Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the holidays are a time for celebration but, more importantly, they are a time to make sure that we connect with each other. As we gather with our loved ones, we are reminded of the importance of community and the bonds that unite all of us. Whether we are sharing meals, exchanging gifts or simply enjoying each other's company, these moments remind us of the power of community and sup…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I truly have the honour today, as we get to the end of 2024, to present, in both official languages, the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, entitled “Canada's Supply Chains and Expanded International Trade: Challenges and Measures”, for 2024 and as we move into the future.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims is a harsh reality in many parts of the world, where they face violence, discrimination, and the denial of their basic rights simply for practising their faith. This injustice highlights the importance of religious freedom. Here in Canada, we are fortunate to live in a society that values and upholds this freedom. Every individual has the right to wor…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, the holiday season is fast approaching, which means many Canadians will soon be celebrating with family and friends. We know what Canadians are getting in their Christmas stockings this year from the Leader of the Opposition: broken campaign promises, hypocritical speeches and more and more of that. Could the minister please tell the House what we are going to do to support Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's security is everyone's concern. This week there have been more alarming reports of foreign interference in the Conservative leadership race, yet the leader of the Conservative Party is the only party leader who still refuses to obtain the necessary security clearance to access classified documents on foreign governments' political interference activities in Canada. Canadians …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present, in both official languages, the 22nd report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, entitled “Selected United States and European Union Trade-Related Measures: Some Impacts on Canada’s Fishing Sector”. This report is timely, given the very issues that we are contemplating and discussing today, and so I am pleased to be able to present the report.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, our government continues to take decisive and aggressive action to address crime across Canada, having created offences to target organized crime gangs that exploit young people. We have also invested over $600 million into fighting guns and gangs and have passed gun control laws to take violent weapons out of our communities. These efforts and many more have been implemented to tackl…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I continue to hear a lot of noise from members opposite about affordability but no real solutions. Last week, the government made an exciting announcement to support Canadians over this holiday season. Would the minister share more details about our government's plan to put more money in the pockets of Canadians?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I need to draw members' attention to the critical situation in Iran, particularly regarding its domestic repression. Maryam Akbari is a woman languishing in jail despite finishing her 15-year prison term for seeking justice for her siblings, which is truly an alarming atrocity. Recently, Varisheh Moradi, a Kurdish woman, was sentenced to death in another sham trial in Tehran's revolut…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 107(3), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Liaison Committee, entitled “Committee Activities and Expenditures: April 1, 2024 - August 31, 2024”. This report highlights the work and accomplishments of each committee of the House, as well as detailing the budgets that fund the activities approved by the committee.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, media freedom advocate and newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai prepares to turn 77, yet he remains unjustly imprisoned in Hong Kong. By the end of this year, he will have endured four years in solitary confinement; by UN standards, this is a condition deemed torture when prolonged beyond 15 days. Mr. Lai has been an outspoken critic of human rights violations by the Chinese government, givi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 21st report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, which refers to Canadian supply chains and the issue of forced labour.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our government has always been clear that ensuring a woman's freedom of choice should be protected. However, many Canadians are rightfully worried that a Conservative government would not protect this fundamental right. It is alarming that women's rights and freedoms are under attack by the Conservative Party. Can the Prime Minister tell us how our Liberal government will continue to …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to acknowledge the incredible work of the Global Action Network for Sickle Cell and Other Inherited Blood Disorders. This organization is truly making a difference for those affected by serious blood disorders. The challenges posed by such inherited conditions as sickle cell disease, thalassemia, hemophilia, aplastic anemia and Diamond-Blackfan anemia are signi…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This whole issue about the language being used in the House has been going on for three days. We have sat in this House, or wherever we are, listening to this: “corruption, corruption, corruption”. There are members who have talked about something disrupting the House and somebody having to respond to it in a bigger way. When there is continual talk about…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I wish to honour an extraordinary advocate and environmental champion in the Humber River—Black Creek community, by the name of Edith George. For over 20 years, Edith has been a relentless hero for the historical recognition of a red oak tree, a magnificent 300-year-old landmark located in the immediate vicinity of the Toronto Carrying Place trail. Her unwavering dedication not …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his passion on this, but we all care very much about all Canadians, especially seniors. They always have a special part in the hearts of all of us. The reality is—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member sits on committee with me and we know