Government Orders
Madam Speaker, that is precisely it. Some parties in the House are filibustering debate. What we are talking about here is a motion to change the title, adding time to the debate so that we are taking away important time to deal with other issues. This is repeated ad nauseam, over and again, to the point where we have to move forward on things, for example, the budget bill, to ensure that people g…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, as the member indicated, one of the issues that I certainly have a lot of problems with, in terms of the government's inaction, is Afghans who served Canada, who helped Canada to fulfill its missions, now have been left behind. Particularly, their family members and their loved ones have been left behind. The government put in an arbitrary quota for the number of Afghans who can be …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the issue around Afghans and bringing them to safety is something that is top of mind for many of us. In fact, just outside of West Block, there is an individual whose family members are being left behind. He was someone who served Canada, but is still not able to bring his loved ones here. The government put a cap on the number of Afghans, who had helped serve Canada to complete ou…
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Mr. Speaker, on the question of hybrid, the way in which the member was speaking was almost as though the only option is for members of Parliament to not show up in the chamber here to do the work. That is not the case. Hybrid is meant to allow for people to have an option. For example, I got COVID and had to be quarantined. What did I do? I used hybrid because it was important work that had to be…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member's speech, and I find it a bit rich for the member to say that hybrid is problematic because of the issues around interpretation. I noted last week that, when we were doing votes in the House, many of the Conservative members were out in the lobby, just steps away from the chamber. Instead of coming in to do the vote, they were doing it through hybrid.…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, international students who have been defrauded by crooked consultants should not be punished with deportation and inadmissibility based on misrepresentation. They have invested everything they have for a better future. They work hard and study hard, and they do so under very difficult conditions. They are under enormous strain, and their lives are in limbo. The Liberals can eliminate …
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Madam Speaker, I have moved everything away from the mike, so hopefully it is better. The climate crisis we are experiencing is very real. We have seen forest fires in many different communities and in my home community of British Columbia, this is not a strange occurrence for us. We have experienced the heat dome and then, of course, severe forest fires, as well. I was reminded today by an indige…
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Madam Speaker, the situation with the climate crisis is very real. We are seeing forest fires all across the country. In British Columbia, in my own home province, we certainly have experienced this—
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the hotel workers of Radisson Blu, formerly Pacific Gateway, held a rally on the two-year anniversary of the beginning of their strike, the longest strike ever in this industry. The employer used COVID-19 as an excuse and terminated 143 racialized women, or 70% of its workers. Some had worked there for over 40 years. They are the backbone of the hotel. Let us not kid ourselves. The em…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, 200 residents of a west end Toronto building are taking action against huge rent increases by their landlord. Their rent is being jacked up by 40% this fall. Seniors on fixed incomes, workers and families are worried sick they could end up on the street. Under the Liberals, rents have skyrocketed. We are now seeing rents double or even triple in communities. This is unacceptable. Will…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a petition calling on the Government of Canada and the Prime Minister to enact just transition legislation that reduces emissions by at least 60% below 2005 levels by 2030; winds down the fossil fuel industry and related infrastructure, ends fossil fuel subsidies and transitions to a decarbonized economy; creates new public economic institutions and expands public owne…
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Madam Speaker, the member mentioned the national advisory council, and the way he spoke about it, it was almost as though he was belittling it. The people who will be part of this advisory council are going to be the leading advocates for child care. To have them at the table is absolutely critical to make sure that we stay on the right path in ensuring that accessible, affordable, quality child c…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, for me, in Vancouver East, the issue with access to day care centres around three things. One, it is about affordability, so $10-a-day day care will make a difference for families. The other issue, of course, is about access to spaces and the creation of spaces, which is also critical, because there is a long wait-list of people trying to access day care for their children. Last but…
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Madam Speaker, I was just reading a report done by CCPA called The Harper Record. It says: Giving financial incentives to businesses to create spaces has been tried before and failed. It was such bad policy that even members of the minister's hand-picked advisory group raised objections and was roundly criticized when the government's policy folks conducted cross-country consultations on how it co…
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Madam Speaker, I should note also that I have been sanctioned by Russia. I am on its sanctions list, so this is the second round in which I am experiencing this. On the question, if the Prime Minister does not announce that he will proceed with a public inquiry, then he is sending a clear message that he is not taking this issue seriously. He is sending a clear message that he does not care whethe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the last I checked, David Christopherson is not the person doing this work in the House. I will say that on the record. The other thing is that I wonder if government members have read the report. The issue here is not about personality. The issue here is the work that has been done, and the report indicates a number of areas in which there are problems and concerns with the conclus…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to say very clearly that at no point did New Democrats bite their tongues with regard to this issue. The NDP, every single step of the way, demanded accountability and called on the government to do what is right. That is exactly what we have done. No one should take my word for it; everyone can check Hansard and PROC and see what the NDP did. The member representing us, the …
