Parliamentary Speeches
73 speeches by Nathaniel Erskine-Smith — Page 2 of 2
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am not going to justify federal investment in TMX. I am not going to justify EDC's role in financing TMX and other fossil fuel infrastructure. What I will emphasize, though, is the importance of the overall emissions reduction plan and the serious climate action that we have seen over the last six and a half years. This is such critical action that climate experts overwhelmingly e…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by saying that I appreciate the spirit of the motion and, for the most part, I also agree with it in substance. There is one particular point of contention that I will get to, but first I will start with where I agree. The motion notes that oil and gas companies are making record profits at the same time as Canadians are paying more than ever for gas at the pumps. We…
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Madam Speaker, the best argument is around opportunity costs and saying we should invest this money elsewhere, but my point is that there are many experts who do support CCUS technology, and when we look at the scale of the challenge, we should be examining and embracing every single opportunity to address climate change and reduce emissions. CCUS is one such option. We should not ignore it, and w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise to present e-petition 3812. The petitioners note that while Canada has committed to advancing gender equality, sexual and gender-based violence continues within the RCMP, and that officer-to-officer organizational violence, combined with the failure to investigate the complaint seriously, results in an unsafe and hostile workplace. The hundreds of petitioners, including lead …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, local journalism is a public good that we need to defend, and on behalf of my community, I want to recognize the 50th anniversary of our local Beach Metro Community News. Its first edition was four pages with an editorial that said, “[Our] success as a newspaper will depend on the quality of the news we write and the community’s response to the idea of a paper that will reflect and co…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, in 2015 we ran on a platform to encourage freer votes in the House of Commons. That platform said in effect that there would be free votes except on three issues: platform commitments, human rights or charter-related issues, and confidence votes, including budget considerations. It was not only budget considerations, though. My reading of our parliamentary history is that it is well…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, in the four branches in section 2 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, there is reference to foreign influence. It is generally understood to be state-sponsored foreign influence. I do think we ought to be wary here, and perhaps have permanent rules with proper due process to address that issue going forward. I do not think we want to address that issue, which is not g…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, the question before us is whether we ought to confirm the government's declaration of an emergency pursuant to section 58 of the Emergencies Act. I have really struggled with the answer to that question, and I will get to that. The first question we should all reflect on is a more basic one: How did it even come to this? Some Conservative colleagues have made the case that we could …
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, the hon. member is correct. To be honest, it is those additional measures that actually give me greater comfort. When we see that there is a parliamentary committee that will be struck, when we see that there is an inquiry, when we know that 20 members of Parliament or 10 senators can call for a revocation before the end of the 30-day cycle and we can have a vote on that, I would ho…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, with the passing of John Honderich, we lost a dedicated city builder and a newspaperman who believed deeply in the value of journalism, both in the service of progressive values and as an essential part of a healthy democracy. Born into newsrooms, John started as a copy-boy and night reporter with the Ottawa Citizen before joining the Toronto Star as a reporter, going on to become b…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, far be it from me to commend the government for certain actions, but I will say that, on this particular crisis, we have seen significant action since 2015. We have seen an expansion of supervised consumption sites. We know that those save lives. We have seen hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, including to expand treatment options. We have seen the restoration of harm reducti…
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Madam Chair, I will say two things. I worked closely with the president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Bryan Larkin, to ensure that a bill I introduced in the House had their support. By the way, that bill is now part of Bill C-5, and that bill has their support. Regardless of new spending, that bill will have the support of the chiefs of police, and I hope it has the support of …
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Madam Chair, I have jointly seconded that bill. I will happily support that bill. I will support any legislation that moves us closer to a safer supply and that moves us closer to an evidence-based approach that treats drug use as the health issue that it is. We do not treat gambling addiction with the criminal law. We do not treat alcohol addiction with the criminal law. However, we think this is…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, at the outset, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vancouver Centre. I also want to thank the member for Yukon for ensuring that this take-note debate happened. I very much appreciate his advocacy and the health-focused advocacy that he has. The sheer scale of this crisis is hard to fathom. We have lost 25,000 Canadians since the beginning of 2016. Every one of those has a p…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, the member and I have engaged on this subject in the past here in the House. It feels a bit like déjà vu, and many more people have died since. Recently, in June, the expert task force on substance use recommended bold action on three fronts. I do not think this is sufficient, and I think we need to expand treatment options. We also know that thousands of Canadians are dying because o…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, we need to vaccinate the world to save lives, protect our economic recovery and prevent the next variant. As it stands, of the 10 billion doses administered to date, only 10% have been administered in low-income countries. This not only falls short of our moral obligation to those who have less. It also means continued supply chain disruptions and the potential for a dangerous variant…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition has been signed by almost 1,000 Canadians. They are calling attention to the fact that non-believers are persecuted in several countries, both by governments and the public. The petitioners note that freedom of religion includes freedom from religion. They call upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to clarify the status of the less complex clai…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to table today. First, over 1,500 Canadians have signed a petition raising concerns about Israel's designation of six leading Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations. They note the concerns raised by the UN special rapporteurs condemning the designation, and they call on the Government of Canada to call upon Israeli authorities to immedi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-247, An Act to prohibit fur farming. Mr. Speaker, commercial fur farming is cruel to the animals that face horrible conditions every day, and it poses a real risk to human health, including pandemic risk. Many countries have already put an end to this practice and Canada should do the same. Animal science experts describe the filthy and cramped conditions as inh…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, as this is my first time on my feet in the 44th Parliament, I want to thank everyone in Beaches—East York who sent me back to work here, and my riding association and the countless supporters who have really helped me do this work over the last six years. I want to give special thanks to my family in particular for putting up with me, especially my wife Amy. My commitment to Beaches…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I agree that we need to decriminalize all drugs, treat drug use as a health issue and ensure a safer supply. I would say the government has come a long way in a short period of time. I have seen it respond to my own advocacy on this issue and to the advocacy of others. Are we where we need to be yet? No. However, in the recent platform we see a commitment for $500 million for advanc…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I understand the Bloc's desire for not having strings attached. My own view, however, is that where federal dollars are supporting provinces and municipalities, it is absolutely fair for us to establish standards that are delivering on federal priorities. As I look to the child care agreements, I see an emphasis, with provinces that did not previously have child care, focusing on ac…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for identifying another area of potential collaboration. Unquestionably, we need to work together to advance supply. Our platform, as an example, committed to a $4-billion accelerator that tells cities we will give them money if they push back against Nimbyism, build supply and adopt inclusive zoning and affordability. That is really important, and it is probably …
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