Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand in the House of Commons on behalf of the great people of Don Valley East to speak to a very important bill, Bill C-65, the electoral participation act. The chief government whip talked about a noble pursuit to actually look at legislation and look for ways to increase participation, which is essentially what the bill is attempting to do. As members of Parli…
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Madam Speaker, the member has been around here for a while, and he is a smart guy. He knows the process. The bill goes to committee. If improvements can be made, the member and his team can bring forward suggestions. I was given 10 minutes today to address the issues that I though were very important. That is why I talked about privacy, accessibility, integrity and trust. They mean a lot to me.
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Madam Speaker, that is an important question. We have such a beautiful country, from coast to coast to coast. There are so many different nationalities, a mosaic of different cultures, and it will always be difficult for us to find the perfect date. However, as MPs, we should be trying to accommodate people when possible. That should be a common-sense approach to picking an election day, and I thi…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-397, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Department of Employment and Social Development Act. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure today to table my first private member's bill. In 2020, I was in the U.K. when my mother passed away. As members know, when a loved one passes away there are a lot of administrative processes people have to go through. The private…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite obvious that the Conservatives do not believe it is a good idea to invest in children. We are talking about a budget that would help feed young people who need food, fix teeth, invest in mental health and the most very basic form of child care, which is essential for strong families. Why does the parliamentary secretary believe that investing in children is one of the best…
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Mr. Speaker, many young people in my riding of Don Valley East are worried about not being able to find a place to call their home. They see housing being used more and more as a way to make money, and it is hurting their possibility of home ownership. Can the Minister of Public Services and Procurement tell this House what the government's plan is to make housing more affordable and to help build…
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Mr. Speaker, the member spoke for 20 minutes about many different subjects, but he still did not have much clarity on a very simple bill. Just so Canadians know, the pharmacare bill speaks to supplying people who are diabetic with medicine and supplies, as well as supplying people with contraception. The member opposite said many different things, and he talked about process. Do you believe that t…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the benefits of being Canadian is that we come together and work together to build national programs. Historically, through the provinces and the federal government collectively, we have built a strong health care system. Provincially, we have a universal education system. These things work. Over the last few years, we have seen the introduction of benefits for pharmacare and c…
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Mr. Speaker, our government presented Canadians with a housing plan that will increase the housing supply across the country. A core measure of the plan is the removal of GST from new apartments, student housing and co-operatives. Earlier today, the House debated the Conservative leader's housing plan, Bill C-356. The bill would actually put the tax back on the construction of middle-class apartme…
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Mr. Speaker, there are politicians out there who want to create the image that this country is a dim, miserable place; I refuse to believe that. This is a country where one can go out and seize opportunity and where governments, schools and so many great people will invest in young people and in recreational programs. I spoke about, for example, nutrition programs. We have perhaps the most freedom…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities entitled “Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies for the Canadian Labour Force”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive r…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak in the House today. On April 16, the government introduced a new budget. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister of Finance for bringing forward a document that reflects where this country is today and aims to tackle some of the big challenges we face, but that also looks for ways to seize the opportunity to help build a better…
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Mr. Speaker, I think this is a perfect example of where ideology overtakes common sense and decency in politics. Here, we have a situation where one in four young people are going to school hungry in this country, and some provinces may be responding well and some may not be responding well. We have an opportunity, as members of Parliament, and this goes back to my point that we have choices to ma…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the really important question because there are many children across this country, in all regions, who still face challenges. I will say to those children directly that I will continue to work as hard as I can, like I have over my 20 years in politics, to ensure that we continue to fight and to build the best supports and programs aimed at children. In this budg…
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Madam Speaker, there are many pieces within the budget that speak to affordability issues. The member opposite brought up an issue from his own constituency where a family is going through a challenging time. Would he not agree that some of the affordability measures, such as the student nutrition program, the dental program, these pieces that we have built on, like child care in the past, are goo…
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Madam Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that is bringing forward new national programs like child care, student nutrition, a dental plan and pharmacare. It has been decades since a government in this country has moved forward with such massive programs. In fact, we have not seen this type of movement for many decades. I would like to ask the minister about the relationship we have wit…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker as we come to the end of Black History Month, it is important to recognize that Black Canadians continue to make important gains and contributions to our country. They continue to make history, and yesterday, history was made. Ms. Lillie Johnson was awarded the Order of Canada for her outstanding work in health care and advocacy for sickle cell awareness. At 101 years old, Ms. Johnson …
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Mr. Speaker, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2015 to 2024 the International Decade for People of African Descent. This proclamation recognized the over 220 million people of African descent in the Americas and in Canada. The government has fully embraced the UN's proclamation by investing in and developing new programs to help support Black communities in Canada. Can the Minister of Diversity a…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite spoke a bit about the Conservative approach to finding solutions to this challenge and referred to those solutions as simplistic. Does she believe that the Conservatives' position on how to go forward in finding solutions actually would result in some real solutions in the long term to take on this issue?
