Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague, the parliamentary secretary. I would like to add a few words about the environmental impact of this project. The planned project site is located on wetlands that are really important for biodiversity. What is more, the region's forests have already been subject to clear-cut logging. Environmentalists in this region of Quebec are strongly opposed to thi…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I want to start by thanking a member of the member's caucus, who was speaking moments ago, the hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, for his service on behalf of this country in Afghanistan and for his work to help rescue women from Afghanistan. We can work together across party lines in this place. My question for the parliamentary secretary might be taken from a Conservative poin…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is always good to see you in the chair. My comment to the parliamentary secretary is to stay within the focus of today's debate, even though I certainly sympathize with the unusual aspect of overruling the cautions of the Auditor General and the RCMP. I am still very troubled. It is just not the government's position to do the easiest thing and, however many boxes of documents ther…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise this afternoon. The petitioners have asked that the House assembled take action on the situation for the homeless in Canada. They note in this petition that the homeless are mistreated and discriminated against in a routine fashion. Many NGOs and governments are approaching the issue with what they term are best described as band-aid methods. The petitioners …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, at the time that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed, there was no left-right, Republican-Democrat or Liberal-Conservative divide on doing what science required. Maggie Thatcher and Brian Mulroney were front of the pack to get the treaty, but now Donald Trump is re-entering the White House, and we know that one of his first acts was to withdraw from th…
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of many constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands, it is an honour to rise to present a petition dealing with the intersecting issues of the importance of old-growth forests for biodiversity, for climate action and indeed for their integral role in the traditional, cultural and spiritual wisdom of the indigenous peoples of this area, as well as looking at the threat to old-growth…
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Mr. Speaker, to be brief, the petitioners in my constituency are very concerned about the inequality in pay for work of equal value, which has been ongoing for decades. In this country, women still receive 21¢ less than men for every dollar, on average, for doing basically the same work. In order to ensure that women and children are not living in poverty, we must have pay equity. The petitioners …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I am puzzled by the last comment from the member of Parliament for Waterloo. Deepak Obhrai, who was a wonderful Conservative member of Parliament, whom we miss, used to host Diwali on the Hill. What happened—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that we have a rare opportunity to talk about nuclear energy, although it is far too brief and without enough time for me to have a speaking slot. The government over the years, starting with the government of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, began shovelling billions toward the nuclear industry and set up Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Then the government of Steph…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for Repentigny and the Bloc Québécois as a whole for their work. I read this supplementary report to the report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. I agree entirely with all of the Bloc Québécois's recommendations for better protecting our environment and human health from the dangers of nuclear waste. My only question for …
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Madam Speaker, I have to tell the hon. parliamentary secretary that I think his commitment and his government's commitment to nuclear energy is entirely misplaced and lacking any evidence making any kind of reasonable case that nuclear energy contributes to addressing the climate crisis. I note the parliamentary secretary's point to the hon. member for Repentigny about radioisotopes. I recommend t…
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 →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…
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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, 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…
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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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 …
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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…
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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 →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
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…
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,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.
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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 →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…
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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 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
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…
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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 →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…
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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, 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 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, 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, 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…
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Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking members in other parties, and in particular the Minister of Immigration for bringing Bill C-71 forward. The hon. member for Vancouver East has been tireless, as have many citizen champions, including, as mentioned by the minister, Don Chapman. The work to restore the rights to lost Canadians is urgent. With all due respect to the minister, I would like to…
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…
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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…
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Mr. Speaker, I would also like to add a few words to say a big thank you to all the teams at the House of Commons. I would like to thank the Speaker, the clerks and the pages, who have done great work while also studying. These young people from across Canada continue to inspire me. They work so hard. When we work long hours, we sometimes forget that our pages are here working hard too. They then …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the parliamentarians who serve on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians have done an amazing job and deserve the thanks of all Canadians. In the face of foreign interference, we need to put Canada first and commit to working together. My question for the Prime Minister is this: Is the Prime Minister open to working over the summer with all members of Par…
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