Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, National Child Day is a time to recommit to improve the collective well-being of children and ensure their human rights are upheld. I was proud to co-host a breakfast on the Hill this morning in partnership with Breakfast Club of Canada, and I want to acknowledge Cloe Steffen, who is in the gallery on behalf of Breakfast Club of Canada today. This year's focus is to call on the fede…
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Mr. Speaker, Winnipeg is in a dire housing crisis. As of last year, 6,000 people were on a wait-list for public housing. People are freezing to death in bus shelters. The Winnipeg City Council is voting to change zoning laws in hopes that this government will grant the required funding to deal with the housing crisis. People are dying in the streets. Will the Liberals commit to the $192 million of…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that the fossil fuel industry is contributing to catastrophic climate change. We know that climate change and the climate emergency are impacting food production, particularly in countries where the Canadian Foodgrains Bank works. Let us talk about common sense. I am concerned about the Conservatives' “common-sense” plan. They are not willing to axe the profits of their corpor…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the corporate champion of Carleton for his comments. The Conservative government in the U.K. has put in place a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Will the Leader of the Opposition support our plan for a windfall tax so that we can invest that money to give working people a break on their energy bills, or is he too afraid to axe the profits of his oil and g…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of our party’s opposition motion. This is what real climate action looks like: climate action that does not divide people, but brings people together; climate action that gives families and individuals struggling to make ends meet a break, while also reducing our carbon emissions; climate action that asks the big polluters, who have seen record profits…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like the member to ask the residents of Winnipeg Centre, who are having the hardest time ever feeding their families, about his brag that our food prices are really low. My riding has the third-highest number of children in the country going without food. Where is the Liberal government? It is trying to buy off and divide Canadians with bogus plans for political points. The Li…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that access to communications is a fundamental right that the Liberal government continues to turn a blind eye to. There are so many people across Canada who do not have access to a cellphone and do not have access to the Internet. That is something the government should be addressing. It is a human rights matter that the government is failing on, and it needs …
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Mr. Speaker, Winnipeg's Christmas Cheer Board is anticipating record demand for its hampers because of the cost of living crisis. There have been 19,000 requests so far this year. While big corporations are jacking up food prices, the Liberals throw up their hands and the Conservative leader, the corporate champion from Carleton, stays silent. The Christmas Cheer Board does not know if it can meet…
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With regard to the emergency COVID-19 funding to front-line organizations supporting those experiencing gender-based violence provided through Women and Gender Equality Canada: (a) how many women’s shelters were funded through the program; (b) how many women’s shelters will lose funding when the funding stream expires in September; (c) on average, how much did each shelter receive each year under …
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Madam Speaker, something is fishy in here today. One thing that is fishy is the hon. member talking about how the Liberals have done a great job on affordability. We had a debate in here last night about the school meal programs, something they promised in 2019 and still have not delivered on. If we are talking about costs and people struggling, certainly in his riding of Winnipeg North, where chi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague on C-322, an act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program. My colleague for Vancouver Kingsway and I put forward a similar bill in this Parliament, to push forward a school food program for children. This is something that has been called for by experts and advocates for a long time, for many years, to develop …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comments, particularly in light of another Conservative filibuster that is really holding up progress at a time in the world when we see growing atrocities. I find it deeply troubling to take up time in this House during such a critical period in Canada and globally. It is a colossal disrespect for people in Canada and across the globe who are struggl…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the speaker on his private member's bill. I would like to add that the Liberals promised this four years ago. It was part of their platform and they still have not delivered on it. I am glad he is taking the initiative. The member for Vancouver Kingsway also put forward a private member's bill earlier this year. It was Bill C-212, the school food program…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. With the kind of behaviour I have seen from the Conservative Party, first the leader of the Conservative Party refusing to sit down, there seems to be a total disregard for rules and for Speaker of the House. I am starting to get frustrated. This is an important matter: Kids are starving when they are going to school. For some respect for families and kid…
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Mr. Speaker, I remember the story of my father, a Holocaust survivor. After arriving in Canada, he and my grandmother would hide under the table when they heard a plane because were they worried about being bombed. My grandmother and father were riddled with trauma. For my grandmother, it was because she was a survivor of the concentration camps, and for my father, it was because he was a child in…
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Madam Speaker, I almost laughed when I heard about having good debates in the House and respecting democracy, because the Conservatives are some of the worst hecklers I have heard in the House. The member spoke specifically about single moms. I also find it very disingenuous from a lot of Conservative males when they talk about struggling single moms. I actually was a single mom. In trying to prov…
