Parliamentary Speeches
693 speeches by Gary Anandasangaree — Page 13 of 14
Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak about Canada's medical assistance in dying, including the role played by federal, provincial and territorial governments in the MAID regime. As members know, Parliament is responsible for enacting criminal law and the provinces and territories are responsible for its enforcement. The federal government has always recognized that MAID is…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I listened to my friend opposite's speech intently and I have some underlying concerns. First and foremost, the implication is that when we look at diversity and inclusion as an issue, it precludes those who are qualified and intellectually capable of a job, so there is a premise I reject. What the member is trying to say, I believe, is that there should be no measures put in place …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, in August 2019, the Prime Minister accepted the report prepared by the hon. Anne McLellan on the dual role of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and committed to carefully reviewing her recommendations to determine how best to implement them. She made a total of eight recommendations in her report, all aimed at addressing concerns around the dual roles and, in par…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, a justice system that targets indigenous peoples, the Black community and marginalized individuals is not fair, does not keep us safe and needs to be changed. I invite the member opposite to listen to the testimony of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers and the South Asian Bar Association, as well as many legal experts who have come fo…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I want to be very clear: Those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies of the Conservative government, which have filled our prisons with low-risk first-time offenders who needed help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They target vulnerable a…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I want to be very clear here. I have repeated this before: Those who commit serious offences would continue to receive serious sentences. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies of the Conservative Party, which have filled our prisons with low-risk first-time offenders who needed help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime, did not keep us saf…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, let me repeat: Those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Our government is committed to our criminal justice system reform. It is a promise we made to Canadians, and we intend to keep it. This is about criminal justice policy that actually keeps our communities safe. A justice system that unfairly targets indigenous peoples and Black and marginali…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, this is about criminal justice policy that actually keeps our communities safe. I want to invite the member opposite to listen to the very profound testimony of the president of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, as well as the South Asian Bar Association. They speak to the desperate impact of our current criminal justice system on r…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on this Tamil genocide remembrance day, I want to honour those who died and those who survived. I want to honour the mothers of the disappeared who continue to search for their lost children; the women and men who are at Mullivaikkal today to commemorate their loved ones while under strict surveillance by the Sri Lankan military; the war widows who are struggling to feed and raise the…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it I trust that you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That this House acknowledge the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and recognize May 18 of each year as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to a criminal justice reform. It is a promise we made to Canadians, and we intend to keep it. This is about criminal justice policy that actually keeps our communities safe. A justice system that targets, unfairly, indigenous peoples and Black and marginalized communities is not effective, does not keep us safe and must be changed.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond to this question again. I want to be very clear: Those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with lower-risk first-time offenders who needed help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime and did not kee…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Let us not get this confused. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with lower-risk first-time offenders who need help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They targeted the vulnerable and racialized Canadians.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, those who commit serious offences will continue to receive stiff sentences. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with low-risk first-time offenders who needed help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies do not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They target the vulnerable and racialized Canadians.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, first off, I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking from the traditional lands of the Algonquin people. I also want to acknowledge the work of my friend from St. Albert—Edmonton and his persistence in bringing forward Bill S-206, an act to amend the Criminal Code (disclosure of information by jurors). The amendment proposed by Bill S-206 would permit jurors to discuss jury delib…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a) of the question, the Foreign Enlistment Act defines “foreign state” as including “any foreign prince, colony, province or part of any province or people, or any person or persons exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in or over any foreign country, colony, province or part of any province or people.” The term “friendly foreign state” is no…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, no legal expenses were incurred by the government for outside legal counsel on work related to the invocation of the Emergencies Act in 2022, as well as any subsequent legal action. There have been no costs paid, or scheduled to be paid, to outside legal counsel. All advisory and litigation services provided in relation to the invocation of the Emergencies Act in 2022, as well as any …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, these issues are difficult and deeply personal and touch the lives of everyone across this country. We would like to thank those who have lent their voices to this important national conversation. We look forward to seeing the findings and recommendations of the special joint committee as well as the expert panel, which are due imminently.