Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in line with the question just asked, we were also shocked to see $200 a month, as if that could lift people living with disabilities out of poverty. In what world is $200 a month enough? At the same time, the red dress alert initiative will be given $1.3 million over three years. When we have stolen sisters versus stolen cars, the cars get $47 million right away. Can the Prime Minist…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would like, in the last few moments we have here with the witness, to put myself in the position of a Canadian watching this on television, and wondering how this could happen. I think it is clear on a factual basis, and respecting this place and everyone in it, that there has been here, in this example, as the Auditor General has found and as the ombudsman has found, an appalling f…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to review some of the answers that Mr. Firth gave earlier today. To the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, when asked if he would have liked to have answered differently when he thinks back and reflects on his answers to committee, his answer was that he wished he could have answered more concisely. I would like to put it to the witness that no one has accused him of …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pursuing evidence that the witness gave to the government operations committee on October 20. It is a very interesting skill set that the witness has, to obtain these various contracts. Mr. Firth said, “Between my business partner Darren and me, we have 30 years of experience dealing with IT companies, whether we are dealing with independent consultants or we have had the luxury …
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Mr. Speaker, given the experience here, and knowing that the witness has health challenges, all I can ask is this: Is he not ashamed?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to put on the record that the Green Party also supports the vote to do more. I also want to associate myself with the comments of the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona, who said that this is not the right way to go about it. A concurrence debate does not give us the kind of full and detailed discussion that needs to be had. All I will ask my hon. colleague for West Vancouver—…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Lakeland is my friend. Among the things she has said that need correction is that it was possible to participate in COP28 virtually. It was not. That is why the Government of Alberta sent so many people and so did the Government of Saskatchewan. The size of the Canadian delegation ballooned with members of the delegations of those provinces, that did not contribu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I agree with my friend from Provencher on one point. This bill should have been called the just transition act. The government and governments around the world, largely because of the work of Canadian trade unions, which were in Paris at COP21. They worked hard to ensure that climate action would not compromise the jobs of workers in the fossil fuel sector and that they w…
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Madam Speaker, the only thing that could possibly make a climate activist think this bill was worth more than the paper it was written on is the overreaction from the Conservative benches. Therefore, I would suggest to my Conservative friends that if they would just look at the bill and honestly say that they think it is a nothing burger, then that would also help our side, which wants to see real…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I made this point earlier to the member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, and I just want to reiterate it. Not to be insulting or disparaging to my Liberal friends but, really and truly, the only thing that encouraged people to support the previous environmental assessment legislation that was brought forward as Bill C-69 was that the Premier of Alberta said it was the anti-pipeline act.…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am returning to a question I put forward in the House during question period back on November 22. It deals with something compelling, which is Canada's preparedness for extreme weather events, particularly fires, floods and storms of all kinds, and how the government could better prepare for them. Certainly, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and I have talked about this, and …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am sure that the government intends to do things better, but if any of the events I have mentioned this evening happen again, we are not prepared. We need to have a standing committee that meets every two weeks that includes federal, provincial, territorial, local governments and indigenous peoples and nations to share information. The adaptation strategy from Environment Canada's…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have been looking for my moment to also comment on the question of privilege raised by the hon. member for La Prairie. I think the Bloc Québécois member's argument was very strong. When he presented his question of privilege, I thought it was solid and clear. I thought it was a violation of privilege to start seeing budgetary information shared in advance. In the last while, in di…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to join my colleagues in paying tribute to our dear colleague and friend, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel. When I was elected in 2011, I was here on my own, as the only Green Party member, but I worked with the four Bloc Québécois members, including my dear colleague. We worked together, almost invisibly, but I think we worked as a small Bloc-Green coalition. I…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I hope that everyone in this place will forgive me for the interruption, but as a member of Parliament, I believe that my work here does earn an honest red cent. I agree with the parliamentary secretary that it is important for those of us here to have actually had jobs outside of politics, but he might want to rethink that, Mr. Speaker, and it is up to you…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the member for Jonquière. I think that the Conservative motion gives us a good opportunity to explain to Canadians what is really happening with the climate crisis. The reality is that, when a provincial Conservative premier testified in committee, he gave the government good arguments in favour of the carbon tax. In fact, the testimony the Conservative premiers …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada is making decisions that are big mistakes. The biggest mistake is to continue to give huge subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. That makes no sense. For example, $34 billion in taxpayers' money was invested in the Trans Mountain pipeline. Not only does that not make any sense economically, but it is also a big threat to our environment. That was done with …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is hard to be brief when the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay is a voice of conscience in this place. He is the only person in days, weeks, maybe months, besides perhaps myself and the hon. member for Victoria, who speaks to the fact that the climate crisis threatens the future of our children, our grandchildren and civilization itself. It is in our hands to make a difference ea…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, for giving me the opportunity to make a brief speech on today's motion. I thank him profusely. I have been here for the full day of debate. Let me break down what the supply motion today from the Conservative Party deals with. It posits that we have a carbon tax crisis and suggests that the solution is to bring the premiers to Ottaw…
