Parliamentary Speeches

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Tibetan community in Canada, as we mark the end of Asian Heritage Month. In the 1970s and 1980s, Canada opened its doors to Tibetan refugees, offering them a chance to rebuild their lives. They were trailblazers. Many were the first non-European refugees to be permanently resettled in Canada as part of a government-sponsored refugee program. Since that ti…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, increases in duties such as those on alcohol can sometimes provide predictability to businesses. However, as all members of this House know, we are in an unusually high inflation situation. On April 1, the excise inflation adjustment on alcohol was set to increase by 6.3%. I am asking the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance to tell this House what the government is d…

Statements By Members

Madam Speaker, on March 10, 2021, this House unanimously adopted Motion No. 18. It is the month of March, and that can only mean one thing: It is Irish Heritage Month. As we celebrate the contributions the Irish have made to building our country, I encourage Canadians in every city and town to take a look in their own community to see that Irish fingerprints are everywhere. From contributing to ou…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I have been sitting on the special MAID committee with the member for some time, and I appreciate his contribution. I take issue when he said that the conversations have been heated and personal. I do not remember it being that way. There were passionate discussions, but it was certainly never personal. I hope he did not find that I ever contributed to that impression. We can disagr…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I rise today concerning the recent by-election in Mississauga—Lakeshore. First, I would like to thank the former MP Sven Spengemann for his seven years of stellar service. This week we elected his successor. I offer my sincere thanks to all the volunteers and candidates for participating in this election and working so hard. It was a tough election for many reasons, not the least of w…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I was born in Thunder Bay, and one of my fondest memories is the time spent with my dad and two brothers walking through the bush on a beautiful fall day. I am proud to say that I am hunter. I would not trade those memories for anything, and I would not want to deny anybody else the opportunity to make them. This is in no way inconsistent with the legislation before the House that wou…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, speaking truth to power is not always easy, but it is necessary. Canadians take inspiration from human rights defenders and leaders like Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who have the courage to speak up for what is right. Her actions, as well as those of Ukrainians, serve as a reminder that we must work together to create the world we want to live in. Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs upda…

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour a member of our Hill family who recently left us. For over 33 years, Luce Cousineau served us diligently and faithfully in the parliamentary restaurant. Her warm smile and laugh greeted us and her impeccable service took care of MPs, senators and staff from all sides of the House. She had discerning taste, earning her the nickname “Chef Cousineau” with her colle…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, the day was September 28, 1972. The time was 2:30 p.m. It was the third period. There were 34 seconds left to play, and the goal heard around the world won the critical game between Canada and the Soviet Union. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series. The players were legends then and they are legends now. While Paul Henderson scored seven times in eight games, even …

Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in this House. It is particularly so today, given the reason we are here. It is always a pleasure to speak when you are in the chair, I might add. Last week, when the world learned of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I thought back in history to Winston Churchill, who was the prime minister upon her becoming queen and the prime minister w…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I have risen many times in the chamber to celebrate the important relationship between Canada and Ireland. This week is the first-ever Canada regional conference. It is hosted by the Irish embassy in Ottawa and brings together Irish honorary consuls and the trade promotion agencies from across Canada. Representatives from Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Ireland are meeting to…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I too arrived here in 2015 with the member for Mississauga—Lakeshore. I had the honour of knowing him before we were elected. I share a boundary with him; his riding is next door to mine. Most politicians, in my experience, arrive here very impressed with themselves. The member, on the other hand, is very rare. He has the combination of a massive intellect and humility. I want to than…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, residents in my riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore continue to watch in horror as Russia pursues its war of aggression against Ukraine. The courage shown by the people of Ukraine is inspiring. Canadians expect our government to do everything it can to support their fight for freedom and democracy. Can the Prime Minister update this House on his recent visit to Kyiv with the Deputy Prime Mi…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, distress centres are life-saving resources in our communities, which have seen a surge in demand for their services since the onset of the pandemic. In my riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore, the assaulted women's helpline recently received a much-needed infusion of $250,000 of federal support. This organization operates two crisis lines. One is for women who are experiencing domestic and g…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, today, March 1 marks the launch of Irish Heritage Month. Last March 10, this chamber unanimously adopted my motion. I am grateful to the House for its support in recognizing the many contributions that Canadians of Irish descent have made to building this country into what it is today. The political and economic relationships between our two countries are strong, and the cultural ties…

