Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will give an example of the challenges that, in British Columbia, and in Vancouver more specifically, we are faced with. With the francophone community, particularly in the education sector, the federal government actually can ensure that provinces receive significant increases in funding to backstop this. Do members know what we are reduced to in our education system for children w…
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Mr. Speaker, the last petition that I am tabling has been signed by 25 people, including several constituents of my Vancouver East riding, who share with me their support and calls to the House regarding Bill C-218. The petitioners say Canadians with mental illness should be provided with treatment and support, mental illness is complex and can include suicidal ideation as a symptom, and they are …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C-30, the spring economic update 2026 implementation act. As parliamentarians, our responsibility is to examine not only what the government has chosen to include in an economic update, but also what it has chosen to leave out. Bill C-30 would implement selected measures announced in the spring economic update, but budgets and economic updates are not technical…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to table three petitions today. The first petition is signed by electors of Vancouver Fraserview–South Burnaby and Vancouver Quadra, who brought their petitions to their local MPs but had to ask for my assistance to table this in the House. The petitioners have raised many concerns about fracked methane gas and liquefied methane gas, or LNG, including the severe emissions and h…
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Mr. Speaker, the petitioners are asking for the government to terminate the safe third country agreement in accordance with article 10 of the agreement and, finally, to instruct the Canada Border Services Agency to change its policy so that it no longer enforces the safe third country agreement.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his advocacy for his community. It is absolutely essential that all parliamentarians stand up for all workers. Migrant workers have been abused in this country. Frankly, both the Liberals and Conservatives, when it was convenient for them, brought in temporary foreign workers so they could bring down wages, suppress wages. In fact, the UN rapporteur actually s…
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by Canadians who are concerned about Canada's safe third country agreement with the United States. They note that Canadian law offers safe haven to persons with a well-founded fear of persecution. They also note that a continual review of all countries designated as safe third countries should be required to ensure that the conditions that led to that des…
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Mr. Speaker, the people sleeping outside tonight cannot wait. The seniors choosing between food and medication cannot wait, and the constituents facing administrative collapse in a federal compensation program cannot wait. Budgets reveal values, and this bill reveals them clearly. Canadians deserve an economy built on fairness, transparency and delivery, not on delay and indifference. They deserve…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is actually on top of so many of the issues, and he is absolutely spot-on. The Liberal government and the Prime Minister snuck into an omnibus bill, Bill C-30, a tiny sliver of reference that they would be taking away critical regulation and regulatory practices that ensure that our food system is safe with respect to pesticides. This is what the government is doing. Supp…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are patting themselves on the back and think they are doing so well, because their focus is all on the big corporations. It is about the CEOs. The government is shovelling support to all of them, but everyday Canadians are all being left behind. The fact is that the divide in wealth is becoming greater and greater between the haves and—
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Mr. Speaker, the Indian Residential School Survivors Society has provided support to indigenous peoples harmed by Canada's colonial systems. They were promised by Indigenous Services Canada that they would receive confirmation for their two-year funding by mid-May. Today there has been no action and their funding ends on July 1. Can the parliamentary secretary explain why?
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite interesting, actually. In this sitting, in these last two weeks, the government has brought down the guillotine for significant major legislation, including Bill C-22, and we are poised to rise, probably by the end of today, I suspect. What is left on the agenda, which was not actually a priority for the government to push through, is the bill on apprenticeship to support …
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP would also like to make sure that it is on the record that the NDP members do not support Bill C-22, likewise to my colleague from the Greens.