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Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition in the House. E-petition 4573 calls on the federal government to provide financial aid for all families and caregivers who were affected by Lanark County's sudden decision to terminate access to the Canada-wide early learning and child care funding for a particular child care provider. This petition, brought by Tyler Williams from Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart as the most horrific violence continues in the Middle East. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, investigation of war crimes by the ICC and ICJ, an arms embargo and the provision of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. I am also alarmed by the rise in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Not only are people worr…
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Mr. Speaker, the Winnipeg Salvation Army announced 60 urgent shelter beds to meet the needs of refugee claimants. Winnipeg Centre is where most refugees and refugee claimants first settle in Manitoba, and there is a severe shortage of rent-geared-to-income homes to house refugees and their families. While the Liberals fail to act, newcomers in my community are sleeping in shelters or on the street…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North knows exactly what he is doing, which is being rude and cutting into the member for Elmwood—Transcona's time. I would like to—
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of Bill C-252, the child health protection act. For many years, the NDP has been calling for a law to stop junk food advertising aimed at children, and 11 years ago we called for such a ban, but no action was taken by successive Conservative and Liberal governments. I am hopeful that with the support from all parties, we can pass this bill and stop t…
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Mr. Speaker, today is Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day in Ontario, but where is the respect when the government keeps their wages low? A new report from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care shows the staffing crisis is threatening the success of the national child care program. This is not a worker shortage; it is a respect shortage, a dignity shortage and a w…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton has regularly made videos going after the poor and people with addictions, further dehumanizing people already left out. The member for Carleton says he stands with workers, but I have never seen him stand on the front lines on the picket line. In fact, he has voted for back-to-work legislation. At the national inquiry, he was at the cabinet table when former p…
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Madam Speaker, I certainly have respect for my colleague across the way, but with the Conservatives, much of the common sense plans are usually on the backs of the people who can least afford it, the people currently living in poverty. We know the Conservatives' plans for helping those with mental health and addictions issues. We know through research, and certainly in my riding, that under a Cons…
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Madam Speaker, I certainly do not support the Conservatives' nonsense plan. The Liberals go on and on about how they help people, but I cannot see that in my riding. In fact, I have never seen anything look so bad, with a Conservative government that we just finally got rid of and a federal Liberal government. We have a really bad housing crisis. We have record numbers of overdoses in our city, an…
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Mr. Chair, I just want to share with my colleague how deeply troubling the events have been. Certainly, with my family history, having lost my whole family on my father's side in the Holocaust, what is going on is very troubling. I learned many valuable things from my father, and I was very touched by Vivian Silver's son's comments about his mother, who is currently a hostage with Hamas. He said, …
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Madam Speaker, I am very saddened by what is occurring. Again, I am going to urge all parliamentarians, if they have any level of decency, to stop using residential school survivors for political games. This is inappropriate and it is violent.
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Madam Speaker, New Democrats are going to continue to use our position in Parliament to push for a sustainable future rooted in clean technology and good-paying union jobs. We are not going to give up until the government delivers. Although we welcome this legislation, under the Liberals' watch, we are watching the country burn down as they continue to invest in the fossil fuel industry. We are in…
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Madam Speaker, certainly emotions run high here when we are debating. September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and I find it really abhorrent that we are using this time, when we are supposed to be lifting up survivors, to get into petty political arguments on the backs of survivors. I am encouraging members to stop this behaviour.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that we need a just transition that brings workers along. Something I have offered to put forward is a guaranteed livable basic income, which could certainly be paid for if we stopped funding big oil and instead put that money into funding people. I am wondering if the hon. member agrees that we need to start supporting people. I have said very often t…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work of Project EmpowHER and other women’s health organizations that have come to Ottawa to advocate for universal coverage of contraception in Canada. It is time that we end financial barriers that limit access to contraceptives. I heed Action Canada’s call for “universal no-cost prescription contraception”, which is “predicated on everyone being able to…
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Madam Speaker, it is no secret to anyone that we are in a very serious climate emergency, and I am sure people across Canada sent thoughts and prayers to Atlantic Canadians as they experienced some of the worst environmental crises and damage as a result of the climate crisis. While all of this has gone on, although we see a bill today, the Liberals have sat on their hands while the country burns …
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday, families and advocates took to Parliament Hill to demand that the government search the landfills in Winnipeg. This is a human rights issue. It is a dignity issue. While the Manitoba Conservative government and the Liberal government sit by, human remains of loved ones remain in a garbage dump. Will the government stop playing jurisdictional games, uphold its international …
