Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the member of Parliament for Burnaby South is the leader of one of the major parties in the House. He has taken the oath; he has seen the NSICOP report, and I believe he has also seen evidence of what the Prime Minister stated in the House about the Indian government with regard to the Hardeep Nijjar murder. After reviewing those reports and taking the oath, does the member see any …
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Madam Speaker, has the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, who sits on the public safety committee, seen anything as egregious as the foreign interference by India, which has gone into murder, extortion, harassment and assault, in any of the other cases of foreign interference alleged against Canada, like from China, Russia and Iran? Has this been the most egregious case or have there been other…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite said that the leader of the Conservative Party, in relation to these particular, very serious allegations by the RCMP, said the Prime Minister is pitting Canadians against Canadians. I would like to know which Canadians have been pitted against which other Canadians, with regard to homicides and transnational aggression against Sikh Canadians here in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to say how surprised I am to be here and to see that at least some members of the Conservative Party of Canada are present at this emergency debate—
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, if the member's leader actually looked at the report and saw the evidence, he would know who is dictating and actually orchestrating the extortion. The extortion is being done by a foreign agency whose diplomats sat in this country and gathered information. There are 22 who have been arrested, and eight for murder. I would like to remind the House that—
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that the people who have been arrested for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar have been and remain behind bars, so the argument of “bail, not jail” is inadequate in this case. The law enforcement agencies and the legal justice system of our country have actually maintained integrity and shown that they work.
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Mr. Speaker, I think all tools are at the disposal of the government and should be used. I think the very first measure, when it was discovered that Indian officials were involved, was the expulsion of those diplomats. My understanding is that more measures will be forthcoming, and I would not mind supporting what the member opposite was just saying. When minorities are being threatened and persec…
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I never said anything about that.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, this is a very concerning question. In my friend's riding of Surrey—Newton, there is a very prominent Hindu temple. The Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey wrote a letter to the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada asking him to not send the Conservative MPs for Edmonton Mill Woods and Calgary Forest Lawn to its temple because of their ideological difference, but to instead send…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague is probably fairly accurate in that. I think there is a grave concern about that, but obviously the leader of the Conservative Party will not look at it. As my colleague from Kingston and the Islands stated earlier, it is very strange that the leader of His Majesty's opposition, of the Conservative Party, has not made any statements on his Twitter account, an…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I stand here today to share the loss of Tony Moore, veteran and president of Whalley Legion, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 229. Tony was a dedicated advocate for veterans and served as president for as long as I can remember. He was also instrumental in the building of Canada's most modern full-service veterans facility, the Whalley veterans village. Opene…
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Madam Speaker, there are over 1,350 Legion branches across Canada, including Whalley Legion Branch 229 in my hometown of Surrey. Their members represent one of the largest volunteer bases in this country. We set up the veteran organizations emergency support fund during the pandemic so that they could safely keep their doors open. We have been proud to support legions to improve infrastructure, ma…
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Madam Speaker, Surrey has one of the fastest-growing populations in the Lower Mainland, and with that, the number of seniors is set to rise over the next 25 years. I am honoured to share with members information about the groundbreaking of the new Guru Nanak diversity village seniors facility opened by the PICS Society of British Columbia. Behind this much-needed community project is the progressi…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I want to stress that this is an issue we are not taking lightly. Let me first say that I am very proud of the public servants who worked so diligently to ensure that the government could deliver services and programs to Canadians during the pandemic. At the same time, it is clear that something went wrong with the procurement of professional services related to ArriveCAN. Our gover…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada continues to support the important work of the public inquiry into foreign interference, as it has done since the inquiry was established last year. The government continues to provide thousands of classified documents and to make government witnesses available to meet with the commission to answer its questions. While supporting the commission's work, the g…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak to the vital, ongoing work that the Government of Canada is doing to protect Canada's democratic institutions. As all members of this House are aware, threats to Canada's democracy do not affect only some Canadians; they affect all Canadians. That is why the enhancements to safeguard Canada's democratic systems and processes against foreign i…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we are committed to preserving the integrity of federal government procurement, and that is precisely what our government is doing. Public Services and Procurement has already taken several steps to implement the recommendations of both the Auditor General and the procurement ombudsman. It is strengthening guidance and training in federal procurement and making great progress in our…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, Surrey is home to high-level athletes from across the country. Last month, 26-year-old Buneet Bisla was crowned as the Canadian light-heavyweight champion in a first-round knockout, making it his first professional title. Turning pro in 2019, Bisla has amassed a record of 10 wins and is now the undisputed number-one ranked fighter in Canada for the light-heavyweight category. Bisla …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I believe that 25 million tonnes have been reduced per year, which has been the biggest reduction with a carbon tax since, I believe, the 1990s. I think it was the Oilers' last win, if I am right. However, this has been the biggest contribution to the reduction of carbon from our atmosphere that has ever happened in the history of this country. It is definitely more than what happen…
