Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, today there are nearly one million Canadians under the age of 29 who are neither employed nor engaged in training. We have not seen a youth unemployment crisis this severe since the Conservatives were in power. According to Deloitte, this will cost our economy $18 billion over the next decade. Will the Liberals listen to New Democrats and set up a youth climate corps so young Canadian…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, this morning, my hon. colleague spoke of the important duty of a government to disclose documents after Parliament has requested them. Of course, I agree with that very much. The member took the present government to task for not disclosing the documents that have been ordered by the House. He was in the House between 2011 and 2015, as was I, when the government of Stephen Harper wa…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree very much with my hon. colleague that the misspending and conflicts of interest at SDTC should be of concern to every parliamentarian. I agree very much that there should be accountability and that the government should disclose the documents. My understanding is that, in his ruling, the Speaker ordered that this matter be referred to PROC, and then this House passed a motion …
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Madam Speaker, I also had, coincidentally, an annual general meeting in Vancouver Kingsway this weekend. What I heard from the people who attended my meeting was just how desperately people are struggling right now. The figures back that up: 50% of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque; one in four parents, according to the Salvation Army, are cutting down on their food intake so that they h…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this moment to say that I think my hon. colleague is the most powerful speaker in the entire House of Commons. One thing that is disturbing to me, listening to the speeches, is the disdain and the elitism I hear coming from the Conservatives. By talking about Pringles and cheese puffs, and by saying that this is insignificant and that it is chump change, it shows …
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, calling parliamentarians “clowns” in this place is unparliamentary, and it is unbecoming of him. I would ask him to withdraw that comment immediately.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for my colleague. How is helping struggling Quebeckers by sending them several hundred dollars at a very expensive time during the holiday season bad for Quebeckers or for Quebec?
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Mr. Speaker, to say the words “Conservatives” and “labour” in the same sentence is an oxymoron. I have been in the House for 16 years and have watched the Conservatives vote every single time to order striking workers back to work. I have watched them oppose every single proposed minimum wage hike. I have watched them try to increase the retirement age from 65 to 67. If someone works in the House …
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Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. We have a cost of living crisis and an economy that is seeing an ever-widening gap between the wealthy and the rest of us. A few stark facts bear this out. According to Statistics Canada, nearly half of Canadians report that rising prices are greatly affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses. Rent has increased by over …
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Mr. Speaker, I serve with the hon. member on the finance committee, and I would think that someone on the finance committee would be quite careful with numbers. There was a majority Liberal government in this country from 2015 to 2019. Nobody was propping up the government; it was a majority government. The hon. member says “nine years”, but that is factually incorrect. I would not trust the membe…
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Mr. Speaker, I remember when the Conservatives were for tax cuts, but maybe it is because it is the Conservatives who brought in the GST that makes them so sensitive to cutting it. It is funny, my hon. colleague talked about pennies for cheese puffs, and he called it chump change. However, this is what the proposed GST cut will be on: children's clothing, footwear and diapers; children's car seats…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, obviously, Canada and the United States have a long, mutually beneficial and important relationship, but it is very important to note that President-elect Trump has the right to make economic policy in the United States; he does not have the right to make economic policy in Canada. If he is going to pursue unfair policies like slapping a 25% tariff on probably his closest and most loy…
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Madam Speaker, Mr. Trump is apparently justifying this ridiculous assertion that Canada deserves 25% tariffs by talking about the border and also talking about Canada not hitting its defence targets. Last I checked, Canada determines, here in this chamber, and in this country, what our military spending is. It is not dictated by a foreign government. I have a twofold question. The other thing I wi…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I took the opportunity to review the CUSMA, which is the current trade agreement that was signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico on July 1, 2020. It says that CUSMA will expire in 2036 unless it is extended before that, and the parties agreed to review the treaty every six years. This means the first review of this treaty would come up in 2026, meaning that what the President-…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege and an honour to rise and speak on behalf of the great people of Vancouver Kingsway and to bring their voices, opinions and concerns to the floor of the seat of their national government. Having had the privilege of representing these great constituents for a number of years now, I have a very good sense of what their expectations are of members of the House. …
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Mr. Speaker, what a pleasure it is to work with my hon. colleague on the finance committee in a productive way. Tomorrow we are going to be voting on amendments to the upcoming budget. We will be taking all of the evidence and input that we heard from the stakeholders who came to the finance committee over the last two months and making suggestions to the government to make the Canadian economic c…
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is simple: Both parties are wrong in this case. The Liberals should be producing the documents you have ordered and should not be redacting them. The New Democrats agree with our colleagues in the Conservative and Bloc parties when they say the government has to be forthright and produce the documents that will probably implicate it and be embarrassing for it. The documents…
