Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I have respect for my colleague opposite, but I would remind him that TFWs are less than 1% of the workforce and that temporary foreign workers use is down by 70% in Canada. In fact, this is a government that stands behind youth. We are creating jobs for youth. One of the things we are doing right now is investing in our union, training and innovation programs, supporting 1,800 trades…
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Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing from that side of the House, what we are hearing heckled today, is that the programs we have been putting in place to help Canadians and Canadian families are glorified food stamps, that these are ideological, radical programs. In fact, they are actually designed to help Canadians. We have boosted them, whether it is our groceries and essentials benefit, which Cana…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his question. I also want to thank him for attending the technical briefing recently held for members of Parliament. This debate gives us yet another opportunity to share with Canadians our commitment to ensuring that they may continue to receive the critical federal benefits to which they are entitled. We have been investing in…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct my colleague across the way. I said no such thing. I take these concerns very seriously, as does our government: investing in jobs and investing in the growth that is going to propel new jobs in this country in the years to come, to bring in foreign direct investment, to diversify our trade, to build major projects, to invest in housing and to make life more af…
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Mr. Speaker, let me address the member opposite's concerns, particularly about costs. He was looking for answers. He may not like them, but here they are. The fact of the matter is that spending on the project has not surged. The recently completed move of old age security onto the Cúram platform was delivered as planned and under budget. Let me say that again: It was delivered as planned and unde…
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Mr. Speaker, the government's priority is reducing pressures on costs and creating new opportunities for Canadians. I would note to my colleague that, as mentioned in the previous response, Canada right now is set to have the second-fastest growth in the G7. Foreign direct investment into the Canadian economy is at an 18-year high. These are proof points that the serious economic plan that we have…
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Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I am a bit confounded by this particular line of argument from both of the members opposite this evening, somehow comparing Canada to European countries in particular, and to Japan, in terms of just comparing the level of integration that we have as a Canadian economy with the United States and calling it comparable to that of European members of the G7. I think the…
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Mr. Speaker, I would note that in the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan's nearly four-minute opener, we barely heard about the impact of the trade war on Canada's economic situation. In fact, what we heard was a fair amount of heavy sarcasm about the state of challenge that has been placed on Canada and on Canadians in the past 14 months as a result of a very serious trade war that contin…
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Mr. Speaker, the department has been working to modernize a decades-old system to be able to process claims more effectively in the decades to come. Right now, 7.7 million seniors are receiving their benefits on time, and the department is working urgently to deal with any cases where there has been a delay.
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Mr. Speaker, the modernization of this system is a necessary upgrade of a 60-year-old system. It already offers a faster and easier way to access benefits. Currently, 7.7 million seniors are receiving their monthly benefits this way. This is the largest digital transformation initiative ever undertaken by the Government of Canada. Service Canada is striving to ensure that anyone facing urgent prob…
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Mr. Speaker, our government continues to support seniors, including through the Canadian dental care plan and the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. Processing OAS claims is a top priority, and the department is working hard to address this issue. The department has implemented an OAS action plan to mobilize all available resources to resolve this issue.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for representing the great people of Carleton and the issues they care about. Kids cannot learn if they are hungry. A new study by the Breakfast Club of Canada shows that school food programs improve educational outcomes, reduce childhood obesity and increase disposable incomes for families facing rising costs. Canada was the last country in the G7 to have a natio…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, this is the largest digital transformation ever undertaken. The vast majority of seniors are registered in the system and are receiving the right benefits on time. We have contacted members' offices to ask them for the names of the people affected and we have also offered members a briefing on the system.
