Government Orders
Madam Chair, I just want to start out by saying how much I appreciate working with my hon. colleague on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. We may be from different parties, but at the end of the day we all have a responsibility to end gender-based violence no matter who it is. In the case of indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and trans women, we know we are disproportionately represen…
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Madam Chair, whenever there is violence, it is everybody's problem. Nobody should ever ask permission to do something about violence. We are talking about indigenous people. We are talking about indigenous women and girls, transgender women and young people. Nobody needs to ask permission. It is about political will. Not acting or finding reasons not to act at this point when the Prime Minister ha…
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Madam Chair, I think I just have to look at what has been going on so far. It has been almost four years since the national inquiry. In 2020, the government released $724.1 million to address the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. The money is there. How much has it spent? Only 5%. No new shelters and no new transitional homes have been built. This system is already in plac…
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Madam Chair, as I mentioned, young people are on the front lines of this issue. They need to be supported. They need to be supported in this life-saving work. They need mentorship. They need to work with youth as peers and help each other stay safe. We have so many kids who age out of care onto the streets. Do members know who is stepping up? It is other young people with common experiences. We ne…
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Madam Chair, I have the pleasure of serving with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee. I am really proud of our status of women committee. We come from different parties, but tonight we showed up in full force, fighting to end gender-based violence in all forms. I am very moved by my colleague from the Bloc on a regular basis, by her allyship with indigenous women and her genuine des…
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Madam Chair, this has been a very emotional debate, but I will tell members something I have found quite off-putting. At a time when there is a crisis, there is boasting about how well we are doing, with families grieving throughout the country. I have found it more than insensitive. It is detached and not reflective of showing our humanity in this place. This is not a partisan issue. It is a huma…
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Mr. Chair, I have the pleasure to work with my colleague on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. She was talking about funding announcements. I want to remind my colleague, with all due respect, of the announcement of cutting $150 million from shelters in September. We know rates of gender-based violence are increasing. Although the reasoning was emergency funding during the pandemic, th…
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Mr. Chair, what a pleasure it is to work with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee. We are in different political parties, yet we strive to find common ground on so many issues to fight for women. Former Prime Minister Harper, at a time when we had to fight for a national inquiry, indicated in this House it was not on his radar when women were coming forward sounding the alarm around…
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Mr. Chair, I would agree with my hon. colleague that we do need justice reform. I appreciated her mention of the incarceration rate of indigenous women in prisons and its impact on family. I did have the privilege to meet with her and the minister the other day about a red dress alert. Very central to our conversation was the need to centre advocates, women, family members and survivors of violenc…
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Mr. Chair, my hon. colleague spoke about all this money. I am going to mention some of that money. Of $724.1 million that was issued in the 2020 budget, only 5% has been spent. Meanwhile, women are being murdered and going missing. We are dying on the streets, and they are throwing us in landfills. Although I was very pleased that there was support given for searching, the current government has f…
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Mr. Chair, one of the criticisms the NDP is talking about is the lack of funding for housing. It is $4 billion over seven years when we know there is a huge housing crisis. My hon. colleague from Nunavut has spoken many times about how women are forced to live in violence because they have nowhere else to go. I am wondering if my colleague would agree that more needs to be invested in housing and …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, while the Prime Minister is schmoozing with billionaires and bankers and taking selfies with Hollywood stars, 155,000 civil servant workers are on day 10 of their strike. In Winnipeg, 9,000 workers are on the streets, waiting on the Prime Minister to deliver a fair wage to keep up with inflation. The Prime Minister's lack of attention is, quite frankly, disrespectful. When will the …
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Mr. Speaker, most of the public service workers on strike are women. Some of them try to raise their family on $40,000 a year. What is the Prime Minister doing? He is announcing funding for international organizations while cutting $150 million from women's shelters here in Canada and refusing to reach a fair agreement with PSAC workers. He has to support women internationally and here at home. He…
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Mr. Speaker, most of the public service workers on strike are women. Some of them try to raise their families on $40,000 a year. Where is the Prime Minister? He is in New York announcing funding for international women's organizations while cutting $150 million from women's—
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Madam Speaker, my colleague and I share a riding border in Manitoba, and I also have the privilege of sharing a border with the community of Saint Boniface, which is a very strong Francophone and Métis community. I am wondering if the member feels the bill is going far enough to protect, for example, communities such as St. Boniface in Manitoba.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are going to cut $150 million in funding to women's shelters by September. Six hundred women's shelters will be impacted across the country. Gender-based violence is on the rise. This is unacceptable. Women and gender-diverse folks always seem to be an afterthought for the government. This funding is desperately needed to help those fleeing violence. Will the Prime Minist…
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Madam Speaker, I looked at the budget and was really disappointed to see, once again, a lack of investment in ending the current crisis of gender-based violence. We know that rates of violence have increased since the pandemic, yet the amount that has been allocated in this federal budget is beyond disappointing. It is like women in this place are always a second thought, like we are the last thou…
