Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, today I met with Mansour Shouman, a Palestinian Canadian who risked his life to report on the devastation and horror of the war in Gaza. Weeks ago, the Liberals promised to stop selling military goods to Netanyahu and to sanction extremists. As innocent children continue to die, the Liberals have not issued export notices or announced sanctions. This is a betrayal of the hundreds of t…
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Mr. Speaker, this appears to be a pattern we are in today. There are three photos that are not showing up on the dashboard: the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, the member for Kenora and the member for Markham—Thornhill.
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Mr. Speaker, again, the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman is not showing up on the dashboard.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I tried to turn the other cheek, but the member for St. Albert—Edmonton has now repeatedly said things that the Speaker has already said are not allowed in this place. I do not know if he needs to be told again. I would like him to apologize. He said things that are, frankly, very untrue and that the Speaker has already ruled are out of order in this plac…
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Madam Speaker, part of this legislation is a clause that justifies past discrimination and violation of human rights. It allows the government to have discriminated with impunity and underscores the sense of colonial entitlement. Does the member agree with the provision of the legislation that prohibits first nations women from seeking compensation for historic harms? Is it justified that the gove…
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Madam Speaker, it feels a little like Groundhog Day in here. Again, we have another speech from the member, which is not unusual in this place, but it was just Tuesday that we had this exact same debate on a motion brought forward by the Conservatives. This is starting to look, more and more, like a stunt, when the Conservatives continually use their opposition days to do the exact same thing, kno…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague just talked a bit about weasel words when he addressed the Liberal member. I would be a little cautious about him using that language right now. Today, in the House, for the umpteenth time, the Conservatives are using their opposition day to bring forward a motion they know very well will not pass. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition has said time and time again that …
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Mr. Chair, I have a very short question for the member. He just talked about how he is deeply worried about the children who have been stolen by Russia, and I understand that, because for me, that is one thing that makes it very clear there is a genocide happening against the Ukrainian people. However, I wonder why he is not able to see that the 13 innocent children who have been killed in Gaza or…
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Mr. Chair, I just want to illustrate that when the Conservatives accused members of the House of supporting Hamas, that was a very different thing, because Hamas is an illegal terrorist organization. We actually do not have that designation right now, and maybe we should, for the Russian Federation, and we certainly do not have it for the People's Party. I think we can say that many members of the…
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Mr. Chair, as I take part in this debate this evening, it strikes me that actions are more important than words. We hear words from the Conservatives saying that they support Ukraine, yet their actions with regard to votes do not align with that. This member is a member of the government. Recognizing all the announcements the government has made on supports for Ukraine is one thing, but the actual…
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Mr. Chair, my colleague spoke about the terrible decision made by the current government on the sanctions waiver for the turbine. For me, that was a horrible decision that was made by the government. In fact, it was me that called for an emergency debate in the summer, so that we could actually look at that issue and examine that quite closely. That was something that the Government of Ukraine had…
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Madam Chair, it is an honour, as always, to stand in this place and represent the people of Edmonton Strathcona. I am from Edmonton Strathcona, and at the very beginning of my political career, I became a member of the Canada-Ukraine parliamentary association. I followed in the footsteps of Linda Duncan, the member of Parliament for Edmonton Strathcona before me, who was also the vice-chair of the…
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Mr. Chair, one thing we know Ukraine will need going forward is the ability to rebuild its country. We know the damage that has been caused by the Russian Federation, by Vladimir Putin, in this illegal invasion of Ukraine. The current Liberal government has cut official development assistance by 15% and has indicated that in the next budget, it will cut that by even more. However, the leader of th…
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Madam Chair, I think maybe the member needs a glass of water. He seems quite upset. What I will say to him is that what we brought forward, as New Democrats, before the further invasion by the Russian Federation, was looking for peace. We were looking for a peaceful resolution. This happened before the invasion that we saw, the extension of the invasion by the Russian Federation. Of course, we are…
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Madam Chair, it is something that I have been appalled by and that many Albertans I know have been appalled by. We heard from the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. We did not hear a single peep from him when Danielle Smith stood with Tucker Carlson right before Tucker Carlson went and did an interview in Moscow with Putin and used Russian propaganda. Frankly, I am surprised he was not st…
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Mr. Chair, like my colleague from the Conservatives, I was at the foreign affairs committee this afternoon as we met with Ukraine's ambassador to Canada. One of the questions I asked her, which I will ask the member as he is a member of the government, was around the loopholes we see within our arms export regime. One thing that I think we all learned in November 2023 was that detonators were goin…
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Madam Speaker, today, the leader of the official opposition brings up the idea that he is interested in Canadians and he is interested in making life more affordable for Canadians, but we know that he voted against a national school program. We know he voted against our motion to take GST off of home heating. He voted against dental care. He voted against child care. Even yesterday, shockingly, he…
