Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, over 3.6 million people have fled Putin's destruction in Ukraine. They are desperately trying to unite with friends and family, and find safety, including here in Canada. Even though older identity documents are supposed to be recognized in the fast track visa process, Ukrainians with an older internal passport are unable to complete the government's online application process. My con…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are faced with a housing crisis, yet under the Liberals' rental construction program, affordable housing often ends up being 30% to 120% above the average market rent. It is scandalous. Nearly half of the housing the Liberals promised is expected to come from this program, and 90% of the funding has gone to for-profit developers. Canadians deserve better. Will the government…
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Mr. Speaker, thousands of Afghans were in refugee camps in Ukraine. Now, they are now forced to flee their second humanitarian crisis as Putin invades the country. Kamila Safi walked hours to the border less than 48 hours after she gave birth. Her family was rejected six times trying to leave Ukraine at the Slovakia-Poland border. They faced racial discrimination. Their application to seek refuge …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, clearly this motion is not really focused on the urgent needs of Ukrainians. Today the minister made some announcements about immigration measures for Ukrainians. I wonder whether the member would agree that extending those same measures, such as family sponsorship reunification, to Afghans as well as Ukrainians would be a step in the right direction. Similarly, it could be extended…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is extremely disturbing that the Conservatives have chosen to put forward a motion that is more focused on their political agenda than on the humanitarian crisis that is before us. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is calling for the government to expedite the refugee process and to simplify family reunification and visa-free travel. Should we not be focused on these measures inste…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Dufferin—Caledon for his bill as well. There are many issues we need to address with respect to the parent and grandparent reunification process. Until we get there, I think this is a good interim measure. One thing the member did not include in his bill is the opportunity for families whose parent and grandparent sponsorship application process was re…
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Mr. Speaker, more than half of Canadians say they are struggling with the cost of living. Yesterday, a report from the National Housing Council confirmed that the government is not making housing more affordable for Canadians. It also said that the Liberal government's national housing strategy is only meeting a fraction of the existing need. After six years of half measures, the housing affordabi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, the NDP has always seen family reunification as a pivotal component of Canada's immigration system. All families want to do is be reunited with their loved ones, and they should not have to go through such hardship to be with their parents or grandparents, who are every bit a part of the family unit as what we have come to call immediate family. In western culture, the nuclear famil…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, that was a very moving speech and we all feel it. It is important to note that everyone in the House stands with Ukraine and Ukrainians in our communities and abroad. Something that is really important for a lot of people is that Ukrainians do not require visas to travel to 114 countries, including most of Europe. Ireland announced that recently as well. The NDP has been calling for t…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Surrey Centre for his motion. As he knows, part of the problem with our immigration system is that, over the years, Canada has changed the permanent immigration stream for economic workers to only high-skilled workers. The reality is that Canada needs the full range of workers. As we learned in the COVID period, many of these workers are, in fact, essential. The…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the House today regarding Motion No. 44. From our time together at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration during previous sessions, it is clear to me that the member for Surrey Centre is passionate about improving Canada's immigration system. This motion highlights that well. I congratulation the member on being number one. My colleagues in the …
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching in horror as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians seek refuge from the unprovoked Russian invasion. The Liberals cannot recreate the disaster in Afghanistan, where those who risked everything to help our country were left behind. The European Union and, most recently, Ireland have already waived the requirements for visas for Ukrainians, and the NDP has been call…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, the member's speech was very thoughtful, measured and passionate. Like him, in my riding of Vancouver East, the Vancouver branch of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians also stands with the people of Ukraine and has been calling for a peaceful resolution. Their hearts bleed for the fact that their family and friends are in this horrible situation. The Canadian government has …
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Madam Chair, today, a constituent in my riding of Vancouver East contacted our office. They have not been able to bring their loved ones to Canada. They have been stuck in the immigration system for more than two years because of the backlog in applications. Now that they are in this situation, obviously there is urgency. The quickest way for individuals to get to safety with their loved ones is v…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, one of the issues I am very cognizant of is, of course, the variety of measures that the Canadian government needs to put in place to support Ukrainians. With respect to immigration, the government has announced that some efforts have been made. However, we also just learned that the government is not putting additional resources to support that work within IRCC. If we do not put addi…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the member cited a lot of people in his speech, but I wonder what he thinks about the comments from former Conservative MP Peter MacKay and Senator Vern White, who said: ...what we have seen in the occupation of Ottawa and blockages at border crossings is not the right of protest enshrined in our constitution, but illegal activity that represents a national security and economic thr…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I am sharing time with the member for Victoria. It is with a heavy heart that I speak to the House today. In what is becoming a phrase used far too often over the last two years, we find ourselves in yet another unprecedented situation. How did we get to the