Parliamentary Speeches

Mr. Speaker, it is confusing to us on this side how, every day, the members of the opposition party vote against every support for Canadians, yet they raise the issue. This month, Canadians will get the groceries and essentials benefit. The Conservatives voted against it. We are taking action against surveillance pricing to stop price gouging. How could they help people do that? They could support the bill. What are they doing? They are not doing it. For a change, I suggest they try supporting some of the measures to help Canadians instead of just talking down the economy.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for her hard work representing her riding. Our AI strategy for all is about trust, opportunity and sovereign control. The first pillar is all about trust: a promise to protect our kids, to protect privacy and to protect our citizens' personal information. The protecting privacy and consumer data act would do just that. We would give citizens the rights to deletion and to take down harmful deepfakes. We would act against surveillance pricing to stop price gouging. We would treat children's information as sensitive. It is common sense. Canadians want it. The Privacy Commissioner supports—

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud to have tabled legislation that would protect children, privacy and personal information and give us the opportunity to finally act against surveillance pricing and price gouging, making sure that Canadians have an affordable life. We are doing that with a regulator that will enforce that. This practice has been praised by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which said it is very pleased that this represents “a pivotal step for privacy in Canada” and “I welcome the proposals to recognize privacy as a fundamental right, an explicit recognition of the best interests of children, requirements to conduct—

Mr. Speaker, I would really like to thank the member for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas for his incredible advocacy on behalf of his community. Our new national AI strategy, AI for all, is building trust, creating opportunity and keeping sovereign control. We are creating a national AI literacy program so all Canadians can build a literate and educated workforce. We are creating 90,000 job placements for young Canadians so they can get the job experience they need. We are also investing in Canadian innovators, small and medium-sized businesses, to keep the jobs, the innovation and the business—

Mr. Speaker, instead of tearing down this country, which the Conservatives do, or counting airline miles, they should help build it up. The May jobs report showed that Canada created 88,000 new net jobs. Do they mention that? No. Our trade surplus is up 55%. Do they mention it? No. Our total exports are at a record high. Do they mention it? No. When we have a groceries and essentials benefit to help Canadians, do they vote for it? No. Why do they not get on board and help build up Canada?

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time tonight. I am pleased to rise today to speak to the message from the Senate concerning Bill C-9, the combatting hate act. At the outset, I would like to thank all who have contributed to the development and the study of the legislation: the Minister of Justice, the members of the House and Senate from all parties who participated in the debate, witnesses who appeared before committee, community organizations, faith leaders, legal experts, advocates and Canadians who shared their experiences and perspectives throughout this process. Today we are considering a message from the Senate that includes an amendment to Bill C-9. Our government supports this amendment. I will speak to that shortly. I think we should remember first why the legislation was introduced in the first place. At its core, Bill C-9 is about basic things: protecting all Canadians from hate and making sure that every Canadian has the right to worship in safety, to gather at their community centre in safety, to go to a summer camp that is a religious camp in safety, and to be who they want to be and to worship whom they want in safety. This is a diverse country. In my riding of Toronto Centre, there are people of every different faith and people of different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, identities and beliefs, just as there are living together in communities across our nation, and that diversity is to be celebrated. That diversity is our great strength. It strengthens our communities, our economies, our values and our openness. That inclusion is part of who we are, but we have to be candid about what is happening. We have seen a startling crisis of hate, specifically a disproportionate and vicious rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the last two years, specifically targeting the Jewish community, but also all forms of hate. We should name them, and one does not diminish the pain of the other by naming anti-Semitism, by naming Islamophobia, by naming homophobia or by naming anti-Black racism. This does not diminish one or the other or group them together. What it does is identify groups, individuals and families who are experiencing disproportionate hate. Across the country, Canadians are witnessing these attacks against places of worship, threats directed at religious and cultural communities, acts of intimidation, hateful demonstrations and targeted harassment against individuals. The synagogue where I was raised, where I was bar mitzvahed and where I was confirmed, Temple Emanu-el, was shot with 20 bullets through the glass front doors, where I entered and so many families to this day enter in peace. There were people inside. Thank God no one was hurt. In so many synagogues across the country, this is happening. We know this, and it is one of the key reasons for Bill C-9. It is so sad that it is necessary for us to do this in Canada, but it is, and it is for the people who are directly affected. I have spoken to them. I know them. They are members of my own family. These incidents are not simply statistics. People are fearful. They have anxiety. They ask us, as a government, what we are going to do to protect them. They feel vulnerable. They want legislation to protect their community centres, their schools and their places of worship, and we need to make sure not just that they are heard but also that we act on that. That is what the bill is about, because no Canadian needs to live in fear. No Canadian should be intimidated when they are attending a synagogue, a mosque, a church, a temple, a community centre or a cultural gathering where people practice their faith or celebrate their heritage. I was recently in Quebec City with colleagues, and we went to the mosque that was shot up. We met two survivors. They had bullets still in their bodies. They remember that tragic act of Islamophobia, and they live with those wounds. Today it is anti-Semitic attacks on the rise, and that time it was Islamophobic attacks. Sometimes there have been attacks on the 2SLGBTQ community. Just recently it was the moment to mark the anniversary of what happened in the club where so many members of that community were massacred. Bill C-9 responds to these tragic realities. The legislation would create new, important tools within the Criminal Code to address hate-motivated conduct and better protect communities and better protect people, families and kids who are being targeted when they just want to live their life in this great country of ours. Among the measures, the bill would create new offences aimed at preventing the obstruction of access to places primarily used by an identifiable group and preventing intimidation of individuals seeking to access those spaces. If we go to a synagogue today, there are police cars around it.

