Parliamentary Speeches
589 speeches by Gary Anandasangaree — Page 8 of 12
Government Orders
moved that a ways and means motion to introduce a bill entitled An Act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 21, 2023 and certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023, be concurred in.
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Mr. Speaker, residential schools are a sad reality of Canada's history, and their painful legacy continues to be felt today across Canada. We are working in partnership to provide the resources needed as communities continue to do the very important and challenging work of locating, identifying and commemorating the remains of those who were stolen from their families and prevented from coming hom…
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Mr. Chair, the Prime Minister's statement yesterday has really shaken many young people. I have been speaking to many young people with South Asian backgrounds and it is very troubling to see how hurt they are today. Can you maybe give a sense to young people, especially those who may be watching, of what they should be doing or how they can overcome some of the challenges they may be facing today…
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Mr. Speaker, we look forward to working with the opposition and all parties to implement the red dress alert. We know that it will save lives. It is so important in order to address the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. We will continue to work to ensure that women and indigenous women are protected across the country.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a heart-wrenching issue and is part of our sad reality of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. I had the opportunity in Ottawa yesterday and in Winnipeg last month to meet with the family members, along with members of the Assembly of Manitoba Chief as well as the Long Plain First Nation chief. I understand the deep frustration that exists with families and communi…
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my friend on his appointment as parliamentary secretary. I know he worked as a lawyer for many years in Toronto. Some of the statistics that were presented earlier oftentimes conflate a number of different things when it comes to bail. Could he tell us today what kind of consensus existed to bring forward this bill from the police services, the premiers and ju…
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Madam Speaker, since this is the first time I am standing up in the House since my appointment, I want to thank the Prime Minister for the faith he has in me. I want to assure all Canadians that I will be working very hard for them each and every day. My friend from Vaughan—Woodbridge gave a really good speech, and I want to congratulate him for that. I know the member opposite just asked a questi…
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Madam Speaker, just to hone in on one of the amendments that is being proposed by the Conservatives, which is with respect to leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, my understanding is that when there is a case involving a judge that is going forward, that leave is granted, but that is the law of the land. In all cases involving the Supreme Court, leave needs to be granted by the Supreme Court. Wit…
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Madam Speaker, I know there has been a lot of discussion about the last-minute amendment brought forward by the good member for Langley—Aldergrove, who is a very constructive member of the justice committee. I must say that I am quite disappointed that this is now being used as a tool to delay the passage of a very important bill. As we know, Justice Wagner, the chief justice of Canada, has asked …
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Madam Speaker, the member's comments actually have no relevance with respect to Bill C-9.
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Madam Speaker, this bill has had widespread support among all the parties in the House and from the many stakeholders who have spoken in support of it across Canada. We are at a very critical juncture here, in that we are reflecting on some of the proposals from the other place. The bill has gone through an extensive process in the House, and I am wondering if the minister could tell us why it is …
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to legal expenses 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, to the extent that the information that has been requested is or may be protected by any legal privileges, including solicitor-client privilege, the federal Crown asserts those privileges. In this …
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Madam Speaker, today is the inaugural National Day Against Gun Violence. For far too many in our country, gun violence is a deeply personal tragedy that has claimed loved ones, shattered dreams and robbed our sense of security. Many will recall the Danzig Street shooting in the summer of 2012 in my riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park. A gunman fired into a crowded block party, killing two young men a…
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Madam Speaker, I believe we have gone to orders of the day. We have a private member's bill that is scheduled to go forward, and out of courtesy to the member, which we always give to those who bring forward private member's bills, it is important that we give due consideration and time for that. I would respectfully ask my colleagues to move forward, and if there are further submissions on this m…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe and to be safe. That is why we introduced Bill C-48, a targeted reform to update our bail laws, designed to focus on violent, repeat offenders, gun and knife violence, as well as intimate partner violence. If I may, I will repeat what I said earlier. This is from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. The officials said the following about Bill …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to just repeat what I was saying earlier. With Bill C-48, introduced a couple of weeks ago, we have nearly unanimous support from across provinces, as well as from police leadership. I want to quote again from the statement from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which said that it commends the federal government for acting on the urgency for legislative chan…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe and be safe. That is why introduced Bill C-48, a targeted reform to our bail laws, designed to focus on violent repeat offenders, gun and knife violence, and intimate partner violence. This bill is the product of collaboration with the provinces and territories. I want to quote from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which said, “We are conv…
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for her budget and also for her hard work. I want to talk about an announcement that was made today by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations with respect to the National Family and Survivors Circle, which was given almost $97 million for support for survivors of trauma, stemming from the MMIWG report. Can the…
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Madam Chair, my understanding is that both the question and the answer have the same amount of time, so in this case it seems like a bit of an imbalance.
