Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague for highlighting how the smoke and the air pollution are impacting people due to fires. In fact, we were just at the all-party climate caucus, where we had representatives of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. They highlighted that seven million people worldwide, and this is according to the World Health Association, are d…
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Madam Speaker, I want to talk about what is fair, open and honest. What is fair is making sure that big oil pays its fair share. We can look to Britain where they have an excess profit tax of 25% on oil and gas. Here in Canada, we cannot get the Liberals or Conservatives to charge a tax on excess profit on oil and gas, which is having record profits and at the same time is increasing prices for co…
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Madam Speaker, I find it just incredible that we are here debating a motion brought forward by the Conservatives to remove the carbon tax. I find it so incredible because they ran on a platform to put a price on carbon, but they got elected, came into the House and then decided that was not what they wanted to do. It feels like Groundhog Day. This is the sixth allotted day that the Conservatives h…
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Mr. Speaker, a year ago tomorrow, most of the Liberal caucus and all Conservatives teamed up to defeat Bill C-216 for a health-based approach to substance use. If it had passed, today we would have a multi-faceted plan to fight the toxic drug crisis, based on the recommendations of the government's own expert task force. Instead, thousands more families have lost loved ones because of poisoned dru…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to table this petition today on behalf of moms, family members and loved ones of those who have died from a toxic, poisoned drug supply. This has become one of the most deadly public health emergencies of our lifetime, with approximately 21 deaths a day and a death toll of over 35,000 people in the last six years. This toxic drug crisis rages. The petitio…
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Madam Speaker, it is the New Democrats who are bringing forth this motion today, and we are standing up for Canadians. Before I get started on my question, I first want to congratulate the Alberta NDP for winning every seat in Edmonton yesterday and the majority of seats in Calgary. Well done. It will be the most powerful opposition in Alberta history—
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Madam Speaker, again, congratulations to Edmonton and Calgary. The Conservatives are really flinging mud—
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Madam Speaker, I just want to correct my colleague. The Alberta NDP won every seat in Edmonton and the majority of seats in Calgary. We know the Conservatives are more interested in flinging mud than looking for a solution. This is a matter of foreign interference, not just Chinese interference. Russia and Iran are also carrying out major covert operations. We only have to look at the United State…
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Mr. Speaker, we have lost thousands of lives to an unregulated toxic drug supply. What do the Conservatives do? They bring forward this motion, play politics with people's lives and oversimplify a really important health issue. Health Canada created an expert task force on substance use. It included members from public health, indigenous health, communities, business, unions, universities, social …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is worried about vending machines selling safe supply. He should be worried about the unregulated toxic drugs that are being distributed, manufactured and marketed by organized crime on almost every downtown street corner across the country. It can be found on the dark web. It is not safe supply that is killing people; it is fentanyl. The Canadian Association of Police Ch…
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Mr. Speaker, first we heard the Conservative from Fraser Valley rail against harm reduction when, in fact, they support harm reduction and they support treatment and recovery. There is no war between harm reduction and treatment and recovery. We need them both. Today, I am seeing the Conservatives spreading misinformation, which is costly in a health crisis. However, we also see the Liberals takin…
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Mr. Speaker, much as I am disappointed to see this motion come forward in the manner it has, I am also happy to see that we are having this conversation and debate today, because over 35,000 people have died from a toxic drug supply in this country since 2016. This is not an opioid crisis as the motion states; rather, these deaths have occurred because of a toxic, unregulated drug supply, and I am…
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Madam Speaker, the choice is this: If they can get access to a safer supply, then there is interaction, which means an opportunity to work with individuals; if they do not have that option, they are going to the street. That means they are getting their drugs from an unregulated supply from organized crime. The motion today would take away safe supply and tell people to go to the street. The polic…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is a former police officer, and today's motion goes against the position of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and many other police forces across this country. I will speak to the bill that the member talked about. The bill was to ensure that people in federal penitentiaries who were serving two years plus a day would get treatment. Here is why New Democrats …
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I do agree that we need to have a proper, respectful dialogue. I just want to backtrack to the question from the Conservative Party. Every person incarcerated deserves health and treatment. That is actually the law in this land. It is not being delivered by the government, so that bill would be ineffective in what it was asking for. It is just an action and, again, the…
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Madam Speaker, this is the false dichotomy: that we cannot have harm reduction and we need to have treatment. We need both. We need to meet people where they are at. With respect to the notion that this is failing, it has not even gotten off the ground yet. It is in its infancy. It has basically just started, and the results and evidence are staggering. It is lowering people's involvement in crimi…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, my colleague brought me to his riding and I got to see first-hand some of the really great work that people in his community are doing, especially around no-barrier housing, ensuring people have a safe place to live while they are getting away from the toxic drug supply, and using safe supply or OAT. The difference right now is that, if they go to the street supply, it is…
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Madam Speaker, what the Conservative motion today would do is have everybody who uses drugs go to the streets. They would get unregulated, toxic drugs, which are flooding our streets. It is not safe supply that is killing people. Safe supply is still in its infancy. Very few people are on it or could even access it. Again, I want to go back to the OAT and the safe supply conversation. I really app…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Parksville has lost a legend. Phil St. Luke was lovingly known throughout the community as Flyin' Phil. He brought joy to all who knew him, and most people did, whether through waving during his daily walks through the streets of Parksville, working with him as a community volunteer, cheering him on during the annual Canada Day parade or chatting with him in a local coffee shop or at …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals gave over $100 million worth of federal contracts to their friends at McKinsey since 2015, despite McKinsey playing a major role in pushing opioids to vulnerable people. That was $100 million to a company that worsened the toxic-drug crisis. The government even knows McKinsey is terrible, as it has joined a lawsuit to hold the company accountable. Therefore, why do the Li…
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I understand people get heated in here and we have issues, but I thought I overheard a colleague from this side call a colleague on that side “a rat”. If you look at the record and you listen to the Hansard, I hope you observe this and make a decision—
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Mr. Speaker, I would like the minister to comment on how important it is that we listen to law enforcement when it comes to ghost guns in this country. How important is this legislation and that we pass it in a timely fashion and have a proper debate? The Conservatives are still prohibiting that proper dialogue from taking place.