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Madam Speaker, I have noticed that, over my last two years in the House, Conservatives use crime as a mechanism to anger Canadians. The simple fact is that, yes, crime has shifted in the last few years, but there is no question that Canada remains among the safest countries on the entire planet. In fact, there was a report that just came out for travellers in Canada, and it said that Canada was th…
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Madam Speaker, there has been a lot of discussion in the House on this important issue today. We have heard many comments about the Conservatives in past governments making cuts to mitigate the effectiveness of fighting auto crime, but we have also heard about the tactics they have used in the House and in the committee structure to stop the process of finding long-term solutions. The member hinte…
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Mr. Speaker, the member started her speech by talking about woke policies. She used the word “woke”. I have always been a person who has invested into preventative measures, like acknowledging things like systemic racism and acknowledging that we need to invest into communities where there may be some disaggregated race-based data that would contribute to making those decisions. Does the member op…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been an elected member for 20 years, whether on the school board, provincial government or here. Fighting crime has always been connected to what I have worked on in my life, and there has always been a correlation between good investments in programming and preventative measures. Crime cannot be dealt with entirely through policing. The Conservatives seem to have a very narrow…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to wish every member in the House a happy Black History Month. February is a time when we can remind ourselves of the contribution of Black Canadians in our country, contributions that go back hundreds of years to help build a beautiful Canada. It is also a time for us to remind ourselves that there are still barriers in place that we have to remove. Could the Minister for Dive…
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Mr. Speaker, I am a proud Canadian. I am proud of this nation's bilingualism, and I am proud of the federal government's role in promoting both official languages. In the House of Commons, it is a privilege for me to hear both official languages being used. Therefore, I was both shocked and disappointed at the Canadian heritage committee this morning when a Conservative MP asked a francophone mini…
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Madam Speaker, I think the member opposite needs a time machine, because if he goes back to the period from 2010 to 2015, he will know that the Harper Conservative government ran five straight deficits, with $55 billion in deficits in 2010 to 2011 alone. Do people know what we got with that? We got the exact same plan. Every single time the Conservatives come into power, it is like a game plan tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been interrupted several times by members opposite, because it does hurt Conservatives. Half of them probably believe in climate change and maybe the other half do not. I am making that assumption based on previous statements and voting records. It must really hurt to be part of a party that does not believe in climate change or a free trade agreement with Ukraine to help suppo…
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Mr. Speaker, sometimes the truth hurts. When Conservatives stand in this House and vote against a free trade agreement with Ukraine, it hurts members on the other side because sometimes they do not have the power to stand up and actually do what they believe and they just follow the direction, through party discipline, of their leader. I understand it can hurt sometimes. Then they look for other w…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe tomorrow the member opposite can go through Hansard to look at exactly what I said, and he will find the answer in Hansard because it is recorded. I will continue. I do not appreciate the interruptions. Sometimes the truth hurts.
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I will continue, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for the advice.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in the House of Commons on behalf of the good people of Don Valley East and speak to this important bill that really looks at housing. It looks at providing a GST rebate, and it really does speak to making life more affordable for Canadians. I am proud to be a Liberal. I have always been proud of being a Liberal. I am proud to be a Liberal because…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for her words. I think this is an issue that deserves our attention in the House. I have two daughters, so I know who Billie Eilish is. In all seriousness, I remember reading a book called Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges, a professor at the University of Toronto. There was a whole chapter that talked about this exact subject, what it does to young men a…
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Mr. Speaker, it takes many of us in this room to build good strategies and good plans to put in place to really help Canadians. The government believes in what the member just said with respect to co-operatives. We believe in co-operatives, and we believe that they are a pathway for the future to build more affordability. We will continue to work with the NDP and any member of the House, even Cons…
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Mr. Speaker, the member talked about hard times. As he was asking the question, I reflected on the fact that I had the opportunity to meet three young people from Ukraine in the back today. I was thinking about their hard times. In Canada, we have some pretty rough times. There is an affordability challenge. Ukraine right now is going through a war, and the Conservative Party, the opposition, vote…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for recognizing this important program that is essentially going to build thousands and thousands of units across this country. I am proud to be part of a government that is investing in a GST rebate that will not only be for apartments. We are going to be investing in co-ops, in first-time buyers and building the next generation of homes across this country.
