Government Orders
Madam Chair, that is all the questions I have.
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Madam Speaker, on addressing the other point from the paid sick days on this particular piece of legislation, the minister is talking about the protection of individuals who are trying to access hospitals. In my riding of Kingston and the Islands, we saw protests, harassing comments and things being thrown at people going to and from a cancer clinic at Kingston General Hospital, of all places. Cou…
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Madam Chair, it is an honour for me to rise to speak to the estimates and then ask some questions about them. I will speak for about four or five minutes. Then I will have some questions, in particular, for the Minister of Health and the President of the Treasury Board. The topics I want to bring up with them today specifically relate to health and our public service. On health, I really want to u…
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Madam Chair, could the minister inform the House how many Canadians, in terms of percentage perhaps, have been vaccinated?
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Madam Chair, I can only imagine that it is extremely important, as we encourage people to get vaccinated, that leadership is taken from those who are in a position to do that. When there are groups trying to promote misinformation and trying to suggest that it is against our civil liberties to encourage people to be vaccinated, such as the liberty caucus that has been formed on the other side of t…
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Madam Speaker, that is a very reasonable question and I appreciate it. We always have to learn from our mistakes in order to do better in the future. I do not have a problem with studying this very important issue and understanding what went right and what went wrong. It is when we start to overpoliticize it and use it as an opportunity to score political points that it becomes an issue for me, wh…
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Madam Speaker, all day long, I have heard Conservatives talk about how they were not trying to politicize this issue. If the member had just listened to my speech, which he clearly did not, he would know that I was not painting that picture. Let me reread a quote for him. I said, “For those who made it to the airport gates, they faced intense crowding, violence, sweltering heat and the reality the…
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Mr. Speaker, we heard the previous Conservative member talk about the need for collaboration, to get along and remove partisan politics from this. However, the entire last speech took political shots repetitively at the government. Does the member not feel the same way, that it is important to try to remove the politics from this?
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Kanata—Carleton. I rise this afternoon to speak about the brave members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their civilian colleagues on the ground in Kabul who helped coordinate the daring evacuation from Afghanistan this past summer. I want to speak about this whole-of-government mission and how we worked closely with our allies and p…
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Madam Speaker, that would go back to the question from my colleague in the Bloc Québécois. We should study this issue, in whatever form that takes place, in order to be better prepared for next time and in order to do more now. I have mentioned the commitments we have made in terms of bringing people into Canada, and if there is a way we can do that better through some form of study that can be br…
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Madam Speaker, with the two examples that were raised by the member, there is an opportunity to look at them and see whether those would be solutions that would improve the situation moving forward, so I certainly would not rule them out. Can I say point-blank at this point that I am supportive? It really depends on the work that any committee, whether it is this special committee or another commi…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to rise to speak to Bill C-3, very important legislation that covers two aspects of providing for our health care workers, especially during this pandemic. The latter half of the bill specifically addresses the issue of paid sick leave and how important it is to ensure that people do not have to choose between paying their bills and going to work. When people are…
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Madam Speaker, the member asked how we got here, and he seemed to imply that the reason there is a lot of misinformation out there has to do with the lack of ability or desire of the government to share information. I will be the first to say that information sharing is critical, and we should always do as much as we possibly can. However, the member seems to have completely glossed over the fact …
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Madam Speaker, during the course of the debate today, we have heard at least a couple Conservative colleagues try to draw a parallel between the protests that are happening outside hospitals with those that occurring along pipelines. I wonder if the member thinks that when this does get to committee, we should draw that comparison and try to further the legislation to include looking at protests a…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on being a new mother. I understand she was previously in the Alberta legislature, so I welcome her to the House. When we talk about what fuels the individuals who engage in harassment-type activities in front of hospitals, I cannot help but think there are certain elements about this relating to the roles that leadership play. I think of the new caucus t…
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Madam Speaker, a lot has been said today about the need for such legislation. However, given that it has come out of the rise of this anti-vax movement and people who are so dead set against accepting the realities of what is going on in our country right now, I have to be honest: I cannot help but think that some of it has to do with the fact that there are so many people out there who are willin…
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Madam Speaker, I heard the member speak a little about Bill C-3, but I was really intrigued about the comments he was making before that. The reason I had my face in my hands when he looked over at me was because I was thinking about the comment he made about how electric vehicles, and I drive one, use a lot of plastic to make. Indeed, that is the case. There is no doubt a lot of petroleum product…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of 261 constituents in my riding. They are calling on the government to enact just transition legislation that specifically aims to reduce emissions significantly, wind down fossil fuel subsidies and the industry in general, create good, clean green jobs that drive an inclusive workforce and development, expand the social safety net through…
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Mr. Speaker, I can respect the fact that the question is slightly off the topic of this particular debate, but the member raises a good point. If we have not learned from this pandemic that we need to strengthen the resources around hiring, recruiting and bringing more frontline workers on board, then I do not think we have truly learned the lesson from this pandemic. If the NDP is set to make pro…
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Mr. Speaker, either it is in documentation they have been provided in advance of this debate or it is just a common theme among Conservatives, because the last two members have literally asked questions comparing the security around pipelines to that around health care facilities. As I indicated in my speech, in my own constituency during the election, there were People's Party of Canada candidate…
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Mr. Speaker, only a Conservative would suggest that the security of the work of our frontline workers should be compared to that of a pipeline.
