Routine Proceedings
With regard to federal contracts awarded since fiscal year 2015-16, broken down by fiscal year: what is the total value of contracts awarded to (i) McKinsey & Company, (ii) Deloitte, (iii) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (iv) Accenture, (v) KPMG, (vi) Ernst and Young?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as wildfires rage destruction across the country, we are haemorrhaging the volunteer firefighters we need. There are 15,000 firefighter vacancies across Canada, and understandably so. Our volunteers, who make up 70% of our firefighting efforts, are not getting the recognition from the government that they deserve. I have a private member's bill to support our volunteer firefighters by…
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Mr. Speaker, I just went to the Boys and Girls Club in Parksville and met with the staff there. They shared with me that there are 45 kids on their wait-list and talked about the impact of child care and the agreement with British Columbia and Canada and how critical it is that we continue to move forward. This is also well supported by the chambers of commerce and the business community in my rid…
Read full speech →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…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the minister for her work on the emergency that we are in. I also want to thank my colleague from South Okanagan—West Kootenay for calling for this important debate today. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs just wrote an op-ed in The Globe and Mail yesterday and cited how Canada is becoming more and more reliant on over 90,000 volunteer firefighters. It also hig…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table a petition on behalf of residents of British Columbia and visitors to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The petitioners call on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to reinstate the surf guard tower and surf guard services, and to extend the duration of the surf guard program to accommodate the growing number of emergencies as well as visitors a…
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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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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, 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 …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
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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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, 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, 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 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, 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…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
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, 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 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, a young woman, Saffron Bisiker, a grade 12 student in Qualicum Beach in my riding, just launched the first-ever Qualicum Beach Film Festival a couple of weeks ago, and she did it to support local creators and contributors. Our MLA, Adam Walker, was there from Parksville-Qualicum, and he cited that there is $18 million being spent in the film sector just in Qualicum Beach and that area…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour and privilege to table this petition today on behalf of constituents of mine from Tofino and Clayoquot Sound. They cite that migrating juvenile wild salmon stocks are under serious threat from pathogens, pollutants and sea lice originating from open-net fish farms. Wild salmon supports first nations cultural traditions and complex ecosystems, including contributing…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to be able to rise in this discussion. I was just at the first-ever Qualicum Beach Film Festival. It was led by a grade 12 student in my riding. It just shows the opportunity for film and the importance of media in our communities. In fact, in Qualicum Beach, there is $18 million being spent in the film sector alone. The opportunity is endless, but they…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his passion. He clearly understands the inequality that is happening right now with the web giants not paying their fair share in Canada and the impact it is having on Quebec and Canadian producers and artists. I talked a little bit earlier about Saffron Bisiker, a local filmmaker in my riding. She created the first film festival in Qualicum Beach, whi…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am happy to be here tonight to talk about the Canada Post surcharge that was brought into play, as we know, to reflect the increase in diesel costs across Canada, but as we have seen gas prices increase, it has become so unaffordable for families. Over the Christmas holiday season, we saw that surcharge grow to 39.5%. Families right now are struggling to make ends meet. They are s…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, again, it is absolutely unacceptable that oil and gas companies are having record profits at the same time that consumers are not only paying at the pump but are getting charged fuel surcharges that are at 39.5% by Canada Post. It is having a huge impact on Canadians and we know that there is this unfairness for rural and suburban mail carriers who are also filling their own vehicle…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition on behalf of residents of Union Bay, British Columbia, where there is an unregulated ship-breaking outfit doing business. The petitioners raise concerns to the House that there is a significant risk to workers and the environment associated with ship-breaking due to the presence of a wide variety of hazardous materials at the end of life of marine…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table a petition today about ocean protection. It is quite ironic that I am sitting with my colleague from Nunavut, whose birthday it is today. I wish her a happy birthday. We know Canadians care deeply about the health of the ocean and they depend on thriving ocean ecosystems. In 2019, over one million cruise ship passengers travelled from British Columbia on their…
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about selling off 15% of government buildings to ensure there is adequate housing for Canadians. We used to build 25,000 co-op units a year before the Liberals killed this in 1992. The Conservatives did not build any. In fact, under the Conservative government, rents and property prices doubled. My colleague talked about supply. Would he agree that, when selling th…
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Mr. Speaker, the government seems to be granting itself some pretty broad powers in the bill, especially to the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Industry. Maybe my colleague can explain, and assure Canadians, how these powers would not be unjustly applied to ordinary Canadians who have done absolutely nothing wrong.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour to table a petition today that has been gathered by youth in my riding in the town of Qualicum Beach, climate activists who cite that children born in 2020 will face on average two to seven times more extreme weather events than their grandparents. In a 2021 report in the Lancet, 83% of children worldwide reported that they thought people had failed to take care of…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, as he is always working hard to fight for tax fairness and close loopholes that allow for extremely wealthy individuals to move their money out of the country. One thing I am hearing from constituents is that people who applied for CERB and who might not have properly read the application, which might have not been clear from the government, are now being …
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Madam Speaker, this bill would add three members to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board from first nations, Métis and Inuit groups. This is not about adding red tape. Indigenous people's sitting on this board is not red tape. In fact, this bill is in response to the truth and reconciliation call to action number 79. These are not recommendations. These are obligations of Canada. When the member…
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Madam Speaker, this is a very important bill in that it addresses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action 79. It ensures there is going to be indigenous representation on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada from first nations, Métis and Inuit. I just came from Tseshaht First Nation, and they announced findings related to the unmarked graves of children who attended th…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, across the country, governments are turning to trusted community organizations to cope and to deal with services around connecting and recovery. The demands are complex and they are high. They have been exacerbated by the pandemic. These organizations are struggling with underfunding, rising costs and labour market shortages. The national organizations are looking for a “caring for …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is kind of like Groundhog Day. I have come in here every week that we have sat this year to drag the government in here to talk about mental health and talk about this epidemic happening in our country. It is not often that members will hear me quote the Bible in the House of Commons, but I want to talk about “The Parable of the Unjust Judge”, also known as “The Parable of the Im…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Tseshaht First Nation has shared its partial research findings into the horrific deaths of children at the Alberni Indian Residential School, which operated on its lands, without consent, for almost 80 years. Seventeen suspected unmarked graves have been identified through ground-penetrating radar. The community also confirmed that at least 67 students died while at the school. Th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we are learning about Veterans Affairs' mental health rehabilitation services treatments being outsourced to a company owned by Loblaws. My good colleague from North Island—Powell River has been calling on the government to deliver that through Canada's health care system, not privatize it. Meanwhile veterans, people who have put their lives on the line, are not getting the services…
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Madam Speaker, clearly we are not satisfied with the amount of money that the government put on the table. It is far from what is needed. It has also not delivered on the Canada mental health transfer, which is absolutely critical. If we want to talk about solutions, we need to deal with the issues right in front of us. There is a mental health and substance use crisis in this country. It is an ep…
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First, Liberals need to stop the loopholes, Madam Speaker. They need to stop provinces from circumnavigating the Canada Health Act and offering privatization. This is creating a two-tiered system that we know is going to harm our ability to attract doctors and nurses to the universal public system and is not going to be affordable for others. They promised a mental health transfer of $5.3 billion,…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I will be concise. My constituents from Union Bay have signed a petition calling on this House and the Minister of Environment to respond to the environmental disaster that is taking place in my riding. They cite that there is significant risk to workers and the environment associated with ship recycling due to the presence of a wide variety of hazardous materials in end-of-life vehic…
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