Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston for his very thoughtful words and address. He has identified something without putting a label on it, so I want to ask him about the label. I am not quibbling with the member, because there was a massive amount of greenhouse gases emitted from the fires that occurred in Canada in 2023. The figure I found from NASA was 640 mill…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston for having established some discussion on the real issue of climate change as we approach the motion on the question of privilege in front of us and the levels of breakdown of normal processes that occurred within Sustainable Development Technology Canada, which has now absorbed us for several days of debate. I will cut to the…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Nepean for his commentary, particularly on carbon capture and storage, which is another fake solution to climate change. My concern with this argument is that Parliament has the right to ask for documents. The Speaker has said we have the right to ask for those documents. We do not know that there is any criminality involved here. If it turns out that the…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I wish we could have had a full RCMP investigation on the SNC-Lavalin scandal. One reason I will just throw into the mix for his consideration is that I do not think we actually have evidence that the Prime Minister pressured our former and honourable minister of justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould. The only person we know pressured her was our former clerk of the Privy Council Office, wh…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I hate to alert my hon. colleague that I will ask a question that challenges something he said, but I want to put on the record, first, that I agree with virtually everything he said. I also want to thank the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets because, from corridor conversations, I am quite aware that he seems to have done a whole lot of late-night, red-eyed reading through a …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the problem with glass houses is that people who live in them should not throw stones. I do not want to live in the past either. I think there is a rotten scandal here, and I am looking forward to speaking about it tomorrow morning. However, I recall that some people who former prime minister Stephen Harper decided were worthy of being in the Senate ended up committing various acts of…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the hon. government representative has raised a question a couple of times that also troubles me. The hon. leader of the official opposition has said that he does not want top secret security clearance, because he is afraid it will gag him. Fortunately, thanks to David Johnston, this was made available to me, as leader of the Green Party, for the first time ever. If it were not for …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I am just verifying that the hon. member for Kitchener Centre will be allowed to speak.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of my constituents of Saanich—Gulf Islands who are deeply concerned about the perilous state of old-growth forests throughout British Columbia. In fact, of the high-productivity old-growth forests of British Columbia, only 2.7% remain; of that 2.7%, petitioners point out that 75% is slated for logging. The petitioners recognize the close relationshi…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague's historical reminder that this program was indeed around for decades and had a fine track record. It was created under former prime minister Jean Chrétien and was extremely well managed in the former administration of Stephen Harper. I say that recognizing that my predecessor as the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, Gary Lunn, was the minister of natural re…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this has to do with unparliamentary language. I have to admit that I would appreciate your help, because I imagine that once I open my mouth, it may be hard to continue. The leader of the official opposition used the word “dirtbag” in relation to someone accused of a crime who was out on bail. I think we all need to watch our language carefully and think of the case of Umar Zameer, wh…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your assistance. I know that this is a difficult topic. Everyone here is grateful to police officers across this country and grateful and vastly relieved that the police officer in Toronto is recovering well and is reported to be in good spirits. No one would wish a police officer to come to harm, but for those involved in altercations with the police, especially when the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition on a subject that is of concern to constituents and others: the Northvolt battery plant. This is a Swedish company that intends to build a battery plant in Quebec, but there are many concerns about the nature of the site, which is contaminated because of an explosives plant that was formerly on the location. There are concerns about …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Bloc Québécois leader about the major gap between the well-being of seniors and that of young people. Of course, the climate crisis springs to mind. Only the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party remain deeply committed to the issue of climate emergency. We are the only ones who do not flip-flop depending on the political situation. Has my esteemed colleague, th…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I sometimes feel that I am the only one left with a good memory. I am so glad that the hon. member for Windsor West also recalls that the SDTC has done lots of good work. There were a lot of good firms associated with it. I want to give credit to the Hon. Gary Lunn, the former member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. That is unusual, I suppose. I have not mentioned his name here in a long tim…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, to my hon. friend from Timmins—James Bay, I am very grateful for his participation in this House, and I know I am not the only one who is going to miss him because he has chosen not to run for re-election. His speech started to really try to drill down on why it is that the official opposition wants an election now. As a British Columbian, I sent out an email far and wide asking const…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, if only there was a way I could tell the parliamentary secretary, in one minute, of the 40 years of work I have put into environmental