Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the petitioners wish to draw the attention of the House to findings from international conservation organizations that point out that when we have marine protected areas, and Canada has committed to having 30% protected, there is a positive effect. The petition describes this as a positive spillover effect, where neighbouring fishing areas have larger populations of fish, larger sizes…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight at Adjournment Proceedings to pursue a question I asked the Minister of Finance back on December 4, 2025, about what was committed in the budget. At page 348 in the budget, it very clearly states that a component of carbon capture, utilization and storage, known as “enhanced oil recovery”, would not qualify for investment tax credits. For those who are watching and do n…
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Mr. Speaker, there is one part of this motion that I could agree with, which is point (b): that we need to boost competition. When we look at why food prices in Canada are higher, it has to do with the big, giant grocery stores having a much larger concentration of ownership in our market. I grew up in Atlantic Canada, where I belonged to a co-op. The co-op grocery stores across Canada continue to…
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Mr. Speaker, that was four minutes without an answer. I asked what the deficit is now because the government has increased throwing money at big oil. I did not get an answer. I was told a number of things that are not true, including that, somehow, the memorandum of understanding with Alberta has something to do with diversifying trade in Canada. With a barrel of West Texas Intermediate selling at…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is an honour to raise this point of order when the Right Hon. Stephen Harper is in the House. I remember the level of decorum we had in those days, and I rise only because Standing Orders 14 to 16 were repeatedly violated on all sides of the House today. When Mr. Harper was prime minister, he was never once interrupted by heckling, as I recall. I hope we…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the government has recalculated the deficit numbers. We are now in favour of Bill C-19 and a GST rebate for consumers, but I am also aware that page 348 of the budget has been reversed and now enhanced oil recovery is eligible for investment tax credits. Given the additional ways that we are spending the public purse, or not collecting, what is the new deficit number compa…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think I will get a chance to speak to Bill C-16. I was initially concerned that the government had created a weakening and was going back to mandatory minimums. If one does research on mandatory minimums, one finds that far from being effective at reducing crime rates, they are completely ineffective. We find that mandatory minimums increase disproportionate treatment within …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, petitioners from Saanich—Gulf Islands and elsewhere are calling on the government and Parliament to take note of the scientific warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. There are particular warnings related to what happens if we overshoot the 1.5°C global average temperature increase as against what the temperature was before the beginning of the Industrial Re…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of many residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands and beyond Saanich—Gulf Islands. They are concerned that while the Government of Canada has recognized that we are in a climate crisis, and though Canadians continue to support and call for climate action, Canada is continuing to spend, the petitioners note, at least $4.8 billion a year in subsidi…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague raised the case, and I raised it earlier in the debate on Bill C-16 because it is so fresh in our minds: Laura Gover was murdered on January 5. It is a very recent case. We operate under the principle of innocent until proven guilty, but her former partner is under arrest and charged with the murder. It certainly appears to be a case of intimate partner violence, in fac…
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Madam Speaker, we favour trade, particularly fair trade, rooted in Canadian values that prioritizes Canadian-owned businesses and enterprises, and a Canada-first policy that helps get our products first sold across interprovincial barriers and exported to the world. We need to link arms with other democracies that defend human rights.
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Madam Speaker, I want to begin, of course, by acknowledging we are on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. I did have a question for the minister that I was unable to ask, but perhaps I can work it into my speech. I am sure many of the people watching today's debate in the Canadian House of Commons will be from Indonesia, interested in what Canadian parliamentarians think …
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend from Wellington—Halton Hills-North mentioned Bill C-4. It passed this place quickly. I am very concerned about part 4 of Bill C-4, which would change the Elections Act to eliminate any privacy protections for Canadians. I wonder if he has any thoughts on whether we can still stop it in the Senate.