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Mr. Speaker, we stand by the work we are doing. We want to take action that is informed, and informed by evidence. We have asked all sides in this to provide that evidence. Phase two of the probe will collect more evidence from airlines and unions to ensure that employers are complying with the Canada Labour Code. This step is necessary to provide additional clarity on how the airline sector's pay…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, this is the most extensive digital transformation ever. The vast majority of seniors are registered in the system and are receiving their benefits promptly and correctly. We have contacted MPs' offices to ask for the names of the Canadians concerned, and we have also offered to brief MPs on the system. Our government continues to support seniors in a variety of ways, includ…
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Mr. Speaker, nobody should work for free in this country. We take any claim of unpaid work seriously. After allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector, we launched a probe to get to the bottom of the claims. Phase one of that probe has now been published. We are going to keep investigating to ensure that work is happening in accordance with the Canada Labour Code. Workers must be paid for th…
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the Conservatives knew more about construction, but it seems what they know about is obstruction. If these Conservatives cared about building homes for young Canadians, they would pass the two bills we have before the House right now. They would pass the budget implementation act and they would pass the Build Canada Homes act, because those are the tools that are getting shovel…
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with our auto workers, with unions and with the businesses that communities are built around, and they are standing with us. Auto workers, mayors, union leaders and premiers, including Premier Ford, called this a great auto strategy. Let me read this to the House. The President of Unifor Local 200 in Windsor, who chairs Unifor's auto council, says that he is “ecstatic” over t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, food affordability touches all Canadians. In my own riding of St. Paul's, whether it is seniors on a fixed income, young people or newcomers, they are going to benefit from this new groceries and essentials benefit that we have. It is one of the reasons the policy is in place. The benefit is a part of it, and the other piece is building the food security strategy to go with it to en…
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Madam Speaker, first and foremost, I did no such thing. What I did was challenge the Conservative opposition to work with us and to debate this issue with facts and not fiction. I would have the member opposite know that I may proudly represent a downtown Toronto riding, but I grew up in the heartland of Alberta. I know a thing or two about this country from coast to coast, and I am proud of it. I…
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Madam Speaker, our policy as a government and our plan involves the types of supports and initiatives that farmers and industry would welcome, from building our supply chains to investing in rail and ports and ensuring that our biofuels are supported. I am someone who knows how much even Albertans care about the environment, and how much concern there is for the pristine nature in the national par…
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Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in the House today to speak to this opposition motion. It is a motion that reflects what we have been hearing, frankly, from the opposition for several months now. Food affordability and bringing down the cost of living generally are worthy priorities. In fact, food affordability is a key priority for this side of the House, which I will come to in a moment…
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Mr. Speaker, I would invite the member opposite to have a look at the government's announcement this week. The new benefit that we have just announced is going to help 12 million Canadians. It is going to provide up to $1,890 this year for a family of four. This is a measure that food banks and Food Banks Canada have called for, and it is part of a broader plan that is going to see us actually imp…
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Mr. Speaker, not only are we taking actual, concrete steps to make life more affordable for Canadians, but we are also investing in the kinds of supports that help families across the board, from early learning and child care to a national school food program, a Canada child benefit that is tied to inflation, and a dental care program. These are the kinds of programs Canadians depend on but that t…
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Mr. Speaker, we are helping young people face real challenges at every stage of their lives. When they want to go to school, we are making post-secondary education more affordable. When they are in school, we are helping them gain the skills they need for the jobs of the future. When they are ready to buy a home, we are cutting taxes for first-time homebuyers and building affordable housing fast. …
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Mr. Speaker, I would direct the member opposite to the announcement we made this week. The government has a serious plan to make life more affordable for Canadians. We are addressing one of the things the member opposite talked about. We are going to be increasing competition in the market. We are going to introduce unit price labelling. This is part of our plan to bring down prices for Canadians …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, for many families across Canada, Alzheimer's is not an abstract illness; it is a daily reality, lived in small moments and carried by loved ones who show up with patience and care. January is Alzheimer's Awareness Month, a time to wear the forget-me-not as a symbol of hope, and a time to recognize the more than 750,000 Canadians living with dementia and the millions of family members …
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Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we announced a new child care agreement with Ontario that is going to save families up to $10,400 per year, but do not take my word for it. Kristina Medow is an Ontario mom here in Ottawa, and she says that early learning and child care has changed her family's future. She says, “Having access to high quality affordable childcare is the biggest piece of mind that …
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Mr. Speaker, it is good jobs and a strong economy that are going to benefit all Canadians. Statistics Canada this morning announced that we created 54,000 net new jobs, with 50,000 for young people alone. We stood up in the House last week, last Friday, and talked about how our GDP is growing. Today, we are telling members that wages are up, rents are down, unemployment is down and youth unemploym…
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2025 set out to make life more affordable for Canadians. The member voted against the very programs that are going to support families in her community. Budget 2025 cuts taxes for 22 million Canadians, makes the national school food program permanent, delivers automatic tax filing for over 5.5 million Canadians, makes generational investments in housing and infrastructure and s…
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Mr. Speaker, when will the Conservatives recognize what farmers already know, which is that the industrial carbon price has zero impact on food prices? We have heard this from experts in the House. Let us talk about what is going to benefit all Canadians, which are good jobs and a strong economy. Today, Statistics Canada says we are doing both. We have created over 54,000 net new jobs in this past…
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Mr. Speaker, it is jobs and a strong economy will benefit every family in this country, which is why it is significant that, just this morning, Statistics Canada confirmed that we have created over 54,000 net new jobs this past month. When jobs are there for families, families benefit, but it does not stop there. Just yesterday, we announced a new early learning and child care deal in Ontario. Par…
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Mr. Speaker, instead of harping on about imaginary taxes that the Conservatives know are not real and are not affecting the price of food, they should think about their own conduct in the House. They should think about their votes. When it comes to our budget, our budget does some key things. It improves access to the Canada disability benefit. It strengthens EI to protect workers. It increases in…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I too have had the experience of working during COVID, when there were protests outside hospitals and vaccine clinics. As a government, we took the same steps. We protected doctors and nurses doing their jobs. We protected Canadians wanting to get vaccines. The same things are happening in Canada today; we need to protect places of worship, community centres and other places where com…
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Mr. Speaker, I would urge the Conservative bench to stand up and vote in favour of this bill, because I have yet to see evidence that they would support this bill and protect Canadians from hate and intimidation. In the two years since October 7, I have yet to hear a Conservative stand up in favour of safe access zones, for example, in municipalities across this country. We know exactly where the …
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Mr. Speaker, I am a proud Christian. I am a proud Canadian. I believe in the tenets of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and I believe deeply in our freedom of expression, but I am also a lawyer, and I understand that there is a boundary. When speech crosses a high threshold into hate, inciting fear, inciting violence and calling for the death or extermination of our fellow citizens, it is simpl…
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Mr. Speaker, it would have been great if the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights had been able to hear more witnesses, but because of the Conservatives' filibustering, those on the witness list were not able to appear in front of the committee. The Conservatives were too busy talking about their family pets and filibustering the work that needed to be done.
