Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to speak in support of Bill C-40, an act to amend the Criminal Code. This miscarriage of justice bill represents a critical step in our ongoing efforts to reform the criminal justice system and to address the systemic inequities that have long plagued it, particularly for indigenous people, racialized communities and marginalized Canadians. For the better part of…
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Madam Speaker, one thing that popped into my mind as my colleague was speaking was that he talked about the fact that only Conservatives would be able to stop the corruption and the secrecy. That did make me laugh a bit because perhaps the member forgets all of the secrecy and corruption under the Harper government. Many of the people who were part of that government are still sitting in this plac…
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about some lapses in conflict of interest management. That is a pretty gentle way to describe what happened. There was gross mismanagement of funds. We know that whistle-blowers have been raising serious questions for years about how these public funds were managed. Their complaints were never taken seriously. It was not until this became public that the government…
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Mr. Speaker, border workers keep Canadians safe. They are critical to keeping illegal firearms out of the country and protecting our border, but when it comes to their pensions, CBSA workers are not treated like other public safety officials. CBSA employees are relying on the minister to keep her promise and give fair retirement benefits. When will the minister treat CBSA officers fairly and offer…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the member for Ottawa South's photo is not showing up, so I do not think we can count his vote today.
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Mr. Speaker, there are lots of examples of how other governments around the world have taken concrete steps to make sure that corporate greed is not affecting the citizens in those countries. We have seen this. We saw President Biden in the United States put in the excess profit tax. We have been calling for that, but the government has taken no action. We have seen, in France, that there is some …
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Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 43(2)(a), I would like to inform the House that the New Democratic Party speaking slots will all be divided in two.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is somebody I have worked with quite closely on a number of different files, and I appreciate her insight and thought process. I would agree with her that this is a very complex issue. There are some things we can do and other things we can continue to work on. Supporting local producers is vital. Supporting our farmers is a very important role that the government can ste…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to be able to stand and represent the people of Edmonton Strathcona. Today we are talking about the increasing price of groceries. I want to start by talking a bit about my son. I have a 16-year-old. He is 6 feet, 3 inches tall. He is involved in rugby, football, hockey and wrestling. I can tell members very clearly that I know how much groceries cost, because tha…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is certainly very knowledgeable about what has happened historically in this place. I know he was here for a portion of the Harper decade when the price-fixing scandal cost Canadians hundreds of dollars each. It was scandalous that over a decade, not a single Conservative stood up and said, “Enough. We want to shut this down.” There was not a single one. Many of the same …
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Madam Speaker, I would like a recorded division because all Canadians deserve to know which members of Parliament are fighting for lower grocery prices and which ones are not.
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Mr. Speaker, despite promising to do so three months ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has failed to issue a notice to exporters telling them that they cannot sell weapons to Netanyahu's government. As Palestinians are starving, as violence in the West Bank escalates and as UN experts are calling for the recognition of Palestine, the Liberals will not act to stop a genocide. Peace requires acti…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge that today is the fifth anniversary of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, as well as two-spirit and gender-diverse people. We need to acknowledge today that the government is failing to address the genocide against indigenous people, and that is failing both indigenous people and all Canadians. I certainly hope that the gov…
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Mr. Speaker, I have worked with the member very closely on a number of files, and I know him to be a very honourable member of this place. He referenced the Hoskins report many times, and of course this is the report that was commissioned by the government to look at this. It found that $5 billion of savings would be available if we were to put in a national pharmacare program. Like the member, I …
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Mr. Speaker, every year, hundreds of festivals light up communities across Canada. In Edmonton, the internationally renowned Fringe Festival supports thousands of artists, volunteers and visitors, generating $16 million in economic benefits. Despite this, the Fringe Festival and other festivals have had their federal funding significantly cut. This is devastating for our festivals and for our comm…
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Mr. Speaker, I feel that my colleague's intervention was not entirely accurate in some of the information he shared, and I want to give him some perspective. We just heard from one of the members of the Liberal Party about Danielle Smith and the taxes that she has put on gas in Alberta. In Alberta, we have Trevor Tombe, who is an economics professor at the University of Calgary. He is quite renown…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his great remarks. They were very funny and entertaining. I have a brief question for my colleague. In Alberta, Suncor pays just one-fourteenth of the carbon price. Is that fair to Canadians? Why does he think the government allows that?