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Madam Speaker, yes, I am deeply concerned if we jettison human rights in an effort to get trade deals. There is a price we pay. I do think we need strengthened diplomatic relationships with the People's Republic of China, but I do not forget what happened to the two Michaels, and I do not forget where we stand for the Uyghurs, other human rights, the people of Tibet and more.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition of deep concern to many constituents. As Canadians from coast to coast know, we have a housing crisis. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to expedite and focus on immediate help for people who cannot afford to get a roof over their head, particularly by getting rid of real estate investment trusts and corporate ownership of housing un…
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my esteemed colleague. We are a people who have ignored the child labour situation around the world. The position of Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise, which ensures worker protection and children's rights in global manufacturing and trade, is still vacant today. We need to do more.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, with massive cuts being made to our civil service, how can the government justify threats to public health and safety as outlined today by the Public Service Alliance of Canada? Specifically in my community, we are very concerned because across a number of departments, believe it or not, workers involved in marine emergency responses to oil spills have all been laid off. How does the …
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Madam Speaker, it is good to see my hon. friend from Lakeland back in this place and well. We were deeply concerned when she was in hospital during the time of the budget debate. I apologize, Madam Speaker, but it had to be said. I also want to say that she will know we agree on more things than others might imagine. However, on the offshore tanker issue, where U.S. and offshore foreign tankers pa…
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Mr. Speaker, I note that we are debating something today on supply that is titled as something for economic sovereignty. I am concerned about the growing movement toward separatism within Alberta. I am wondering if the member, as an Alberta MP, has noted whether the leader of the official opposition, as a fellow Alberta MP, has chosen a lane. What can we all do, as members of Parliament who have s…
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Madam Speaker, the history of environmental assessments in this country is one in which we had a predictable, comprehensive environmental review of projects in federal jurisdictions from about the mid-seventies until 2012, when Stephen Harper repealed the Environmental Assessment Act that had been put in place under Brian Mulroney. Since then, we have had a very discretionary projects-based review…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present this petition, which deals with the issue of the threat of nuclear war. The petitioners point out that the nuclear arms control architecture has all but disintegrated with the termination of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Treaty on Open Skies between the United States and Russia, and that…
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Mr. Speaker, just to clarify my comments, I was not relying on the Prime Minister's verbal comments. They are still found on page 348 of the federal budget, as they did not use disappearing ink. It actually does say that there will not be investment tax credits available for enhanced oil recovery, and that was contradicted 10 days later in the MOU with Alberta.
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Madam Speaker, I wonder if the hon. member has had conversations with the Minister of Justice. There are sections of Bill C-16 that Greens will support, but there are other sections that we would like amended. Does the hon. member have a sense from the government as to whether amendments will be entertained and if we could move swiftly on the parts we all agree on, such as proper sentencing, and m…
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Madam Speaker, I am very concerned as well. I am glad to see Bill C-16 debated in this place after having been introduced in December. I think we need to move more quickly on legislation. We have not had a very full legislative package since the election. This is one bill I feel very strongly about. I want to say a name out loud here. She is one of the more recent victims of alleged intimate partn…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is a real honour to rise to present this petition, which was originally presented by the former member for Kitchener Centre, Mike Morrice, and brought forward by one of his constituents in the disability community. The disability community, as many members of the House will know because it is an issue that I think is completely non-partisan, wants to see people with disabilities in…
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Mr. Speaker, as we debate Bill C-16 and turn to mandatory minimums, I am concerned. As someone who stood in the House repeatedly to oppose the mandatory minimums brought in during the Harper administration in, at that time, Bill C-10, I remember going through the academic articles and the reviews by experts in criminal law. One of the things they found throughout the United States, where mandatory…
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Mr. Speaker, the Green Party agrees to apply the results of the last vote to this vote. The Greens vote no.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Green Party and as its leader, I would like to extend my best wishes for the holiday season to everyone. Merry Christmas, joyeux Noël and happy Hanukkah to everyone, whether or not one has a faith, and I do have a profound faith and look forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I also recognize that people of no faith and of different faiths are all …
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Mr. Speaker, the Green Party also agrees to apply the vote and will be voting yes.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am agreeing to apply the results of the last vote to this vote, with the Green Party voting no.
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Madam Speaker, I wish I could say I was pleased to rise today. December 10 is coincidentally Human Rights Day, and I stand here at the point of report stage on Bill C-12, which threatens to actually violate international human rights law. I will go into why I believe that to be the case and why I am offering amendments at this late stage. I want to extend my deep appreciation to the hon. member fo…
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Madam Speaker, my answer to the hon. member's question would have been different a month ago, for instance, before the United States under President Trump adopted a new national security strategy that makes me wonder if it is safe for Canada to remain in the Five Eyes. The new national security strategy of the U.S., the so-called Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, is deeply distressing, but l…
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,seconded by the member for Vancouver East, moved: Motion No. 2 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 28. Motion No. 3 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 29. Motion No. 4 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 30. Motion No. 5 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 31. Motion No. 6 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 32. Motion No. 7 That Bill C-12 be amended …
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,seconded by the member for Vancouver East, moved: Motion No. 23 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 48. Motion No. 24 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 49. Motion No. 25 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 50. Motion No. 26 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 51. Motion No. 27 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 52. Motion No. 28 That Bill C-12 be am…
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, the problem with this minority Parliament is that MPs do not have equal rights. Members of parties with fewer than 12 MPs are at a disadvantage. That was the case for the Bloc Québécois in 2011. I remember it well, because I worked with the four Bloc Québécois members at the time, and we worked well together. Today, the voices of certain federal parties are absent fro…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this year, the 80th anniversary of the falling of the nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, petitioners wish to draw to the attention of the House of Commons the fact that work towards nuclear disarmament has slowed and is sputtering to a halt. The petitioners note that the arms control architecture has all but disintegrated with the termination of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of…
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,seconded by the member for Vancouver East, moved: Motion No. 49 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 73. Motion No. 50 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 74. Motion No. 51 That Bill C-12 be amended by deleting Clause 75.
