Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, but this is difficult for me, so I will speak in English tonight. My struggle tonight is that I am trying to figure out that balance between holding the government accountable and finding a solution so that our democracy is protected going forward. One of the things I am very concerned about is that the Conservatives are very partisan on this issue, and I do not see a way …
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Mr. Speaker, listen, if I had my way, there would be no dinners that are pay to play. There should be no $1,000-a-plate dinners. However, come on. Let us not pretend that the Conservatives do not do the same thing. Let us not pretend there is not fundraising being done on the backs of bills like Bill C-11, and that there is no politicization of them. That is not accurate. In terms of making sure t…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not one hundred per cent sure what coming votes the member is talking about, but obviously, we would determine how we were voting on something based on which vote it was. That is generally how that works. I think what she might be referring to is the supply and confidence agreement, where we were able to get the government to move forward on certain things because they are very i…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's work in the House on mental health for Canadians is really unparalleled, and I think we all benefit from having him here and the work that he does. With regard to the public inquiry, as I said in my speech, I think it is really one of the only ways that we can ensure that Canadians are able to get that confidence back in our system. I certainly hope that when the s…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member, which again, does not happen very often. I am also very concerned about some of the levels of diplomatic corps we have within this country. I will say that our diplomatic corps was absolutely decimated under the Harper Conservatives. We never built back after the number of embassies that were closed under the Harper Conservatives and the selling of our embassy…
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Madam Speaker, I again want to express my sympathy to my colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills for what he and his family have had to endure. I appreciate the fact that he brought up that this is something Chinese Canadians have dealt with for a very long time, as have Iranian Canadians and also a number of Canadians across this country who have been telling us in this place for many years, for d…
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Madam Speaker, I was one of the members who travelled with my colleague to Taiwan on that recent trip. My concern now as we go forward is, how we deal with this perception by Canadians, and real perception, that our democracy is at risk, that our institutions are under attack and that Canadians are being threatened. When we hear things like the member just said, that there was a police station in …
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Madam Speaker, what I do not understand about this member's speech and the actions of the government is that we do have this information now. This information should have gone to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills sooner, certainly, but we have this information now. Why on earth would the government not expel the diplomat responsible for this? It is so easy to do. It does not even require the …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, when I brought that bill forward, the Minister of Natural Resources was kind enough to take what was in the bill and put it into policy. That bill actually said that coal mines, regardless of size, would trigger the Impact Assessment Act. Prior to that, it had to be over 5,000 tonnes a day, but we just took that little bit out. That made it so that all coal mines would trigger the f…
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Madam Speaker, I will be supporting the bill, and I thank my colleague for bringing it forward. He spoke a bit about some of the groups that would be protected by having this put into legislation. Could he perhaps tell us about some of the other pieces of action the government undertakes that we would also need to protect, in the event the government was to change?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, as always, it is a delight to stand in this place and represent the great people of Edmonton Strathcona. Today we are talking about Bill C-316, an act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act regarding the court challenges program. Basically what this bill would do is amend the Heritage Act to require that the Minister of Canadian Heritage maintain the court challenges progr…
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Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of many constituents across the country who have asked that the government acknowledge the important contributions that German Canadians have made to this country, and recognize that during World War I and World War II, innocent German Canadians and Austrian Canadians were interned, alongside enemy combatants. They recognize that Ukrainian Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, this is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and I appreciate that there has been some work done on this bill to make it stronger and very much appreciate the work that my colleague from Victoria has done on this bill. However, as I have been sitting on the committee listening to the testimony on the Kearl mine spill in northern Alberta, I have been listening to horrific testimo…
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Mr. Speaker, I feel very sad that this has happened to the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. This is shocking. I think all of us in the House are shocked, and I think we can all agree that this is something that, while affecting one member of this House, also affects many Chinese Canadian citizens across the country. This has been raised time and time again. We would like to come forward with fu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, that clearly shows that this Prime Minister does not understand how much this is damaging our democracy. Media reports came out today confirming that Canada is a high-priority country for foreign interference from the Chinese government. MPs, their families and even their staff are being targets of incentives and punishments. Canadians deserve transparency, and the government has refu…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-329, an act to establish a national framework respecting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to stand today to table this bill on behalf of the residents of Edmonton Strathcona and all Canadians who recognize the value of creating equitable access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatments and support in our coun…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, there are at least a half a million kids spread out across the country trying to deal with a disorder that makes it hard for them to succeed in school and in life. Without support, many of them will not graduate and will face a lifetime of problems, such as addictions, troubles with school and challenges in their lives. ADHD is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder, and Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, Ukrainians fleeing from Russia's brutal illegal war are looking to start over and build a new life in Canada. However, the Liberals' emergency travel measures have a three-year limit, meaning that Ukrainians cannot participate in most trade apprenticeships. Ukrainians are effectively being shut out of the trades because of this limit. It is wrong, and union leaders like Scott Crichton…
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Madam Speaker, I think what we will hear is that there was a desire to balance the needs of security versus the needs of humanitarian organizations. It is my thought, though, that this balance is completely wrong in this case. That is proven out by what we saw from the United Nations Security Council and what we saw from the U.S., the EU, the U.K., Australia and other countries that were able to d…
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Madam Speaker, a fundamental part of humanitarian law is that humanitarian assistance is protected and not a target. This is part of international humanitarian law for a very important reason: Even in the worst human situations, we need to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered. Even with the worst state actors, we need to make sure humanitarian aid can be delivered. When this legislation g…
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Madam Speaker, I would say that this is very similar to the last question I just answered. I am open to working with all parties to see if there is a way to improve this legislation. The scope will be something we will have to certainly press toward the very edges of. Again, it is a situation that the government could fix very quickly by bringing forward better legislation.