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Madam Speaker, I know that the Conservatives are blinded by partisanship, but the key issue here is that they seem to continually forget that it was the NDP, by the way, that first moved the motion to call for a public inquiry at committee and in the House. Here we are again, calling for Mr. Johnston to step down, for a public inquiry and for PROC to undertake this work. We are taking the issue se…
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Madam Speaker, what nonsense that is. It is not partisan politics; this is the report that was tabled by Mr. Johnston, and I am raising issues with the report. I will just go on and raise another issue with the report on the issue around the nomination of the member for Don Valley North. Mr. Johnston notes that irregularities were observed in the member for Don Valley North's nomination in the 201…
Read full speech →Government Orders
moved: That, given that, (i) the House called on the government to launch a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in Canada’s democratic system, on March 23 and May 8, 2023, (ii) the government did not heed this call, and instead appointed an independent special rapporteur who has recommended against holding a public inquiry, despite noting significant gaps and leaving many quest…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, foreign interference is real. It is happening here in Canada, and the Prime Minister has failed to address it. By refusing to implement an independent public inquiry into foreign interference, the Liberals are hurting people and our democracy. Their appointed rapporteur David Johnston does not have the confidence of the House. He must go. The Prime Minister needs to listen and do the …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to this Senate bill. First, I would just like to point out that the Conservative member who spoke earlier talked about how much the Conservatives support the bill. Of course, they could really show that support by ensuring that it receives speedy passage to move on to the next stage, instead of prolonging debate on the matter. Canada's built environment i…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I wrote an urgent letter to the ministers of public safety and immigration about 700 Punjabi international students who are victims of a targeted exploitation scheme. A consultant used fake university admission letters for their student visas without their knowledge. As a result, 150 students are scheduled to be deported. This is unacceptable. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, New Democrats absolutely support the idea that Purdue Pharma should be sued and made to pay. That is something the NDP called for the Liberal government to do a long time ago. I am glad that the Conservatives finally figured that out and are now on board. However, to suggest that safer supply is somehow equivalent to what Purdue Pharma is doing is wrong. Purdue Pharma, by the way, w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we know Conservatives are trying to mischaracterize the entire situation. One of the effects of the harm reduction approach that is being proposed is that it helps connect people to other health services, including the possibility of treatment and rehab. However, if they do not make that connection, that is never going to happen. My question for the member is this. When Conservative…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, giant housing corporations are treating people's homes like a stock market and evicting long-time tenants to jack up rents. The Minister of Housing thinks a 1% tax on empty homes and a two-year ban on foreign investments will solve the housing crisis. He is wrong. The housing advocate says these Liberal half-measures are dangerous and short-sighted. Financial firms already own 20% to …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the national housing advocate pointed out that the financialization of housing is a widespread issue that has negatively shaped Canada's housing system. She noted that large institutional investors and financial firms focus on making maximum returns for their shareholders. This is causing real harm to people, contributing to housing unaffordability, worsening housing conditions, and lea…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, he can be proud of the fact that the housing crisis is getting worse and worse under their watch. From coast to coast to coast, it does not matter what city one is in, in cities big or small, there is a major housing crisis, and what the government is doing is not working. That is the reality. Listen to the people on the ground. Walk the streets. Open one's eyes. Come to my community in…
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Mr. Chair, if it is such a good program, why is the minister working to kill the projects within it, with that $25,000 limit per unit? Why did the government not actually put in new allocation to the co-investment fund in budget 2023, instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul with a reallocation from the repair component of that stream? Why will the government not invest the real money that is necessar…
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Mr. Chair, who made the decision to limit the funding for the co-investment fund to $25,000 per unit?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, Romy Bowers said that CMHC had to ration the funding to non-profits for the co-investment fund by limiting the per unit funding to $25,000 at a time when construction costs are going up. Is this what the minister means by leadership? Was that his decision?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, that comment from the minister really just goes to show he has not even read the report from the Auditor General. For years now, in the midst of this unprecedented housing crisis, unhoused people seeking relative safety in encampments have been displaced in my riding in the Downtown Eastside from Oppenheimer Park to CRAB Park to Strathcona Park, and now from the sidewalks of the streets…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, actually, it was the Auditor General who did the report. The minister should read that, by the way. When he says they have launched a review, the clock is ticking. The units are being lost. For every one unit the government builds, we lose 15. That is the reality of the crisis, the magnitude of the crisis that we are faced with today and the government says it is doing a review. Get on …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I am sorry, but that is wrong. The national housing strategy is missing the mark, and the Auditor General has pointed that out. In fact, the Liberals do not even know what they are doing. They are developing housing that is not helping those most in need. The minister should read the Auditor General's report. Real estate investment trusts enjoy preferential tax treatment in that they do…