Government Orders

Madam Chair, the short answer is yes, I will. I have. These issues have been discussed by me and all of my colleagues. As the member knows, tomorrow is the first day of Irish Heritage Month and that is important to me. Ireland did just that last week. It is an issue that we are talking about. It is something I would like to see done.

Government Orders

Madam Chair, I genuinely want to thank the member for that question because one of the most powerful moments in question period for me today was when the first question posed by the Bloc was not “Why haven't you done this? Why haven't you done that?” It was “What can we do to help? What can we do to work together to help stand with Ukraine?” That was very powerful, so I thank her for the question …

Government Orders

Madam Chair, that is a very, very important question. Everything has to be done. I can remember several years ago the former member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre talked about removing Russia from the SWIFT system. That is being done now. Sanctions have been imposed on many of the oligarchs. They have been imposed on President Putin himself. I believe they are working. I believe we need to do …

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time tonight with the hon. member for London North Centre. I want to start by again thanking members of the opposition and from all parties for agreeing to this debate tonight, because were it not for our unity of purpose, we would not be having this discussion tonight. I am rising to speak on an issue that none of us want to be talking about. It is as simple as tha…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I, like the hon. member, believe in peaceful protest. I, like him, believe that we should try to de-escalate when possible. I have participated in peaceful protests before. If I ever attended one where others showed up who detracted from my message and, in fact, damaged my ability to deliver that message, I would leave. That is what we have seen in the past weeks in Ottawa. They did…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, it is customary when we start a speech to say we are honoured to stand and are privileged to do so, but today is not one of those days. I do not believe anybody is happy about having to stand or sit and speak to the issues we are dealing with. In fact, it is very unfortunate. I do not intend to repeat what others have said. We have been doing this for four days. I am not going to gi…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, this question sums up the whole problem that we have been facing for two years. Everybody likes blaming everybody else and taking credit for things they had nothing to do with. People throughout this camp in this two-year process have been saying this person moved too quickly or this person moved too slowly, when what they should have been doing was sitting down with each other and …

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, this is a very serious issue, and when someone breaks the law, there are very serious consequences. What this act does is give police the legal authorities across the country to protect us and our constituencies from people who are working behind the scenes, including people donating to this cause for the wrong purposes. Rights are protected. It is right in the legislation. The memb…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I apologize. The answer stands for itself. I will retract the use of that word and replace it with something more appropriate.

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, the answer is yes. I alluded to this earlier in a question. There is a message out there. People have opposing views. I respect those views, but if the people with whom I stand are suddenly hijacked by people who are doing something wrong and have a message that is inappropriate, we need to walk away and separate those messages so that we can—

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, that is an excellent question. The short answer is no, of course not. It does not affect the people in my community or the communities of anybody in the House today, or stop them from carrying on with their normal lives. People are free to come and go and do what they want. Freedom to protest does not mean parking at the end of my driveway, honking your horn for weeks on end so that…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour Wendell Wigle, who sadly passed in January. He proudly hailed from Windsor, graduated from Osgoode Hall in 1959 and began a career in law that he dearly loved. I met him and had the honour of working with him at Hughes Amys. The man, or “W”, as he was known, was a giant. He was an icon: intimidating and inspirational at the same time. Most of all, he was a true …

