Parliamentary Speeches
1,167 speeches by Heather McPherson — Page 22 of 24
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his intervention. Of course he is my neighbour in Edmonton, so it is nice to see him virtually since we cannot see each other face to face. He spoke a bit about the plan the Liberals have. I have concerns as well that the government does not have a good plan going forward. I wonder if he feels the federal government has a bit of a role to play to…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's intervention was very illuminating as to his perspective on things. He expressed a lot of concerns about the budget and, of course, I have concerns with it as well. I suspect that our concerns are very different. I am concerned that people will not thrive as we finish the third wave. I am concerned that we do not have paid sick leave. I am concerned that we do not hav…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on the question that was asked by my colleague. The member spoke about supports for young people in his intervention. He spoke about the brain drain, about losing young people as they are leaving our country, and how desperate that situation is. I have to say that, in Alberta, cuts to our post-secondary institutions have been devastating, and there are more y…
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Madam Speaker, I was happy to hear my colleague talk about the tourism sector as well, because in Edmonton Strathcona we are the heart of the tourism sector in Edmonton and have tons of restaurants. I have spent a lot of time meeting with restaurant owners, servers, bartenders and other people in the sector. They want additional help for sick time and minimum wage supports. How would the member ma…
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Mr. Speaker, I was absolutely delighted yesterday to hear that the U.S. government has recognized the extraordinary realities of COVID-19 and has committed to waiving intellectual property rights, putting the lives of millions of people ahead of big profits for pharmaceutical companies, yet we have heard nothing but platitudes, half promises and deflection from the Liberals. I am proud of Joe Bide…
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moved: That this House do now adjourn. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Speaker for allowing us to have this debate today. It is an extremely important debate, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to stand and represent my constituents and represent all people in Alberta and across Canada who are deeply concerned about what is happening in my province. We are here tonight because Alberta, m…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, (a) the House recognize that, (i) 20% of women and 10% of men in Canada suffer from a perinatal mental illness and rates of postpartum depression have doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) Black, Indigenous, people of colour,…
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With regard to the government's estimation, in the Fall Economic Statement 2020, on the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) investments to tackle tax evasion, “It is estimated that these incremental investments have already delivered over $3 billion in additional federal tax revenues assessed”, broken down by fiscal year, from 2016-17 to date: (a) what is the breakdown of the $3 billion in additional fe…
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Mr. Speaker, Alberta is facing a public health emergency unparalleled in Canada. Today Alberta has the highest rate of COVID-19 infection in the entire country. In fact, Alberta has the highest rate of infection in North America. Alberta's infection rate is double that of Ontario's and is one of the highest rates in the world. In some hot spots, such as Calgary and Fort McMurray, the rate of infec…
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Madam Speaker, I would very much like to live in a province right now where I did not have to call out my premier for his behaviour. I would very much like to live in a province where my premier had taken COVID-19 seriously, where we were not in a third wave, and where we did not have hot spots that were worse than in India. Unfortunately, that is not the province I live in. In the province I live…
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Madam Speaker, I want to rephrase that. I am very concerned. I feel the Prime Minister is playing games. We have not seen him. We have not seen leadership in Alberta from the federal government. I feel like it is missing in action. I am sure everybody in this House can hear my frustration. Every day I listen to people talk about how bad it is in Ontario, Quebec or other parts of our country. It is…
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Madam Speaker, first I would say that when we had the deep crisis in the long-term care homes in Quebec, the federal government stepped in with the Canadian military and did what it could to support long-term care homes that were clearly overburdened and in over their head, so we have seen this before, we just have not seen that support come to Alberta that way. Regarding the things we can do righ…
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Madam Speaker, what we need to see the government do right now is work with the provincial government, recognize the crisis Alberta is in right now and recognize that we need to get vaccinations out to those hot spots immediately. We need supports for our health care system. It is under collapse and we really need to get those supports right now. The people of Alberta cannot pay for the fact we ha…
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Madam Speaker, at this point what we need to do is finally take steps to recognize how much Alberta is suffering right now and think about what those steps could be. I am hoping this debate is part of that very important conversation. The federal government needs to speak with the provincial government. There needs to be discussion. The provincial government needs the support to get people vaccina…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister spoke of the work camps, the support going to the work camps and the use of rapid testing. The Financial Post wrote: On April 30, the Alberta government listed 14 oilsands camps and production facilities as the site of COVID-19 outbreaks.... Those sites include Suncor’s base plant, Firebag project, Fort Hills oilsands mine and Mackay River project as well as Syncrude’s Au…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for mentioning the fact that Alberta had economic hardships facing us before the pandemic hit and that the pandemic has made them so much worse. We have seen time and again that when we allow the virus to run rampant, it hurts the economy. It is the slow peeling off of the band-aid. It is the very thing that the member is talking about that is hurting our po…
