Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I take great exception to the terminology that this member uses when she says phases like “these Liberals” and “those Liberals”. I can assure her that “these Conservatives” are nothing like “those Conservatives” of the past, like my predecessor Flora MacDonald, who actually introduced this bill into this House. The member referenced a lot of quotes, and I have a quote for her from P…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I am happy to apologize for that comment. It is true that I said that, and I apologize for it. However, I will recognize the fact that the member for Barrie—Innisfil said the same thing—
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined a place where the NDP is the party standing up for law and order while the Conservatives capitulate to protesters outside who are breaking—
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I heard the member reference some quotes from parliamentarians, so I will reference quotes from a couple of parliamentarians too. The member might remember Peter MacKay, a Conservative minister, and Vernon White, a senator. They said, “But what we have seen in the occupation of Ottawa and blockages at border crossings is not the right of protest enshrined in our constitution, but ille…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, notwithstanding the fact that I take exception to his comment and I think it is inappropriate to say in the House, the member would know he should not be referencing my presence in the House at any time, whether I was here or not here.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the member raised a very interesting point. She said that as of Monday there was nothing that stopped different police forces from working together. As a matter of fact, that is not entirely true. Unless they are sworn officers in Ontario, they cannot enforce the law in Ontario. I am sure Ottawa is extremely grateful for the resources that came from the SQ in Quebec, but until the E…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I find it interesting. All day long, I have been hearing Conservatives talk about the need for the Prime Minister to engage in dialogue and discussion with the occupiers outside, yet I find it interesting that Jason Kenney, the premier of Alberta, did not engage with the protesters at Coutts. Premier Doug Ford did not engage with the protesters or those who were blocking the bridge …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the member said that all the Prime Minister needed to do was to engage in dialogue and we could have come to a peaceful resolution with the occupiers outside while his premier, Jason Kenney, did not engage in dialogue at the Coutts crossing. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, did not engage in dialogue. The premier of Manitoba did not engage in dialogue at the blockade there. I am c…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I do not know what is going on, but ever since the former leader of the opposition stepped down, or was kicked out, and the member for Carleton became the heir apparent to lead the party, the Bloc Québécois members have taken a massive change in their approach. They have lined up with the Conservatives time and again, as though they have to regurgitate the same rhetoric that we hear f…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, today I noticed some very interesting public opinion polling coming out of Quebec. As a matter of fact, it says that 72% of Quebeckers support the use of the Emergencies Act. More importantly, in polling from Abacus Data that was released recently, 63% of Bloc supporters in the last election indicated that they would never vote for an MP who supports the occupation going on outside.…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the member is incorrect. This piece of legislation has never been enacted before. He is trying to suggest that the Emergencies Act is the same thing as the War Measures Act, and he could not be further from the truth. They are completely different and call on different measures. What I find most alarming is that this member wants to align himself with a group outside, a group whose fi…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to read a quote. What we have seen in the occupation of Ottawa and blockages at border crossings is not the right of protest enshrined in our constitution, but illegal activity that represents a national security and economic threat to Canada. That is a quote from February 14 from Peter MacKay, a previous member of Parliament, as I am sure this member knows very well. I…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that I get to ask this NDP member from Quebec a question, because I would love to hear his insight into this. Public opinion polling is showing that 72% of Quebeckers are in favour of the Emergencies Act being invoked, but even more astonishing, according to Abacus Data, 63% of the people who voted for the Bloc Québécois in the last election say that they would never v…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, because it is not appropriate to call another member a liar in the House, I certainly take that comment back. However, I will say that for eight minutes we watched the member without that mask—
Read full speech →Government Orders