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Mr. Chair, in this budget, there are some investments in legal aid. Could the minister talk about how important it is to have a legal system that is accessible and our role in supporting a legal system through additional funding to the legal aid program?
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Tamils around the world stand in solidarity with victims, survivors and their families in the north and east of Sri Lanka to ensure that we find the truth, hold those responsible for atrocities accountable, and attain justice and peace. This past January, our government imposed sanctions on four Sri Lankan officials, including Mahin…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Abbotsford for bringing forward Bill C-314, an act to amend the Criminal Code regarding medical assistance in dying. I acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin people. The bill before us proposes to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder from being eligible to receive …
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Madam Speaker, all I can say is that red flag rules are something we heard about extensively from many stakeholders we spoke to. They are important for addressing the issues of gender-based violence as well as intimate partner violence. I disagree with the member that they will not have any impact. They will have an impact. We have seen it in other jurisdictions, and I believe they are an importan…
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Madam Speaker, I know my colleague spoke about bail reform and the issues we have seen come up lately. We have introduced a comprehensive bill to address bail reform, especially when dealing with violent offenders. I am wondering if the member opposite can confirm whether the Conservative Party will fast-track this bill and give us unanimous consent to move it forward to the other place?
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Madam Speaker, I note the member spoke about bail reform. This morning, the Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-48. As Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, said, “Front-line law enforcement personnel have been asking the government to take concrete steps to address the small number of repeat violent offenders who commit a disproportionate number of offences that put the …
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-21. As members may have noticed, I have not spoken to this bill or any bill related to guns, and there is a specific reason. I find it exceptionally difficult to speak about this issue given the work I have done in the past. However, I feel a need to weigh in today given the enormous amount of misinformation that is coming forth. At the outset, I want…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has appointed more than 600 judges since November 2015. We appoint judges to the bench more efficiently than any other government, yet we know it is still not enough. We are working to fulfill vacancies in various provinces. We spoke with members of the judiciary, as well as the bar, to encourage more people to apply to the bench. We will continue to make appointments a…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight Canada’s continued support for the vital work of the International Criminal Court. Last week, the Minister of Justice and I had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the ICC, on his first official visit to Canada. Canada has been a leader in supporting the ICC since its inception, and we continue to support its efforts in bringing th…
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Madam Speaker, last week, I called one of my favourite Canada summer jobs employers, Kajanan “KJ” Chandrasekaram of Bliss Stations, to inform him that his budding company has been approved for the program. I was devastated to learn from his brother of the untimely passing of KJ on April 18 at the young age of 26. In 2018, KJ founded Bliss Stations, a dessert company based in Scarborough—Rouge Park…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe and to be safe. Canadians deserve to feel and be safe. All governments have a role to play in this. We will not solve this problem with empty slogans and misinformation. We need to work together. In March, the Minister of Justice met with provincial and territorial counterparts to address the problem of violent repeat offenders. After a very productive…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Calgary Skyview for his hard work in his community. We just introduced Bill S-12 in the Senate. It would strengthen the national sex offender registry by requiring all offenders to register, unless they can prove that they do not pose a risk to public safety. Bill S-12 would also give victims more of a say in whether a publication ban is ordered and…
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Madam Speaker, let me say at the outset that the expenditures we are talking about are investments in our community, individuals and businesses. Just last week, the Prime Minister was in St. Thomas announcing a record investment in the auto sector with Volkswagen coming to Canada. It is the first European carmaker to set up shop here, which we believe is transformational. While we have some challe…
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Madam Speaker, of course the issue of employment insurance is so critical to Canada, and to anyone who depends on a paycheque, which is the vast majority of Canadians. We know that any one of us could, at some point over the years, face the difficult challenge of applying for employment insurance. During the pandemic, we were there for Canadians through the Canada employment response benefit. I re…
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Madam Speaker, I do not think it is a bad thing for decisions regarding funding to be made by independent actors. I believe Parliament has a very important role in setting the agenda and terms of reference, and appointing custodians and managers to ensure the funds are managed. However, I believe that processes that are meant to adjudicate and allow funding to go to individuals and businesses ough…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak this afternoon to the budget implementation act. At the outset, let me acknowledge that we are gathered here on the traditional, unceded lands of the Algonquin people. While talking about the budget, I want to preface it by outlining the current economic state of our country. After coming through the pandemic, Canada, while facing a number of headwinds, is in a…