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that every opposition member elected to this place, especially in a minority Parliament, has a decision to make. They have to decide whether they are going to use their time and effort to attack, to destroy and to obtain nothing, or use their seat, voice and effort, roll up their sleeves and try to obtain benefits for Canadians. That is what I did and what the NDP di…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a valid concern. I have read about the same concerns from police forces. It is unusual, in fact I think unprecedented, for Parliament to order documents to be delivered directly to a police force. Having said that, I am not sure it is illegal and I am not even sure it is necessarily impossible to do. Our police forces and the RCMP are used to executing subpoenas. They are used t…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague gave a thoughtful speech. She talked a lot about “the foe”, and I am not sure from where, in her view, the foe emanates, but I want to focus and get her opinion on the foe from within. In this country, we have routinely seen the turnout for federal elections at about 60%. That seems to be the norm over successive elections. That means, and pardon my bad math, about…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-419, An Act to establish a national strategy for universal eye care. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce the national strategy for a universal eye care act, with thanks to the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley for seconding the bill. The legislation would mandate the development of a national strategy to support universal access to eye care, vision …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of being in the House from 2008 to 2015, when the Conservative government, under Prime Minister Harper, was here. In that time period, there were dozens of indigenous nations across this country that did not have access to clean drinking water, one of the primary elements of life. The government of the time sat and did nothing about that, so I do not think we sho…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, working and now middle-class families are cutting back on their groceries. They are getting less and getting gouged at the till by greedy CEOs. Liberals let this happen and are letting families down. Conservatives will cut and cost families even more. They will take away important services like dental care, costing families thousands of dollars a year. The NDP's tax-free essentials pl…
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Mr. Speaker, I very much join with the member and share his deep concern about the need for absolute probity and respect for ethics in any cabinet, whether of the current government or any other government. My question for him is this. I find myself still confused. There was reference to “Randy” being involved in business decisions. The defence from the minister thus far is that it was not him, th…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that people are really struggling right now. In Vancouver Kingsway, people are having trouble paying their skyrocketing rent; they cannot afford a home, and they are living paycheque to paycheque. They are facing food insecurity. People need help. My colleague referred to one of her constituents, Stephanie. One of my constituents, a senior named Mary, …
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Madam Speaker, no one should go hungry in Canada, but the Salvation Army reports one in four parents are skipping meals to save money to feed their kids. Meanwhile, grocery CEOs are gouging Canadians and raking in record profits. While the Liberals do nothing, the Conservatives will let families go hungry because CEOs fund their election campaigns. It is time to cap essential food prices so everyo…
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Mr. Speaker, young Canadians are facing a serious crisis. Youth unemployment is now double the national average, and job security and workplace benefits are becoming a thing of the past. The cost of food is soaring, rent is skyrocketing and the cost of living is crushing. Young people do not have a fair shot under the Liberals, and the Conservatives' only answer is to cut services. Young Canadians…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague continues to speak about calling an election. A million Canadians have now accessed the NDP's Canadian dental care plan. Would the member support the elimination of the Canadian dental care plan were he to form government? Is that the position of the Conservative Party?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present a petition on behalf of Vancouver firefighters in IAFF Local 18. It addresses an urgent issue that has an impact on the health and safety of firefighters across Canada. This petition, sponsored by my great colleague, the NDP MP for New Westminster—Burnaby, calls for immediate action to ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, in firefighter gear and firef…
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Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege of serving with my hon. colleague on the health committee for some time, and as he has told the House, he was a family physician for 26 years. He would, then, know of course that unmet oral health needs and poor oral health lead to serious overall health problems like cardiac issues, diabetes complications, low birth rate in women and infections of the upper a…
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Mr. Speaker, I note that the motion under debate has to do with the failure of government to produce documents, and I share my colleague's commitment to accountability and the doctrine that Parliament is supreme. I was in the House in 2011 when Speaker Milliken found the Conservative government in contempt of Parliament for refusing to hand over documents, just as this motion is calling for. The d…
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Madam Speaker, throughout this debate, the Conservatives continually do not want any focus on their last time in government, which just ended in 2015. They were the government before this one. What happened in that government? Twice the Conservatives were found in contempt of Parliament, for the first time in history. They had a multi-billion-dollar loss of taxpayer dollars in the Phoenix pay scan…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke about the number one issue for his constituents being affordability. That is the same issue I have heard about from constituents in my riding of Vancouver Kingsway. We come from the same province. The NDP has addressed that in a number of ways. One was by bringing in dental care for nine million people so it would no longer be the case that they spend thousan…
