Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the suspected for-profit buyer of Lions Place, a 287-unit, non-profit seniors' housing building in Winnipeg Centre, is a company with a history of hiking rents. The province recently announced rental support for current tenants, but this is a band-aid solution that protects residents only for two years while subsidizing rent increases. The Minister of Northern Affairs said he wants to…
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With regard to the Liidlii Kue First Nation’s efforts to open a women’s shelter in Fort Simpson: (a) which federal buildings has the government identified as available to the Liidlii Kue First Nation; (b) for each building in (a), what is the approximate cost to sell it to the Liidlii Kue First Nation; (c) for each building in (a), what are the reasons identified by the government as to why the tr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member has a good question. I want to reiterate that the federal government has made bilateral agreements with provinces. We are pushing for bilateral agreements with provinces that prioritize not-for-profit public spaces. This is something that Quebec is actually already doing. Quebec has been doing this for a million years. We know that it helps women. We know that it has impr…
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Madam Speaker, I will start by saying how nice it was working alongside the minister in the drafting of this legislation. This is good legislation, but not perfect. One concern I have brought up many times in the House is how early childhood educators historically, and I would say even now, have been underpaid and undervalued. Noting that this is critical work, noting that this is work that is vit…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to work with my colleague on the status of women committee. She spoke a lot about the need for for-profit care. That was a bit concerning for me because research has shown that for-profit care is not good for workers and is paid for on the backs of parents and families. I know that in Ontario, the PC government has quietly removed some of the profit caps, all…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today as the NDP's critic for children, families and social development to address this historic legislation, Bill C-35. Finally, after so many years of struggle, we have a national child care legislation that accompanies a system of national child care. Let me begin by acknowledging the people who made this system and the bill we are debating today possible.…
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Madam Speaker, certainly I am willing to work with any party in the House that is willing to advance the human rights of children and women. Human rights should never be made a partisan issue. This has certainly been recognized by child care advocates who support feminist policy in advancing the rights of women. One cannot support women without a robust public and not-for-profit child care system.…
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Madam Speaker, I do not think that public money should ever be used for profit. Public monies need to be used for not-for-profit, public child care spaces. We know the research shows that in early childhood education for-profit care often makes profit on the backs of children. We have certainly seen this in elder care, in private seniors' homes. We have also seen this in for-profit child care. We …
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Madam Speaker, I am very thankful that the legislation being put forward is rooted in human rights, including advancing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes the right for children to access accessible and affordable child care grounded in culture, tradition and language. That is absolutely a rural issue. I know many indigenous communities do not even h…
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Madam Speaker, I think it goes beyond me. National child care advocates, unions and families have pushed for a not-for-profit public child care system, something that the NDP fought for and managed to get in the bill. We know that the government cannot be a feminist government, and one cannot support feminist policy, without supporting a robust national child care program that is not-for-profit an…
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect to the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands and her compliments to the former finance minister, I want to let her know that indigenous people are still reeling from his cuts to indigenous programs, and when she is talking about Kelowna, with a 2% cap, would have only amounted to a few hundred dollars per nation. We are here now. We have a national child care strategy…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, yesterday family members and indigenous leaders wrote an urgent request to ministers. They are asking the government to provide resources for searches of the Prairie Green and Brady landfills to find the remains of loved ones, and to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to oversee the searches after the Winnipeg Police said indigenous people are “on the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is such an honour to rise today to present a petition in the House. Petition e-4095 calls on the government to address the need for an additional attachment leave benefit for families formed by adoption, kinship and customary care. This petition, brought by Julie Despaties and the Time to Attach campaign, gathered 3,093 signatures. It calls on the government to bring equal treatmen…
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With regard to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan, broken down by province and territory, since their respective agreements were announced: (a) how many new childcare spaces have been created; (b) how many early childhood educator jobs have been created; (c) how much of the federal investment has been delivered; (d) to date, what is the average savings per child (i) with a 50 perce…
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Madam Chair, today I am going to share the words of Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris. We talk so much here and now it is time to listen to what families and survivors want. “My name is Cambria Harris. My spirit name is West Flying Sparrow Woman. I'm a member of Long Plain First Nation but I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am 21 years old and I'm the eldest daughter of my deceased mother, Mo…
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Madam Chair, the letter continues: “They deserve to be remembered for who they are rather than the way they passed on. It breaks me to see our women fall through the cracks of society over and over again. Throughout my teens, I've watched and I've heard the horror stories of indigenous women going missing and many never found, and when they're found, they're found deceased in the most horrible, gr…
