, in other pieces of legislation, give itself the authority to create a situation that is out of the hands of Parliament and into the hands of a minister as to how things will be developed or implemented. I certainly agree with the member. We need to do a lot more work and make sure that Canadians are truly protected, an…
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Madam Speaker, this is an example of circumstances where Canadians are having trouble trusting the government to do the right thing and to truly have their backs in this area. We have already seen circumstances in the past year or two where the banks have had an unbelievable impact on Canadians' lives by having the powers entrusted to them to do things that are out of line and out of step with tru…
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Mr. Speaker, I have concerns around the fact that we are expecting the government to do a good job. The member mentioned CERB, which was, in many ways, abused. We are aware that the government, in an effort to roll it out quickly, removed all the checks and balances on the system. How does that build confidence for him and other Canadians to put their trust in its ability to do this correctly?
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Madam Speaker, I deeply appreciate the speech that my colleague gave today, especially the part about committees and her concern for veterans affairs. I share that concern given the fact that we have had two meetings cancelled at a time when we want the minister and the deputy minister to return to give a clearer understanding of their testimony versus what came forward from our veterans. It is ve…
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With regard to medical assistance in dying (MAID) and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), since 2016: (a) how many times has a (i) VAC employee, (ii) third-party contracted by VAC, advised or suggested that a veteran consider MAID; (b) what is VAC's policy related to its (i) employees, (ii) contractors, suggesting MAID to veterans; and (c) on what date did the policy in (b) come into effect?
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Madam Speaker, as a new member of Parliament in 2016, I was dumbfounded when I went to the veterans affairs standing committee for the first time. A new report had been created in 2014 along those same lines, with all kinds of recommendations agreed to by the entire committee, yet there we were considering to restudy those same issues, and we actually did. I said that I was new but could not under…
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Madam Speaker, in a recent take-note debate on mental health, I spoke about our veterans, who have unique challenges that impact their well-being and mental wellness and that very few civilians face. They embody the emotional and mental toll of having been deployed to many theatres of war, sometimes for peacemaking or peacekeeping, where they and their comrades face peril, injury and death and whe…
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Madam Speaker, the member is basically echoing what we heard from the Auditor General regarding where the current government is in its ability to manage the business of providing for our veterans. Its systems are such that it does not know what is happening and where. Even when it has tried to follow something, it has not put the right metrics in place to truly determine what is happening, and I a…
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Madam Speaker, I would ask the member if he is aware of the metrics used to determine the number of COVID-infected individuals entering Canada that validated the millions and millions of dollars spent on the ArriveCAN app. Does he have a number?
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleague why she thinks this NDP-Liberal costly coalition becomes so irritated every time we ask it for metrics, for proof behind what they do; in this case, the metrics used to determine the number of COVID-infected individuals entering Canada that validated the $54 million spent on the ArriveCAN app.
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Mr. Speaker, prior to the last election, basically the exact same government was in power. We on this side of the floor, as the opposition, called on it to share the scientific background and all of the evidence that verified its decisions in regard to COVID, and it stymied us on that. Today we are calling on it to explain to us why this ArriveCAN app was so important. I have asked it for the metr…
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Mr. Speaker, citizens and residents of Canada are drawing the attention of the House of Commons to the following: The Liberal Party of Canada promised in its 2021 platform to deny the charitable status of organizations that have convictions about abortion, which the Liberal Party views as dishonest. This may jeopardize, they say, the charitable status of many other institutions, such as hospitals,…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to challenge the fact that we are doing this today. The minister mentioned that people stand up and repeat and repeat and repeat. It is really important to me to have the opportunity to represent my constituents in this place and speak on issues that are important to me and to them, regardless of who else has spoken on them already. Quite often in this Ho…
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Madam Chair, I am so pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this take-note debate on mental health this evening. I will focus my comments on the challenges that our Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP veterans, and indirectly their families, face with mental health injuries. Our veterans have unique challenges to their mental health that very few civilians face. They embody the emotional and menta…
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Madam Chair, I will continue with the veteran's service. Upon promotion to warrant officer, he was posted back to the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School where he was course commander for the next generation of army officers. In 2014, he survived a domestic terrorist attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. He was the “other person”. After that event, he retired in December 2016. Thro…
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Madam Chair, it is absolutely imperative that we create an environment, a culture and a society where people's basic needs are met. Certainly, in this circumstance, all of those things apply. A veteran without a home cannot heal. A veteran with family concerns struggles. It is a known fact that when veterans deploy, what they eat is not all that great. I went up north and experienced it. When they…
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Madam Chair, I have so much to say in so little time. I will share only one of the instances where the needs of the veterans are undervalued, because those who make the decisions about their care fail to consult the best sources for the answers, answers to the dilemma of backlogs, the best treatment, and how to release, retain and enlist with dignity. I will give one example of an instance of infl…
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Madam Chair, I so appreciate the work that my colleague does on this file. That is one of the things that broadens that sense of sanctuary trauma for our veterans. They come home; they know they are not well; they want to get well; they see what they are doing within their own families and their spouses and children suffering greatly. It makes it that much worse for the veteran when they realize t…
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Madam Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of Canadians who are aware that the Liberal Party of Canada was elected with a promise to revoke charitable status for pro-life organizations. The petitioners are specifically focused on crisis pregnancy centres at this time. They feel these centres serve young women who are seeking assistance in carrying their child to term in a scenario w…
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Madam Speaker, in the member's answer, he mentioned that this opens the door to having discussions with stakeholders. Would it not have been more wise to have, or did the government have, significant conversations with stakeholders before bringing this bill forward?
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Madam Speaker, I listened to the member talk about this program. He indicated how it would roll out and the different parts to it. However, having been a businesswoman in the past, what I see if we go ahead with this is we would be creating a structure that already exists across our nation within our provinces. I would like to know from him, since he is aware of how this will work, what costs are …
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciated listening to what the member had to say today. I certainly share her grief over the number of people who are being attacked in this whole situation in Ukraine, which is very dear to me as my mom is from there. She also spoke about the fact that many people are dying and drew attention to the pregnant women, who are in their most vulnerable state, who are being k…
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