Mr. Speaker, members of the opposition are chirping about that, but they can come to the synagogue where I was and try chirping, because we are there, there is fear and this bill would stop it. This is not a slogan and this is not something to be divided on and try to score points about. This is about supporting a bill that would protect people and prevent this kind of fear and intimidation. The bill would create new hate-motivated offences that could be applied when a criminal offence is committed that is motivated by hate towards an identifiable group. This reflects the sad reality that hate-motivated crimes do not only harm individual victims; they send a message to the entire community. They create fear, they create intimidation and they create communities that feel targeted. When someone commits a crime motivated by hatred towards a religious group, an ethnic community or another identifiable group, the impact extends beyond the single victim. Bill C-9 recognizes that reality and would ensure that our criminal law reflects the broader harm that hate-motivated crimes can cause. This legislation also addresses the public display of hate symbols used to promote hate, such as the symbols of listed terrorist organizations. These symbols have long been associated with terror and intimidation, persecution and discrimination, and they have been used throughout history to threaten, terrorize and dehumanize. On the purpose of the legislation, let us be clear, and let us not twist it to score a political point. I know that my hon. colleagues in the opposition, in good faith, want to protect Canadians like everyone else. This is not about regulating legitimate debate or limiting legitimate debate. This is not about limiting political disagreement. In fact, we protect that every single day. This is not about limiting academic discussion or religious expression. That is protected. Religious freedom is protected under section 2 of the charter. Canadians remain free to express those views, to disagree with one another and to engage in public discourse. Rather, this legislation is focused on conduct that promotes hatred and seeks to intimidate or target communities, and these are important. The Senate has proposed an amendment to include the noose among the hate symbols captured by legislation. We support this amendment, because at the heart of this, it is not about limiting religious freedoms. We have a protected charter right to practise sincere religious beliefs, but not to invoke hate or incite violence, and the right to be protected in any forum where one is inciting hatred or promoting violence against another identifiable group. Bill C-9 is necessary. Bill C-9 is urgent to protect our citizens, to protect our communities and to protect our schools, and to do it in a very specific manner and a very targeted way so that it does not limit freedom of expression or religious expression, but rather protects communities that are feeling threatened. My hon. colleagues from the opposition say they want to protect all communities. This is their chance to act on it in an expeditious way.

