Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-256, An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to survivor pension benefits. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to introduce this bill just ahead of Remembrance Day next week. The bill seeks to eliminate the gold digger clause that penalizes the spouses of veterans who married after the age of 60. As the law currently stands, these spouses are stripped of any survivor …
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, it is Veterans' Week. This morning, I had a chance to meet with the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada. The Liberals made a promise on page 12 of their election platform to Persian Gulf and Afghan veterans to award them proper recognition for their wartime service. In simple speak, what that means to veterans is battle honours. It has been a 35-year struggle to receive wartim…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I may disagree on how we proceed to deal with the mental health and toxic drug crisis, but one thing we can agree on is that the Liberal government has failed to show any leadership. In the House yesterday, I raised the fact that over 52,000 Canadians have died of toxic overdoses. The response from the Liberal government was that it is a provincial and territorial res…
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Mr. Speaker, over 52,000 Canadians have died from poisoned drug supply. Canada has the third-highest per capita rate of any country in the world; only the United States and Puerto Rico have a higher death rate per capita, yet in this budget, there is zero mention of the toxic drug crisis and an action plan to deal with it. The government has created a drug strategy that says that it is going to ta…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that in this budget the Liberals have not forecast beyond this fiscal year, but when it comes to wild Pacific salmon, where I come from, the Pacific salmon strategy initiative is sunsetting, and so is the B.C. salmon restoration fund. Salmon are critical for our food security, our economy, our well-being and our way of life on the west coast. With these programs sunsetting, th…
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Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition from Canadians who are deeply concerned about ghost gear: abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, which is among the deadliest sources of plastics pollution. The petitioners note that ghost gear kills fish, marine mammals, seabirds and turtles; damages habitats; creates microplastics; and even hazards navigation and active harvesters, hurting coastal …
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are being bled dry at the pump, at the grocery till, on their credit cards and mortgages, and by cellphone bills that just keep climbing while corporate giants post record profits. Last year, RBC made $16 billion; Rogers, $1.7 billion; Loblaws, over $2 billion; and Imperial Oil, almost $1 billion in the last quarter alone. How much profit is enough, and will this Liberal gov…
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Madam Speaker, I request unanimous consent to respond to the ministerial statement on remembrance, on behalf of the federal NDP. I am hoping that consent will be granted by this House.
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Madam Speaker, this week, as Canadians gather in communities across the country to mark Veterans Week and Remembrance Day, it is a great privilege to rise on behalf of the federal NDP and to join all colleagues and Canadians to honour those who have served and sacrificed in the name of peace, freedom and justice. From the battlefields of the First World War and Second World War to Korea, Afghanist…
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Mr. Speaker, I am tabling this petition on behalf of Canadians who are deeply concerned about the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza. The petitioners note that under common article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, Canada must respect international humanitarian law. The petitioners highlight that article 59 of the fourth Geneva Convention requires occupying powers to allow impartial humanitarian reli…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour tonight to rise to highlight the urgent need for the federal government to take action when it comes to ship recycling in Canada and especially on the west coast of British Columbia. In British Columbia, over 900 vessels have been identified that are set to be recycled and retired, and 90 of those vessels are over 500 tonnes. There are no facilities designed to recycle…
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Mr. Speaker, as I identified earlier, 900 vessels are set to retire on B.C.'s coast, and 90 of them are over 500 tonnes. BC Ferries has 14 of those vessels. One of those vessels, the Queen of Burnaby, is projected to cost over $10 million to recycle. Half that money is to tow it to a yard in Halifax through the Panama Canal. Nobody thinks that is okay. If the government prioritizes funding for shi…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to table a petition from Canadians deeply concerned about the lack of international recycling and shipbreaking regulations in Canada, despite the fact that our country has the longest coastline in the world. Petitioners highlight the harmful effects of unsafe ship-dismantling practices, which release dangerous substances into coastal areas, including copp…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for raising the issue around British pensions. I think about Anne Puckridge, who moved to Canada in 2001 to be with her daughter. Anne was a veteran who served the U.K., and the U.K. has abandoned her. It has abandoned a veteran who put her life on the line to serve her country and who put herself forward. I point out that British pensioners in countries…
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Madam Speaker, my colleagues have highlighted that there are outstanding issues right now in terms of our relations with Britain. Colleagues are well aware of the unfair treatment of British pensioners living in our country. Canada is home to 144,000 British retirees, yet their pensions are frozen at the rate first received because Canada does not have a reciprocal indexing agreement with the U.K.…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour and privilege to rise tonight in support of Bill C-241, otherwise known as the national strategy on flood and drought forecasting act. Rapidly shifting weather patterns and the existential threat posed by climate change have made extreme weather events more common and more devastating than ever. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, in 2023 and …
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to table a petition on behalf of Canadians who are deeply concerned about the worsening mental health and substance use crisis across our country, a crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Petitioners note that too many Canadians are unable to access timely mental health or substance use supports. They point out that when care is not avai…
