Government Orders
Madam Speaker, this is what I would say to the hon. member. I live in downtown west Toronto. That is where my riding of Davenport is. My constituents want the federal government to keep moving as aggressively and urgently as possible to reduce our emissions to meet our targets. I think they understand that the transition costs money. I think that they are very pleased with our plan for a price on …
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has always been a country that has needed immigrants to grow our economy. They enrich our country from coast to coast to coast. Our diversity has become our strength, with Canada continuing to be ranked as one of the top countries in the world to live. I am proud to let this House know that as of this week we have formally welcomed 40,000 Afghans to Canada, a promise we made an…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, a report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the joint visit of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Defence and Security Cooperation and the Sub-Committee on Resilience and Civil Security, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Nuuk, Greenland, f…
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Mr. Speaker, in Canada today, nearly 1,000 patients are in need of life-saving stem cell transplants. Less than a quarter of those who are sick find a suitable donor in their family. The others count on unrelated volunteer donors to save their lives. Patients are more likely to find a suitable donor within their own ethnic group. That is why it is so important that our stem cell registry become as…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the residents in my riding of Davenport are proud of Canada's unwavering support of Ukraine as it is fighting an illegal, brutal invasion by Russia. The opposition is questioning the need for the important Canada-Ukraine trade legislation that is currently before this House, calling it “woke legislation”. This puts into question its support toward Ukraine. Can the Prime Minister infor…
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Mr. Speaker, the introduction of this legislation is an important milestone in the implementation of a modernized Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. It is the first trade agreement Ukraine has signed since the onset of Russia's illegal war. I know it wants to use this as a model for signing other trade agreements, as it is trying to support its economy while undergoing an illegal, brutal war. It…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to speak on behalf of the wonderful residents of my riding of Davenport. Today I will be speaking to Bill C-57, an act to implement the 2023 Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine, but before I begin my formal written remarks, I want to take a few minutes to make a few comments. First, I am happy the bill has been introduced in the House. I am also gra…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to correct the record. I am the member of Parliament for Davenport, which I am very proud of. I do not mind being confused with my wonderful colleague, the member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth, as our ridings are often confused, but I wanted to correct the record on that. Canada and Ukraine I believe already had a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. The …
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Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with the hon. member. I think there are a number of opportunities for members to provide their input. If the bill manages to get a vote in this House to move it to committee, there will be an enormous opportunity for comments from members of all sides of the House at that point in time. I will also say that none of these negotiations are ever conducted in secret. I thin…
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Mr. Speaker, I will keep my comments to the current trade agreement. We have stood with Ukraine forever. The Ukrainian diaspora is one of the largest diasporas here in Canada. We stand with them, as Ukraine fights this brutal and illegal war against Russia in their fight for democracy, because it is a fight they are also fighting on our behalf. For us, this is our way of helping to support their c…
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Mr. Speaker, on my side of the House I heard some of my colleagues say that that was a good question, which is really great. As I mentioned in my speech, there is a chapter that includes trade and indigenous people, which seeks to empower trade opportunities for this under-represented group. I think it is the first of its kind that either Ukraine or Canada has ever included in a free trade agreeme…
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Madam Speaker, I have not spoken to a farmer, but I will when I get the opportunity. Climate change is real. It is happening and the changes of climate are impacting our country and our society even more quickly than scientists had ever thought before. We have put a price on pollution, which is what the hon. member calls the carbon tax. We are returning all of the dollars that we collect from the …
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Madam Speaker, there were many questions in there and I could spend a lot of time responding to them. She first mentioned our deficit. I do want to mention that our deficit is down from a projected 1.5% of GDP last year to 1.4% this year. I know that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is going to give a fall economic statement, so we will get the latest numbers some time very shortl…
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Madam Speaker, I am thankful for this opportunity to speak to the opposition day motion, and I very much look forward to the questions by members in the House.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is wonderful for me to have the opportunity to participate in today's opposition day debate on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport. The topic touches on Canadian debt levels, inflation and mortgages. It is not a surprise, as I am sure it is the case right across the country, that inflation is top of mind for Davenport residents. Affordability is a huge issue, so it …
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Madam Speaker, I mentioned $82 billion, which is a significant amount of money. I am very proud of that amount of investment in housing. We need to do more at all levels, including to help support more of the indigenous needs in our country. Last week, the Prime Minister was in the Northwest Territories. He did announce the construction of 50 new affordable homes in an apartment building in downto…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, October is Latin American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the vibrant cultures, traditions and contributions of the Hispanic and Latin American communities in Canada. Over one million Hispanic and Latin Americans, coming from more than 20 countries, now call Canada their home. They come from many different countries, but they are one community. At the beginning of the month, I had…