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Mr. Speaker, we heard the Conservatives name off a bunch of rural NDP ridings members who have brought to the attention of the government the need to ensure that indigenous peoples and rural hunters can keep their weapons. This motion will get us back to the discussion of the amendments that are needed to improve and strengthen the bill. However, Conservatives do not want to do that. They would dr…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going back again to disinformation. We keep hearing Conservatives telling hunters and people who live in rural Canada that their guns would be taken away by this legislation, which is completely false. We want to get to committee to work through the amendments so we can ensure that hunters and indigenous people continue to obtain their right to hunt and that they not lose their w…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona for her great leadership here in the House, certainly on this issue, and at the foreign affairs committee. She highlighted something that really stood out to me as a member of Parliament, that we still do not know if there are other members of Parliament that have been targeted by foreign entities, not just China, but possib…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. As a fellow British Columbian, I always appreciate working with him on the protection of wild salmon. In terms of the topic tonight, we know the problem of foreign interference is not just about China. Canada needs to do way more when it comes to combatting foreign interference from all countries, from illegal police stations to election fr…
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Mr. Speaker, I present a petition on behalf of Hornby Islanders and Denman Islanders. They are calling on the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to ensure that she uses all the restorative aims and tools in the sustainable fisheries framework to ensure that any shellfish aquaculture facilities in Baynes Sound/Lambert Channel are ecosystem-based. The petitioners also want to…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to table this petition on behalf of Denman Islanders from my riding. They are calling on the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to persevere in her restorative aims and use all tools in the sustainable fisheries framework to postpone licensing any further shellfish aquaculture facilities located in or near herring spawning and rearing habitat …
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Madam Speaker, we have heard from veterans about the gold-digger clause, which was implemented after World War I to prevent women from marrying veterans for their pensions and benefits. The Liberals promised to fix this. For eight years they have been in government. I know my colleague heard about this from veterans in her riding. Blair Meadows, a veteran from Qualicum Beach in my riding, cited, “…
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Mr. Speaker, in my riding, the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce said the number one priority to help solve the labour market crisis is increasing spaces in child care. In fact they are saying to keep going because we are seeing more and more spaces open up because of the agreement with Canada and the provinces. As someone who ran a chamber of commerce, as someone who actually had children in child…
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Mr. Speaker, we know there are 3.2 million Canadians who are underhoused. Now, the government set out an ambitious agenda of inviting 500,000 new immigrants a year for the next three years, but it has no cohesive strategy on where they are going to live. Desjardins has made it clear that we would have to increase all new housing starts by 50% in the next year, just to meet immigration. The provinc…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague for Cumberland—Colchester, because he did draw pretty high in the order of precedence to move forward with a bill that is going to remove barriers for people to get access to mental health care and psychotherapy, which is very important. My colleague from London—Fanshawe had a bill that was very similar, as he is well aware. We believe, as New Democ…
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Mr. Speaker, before I get started, I want to spend a minute thanking my colleague from Cumberland—Colchester for tabling this important bill, Bill C-323, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act for mental health services. As we know, this bill would expand the category of health care services exempt from point-of-sale taxes to include psychotherapy and mental health services. As I stated earlier, my co…
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Madam Speaker, the federal Liberals created the investing in Canada infrastructure program. My concern is around the allocation for British Columbia. It was not even close to enough. In fact, that money has been allocated already and it needs a new cost-sharing agreement. This makes me think about the recreation facilities in my riding. Echo pool in Port Alberni was built in 1967, like many facili…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have given more than $200 million to Deloitte for contracts within a single department in the last year alone. Now, we have learned that former Liberal and Conservative cabinet ministers are currently working for Deloitte. Public service workers have been left out in the rain asking for fair pay. Meanwhile, the Liberals have no problem giving massive multi-million dollar …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows, as a former municipal councillor himself, just as I am a former municipal councillor for Tofino, that municipalities shoulder a large majority of services and costs. However, they only collect 8% of the overall tax revenue. The government just made a retroactive agreement with the RCMP to ensure that they get paid more. We know that our frontline law enforcement de…