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Madam Speaker, this is the ultimate challenge we are facing. People are dying, and this legislation would help some organizations get there and provide some assistance at some point. It has taken 18 months to get this flawed piece of legislation, so we have put the international development and humanitarian sector in this terrible position of deciding whether to take flawed legislation that could …
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Madam Speaker, I have a couple of things to say. First of all, my colleague referred to Ukrainian refugees, but I am not sure if he perhaps failed to understand that the government does not list them as refugees, so they are not given the protection that refugees should have in our community. The other thing he talked about is Afghan refugees. I have to tell him that I was in my office during the …
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Madam Speaker, I very much enjoy working with the hon. member for Edmonton Manning on many of these files. Honestly, I want to think that it was a lack of speed. I want to think it was the thoroughness, but the resulting product does not make me think that this was the case. In fact, I actually believe the government was hoping that this would go away and that Canadians would change the channel an…
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Madam Speaker, I have to say I was a bit nervous there for a minute after the Conservatives made it so I was unable to give my remarks last week. I was worried that was going to happen again. I am quite happy they are just cold at the moment. As always, it is my great delight to stand in this House and represent the people of Edmonton Strathcona. Today, we are talking about something that is very …
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Madam Speaker, I would speak French but I find when I get upset, it is difficult to find the words in French. I am upset today because what we have in front of us is the situation the government has put us in, being 18 to 19 months too late. We are now having to judge between accepting and supporting bad legislation or giving the organizations that are desperately trying to help the Afghan people …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following. I move: That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, on the day the House begins debate on the motion for second reading of Bill C-41, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, no later than the ordinary hour of daily adjourn…
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Madam Speaker, this is my first time standing in the House this week, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge the two fallen police officers who lost their lives last week in Edmonton: Constable Ryan and Constable Jordan. I want to acknowledge the service they gave and the ultimate price they paid, as well as give my deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of both of these constables.…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in Alberta, toxic water with poisonous levels of arsenic, dissolved metals and hydrocarbons leaked from tailings ponds into Treaty No. 8 land and water for nine months. Neither the provincial nor the federal government bothered to inform the people who live there. The Liberal government says it cares about the environment and indigenous people, but it blocked tailings ponds' oversight…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to stand in this place and represent the constituents of Edmonton Strathcona. Today, we are talking about Bill S-209, an act respecting pandemic observance day, which is a bill to make every March 11 a day to remember the COVID–19 pandemic. I know all of us in this House remember the day that we were here in 2020 and it was announced that the House was ris…
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Mr. Speaker, with everything from illegal police stations to election fraud and attempts to spy in our airspace, Canadians are rightly concerned about foreign interference by the Chinese government and others. It is up to the government to defend Canadians from threats to our democracy. Right now, they are letting Canadians down by not following the lead of other nations. We need better contact po…
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Madam Speaker, I wrote to the then minister of foreign affairs in February of 2021 to demand he take action so that we would not have been in a situation where people were not able to get out of Afghanistan when Kabul fell. Of course, nothing was done. An election was called instead. However, I wonder if the member agrees we should have the current Minister of Public Safety, the current Minister o…
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Madam Speaker, I am quite shocked that the member could speak for 20 minutes about how effective the sanctions regime when he knows very well that we have 1,600 people on our sanctions regime. We have no transparency and have no enforcement. We have seized $121 million over six months. The entire Russian Federation could be put on the sanctions list, but if they are not going to enforce them they …
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Madam Speaker, Afghan women and girls cannot go to school. They cannot see a doctor. They are prisoners in their own country. For 18 months, these women and girls should have been getting help from Canadian organizations. Instead, Canada's so-called “feminist government” continues to fail Afghans by delaying a humanitarian carve-out. How much longer will the Minister of Public Safety make women an…