assessment; how casually it was trashed when Stephen Harper came in; how clearly the mandate letter to former environment minister Catherine McKenna said, “Fix this”; how she did not fix it but instead kept the Harper model; and how, because of that, t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order to briefly say that I deeply appreciate the thoughtful response to my last point of order. However, when referring to Standing Order 11(2), I was cut off by heckling and not able to direct the Speaker to the section that I thought might be relevant in the future, which is on avoiding irrelevant and repetitious speech. That seemed to be the case in the attack…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is my first opportunity to address the new member of this place, the member for Toronto—St. Paul's, so congratulations and welcome. I can see we have a new orator in this place who loves history, as do I. I am particularly pleased that he identified Arthur Currie as one of our great Canadians. The town where I live, Sidney, British Columbia, is where Arthur Currie used to teach s…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am rising today at the hour of adjournment to pursue a question I asked May 2, the day the Minister of Finance tabled Bill C-69. This is what is called, in the vernacular, an omnibus budget bill. Liberals will remember those words because it was in the platform of the Liberals that they would not introduce such things as omnibus budget bills. Liberals also promised that they would m…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on the same point, it is clear that world leaders have been calling out over the last year, since the horrific attacks of October 7, for restraint and to control the conflict so that it does not spread, just as it is spreading into Lebanon. We know who the enemy of peace is; unfortunately, he has a name. He is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has put his political career and his—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are allies of Israel, but Israel's prime minister is unpopular. He has put his personal ego and political career ahead of rescuing Israeli hostages, and he seems to care nothing about innocent civilians, whether in—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I find it odd to see this motion before the House today. Here is my question for my Conservative colleague: What does he think is the role of members in the House? Does he not think that it is to represent our constituents? Does the official opposition not see that two provincial elections have already been called? All of the people in my riding are saying that the Conservative moti…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I know it is extremely unusual that I would rise to support a point made by my friend from Battle River—Crowfoot, but I do think we should try for some relevance.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we focus a lot on the carbon tax in this place but without looking at the climate crisis and the real impact it has on Canadian farmers. We really want to support the family farm. We know that people living on farms are experiencing suicides. It is an extremely difficult life right now. Removing carbon pricing on things such as drying grains is one thing. However, if we ignore the b…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I was trying to rise to ask a question of the hon. member for Regina—Lewvan, but then I heard the shot toward the hon. member for Burnaby South. It is unparliamentary to suggest that the member sold out the country for his pension. I know that in this House we cannot be charged with slander, but that certainly is unparliamentary.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question, and he is right. We have exchanged conversations that, I would say, border on rants about how it feels to be in a community where a harbour authority really seems to lack accountability or caring concern, which affects the economy as well as the communities. As a modern industrialized country with a significant value added to our economy f…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for Langley—Aldergrove. Obviously, he knows whereof he speaks. There are quite a lot of impediments to the efficient loading of grain, even when we get the grain to port, even when there is actually a freighter there with holds ready to take it away. I do support the longshoremen's union. I know that it has negotiated in its collective agreements a number of restri…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I know that as a mayor, the hon. member suffered significant impacts in his community from climate events. I wonder whether he can give us a glimmer of hope that there will be a Conservative plan for what we do about the threat of the climate crisis.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member for Northumberland—Peterborough South on his new position. I know he is a passionate supporter of Via Rail and passenger rail improvement in this country. We hope to work together on that. However, I support Bill C-33. I would ask the member to consider that the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is massively inefficient, that the anchorages that it sends to s…
Read full speech →Government Orders
,seconded by the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, moved: That Bill C-33, in Clause 120, be amended (a) by replacing lines 24 and 25 on page 80 with the following: “(1.1) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(a) must provide for the prohibition of the loading and unloading of” b) by replacing line 6 on page 81 with the following: “December 31, 2025.” (c) by deleting lines 7 to 14 on page 81.