point when the Emergencies Act needed to be used? The fact that we are here debating this is indicative of the fact that all lev…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, of course the situation had escalated. If the Prime Minister had intervened and not sat on his hands for as long as he did and pass the buck to jurisdictions, we might have been able to avert the situation. The fact is that the Prime Minister did not act, and here we are in a situation where it is necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act. We know what is going on, and we are seeing wha…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Actually, Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed with the Conservatives and their actions to date, in some cases cheering on the occupation. That is the reality that has escalated the situation. The New Democrats have been clear right from the start that we will ensure that powers are not abused. What is happening right now and was happening in the last three weeks is an illegal occupation. Under what cir…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, New Democrats have called for measures for the government to ensure, for example, the issue of money laundering and how it is being used and how it has impacted Canada for a long time now and the government has not acted. The member is right that we need to see accountability with these measures and we will continue to pursue that. I also want to note something for the Conservative fr…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her advocacy for Canadians and particularly for people in her community. There is no question that we need to listen to the science and respect health authorities and their advice to us. If we all do that, we can all get out of this and, yes, by then we should be able to end the mandate. I would ask people to please get vaccinated so we can see an end to the man…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it was made clear early on during the occupation that crowdfunding and cryptocurrency were being used to fund illegal activities. This demonstrated a concerning gap in the reporting requirements. Why did the government not take immediate action to ensure that the proceeds of crime and terrorist financing regulations were updated, so that these companies are not exempt from reporting…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, one thing that struck me as I was listening to the member's comments was that it seems to me the Conservative members are not taking any responsibility for their part in escalating the situation. There is no question that the Prime Minister did not act. He sat on his hands for far too long and let the situation get way out of control, to the point where people's safety was literally p…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, one of the issues the member did not touch on was the impact of this illegal occupation on the residents. It took a private citizen to bring the matter to court. In fact, it was reported in the media that she was threatened and attacked. Do the members have any comments for the residents who suffered through all of this, who received threats and harassment? What are his comments? Do t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Major-General Fraser said Canada pulled out of Afghanistan way too early, and 10,000 Afghan interpreters and their families have been left behind. He also said the Liberals failed to provide a whole-of-government plan to help resettle them. While our allies are on the ground helping Afghans get to safety, the current government is sending emails telling Afghans to somehow get to a thi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as we know, many seniors are caught in this predicament because they are the lowest income seniors. Single seniors on GIS make a little over $19,000 a year. Those who are partnered get about $25,000 a year. The only reason they had to go to work was to supplement their income, and during COVID many of them lost their jobs. That is why they are caught in this predicament. With this i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, New Democrats support expediting this bill. In fact we called for action even before the election last year and it all fell on deaf ears. The one thing I do regret is the slowness of the government's reaction because many seniors have already been impacted. That being said, one thing we have learned from the pandemic is that low-income seniors, those who rely on the GIS, cannot make e…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as the parliamentary secretary just mentioned, this is a simple fix. This, of course, could have been done before the last election. It was something the NDP brought to the government's attention as a critical issue for seniors. Of course, the government did not do that and the election happened. Even after the election, it is not until now that this bill is being brought forward. Wit…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague, the NDP critic for seniors, raised many issues that seniors in my community of Vancouver East are experiencing. They cannot understand how it is possible that the Liberal government continues to ignore their pleas for help. The government knew the GIS cut was going to hurt seniors, that it was going to displace them and render them homeless and unable to survive. With …
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Madam Speaker, like Alberta, in British Columbia we also do not know how many rapid tests we are getting, and individuals are having a tough time accessing them. I personally experienced that with my children, and for myself. From that perspective, it would be very useful if the parliamentary secretary could provide information to all members of Parliament with respect to how many rapid tests have…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the cost of the TMX jumped from $4.5 billion to $12.6 billion, based on cost updates from two years ago. In the last two years, there have been significant delays in construction because of COVID‑19, forest fires and floods, failed HDD river crossings in the Thompson and Fraser rivers, and numerous environmental law violations. The commercial viability of TMX was on shaky ground befor…
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member for the trip down memory lane with respect to the Harper administration and its approach to addressing the drug addiction issue. It failed and the Supreme Court struck it down. However, now we are here in 2022, and it is within the Liberal government's authority to move forward and not adopt the approach the Conservatives took. The government can do so by supporting t…