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Madam Speaker, we know, with housing, that we are not going to be able to deal with the housing crisis unless we start curtailing inflationary investor activity. The Conservatives are doing a lot of talk about giving money to developers, but we know that developers are not known for social enterprise or for helping out folks; in fact, they are for lining their pockets. Therefore, I wonder why the …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am really proud to say that Red River College is in my riding of Winnipeg Centre. We know we could recruit a lot more students if the government were more clear about its supports for students, which are very lacking. I am wondering if my colleague would agree with me that we need to have more supports for students and greater investments in education, including moving toward free…
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Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, the remains of Linda Mary Beardy, a 33-year-old indigenous woman, were found in the Brady landfill in Winnipeg. On Saturday, the remains of another woman were found near the Red River. They deserve to be honoured. They deserve justice. This ongoing genocide requires an urgent national response, including creating a nationwide red dress alert program. Should we go missin…
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Mr. Speaker, I know the Conservatives often put down the New Democratic Party for offering much-needed programs to Canadians, like dental care. However, I would have to agree with my colleague from the Bloc that their analysis is quite simplistic. We know where the answer lies, and it is something the Conservatives are never willing to do: go after the ultrawealthy and tax the corporate elite. The…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, Yom HaShoah is a day to remember the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, including members of my own family. All of my relatives were killed by the Nazis, except for five: my grandparents, father and two uncles. My father, Albert Gazan, was two and a half years old when the Germans invaded Holland. He spent the entire war in hiding, being sheltered by Dutch families. …
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Madam Speaker, the Mass Casualty Commission released a scathing report yesterday. It made clear that gender-based violence is not treated with the urgency and seriousness it deserves. To save lives, police must change the way they respond to reports of gender-based violence. We cannot remain idle. Lives are at risk. The government has an obligation to act with meaningful police reform, including a…
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Mr. Speaker, in describing increased rates of crime on the streets during question period, the member for Carleton used the derogatory term “savage”, which is often used to describe indigenous people. Not only is that term racist, but it is also unparliamentary. I want to invite the member for Carleton to retract that word and apologize.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is a fact that I have used the word “savage” when referring to the racist colonial history in this country. I wonder if the leader of the King's loyal opposition wants to go back to the time when there were acts with titles like an act to gradually civilize the savage in Canada. I hope we have moved past that in our—
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Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents who are refugees and former refugees are facing major delays in obtaining travel documents even when they provide proof of urgency. Between 2020 and 2021, only 15% of applications were processed within 20 business days by IRCC. Many have been waiting for over a year. The member for Vancouver East and I have written to the minister twice about this issue. When w…
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With regard to the National Research Council buildings located at 435 and 445 Ellice Avenue, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that were declared surplus in 2012: (a) where is the government in the process of selling these buildings; (b) are any federal employees still working at either building, and, if so, how many are working at each; (c) are there any non-federal government tenants who rent space in thes…
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Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to rise in the House today. Before I begin, I will mention that I will be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton Griesbach. We talk about budgets, and I hear rhetoric in the House almost on a daily basis about how people from coast to coast are struggling to make ends meet, with a particular reference to single mothers. The story of the single mother is consi…
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Madam Speaker, we should be clear that this program was not clear to begin with. There were calls to apply for CERB and then we would deal with it after. That is important to point out. A lot of people benefited from support during the pandemic. We know that if we do CERB clawbacks for families that are currently living at lower incomes right now, it is going to result in people ending up on the s…
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Madam Speaker, what I have offered up is not one solution. We need robust supports and services for families, like dental care, universal child care, pharmacare, guaranteed livable basic income and investment in affordable housing with rent geared to income. We need a comprehensive strategy to tackle social inequality.
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Mr. Speaker, we often talk about the support needed for families. My colleagues and I believe in supporting a robust social safety net to make sure families have what they need, including dental care. Our teeth are part of our bodies, and if we want to support good health, we also need to support holistic health, which includes our teeth. I wonder if the member shares my opinion that we need to pu…
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Madam Speaker, we need to start talking about the high cost of poverty, not the high cost of a guaranteed livable basic income. We have income guarantees right now. My bill would not offer anything new. What I argue, though, is that the income guarantees we currently have are not livable. GIS for seniors is an income guarantee that is not livable. We know that when we do not look after seniors, or…
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Madam Speaker, in terms of people struggling to make ends meet, I often hear people in the House usurp the story of the single mother, usually men who I know will never experience being a single mom. I was one, as I have mentioned before. If we are going to talk about helping families get ahead, helping moms not have to work three jobs, I am wondering if the hon. member is open to supporting thing…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people continue to go missing and be murdered at alarming rates. That is why I join family, survivors and advocates in calling for the creation of a nationwide red dress alert program. A red dress alert would notify the public when an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing. This would significantly increase the likelihood that s…
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With regard to the development of a comprehensive violence prevention strategy announced in the Fall Economic Statement 2020: (a) how much of the $724.1 million announced has been spent; and (b) broken down by province and territory, how many shelters (i) have been newly opened, (ii) are currently in construction, (iii) are planned, but the construction has not begun?