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by acknowledging that we are gathered here on the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. I am pleased to join in the debate today as we progress to the second reading of Bill C-283, regarding addiction treatment in penitentiaries. I thank the member for Kelowna—Lake Country for her advocacy on this important issue and for her hard work. As the mem…
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Government of Canada's appeal of the Federal Court decision, dated January 6, 2023, allowing for late claimants in the case of Sherry Heyder, Amy Graham, and Nadin Schultz-Nielsen v. The Attorney General of Canada, the Department of Justice cannot provide a response to part (a) of the question, as it is information protected by legal privileges, including solicitor…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to be and feel safe. We all have a role to play in protecting communities. The laws on bail are clear. If an accused poses a risk to public safety, he or she should be denied bail. Federal, provincial and territorial leaders met last week, including with the Minister of Justice, on the issue of bail and have come forward with a communiqué. We hope to continue to work…
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Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, the ministers of justice from the provinces as well as the federal government got together and brought forward some very important ideas on reforming the bail system. It is very clear that our communities need to be safe. There is a right to bail enshrined in our Constitution. The ministers of justice came together with a program that will allow us to ensure that our co…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a Friday afternoon, and my friend from Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke has brought forward a very important conversation today. I do not really want to get into a political debate, but I want to put on the record that the member and the party opposite have consistently spoken out against Bill C-75, which in many ways addresses the issue of gender-based violence. Many provisions were bro…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree. Reducing sentences is not a good thing, particularly in the case of intimate partner violence. What is important is that our government is undertaking reforms that would really speak to a number of issues in our communities. Bill C-5, for example, would address issues with mandatory minimum penalties, which we know do not work. What we have done with Bill C-5, for example, wa…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights' report entitled “The Shadow Pandemic: Stopping Coercive and Controlling Behaviour in Intimate Relationships”. I am grateful for all the individuals and organizations who provided evidence at the committee during its study of this very important issue. I would like to commend the committee for its comprehensiv…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his hard work over the years on this issue. We have spoken extensively on the need to ensure that coercive behaviour and controlling behaviour is addressed. I would ask the member's opinion on Bill C-233, which passed the House, in terms of how the bill would assist us in addressing coercive and controlling behaviour.
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Mr. Speaker, I have an incredible amount of respect for Dr. Zinger. I have followed his work for the last decade, and he is one of the most underused persons in this House. He is absolutely right. If we look at Bill C-5, which again the party opposite consistently and continuously drags down, its aim is to address the issues of overrepresentation. Again, I go back to smart public criminal policy.
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Madam Speaker, I rise to honour the life of Anton Philip Sinnarasa, whose passing last week has devastated the Eelam Tamil nation. In 1981, he documented the burning of the Jaffna Public Library, which housed ancient texts and a rare collection of Tamil literature. He was a political prisoner at the Welikada prison during Black July, where thugs were sent to kill Tamil inmates. Anton Philip, who w…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak on Bill S-224, an act to amend the Criminal Code regarding trafficking in persons. I want to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered here on the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin people. The bill came to us on October 18 after having passed the other place; it proposes reforms to the definition of “exploitation” for the purposes of the Criminal Cod…
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely will agree with the member in this regard. I know this is an important issue, and we have heard from many different organizations and individuals who have been directly impacted by it. The minister has been very clear on this a number of times when he has appeared before committee. In fact, he answered the question the member asked several months ago. He will continue to …
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the Minister of Justice is open to suggestions from all parliamentarians. What is very clear for the minister is that we need smart criminal justice policy that is rooted in evidence, and we look forward to working with all parliamentarians in this regard.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her intervention. I know she has worked very hard on this issue with Bill C-233 for a number of years. I admire the depth to which she and her colleagues have gone to ensure that it not only passes but also brings everybody together. I think she has successfully managed to do that. Of course, this is an important conversation starter, but it shou…
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by acknowledging that we are gathered here on the traditional lands of the Algonquin people. I am pleased to join this debate on Bill C-289, an act that would amend the Criminal Code regarding identity verification, which was introduced by the member for Simcoe North on June 16, 2022. I want to congratulate the member and thank him for all his work. Although this bill p…
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