Mr. Speaker, we should use common sense here. The bill is not just words; it would be a law. This is the most important thing that a government can do, which is to very seriously look at the law and change it to secure citizens where they worship and go to school. On the display of hate symbols, there is a new category as well. This would give police guidance when there is obstruction and intimidation in front of schools, universities, community centres and places of worship. The hon. member knows these are not just mere words. This would be the law.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his work bringing communities together and keeping them safe. This is an extremely important time for us to have a thorough and fair debate about how we are protecting communities, but it is not the time to invoke more division. It is not the time to stand in the way of the protection laws that the leaders of these communities and the opposition are purporting they want to protect. Bill C-9 is the very thing that communities are asking for, which is laws that protect them and their places of worship and that give police guidelines on how they should protect these communities. This is not the time for more division or to divide one Canadian against another with false ideas of what the bill would do. The bill is clear. It would protect not only freedom of religion but also communities. It is time to vote to protect communities and listen to the community leaders.

Mr. Speaker, it is always good to hear from my hon. friend in the opposition, who I know has spent a lot of time thinking about the line between security and civil liberties, and the very reason for this chamber is so we can have robust debates about finding exactly where that line is. Sadly, for communities today, for Jews in synagogues, for Muslims in mosques, for the 2SLGBTQ community, too often they are not being protected. We need new laws to do that, laws that are well crafted to protect liberties and protect people.

Mr. Speaker, every single day the opposition plays the same song, gleefully running down our economy instead of building it up, instead of pointing out the 88,000 new jobs created in the May report, that the trade surplus is up 55%, the highest in 15 months, and that total exports reached a record high. That is not leadership. We are building this country. We are investing in this country. We are supporting our workers. The Conservatives should give it a try.

Mr. Speaker, it would be a little more plausible that the opposition party cared about workers and cared about investment if it did not oppose every investment and every support for workers and for families. The Conservatives oppose dental care. They oppose affordable housing. They oppose investment in their own communities. We invest in Laval Tool and Mould, and they oppose. We invest in Jahn Engineering, and they oppose. We invest in Post Packaging, and they oppose. Instead of opposing support, boosts and investment, they should get on board and start building.

Mr. Speaker, instead of gleefully running down the economy, which the opposition does every day, those members should help us build it up. They do not like to point out that 88,000 new jobs were created, as said in the May report. They do not like to point out that wages have grown faster than inflation every month since we took office. They do not like to point out that rents are down 9%. In Windsor, when we invest in Central Stampings and when we invest in Unique Tool & Gauge, which we have done, the Conservatives oppose investing in their own communities. They should get with the program and build this country up together.

Mr. Speaker, there is a dangerous and serious crisis of anti-Semitism, and all the opposition can do is drive more division in the country when we do not need it most. The very synagogue where I was bar-mitzvahed was shot with 20 bullets. We do not need lessons from the opposition as to the seriousness. That is why it is a shame that the opposition opposed our anti-hate bill to protect campuses, places of worship and community centres from this scourge of anti-Semitism. They should stop the divisive rhetoric, join us and protect all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians, I was proud to stand with the Prime Minister yesterday as he named the dangerous scourge of anti-Semitism. He took action, and not with divisive rhetoric. We have an anti-hate bill that will protect our places of worship, campuses and community centres. We have put money into protecting synagogues and camps. Instead of stoking division, and instead of the hollow rhetoric, the opposition should stand with us, protect Jews who are facing unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism and take some action.

Mr. Speaker, I respect the hon. member, but I am surprised that the opposition continues to run down auto workers and this sector in the midst of a trade war. We just put forward $1.5 billion to support the sector with steel, aluminum and copper, as well as auto workers. The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said this is “a constructive step to help manufacturers and exporters manage through a period of significant economic uncertainty.” The Canadian Steel Producers Association said it is “essential to help pivot and realign our businesses to ensure our long-term competitiveness as we navigate this...trade war.”