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Mr. Speaker, child care workers are leaving the sector and provinces are not recruiting enough staff, making it tougher for parents to find spaces. Why is this? It is because of inadequate benefits, the working conditions and wages that do not cover the bills. This is not a worker shortage. It is a wage shortage, a respect shortage and a dignity shortage. The Liberals promised personal support wor…
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Madam Speaker, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada and the BC Humanist Association found that the majority of crisis pregnancy centres post harmful misinformation. These centres present themselves as medical clinics, but feature false information about abortion, contraception and sexual activity. The Liberals promised to revoke charitable status from anti-choice organizations, and two years la…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that this government really has failed in terms of protecting security in Canada. Let us look back in history. It was the Harper government that increased the threshold above which a foreign takeover of a Canadian firm would be reviewed in the first place. Would the member support reducing the current threshold for a prospective acquisition of either sta…
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Mr. Speaker, last week, we learned that the Liberals spent just 5% of the $724.1-million violence prevention strategy announced in fall 2020 to address violence against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. Not one new shelter or transitional home has been built. It is unacceptable. This delay is costing lives. We should not have to beg for our safety. The public wants to know why so litt…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, February is Black History Month, and this year's theme is “Black Resistance: Remember, Recognize, and Educate”. After two years of virtual programming, I am thrilled that Black History Month events are being held in person again in Winnipeg. I want to congratulate Black History Month Manitoba and its chairperson Nadia Thompson. For over 40 years, this organization has played a criti…
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Madam Speaker, I very much value the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and I know that the intent behind this certainly is to protect Quebec identity and the identity of Quebeckers. I understand the importance of identity, but I also respect the identity of other nations within Quebec, such as indigenous nations, including the James Bay Cree, for example, where Quebec has signed bilateral agreements…
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Madam Speaker, Chinese insurance agent giant Anbang took over B.C.-based Retirement Concepts, a Canadian company that operates senior living facilities. At the time of acquisition, Anbang was a privately owned corporation. After a review by industry Canada, the takeover was approved, and relatively shortly afterwards, the company was seized by the Chinese government, which now holds 98% ownership.…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I have raised this several times in the House before, to refrain from using the words “our indigenous people”. We are not owned. We are independent individuals. We are human beings and we are not owned by anybody. I would like to remind the member not to use the word “our”.
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Madam Speaker, the Harper government increased the threshold above which foreign takeover of a Canadian firm is reviewed from $330 million to $1 billion. I am wondering if the member stands by that decision or if he supports reducing the current threshold to zero so every prospective transaction by either state-owned or state-controlled enterprises triggers a review.
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Mr. Speaker, I am also concerned about how difficult it is getting for individuals and families to make ends meet. However, this is the thing. The Conservatives do not support a national child care plan. I put forward a bill for a guaranteed livable basic income, and they do not support that either. They voted against an excess profit tax on oil and gas companies that would have made big oil pay t…
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Mr. Speaker, in my last question for the Conservatives, I called out their failure to tax the big oil companies. They share that with the current Liberal government. I am wondering why the Liberal government continues to let big oil off the hook while families are struggling. Instead of making big oil and gas pay, why are the Liberals making families and individuals pay what big corporations and b…
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Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals announced a deal with Alberta to fund the creation of 20,000 private, for-profit child care spaces, even though the Alberta government has not made clear progress on creating the 42,000 non-profit spaces it committed to build in its agreement with the federal government. In fact, the government's own child care legislation says that public and non-profit provide…
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Madam Speaker, we know that denying bail and using pretrial detention disproportionately impacts black and indigenous people and it makes it more likely that people will reoffend, not that he cares about indigenous peoples or colonization after meeting with the Frontier Centre leading residential school denialists. Just like his opposition to harm reduction, the member ignores the evidence when it…
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition in the House. Petition e-4166 calls on the federal government to stop the Canada child benefit clawbacks from families that received pandemic supports. This petition was brought forward by Leila Sarangi, and Campaign 2000 gathered 600 signatures. The petitioners call on the government to refund amounts clawed back from the CCB as a res…
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Madam Speaker, being called a radical by folks who hang out with far-right radical extremists and take photos with people like Jeremy Mackenzie, who is now facing criminal charges, threats with criminal harassment, and saying that they stand onside with law-abiding citizens, not victims, is pretty rich. I am pretty complimented about that. The members talk about listening to law enforcement. In th…
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