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the intervention by our Bloc colleague today. I submit to her that there should be a distinction for those who are trying to protect public safety when it comes to the issue of protests and, quite frankly, aggravated protests, which have been happening in front of hospitals. As we are seeing during the pandemic, a certain level of intimidation and fear is being…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize some amazing Queen's University students from my riding of Kingston and the Islands. Last week, Queen's University's varsity leadership council ran a food drive to help support Martha's Table, a local non-profit that provides free nutritious meals and personal hygiene products to members of the Kingston community. This initiative was led by the council's co-p…
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Mr. Speaker, you have ruled on this as the Chair who is presiding over this chamber right now. If the member is not going to accept your ruling, it is your duty to remove her from the chamber.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During his intervention today, the member for Kings—Hants said that the birthplace of hockey was in Nova Scotia. I would direct him to a CBC article from January 6, 2016, which disputes that. It states the birthplace is actually Kingston, Ontario.
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Mr. Speaker, we continually hear this narrative from the Conservative Party that we need to drill more oil, yet the world is moving in the direction of electrification. More electric cars are being sold than ever before. We see initiatives in place to limit and phase out fossil fuel-burning vehicles by the middle of 2035. Why is the Conservative Party so focused on talking about extracting more oi…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, you have ruled that the comment the member made was out of order. The member should unreservedly apologize without trying to provide some kind of caveat. Her remarks were offensive to the Crown and the Crown's representative in this place. She needs to apologize for that.
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Mr. Speaker, the member started off by talking about Canadians' abilities to dream and pursue and chase after future technologies and opportunities, yet the Conservatives are stuck in this era of extracting oil. It is all they care about. It is what they talk about over and over. If this is the case, why is it so hard for this member and the Conservative Party to recognize there is a future beyond…
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I walked.
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Madam Speaker, this government and the Prime Minister have always, even back in their days in opposition, prided themselves on listening to scientists and using data and science to inform the decision-making process. Perhaps one particular word was not found in the document, but I think it would be a far stretch to try to link that to the fact that this government does not believe in science. I ha…
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Madam Speaker, I have heard during question period some of the questions regarding this. I will say that, back when we had the whole issue with the former president of the United States and the tariffs being imposed on Canadian products, the way our government, in particular a key group of people within the government, was able to react to that and position itself to negotiate led to us coming out…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate you on your reappointment as Assistant Deputy Speaker. I have always enjoyed my time in the House when you have been in the chair, and I look forward to many more opportunities to come. I am very excited to talk about the ambitious plan this government has laid out in the throne speech. I will be totally honest that when I set out to develop the themes of my speech on…
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Madam Speaker, the recent bill we were discussing, Bill C-2, specifically addresses the issue of the hardest-hit sectors in the pandemic. If businesses have been hard hit and have still not been able to recover, they should look into the legislation, and the programs that will come through that legislation, which is before the House.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you would find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion. I move: That a take-note debate on the softwood lumber dispute with the United States be held on Wednesday, December 1st, 2021, pursuant to Standing Order 53.1, and that, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House: (a) membe…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to the comments from the leader of the NDP today, and I noted he talked a lot about affordability in particular for families. One thing I noticed he missed, which was in the throne speech, was $10-a-day child care. I bring this up because last year during the budget I asked the leader of the opposition whether he would support the budget because it con…
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Madam Speaker, I welcome my colleague to the House. His predecessor voted in favour of a ban against conversion therapy. We know that in the previous Parliament, when we were voting on this issue, 62 Conservatives voted against a ban on conversion therapy, of which 52 of those Conservatives are still in the House today. I am curious if the member can comment as to whether he plans to vote in favou…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to the intervention from my colleague across the way and took note especially when he spoke about asbestos. To his point, although we know that asbestos might be safely extracted, it is used and has been previously used in thousands of different materials that could be extremely toxic to individuals who inadvertently breathed it in, whether through construction practices …