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Mr. Speaker, the member speaks about jurisdiction. I hope he heard my intervention, where I spoke about how Albertans were not interested in these back-and-forths on jurisdiction. When their loved ones are sick, when our health care system fails, they are not interested in this back-and-forth. I am going to humour my colleague right now. He talks about federal jurisdiction. I think we can all agre…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that the member is not from Alberta and her focus is clearly on Ontario. I have to say I am extremely frustrated when I sit in this House and listen to the Conservatives blaming the Liberals and the Liberals blaming the Conservatives, back and forth, with me being stuck in Alberta trying to get anyone to do something for Albertans instead of blaming each other, instead of just …
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Mr. Speaker, the member spoke a lot about toxic masculinity and I want to follow up on the comments from my colleague from the Bloc from 2015. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Premier of Alberta, the then minister of national defence, Jason Kenney, were aware of the allegations and the investigation being conducted in 2015. That is not up for debate. Does the member not worry that by attackin…
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Mr. Speaker, I had a member of the military, a young woman, reach out to my office. She did not feel comfortable reaching out to either the Conservatives or the Liberals. She expressed concern that the systematic problems within the military were so deep that it would require such fundamental change. One of the things I know my colleagues in the NDP have been calling for is to finally have the off…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this week in Alberta, we witnessed overtly racist lies from Jason Kenney, who blamed indigenous people for the rapid rise of COVID cases in Wood Buffalo. Indigenous people in Alberta need help to fight this virus, not the blame for Jason Kenney's failures. Indigenous leaders, such as Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, have called for more safety measures to stop…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his intervention. It was an excellent way to start our Thursday morning. He spoke about the embarrassment of Canada taking vaccines from developing countries, from low- and middle-income countries. I have a lot of concerns. I have stood in this House many times and spoken about my concern about what will happen if we do not deal with COVID-19 as …
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Mr. Speaker, hopefully in the future my colleague and I will be able to sit on that patio together and talk about some of these issues in a face-to-face manner. I want to touch upon the member's discussion about vaccine production and the ability for us to have domestic production. Her and other colleagues have noted that this is not just a Liberal issue. This happened under the Conservatives and …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague speaks with great passion about his riding, and it was a pleasure to hear his intervention. Of course, like many of my colleagues in the House, I have concerns about the realistic nature of the motion that the Conservative Party has brought forward. However, I want to ask him about something else. He touched on getting vaccines for essential workers and getting vaccines…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, my neighbour, from Edmonton Centre for his intervention today. We have worked together on many things. I enjoy collaborating with him and working with him on issues that are important to Albertans. I have to say I am deeply disappointed that he did not bring up the challenges that are facing Alberta right now. He knows that in Alberta, we are faci…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, women in Canada are on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle. In the care economy and as essential workers, women have had to bear the brunt of both the disease and the economic impacts of public health measures. Women are more likely to get sick and more likely to lose their income because of the pandemic. Universal child care will contribute to women's recovery, but it is not enoug…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, ensuring that vaccines are available for all vulnerable people around the world is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. I do not want to be an alarmist or want this to be seen as a partisan attack. Rather, I am speaking from my heart in the most urgent way I can to say that we, as human beings, are facing an existential, ethical, moral and intellectual threat. I am de…
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Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to present a petition on behalf of concerned citizens and residents who are deeply worried about the increased discrimination against and marginalization of Sri Lanka's minorities, particularly the Tamil community. The petitioners urge the Minister of Foreign Affairs to work with other members of the Co-Group to guarantee justice. The petitioners call on the Canadian gov…
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Madam Speaker, the member spoke an awful lot during his intervention about health care transfers, and I agree with him that more money needs to be going to the provinces for health care. One of the areas that the NDP has been working very hard on is pharmacare. I was incredibly disappointed that the Liberals failed to live up to their promise on pharmacare. It would save all Canadians a lot of mon…
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Mr. Speaker, there is a bit of a theme from my colleagues across the House and around the House this afternoon. The member spoke about having something for everyone. The Conservatives mentioned that there was too much for people. The Bloc mentioned there were the wrong things for people. I want to ask a question about a group of people who were completely abandoned by the government, completely le…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the member says that the Liberals have not rejected the TRIPS waiver, but by delaying, by deflecting, by asking for more information that they already have, they are failing to support us. They are failing all of the people who are looking for the COVID vaccine. Now, when the world needs Canada to step up and support global efforts, the government is failing. I am beyond frustrated. I…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague spoke about event planners, and it tweaked my interest, because I actually met with the Canadian Association of Exposition Management just yesterday. They are a sector that has been deeply impacted by the pandemic. There are many people within the sector who will not be able to even start back to work until the fall, and we know that because of the cyclical nature of it…
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Madam Speaker, the member and I have worked together on a number of things throughout this Parliament, and it has been very interesting to hear his intervention. The member spoke about the emergency strategies and programs that have been put in place to support businesses. I agree with him that how they were designed and developed was deeply flawed. The NDP proposed many things, like the rent subs…