He has had it off for 10 minutes. He just lied to the House.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, absolutely nobody on this side of the House is mocking seniors, and the member should—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, toward the end of the member's speech, in the last few sentences, she referenced the need for the Prime Minister to invoke the Emergencies Act. I am curious if she agrees with that as a proper measure and if she plans to vote for it. There will be a debate on that, as required by the legislation, in the House. Is she planning to vote in favour of it? Is it the right action to take, or…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for speaking about the impact this particular piece of legislation will have on Canadian seniors. At the end of the day, we need to get this bill passed quickly because it is absolutely critical that we get these measures in place for the next tax season. I am wondering if the member could expand on the urgency of this and how important it is for constituent…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That, notwithstanding any Standing Order, special order or usual practice of the House, Government Business No. 7 be amended: a) in paragraph (c), by deleting all the words after the words “recorded division is requested” and substituting the foll…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the minister on introducing this very important piece of legislation. From what I understand, this is the first and only piece of legislation that has been introduced by the newly created Minister of Seniors position. What we have seen today, in my opinion, is a reluctance to move forward on this, despite the fact that everybody in the House knows how incredibly…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I found it interesting that the member, as she reflected on the Harper years, referenced back to things like tax-free savings accounts and registered retirement income funds, all stuff that well-off seniors can afford. I do not know many low-income seniors who are tapping into the tax-free savings accounts. Yes, the Conservative Party certainly does have a history of being sure to tak…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to go back to the question that my NDP colleague asked previously because she made an excellent point. This member allowed to pass all stages of the conversion therapy ban bill, all in one quick unanimous consent motion where everybody agreed to all stages of it and it passed unanimously, so quickly, and this member clearly voted in favour of it. Why does this member not care…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I assure you and the member that nobody was laughing at his comments. What we were trying to do was actually remind the member that he voted in favour of all the measures that he is now criticizing. As a matter of fact, he did it through unanimous consent. The member talked about not remembering what happened, and being surprised. Does the member not remember, back in March of 2020, w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it was actually a member for Leeds, which is just east of Kingston.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I was watching the member's speech on the TV in the lobby, and she was commenting on the unanimous consent motion the Bloc brought forward in the previous Parliament. I think it was in May of last year. The Bloc wants to set this up as though it somehow introduced a unanimous consent motion that would have solved everything, but the reality is that the motion had a number of problem…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, today is a great opportunity to rise in the House on this flag day. I want to note the importance and significance of today being the day we mark and recognize the Canadian flag, a flag we have seen on various people's knapsacks and backpacks throughout the world. It is a symbol people proudly wear to show where their home is. Unlike some other countries in the world, we are incredi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I take exception to the fact that the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan would suggest that I do not appreciate, value or see the benefit of various members' input in this House. As a matter of fact, if he listened to my speech, I actually gave credit to the Conservatives for helping to make the wage subsidy program better. I am totally and absolutely willing to do that when…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am not saying that the Bloc is delaying the process. What I am saying is that it is because of the NDP that the Bloc members have the luxury of being able to vote against this motion. The Bloc members know full well that if they were not in this position and the NDP was not voting in favour of this motion, they would have a lot more pressure to vote in favour of it. Where I am ide…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member knows just as well as I and every other member in this House about the challenges of the legislative calendar. I am not going to say that this could not have been done sooner; I would have loved to have seen this done sooner as well. What I will say is that this particular minister was clearly seized with this file on day one after being appointed. She moved as quickly on…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, he clearly understands the problem that we are in, yet he is not willing to be part of the solution. That just proves what I have been saying all along, which is that this weird coalition between the Bloc and the Conservatives to somehow slow down the legislative agenda is impacting legislation. He literally just told us that he understands what the problem is, so he should vote in …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I can cast light on that. As one of the only Liberals in the House, I physically sat in the House for five months last winter and spring. I saw the games being played in order to prevent legislation from going through. That was coupled with everything that had happened during the pandemic. I have no problem saying that I felt that it was time for Canadians to weigh in on this and se…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am starting to sense two different camps forming on the Conservative side of the House. There is one camp that thinks the rapid tests are completely useless. As the member said, in his home province they do not want them or need them. We heard the member for Cumberland—Colchester basically question the science of rapid tests, but then the leader of the Conservatives in the House, wh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order. There are two parts to this bill, and it is a very small bill. One part speaks to spending money to purchase rapid tests and the other paragraph speaks to distributing those tests to provinces and territories. This member has not spoken to this bill at all during the five minutes that he has already spoken.