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Mr. Speaker, the situation before us really highlights big corporations' ability over time to get special treatment and, in this instance, a tax exemption. The NDP absolutely agrees with the motion and we think this should be addressed forthwith. The other question it raises is the issue of tax fairness. Many corporations today have special treatment from the government and can exercise a variety …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the heart of the issue is, of course, around tax fairness. We are seeing a situation dated long ago with a big corporation, CP Rail, able to get a tax exemption. As it stands today, big corporations are able to get all kinds of loopholes and preferential tax treatment from the government. It is time, I believe, and the NDP strongly believes, that we close all these tax loopholes, and …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say a big thanks to the member for Courtenay—Alberni for bringing his private member's bill forward. Vancouver East has been trying to raise this issue for many years now. In fact, I still recall the late Bud Osborn, who spearheaded the harm reduction approach and called for decriminalization decades ago. VANDU in my riding has been very active on this issue and has been con…
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Madam Chair, I know that whenever we raise the issue of needing to advance decriminalization and safe supply people say there is no silver bullet. Nobody ever said that this would be a silver bullet. We need a whole host of tools, but first and foremost I have to say this. Dead people do not detox. We need to keep them alive. We need to save lives, and maybe there will be a process for them that o…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, the member says he does not take his marching orders from the United States. With the convoy, what we are understanding is that there is a lot of money coming from the United States. Does he agree that should be stopped? In fact, this is going to be brought up at committee as an issue from the NDP. Would he agree that funding from the United States should not be going to the convoy an…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, one of the issues that the member raised was centred around housing affordability. The Conservatives talk a lot about housing and the inflationary costs. However, it seems to me that the housing they are talking about, in terms of supply, is not necessarily housing that can be affordable to Canadians who are in need. I would argue that those who are in core need would not be able to a…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the issues that the member raises is inflation and that ties into the cost of housing. Along with inflation, there are many factors impacting the huge rise in the cost of housing. Part of that is the financialization of housing where people are treating housing as though it is a stock market. REITs are part of the problem, and the government has not taken any action with respec…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member about support for seniors. He talked about not having government spending, but one of the things the NDP has been calling for, even before the election, is for the government to support seniors and not claw back their GIS. This is because seniors are getting evicted and rendered homeless at this point in time. Does the member think the Liberal government…
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Madam Speaker, the phone lines are not clear in what prompts to follow and the number to press for the CWLB. Callers are put on hold for hours, and then when they finally get through, they are navigated to the wrong menu, only to have to start all over again. The phone system is not set up in the same way that it was for the CERB or the CRB where one—
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to engage in this debate, but let me first address another issue. I am so very disgusted by the images and displays of Nazi symbols and the use of the Confederate flag and other such hate symbols by those participating in the convoy. This is absolutely despicable, especially in light of the fact that racial and systemic inequity has been exacerbated with…
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Madam Speaker, I will pick up where I was before the technical issues. I was outlining the problems my constituents were having in their application for the benefits they need because of the pandemic. One constituent advised my office of their experience when they attempted to apply online. They were prompted to enter their postal code, which showed that they were from British Columbia. Even thoug…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, New Democrats were raising this issue even before the election, saying that seniors will be suffering because the GIS will be cut. The government did not take any action. It said it was going to do something about it in May. Well, seniors are being evicted right now, so that is not good enough. Aside from that, seniors actually need a boost in their incomes, not a differential treat…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Liberal government and the Conservatives over the years have actually co-opted the word “affordable”. In fact, some people actually think that this is a four-letter word, because there is no longer anything affordable, and saying that rentals being made available way above market are somehow affordable is an insult. That is what has to stop. We need to provide rent that meets co…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the measure the government introduced is minuscule, given the crisis we are faced with. A 1% tax is barely going to do it. What we are faced with is a huge financialization of housing, in which housing is being treated as though it is the stock market. Yes, we need a foreign buyers tax; actually, we need to ban foreign buyers at this point in time. We need to stop the financializati…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would like to go back to the issue of seniors. I raised a question with the member's colleague, the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge, regarding the problems my constituents in Vancouver East are faced with. There are seniors who are facing eviction and getting the runaround from officials who are telling them to contact Service Canada to send in a form, which we all know will not hel…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after the government abandoned people who risked their lives to help us, millions of Afghans, including children, are on the brink of starvation. We learned yesterday that Canadian organizations, like World Vision Canada, are unable to deliver food and aid to children suffering from malnutrition. They cannot help for fear of prosecution from Canada's anti-terrorism laws. The U.S. and …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, in my riding of Vancouver East, I have a great number of seniors who are absolutely desperate because their GIS is being cut or reduced. It is so confusing. One of my constituents has been referred by government agents to go to Service Canada to get a form to see if he could get his GIS restored, even though that process would not work for him. He is frustrated beyond measure and no…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the National Housing Strategy, broken down by type of applicant (e.g. non-profit, for-profit, Indigenous organization), stream (e.g. new construction, revitalization), stage (e.g. letter of intent, finalized agreement, servicing), date of the submission, province, number of units, number of units for Indigenous households, whether or not construction has been completed, and the doll…
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