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Mr. Speaker, forestry is a cornerstone of Canada's economy, supporting more than 200,000 good jobs and sustaining hundreds of rural, northern and indigenous communities from coast to coast, yet once again forestry workers are being left behind by the government's failure to secure a fair softwood lumber agreement. In August, the Prime Minister promised $1.2 billion in support, to respond to Trump'…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-252, An Act respecting a national day of remembrance to honour Canadian Armed Forces members who have lost their lives in peacetime in Canada. Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to introduce the peacetime service and sacrifice memorial day act. Today marks 11 years since Corporal Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed while standing guard at the National War M…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition that is organized by the peace train movement. The Canadians who have signed this petition are committed to advancing peace and human rights. It is timely, as the peace trainers have travelled across the country. The petitioners note that Canada pledged itself to these principles with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and reaffirmed t…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to present e-petition 6620, which was signed by over 1,000 Canadians, who are calling for urgent federal leadership of brain injury awareness, prevention and treatment. The petitioners note that brain injuries can occur in many ways, from accidents to illnesses and strokes, and they often result in serious physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects. They further poi…
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Mr. Speaker, in August, the Prime Minister promised $1.2 billion to support the forest sector in response to Trump's tariffs and softwood lumber duties, which we are still waiting for. Just $50 million of that is earmarked for workers. That is not a plan. That is an insult. Almost 50,000 direct jobs in British Columbia alone are on the line. Will the Prime Minister step up with a serious plan to p…
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition from Canadians and people from Courtenay—Alberni who are deeply frustrated with the chronic service failures at the Canada Revenue Agency. Petitioners know that, across the country, especially among seniors, those without Internet and rural residents, people face serious difficulties accessing timely CRA services. In regions like mine in Courtenay—Alb…
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Mr. Speaker, big banks, big grocery and big telecommunications companies are posting record profits. Meanwhile, people are getting squeezed at the pump. They are getting squeezed at the till. They cannot afford to pay their bills. When will the government charge an excess profits tax on the big corporations that are squeezing everyday Canadians when they are trying to make ends meet?
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Mr. Speaker, Imperial Oil posted profits of over $7 billion in 2023, almost $5 billion in 2024 and almost $1 billion in the last quarter. It has returned $367 million to shareholders. What is the excess profits threshold for Conservatives before they would charge an excess profits tax, so they could support the very vulnerable people the member is talking about?
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Mr. Speaker, I have a ton of respect for my colleague, but he brought up the job losses of 900 people at Imperial Oil. At the same time, Imperial Oil just posted that it returned $367 million to shareholders last quarter. When somebody wins, we all want to see them do well. However, with excess profits such as this, will the Conservatives and Liberals ever agree that an excess profits tax could he…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour today to table e-petition 6778, signed by over 6,203 Canadians. The petitioners are deeply concerned about proposed regulatory changes to Canada's Plant Breeders' Rights Act. They note that the act currently grants plant breeders exclusive rights for 20 years, but it also protects farmers through a farmers' privilege clause, which allows them to save and replant se…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I want to make sure we get to speakers in the right order, so I want to time this point of order now. The member of Parliament for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, when I asked him a question after his speech about out-of-control corporate greed, responded identifying me as a Conservative MP. I could not be farther from a Conservative MP. I want to give him an opportuni…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present e-petition 6522, which is signed by over 500 Canadians who are deeply concerned about recent federal policy changes that reduced international student study permits by over 40% and restricted post-graduation work permit eligibility without stakeholder consultation. The petitioners warn that these cuts undermine Canada's ability to meet urgent workforce needs in…
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Mr. Speaker, on the B.C. coast alone there are 900 vessels, 90 of them over 500 tonnes, at their end of life, posing an imminent threat to our environment if they are not recycled. Towing even one large B.C. ferry from Vancouver Island to Halifax to be recycled could cost millions. In Port Alberni, we are ready to build a ship repair and recycling centre of excellence in partnership with first nat…
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Mr. Speaker, this is very important legislation. I have heard from members of the Maa-nulth nations, who have signed a treaty, including Chief Anne Mack from Toquaht and Chief Wilfred Cootes from Uchucklesaht. They said this an essential oversight mechanism to help ensure the effective and timely implementation of modern-day treaties in terms of nation-to-nation, government-to-government and indig…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been telling Canadians the government will spend less and invest more while abandoning the Liberals' promise to make mental health a full and equal part of Canada's universal public health care system. It is estimated every dollar invested in mental health generates two dollars of long-term savings, while untreated mental health issues cost our economy more than…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition from Canadians concerned about the future of our forest industry and the rural communities it supports. Petitioners note that forestry has long been a source of good jobs, but, in recent years, it has faced major challenges, from wildfires and infestations to the ongoing softwood lumber dispute. The petitioners highlight that U.S. tr…
