Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I truly appreciate the question. I have been consistent over the years, as I believe the Liberal Party has, in regard to the true value of immigration. Let us contrast that to the far-right leader of the Conservative Party. The far-right leader of the Conservative Party goes against, I would argue, many of the thoughts prairie MPs would have regarding some of the statements he has mad…
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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Mr. Speaker, I had to do some quick research. From when I was the critic for immigration, I remember this quote: ...that the European Union is the number one source region for asylum claims to Canada, that Canada gets 98% of Hungarian asylum claims filed worldwide and that about 95% of those claims are abandoned or withdrawn by the claimants themselves or subsequently rejected by our fair and gene…
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Mr. Speaker, it was not 10,000; I believe it was closer to 60,000 in 2012.
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Mr. Speaker, the point I am trying to get across to the member is this. At the end of the day, there were changes made under Jason Kenney because of a serious issue in 2012, 2011 and 2010, which happened to be at the same time the member's leader was part of the government. The then government had to deal with asylum claims that hit 60,000 in one year. Now fast-forward, and we have a situation, be…
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Mr. Speaker, to pick up on the last question, the legislation is one very important aspect in terms of what the new Prime Minister has brought forward, but another important component is the budgetary issue. There is close to a $1-billion commitment and 1,000 new border security officers, not to mention the 1,000 new RCMP officers. I am wondering if the member could provide her thoughts regarding …
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Mr. Speaker, I wanted to pick up on the immigration issue because now we have had two Conservative members stand in this place and be somewhat critical of the government on immigration policy. It was not that long ago when Russia invaded Ukraine. Canada opened its doors, and I believe the Conservative party, at that time, supported us doing that. There were approximately 300,000 people of Ukrainia…
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Mr. Speaker, the member sidestepped the question on Ukraine. I am a little confused as to whether or not the Conservatives actually supported Ukrainians coming from Ukraine during the war. Maybe he can provide a very succinct explanation. Did he support that number coming to Canada? I think it is a reasonable question. The other thing is this: In the province of Manitoba, whether it be the chamber…
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite did it all while reflecting on the Conservative tough-on-crime policy and amplified the idea that Canada is broken. I would say to the member opposite that Canada is, in fact, not broken. We continue to work with provinces to deal with issues like bail reform, because it is a shared responsibility. The hon. member sits right behind the leader of the official opposi…
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Mr. Speaker, to pick up on the question that was just posed, what I like about the legislation is that the new Prime Minister along with our new minister have done a fantastic job of presenting a comprehensive approach to dealing with the issue. I congratulate her on her appointment to cabinet. Not only do we have this legislation, but there are budgetary commitments for RCMP officers and border c…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from my colleague; they were well-thought out. The question I have for her is more about a process issue. A lot of the questions and comments we hear from the opposition, particularly from the Bloc, have been fairly supportive about wanting to have more dialogue on the issue. Going through second reading into committee, members are afforded all sorts of oppor…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the many words that my hon. colleague put on the record. The question I have for her is about recognizing that, through time, there is a need to make changes. Whether it was during the pandemic or in other situations, such as with the demand from post-secondary institutions to have more international students, at times there is a need to bring forward legislation. We have…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-12, a substantial piece of legislation that would make our borders secure, is complemented by literally hundreds of millions of dollars of commitments, increases in the number of Canada border control officers and increases in the number of RCMP officers. The member spent a great deal of his time talking about the need for bail reform. The good news is that bail reform will als…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-11 is transformative in the sense that sexual assault and harassment will be put in civil court as opposed to the military court process. This is, as the member put it, a very strong step forward. However, it is also important to recognize that after the reforms came forward, we had already started the shift to do that. That has been happening for the last couple of years. Pass…
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that there has been no prime minister in the last 50 or 60 years who has done more for the Canadian Forces than the current Prime Minister, who was just elected a few months back, whether it is giving pay raises to members of our forces, the commitment of 2% of the GDP or looking at the true value of having this legislation brought in this fall and his commitment to …