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Mr. Speaker, given the price of inflation and food, it is timely that I am bringing this petition on behalf of constituents from Cumberland, Courtenay and Royston in my riding. They cite the importance of farmers' markets as a key tool for COVID–19 recovery, as small business incubators, as domestic system and food security builders, and local economy community builders. Farmers' market coupon pro…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague from Joliette, with whom I have worked for many years now on tax fairness, trying to make sure that those who are not paying their fair share do pay their fair share. I want to talk about mental health fairness, especially for first responders and military veterans in our country. I got a message from Blair Meadows, who is a veteran and a strong vol…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege and an honour to rise on such a momentous occasion. I think about the work that my colleague from Windsor West has done to preserve such an important piece of his riding. I cannot say enough about his work in bringing all people together. The establishment of the Ojibway national park is a cumulation of many years, if not decades, of work. I want to salute my colleag…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians were shocked when news broke of the government's reckless outsourcing to McKinsey. This week, we learned it was just the tip of the iceberg. In the last year, the Liberals handed out more than $200 million to Deloitte, $100 million to PwC and $45 million to Accenture for contracts with a single department. The Liberals seem to have no problem giving massive public handouts t…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In question period, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement cited the government's commitment in budget 2023 to reduce outsourcing by 15%. I am just asking for clarification. Is that on the 400% increase in outsourcing or is that on the 2015 amount of outsourcing?
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Madam Speaker, I guess there are a few things that I would like to learn from my hon. colleague. We know that since the Liberals came into power, foreign tech giants have more than tripled their lobbying efforts in Ottawa, especially with the Liberal government, and Amazon, Google and Facebook have been a large part of that. I would love to hear his concerns or thoughts around that. Bill C-27 does…
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Mr. Speaker, it is timely that I am tabling this petition today on behalf of British pensioners who have had their pensions basically frozen through the indexation on pensions by the government of the United Kingdom. These are pensioners who have retired in Canada. It is timely because the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners is here having its first-ever frozen pension day on the Hill. Its mem…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition mere days after the seventh anniversary of British Columbia's announcement of a public health emergency regarding the toxic drug crisis. This petition was led by Moms Stop the Harm. I want to thank the moms. I want to thank the dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, children and community members of those who have lost loved ones due to the toxic d…
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Madam Speaker, I work with my colleague on many different items, like mental health, pensions and whatnot. We know that one-third of single women in this country are living in poverty. It is completely unacceptable. We know that pensions need to be increased. One thing he talked about in his speech was around British pensioners who have retired in Canada. Public servants who worked in Britain and …
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Madam Speaker, first, all my colleague needs to do is go out and get a development application in Vancouver and it will not cost $630,000 in red tape. It is again more false information. When he talks about the deficit, absolutely we have a solution to that. We have been calling for an excess profit tax on oil and gas, grocery store chains and the big banks that are having record profits. They are…
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Madam Speaker, I just came back from the association of Vancouver Island municipalities event. There, we heard from municipal governments, especially mayors and councillors who were in attendance, about their concerns over the federal government not supplying municipalities with adequate funds to cover the new increase in RCMP policing. I think we all agree in this place that RCMP officers have be…
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Madam Speaker, one thing we have heard loud and clear from many anti-poverty advocates in our country is that there is a need for a national school lunch food program. Lush Valley, an organization in my riding that supports local food growers to get food to people who have low incomes and challenges getting food, has been pushing for this program. In 2018, the World Health Organization cited that …
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Madam Speaker, it is a huge honour and privilege to be here on behalf of the residents of Courtenay—Alberni and to bring forward their concerns and thoughts around the budget. Some things in the budget are important to help relieve the pressure on Canadians and the people in my riding, in particular. There is the largest expansion of health care in our country in over 50 years with the expansion o…
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Madam Speaker, I sat in local government. I was a municipal councillor in Tofino, and the federal government continued to throw bread crumbs and trinkets and it did not work. In fact, if the Liberal government put money on the table, municipalities would access it and they would build non-market housing. They are waiting for a federal partner, and so are the provinces. B.C. is building half the no…
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