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Mr. Speaker, coastal first nations oppose crude oil projects going through their territories and strongly support the tanker moratorium protecting British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest. They have built a sustainable economy that creates jobs, supports communities and safeguards globally significant ecosystems. Premier Smith's pipeline push ignores their indigenous rights. When introducing Bill …
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to bring forward a petition on behalf of Canadians, especially petitioners from the Port Alberni Friendship Center, which is in the process of, next week, having its sixtieth anniversary. The petitioners are calling for enhanced support for friendship centres. They highlight that friendship centres are vital community hubs providing culturally appropriate services in h…
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Mr. Speaker, one concern New Democrats have raised is the one-size-fits-all approach. This bill would lump together banks, telecoms, nuclear facilities and energy co-operatives under a single compliance framework. All of them would face the same 90-day timeline to stand up cybersecurity programs, no matter their size or capacity. For large corporations, perhaps this is feasible. For small operator…
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Mr. Speaker, in the NDP, we have highlighted that there would be risks to privacy and civil liberties, and the bill would allow for mandatory information sharing between telecom regulators and federal agencies, as well as possibly onward to foreign governments. One of our questions is this: What is the standard for this disclosure? Simply having the minister's judgment on what is necessary as a st…
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Mr. Speaker, farmers have saved and replanted seeds for generations, but the government is proposing changes to plant breeders' rights that threaten this age-old practice. To make matters worse, consultations were scheduled during the summer and the harvest season, when farmers are busiest and least able to respond. Does the Minister of Agriculture support the right of Canada's fruit and vegetable…
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition from Canadians who are deeply concerned about growing foreign ownership of our commercial fisheries. The petitioners note that while the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is mandated to protect the stability and viability of Canadian fishing operations, in the Pacific region, there are no limits on the foreign acquisition of licenses and quotas, nor …
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Madam Speaker, investing in the aerial firefighting fleet far outweighs the cost to do that, and what we are facing now, which is a massive loss in biodiversity and cost to infrastructure and private property, driving up our home and business insurance. There is the impact on the forest sector and industry, as well as the release of emissions. Canada is the worst in the world right now in release …
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Mr. Speaker, we all want to end the cycle of crime. I will give an example to my colleague. In my riding, there was an application for a rapid housing initiative. The initiative was going to create housing for the most vulnerable and for people who were released. This application has a sworn letter from the Nanaimo parole office, from Correctional Service Canada, highlighting that they did not hav…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present e-petition 6589. This petition was initiated by Lesley Fox from Port Alberni, British Columbia, and was signed by 10,800 Canadians who are deeply concerned about the risks and harms of fur farming. The petitioners note that fur-farmed animals can carry high-risk zoonotic diseases, including coronaviruses and influenza. Intense breeding in capti…
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Madam Speaker, I am here tonight to urge the federal government to make the establishment of a sovereign aerial firefighting capacity fleet a core nation-building investment in the upcoming federal budget. Wildfires across Canada are increasing in both intensity and cost, demanding bold and timely action. We saw fires rage across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland this l…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to table this petition, which was created by Tseshaht First Nation member Dawn Foxcroft. It is timely. It is around indigenous language funding, and yesterday, as we know, was the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I am tabling this petition on behalf of Canadians who are deeply concerned about the future of indigenous languages. The petitioners d…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to rise today to table a petition on behalf of Canadians who are deeply concerned about the worsening mental health and substance use crises across our country, a crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Petitioners note that too many Canadians are unable to access timely mental health or substance use supports. They point out that whe…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition on behalf of petitioners from my riding of Courtenay—Alberni, who are on the front line of wildfires this season. They highlight that the increase in intensity and cost of wildfires in Canada, not just in British Columbia but across the country, requires bold and timely action. Without a national air tanker fleet, each province must weigh the c…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is facing record wildfires that are destroying communities, critical infrastructure and lives while also creating dangerous air pollution that harms human health, yet Canada still does not have a sovereign aerial firefighting fleet. In Port Alberni, Coulson Aviation is a world leader in retrofitting aircraft such as the retired CC-130 Hercules that could continue to protect Can…
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Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to rise today to table e-petition 6484, which was initiated by Black People United for Change, who are in Ottawa today. These Canadians and petitioners are calling on the government to take urgent action to confront anti-Black racism. The petitioners highlight the long history of systemic racism in this country, and they point to historic injustices, as well as recent …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I know you have talked about decorum in this place. I may not agree with his policies, but the member for Chilliwack—Hope asked a straight question of the government. My friend, the Secretary of State for Sport, whom I call a friend because I consider him that, responded with “Get a grip”. I think there is a point to be made here. There has to be respect on…
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