each other very well. However, on the bill he is referring to, it is an issue of royal recommendation. There are rules for us as members of Parliament. There are rules as to how the House has to govern. I had a previous bill that was called a money bill and it was rejected. It did not get a royal recommendation because it would aff…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember my dear friend Gayle Christie, former mayor of the borough of York, who passed away on August 14 and was laid to rest on September 8. Gayle's journey began in Toronto, where she first stepped into public service as a trustee on the Board of Education. Her dedication propelled her to become the alderman, and ultimately she became the mayor of York from 1978 to …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, for 15 years, the Canadian Transplant Society has been at the forefront of organ donation advocacy in Canada, working to eliminate cornea blindness through increased awareness and education. Cornea blindness impacts adults and children of all ages. It does not discriminate. Currently, an estimated 15,000 Canadians will need cornea transplants in the near future, a number driven by our…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 20th report of the Standing Committee on International Trade in relation to the motion adopted on Thursday, June 13, regarding the duty-free industry in Canada. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report. I wish everybody a wonderful summer.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I have recognized half a dozen times where my hon. colleague keeps talking about everything else but the amendment and the bill before us. As a reminder, this bill is about electoral reform and not about carbon tax, and not about the umpteen other things that he has mentioned.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to have the opportunity to take part in the debate at third reading of Bill C-323, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act on mental health services. As we all know, this bill would exempt supplies of psychotherapy and mental health counselling services from the goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax, or the GST/HST, something which we already support. In fact,…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians from across the country are concerned about the rising levels of auto theft. This is an issue that our government takes very seriously, and we have taken meaningful action to combat it. Yesterday, our government announced the deployment of a mobile X-ray scanner in the GTA to combat auto theft. This scanner will enable the CBSA to recover even more stolen vehicles and help o…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, entitled “A Canada-Ecuador Trade Agreement: Selected Canadian Priorities”.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 107(3), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 9th report of the Liaison Committee, entitled “Committee Activities and Expenditures April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024”. This report highlights the work and accomplishments of each committee and details the budgets that fund the activities approved by committee members. It is a very interesti…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, it is great to see you in the chair, as always. For me, seeing a woman in the chair is always very encouraging. It is great, especially when it is a beautiful woman. I think we could all agree on that. As we have the discussion, we need to remember what the role of the Auditor General is, which is being independent and doing the job that we appoint them to do. I wish we were not talki…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, if the member is asking how the department is dealing with a lot of the budgetary issues, all areas of government were asked to take a 3% cut, to my knowledge. I believe it was for everybody. I would remind my hon. colleague that, with three fact-finding investigations into this issue, neither the Auditor General nor any others found any evidence of fraudulent or criminal activities…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would remind the member that, in some of the evidence put forward earlier, over 500 companies were approved and went on to excel in clean technology. I am quite certain that, under the new leadership and after transitioning, the NRC will continue to ensure that some of the best companies receive the opportunity to move forward with more clean technology.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I believe all 338 of us in the House want to ensure that all the government's programs and funding efforts are put forward in the very best interest of all of us. I am quite confident that, with the transition to the new leadership under the NRC, there will be opportunities for many more companies to excel, in excess of the 500 that I referred to earlier. There will be lots of oppor…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to recognize June as Italian Heritage Month. Canada is home to over 1.5 million people of Italian descent, one of the largest diasporas globally. I would like to take this time to acknowledge a tireless labour rights activist and author by the name of Marino Toppan. Marino is the creator behind the Italian fallen workers memorial project, estab…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to present a petition today. The petition states that, whereas in 2018 the Canadian government announced an end-to-poverty plan that would affect all Canadians, the undersigned residents of Canada call upon the House of Commons and Parliament assembled to review and amend the Old Age Security Act, so that low-income GIS benefits would be adjusted in ways that e…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today in support of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly. Taiwan's exclusion from global health initiatives is a significant gap in global health security that must be addressed. Despite Taiwan's significant contributions to global health worldwide through providing aid and assistance to many countries, it has faced obstacles in fully participating i…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker. I rise in the House today to acknowledge a dedicated constituent and entrepreneur, Jerry Fishman. Jerry is celebrating his 95th birthday on May 13. In 1956, he opened Jerry's Budget Centre on the corner of Jane and Wilson and, eventually, Jerry's for Fashion in its current location at 1625 Wilson Avenue in 1973. I want to take this opportunity to recognize Jerry's outstanding and endu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, on the same question of privilege, I