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Mr. Chair, the minister says he agrees with me. When is he going to announce that they will put a moratorium in place?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the minister should know that what he needs to do is put a moratorium in place and create an acquisition fund for non-profits so that they can get into the market to purchase housing units. This is like what British Columbia is doing, by the way. The federal government has not done that. The Federal Housing Advocate said that the government has a really important role to play in creatin…
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Mr. Chair, a serious way to address this issue is to stop the profiteering in housing, stop corporate financialized landlords from sweeping up undervalued affordable housing stock and create an acquisition fund for non-profits so that they can acquire and hold that affordable housing stock for the community in perpetuity. Will the minister place a moratorium on the acquisition of affordable homes …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the minister did not answer the question, so the answer is no. He cannot pretend to agree with me and then do nothing. When is the minister going to announce an acquisition fund?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Ocean Lady and Sun Sea ships refugees, broken down by age and gender: how many people (i) remain in immigration detention, (ii) were identified as having security concerns, (iii) were granted permanent residence status, (iv) had their application for permanent residence status rejected?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, according to a media report, nurses are leaving the public health care system in droves and returning through private job placement agencies. The health care crisis is getting worse under the Liberals' watch. Poor work conditions, low wages, forced overtime and high patient-to-nurse ratios are causing burnout. The structural problems must be addressed, and budget 2023 missed the mark.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to say that I am heartened to hear my colleague's words, to say that, when we engage in this debate, it is about the importance of it and what it means for all of us, but at the same time not to take an approach that vilifies and points fingers at others. I look around this chamber and there are very few of us, truth be told, who are not immigrants, either ourselv…
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Madam Speaker, part of the motion says, “tripling Canada’s population has real impacts on the future of the French language, Quebec’s political weight, the place of First Peoples, access to housing, and health and education infrastructure”: I want to address this issue. I appreciate the member's work at the immigration committee. I have come to know him and respect a lot of the work that he does. …
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Madam Speaker, there is no question that the provinces and territories need to step up and address that issue, but the federal government also needs to do the same. Because the federal government, with its immigration measures, only allows migrant workers to come to work in Canada with the identified employer, they are not able to work elsewhere. Those with the talents to work in other sectors are…
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Madam Speaker, that is precisely what I fear with this motion. That is why the NDP is not going to support it, as it ties housing to the immigrant community. The housing crisis exists because successive Liberal and Conservative governments failed on housing. They cancelled the national affordable housing program, they cut funding, and then they were developing initiatives that do not meet the need…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, one of the issues that has been raised in the speeches is about the fear of the dwindling impact or representation for Quebeckers. Part of the issue is the immigration targets that the federal government has failed to achieve in ensuring new francophone immigration targets are actually met. The government adopted its targets and it has not met them. The FCFA has recommended the gove…
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Madam Speaker, we are talking about immigration. Of course, there are many different ways we can have newcomers come to Canada and be part of those immigration levels. In fact, currently, there are many migrant workers who are already here in Canada, including undocumented individuals. At the bare minimum, we are looking at at least half a million individuals who are in that category. They are alr…
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Madam Speaker, the NDP agrees. There is no question that there needs to be a public inquiry, one that is completely independent and transparent. To that end, my question for the member is this. What does he think is necessary in order to ensure the process is one that all parties could agree to? For example, would the commissioner be chosen with the participation of all leaders in the House to mak…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the NDP House leader, the member for New Westminster—Burnaby. This is such an important debate, and let me put this in some context for all members in the House. A hundred years ago, the government of the day brought in the Chinese Exclusion Act to say that Chinese peoples were not welcome in this country, to make a very clear statement on that. After …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's reasoned voice in this House where the hyperpartisanship has reached through the roof. The matter here is too important to get into that sort of back-and-forth hyperpartisanship. The issue around the significance and importance of an independent inquiry, along with measures that would send a clear message to any country that tries to interfere with our demo…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank the member for owning up to the fact that what he said was inappropriate and making that apology. I do appreciate it. To the question about what would be a completely non-partisan public inquiry, which is absolutely essential, it would be for all the party leaders to come to an agreement on the mandate and who the commissioner is. It has to be completely above b…
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