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Mr. Ralph Chiodo of Etobicoke—Lakeshore on his recent appointment to the Order of Canada. Honoured for his community engagement, generous philanthropy and leadership in the automotive industry, Mr. Chiodo came to Canada as a teenage immigrant from Italy, landing in Halifax at Pier 21. Through hard work and dedication, he became a successful entrepreneur, f…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, first of all, I am going to disagree with his characterization of the situation. There has been no diminished contribution. Canada has been there with Ukraine since the beginning. This goes back to 2014 with the invasion of Crimea. We have been talking about support of military lethal weapons. Canada did not do it then. The opposition is asking us to do it now. Military support comes in…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition accused the minister of returning from Ukraine having made empty promises and using empty words. I am looking at a tweet from none other than the defence minister of Ukraine talking about the centuries-old friendship between Canada and Ukraine, and thanking her, our Minister of National Defence and the Prime Minister for delivering on upping the campaign i…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank all members of the House tonight, as this debate would not be taking place if it were not for the unanimous agreement of all members in this chamber. I believe the reason we have that unanimous consent is that we stand united in purpose to stand with Ukraine. We need to remember that throughout this debate. I rise today in support of Ukraine and of the initiatives …

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, we heard the Prime Minister earlier this evening address that very issue. Canada is very proud to support the initiative to make sure women form part of the training exercise. If we look at Operation Unifier, women formed part of that training. International development programs that Canada has supported and has been part of have put great emphasis on that very issue. It is quite clear …

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, with all due respect, to suggest there has been a shortfall by Canada on the diplomacy front is simply wrong. Our foreign affairs minister was in Ukraine last week. Our defence minister left Ukraine hours ago. She is going to Brussels as we speak to engage in further diplomatic discussions. That is exactly the approach Canada is trying to take. To answer the question as to what is a pri…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I am going to get right to the last point the member made. She raised the issue about capital gains tax on principal residences. Everybody on this side of the House has said at every opportunity that this will never happen. The finance minister has said it will never happen. The Prime Minister has said it will never happen. Will she commit to stop saying this when she knows it is not …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, owning a home is a long-held dream for many Canadians, but it has become out of reach for many, especially young Canadians. I heard this at the doorsteps in Etobicoke—Lakeshore during the campaign. Canadians were given a choice in this election and we know what they chose. Can the Minister of Housing share with the House how our government is going to make that dream more affordable?

Speech from the Throne

Madam Speaker, my question arises from the first minute and a half of the member's speech when he was talking about his personal experience running a restaurant business and how much he appreciated the ability to carry on. Can we work together and will he support Bill C-2?

Speech from the Throne

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member on his election victory and his inaugural comments in the House. They were very well done. I have had occasion to spend some time with him outside this House. As he points out, he is from a small town but he clearly has a large personality and will contribute greatly to this House. In fact, during some of our discussions, I thought we saw eye to eye on…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, two reports of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association. The first concerns its participation at the third part of the 2021 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held by video conference from June 21 to June 24. The second concerns its participation at t…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, congratulations on being in the chair. I also congratulate my friend, the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge, on his re-election, and his lovely wife Rose and his, now, three beautiful children, particularly his youngest daughter Leia. Although, given the timing of Leia's birth, I wonder if a hybrid Parliament is in the member's best interests if he really does want to cap the family at th…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am very sorry to hear about the events in the member's riding today, and my heart goes out to all those affected. I am glad to see him. I am glad to see everybody in this room. I have not hugged him yet, but I might before the week is out. I agree with much of what the member said today. There has been a lot of rhetoric in the last 24 hours on this motion. The rhetoric was amped u…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, Summer is off to a fast start in Etobicoke—Lakeshore. To be clear, I am talking about Summer McIntosh, the 14-year-old swimming dynamo. At the 2021 Canadian Olympic swimming trials this past weekend, she made history, winning the women's 200-metre freestyle. Not only did she secure herself a spot to represent Canada this summer in Tokyo, but Summer now holds the fastest 200-metre free…