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Mr. Speaker, relief efforts in Turkey and Syria will need far more support in the coming weeks. Canadian partners are stepping up to help, but they need more support. So far, the government has only announced a matching fund for the Red Cross, not for the Humanitarian Coalition. The Humanitarian Coalition is a group of 12 Canadian leading international aid agencies that have vast experience in the…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to stand today and address this place. I am here because I have tried multiple times, through multiple channels, to get information about the sanction regime that is being imposed by the Canadian government. I have asked questions through Order Paper questions. I have asked questions during question period, and I have raised it during debate, and yet it is impossible…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, putting more people on the sanctions list if there is no enforcement of the sanctions is simply meaningless political theatre. The government should be ashamed of its actions on the sanctions regime.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think all of us in this place recognize that Canadians are struggling on a number of fronts right now. There is a health care crisis in this country. There is an affordability crisis in this country. There is a climate crisis in this country. I am wondering if the member thought this was the most important thing the Bloc could bring forward to represent the wishes of his constitue…
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Madam Speaker, a lot of my colleague's discussion today focused on human rights, which, of course, is very important to me. I do wonder why the government has not taken the opportunity to push for human rights for people around the world. The people of Afghanistan have been waiting for a very long time for the government to do a humanitarian carve-out. It has been promising this for 18 months. If …
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Madam Speaker, like the minister, I am very worried about the increasing use of the notwithstanding clause, and my focus will be on human rights. In 2000, in Alberta, Ralph Klein tried to use the notwithstanding clause to take away the rights of the SOGI community to same-sex marriage. He was not successful because the Supreme Court was able to speak to that. I wonder if the minister could talk a …
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Madam Speaker, I am an Albertan and the use of the notwithstanding clause has been threatened and used in Alberta in the past under Ralph Klein. As somebody who I expect recognizes that climate change is real and how important it is, does the member really want Danielle Smith to have the power to undermine our environmental protections, to do coal mining in the Rocky Mountains, to release water fr…
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Madam Speaker, earlier, my colleague mentioned that he did not want to talk about Ontario politics, certainly not with the member from Manitoba. Perhaps he would like to talk with an Alberta politician about politics in Alberta. He thought this particular debate was painful because we were not talking about things that were so important to his constituents, my constituents and Canadians across the…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I want to take an opportunity to thank Canada's international development sector for its fantastic work, particularly its efforts to build a better world for women and girls. As we know, women and girls are particularly vulnerable to humanitarian crises, climate change and conflict, and while Canadian organizations continue to play a vital role around the world, the federal government…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the devastation we have seen in Turkey and Syria is horrific. This earthquake comes after nearly 12 years of war and total suffering in Syria. Children are still being pulled from the rubble; it is heartbreaking. Survivors will require an incredible amount of assistance urgently. The government's announcement this morning is a good start, but the scale of this crisis will require more…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight because I am deeply concerned about the state of our immigration system in this country. I am overwhelmed by the horrific stories of people's lives being ruined because the government has failed to provide a service it is required to provide for people who are trying to come to Canada or who are trying to bring their loved ones to Canada. I do not think anyone in thi…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, universities in Canada are losing millions of dollars because study permits are not being processed in time. Iranians trying to escape from their murderous terrorist regime are waiting years for news on whether loved ones can come and when they can come. In Afghanistan, there are nine female members of Parliament. The current government could get them out today. It could get them to s…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like the member to think about just how far social programs could have gone in this country if an NDP government had been in place. Of course, this government has been in place for seven and a half years and so one would think it would be able to put that in place. I would also like to raise the thought that when I have spoken with folks like Cindy Blackstock, they mentioned t…
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Mr. Speaker, the people of Ukraine, Iran, Haiti and Myanmar deserve our support. The government constantly pats itself on the back for adding individuals to the sanctions list, but yesterday we learned that the government had only seized one asset in six months. The Liberals claim sanctions are a key piece of our foreign response, but there is no enforcement, there is no investigation and there is…
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Mr. Speaker, first I would like to give my congratulations to my colleague for the addition to his family. What a joyous occasion. I would also like to tell him that I will likely be singing Dolly Parton for the rest of the day. I am not sure if that is a blessing or a curse. My colleague spoke at the beginning about whether we needed this piece of legislation. The leader of the Conservative Party…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a great pleasure to stand in this place to represent the constituents of Edmonton Strathcona. It is my first time standing this session, so I want to wish everyone a late happy new and welcome them back to the House of Commons. I am quite delighted that I get an opportunity to stand today to contribute to this debate. It is one of the most fundamental pieces of legislatio…
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