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Madam Chair, I do not think it is difficult. There are 231 calls for justice that clearly lay out a plan forward. The asks are very simple right now. I have been calling for the police to call for an independent investigation and provide the support and information necessary with respect to the feasibility of a search. If that is not possible, all this letter is asking for is to stop dumping garba…
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Madam Chair, in light of what is going on, at the very least there needs to be an immediate moratorium on the utilization of Prairie Green Landfill until this can be resolved. In honour of what the children are going through, and the families who are looking for loved ones, we need to give them that justice. We need to give them that peace. We also need to have prevention. I have been calling for …
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Madam Chair, I agree with my hon. colleague. We need those monies to be given to families in our communities to use the way they need for justice. We have put out 231 calls to action. In the 2022 budget, there were zero budgetary allocations for MMIWG2S. That is wrong. We need immediate resources. We need substantial resources for the searching of our loved ones and just to keep us alive. I got up…
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Madam Chair, I think that, in this case, it is very clear. There has been, as a result, and for very good reason, a relationship of distrust that has developed over time. In this particular case, out of respect for the families, I believe it is in the best interest of the Winnipeg city police to call for an independent investigation with support and access to the information required to assess whe…
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Madam Chair, I wanted to acknowledge that in Ottawa today we have the chief of Long Plain First Nation, Kyra Wilson, and the family of Morgan Harris. I am glad to hear my hon. colleague speak about how we are going to work together across party lines to get justice for the families on their terms and in response to what they are saying they need for justice. Will my colleague work with me to get t…
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Mr. Speaker, I have worked a lot with my hon. colleague in Winnipeg. Velma's House was a needed investment. I just found out this morning that a woman froze to death in a bus shack, under blankets. We are in a critical emergency. I appreciated what the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations shared the other day, that this is no time to boast about investments, because we are not doing enough. I am…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been working with my colleague across the way to respond to the crisis occurring in our communities, but he just said something of concern to me, which is that he is open to establishing an ombudsperson. Call for justice 1.7 specifically calls for that. This is something indigenous women, girls and families are calling for. It is needed. Will the minister commit today to puttin…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of working with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee. We are just finishing a study on the connection between resource extraction and increased violence against indigenous women and girls. I am very proud that everybody on that committee committed to that study in response to addressing violence against indigenous women. One thing we have learned abou…
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague, not only for her intervention but for sharing her thoughts as somebody who lived in Winnipeg for a long time and knows the history of racism we deal with as indigenous people and certainly indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in the city of Winnipeg. I have been asking across party lines whether members of Parliament will stand behind these …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise on this solemn occasion to commemorate a horrific tragedy, the memory of the École Polytechnique massacre, which took place on this day 33 years ago. It is still etched in the minds of millions of people who will never forget this act of femicide. Let me begin by paying tribute to the women who were murdered on December 6, 1989: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Cro…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, for decades advocates have called to nationalize early learning and child care. However, we still do not have legislation in place that ensures long-term protected funding for child care that prioritizes the expansion of non-profit and public service delivery. Families deserve access to high-quality, affordable child care now. When will the Liberals introduce this important legislatio…
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Mr. Speaker, another three indigenous women were murdered by an alleged serial killer in Winnipeg, and police are not going to look for their remains, which they believe are in the Brady landfill. Imagine hearing that about one's relative. While the government stalls in providing resources, indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people continue to be murdered, because we are a target. Will the gov…
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Mr. Speaker, I am here to give notice under Standing Order 52(2) that I will be seeking leave today, Monday, December 5, 2022, to propose an emergency debate regarding missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. Last week, the Winnipeg Police Service announced charges against an alleged serial killer for the murder of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and one other loved one wh…
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Madam Speaker, going back to some of the recommendations by the fine member of Parliament for Nunavut, and certainly brought up by the Bloc, we have different understandings of what a monument is. One of the improvements that can be made to the bill is ensuring it reflects greater diversity in our understandings, even of what “physical” is: inanimate and animate objects. Can my hon. colleague plea…
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With regard to the charitable status of anti-abortion organizations in Canada, broken down by province or territory and fiscal year, since 2015-16: (a) how does the government define what an anti-abortion organization is; and (b) how many organizations have received or maintained charitable status while meeting the definition in (a)?
