Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the hon. minister, for splitting her time with me tonight. It is with tremendous pleasure that I virtually rise in the House this evening to talk about Bill C-12, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act, guaranteed income supplement, at this very important second reading stage. Before I do so, I would like to acknowledge that I am joining the debate from th…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. colleague need not be concerned about the fact that some of us on this side of the House are environmentalists and like to keep the power bill as low as possible. I disagree vehemently with the premise of that question. This is a five-line bill that responds to all of the members of the House and what they were asking this government to do. Five lines, what is there to study?…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the NDP for its collaboration on working for the betterment of low-income, vulnerable seniors in Canada. I gave a long list of the things we have accomplished for seniors in Canada. That does not, by any means, mean that we are through. There is still so much to do. If I can look at this co-operation between some of the members of this House tonight, it gives me encour…
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Mr. Speaker, I will thank the hon. member for the question, but I find it almost amusing that, before a bill comes forward, Conservatives tell us to go fast and then as soon as the bill comes forward the Conservatives say to slow down. We will take no lessons from the Conservative Party of Canada on how to treat seniors in Canada as we think back to some of the things the past government did. An e…
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Mr. Speaker, the member's question cut out on me through the Internet, but what I will say is that I want to thank the Bloc party for working toward letting us know what was needed so we could put that in this legislation, which is exactly what we did. I get a bit frustrated by the partisanship in the House. I think there are times when members do really well, but then there are times when some me…
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Mr. Speaker, the urgency in the hon. member's voice is exactly why we need to move quickly to get this passed, pronto. If we think back to Tuesday, when we had the Conservative opposition day motion, everyone in the House knew it was the right thing to do and voted together in support. Let us not let perfect be the enemy of better. Let us pass this bill quickly so this does not happen to our lowes…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her advocacy on this very important topic. We have been asked by all members in the House to move quickly. This bill would do what we have been asked to do and what is needed to do to help these most vulnerable seniors. Moving quickly is very important. That has been said in the House many times. I urge this member and her colleagues on the other side to…
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Madam Speaker, low-income seniors rely on the different benefits that they receive and we know that they count on them to make ends meet. That is why we boosted GIS for seniors who need it most and we will deliver as soon as possible this one-time payment to seniors to compensate for any loss of GIS for taking a pandemic benefit. As soon as the minister was appointed, she worked with officials and…
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Madam Speaker, we can all agree just how challenging this pandemic has been on seniors, and our government has been there from the start to support them. We committed to help seniors by issuing a one-time payment to those on GIS where it was reduced due to pandemic benefits. Additionally, as the member said, we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefit for the purposes of calculating GI…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the House for allowing me to speak with unanimous consent. This is very important to low-income seniors across the country, but extremely important to me as well. While the Minister of Seniors provided a lot of important context on the urgency of this bill and the merits of passing this motion, I want to add a few points of support that hon. members can consider as we move for…
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Mr. Speaker, I did not think I was going to have any time to respond to my friend from the Green Party from Saanich—Gulf Islands. I thank her very much for the question and for everything that she does in the House. I know she is a person who does not put politics before the things that are important to Canadian seniors in this country, so I hope she will support moving forward on this simple five…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Bloc members for being supportive of Bill C-12. There have been lots of conversations with the critic and with individual members and I know that the Bloc supports this. If the Bloc will be willing to support Bill C-12, through this motion today, we will move this along more quickly. The last thing we need to have happen is to have this go past the March 4 deadline…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the number of guaranteed income supplement, GIS, recipients who received payments from the Canada emergency response benefit, CERB and/or the Canada recovery benefit, CRB, in 2020, and who experienced a reduction or loss in GIS benefits in July 2021 when their entitlement to the GIS was reassessed, is 183,420. Letters to all GIS recipients outlining their enti…
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Mr. Speaker, in the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021, the Government of Canada announced that it proposes to provide up to $742.4 million for one-time payments to alleviate the financial hardship of the guaranteed income supplement, GIS, and allowance recipients who received the Canada emergency response benefit, CERB, or the Canada recovery benefit, CRB, in 2020. The government will continue to in…
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Mr. Chair, it is wonderful to see you, a fellow Nova Scotian, up there in the chair tonight. I am thankful for the opportunity to speak before this committee of the whole. Last night, the Government of Canada outlined some of the many measures the health portfolio has been leading to protect Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures are a critical part of our response to the pandemic,…
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Madam Chair, our government has moved at lightning speed throughout this pandemic to get support to people, organizations and businesses that needed it the most. We have listened to the incredible feedback that our constituents provide to us on a regular basis to make sure that we close the gaps and do our very best to make sure that no businesses are left behind. Businesses that are struggling th…
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Madam Chair, I might be a little biased, but Nova Scotia is the most beautiful part of the country. There is so much to see. We need to make sure that tour operators, for instance, have what they need to get through these challenging times. Perhaps my hon. colleague could highlight the government's latest support measures to help keep this particular type of business afloat.
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Madam Chair, I often hear the Conservatives say that we have invested too much in taking care of Canadians. I think about that cost versus the cost of inaction. I wonder if the minister could talk about what this scenario might have been like if we had not invested in Canadians and Canadian businesses.
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Madam Chair, from top-notch services to incredible retail stores to the restaurants that provide us with our favourite meal, small businesses make our communities vibrant. These are the entrepreneurs who sponsor our local sports teams and help keep people employed. Throughout the pandemic, I have been listening to the feedback from the businesses across Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. Not a business out t…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today, November 30, is a special day. After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it is Giving Tuesday, a global movement of generosity. In my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, we see kindness every single day. We see it in the charities and non-profits that lift our community up; we see it in our courageous and selfless frontline workers, who continue to get us through this pandemic, and we…
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