Mr. Speaker, speaking of credit, we have the best credit rating in the world. Wages have grown twice as fast as inflation. What would the opposition cut? For example, would they cut support for our workers? Just today, we have invested $1 billion to support the steel, aluminum and copper industries hit by a trade war that the Conservatives deny, with another $500 million for good jobs, like at Beau-Roc, where they are building with steel. Would these guys cut support for those industries? You can ask them, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, these guys will find any excuse to talk down Canada and talk down investing in Canada, even in a trade war. Our credit rating is the highest in the world. We have just lowered the deficit by $11.5 billion, and we are using that money to invest in Canadians. We are making the largest investments in the skilled trades in our history: 100,000 jobs in the skilled trades. The Conservatives should support it. Our plan is simple, and I will put it simply: build in Canada, buy in Canada, believe in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, in about an hour the finance minister will give very good news for that member. Instead of just this negativity, let me give some facts. It is a fact that wages are growing twice as fast as inflation. It is a fact that Canada has the highest credit rating in the world. It is a fact that we lowered taxes for 22 million Canadians. It is a fact that we invested $6 billion in the auto sector. It is a fact that the Conservatives do not support investing in Canadians. It is a fact that this government does, and we are just getting started.

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives pretend to be champions of affordability, but they never get in the fight. Even worse, they vote against every measure to help families. We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. They are against it. We build affordable homes. They are against it. We introduce the groceries and food essentials that will put $1,900 into the pockets of a family of four. They are against it. We are fighting for jobs and affordability for Canadians. All the Conservatives do is run down the economy in the middle of a trade war. They should get on board and start building.

Mr. Speaker, all these guys do every day in the middle of a trade war is talk down the economy and tear down the country. We are doing the real work of investing in sectors and building it up. The Conservatives just want to tear it down. Let me ask what they would tear down. Here is a list of projects we have invested in. We invested in Northern Transformer. It is in a Conservative riding; they do not want it. We invested in Sensor Technology in Collingwood; they do not want it. We invested in Axe Living in a Conservative riding; they do not want it. Why will the Conservatives not listen to their own businesses and their own ridings and build Canada strong with us?

Mr. Speaker, we are in serious negotiations with the United States because we are in a trade war. In a trade war, we have to do the serious work of supporting Canadian businesses. At FedDev Ontario, we put hundreds of millions of dollars into Canadian businesses, many of them in Conservative ridings, and they need that support. This includes Dishon in Vaughan, MVA in Stratford and Sensor Technology in Collingwood. The Conservatives should listen to these business people. They are supporting our efforts to build a bridge to the future. The Conservatives have to get on board.

Mr. Speaker, it is a little early for cherry-picking season, but he is cherry-picking quotes and negative statistics to run down our country. As the Prime Minister said, wages have grown twice as fast as the rate of inflation. We just took 10¢ off the price of a litre of gas, 28¢ since we took government. We have just given families up to $1,900 this year in the groceries and essentials benefit. We are fighting for Canadians. They are running down the country and cherry-picking useless quotes.

Mr. Speaker, the party of “no” cannot seem to take yes for an answer. We just cancelled the excise tax on gas, saving 10¢ a litre for a family, 28¢ since we became the government, which puts $2.4 billion in the pockets of families. What do these guys say? They say no. They say no to all our affordability issues, no to the groceries and essentials benefit. They do not say yes to Canadians. We are building a real plan for real families and real affordability.

Mr. Speaker, we are investing in Canadians. We are investing in businesses because, unlike the opposition, we realize we are in a trade war and have to support our businesses. Let me give some examples. In Markham, we invested in CES Transformers, creating 143 new jobs there. In Thorold, we have been investing in Axe Buildings: 32 permanent new jobs. In Kit Steel, we are investing in companies and families to make life more affordable and to build this into the strongest economy in the G7. That is how we win.

Mr. Speaker, instead of repeating talking points, let us give some facts about building an affordable life for real Canadians. We cut tax for 22 million Canadians. Our groceries and essentials bill will put almost $1,900 in the pockets of families of four. We are building affordable homes. Let us not forget dental care and health care. That is real help for real families and real jobs for a real affordable life, not talking points and not fiction.