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Madam Speaker, like the member, I was quite excited to see the commitment to child care. I think it will be vital in women's recovery from COVID-19 and for the recovery of our economy. However, what I did not see in this budget was anything on pharmacare. Despite the fact that the Liberals ran on this in 2019, and despite the fact that the throne speech talked about pharmacare, there is nothing in…
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Madam Speaker, one of the questions I had when I looked through the budget was that I did not see the support for the Prairie provinces that I wanted to see. The member will know that Alberta was in a really dire situation before the pandemic, and that unemployment is something that is facing us. I did not see a commitment to diversifying our economy or making sure that there were forward-facing j…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his intervention. It was very interesting. He spoke today a bit about the AstraZeneca vaccine and the public dollars that went into developing it. I have to say, I am excited because today I was able to get the AstraZeneca vaccine in my arm. That is great news for me. When we talk about the public dollars going into AstraZeneca, one of the big co…
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Mr. Speaker, it is so important that we are having this conversation. I want to talk about some things that are a little Alberta-specific, so I hope the member will be patient with me. Since November 2016, the Metis Settlements of Alberta has unanimously endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Although the legislation before us comes late and has lacked full co…
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Madam Speaker, I cannot thank the member enough for her comments today. It is so important to hear from her. She is such an ally. I have learned so much from the member about the rights of indigenous people in Canada and around the world. I honour her for her words she has brought forward today. As the member for Edmonton Strathcona, I would also like to talk very briefly about a community in my p…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is somebody from my neck of the woods and someone I consider a friend. I miss being able to talk with him in the lobby and share our different perspectives. I want to talk about a specific Alberta issue. In Alberta at the moment he will know there is a lot of debate around coal mining and about mountain top coal mining. I have worked quite closely with indigenous groups…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in recent weeks, the Russian Federation has increased attacks on Ukraine's eastern borders. This has been coupled with significant Russian troop movement, raising concerns among NATO and G7 allies about a possible further invasion of Ukraine. This could lead to a devastating conflict, putting thousands of Ukrainian lives at risk. Canadians have an important and meaningful relationship…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, the minister and I have had many conversations. As she knows, I am the member of Parliament for the riding that has Campus Saint-Jean in it. I am deeply worried about the impacts on universities. My big concern is this. Today, she spoke about how the provinces needed to come to the table and how we needed to depend on our provincial leaders to act. I cannot depend on my provincial lea…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is of course my neighbour, and his comments were very interesting. One of the questions I have for him is that he talks about the value of online learning and about the excitement of being able to study abroad or in different places. First of all, does he not recognize that campuses, Francophone campuses, particularly in communities outside of Quebec, are vital to the com…
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Madam Speaker, I similarly have not seen my colleague in person in a very long time. This is how we see each other now. I was very moved by some of the comments she made. She will know that in Edmonton Strathcona the University of Alberta is under incredible attack by our provincial government and we risk losing an awful lot, not just the Campus Saint-Jean but the university itself. I am curious a…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague who is such a voice in Quebec for the francophones. I know he is so supportive of the francophonie across the country. We need to do a better job. We know that French immigration needs to increase, that we need to commit resources and we need to have a better plan with regard to immigration to encourage the francophonie to come to Canada to settle in Que…
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Madam Speaker, I am sorry that I do not speak French very well. I did not study French in school. I am very pleased that my children were able to study French. I will fight so that all children in Alberta and all Canadians have that opportunity. I want to thank my colleagues, the members of Parliament for Timmins—James Bay and London—Fanshawe, for raising this vital issue and ensuring that all par…
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Madam Speaker, one of the things we heard from the minister earlier today was that there was money on the table waiting to go to the institutions, but the hold-up was that the provincial government was not accessing it and was not providing the match. If we are working with a provincial government that is not willing to meet its own contractual obligations, then the federal government needs to, at…
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Madam Speaker, one of the really wonderful things about Campus Saint-Jean and other francophone universities across the country is how they encourage immigration, how they encourage francophone immigration, which we know needs to be increased and promoted and supported in Canada. I agree with the member that to have research be done in French and to have our French universities be part of an inter…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's candour regarding his desire for full decriminalization. It is vital and important. However, he speaks about the fact that he wants full decriminalization and that this bill would fail to achieve that. I would ask him again why the government does not support full decriminalization for the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use and the auto…
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Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament representing a riding in Alberta, I have been horrified by our provincial government's response to the opioid crisis that is devastating our province and other regions of the country. The lack of understanding, the lack of empathy and the lack of common sense shown by the UCP in regard to this issue has meant that Albertans, more than ever, are depending on t…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his intervention today. It was very interesting. While I enjoy listening to members of the Liberal government talk about necessary, progressive steps to decriminalize drug possession, I am always dismayed by the lack of bravery and commitment to go far enough. These half-measures are, of course, not sufficient. Earlier today, we did hear from the…
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