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Madam Speaker, I have been a parliamentarian in this House for 10 years, and prior to that provincially for 19 years. I have never seen a government embark on this kind of process in such an aggressive way, setting aside the basic rights, civil liberties and privacy rights of Canadians, setting aside valid legal experts' concerns, civil liberty advocates' concerns, privacy experts' concerns and a …
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Madam Speaker, I rise to speak to this important moment regarding Bill C-22. Of course, the government has brought down the sledgehammer, the guillotine, to shut down debate. Bill C-22 is a version of its predecessor, Bill C-2, the so-called strong borders act, which was an offensive, omnibus bill that was dead on arrival. It immediately generated widespread opposition from the public, with tens o…
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Madam Speaker, the Privacy Commissioner actually appeared as a witness at the committee and offered suggestions. I also contacted the Privacy Commissioner after Bill C‑22 was tabled and asked whether they had any comments about the bill. They provided comments on C‑2, which the government took into consideration. However, I think that there is much work to be done. I wonder why the government reje…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate what the Conservatives are trying to do, which is to bring more debate on part 2 of the bill. However, the premise of the amendment is still framed in terms of bringing in closure on debate. That is what I am challenged with. I do not think we should be bringing in closure to any parts of this bill. The two parts go hand in hand and are important, so we should take the …
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Madam Speaker, the NDP submitted dozens of amendments. I believe that those amendments, along with some from other parties, would achieve that goal to develop proportionality and bring some balance to this legislation. The amendments would not fix everything, but they would be a good start for the government to adopt opposition member amendments, and not just go forward with government or Liberal …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition, initiated by Ms. Sharon McIvor, calling on the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-2 as amended by the Senate without further delay and to end sex- and race-based discrimination in the Indian Act, as well as the second-generation cut-off, now. A similar petition with the same language, e-petition 7200, was sponsored by the member for Nunavut and filed w…
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Madam Speaker, I just want to acknowledge and thank my colleague as well. I am not a regular attendee of the SECU committee. However, on Bill C-22 I listened to all the exchanges and debates. I have to say my colleague from the Bloc was superb in many of her interventions. With respect to the amendments that were made, the NDP also moved an amendment related to the issue of “reasonable grounds to …
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Madam Speaker, it is very unusual for me, as a New Democrat, to agree with the Conservatives. On this bill, the Conservatives, the NDP, the Greens and the Bloc are all offering the same voice. What message does that send to the government? I think the message is that the government got it wrong. To the member's question about businesses being worried, yes, some of them have indicated to me that th…
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Mr. Speaker, to the point where they are making disruptive noises that interfere with the debate in the House, that is inappropriate. Let me just conclude my comments here. The government wants to ram this through. The Liberals want unanimous consent from all the parties to somehow magically just support them in whatever they want to do, but we actually want accountability. We want the government …
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Mr. Speaker, I was once actually in government at the provincial level, at a time when the federal Liberal government cancelled the national affordable housing program. What did New Democrats do provincially? We continued to deliver housing in spite of that. When I was elected and became a cabinet minister, what did we do? We actually grew the money from the Province of British Columbia alone, wit…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that intervention. It is kind of outrageous, is it not? We are here at 10:50 p.m., and the Liberals are partying in the lobby area.
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Mr. Speaker, that is precisely the point. There would be no accountability measures. There would be nothing to which one can say that using $1.7 billion of taxpayers' money would generate a specific return for the people in Canada. There would be zero accountability measures and zero targets. There is none of that information whatsoever in the bill. As I was saying earlier, I was trying to get fro…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C-26, at 10:33 p.m. This will be the last time members of Parliament will get to debate the bill because the government has brought down the guillotine to shut down debate. What is this bill? It is an act to authorize certain payments to be made out of the consolidated revenue fund for the purpose of improving housing supply. That sounds good. At the outset, le…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, my constituent suffered a debilitating vaccine injury. He is in constant pain and permanently disabled. Oxaro approved his $26,000 medical and home support costs back in February. He has yet to be reimbursed. He is now broke and being evicted. The health minister says to contact the Public Health Agency of Canada. PHAC says it is in transition and will not even look at the file unti…
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Madam Speaker, I am sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I rise today on behalf of the people of Vancouver East, and on behalf of millions of Canadians, who are asking a very simple question. In one of the richest countries in the world, why is it becoming harder, not easier, to afford a place to live? What an opportunity this is to do the right thing and to build truly afford…
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Madam Speaker, there is a great need for a full range of housing, and that includes supportive housing. The truth of the matter is that building housing in and of itself is insufficient. We have to have the supports in place as well for a certain segment of the community, for example, those who are faced with multiple health issues, including addictions issues, mental health issues and so on. Supp…
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Madam Speaker, in Canada we have CMHC specifically designed to deliver housing. Now the government is coming forward with an act for Build Canada Homes, another Crown corporation, to deliver housing, yet in this bill there are no accountability measures, no targets and no affordability requirements. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Budget Officer projects that Build Canada Homes would only build aroun…