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Madam Speaker, the actions of the premier of Alberta are quite baffling, because her decision to put a pause on renewables when there are billions of dollars of investment trying to get into Alberta makes no sense. Alberta has the best potential for solar, and that is where Alberta is a real energy powerhouse. The facility that was recently put in place near Okotoks is delivering solar power at un…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Skeena—Bulkley Valley, who, by the way, was one of the few MPs able to attend COP28. There, the decision was taken to triple renewable energy globally and double energy efficiency by 2030. These are important decisions that we should be moving on quickly. I would like to think that every premier would participate in good faith. We can start naming the ones we …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from the Bloc Québécois for this motion and this explanation. The Green Party will also want to submit its point of view at a later time.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, you know what a stickler I am for the rules, but I support the member for Courtenay—Alberni breaking those rules in order to point out that on one petition at least, we really are in strong support, even though we are not supposed to say so, and that of course was the petition about the volunteer firefighter tax credit. I am presenting a petition that I will briefly summarize. Many of…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am curious to know how I am going to vote on today's opposition day motion that we are talking about, at least peripherally. The discussion around carbon taxes always brings to mind, because it is a complex problem, the H.L. Mencken comment, “For every complex problem there is a solution which is clear, simple and wrong.” I could add, as an update, that it very rarely rhymes. I woul…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, the issue of forestry in the Canada-U.S. debate is structural. Let us recognize that most of our forest products are produced from land that is called Crown land, and in the U.S. it is from private land. The stumpage fees we charge are viewed by the U.S. as an unfair subsidy. Let us strip all of that away. It is indigenous land. If it is called private land, who was it stolen from? If…
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Madam Chair, I have very little to add because I absolutely agree with my Bloc Québécois colleague. I think it is important to point out that the debates we have here about carbon pricing are almost futile compared to the critical issue of the climate change threat. At the moment, we know that there is no greater threat, except perhaps that of nuclear war. We need to do more. We need to have debat…
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Madam Chair, there is no question that in this country we tend to have a default preference for people who describe themselves as professionals, as opposed to people who actually know what they are doing. I have always liked the quote, “Amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” I do think we should bring to the table people who have intergenerational experience in managing their ow…
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Madam Chair, I thank my friend and colleague from the Bloc Québécois. Absolutely, I think we need subsidies, with a preference for Canadian industry, at a time when the U.S. government wants to punish our industry. This is a good opportunity for the federal government to provide financial support to this sector. At the same time, we must work with the United Nations and with indigenous peoples to …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, for my colleague from Courtenay—Alberni, I have another question from Vancouver Island. I thank the member for the last round, as I was just going to ask where my hon. colleague thinks we should stand on the issue of raw log exports. Obviously Canadians need a team Canada effort. Tonight's take-note debate lets us focus on the quite unfair and unexpected increase in duties from the U.…
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Mr. Chair, it is nice to have so many British Columbia MPs here tonight, standing up for our forests and for the industry. I am wondering if he would agree that while the U.S. is imposing these unfair duties, it would be a good time to ask the federal Minister of Trade to stop approving any permits for the export of sawlogs when our mills still need logs to process locally.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, it is an honour to rise at this hour to speak in this important take-note debate. I feel compelled to start with the sad news that was originally shared earlier tonight by the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola about the Hon. John Fraser, former Speaker of the House, former member of Parliament and a valiant conservation champion. He served as minister of the environment i…
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Madam Chair, whether the parliamentary secretary intended to or not, he did allow me to sneak in something I ran out of time to mention, which is that the forest industry quite neatly overlays rural and remote areas of Canada, and a lot of indigenous territories and indigenous communities. Yes, we need to do a better job protecting our forests. The forest industry in Canada, despite their press, i…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today on behalf of constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands, standing on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. The petitioners are pointing to the long-standing problem of the contribution, unfortunately, of Canadian companies, particularly those in the mining sector, in attacking human rights and being associated with environmental damage a…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, to the members for Northumberland—Peterborough South and for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, we really are at one of those rare moments I love in this place, when we are in violent agreement. We should be seeing witnesses respect Parliament and answer questions clearly. This may veer from where the member for Northumberland—Peterborough South is coming, but it is pretty clear to me that some…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my second petition deals with the critical habitat requirements of a rare and threatened bird, the marbled murrelet. This bird nests in the roots of old-growth forests. That is the only place where it is found, although it spends most of its lifetime out on the open ocean. The petitioners are calling for the Government of Canada to immediately protect all the critical old-growth habit…