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Madam Speaker, last week, we had a constituency week. I went to 15 different seniors' residences and spoke to seniors across my riding. They were, very clearly, absolutely delighted with the NDP dental care program, which included seniors. I listened to the member speak about how he wanted to make life more affordable for Canadians, yet his party votes against things like the dental care program. …
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Mr. Speaker, clearly my colleague has not read the motion and did not listen to my speech. I was very clear that what Hamas did on October 7 is appalling. It is written into our motion what actions we are calling for with regard to Hamas. I spoke very clearly about that, so if she would like me to explain the motion to her again, perhaps the Speaker could read it for her again. However, because sh…
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Mr. Speaker, it is good to hear that the Bloc will be supporting the motion. I think it is very important. I certainly hope many members across the House choose to support this motion, which does align with international law and with Canadian policy and human rights. In terms of the piece of this legislation that calls for a recognition of the state of Palestine, I will say, once again, that 139 U…
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Mr. Speaker, as Canadians, we must stand for peace, we must stand for justice and we must uphold international law. What the member is suggesting is that children around the world should die, should be killed, should starve to death and that the Canadian Parliament should not act, should not take steps to put things into place that would help. It is vitally important that this Parliament sends a c…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her important work in the House. Right now what we are seeing is tens of thousands of innocent civilians losing their lives. Over 13,000 children have lost their lives. Right now, today, at this moment, there is a population facing starvation. They are facing starvation in 2024, and it is not starvation because there is no food. The food is at th…
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moved: That, given that, (i) the situation in the Middle East is devastating to many Canadians, particularly those with friends and family members in the region, (ii) the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 30,000, with 70% of the victims women and children, (iii) the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,200 people and over 100 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, (iv) millions …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague has long spoken in the House about the need for peace in the Middle East and for the rights of Israeli and Palestinian people. This moment in time is pivotal. It is vital. It is vital that we take the steps we can now, that we work with our allies and that we signal to the international community that human rights matter and they matter wherever those human rights are bei…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the recognition and the value of international law. Does he believe international law applies in all cases? Does he believe the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, institutions Canada has supported and has shown respect for, should be respected? Does he believe those provisional measures that have been put in place against the …
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Mr. Speaker, we are in this situation where over 13,000 children have been killed and over 30,000 civilians have lost their lives. I know the minister speaks to her colleagues in other countries and to allies in the United States and in the United Kingdom. I have two questions for the minister at this pivotal moment when all Canadians are very much hoping the Liberal government will have the moral…
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats are delivering diabetes medicine and devices and contraceptives for all Canadians today. Free contraceptives would be life-changing for women across the country, but shamefully, Danielle Smith said that she does not want that for Albertans. My constituents are outraged, and the Conservative leader, when he was asked by the media about this, literally ran away so he would…
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Mr. Speaker, the relevance of course is that I am a representative for the people of Edmonton, which is in the province of Alberta, and I am speaking about the delivery of child care in Alberta, so it is very relevant to what we are talking about. I understand why the Conservatives do not want to talk about this. They do not want me to bring up the fact that Danielle Smith dropped the ball on chil…
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Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier about some of those champions of child care, and I brought up some of the previous members of our caucus and many in the labour movement who have fought so hard for this. I think that those people today are very excited that we have child care. The member is talking about a budget that happened well before my time, and so I will not comment on that. I certainly hope al…
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely. My apologies for not speaking in French now. This is something I have stood on in the House multiple times. I raised the issue that, for minority languages outside Quebec, and English in Quebec, we need to make sure that families are able to educate their children in the language of their choice. However, in western Canada, that is very difficult to do. One of the challeng…
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Mr. Speaker, today is the day we were supposed to be talking about the Senate amendments to Bill C-35, and the Conservatives have brought forward a concurrence debate with respect to food security in the north, which of course is an extraordinarily important topic. The issue, though, is that the Conservatives are using this as a tactic to delay a very important debate with respect to child care. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two points on that. First of all, we know that Danielle Smith kept half the money back and did not give it to the child care providers. Many of them were almost on the brink of bankruptcy before they could actually access that funding from the premier. That is quite well known, and I would hope that the Conservatives recognize that. The other thing I would say is that in my spe…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always very difficult to speak after the member for Nunavut because she is such a force within our caucus and such a champion for the people she represents. It is an honour to be in a caucus with her. Today, we are talking about Bill C-35 and the amendments that have been brought forward. I want to start by talking about just how vital child care is in our country and what a fun…