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Madam Speaker, one of my challenges is that when the member talks about Alberta and about the carbon tax, she is not listening to experts, expert economists. I brought this up in the House today, but I will read it one more time: “A clear majority of households do receive rebates that are larger than the carbon taxes they pay for.... If we got rid of the carbon tax and the rebate, then this would …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions, and I believe if you seek it you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, during the debate on business of supply pursuant to Standing Order 81(4) later this day: (a) the time provided for consideration of the Main Estimates in committee of the whole be ext…
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Mr. Speaker, I should not have said that. The information that he was sharing with us was maybe not as accurate as it could have been, and I definitely would retract the idea that he meant to do that. I am sure it was a failure of understanding on his part. Could he talk about why dental care is important to the seniors in his constituency, why he thinks that we do not all deserve dental care and …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague started his speech this evening by talking about how the Liberal budget was a 420-page document that was a bit of an advertisement. That brought to mind something I remembered from when Stephen Harper was the prime minister. I went back and looked, and the 2015 budget was 518 pages long, and it did not address climate change. It did not address many of those issues that a…
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Mr. Speaker, Ireland, Spain and Norway announced that they will soon recognize the state of Palestine. This is a crucial step towards peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis, but Canada is missing in action. In February, New Democrats asked the government to recognize the state of Palestine. The government refused and turned its back on Palestinians and Israelis who are looking for peace a…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for giving a speech in the House so late at night and sharing his insight with us. I am eager for my colleagues to listen to the questions that I am asking and to stop bickering back and forth.
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Mr. Speaker, I work with my colleague quite closely on the global co-operation caucus, and I know how much she cares about people in Canada and around the world. As an Albertan, I know that inflation in Alberta is among the highest in the country and people living with disabilities are really struggling. We have heard words from the government that it wants to support people living with disabiliti…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I find disappointing about the budget is the lack of support for seniors in our communities. I have spent many days speaking to seniors. Recently, during one of our constituency weeks, I met with seniors in 15 different residences to talk about the concerns that they have. My issue is that I do not know how seniors in Alberta could trust the Conservatives, knowi…
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Madam Speaker, the one thing that struck me was that the member mentioned that seniors are not benefiting from the dental care program. We know already that two million seniors across this country have registered for the program. We know that tens of thousands of seniors are registering every week. We know that in the first two weeks of the program, 60,000 seniors got dental care. That means that …
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to see the member holding back what he really thinks in the House. Yes, like the member, I am very disappointed that we are actually standing in the House of Commons in May debating the fall economic statement. It is unbelievably outrageous, and maybe we will still be debating it next fall if the Conservatives decide to do that. Who knows? My question for the member is act…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to compliment my colleague on his speech. I certainly did not agree with some of the content, but the volume was there. Over and over again, he talked about common sense, finding solutions and what we need to do to make Canada better, and I think all of us in this place have that goal. We are all trying to find ways to make Canada better for Canadians. Obviously, we do …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this is, of course, very worrying. The New Democratic Party is very concerned. We would like to reserve the right to come back at some point in the future. As with all questions of privilege, it is important for us to take the time to look at this very clearly.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the expected military invasion in Rafah will be catastrophic. Over a million people, half of them children, have no safe place to go. In Gaza, there is famine in the north and bombing in the south. This escalation threatens the safety of both Israelis and Palestinians. The Liberals should be doing everything to protect innocent civilians, including hostages. Where are the promised san…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to table today. The first petition is a petition signed by many Canadians who are concerned about Canada's response during COVID-19 to vaccine equity. We know there is a potential for future pandemics. These petitioners call on the Government of Canada to support the WTO TRIPS waiver and to work harder to ensure that, in future pandemics, vaccine equity is availab…
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on the Government of Canada to provide additional support to Ukraine. The war in Ukraine, the illegal war by Putin and the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, is worrying for all Canadians. Of course, we have an enormous number of Ukrainian diaspora members in this country. All Canadians want to see the government do everything possib…