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is a great honour for me to rise this morning to speak to Bill C-33. I would like to begin by thanking my dear colleague, the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, for supporting my amendments this morning. I am very pleased to finally be standing at report stage of the bill. I will recount Bill C-33's history briefly, but it has not been brief. The bill came forward for first reading …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madame Speaker, I would like to say a big thank you to my dear colleague, the member for Pierre‑Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, one of the opposition members who has made a very big effort to improve this bill to protect the environment. It is absolutely essential that we take quick action long before the 2030 target. We must stop exporting coal via our ports. This increases delays for other prod…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today and present a petition from constituents concerned about the question of how people who are dealing with addiction, in need of rehabilitation and treatment, are handled by society. The petitioners note that there is a policy of treating those who suffer from drug abuse as criminals. That policy has proven ineffective in alleviating the burden of drug ab…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for London—Fanshawe and add my words to those of the members thanking her for her work. I also worked with her mother, and I would like to thank Irene Mathyssen for consistent leadership on the issue of justice for women who suffered sexual violence in the course of their military service. Having studied the bill, does the member believe it is possible to m…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order with some trepidation based on comments made in question period. I have been diving through the Standing Orders to see what order I find has been offended. You might find it in Standing Order 11(2) under “order and decorum”. Of course, Standing Order 16 protects members of Parliament, the royal family and other parts of the Government of Canada from disrespe…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this petition that I am presenting has attracted the signatures of over 1,236 Canadians who are very concerned about an issue relating to the culture of South India, Sri Lanka and the Tamil diaspora here in Canada. They are finding that, due to the monopolistic behaviour of movie chains, South Indian movies are not available and that some movie theatres have been subjected to recurrin…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for all the tributes that have already been made. Your own words were profoundly moving. It is in this place, in moments like these, that we are united with exactly the same sense of shared humanity in paying tribute to someone we universally loved and admired. I know Chuck Strahl to have been, throughout his life, an honest man, doing an honest day's work every single d…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, this is a really critical issue. I will support the motion. I want to make it very clear, though, that I do not think there is evidence for one of the comments, which was about Kristian Firth. I think Kristian Firth should be ashamed, but I did not hear any evidence that he was wining and dining Liberal insiders. He was wining and dining whatever person was within the bureaucratic c…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I completely agree with the comments made by my colleague from Windsor West, and those from my colleague from the Bloc Québécois. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my Bloc Québécois colleagues. It is clear that the public service had eroded. Work was contracted out to big companies, sometimes foreign ones. Billions of dollars were paid to companies such as Deloitte, KP…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I think what the Canadian public is screaming about is the sense that there is never any accountability, that millions of dollars can be wasted and that we can have someone like Kristian Firth sit here and say he is not ashamed, that he just took millions of dollars from Canadians and he is walking away with it. I think the hon. member for Windsor West is absolutely right. We have t…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleagues who are here tonight. First, I would like to sincerely thank the member for Nunavut. I want to thank my friend, the member of Parliament for Nunavut, for bringing this forward for an emergency debate. It has been an emergency for some time. That is why I was relieved when the Speaker decided that it met the definition of an emergency for debate. Howeve…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Ben Perrin.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for splitting her time with me. Second, I did not want to interrupt. I think it is the first time I have ever yelled anything out in the House, but I remembered the name Benjamin Perrin. He is doing fantastic work in looking at the evidence and realizing things about the policies he used to espouse when he was in Stephen…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Nunavut for always being a shining example in this place of how to lead with love. I want to recognize that it is not one or two examples. As she was speaking, I was thinking of Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, who was attacked by the RCMP in a parking lot. What we can do is remember the first calls for justice of the Nati…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague, the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue. I am deeply moved by his words about our friend, my old friend Jonathan Pedneault, who has now stepped down as my deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada. As my colleague put it so well, Jonathan always makes decisions with human rights issues front of mind. I think my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue is rig…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, yes, indeed, and I recall attempts by the hon. member for Vancouver East to put this through by unanimous consent before we adjourned for the summer. One would have thought that reflection over the summer might have changed the automatic chorus of nays from across the aisle, because this is a matter of restoring rights to Canadians, not inventing new rights and not expanding a class…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Edmonton Manning says he wants Canadians who believe in Canadian values. Certainly one of those is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; this is why the courts ruled that the cut-off rule for second-generation Canadians was unconstitutional. How does the hon. member imagine that Canadians of convenience so cleverly plan ahead to choose their parents so that they ca…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The Northvolt plant is going to be built on the contaminated land of the Canadian Industries Limited former explosives plant and could end up polluting the Richelieu river. There are impacts on areas of federal jurisdiction and 4,000 people have signed a petition calling for a federal assessment. The mayors of Saint-Ba…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today with a petition of great concern to many of my constituents. I heard about this issue all summer, the need for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to have removed from its statutory mandate the promotion of aquaculture in order to put the priority for DFO to be on the protection of coastal ecosystems. The petitioners note that for British Columbians, t…
Read full speech →