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With regard to the commitment in the mandate letter of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to introduce amendments to the Income Tax Act to make anti-abortion organizations who provide dishonest counselling to pregnant women about their rights and options ineligible for charitable status: (a) how does the government define dishonest counselling to pregnant women about their rights an…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start out by congratulating Adopt4Life, the Child and Youth Permanency Council of Canada and the time to attach campaign for their tireless advocacy, which has led to Bill C-318 today. I also congratulate my colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster for putting this bill forward. It is an important first step in providing adoptive parents with the parental time they need…
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Mr. Speaker, a CBC report card on the government's progress in implementing the calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls gave a failing grade. Only two of the 231 calls for justice have been fully implemented to date. This is unacceptable. The Liberals must implement all the calls for justice now and put in place a red dress alert system to k…
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Mr. Speaker, I have had enough with the platitudes. We need action now. The Prime Minister acknowledged this as an ongoing genocide. The House unanimously recognized the violence against indigenous women, girls and diverse-gendered folks as a Canada-wide emergency. It has been almost four years since the national inquiry. Only two calls to justice have been addressed. When will the Prime Minister …
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Madam Speaker, I think Canadians expect more from us than to act like goons in the House of Commons. Would the member explain why her party consistently neglects to protect small start-up independent online publishers and news media outlets in Canada?
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Madam Speaker, I look on social media. I just heard the term “tinfoil hats”. That is certainly a growing theme in the House of Commons these days. Facts seem to be a thing of the past. As a long-time academic, I cherish facts. Getting back to the debate, the Conservatives brought forward amendments that attempted to block the CBC from accessing compensation from web giants that profit from sharing…
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Mr. Speaker, a new study from the Breakfast Club of Canada shows that 84% of Canadians want a national school meal program implemented immediately. The Liberals promised to create the program two years ago, but they still have not delivered. Meanwhile, schools are cutting services that feed kids, because they cannot afford to pay for the program due to the rising cost of food. When will the Libera…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke about the importance of this bill, but here is the thing: 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008 and at least one-third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared. The Liberal government took power in 2015. Can the member explain why his government dragged its feet and took seven years to fix this problem?
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Madam Speaker, we know that the majority of the Conservatives' Bill C-18 amendments side with web giants to give them loopholes and stronger negotiating powers, instead of supporting Canada's news media. That is not a surprise, because we know the Conservatives are all about big business, big media and the ultrawealthy. Would the member explain why your party consistently neglects to protect small…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today is the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. I honour all the survivors and victims who have experienced sexual violence in conflict zones. It is critically important that they receive all the health and social supports that they need to recover. I also want to acknowledge UN Security Council Resolution 2122, which upholds abortion rights for wome…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to government funding allocated within the constituency of Winnipeg Centre for fiscal year 2022-23: what is the total funding amount broken down by (i) department or agency, (ii) initiative, (iii) amount?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to individuals that had their Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payments reduced in March 2023, broken down by province and territory: what is the total (i) number of families in receipt of CCB who had an overpayment for which recovery began in March 2023, (ii) number of families whose March 2023 CCB payments were reduced by more than 25 percent as a result of an overpayment recovery, (iii) a…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. He has a very long riding name but I remember it. I remember it because I know the member spoke a lot about process. I know the member is famous for filibustering in committee. One example is when the member for Edmonton Strathcona put forward a study to look at women's reproductive rights globally. The member obstr…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the urgent need to address the toxic drug crisis, which is costing lives in Winnipeg Centre. Yesterday, I joined local frontline organizations, advocates and elected officials in calling on the federal government to work with Manitoba to increase the number of naloxone kits in Winnipeg. The situation is so dire that some organizations have been forced to so…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke a bit about workers. One demographic he spoke about was the many immigrant families that choose to become child care workers. Some 98% of early childhood educators are women, and one-third are immigrants and non-permanent residents. More often, workers within early childhood education are also racialized. We know those systems are exploitive. We know that wor…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank everybody who has contributed to this debate, a debate that feels like it is going to go on forever with the Conservatives' stalling tactics. I certainly agree that we are in a child care desert. The Conservatives made note of the CCPA report time and time again. It was never about privatization of child care, however. It was about a worker shortage and the need to ensure that…
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