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With regard to the commitment in the Liberal Party’s 2021 election platform to no longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations, such as crisis pregnancy centres: (a) what consultation processes has the government established to define an anti-abortion organization; (b) what stakeholders and interested parties have government representatives met with since September 21, 2021; and…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke about how sex trafficking impacts everyone. I agree with him. Here is the thing. We know, through research, that it predominantly impacts indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people, something that former prime minister Stephen Harper, when we tried to get a national inquiry, said was not on his radar. I want my hon. colleague to acknowledge that there i…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, as I rise to speak to Bill S-224, an act to amend the Criminal Code, trafficking in persons, Winnipeg has once again received horrific news of the murder of indigenous women in our community: They are Morgan Harris, 39; Marcedes Myran, 26; Rebecca Contois, 24; and one woman yet to be identified. These are three additional charges for Jeremy Skibicki, who now seems to be the latest s…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke during his intervention about the need for greater government accountability in the bill, and I am wondering if he could provide the House with an example.
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Madam Speaker, I have worked really well with my colleague across the way, but he spoke about more spending, and that certainly is not agreed to by Riley Yesno at the Yellowhead Institute, who said: What does this underfunding —this is in regard to indigenous people— and the budget approach more generally mean for those like Indigenous people, who have been consistently underfunded even when the C…
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Madam Speaker, I have the privilege of working with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee, where we are just completing a study, as was mentioned, on the connection between resource extraction and increased violence against indigenous women and girls. We managed to sit down and talk about some of the hard truths about the history of our country and the ongoing genocide of indigenous w…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I mean this respectfully, but I just want to remind members in the House not to use possessive terms like “our indigenous people”, when referring to indigenous people. We are our own people with our own independent rights.
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Madam Speaker, I have such a tremendous amount of respect for my hon. colleague across the way. We did some pretty critical work together in committee to pass Bill C-15. In saying that, I know that my colleague is very committed to human rights, but one of the frustrations that I have had, particularly as we are talking about this council, is the focus being shifted away from survivors and toward …
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This is the second time that I have risen in the House today to remind members not to use the words “our natives” or “our indigenous peoples”. We are not owned. We are individuals. We are independent people with our own individual rights as indigenous peoples.
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Madam Speaker, in the debate today I have heard a lot about the importance of some organizations and leaving others out. One thing I have not heard enough of in the House today, which is deeply troubling to me, is about the voices of survivors. I have concerns about that, because their voice needs to be central in this council for reconciliation. I am wondering if my hon. colleague can assure me t…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague, whom I have had the pleasure of working with on the status of women committee. I appreciate working with her tremendously. One of the observations I have made of the Conservatives' contributions to the debate today is their complete focus on economic reconciliation. I read something from the Yellowhead Institute that basically said the focus,…
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Mr. Speaker, the member spoke about diversity on the board, such as elders, survivors and those who have been intergenerationally impacted, but that is not what is being reflected in the debate that I have participated in all day. I think we are forgetting why we are here. It is because of the courageous stories, which were told by survivors, that brought forth the Truth and Reconciliation Commiss…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Nunavut. It is an honour to rise today in support of Bill C-29, the national council for reconciliation act. We would not be here today without the stories of survivors who gifted us with stories so that people across Canada could learn the truth about Canada's history, that what happened in residential schools was an act of genocid…
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Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to split my time.
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Mr. Speaker, I will take this opportunity to mention my wonderful partner, Romeo Saganash, who is a residential school survivor and has spent his life fighting to achieve that reconciliation. I think, when we are looking at this, and certainly having the privilege of being blessed with such a good partner, the truth and reconciliation is based on the stories of survivors. They set the path forward…
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Mr. Speaker, with the passing of Bill C-15 in the last session, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is mentioned 15 times in the bill, and the TRC calls for UNDRIP to be used as the framework for reconciliation. We have a framework. We just have to follow that framework. That was a declaration that was produced after decades. It was over 23 years of work. We have the…
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Mr. Speaker, as a long-time educator and an educator who taught in the area of indigenous education, I am happy to answer these questions. We have several examples of first nations' control of first nations' education across the country, including in Manitoba with the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre. For the James Bay Cree, it has been a few decades that they have been developing …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, child care workers and advocates are holding a day of action. Their message is that child care staff are worth more than they are being paid. As a former childhood educator, I know first-hand how inadequate pay and benefits make recruiting and retaining staff more difficult and the biggest barriers to expanding licensed child care and improving access is the shortage of …
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Madam Speaker, Bill C-27 does not explicitly apply to political parties, and in the past we have seen the possibility of privacy breaches and misuse in the political arena. Should the bill be amended to specifically include political parties?
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