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, if we stop talking about it and we sit down, as I am going to do in a few seconds, the debate can collapse, we can vote on it and we can move on to the next item. I do not think that is going to happen, because Conservatives have been getting up and talking about everything but this motion. My response to my colleague across the way is this. Why do Conservative members not actually …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, to address the first point, I really hope that if we have learned one thing as a country through this, it is that we need to have the capacity in our own country to make the equipment during a pandemic. If we have learned one thing, it had better be that. To her question or her comment about the bureaucracy and how long it has taken, what I can say about this bill and about all piec…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, that is an excellent point. Nothing would please me more than not having to wear these masks any more. I am sick and tired of it. I hate it. I hate having to walk around all the time wearing them. I hate having to remember to take my mask out of my car when I go into a store. I want this pandemic to be over just as much as everybody else does. However, the reality of the situation i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, at least it is predictable that a bill dealing with spending money on something health-related will generate a question from the Bloc about health transfers. At least that is more predictable than what I am hearing from my colleagues in the Conservative Party. I will say, in an attempt to answer his question, that this government has been focused on a holistic approach from the begi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent. I have certainly always enjoyed our discussions. I just spoke for 15 minutes on this bill. The first question I got was not even about the bill, but about what another member of Parliament said, who is completely entitled to his opinion. It differs from mine, but it is what it is. The point is that this bill today is about rapid tests, and…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am going to be addressing the comments that have been made during this debate, but unlike the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, who justified his comments by the fact that—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, if you review Hansard, I am sure you will find that I am one of the few people who is talking about rapid tests during today's debate. I do appreciate the points of order though, because it gives me an opportunity to collect my thoughts. On January 5, the member for Thornhill, the Conservative Party transport critic, sent a letter to the Minister of Transport asking that he consider…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker who rose on a point of order clearly did not hear your ruling when you said that this was getting into debate. I am going to address the comments I have heard during this debate but, unlike the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, who somehow justified his 10-minute speech that had nothing to do with this based on what he had heard other people say, I am no…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to rise today to provide some comments on the motion before us, which puts a set of steps into motion that have to do with how to deal with this particular bill. As I was preparing to do this and I was listening to the debate in the House for the last several hours, I could not help but wonder where it is that the Conservative concern comes from about passing this legislatio…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, coming into today's debate, I was under the impression that Conservatives thought that rapid tests were effective tools, but I could not help but take note of the comment that was made by the member for Cumberland—Colchester today. He represents the Conservatives on the health committee and is a doctor as well. He said, “we need to have a look at the science”. That is a direct quote. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member indicated at the outset of his speech that he was going to start by talking about a matter that has already been voted on. We really do have to talk to this. Given the time constraints that have been highlighted by the Conservatives, I think it would be appropriate to stay on topic. He did say—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. I did not say that the member was engaging in a partisan approach. I said she is willing to go along with the Leader of the Opposition, who is engaging in an overly hyperpartisan approach.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what we have seen throughout the course of the last two years in my opinion is continuous flip-flops from the Conservatives on various issues. We are never going to have enough vaccines and we are never getting vaccines, and then suddenly, where are all the vaccines and why do we not have the vaccines yet? The same thing goes for closing borders. Why are the borders not closed yet? Cl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to this opposition day motion. I have had the opportunity to listen for the majority of the day to the debate and I want to address a few points. A couple nights ago when we had an emergency debate, I started off with some facts. I am going to do the same thing today because I think it is very important. The fact is that almost 90% of adults over th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, they say it makes sense. Does that make sense? Guess what. Ontario has done it, and keeps changing it. Three months ago, we did not know about the omicron virus. We had no idea. We are getting new things thrown into the equation all the time. What the opposition members are asking for is that we develop a road map when there are so many variables. They want to be able to tie something…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, no, they did not say, “Open up.” That is what they are heckling me with from the other side. This is my point. They are misrepresenting the comments that they have made. What they have been saying is that we need to establish, at some point, how we will move out of this. They need to do it, not politicians in this room. Do members know how I know that to be the fact? Do members know h…
Read full speech →