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Mr. Speaker, on the point of justice, I disagree with Conservatives. We do not advocate for an American-style criminal justice system. It is very different in terms of the whole “three strikes and you're out” thing. Under the Prime Minister, again, through consultations, we have made a pledge to bring in bail reform. That means working with the different stakeholders. Given the extent of consultat…
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Mr. Speaker, I concur with the member in the sense that I believe it is virtually unanimous in the House that the principle in the bill of taking the cases, including the investigations, from the military courts and putting them into the civilian courts, is the right step forward. We all agree with that. The member raises valid concerns with respect to the transition. He is right; bringing cases o…
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Mr. Speaker, when I look at what has been taking place over the last number of years, I believe there has been significant movement forward. It is one of the reasons that today we see sexual assaults being tried in the civil process as opposed to the military courts. Bill C-11, in essence, would put that into criminal law to ensure there is further clarity on the issue. This Prime Minister, unders…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives need a reality check. At the end of the day, there were 60,000 jobs created. Almost half of those are in the manufacturing industry. When the leader of the Conservative Party sat with Stephen Harper, the manufacturing industry was devastated in the province of Ontario. Conservatives should not try to give us a lesson when we have a Prime Minister who understands the …
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives go around telling people that Canada is broken, when Canada is the best place in the world to call home, here are the facts: We have a Prime Minister who is committed to major developments, five major projects and 60 billion dollars' worth of investments in all regions of Canada. We are building Canada strong, and we are going to wait until we can get the best …
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Mr. Speaker, I suspect that if you were to canvass the House, you would find unanimous consent to call it 2:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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Mr. Speaker, I suspect that, if you were to canvass the House, you would find unanimous consent to call it 6:30 p.m. so we could get to the late show.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise for members on this side that the Conservatives have somehow come up with another opposition day motion in which they want to say that we are different. I will be splitting my time with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. I appreciate the reminder although it is much to the disappointment of members opposite, I am sure. The Conservatives have come up w…
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Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker used the word “lie”. Members will notice that I did not interrupt his speech.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Calgary Crowfoot could always stand and apologize as—
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Mr. Speaker, I take it that all these points of order are deducted and that I get a bonus minute for every time the opposition stands up. The opposition talks about change. They say there is no change. That is just not true. The reality is that we had an election just a few months back. I will remind my friends on the opposite side of what happened during that election. The leader of the Conservat…
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Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, when I was an MLA, Gary Filmon, who was a Progressive Conservative, often called the leader of the NDP the Prince of Darkness. I honestly thought it was—
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives like to take the stats and give the impression that everything is still broken in Canada. Let us look at the types of things done, coming out of the last election, by the Prime Minister and the government, whether it was getting rid of the carbon tax, something that was initiated virtually when the Prime Minister became the Leader of the Liberal Party, or the first s…
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Mr. Speaker, the members opposite, when they start questioning the major projects, have to realize that the federal government has played the lead role in working with, in this case, the Province of British Columbia, indigenous community leaders and many other stakeholders and has put together a package that ultimately is going to see the extension and, I would suggest, the growth of LNG for the p…
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Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the government, in particular the Prime Minister, has been very much focused on the issue of affordability. We do care very much about what is taking place in our communities. The issue of disposable income is something that we take very seriously, and that is why the Prime Minister actually got rid of the carbon tax. That is why we gave the tax cut for 22 million Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, absolutely I agree with the sentiments that have been expressed by my colleague. The global economy is changing. Whether the Conservatives want to stay in the past and continue to talk down Canada or not, we as a government, whether the Prime Minister, cabinet or the entire Liberal caucus, will continue to reflect the interests of the constituents whom we represent and of Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, in recent months, we have seen a cozying up in the relationship between the Conservatives and the Bloc. The fact that the Bloc is voting with the Conservatives does not necessarily surprise me, but it does disappoint me. The member made reference to disposable income. We have a new government and a new Prime Minister who provided significant tax breaks to Canadians in every region. So…
