Government Orders
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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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 …
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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 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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…
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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, 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, 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 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 rise today to speak forcefully against the motion—
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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, 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, 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, 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, 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, let us talk about how Canada is one of only a handful of countries around the world that maintain a AAA credit rating. That stamp of approval means that we have not just a strong fiscal position but also an enviable one. The head of the IMF has said that Canada is acting decisively to use its fiscal space to make the investments that are going to boost our productivity and growth. We …
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2025 has two fiscal anchors: a debt-to-GDP ratio baseline and balancing operating expenditures over the next three years. Our former Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, recently stated that he is comfortable with budget deficits of about 2.5% of the GDP given the current economic context. Canada is ahead of Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and France, and that includes …
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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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Mr. Speaker, do not take it from me; take it from Sean Strickland from Canada's Building Trades Unions, who commented on our budget. He stated, “The 2025 federal budget contains strong commitments to unionized labour and skilled tradespeople. “It goes to show it’s possible to create policies that are mutually beneficial when industry and government come to the table together.... “Strong labour con…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is concerned about the issue of employment, and indeed, the Canadian labour market is going through a period of disruption. A massive retirement wave is leading to a critical labour shortage. In fact, 300,000 skilled workers are expected to retire by 2033. This is a difficult situation, but the Government of Canada is committed to prepari…
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about two of the main areas of costs for families; let us talk about taxes and let us talk about housing. The budget cuts taxes for 22 million Canadians, bringing the basic tax rate down from 15% to 14%. This is a major tax cut. It is about $5 billion a year in tax relief for Canadians, and 85% goes to the lowest income tax brackets alone. With regard to housing, we are ma…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a bit rich coming from Poilievre's biographer, but let us talk—
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Mr. Speaker, I think it depends on the types of books a member might want to read. Let us talk about books. This week in the House, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations has been on the Hill representing students from across the land. Here is what Abdul Abbasi, the Chair of CASA and a student from the University of Alberta, had to say about the budget: “Students are pleased to see that the…
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Mr. Speaker, let me talk about the people in my riding, like seniors, who are benefiting from the budget. When I talk to them, I hear about dental care and their saving $800 a year. I hear about our new horizons program for seniors, supporting projects that affect seniors' quality of life. I hear about $5 billion in the budget going to health care and hospital infrastructure. Most importantly, I h…
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Mr. Speaker, let me keep going. Let me talk about the youth in Toronto—St. Paul's, because this side of the House knows that our economic future depends on them. That is why we are saying that whatever ambition means to Canada's youth, whether it is to shape the future of AI, whether it is to join the climate corps, whether it is to make a great Canadian film, whether it is to study higher educati…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives think they know best, but they are actually ignoring the experts. They are ignoring the Coalition for Healthy School Food, which calls this budget a “great step forward to support children and youth in Canada.” They are ignoring the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Breakfast Club of Canada, which also applaud our commitment to making the national school food progr…
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Mr. Speaker, what is remarkable about this budget is that it builds for the future but helps people today. This is a budget that cuts taxes for 22 million Canadians, saving families up to $800 a year. It makes the national school food program permanent, helping over half a million kids. It delivers automatic federal tax filing for five and a half million Canadians. It invests in housing, it invest…
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Mr. Speaker, on this historic day, I rise to recognize the life and work of the late Andrew Moor, who served 18 years as CEO of EQ Bank and who was a long-time resident of Toronto—St. Paul's. We lost him suddenly this summer. Our thoughts are with his wife, Mags, and his three children, Dan, Cat and Sarah. Andrew was a true Canadian pioneer driven by an unwavering belief that banks should, above a…
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Mr. Speaker, when we talk about making generational investments in our upcoming budget, it is because we believe, on this side of the House, youth and young people are the drivers of our future economic growth, and we have a responsible plan to ensure they have the skills and opportunities to succeed. We built on the work we are doing to support apprenticeships and Red Seal trades, co-ops and acce…
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Mr. Speaker, visiting Ottawa today are two incredible athletes, Ava Walsh and Gracie Ryckman, as well as coaches, staff and volunteers from Special Olympics Canada. For more than 50 years, the Special Olympics have shown us the power of inclusion, creating opportunities for Canadians with disabilities to build on their strengths, foster lifelong friendships and shine on and off the field. Across t…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Prescott—Russell—Cumberland for the question. Good news: Our new government is making the national school food program permanent. This will provide access to the nutritious food that all students need to learn. It will also save families approximately $800 a year on their grocery bills. We are lowering costs for families so that children can thrive an…
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about those jobs numbers today. Statistics Canada reported that employment has increased by 60,000 jobs. That includes 28,000 jobs in manufacturing, 14,000 new jobs in health care and 106,000 full-time jobs. We have a plan. We are making progress, and we are going to be there to create good-paying, career-starting jobs for all Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, let us deal in facts. These jobs numbers are for September. At the end of a summer, many youth are leaving jobs and going back to school or back to other work. Coming back to what the Liberal government is doing, we are investing a billion dollars, for example, in Red Seal trades for apprenticeships. We are investing in work-integrated learning. We are investing in co-ops. Most import…
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Mr. Speaker, the data does not lie. In September, we created over 100,000 new full-time jobs in this country. Those are good jobs for all Canadians. We are embarking on a plan that is not only going to build projects, but build homes and make those homes more affordable for young Canadians. We are bringing forward a budget next month that is going to make a generational investment in Canadian indu…
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Mr. Speaker, we are supporting the retirement security of health care and home care workers. We are investing in union training and in the skilled trades. We are building major projects and new homes. We are creating tens of thousands of quality jobs across the country for unionized workers. Our government will continue to support unions and unionized workers.
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Mr. Speaker, we continue to invest in our workers right across the board and in making EI easier to access. In addition, we are investing in all sorts of union training and skilled trades, building major projects and new homes, and creating tens of thousands of good jobs right across the country. Our government is going to continue to stand with workers, making sure they have access to the program…
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Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, licensing is a provincial responsibility, so it is up to the provinces to take appropriate action. We will stand up for truckers who deserve fair wages and who deserve to be protected under the law. Misclassification in the trucking industry is illegal and we are ensuring that the law is enforced. More than 1,000 inspections and awareness activities have …
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