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Mr. Speaker, it is not that often that I see somebody with such great passion speak in the House as this member just did, so I applaud him for that. I definitely think that he shows his passion for various issues. I do have a concern over something he said towards the beginning of his speech. The member talked about how the House was working so well together. He talked specifically about conversio…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to the brief comments the member made regarding Bill C-2. I know he spent quite a bit of time talking about and being very critical of other government subsidies, as though he did not vote in favour of them. All of the subsidies and supports that were given to Canadians, with the exception of those that came at the end of June through the last budget, were passed with the…
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Madam Speaker, I think the election was a lesson for everybody in the House, in particular for the Conservative Party. I sat in the House for five months, and I witnessed first-hand the obstructionary tactics that were being used to delay everything. It did not matter what the piece of legislation was. The Conservatives just wanted to delay everything.
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If this election has taught us anything, and if the Conservatives are able to be self-reflective and to think of what this election taught them, it should have taught them that the electorate has put them back in the same position to be the opposition—
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—and that they should use that opportunity to try to genuinely make things better. That does not mean making personal attacks and trying to demean every single individual in the government. It means actually working collaboratively for policy to be better for all Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, I do not know about the report. I am not on the committee. I have not read it, but I will say that there has been a lot of activity with respect to film and culture in my riding. Actually, in the former Kingston penitentiary, which is a federal building, at least three or four different series have been filmed, including Mayor of Kingstown. They are being featured right now, as we s…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member on being elected to this place. I cannot speak on behalf of the government. I am not the government, so I cannot tell her what it will be bringing forward in the future, but I would agree with her that there are various different businesses that were not affected at all, some that were less affected, some that were affected and have recovered, and some that…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to what the member said, and he said that thanks to the Prime Minister, inflation is where it is. Suddenly, the Conservatives have now come to the conclusion that the Prime Minister of Canada is capable of altering the inflation rate throughout the world. The member says that inflation in Canada is among the highest when it is actually well below the average of the develope…
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Mr. Speaker, I am really glad that my colleague brought up some of the history with respect to previous Conservative governments. In fact, his information is extremely accurate. Of all the budgets that were brought in by Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper, only two of them did not run a deficit. One was on the heels of Paul Martin's surplus and the other was in 2015, like he noted, when the Conserv…
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Mr. Speaker, it is worth contributing to this point of order. This member has been reprimanded about this by the Speaker not once, not twice but probably three times. I am pretty sure it is to the point that he is now purposely wearing this prop so he can be called out on a point of order repeatedly and that brings attention to the fact that he is doing it. I encourage you to talk to the Speaker t…
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Madam Speaker, the member has, by his own admission, been speaking only to Bill C-1. He spent at least two or three minutes speaking to Bill C-1. Perhaps we could discuss the bill before us, which is Bill C-2, and not bills that have already been voted on.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague across the way referenced the fact that some of the programs that were implemented were done sloppily, but I also noticed that he talked about the fact that the government was not willing to listen to the opposition and was hostile. However, if we look back, it was actually Conservative and NDP members, if I remember correctly, who originally really pushed the governmen…
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Mr. Speaker, the last time I got up to speak, I do not think you had yet been appointed as Deputy Speaker. Your predecessor, who was also a member of the Conservative Party, was an excellent Speaker and I have no doubt that you are already on your way to following in his footsteps in that regard. Congratulations on your new role and I look forward to working with you in the months and years to com…
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