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to talk down this economy and talk down our workers, we are building it up. Why? It is because we have a plan to make life more affordable. We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. We have taken the GST off first-time homebuyers, and we are investing in our auto sector, our steel sector and our aluminum sector. Why? There is a trade war on, and we are backing real families, real companies and real jobs. Why do they not get on board and support real workers?

Mr. Speaker, the opposition wants to close its eyes and have a fantasy that the trade war will go away and that the tariffs will go away. It does not work like that. They have to have a plan. They have to invest in their workers. They have to invest in affordable housing. They have to invest in national defence. They have to invest in Canadians and their workers, including those making auto parts, as we are doing with the Federal Economic Development Agency in many Conservative ridings. Let me boil it down simply. They have to believe in Canada, buy in Canada and build in Canada. They should try that.

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to close their eyes and hope that the tariffs just go away like it is 50 years ago. That is not a plan. That is a fantasy. Even The Globe and Mail said that the Conservatives' plan is straight from the 1960s. I am sorry, but nostalgia is not a plan. We are investing in our auto workers. In fact, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario is investing in the parts manufacturers. I visited Kumi in Bradford and A. Berger Precision in Brampton West, which are Conservative ridings. Their voters support our plan. Why do the Conservatives not open their eyes, stop fantasizing and support our plan?

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. opposition knows, there is a war raging that is affecting prices everywhere. In this chaos, Canada is in a strong position. Why? It is because we prepared. We invested in jobs and industries like auto, steel and aluminum. We made sure to keep life affordable for all Canadians with our groceries and essentials benefit for 12 million Canadians. We are cutting taxes. Why? We have a plan. Preparing before a crisis is our way; complaining after a crisis is theirs. They should get on board.

Mr. Speaker, here is breaking news for the hon. member: We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. Here is breaking news for the hon. member: Our groceries and essentials benefit will help 12 million Canadians put food on the table. Here is breaking news: We have made it easier for first-time homebuyers. Here is breaking news: We are helping families. We are investing in our defence. This is what a plan is like when we knew there was a crisis. We prepare for a crisis. Complaining afterward with no plan is not helping Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition talks the economy down, we are building it up. We have a plan to make life more affordable. We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. We eliminated the consumer carbon tax. We cut the GST for first-time homebuyers. We also have the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, which will provide about $1,890 to an average family of four this year. Instead of talking the economy down, which is all they do, why do opposition members not join us and build this country up?

Mr. Speaker, breaking news for the opposition: we are in a trade war. Maybe instead of talking down the Canadian economy, talking down workers, they should join us and build them up. We are investing $3 billion in the auto sector. We are backing companies who choose to build here. I was just in Bradford, Ontario, where we invested in Kumi Canada. It employs 280 Canadians and it supports our plan to build in Canada, buy in Canada and believe in Canada. They ought to try it.

Mr. Speaker, the only party going in reverse is the Conservative Party. We are going to move forward. We are going to drive forward by investing in the Canadian auto sector. We have a plan to invest $3 billion in this auto sector. We are making sure that we are building the cars of the future. We are not only building the cars of the future; we are building affordable homes. We are making sure that families can put food on the table. This is called building Canada. They are blocking all those. They should get on board, stop blocking, start building Canada and join us.

Mr. Speaker, here is some breaking news for the opposition: We are in a trade war. Illegal and unjustified tariffs are taking those jobs, and this party is fighting for those jobs and investing in the auto sector. Do members know how to fight for Canadians? We fight for auto jobs. We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. We boost the GST rebate, helping to put food on the table. We build affordable homes. We invest in defence, child care and pharmacare. That is how we fight for Canada. We believe in Canada. We build in Canada. We buy in Canada. The Conservatives should try it.