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I want to reiterate that there is an expert panel right now that is set to report imminently, and there is a special joint committee, on which the member opposite is a very active member. We look forward to the findings of both, in order for us to address additional issues that are likely to come up.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, as I stressed earlier, these issues are difficult and deeply personal and touch the lives of everyone across this country. We would like to thank those who have lent their voices to this important national conversation. We look forward to seeing the findings and recommendations of the special joint committee, on which the member opposite is also a very active participant, and of the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have been working very closely with the member who represents the NDP at committee, as well as the member for the Bloc and, as much as I can, with those in the Conservative Party. I tend not to be very partisan, but it is abundantly clear that there are games taking place today. This matter does—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am very perplexed as to what is happening today because this is a bill that has gone through a number of days of debate in the House as one single unit. As of today, we will have had our sixth meeting of witnesses. We have set clause-by-clause for about a week and a half from now. We have agreed, by consensus of all the parties, to have eight meetings to discuss the bill, and at t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, let me say at the outset that I am very disappointed that we are at this juncture today. Bill C-5 is a very important piece of legislation, and I can walk the House through my perspective on this. I want to confirm that I will be splitting my time with the member for Whitby. When Bill C-5 was introduced back in December, we heard from a number of different organizations and people w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, a one-hour debate on this is hardly filibustering. It is, in fact, to put on record what we are talking about, how important this bill is and why it needs to be debated in its entirety as one full unit. That is not filibustering. That is putting forward a coherent set of reasons as to why this bill should not be divided.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we have completed five meetings with around six witnesses at each meeting, so we have heard from about 30 witnesses. Another meeting started a couple of minutes ago and there are two more scheduled meetings. In total, by the end of the study, we will have heard from roughly 45 witnesses who are experts in their fields, representatives of organizations that support those in the crimi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am delighted to join members here and speak in favour of the budget implementation act. I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking from the unceded lands of the Algonquin people. We were elected in 2015, and I want to highlight some of the major successes in my region of Scarborough, particularly Scarborough—Rouge Park. As members are aware, we were able to support the extensi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I do want to pay tribute to Peter Kent, who was very important in establishing the park. Of course, as I acknowledged, this is a park that political parties of all stripes can take credit for. In terms of the wage gap, I think that one of the major ways we have been able to address it is through our agreements with the provinces on $10-a-day child care. I think it is a transformatio…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I used to serve with the member across the floor on the heritage committee, and I am reminded of how enigmatic he can be. Let me just say that we are already hard at work to make life more affordable for Canadians and help small businesses across the country. In fact, we proposed a number of measures in budget 2022 that would do just that. I would like to remind my hon. colleague th…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak to Bill C-5, particularly to dispel some possible misunderstandings about the impact these sentencing reforms would have on the human trafficking regime in the Criminal Code. Some critics of this bill suggest the proposed reforms would allow hardened human trafficking offenders, who may be linked to organized crime or who are otherwise ob…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, Bill C-5 would provide judicial discretion to allow courts to craft proportionate sentences that consider all the relevant circumstances, including factors such as an individual's experience with systemic racism, their history of trauma or their need for community and health supports. Should Bill C-5 be enacted, the human trafficking regime would not change. Conditional sentences wo…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the pressures created by supply chain disruptions and by the shift from buying services to buying goods are real. We are monitoring that situation very closely. As it relates to inflation, there are other structural costs that make life less affordable for Canadian families, and chief among them are housing and child care. That is why our government has a robust national housing str…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Sri Lanka is facing the most serious financial crisis in its history. The corrupt regime led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is in the final days of governing the failed state. The entire cabinet of ministers has resigned, save and except for Mahinda Rajapaksa. This is the beginning of the end of the Rajapaksa family. The brothers stand accused of …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, our government is committed to criminal justice system reform. It is a promise we made to Canadians and we intend to keep it. This is about criminal justice policy that actually keeps our communities safe. A justice system that unfairly targets indigenous people and Black and marginalized communities is not effective. It does not keep us safe, and it must be changed.