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Mr. Speaker, the late Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to...unite people in a way that little else does.” Great examples of this are the Pan Am Games and the Parapan Am Games. Earlier this month, Team Canada began its 2023 Pan Am journey, and in a few weeks from now, it will begin its Parapan Am journey. I think I can say with confidence that all members of the House are proud of our…
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Mr. Speaker, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's data, from 2006 to 2015, the prices in Toronto for homes doubled under the Harper government. They went from roughly $300,000 to $600,000, yet the Harper government did not put a plan in place to mitigate the drastic rise in housing prices. Two years into the Trudeau mandate, there was a strategy put in place. This has been looking…
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Mr. Speaker, it is undeniable that technology is progressing at an unprecedented rate, significantly transforming our society faster than ever. Artificial intelligence continues to advance and reshape the world around us. Could the minister share with the House the steps the government is taking to ensure that Canadians are prepared for the massive societal and ethical implications of artificial i…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of Flemingdon Park Ministry, a local charity in my beautiful riding of Don Valley East. The ministry has been helping residents in Don Valley East for over 40 years and has worked tirelessly to create a sense of belonging and support within our community. Its work is a testament to the power of community and the spirit of giving. One …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his statement. He was talking about government investments into programs and looking for ways to mitigate the carbon footprint here in Canada. I know his father, John Gerretsen, was responsible for the Greenbelt. Can the member talk about the advantage of government really investing in climate change and looking for ways to mitigate CO2?
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Scarborough Centre's riding and my riding are right next to each other. A lot of the demographics between the two are similar. I know that the Conservatives voted against dental care for children. They voted against a $500 rebate for groceries. They also voted against subsidies to help people in apartments. I know that in my community, those were very valuable incentive…
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Madam Speaker, without question, this is a very important issue. I am thankful the senator raised this issue. We know that when it comes to rural and northern communities, there are still big challenges. The member spoke about other levels of government. I would like to know what role the member sees when it comes to building more capacity in regard to municipalities and provincial and territorial…
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Madam Speaker, the member said something about making sure that when we are in this House, we should not lose sight of what is important to people. In my community of Don Valley East, as in many communities across this country, climate change is real. People are feeling the impact of climate change. I just did a survey. It was among the top three issues, so I know it matters to people in my neighb…
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Madam Speaker, I am a fan of much of the advocacy work the hon. member does. The question was what we should do over the next few months to build more supports for people with disabilities, and it is to do exactly what we have been doing in the last year. It is to identify the issues that are important to us, build it into a budget, consult people and come back to the House and vote for a budget t…
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Madam Speaker, I am happy the member opposite brought up firefighters and acknowledged their value in our country, our provinces and our municipalities. In fact, I was proud to work with firefighters for many years to look for ways to increase the number of types of cancer for which firefighters or their families would be able to claim some type of compensation should a firefighter be afflicted wi…
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Madam Speaker, if one goes out there and speaks to the average Canadian, they will tell us they appreciate the work of Jean Chrétien. He is probably one of the most loved prime ministers we have had in this country, so he must have been doing something right. It is wrong for the member to take one specific incident and apply it to everything Liberals do. I can take hundreds of incidents when Conse…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour, as always, to be in the House of Commons to speak to this opposition day motion. I will be sharing my time with the member for Richmond Centre. What the House will be hearing from for the next 10 minutes is pretty much a direct contrast to what we heard for the last 15 minutes from the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. I am pleased to speak to this motion, beca…
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Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that Canada is a top destination for many travellers from around the world. Though we experience cold winters, Canadians are known for their warm welcome. In my riding of Don Valley East, we have a very vibrant Caribbean population whose loved ones from abroad are hoping to visit Canada and spend more time with their loved ones. In fact, as we speak, my Aunty Maria is …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-21 was designed to be part of a larger solution to mitigating gun violence here in Canada. We know that banning handguns was one part of the solution, but we also know that preventive measures can have a major impact on gun violence. Our government is investing resources into supporting programs and working with young people to prevent them from getting involved in crime at a y…
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Mr. Speaker, the part that I missed in my speech was about preventative programs. We know that just putting in place rules around guns and weapons is not enough. I think every single person in this House would agree that investing more into programs that prevent these crimes from happening is the right approach. Therefore, it has to be a multi-faceted approach to mitigating gun violence, and I am …
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