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Madam Speaker, I do understand, and I was watching in committee, that there was collaboration between the Bloc and the Conservative Party, but I am not unhappy that those amendments have been removed. I agree that the process should be more open and that there should be a conversation. However, I was deeply unhappy with the member for Calgary Nose Hill's amendments to restrict access to medical ca…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Vancouver East and I are in the unenviable position of being forced, by motions passed by every committee, to produce amendments on 24 hours' notice, but to not be allowed to vote on our own amendments. Yes, I completely support what the member for Vancouver East was trying to do. It only makes sense. Why go back and say it should depend on someone's first entry …
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Madam Speaker, I will say briefly to the minister that she must have been aware that in the budget, on page 348, there is a commitment to no fossil fuel subsidies for “enhanced oil recovery”. Was the minister consulted before that was reversed in the MOU? I sure was not.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, one section of the enormous Bill C-15, in the over 600 pages of an omnibus budget bill, has not yet been even mentioned in this place and was not mentioned in the budget either. The idea that the budget implementation act just implements things in the budget is belied by pages 301 to 304, which would exempt the application of Canadian law to any entity, which could be people or corpor…
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Madam Speaker, I am wondering if Conservatives who have been debating this motion today remember the Conservative Party platform from 2011, which would have prohibited any pipeline to the northern B.C. coast to ship any diluted bitumen to China. The Conservative Party policy at that time was that we should not ship diluted bitumen to any country with lower environmental standards for our refinerie…
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague about the change that took place between the budget being tabled and the deal being struck with Alberta. Page 348 of the budget clearly states that the tax credits do not apply to enhanced oil recovery. The memorandum of understanding with Alberta states the opposite, however. It says that enhanced oil recovery is included. Why does he think the …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise virtually tonight at Adjournment Proceedings to pursue a question I asked on October 31. The response came from the hon. Minister of Transportation, who is also the government leader in the House. It was inadequate, and that is why I pursue this very urgent matter tonight. We are supposed to have a government policy of putting Canada first. The question I put that day in questi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, some might call it a flip-flop, but a flip-flop is a sandal, and this is a betrayal. On page 348 of the budget, it says clearly that investment tax credits will not be available for enhanced oil recovery, yet a memorandum of understanding with the Province of Alberta says it will extend federal investment tax credits to various parts of carbon capture and storage, including enhanced o…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act was passed in Parliament 25 years ago. It is specifically requires that the investment board pay no attention to anything other than rate of return. It omits any reference to investing in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. It is time to bring the investment board act back to Parliament and amend it so, at the very …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise virtually today to present a petition of deep concern to constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands, and I dare say, across the floor and in all corners of this place. Petitioners ask the House to take note of the fact that nearly five million Canadians currently lack a family physician. They ask the House to press the government and the government to work with the…
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Madam Speaker, I have not heard from the Conservative benches about this, and I am hoping the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South can let me know if there is a view on the part of the Conservative Party to shifting the budget to always being in the fall. I ask this because I am concerned that we will now have a perpetual panic that we cannot have a Christmas election. We are in a minority Par…
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Madam Speaker, this is my first chance to weigh in on Bill C-4 and I have a very important question for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. It is about part 4 of this bill, which has nothing to do with affordability and changes to the Elections Act. My question for him has two parts. How is it that this is included in the Affordability Act; and why is it that, under part 4 of Bill C…
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to speak today virtually. I am honoured to present a petition from constituents and others concerned about the drastic and global decline in the population of pollinators, particularly honeybees. The petitioners ask that the government consider following the lead of the European Union in exerting the precautionary principle and removing the authorizations, which are wide…
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