Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the legislation speaks for itself in the sense that we recognize the potential to build Canada strong for all by looking at how the space industry, our aerospace industry, our military industrial industries and post-secondary facilities would all, in one way or another, be directly impacted. We have an opportunity here to potentially generate thousands of jobs and billions of dollars …
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Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia is a big beneficiary. Indeed, all of Canada is, because expanding our space industry also impacts the Canadian Forces, in particular the aerospace industry, something I have talked a great deal about. Our aerospace industry provides thousands of jobs. I am thinking of the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, all of which have aerospace industry. In fact, Magellan Aer…
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Mr. Speaker, I would join others in recognizing Mr. Marc Garneau for being an outstanding true Canadian. In fact, it would be nice to have his name associated with Canada's first launch pad. Quite frankly, I look at the legislation as a very important stepping stone for our nation. We talk about building Canada strong for all, and we talk about security, having a launch pad and being able to suppo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives really need to focus on the principle of the legislation. This particular legislation would support an industry that is critical for economic growth and security for Canada. It would have an impact on industries, whether the space industry, our aerospace industry, post-secondary facilities or many other indirect industries. There is great potential for growth. The Co…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a very ambitious goal. Ideally, we want something to be able to launch as early as 2028. Does the member share the ambition that we can in fact have a launch pad for 2028?
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Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely silly for the Conservatives to try to portray that this has something to do with insiders. Seriously, we need to take a look at the actions of the government over the last year. What we have witnessed is a clear indication to what degree this Prime Minister and this government are driving to expand Canada's economy. We are talking about an industry, the space industry…
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Mr. Speaker, where I agree with the leader of the Conservative Party is that we should look at the contrast. There is a great, big difference. On the one hand, we have a Prime Minister, elected one year ago today, and a government that recognize that in order to grow the economy and to protect our security into the future, we need to invest in Canada. We need to invest in our infrastructure and in…
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Mr. Speaker, since Canadian Confederation, we have had majority governments and we have had minority governments. In terms of the motion that we are debating, all we are debating is whether, if a party has a majority of the seats on the floor of the House of Commons, it gets a majority of the positions, the votes, on a standing committee. For majority governments throughout our history, even if we…
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote, please.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, today is indeed a very special day because just recently we had the three by-elections and today we have the largest women's caucus in the history of Parliament. I believe just over 70 women have been elected and that is worthy of recognizing. We saw earlier today the government and opposition working together as we had an opposition private member's bill pass through the House. It am…
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 25 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I believe we are on petitions, not members' statements. I acknowledge what the member said, but I think we should get on to the petitions.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, if the government's responses to Questions Nos. 940, 941, 942, 943, 944, 945, 946, 947, 948, 949, 950, 951, 952, 953 and 954 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled in an electronic format immediately.
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Mr. Speaker, I would then ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.