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a moment to once again thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for the incredible work that she has done on this legislation. The fact that we have this child care bill before us goes, in a large part, to the work that the member for Winnipeg Centre has done. I am so grateful for all that she has done. However, I will say that when she asks about a workforce strategy,…
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Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move: That this House: (a) condemn the continuation of Russia's unjustified full-scale aggression against Ukraine; (b) call on Russia to end hostilities against Ukraine and withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine; (c) call on the Government of Canada to continue to provide military and …
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Mr. Speaker, for four months, innocent Palestinians have pleaded for help. Close to 30,000 people, including children, have been killed. In Rafah it is even worse. All we hear from the Prime Minister are empty words. He is concerned, but he will not stop arms sales to Israel. He will not help Canadians fleeing Gaza, and he will not reinstate funding to UNRWA. Maybe the minister's parliamentary sec…
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Mr. Speaker, unbelievably the Liberal government has authorized $28.5 million of new military exports to Israel since October 2023. Today, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands must stop sending F-35s to Israel. Spain and Belgium have suspended arms sales, but Canada continues to send arms, doing nothing to ensure that they are not being used against civilians. So many children are being killed…
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With regard to the government’s policy towards international law and the situation in Israel and Palestine: (a) what is the government’s position on the role that international criminal law plays in addressing alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide committed in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas; (b) with respect to the November 2023 United Nations General A…
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize to my colleague for interrupting his questions. I hope it gives members of the government and the opposition an opportunity to come up with better questions to ask him when I am done. However, I rise on a question of privilege related to written Question Nos. 2068, 2069 and 2070, which I submitted on December 7, 2023. I ask that you look at the following three pieces of ev…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it has been two years since Putin launched his brutal and illegal war in Ukraine. In that time, Russia has committed multiple war crimes, including killing more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians, injuring another 20,000 and abducting nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children. Recently, fawning Putin apologist Tucker Carlson came to Alberta to spread his hatred and lies. He was heartily welcomed …
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Mr. Speaker, a year ago, a tailings pond at Imperial Oil's Kearl site in northern Alberta overflowed. It spilled 5.3 million litres of cancer-causing toxins into the environment. Even worse, it was shown that the pond had been leaking for years and is still leaking. Both Imperial Oil and the Alberta Energy Regulator knew, but they did not tell the community. What has the government done to hold Im…
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to speak in French, but it is hard for me. I am sorry. In Alberta, more specifically in Edmonton Strathcona, we have a fast-growing francophone community. In fact, Edmonton's French quarter is in my riding and the people there add so much to the city. Does the member not think that we should focus on the objective of francophone immigration and adequate resources instead of…
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Mr. Speaker, the CBC reported that the Liberals made the decision to suspend life-saving funding to UNRWA without having seen any evidence of allegations or having waited for the results of the independent investigation. UNRWA is the only organization that can reach Palestinians in Gaza who are starving and who are being killed in the tens of thousands, and the government cut life-saving support. …
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Mr. Speaker, more than 660 million women and girls are living in conflict zones, which is a 50% increase in the last six years. In Ukraine, two-thirds of those who are internally displaced are women. In Sudan, women make up 69% of those displaced, and 90% of the people crossing into Chad are women and girls. In Afghanistan, a United Nations expert said that 20 years of progress for women's and gir…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
I am not naming names. Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important. I want to end by quoting something we heard from the Edmonton chapter of Fair Vote Canada, which is “really worried about how toxic and divisive our political discourse is becoming. Many people we talk to don't even want to get involved because of it. There is more that holds us together than divides us, but our winner-takes-all vot…
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Mr. Speaker, I am so happy to stand today and speak in support of Motion No. 86. My colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith and the member for Elmwood—Transcona before her have done vitally important work to ensure that electoral reform is a discussion we are having in the House. We all know why we are in this place right now talking about this. It is because of the failure of the current government to l…
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Madam Speaker, I want to start with the fact that the hon. member started her intervention talking about the socialist coalition, which makes me think she does not understand what socialism is or what a coalition is. I also want to say that from my perspective, what I see is both the Liberals and the Conservatives supporting big oil time and time again. I thought of a few other names. We have the …
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure and a delight to stand and represent the people of Edmonton Strathcona. It is a pleasure today, as the foreign affairs critic for the New Democratic Party, to also stand and speak about Motion No. 75, with respect to Polish heritage month. I was in Poland less than a year ago, and it is a country I need to spend more time in. I am delighted to stand here and …
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Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move that this House call for the immediate release of Vladimir—
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