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly the point. There is no accountability in the bill. It does not even name the minister responsible for ensuring the deliverability. It does not actually say what the government is trying to do. How many units will it build and in which provinces? What are the targets the government will set? The bill does not even ensure that the government delivers on letting Canadia…
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Madam Speaker, the NDP has been a strong advocate of the federal government's getting back to building social housing and co-op housing like it used to, before the Liberals cancelled the national affordable housing program prior to 1993. That is what I want to see in place. The build Canada homes act fails in its blueprint and the details on how it would actually deliver affordability, social hous…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has sidelined Bill S-2 as amended, despite a court-ordered deadline to end sex- and race-based discrimination and the second-generation cut-off in the Indian Act. The UN has called on Canada to fix this by adopting Bill S-2 as amended. The majority of first nations agree and do not want more consultation. Officials and ministers say it is up to the Prime Ministe…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague raised a number of very important points and amendments that should have been considered but were not, at the committee. I wonder, because she was running out of time to finish her comments, if she could further elaborate on some other issues that she thinks members of Parliament should hear.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, people in Vancouver East want the federal government to stop the “invest now, regulate later” approach of the Prime Minister's AI data factory strategy. People are deeply concerned that the proposed AI data centres in dense residential neighbourhoods would bring constant air pollution from on-site diesel generators, 24-7 noise and impacts on water. It makes no sense to have water-inte…
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Mr. Speaker, I asked the immigration minister if she would do what France, Ireland, Belgium and Germany had done and evacuate 130 Palestinian students with university acceptance and scholarships with deferred biometrics and grant them emergency travel documents. The minister said, “we have directed officials to accelerate the student visa processing for people in Gaza, and I can confirm the decisi…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a question of privilege concerning information provided to Parliament by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship during committee of the whole proceedings on Thursday, May 28, 2026. During those proceedings, I asked the minister about approximately 130 Palestinian graduate students from Gaza who have been waiting for nearly two years for decisions on thei…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada signed a police co-operation agreement with China behind closed doors. The RCMP reportedly revealed that Canada cannot publicly disclose details of the MOU without Beijing's approval. The foreign affairs minister said she spoke frankly with the Chinese foreign affairs minister about human rights abuses, foreign interference and transnational repression activities last week. Chi…
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And the answer is also no. Mr. Chair, is the minister monitoring the use of ACAs for individuals returned to the U.S. under the safe third country agreement in violation of the safe third country agreement? Has the minister requested assurances from the U.S. authorities that ACAs are not in use for detainees?
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Mr. Chair, will the minister offer biometric solutions and alternatives for this program?
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Mr. Chair, 130 highly qualified Palestinian postgrad students have waited for two years for their study visa with no decision or timeline. Many face requirements that are impossible to meet under the war conditions, including biometrics and extended security screening. France, Ireland, Belgium and Germany successfully evacuated students who received university scholarships without pre-departure bi…
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That is a no, then. Mr. Chair, is the minister maintaining data on ICE detention for individuals Canada transferred to U.S. authorities?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise to table two petitions today. The first is in support of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. The petition has been signed by more than 2,600 people calling on the Government of Canada to honour the TRC calls to action and the national inquiry for women and girls. Petitioners are calling for the government to respect residential school survivors, their families an…
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Madam Speaker, the second petition I am tabling is signed by Canadians from communities including Vancouver, Surrey, Toronto, Ottawa and Gatineau. Petitioners are concerned that Trump's military is bombarding small boats and their crews in the Caribbean and in the Pacific Ocean, claiming without evidence that they are narco-terrorists. Such actions are illegal, they have noted, yet Canadian-made e…
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Mr. Chair, there is a requirement for cabinet to ensure an ongoing review of the safe third country agreement. Has cabinet reviewed the safe third country agreement since the U.S. implemented mandatory detention without review by a judge for large categories of the refugee claimants returned to the U.S., third-country pass-through deportations and deportations under the dubious asylum co-operative…
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Mr. Chair, with the special immigration measure for Gazans to date, how many names has the government submitted to the governments of Israel and Egypt to request official exit clearance?
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Mr. Chair, it is no wonder the Conservatives are calling for that minister's resignation. She cannot answer one question in seven and a half minutes. Since the immigration levels plan has put all three of these groups under the H and C and other category quota, how long does the minister think it will take to process all these applications?
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Mr. Chair, that was not my question. I am asking how many names have been submitted to the Israeli and Egyptian authorities. Maybe her officials can help her.
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Mr. Chair, I am getting a migraine. I am actually asking for the backlog numbers. Will the minister answer the question?
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Mr. Chair, it is a yes-or-no question.
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