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Mr. Speaker, it is selfish, and the Conservatives should be ashamed of their behaviour in stalling this bill. I have to tell members that I speak to constituents in my riding all the time who are affected by the hate on their streets and in their communities. They are scared of dropping their children off at day care or their young students going to university, going on campus or going to downtown…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said in my remarks, the Minister of Justice is open to considering good faith amendments to this bill. The government does not hold a monopoly on great legislation. Let us move that legislation forward. Let us have those debates in good faith. Let us talk critically about the state of the law and what it actually is, not what the Conservatives want people online to believe it is.…
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Mr. Speaker, with many issues like this, it behooves the members opposite to stand up and actually read the Criminal Code and its definition of hate. Their approach to these issues is to fearmonger and to shed light on situations that are unlikely to see the light of day in a court of law. The Criminal Code defines hate as: communicating statements in any public place, [inciting] hatred against an…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak very forcefully against Motion No. 219, which was brought forward by the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, that seeks to instruct the justice committee to drop its work on the combatting hate act, Bill C-9, and instead launch a taxpayer-funded, cross-country tour as a means of delaying the committee's work. Let us be clear from the start that this motion …
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Mr. Speaker, when I talk to seniors in my riding, they talk to me about the Canadian dental care program. They say that it is life-changing, that it is getting them dental care they have not had for years or for the first time. They talk to me about the New Horizons program and how we are supporting projects that improve their quality of life. They talk to me about the $5 billion that budget 2025 …
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Mr. Speaker, we have a national school food program that is going to save parents up to $800 a year, a dental care program, a tax cut for 22 million Canadians, early learning and child care and a Canada child benefit. The Leader of the Opposition stood up in the House today and called them “costly promises”. Members opposite called them “photo ops”. They called them “garbage”. They called them “so…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak forcefully against the motion—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Reflecting on this year's United Nations' theme, “fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress”, we are reminded that inclusion is not just an aspiration; it is a responsibility. This year our government launched the Canada disability benefit, a vital new addition to our social safety ne…
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Madam Speaker, let me remind the member, who comes from the same province that I do, that we are helping invest in the new Darlington nuclear project in Bowmanville. It is a project that is going to build four new small nuclear reactors, the first of its kind in the G7. It is going to provide clean, reliable electricity to power 1.2 million homes. It is going to reduce our carbon emissions. It is …
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Mr. Speaker, it really seems to me like the member opposite missed her chance to vote for a tax cut to benefit 22 million Canadians, including constituents in her riding. The member spoke about engineers. Just this morning, I met with the International Union of Operating Engineers. There are 18,000 here in Ontario. We talked about the importance of early learning and child care, because they need …
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Mr. Speaker, this government is investing in infants and children of all ages. Not only did we create the Canada child benefit, but families received it last week. We also committed to $10-a-day child care spaces across the country. Parents in my riding are saving over $10,000 a year for their kids. However, members should not take my word for it. Let me tell the House about what a parent said at …
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Mr. Speaker, the other side of the House does not want to listen to the facts and to the stakeholders that work in these areas, so let us come back to the Conservatives' record. Let us talk about the measures this House has put in place to make life more affordable for Canadians. That side of the House says child care does not create spaces and dental care is a duplication. They say pharmacare is …
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Mr. Speaker, let me add to what my colleague just said to the House. The Canadian Climate Institute yesterday said, “Industrial carbon pricing has essentially no impact on the price of food and the agricultural sector.” Farmers do not pay the industrial price. The air is a little thin on that side of the House today, and I would like to remind those members that they voted against making the natio…
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