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Madam Speaker, I am rising at my first opportunity on a point of order related to decorum in this place, and I specifically reference Standing Order 10 and Standing Order 16, arising from the extreme levels of noise, chanting, banging and other things that disrupted decorum during last night's votes. The first vote was on an opposition motion, and then there were numerous votes related to matters …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present two petitions this morning. They are both of critical concern to members of my constituency. I had the honour of hosting 12 community meetings recently in different parts of the riding. There was not a single meeting where the issue of the crisis of access to family doctors was not raised. I put forward a petition where the petitioners note that, according to S…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly remember, as the bill came forward, expressions of disappointment that it did not go farther, that it would bring relatively minor changes in the relationship between indigenous peoples and the Crown, and that much more would need to be done. However, I did not hear anyone suggest that it was not a good step forward, though small. I wonder whether the hon. member can infor…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Edmonton Strathcona for putting the notion of Groundhog Day in my mind. It really is Groundhog Day when the Conservative Party's slogan is lifted word for word, rhyme for rhyme, from the British Columbia New Democratic Party's slogan in the 2008 provincial campaign, when the B.C. New Democrats, under Carole James, ran against the carbon tax. In fact, former pr…
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague from Victoria. The Trans Mountain pipeline is a huge scam that flies in the face of climate action. It comes at an unbelievable cost of over $34 billion, for a pipeline that makes no sense, which is what the private sector, in the shape of Kinder Morgan, had decided. I would like to hear my Bloc Québécois colleague's thoughts on that.
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Madam Speaker, I think my hon. friend from Victoria and I agree on many things. Will she agree with me that it is never too late, even after $34 billion has been wasted on building the Trans Mountain pipeline, to refuse to open it? The use of the Trans Mountain pipeline will have the effect of increasing greenhouse gases from the oil sands and will massively increase the risk of a dilbit spill in …
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Madam Speaker, I reflect on the member's comments about the overspending and printing of money. I want to remind him, and everyone here, that in the early months of COVID we were unified as a House, because we had to be. We were facing an emergency created by a pandemic and, because we could not physically gather in this place and vote because of the health rules of the City of Ottawa, $80 billion…
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Madam Speaker, I want to set aside the comments on what has dominated in this place, which are carbon pricing and proper solutions to the climate crisis. I wonder if my hon. friend does not agree that the well-being of every single Canadian, as she exhorted in her speech, includes that we face the fact that there is a very worrying fuel load across the country in our forests. The forest fires of s…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the so-called climate debate taking place in this place is the worst of all worlds. It is unserious and profoundly unfunny. It is a grotesque display of ignorance of the science and a rejection of the solutions that are desperately needed. Our children and grandchildren will not forgive us for this display, but we still have a chance. Will the Liberal government commit that, when we c…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Kingston and the Islands for that commitment. I would like to shift the conversation in this place. I will have a question at the end of question period, and there is no real spoiler alert, most people will be gone by the time I ask it, but I want the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands to know about it and to help me sell this idea in his caucus. We need…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know about the rest of the members, but I am just not going to get over missing this member for a very long time, probably never. One reason, and he knows this, is that I loved his dad so very much. His dad, Bill Blaikie, was a grand friend and a voice for this planet. I remember his dad talking about climate change in this place in 1986. He was brave and courageous and a man…
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Madam Speaker, because we are able to have this conversation continue back and forth, the hon. minister seems to suggest that my opposition, in principle, to the use of time allocation would mean that this place would come to a standstill and no business could get done. I plead with all sides of the House to return to the use of the rules we have, so House leaders, when they meet, can have a legit…
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Mr. Speaker, having sat through the presentation from the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I would like to commend him for his thoroughness and for citation of relevant authorities in a fashion that did this place honour. It is so encouraging to hear a debate, and I am not going to mention others, that is substantive and helpful. On behalf of the Green Party of Ca…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, we are facing unthinkable levels of climate crisis events globally. Scientists are alarmed, and so should we be all. It is very clear that last year, 2023, was the warmest year on record. Also, it is now clear for Canadians what we all knew. Records have been smashed. Records have been broken. This winter was the warmest winter on record in Canada, and according to senior climatologis…
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Madam Speaker, as members will know, on principle, I am deeply offended by the move toward the continual limiting and cutting off of debates through the use of closure. I was elected to this place and have had the honour of representing Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. When this first began to happen under the previous administration of Prime Minister Harper, I counted the number of times closure …
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