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[For text of questions and responses, see Written Questions website]
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Mr. Speaker, I think we should be looking at the motion for what it is. It is very straightforward. For majority governments, there is parliamentary tradition, not only here in Canada but also outside it in the Commonwealth. If a majority of membership makes up the House of Commons, a majority of membership makes up our standing committees. There is a very good reason for it. There is no reason fo…
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Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of the last federal election. Canadians responded very favourably to our new Prime Minister when he talked about working together as a team to build a stronger, healthier Canada that is strong for all and looking for collaboration, for people to work with. If we have individuals who want to be a part of that team, I see that as a positive. Yes…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to go back to the real basic here. If there is a majority makeup on the floor of the House of Commons, our rules, tradition and heritage, not only in Canada, but in the Commonwealth, are that there is a majority on the committees. I would like to pick up on the point that the member made in regard to reducing committee membership if the government did not have a majority. C…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member that we have an amazing country. It is the best country in the world to call home. We have a Prime Minister and a government that work every day of the week to build Canada strong for all of us. The member talked about abuse of power. We could easily talk about the past, about “Stephen Harper, Serial Abuser of Power" and the evidence that was compiled. We could…
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Mr. Speaker, I have said this a great deal already this afternoon: It is a fairly straightforward motion that says that if a party makes up a majority of the membership on the floor of the House of Commons, it gets to have a majority of the members on the standing committees. At the end of the day, the Conservatives are putting forward an argument. If a party had a 172‑seat majority and one person…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very much aware of the situation that the leader of the Green Party finds herself in. I served in the Manitoba legislature, and there were often just two people. We never really had party status, except for the first few years. My daughter is the only Liberal MLA in the Province of Manitoba. She has been able to pass legislation and resolutions and work her way onto committees. T…
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Mr. Speaker, the comments that the member has put on the record are interesting. I disagree with most of those comments. As I have illustrated before, the Prime Minister has talked about working in collaboration. We saw a good example of that earlier this morning. We have a majority government, yet we passed a member of the opposition's legislation through on third reading. The collaboration is wh…
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Mr. Speaker, if we are debating history and past scandals today, I would love to share dozens of them. I have a book of over 100 scandals from the days of Stephen Harper, when the member's current leader was involved. If the member wants to get a copy, he can come on over and I will show him some of the quotes, which include contempt of Parliament. At the end of the day, a party has a majority of …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the comments my colleague and friend has put on the record, highlighting the recognition that it is about the chamber, the number of members of Parliament. Parliamentary tradition and history have shown that it has been very successful, not only here in Canada but also in the Commonwealth, that if a party has a majority of seats on the floor of the House of Commons, it g…
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Mr. Speaker, I will take a bit of leeway to recognize that April is Sikh Heritage Month in Canada and to say that on Parliament Hill today are the organizers of the largest Nagar Kirtan outside India. I just want to acknowledge the fact that they are here and to thank them for the fine work they do. The question I have for my colleague is in regard to the principle that if a party has a majority o…
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Mr. Speaker, the member would know that, since the last federal election, we have had a Prime Minister and a government that have talked a great deal about the issue of collaboration and working to elevate good ideas into good public policy, and today is a good example of that. Today, yes, we got an official majority. Three members were sworn in. We got to 174 members, but the first action taken t…
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Mr. Speaker, can the member honestly say that if the party had 172 seats, and then a Liberal walked across the floor, that the Conservatives would not want to make any changes? They would not want to adhere to parliamentary tradition and allow the government to have a majority on a committee, even if they did not have a majority on the floor? That is just silly.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a lot there. Let me provide a quick commentary. First of all, when it comes to the Canada-U.S. deal, I can tell the member what we will not do is what one of the Conservative MPs did. He visited with the vice-president, then he came back and said Canada was just having an "anti-American hissy fit". Canada, the Prime Minister and this government will focus on getting the best …
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Mr. Speaker, Stephen Harper had a minority government, and then he had a majority of the seats in the House. When he got the majority of the seats in the House, he was given a majority of seats in the standing committees. In a minority situation, it is a minority number of seats in the standing committees. When a government makes up a majority on the floor of the House of Commons, it gets a majori…
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that it be passed on division, please.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise and speak to an important piece of legislation that I know Canadians, as a whole, what to see enacted for the upcoming election, whenever that might be. There are significant changes to reinforce Canada's democracy in a very positive way. One of the gravest mistakes we can make as parliamentarians is to take our democracy for granted. That is something this go…