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Madam Speaker, I will answer the second question first, as it is more relevant to the bill at hand. On the second question, it will help all Canadians. It will help rural Canadians and urban Canadians. That is because it is meant to be a game-changer. It is meant to incentivize far more building of rental housing, whether it is in an urban setting or a rural setting. As I mentioned before, I quote…
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Madam Speaker, I will say a few things. One is that we have introduced 82 billion dollars' worth of programs, and we will, as a government, always be thinking, every single day, of what more we can do to make sure that we are providing housing for Canadians, deeply affordable housing, and the ability of Canadians to buy their very first house. Every day, we should be thinking and looking at all op…
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Madam Speaker, I would say to the hon. member that I would like to respectfully disagree with him. I had mentioned that I have been on the finance committee for four years. Over the last year and a half, we have disproportionately, and rightly so, spoken about housing and inflation, about how we get started. I will tell members that the rebate of the GST has been one of the top recommendations tha…
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is a true honour for me to speak on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport on Bill C-56, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act, though I will note that the short title is the affordable housing and groceries act. It is an important piece of legislation. It would help build more rental homes that would be affordable for Canadians and help…
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Madam Speaker, it was an honour to meet Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, his foreign minister João Gomes Cravinho and other members of the Portuguese Parliament, who were all formally welcomed to Canada by our Prime Minister. They were in Canada to celebrate 70 years of Portuguese immigration to Canada and to strengthen Canada-Portugal relations. It was an outstanding visit, which hig…
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Madam Speaker, it is always an honour for me to speak in this venerable House on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport, which, for those who do not know, is in downtown west Toronto. I am here to talk on Bill C-33. The formal title is very long, but I am going to say it. It is an act to amend the Customs Act, the Railway Safety Act, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, the …
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Madam Speaker, I will say that this bill has come together as a result of numerous consultations with a number of stakeholders and industry leaders across the country. It incorporates a lot of their suggestions. I can equally have a full page of all the people who are very happy to see this legislation move forward and believe that it is critical for us to have in order to improve our safety, the …
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Madam Speaker, I think we all remember the absolutely awful tragedy that unfolded in Lac-Mégantic, where 47 lives were lost because of a tragic rail incident. We have taken a number of measures to strengthen the safety of our rail network, and this bill would provide additional measures, including the registry of dangerous goods and additional authorities for the Minister of Transport to ensure th…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, it was absolutely awful on July 6, 2013, when 47 people perished from the derailment of the 72-tanker-car train transporting crude oil. I mentioned that our government had already taken some actions, and this bill would provide further, additional measures. I would say a couple of things to the member. In my riding of Davenport, where we have a CP Rail line that also carr…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the full reports of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, respecting its participation at the 67th annual session in Lisbon, Portugal, from October 8 to 11, 2021, and the Parliamentary Transatlantic Forum in Washington, D.C., United States of America, from December 5 to 7, 2…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, sadly, we are seeing the rise of anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate in Canada, which is having a devastating impact on the community. It was this Liberal government that banned the terrible, harmful practice of conversion therapy, so it is sad to see an aspiring member of this House, hand-picked by the opposition leader, defending the destructive practice of spiritually counselling someone out of wh…
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Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Davenport, we have been watching in horror as Russia continues to strike civilian targets in its unprovoked, unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Canada stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine and will do so for as long as it takes. Could the Minister of National Defence please provide an update on the additional support we are providing to Ukrai…
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Mr. Speaker, on May 13, 1953, a group of Portuguese immigrants arrived on a boat named Saturnia, docking at Pier 21 in Halifax. These new immigrants started the first of many waves of Portuguese to start a new life in Canada. Now, 70 years later, Portuguese Canadians are almost half a million strong. Living in communities right across Canada, they are builders, musicians, athletes, business leader…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on May 13, 1953, 70 years ago, the first boatload of Portuguese migrants reached Pier 21 in Halifax. This marked the beginning of what would become large-scale immigration from Portugal to Canada. ln the ensuing years and decades, tens of thousands of Portuguese came to escape poverty, a dictatorship and the colonial wars they did not want to participate in. By this year, Portuguese C…
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Madam Speaker, we are doing a lot, but I will mention two key things. One is rapid housing, which is getting a lot of housing for our most vulnerable, for new Canadians, and they are built very quickly. If we talk to mayors right across this country, they will tell members that this is a very successful program, which is why we are about to introduce the third stage. The second thing is the $4-bil…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this. When we heard about this in the finance committee, we were all very concerned about it. My understanding is that we are looking at it right now. We are studying it, and many of us are advocating for immediate and urgent changes.