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly what we would like to do on this side of the House, but I would like to remind the member that the motion is an opposition day motion, and it seems like the Conservatives' only priority is to fight on how we can produce more carbon and how we can release more carbon into the air. We are fighting for Canadians and will continue to fight for Canadians. Fighting the imp…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32, it is my honour to table, in both official languages, the 2023-24 annual report of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, Canadians are at the front lines of the climate crisis. Climate change manifests itself in our lives on a daily basis. It has already forced and will continue to force us to adapt and to change how we manage our businesses, organize our lives and interact with nature. With warmer temperatures comes more intense and frequent weather events everywhere on earth and here at home. At the…
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Madam Speaker, it is very clear how they are different. One is subsidizing the production of oil, which emits carbon, especially in the process of production and also when it is burnt. The other is a subsidy in order to capture any carbon that is used in the process and store it so that it does not get into the atmosphere but goes back into the ground or some other place where it will not harm the…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, June 2024 is a sombre time of remembrance for the Sikh community. Forty years ago, the skies of Amritsar turned red as the Indian government attacked the Golden Temple complex, Akal Takhat, plus 40 additional gurdwaras across the country, killing thousands of Sikhs. Forty years ago, the Sikh Reference Library, home to our histories dating back to the inception of our faith, was reduce…
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Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, which took place on June 6, 1944, during the Second World War. We honour those who sacrificed themselves and served our country in the ultimate battle that led to allied victory and the liberation of Europe. On June 6, 1944, more than 14,000 brave Canadian soldiers were involved in the Normandy landings and fought with exceptional…
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Madam Speaker, Surrey is a young city. With over 35,000 individuals aged between 19 and 25, Surrey is home to the largest number of youths in all of B.C. It is no surprise that our youth are at the forefront of Surrey's growth and innovation. Every year, the Surrey Board of Trade recognizes 25 outstanding youth with its Surrey's Top 25 Under 25 award. This award pays homage to business and communi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, last November, the government introduced Bill C-59, the fall economic statement implementation act of 2023. Among other measures, Bill C-59 proposed significant amendments to our Competition Act. I am proud to share that the Standing Committee on Finance has recently completed its review of the bill and has made several amendments to further strengthen existing proposals. For many yea…
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Mr. Speaker, it would be very difficult for them to say because the chief adviser in their Conservative caucus was considered, currently, before or after, by a side company, a sister company, I do not know exactly, but she is paid as a formal lobbyist for that very dominating grocer in the House. It becomes difficult for them to challenge when they are paid and supported by that particular organiz…
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Mr. Speaker, no more is it a testament than in places like Nunavut and Iqaluit, where one is seeing this discrepancy between the person actually selling the groceries and feeding a family, and the elite at the top. That is why we put measures, including the capital gains changes, where a lot of corporate executives were able to discount some of the tax rates that would normally be applicable if th…
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Through you, Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask this. The member opposite was blaming the insurance premium going up on, I believe, her staffer or somebody at her house. I wonder if it was from a car accident or repairs or if it was from a flood to a house or whatnot. How can the government be responsible for insurance premiums? I would really like to know how the budget was responsible for the insur…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that is a good question. Whenever any banks or any major telecoms merge, the scrutiny is very strict. There is always a review under the Competition Act. Banking regulators and public opinions are even brought into the question. It is only after thorough commitments and signs from such parties do they actually agree in these cases. Many have been rejected or have been pushed back befo…
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Mr. Speaker, today is a special day on the Hill as we mark Dr. Ambedkar Equality Day and day of jayanti. Widely regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader. A champion of civil rights, Dr. Ambedkar’s vision for a free India was simple. He wanted equality for all, irrespective of caste, gender or…
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Mr. Speaker, April is over and with it brings the end of Sikh Heritage Month. This April, Sikh Punjabis made strides across Canada and broke records across the nation. In my home city of Surrey, Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar hosted the largest Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan parade, with over 550,000 attendees who travelled from across the world. They sang beautiful kirtan, served amazing langar and shared …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, my colleague from Richmond Centre said it very well. The government actually recognizes that we have to create well-paying jobs. However, in order to have those jobs, we have to protect our environment, we have to clean our air, and we have to have practices that are sustainable so we will have a continuous and robust forestry sector for years, decades and millennia to come. If we do no…