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Mr. Speaker, as a prairie girl, this is a little outside of my zone, but I do come from Alberta. The member, in answering the question of my colleague from the Bloc, brought up the example of the oil and gas sector in Alberta and the need for the federal government not to overreach. One of the problems I have is that, on occasion, provincial governments, and I would use the example of the Alberta …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's intervention today was very interesting, and I listened with agreement regarding much of what he said. One of the concerns that I have is that we are seeing a lack of actual, meaningful action by the current government to make sure that Canada can be leading on renewable energy. The member will have heard me say many times in the House how disappointed I am with the Pro…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Unfortunately, the member for London West's photo did not show up, so I do not believe her vote can be counted at this time.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-387, An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan. Mr. Speaker, I am extraordinarily proud to stand today and bring forward a private member's bill that would protect not just Albertans' but all Canadians' pensions. The pensions that Canadians deserve through the Canada pension plan, they have earned. Seniors across this country have earned those pensions. In Alberta…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to retire with dignity, and they can with the world-renowned Canada pension plan. However, Danielle Smith is trying to pull Alberta out of the CPP, and the Conservative leader has spent his entire career attacking workers' pensions while he benefits from a public pension himself. New Democrats are fighting back. Today I tabled a bill that would protect the CPP from C…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I stand to offer my sincere congratulations to those members of the Inter-Council Network of provincial and regional councils for global co-operation. They are celebrating an important milestone of 50 years. The ICN is a coalition of eight provincial and regional councils. The ICN represents hundreds of Canadian organizations in every region and every province from coast to coas…
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Madam Speaker, this is one of the things that always amaze me. The member is from Alberta, as I am, and he will know that, right now, the wildfire season is already under way in Alberta. It started in February this year, which is unbelievable and unprecedented. We are hearing from farmers in southern Alberta who are selling their herds. They cannot to afford to feed them because of the multi-year …
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Madam Speaker, my question is around the benefit for people living with disabilities: the Canada disability benefit. The community has made its displeasure with this benefit very clear. What this would work out to is about $200 a month for people. We know that, during COVID, Canadians said very clearly that everyone needed $2,000 to survive, to pay their rent, to be able to buy groceries and to be…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to present petition e-4765. It was initiated by Michael Lawson, and it addresses the humanitarian crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Fifty-two hundred Canadians signed this petition, calling on the Government of Canada to increase Canada's international humanitarian assistance budget for the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024, so that additional funds…
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Madam Speaker, I have another petition that I would like to present in the House at this time. It is the ninth largest e-petition in Canadian history. It is e-4745, with 82,248 signatures. This petition was initiated by Canadians for justice and peace in the Middle East. These Canadians are asking the government to, first of all, impose a two-way embargo on arms between Canada and Israel; investig…
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Madam Speaker, I would encourage the member to withdraw that comment, because he knows that it is not true and I would not want him to be accused of lying in the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that question referred predominantly to the issue of allowing people to come here for their safety. The one thing I will say is that it is extraordinarily complicated, because we do not have a diplomatic presence in Iran. That does make it very difficult. We do want to be thoughtful and make sure that those bad actors are also not able to come to Canada. The delays that Iran…
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Mr. Speaker, the question is around why it has taken so long. Obviously I cannot answer that question, because I also do not understand why it has taken so long. I will say that we are doing everything we can within our power to ensure that it is not done poorly, that it is done correctly, and that we are doing it adequately by looking at it fulsomely within the foreign affairs committee and makin…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague gave an incredible speech, and she has raised the issues of her constituents. New Democrats have tried for a very long time to expand the number of countries that we are looking at with regard to foreign interference, because we understand that it is an issue not just with China. It is an issue with many countries, like Russia and Iran, that have influence and political…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I think the bill has some very interesting portions to it. It was interesting to listen to the member speak today. I have received security clearance because of some of the work I have done with my other colleagues on the Winnipeg lab documents, and I recognize his perspective that the bill would increase transparency. I think it is very important to have that there. I also recognize …
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Madam Speaker, I look forward to participating in this debate this evening. I want to just say very quickly that I do not think a concurrence debate is the appropriate place for this debate to be happening. As I mentioned earlier tonight, I moved, over a year ago, a motion at the foreign affairs committee to look at this exact issue. In fact, in just a number of weeks we will be undertaking that s…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague as well. We have worked very closely on issues around helping people in other parts of the world, and I appreciate her work. One of the things that I have heard from many members in my community and from the Iranian Canadian community around the country, is that they do not feel heard by the government. They do not feel that the government has list…
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Madam Speaker, one thing my colleague spoke about was the use of concurrence debates to do this important work, and it is very important work that we undertake. In just a few weeks, in fact, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development will be looking at Iran, will be studying this and will be bringing forward the minister to talk about how we can do this in a way that p…
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