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Madam Speaker, I do not know if I totally understood the question, and I apologize for that. However, on whether there are appropriate funding levels to go with immigration levels, I think that maybe the core of the issue is probably that we are bringing in a lot more immigrants and those immigrants need housing. We have revised our immigration policies and numbers, while being very much aware tha…
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Madam Speaker, at the finance committee, which I have the privilege to serve on, we did a study on inflation and housing. We heard from a number of advocates saying that we really have to look at the REITs, which have a particular mechanism that allows companies to buy apartment buildings. What we are hearing, in many cases but not in all cases, is that apartment buildings are being bought and sli…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to stand in this venerable House to speak on behalf of my residents of the riding I am very proud to represent, which is Davenport, and to speak to the Conservative opposition day motion on inflation and housing. My remarks are going to cover three key areas. The first is the issue of inflation and housing and how it is impacting Davenport residents. The second is wh…
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Mr. Speaker, it is my absolute honour and pleasure to be hosting over 40 Hispanic and Latin American leaders to the House of Commons today, including, for the very first time, a member of the Latinx LGBTQ2 community. With representatives from Victoria to Nova Scotia and four provinces, they are in Ottawa to build relations with parliamentarians, to exchange knowledge and information, and to networ…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his amazing leadership in advocating for more mental health support. I do not think there is anybody in the House who does not agree that we need to have far more investment in mental health services. At all levels, we have not provided enough in the past. I will say there is an enormous top-up and an enormous investment in federal budget 2023. In…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a true honour for me to speak to federal budget 2023 in the House on behalf of the residents of Davenport. It was really wonderful for me to be back in the riding over the last two weeks, to get a chance to go out and talk to the various Davenport residents, organizations and businesses about the different measures that we have in the budget. Before I go on, I want to say a huge…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, we have a very targeted budget with very targeted supports for our most vulnerable, but these should be taken in concert with all the other measures we have introduced. Seniors who are aged 75 and older in my riding were very happy to have an increase of 10% for their OAS. They were very happy for past GST rebates. That has been very hel…
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Madam Speaker, I would say to the hon. member that actions speak louder than words. We are very proud of the fact that we have worked with the NDP on the supply and confidence agreement. The supply and confidence agreement is about what we can work on together that we both agree on. More money for health care was a key part of that, so I am very proud that we are introducing a dental care plan by …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, climate science must be at the heart of our decision-making process to fight climate change. The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific report adds to our global knowledge and understanding, and shows the indisputable fact that humanity continues to warm our planet to dangerous levels. The science is clear that only urgent and sustained emissions reductions wil…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, respecting its participation at the bureau and standing committee meetings in Athens, Greece, from April 9 to 10, 2022, and the spring session in Vilnius, Lithuania, from May 25 to 30, 2022.
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Peter Herrndorf, a giant in the Canadian arts and culture community and a beloved leader, who died on February 18. Peter spent a lifetime devoted to nurturing our artists, storytellers, journalists and administrators to tell the stories of Canada. Among many accomplishments, Peter was instrumental in creating The Journal at the CBC and The Agenda at TVO. Durin…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as the death toll continues to rise because of the tragic earthquakes in Turkey and northern Syria, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. There are over 36,000 dead and 90,000 injured; the numbers climb every minute. Nothing can be done to bring loved ones back to their families, but we can step up to do everything we can to help. Canada has committed $10 mill…
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Madam Speaker, the changes that are being proposed to the Investment Canada Act would provide more flexibility and agility for our minister to make these types of decisions in the future. My understanding is that he is always advised by our national security advisers. We will always take direction from those who provide us advice. There is a reason we are here: We are constantly modernizing our ac…
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Madam Speaker, I thought I had a minute left, but I just want to say to everyone who stood on a point of order that I very much outlined exactly what the bill is meant to do, why it is important to be part of the Investment Canada Act and why it is so important for both current and future economic success for Canada. As we create a culture around intellectual property, as we work to translate inve…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned before, the Investment Canada Act provides for net benefit and national security reviews of foreign investments in Canada. We have proposed a number of changes in this particular act. Assuming the bill passes second reading in the House and goes to committee, there will be many opportunities to consider amendments that might strengthen it.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak on behalf of the residents of Davenport in support of Bill C-34, an act to amend the Investment Canada Act. The Investment Canada Act, for those who may not know, is designed to encourage investment, economic growth and employment in Canada. It is a very important act for our federal government, because as we continue to try to create a stronger c…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his important work on this file. As I mentioned, it is not the first time we have updated the Investment Canada Act. We have taken a number of actions to ensure that we have the right tools and flexibility to protect Canada's national security interests. Assuming the bill passes seconding reading in this House, it will go to committee, and there w…
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