just want to add my comments to those of both of my colleagues, who are the co-chairs for Canada on the IPAC organization. I do not believe it ends there. I want to see this go forward. It is great that the firewall held and nothing was penetrated. However, if these attacks are happening, as members of Parliament, we need to be briefed better tha…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, when we talk about housing and why the housing file is so complex, it is the responsibility of municipalities. It is their job to work with developers to see that housing gets built. For far too long, too many municipalities have put up as many roadblocks as possible against much of this housing. People say that they do not want it in their backyard or that they do not want apartmen…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for supporting the national eye strategy bill. We all know that corporations need to do well in this country. They employ thousands and thousands of people. They need to make money. I am glad they make money, because we use that for all the programs we talk about and all the investments that go into Canada. It comes from corporations. It is not coming from …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am very glad to stand today to give some comments on this very important budget, which really is a framework as we are moving forward. I am very pleased to share my time with the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, a former member of our international trade committee, who we miss at the committee now, but she has moved on to other things. I have been speaking over this past weekend, …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in these discussions, very often we all feel very strongly about different positions we take on something as important as this budget. This budget would be the playbook for the next several years in our country and would make significant headway in trying to improve the lives of all Canadians. As I indicated earlier, I have been speaking with my constituents and my community leaders. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his support for the national eye strategy, which is now in the Senate. I would urge him to talk to the Conservative members in the Senate and ask them to please pass Bill C-284 for the national eye strategy. I will move on to the question he asked me about housing. It is no secret that housing takes years to build, but we have been building hous…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the two following reports of the Standing Committee on International Trade: the 15th report, in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, April 9, regarding the CBSA assessment and revenue management system, and the 16th report, entitled “Canada’s Proposed Biocides Regulations: Potential Trade-Related Impacts”. This also inclu…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Humber River—Black Creek, as Transport Canada must address the ongoing aircraft-induced noise pollution by exercising its authority and implementing necessary actions in the Humber River—Black Creek community. They firmly believe that environmental responsibility extends to addressing both air pollution and the adverse effec…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I want to share with members the inspiring program of Lucy and Lee's health and painting class in Humber River—Black Creek. Started by Lucy Catania and the late Lee Jackson, it is a program for seniors by seniors, where they can come together for a range of activities at the Carmine Stefano Community Centre. One of their main activities is painting beautiful pieces of artwork. H…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be able to add a few comments to this discussion tonight, which is a very important discussion. When we talk about community safety, safety for all Canadians, it is critically important that we all participate and that we ensure that we have given it our full attention. On Bill C-381, I am going to read out what it is, so that anybody who is watching will get a better fe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I must say that I disagree immensely with almost everything from the start to the end of the comments that my colleague made. Of course, I am not going to add to them. I would like to know what he would be doing, what your government would be doing and what your party would be doing, if it had the opportunity to become the government, which I hope it does not, actually, because I lo…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I was not sure I would get the opportunity to speak this afternoon, so I am glad to be able to join in debate on a very important bill, Bill C-64, an act respecting pharmacare. Bill C-64 represents the next phase of the government's commitment to establishing a national universal pharmacare program. It proposes the foundational principles of the first phase of national universal pharm…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, this is a new program that is being introduced. I cannot tell the House how pleased I am that it is here. I have heard from my constituents, whether they are interested in the issue of diabetes support or in talking about contraception opportunities. At the end of the day, this would save lives and a lot of money. It would also make our country far more understanding and appreciative …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member's first question was regarding a report. The member can rest assured that I will report the motion to the House at the first opportunity I have to do so. On to the issue of Bill C-64, this is the beginning. It is a new program. We expect that there will be times for alterations as to how we do things. We will continue to work with the provinces on how we do the rollout of t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his commitment to his community and the indigenous community, in particular. Bill C-64 is one more way for us to talk about health care in Canada. We are certainly talking about the indigenous community, but we are also talking about all Canadians. The more opportunity we have to look at where we could improve the system, the better it is for all of…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I stand in the House today with a heavy heart as we mourn for those affected by one of the worst earthquakes to strike Taiwan in the last 25 years, with at least 16 dead and more than 1,000 people injured. Many homes and businesses have been destroyed, and communities have been shattered. In the face of this tragedy, we witness the remarkable resilience of the Taiwanese people. As we …
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