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Madam Speaker, the federal government's 2024-25 budget included an important reform to the taxation of capital gains. Changing the way we tax capital gains is something that has been called for by progressive voices in this country for decades. Capital gains occur when an asset is sold for more than it costs to acquire and maintain. However, there are a number of very important exceptions to this …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his excellent speech and for all the intelligence, wisdom and experience he brings from the agricultural sector. I want to ask him about the cost of the climate crisis. The Conservatives seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. There is an old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What is the cost to Canada's …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-63 is an act that is basically split into two parts, and the first part of it is aimed at reducing exposure to harmful content. It would put in place special protection provisions for children as well as make online service providers accountable. It is particularly aimed at addressing online child sexual exploitation, which has increased 290% over the last 10 years. The second …
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Madam Speaker, it is most interesting that it was Conservatives in Canada who brought in the first carbon tax. It was Conservatives in Alberta and then Conservatives in British Columbia who introduced the price on carbon in this country. The Conservatives here campaigned on it federally in 2019, but they have amnesia. My question is about the cost of not dealing with the climate crisis. It is true…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals just appointed Mark Carney, a millionaire investment banker from Goldman Sachs, to dictate their economic agenda. The Conservatives have lobbyists from Loblaws and Walmart sitting on their front bench and setting policy. New Democrats are listening to working Canadians, who are experiencing real economic struggles on the ground. Canadians deserve a government that underst…
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With regard to the contracts and services provided to the Department of Justice (DOJ) from January 1, 2016, to May 31, 2024, by Canadian Development Consultants International Inc. (CDCI) in connection with legal proceedings brought by survivors of the LGBT Purge from 2016 on, including the 2017 class action lawsuit: (a) what are the details of all agreements entered into between CDCI and the DOJ, …
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With regard to the Historical Section of Global Affairs Canada (GAC): (a) what is the mandate of the section and the job description, background and qualifications of the current head of the section; (b) where are the records of the section currently held; (c) is there an index or listing accessible to the public of the records currently held by the section; (d) what policies and procedures exist …
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Madam Speaker, there is a lot to that question. I would say to Canadians that this is not their fathers' Conservative Party, but a mean-spirited, fact-free, Donald Trump-influenced party that has reduced politics to slogans. I call it “nursery rhyme politics” or “bumper sticker politics”, where Conservatives take complex, serious issues in this country and reduce them to a jingle. That is not goin…
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Madam Speaker, I think it is important for us to remember some basic facts. The first is that the capital gains exemption for principal residences is maintained in the budget, so Canadians can purchase their own principal residence and sell it tax-free. That remains. I know that people are worried about how the change might affect gains on the sale of a property such as a rental property or a seco…
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Madam Speaker, there are a lot of issues in this budget that we do not have time to touch on, but I am very grateful he raised that one because the spirit of volunteerism in this country and the things that bind communities together, particularly in rural Canada, deserve to be recognized. This budget would do that by doubling the search and rescue and volunteer firefighter tax credit from $3,000 t…
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Madam Speaker, I am really privileged to serve on the finance committee with my hon. colleague, and I want to thank him for all of his excellent contributions at committee. My question to him is on the capital gains exclusion issue, which is not covered by this bill, but, as he points out, will be in legislation coming to this House soon. He heard evidence today suggesting that when the Conservati…
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Madam Speaker, I yearn for the day when we can bring in an authentic New Democrat federal budget in this country to deliver those values. We do not share the values of the other parties in this House. We believe that no Canadian should live in poverty and that positive measures and policies can realistically achieve that. For instance, my hon. colleague from Winnipeg Centre has a bill in this Hous…
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Madam Speaker, I had the benefit of being in the same finance committee meeting as my hon. colleague this morning, where I heard the same evidence about the capital gains inclusion rates. Of course, most of what my hon. colleague has just said in here was simply contradicted by the evidence, including that there is zero evidence that the capital gains inclusion would have any negative effect on jo…
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Madam Speaker, the NDP has been working for years to make sure that every Canadian has access to the dental care they need. We were driving forth motions in the House over the last decade that the Liberals and Conservatives voted against, and the Bloc seemed not to support them either. One of the things we are most proud of in our confidence and supply agreement is that the NDP compelled the gover…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand and speak to the budget bill, Bill C-69, here in the House today. I think budgets are an opportunity for us to examine the values that we have as a nation. To many people in this House, government can be a force for good, but others, and I am thinking of my Conservative colleagues, view government as something to be feared, something to be shrunk and something …
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Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's position that the federal government should be shouldering its fair share of health care in this country. Successive Conservative and Liberal governments have whittled it down to about 22%. I agree with him that the slide should be reversed and that we should be going back up toward the 50% federal-provincial agreement that underpinned the formation of medi…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always somewhat ironic when a Conservative rises in the House and talks about responsible government spending. In 2008, the Department of Finance analyzed the spending of every government of every hue and at every level in Canada since 1867, and found that it was New Democratic governments that balanced their budget the highest percentage of times. That is not an ideological sta…
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