Mr. Speaker, I think some facts would be good for this debate right now. Here is one for the Conservatives: We are making life more affordable for 12 million Canadians, allowing them to put food on their table. The party of “no” likes to block; we are building. We are building affordable homes; they are blocking this. We are building safe streets; they are blocking this. We are building a chance for 12 million families to put food on their table with a 25% increase in the GST; they are blocking it. When will the Conservatives stop blocking and start building?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to say, “Nostalgia is not a strategy”. I do not know why the Conservatives keep being nostalgic for their past policies. Here are some new ones: The 25% increase to the GST credit will allow a family of four, which the hon. member referred to, to have up to $1,900 to feed that family. That is real money. We have also made the national school food program permanent. If the party of “no” were serious about helping families, it would support these programs. Stop blocking; start building.

Mr. Speaker, while the party of no keeps standing in the way of bringing down the cost of living for Canadians, we are saying yes. Today the groceries and essentials benefit will give 12 million Canadians support to put food on the table, saving the average family of four almost $1,900 and the average individual almost $900. We are saying yes to supporting families. We are saying yes to making life more affordable. We are saying yes to real solutions. Why does the party of no not support Canadians and start saying yes as well?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his leadership in his community of Vaudreuil. Canadian pioneers like Jeffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio helped invent modern AI right here in Canada, and our three world-leading institutes, Mila in Montreal, AMII in Edmonton and the Vector Institute in Toronto are success stories. We just invested more: $42.5 million in new AI compute for researchers all over the country. As the head of our digital research said, we are ensuring innovators have the tools they need to compete globally while keeping our data sovereign. We are building here in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the opposition should stop the conspiracy theories. They should get out more, stop saying no and find out who is saying yes to Canada. They do not even have to go far. Just this morning, I was in Kanata where Nokia said yes to Canada and the Ottawa-Gatineau area. They broke ground on a $340-million innovation centre. They employ 2,600 Canadians. They will employ 340 more. The opposition should do what Nokia does: build in Canada, buy in Canada, believe in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, conspiracy theories and imaginary taxes are both different ways to say no to Canada. The Liberal Party is a party that says yes. Guess what: Just today, Nokia said yes to Canada. It invested $340 million in an innovation campus. That means good jobs: 2,600 jobs in Canada, with 340 more good jobs. Nokia broke ground today because it is building in Canada, buying in Canada and believing in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, it is very worrying that the opposition seems to exhibit such a fear of flying, but it is even more worrying that they exhibit a fear of building. The Prime Minister went to the U.A.E. and brought back a $1-billion deal to build our critical minerals sector and $70 billion of investment to build our country. That is exactly what we are doing. It turns out that our plan is an excellent cure for the opposition's fear of building.

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have to learn to take yes for an answer. The Prime Minister was in the U.A.E. and its leadership said yes to Canada, investing $1 billion in our critical minerals sector, with $70 billion of investment coming to Canada. In fact, the Premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe, supports this. Scott Moe said, “we welcome Prime Minister Carney's efforts to raise Canada's credibility in the international sphere”. It is time for the opposition to join us and build Canada.

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of good news here. The Prime Minister went to the United Arab Emirates. The Prime Minister brought back an extraordinary deal: $1 billion for our critical minerals sector. Let us think about that. There is $70 billion in investment to build Canadian infrastructure and good jobs here in Canada. That goes along with our plan to build affordable homes and invest in our defence sector. I do not know why the opposition cannot take “yes” for an answer.

Mr. Speaker, we have to wonder what the opposition members will really support. They cannot support a deal to invest $1 billion in critical minerals from the U.A.E. They cannot support $70 billion coming in from the U.A.E. Maybe it is just because they want us to be distracted from what they also opposed; on Monday they opposed LNG Canada phase two in British Columbia, the new Darlington nuclear project in Bowmanville, 18,000 construction jobs, and the Red Chris mine expansion in northwest British Columbia. The real question is, what does the opposition support?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for counting air miles instead of reading the budget. The only word the opposition seems to know is no. It is time to say yes to building Canada. It is time to say yes to the national school food program. They said no. It is time to say yes to building affordable homes. They said no. It is time to say yes to investing in our national defence. They said no. It is time to say yes and build Canada strong.