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Mr. Chair, Canada and the United States are close neighbours with an unprecedented, mutually beneficial relationship when it comes to trade. That said, as we all know, even among good neighbours, irritants are bound to arise. The softwood lumber dispute with the United States is a long-standing trade irritant that, unfortunately, has resurfaced on several occasions. We are in the fifth round of th…
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Mr. Chair, we all know that the mechanism to fight these unfair duties is through legal means, through NAFTA chapter 11 or CUSMA chapter 10. We have fought those, but we can only have a favourable outcome and settlement if the other party is willing. Unfortunately, despite continuous legal victories on Canada's behalf, we need a willing trading partner who agrees to abide by those. We have seen th…
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Mr. Chair, I could not disagree more with my colleague. I think Canada fights equally for these. I regularly meet with stakeholders, particularly small and medium-sized sawmills and even larger privately owned sawmills that are located in my constituency of Surrey Centre. They have faith that the government is fully trying and that our trade minister is working on it; they receive regular updates …
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Mr. Chair, I agree with some points that my hon. colleague from British Columbia has made. We need to increase mass timber projects. We have been doing that by changing the building code to accept that, with the building of even 18-storey buildings now using mass timber. This is a renewable and carbon-sequestering methodology of building more homes. However, we also do not want to revert back to w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to participate in the debate on this historic legislation. Bill C-35, if passed, would indeed make history. People may be asking why we are doing this now. Why is the Government of Canada embarking on this ambitious plan to build a Canada-wide child care system? There is no doubt that there are many other important issues to take on, and let me say that…
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Madam Speaker, let me remind members that this program is just being implemented. We are also spending money on training early childhood educators. We are having municipalities develop spaces. These are sometimes spaces that require specific zoning and specific safety standards. That is why we are working in collaboration with the provinces to ensure that we have enough early childhood educators a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, if anything, this bill would protect francophones across this country so there would be accessible child care in culturally and linguistically appropriate measures. However, at the end of the five years, we hope Canadians will choose a government that wants to keep child care in this country and in every single province. We trust that Canadians will make that decision and it will no…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is going to be imperative that it be region to region, where they are able to have public child care. Like I mentioned, if school boards wanted to administer it, fund it and support it themselves, that would be ideal and probably foremost, but where they cannot, that is where the private sector would step up and give that service. We would not want to impede availability to Canad…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Happy Black History Month, Mr. Speaker. This February, Canadians across the nation have joined together to celebrate Black Canadians and their countless contributions to Canadian society. In my riding of Surrey Centre, there are several Black-led organizations that focus on fostering a safe, inclusive and equitable community. Just last week, the Minister of Small Business and I met with the Black …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we appreciate and respect the work of the jury members who evaluated the finalists' design concepts. However, the Team Stimson design was the one that veterans of the mission, and their families, felt best represented those who served there and their bravery, sacrifices and losses. The results of the consultation, which are public, were clear. It is important that we listen to our vet…
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Mr. Speaker, the national monument to Canada's mission in Afghanistan reflects the sacrifices of 40,000 Canadian people: military, police and civilians. We listened to over 12,000 veterans and their families in a survey. Overwhelmingly, the majority of those who responded were veterans, and they wanted the Team Stimson design; they say it best reflects their input. When it comes to honouring the s…
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Mr. Speaker, housing is booming across the nation and Surrey Centre is no exception. Our government's rental construction financial initiative will invest more than $82 billion to give more Canadians a place to call home. My home city of Surrey hosts the fastest-growing economy and fastest-growing population in British Columbia, and our housing strategy reflects Surrey's thriving community. With a…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Métis Nation British Columbia, MNBC, represents the section 35 rights of over 24,000 Métis citizens, advocates for over 98,000 self-identified Métis and represents 39 Métis chartered communities across British Columbia. MNBC strives to promote a strong future for the Métis people in British Columbia, where the rich Métis culture, heritage and languages thrive. Métis communities achiev…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), it is my honour to table, in both official languages, the 2022-23 annual report of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is important to listen to the stories of women veterans and for our government to ensure we are addressing their needs. While the work of the parliamentary committee is independent, it is doing a study on this very task. It is undertaking this important study on women veterans. We commit to acting on this. We urge all parliamentarians to put aside any partisan politics in order to …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to acknowledge two incredible and brave World War II veterans, Major Naib Singh Grewal and Subedar Kanwal Jit Singh. There were over 365,000 Sikh soldiers who fought with us and our allies during World War I and World War II, and Major Naib Singh Grewal and Subedar Kanwal Jit Singh were two of them. Major Naib Singh Grewal served from 1939 to 1945, and Subedar …
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