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to take the Minister of Justice back to 2019 when we had a round table in Scarborough with a number of different stakeholders who were directly impacted by mandatory minimum sentences, particularly members of the Black community. We know that the statistics are quite relevant here because MMPs have disproportionately impacted members of the Black community, as well as indigenou…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak this morning with respect to Bill C-230, an act to amend the Criminal Code, intimidation of health care professionals, which was introduced by the member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek. I want to acknowledge that I am speaking today on the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin people. The stated goal of Bill C-230 is to protect an important right: the …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Kamalambikai Kandasamy, a brave mother of the Tamil nation. Throughout 2008 and until May 2009, Mrs. Kandasamy worked day and night as a pharmacist embedded with the Tamil medical team in Mullivaikal. As makeshift hospitals were targeted and bombed by the Sri Lankan armed forces, she fearlessly helped thousands of survivors. The world ignored her pl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to get a sense from my friend opposite about the following point. There are a number of provincial Conservative governments in Canada. Could he identify any provincial government that has reduced its taxes with respect to gasoline at this time?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day” is the theme for Black History Month this year. I am proud to highlight two important initiatives from my riding that will be embedded in Canadian history this year and beyond. First, I want to highlight the work of Kwame Delfish, the artist who designed the 2022 Underground Railroad coin for the Royal Canadian Mint…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I want to ask my learned friend a very specific question with respect to the safeguards that exist within the Emergencies Act. I know it was invoked on February 14. We are debating it today. The order was presented two days after the invocation. There are other measures that are forthcoming. Can the member speak to the safeguards that are in place to ensure that we protect the right…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask specifically about the safeguards available in the Emergencies Act. Could the member highlight some of the safeguards in place as we invoke the act?
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his acknowledgement of the illegality of the blockades. I know that he referenced the steps undertaken by the government. I am wondering if he had a chance to read the “Report to the Houses of Parliament: Emergencies Act Consultations”. It is an eight-page report that was tabled. It outlines all of the measures undertaken by the government, including the Prime…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my friend opposite, and we have worked well together over the years. I do want to give him some startling numbers. I know he cited some numbers. With respect to the fundraising, some 52% of the funds came from the U.S. and 1,100 of those names relate to the same donors who donated to the January 6 insurrection at Capitol Hill last year. Does it not…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for the member opposite, and I have worked with him at the indigenous affairs committee. At the outset, I want to say that I believe Canadians are united. Over 90% of Canadians have been vaccinated, and many more are continuing to be vaccinated as we speak, with the second and booster doses. We have seen a lot of hate outside over the last several week…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I must profoundly disagree with many of the premises of my colleague from Edmonton West's statement. I want to probe into one issue that has come forth, which is the financing of these protests. One report says that 1,100 of the donors to this protest were also donors to the January 6 Capitol Hill riot. Of course, there has been a lot written about them and the motivations there. We a…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. I rise today with a very heavy heart to speak in support of the invocation of the Emergencies Act by our government and the motion in this House to affirm the government's decision. I want to acknowledge that I am speaking from the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin people. I want to thank the man…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, this gives me an opportunity to respond to this question, which has come up a number of times. I want to specifically direct the hon. member to the Report to the Houses of Parliament: Emergencies Act Consultations. It outlines all of the measures taken by the government in respect to addressing the situation we have seen. First and foremost, I think that starting on January 31, ther…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, no, that is not what this entails. We have a specific set of situations right now in a number of different areas, including Ottawa, Windsor, Coutts, Emerson and Surrey, that do pose a national emergency. This is in direct response to the situation at hand and it does mean that this should be invoked. I hope the government never has to invoke this again, but we are in a situation whe…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question posed by my friend opposite. This certainly does set a precedent in terms of protest. We cannot have blockades of this nature, which literally bring our economy to a halt. We have gone through the pandemic. We have serious challenges with transport across Canada right now, and we need to make sure that all of our systems are working properly. If the governm…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague for Burnaby South on his baby. I have seen the member engage on many occasions with protesters over the many years I have known him. This particular time he has not. The opposition has advised the Prime Minister to engage with people at the illegal blockades that are here. What are his reflections on engagement with those wh…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, my colleague's intervention was very thoughtful. I want to highlight that a number of speakers have suggested the Prime Minister meet with those who are illegally blocking Parliament Hill and engage in dialogue with them. I just want my friend opposite to reflect and maybe give us a sense of why that is not possible and why political engagement at that level is inappropriate, just giv…
Read full speech →