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Mr. Speaker, we could use that iceberg analogy for Canada, as the member just did, the United States, England or any of the G7 countries. What we find is that, when it comes to net debt-to-GDP ratio, Canada has the lowest in the entire G7. The member kind of makes the point that I was trying to make earlier. Conservatives try to make Canada look as if it is broken. Canadians sent us a very strong …
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Mr. Speaker, no one in Canada has travelled Canada more to tell Canadians that Canada is broken than the leader of the Conservative Party. I challenge the leader's comments today. Think of the deficit. Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio out of any of the G7 countries. The G7 includes the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany and others. We are the lowest. Would he argue that all of those othe…
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Mr. Speaker, first off, I think it is important that we do not necessarily recognize the Conservatives as throwing the AI industry in Canada under the bus, when in fact the AI industry in Canada is doing exceptionally well. The potential to grow is there. It is very real and tangible. The Conservatives consistently try to give a false impression with respect to Canada's debt situation and deficit.…
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Mr. Speaker, I could not believe what the member said. I said that Canada was the best in terms of GDP-to-deficit ratio in the G7. The member came back and asked why we would take any sort of happiness in the fact that we are the best of the worst. If the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are the worst in the world, we are in a lot of trouble, a lot more than one could possibly…
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate some of the comments the member has made not only just now but also when he introduced his comments the other day. As the member just said, the principle of the legislation, which takes sexual harassment and assault out of the military court system and puts it into the civil system, is something that, it would appear when listening to all the debate, everyone inside the H…
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Mr. Speaker, just six months ago, we had a new Prime Minister elected here in Canada, with a new government. He has brought forward this legislation, so I think it is good timing. With that as background, would the member not agree that, in principle, if we support it, we should get it to committee stage, where it can be thoroughly discussed? Ultimately, we can get it back for third reading, when …
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Mr. Speaker, it is important for all of us to realize that we have substantive legislation before us that would take cases out of military jurisdiction and put them in civilian jurisdiction. We have been waiting a long time for this. We have a new Prime Minister who was just elected a number of months ago, and he has made this a high priority. Would the member not agree that we can continue to hav…
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Mr. Speaker, in principle, what we have heard from all sides of this House is support for the legislation. A previous Conservative speaker summed it up quite well in saying that the principle is there and we need to get it to committee. I agree with that member. We have now exceeded the five-hour mark. If we allow the bill to go to committee, many questions, like the one just asked, could be answe…
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Mr. Speaker, the member said that victims deserve progress. I agree. We have a new Prime Minister, who was elected less than six months ago, and we already have before us Bill C-11. Every member, it would appear, supports this legislation in principle. Allowing it to go to committee does not stop debate; it allows progress, something the member himself is asking for. Would the member not agree tha…
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Mr. Speaker, earlier, I referred to the principles of the bill in terms of transferring the process from military courts into the civilian court process. There are many different forms of support, and it seems to me that all members are supporting that particular principle. Discussions have also been taking place with our partners. After all, judicial responsibilities are not only federal; they ar…
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Mr. Speaker, one thing that is important to recognize in the debate is that the legislation would reinforce and put into law what has been happening for the last few years: Allegations of sexual assault and harassment are being transferred over to the civilian judicial system. Passing the legislation would ultimately be a significant step toward putting into law what we have attempted to put into …
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Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging, in a sense, that the Conservatives support this piece of legislation. I am wondering if the member sees the benefit of having the bill go to committee at this stage. We would have much more time at committee to deal with it, as opposed to holding it up indefinitely. Maybe that would allow for more debate on Bill C-10 or another piece of legislation the Conservatives…
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Mr. Speaker, I spent a great deal of my time noting how, from an economic and social point of view, it is in our best interests collectively as parliamentarians, representing all of Canada, to ensure that we continue to make progress on indigenous relationships, nation to nation. I believe this legislation further advances that by ensuring that we have an official agent of Parliament to assist in …
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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