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Mr. Speaker, what pleases me is that when Canada elected a new Prime Minister less than a year ago, the Prime Minister made the issue a priority. It has taken us not years but months to bring the legislation before the House, and not only the legislation but also a tangible idea that would actually deal with the issue. I believe that by having voters able to nominate only one candidate in a partic…
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize. The member for Terrebonne is an outstanding individual, and we are very pleased. I understand what the member is saying. The government has already put forward the legislation, and it is fairly substantive. A number of changes are being proposed. There is an opportunity. As much as possible, we want to try to build consensus on the many different aspects within the legisl…
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Mr. Speaker, all those issues are very important. I believe that the greatest threat to our democracy today, if we do not take action on it, is artificial intelligence and the potential for what I call a mischievous volunteer, a third party. Everything can be tapped into it today through social media and different forms of communication. My concern is that it does not take very much time to cause …
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Mr. Speaker, I said right at the very beginning of my comments that my first priority is the constituents I represent. I sit in a wonderful national caucus that has 174 members. I can assure the member that we are all equal in our caucus. Yes, the Prime Minister has a mission. The mission is very simple: to build the strongest economy in the G7, to build Canada strong for all Canadians. Every Libe…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very familiar with the issue of financing political parties and so forth. It is with pride that I can say that we can contrast Canada's financial accountability and the way in which we raise funds to that of the provinces and other countries. Some of the provinces, I would suggest, might need some improvement. I do not know the details of the provinces, but at the national level,…
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Mr. Speaker, I can understand the member's comments. However, I disagree with the idea that one would have to make a financial deposit in order to be able to say to the people they want to represent that they want their name on the ballot. I am inclined to support the court decision. However, I would again recommend that the member give it more thought. I can recall an incident where someone said …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the member's comments, especially in regard to AI, deepfakes and so on. It is important for us to recognize that the legislation is in no way meant to have a censorship of sorts. In fact, we want to protect the integrity of our democratic system. That is what this legislation is all about. Given technological advances, AI and mischievous characters, whether it is an indi…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada's Prime Minister and this government believe in big projects. We understand the benefits of having jobs and building the strongest and healthiest economy in the G7. I stand today because of the potential of the port of Churchill, which will connect the prairie provinces to the Atlantic Ocean directly. The potential is there. It is real. It is tangible. We look to the Prime Mini…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 24 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, if the government's response to Questions Nos. 931, 932, 933, 934, 935, 936, 937, 938 and 939 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled in an electronic format immediately.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand, please.
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Mr. Speaker, I know a number of Bloc members have raised the whole voting dollar issue and how that could possibly help finance political entities. I do not believe there is any public will for that to take place, but I would encourage the member to bring it up at the standing committee. I would like some clarification. The member talked a lot about the long ballot, and I do not know if it is me o…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments that the member put on the record. Ultimately, there is a high sense of collaboration on this legislation. PROC will have a wonderful time going through it, sharing ideas and thoughts. If there are ways the legislation can be approved, hopefully through collaboration, then we will get to see that done. Given the member's background, and I really enjoyed her c…
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Mr. Speaker, as I indicated to the previous Conservative speaker, it is the government's intent to work collaboratively on this legislation. The member said it well when he said that the foundation of our democracy is something that we should virtually never, ever take for granted. I was interested in his comments in regard to the long ballot. I thought he articulated them quite well. Does he see …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased and very impressed with my colleague once again. I think of how important this issue is. It is a very critical aspect of our justice system. I know it is a very special day today. Not only is the member bringing forward a fantastic bill, but it is also her birthday, so I wish her a happy birthday and compliment her on this special day. I wish I could sing it in Fre…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, what a pleasure it is to rise. I had the opportunity to ask the member a question in regard to her initiative. It was interesting that, in a very humble way, she started her speech by talking about the Senate and paying tribute to the senator in advocating for what is being proposed. I would like to echo toward the member some of the very same words she used of the senator, because I …
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc should be ashamed of the position it is taking on this legislation. I am not going to apologize for standing up for what I believe to be true. We have a justice who has done a phenomenal job of reflecting the need for change. I served in the Canadian Armed Forces. I had the opportunity to serve very proudly, and I have worked with members of the CAF over the years. I have a d…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not going to have enough time to finish the whole quotation. The member asked about going to committee. We do not have to be at the committee in order to appreciate—
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Mr. Speaker, the member said, “Cry me a river.” Shame on the Conservative member who would say something of that nature when we are taking a look at how important the issue is. I will stand up for every woman in the Canadian Forces—
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