Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member opposite and I have had many conversations and very productive working relationships, and I respect his point of view. Our government, quite contrary to what the member has just implied, cares deeply about individuals living with a disability. I know the member opposite cares about those individuals in his community, as well, and has advocated for that. I think we share t…
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Madam Speaker, I am always shocked as to how the Conservatives' oration and rhetoric do not align with their actions. They talk every day in the House about tax cuts, but when it comes time to vote in favour of a tax cut for Canadians, they are unwilling to. They did this back in 2015 when the Liberal government first got into power and offered a middle-class tax cut. I do not know if members reme…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said in my response, and I will say it again, the Minister of Transport is taking this matter seriously. She has heard the concerns of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Mikisew Cree and the Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation. While recent studies have found that the wharf at Fort Chipewyan is not likely to pose risk to human health, Transport Canada is committed to collaborating…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad I am here tonight for this late show to answer this question. The reason I say that is because I spent three years of my life, before I got into politics, going up to Fort Chipewyan and working with the first nations there on environmental monitoring. It was a great privilege to be in that community, be invited into it, to meet with the elders there, and to understand the is…
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Mr. Speaker, I have basically tried to answer the member's question in the best way I can, which is to say that we have tried to get to the bottom of the issue, expose all the facts and provide all the evidence. We have collaborated very effectively with the Auditor General, the Ethics Commissioner and the RCMP. If they have any requests for documents, obviously our government is committed to work…
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Mr. Speaker, it is kind of rich to hear the Conservatives ask such a question. It is very interesting because they seem to want to fire every independent expert who happens to disagree with them. They want to fire the independent Governor of the Bank of Canada when he does not agree with the slogans and misinformation the Conservatives spew in the House every single day. I wonder if they want to f…
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Mr. Speaker, let me set the record straight. For months now, the House has been paralyzed by Conservative politicians who are putting partisan politics ahead of delivering real results for Canadians. Instead of focusing on delivering for constituents, which is what we were all elected to do, the Conservatives have chosen to filibuster their own motion in the House, to avoid sending it to the proce…
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Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed once again that the vast majority of Canadians will receive more money back from the Canada carbon rebate. In Manitoba, that is $1,200 annually, and it is even higher for residents in rural areas. In fact, there is a 20% top-up. It was 10%, but our government decided to double that to give rural constituents and residents across Canada ev…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, after hearing the outcry about his plan to cut billions in funding for more housing and silencing his Conservative MPs from advocating for their communities, we know that the Conservative leader had a rough week last week. It is hard to believe he is barring his own MPs from doing the most foundational part of their job, which is advocating for their communities. MPs should be represe…
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Madam Speaker, our government provides hundreds of dollars a month, tax-free, to help families with the cost of raising a kid. We have also helped implement a national child care program, which is saving families $800 a month on average. We are investing to feed 400,000 more kids healthy meals at school. I note that the member worked on a national school food program for many years, advocating for…
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives seem so intent on talking down the Canadian economy. They do not seem to be able to recognize the positive signs of economic progress and recovery. Inflation is down to 1.6%. In Canada, our central bank has decreased interest rates four times. We have attracted over $50 billion in foreign direct investment, propelling us to number one per capita in the G20. That has le…
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Mr. Speaker, we consult experts who disagree with the member, but recently the Conservatives' go-to guy, Sylvain Charlebois, said that climate change is the agri-food sector's greatest challenge and agreed that climate change is a major driver of food price inflation, so if Conservatives actually cared about elevated food prices, they would have a plan to address climate change, but they do not. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that Conservatives like to cherry-pick per capita measures to try to talk down the Canadian economy, but in fact if we look at per capita foreign direct investment, Canada is number one in the world, ahead of Brazil and ahead of the United States. If we look at the IMF's projections of growth in Canada, our GDP is projected to grow more in the year 2025 than any other G7 countr…
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Mr. Speaker, we expect all telecommunication companies to clearly communicate contract terms and pricing changes to its customers. The minister has spoken directly with Rogers on this important issue. In the past two budgets, we have taken critical steps to crack down on unnecessary fees and to eliminate switching charges so customers can cancel and switch to cheaper plans and access lower charges…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the member opposite use the word “security” again. What the House should be preoccupied with, which all Canadians are preoccupied with, is the overwhelming question that the Conservatives cannot answer: Why will the Conservative leader not get his security clearance? It has been months and months that the House has been preoccupied with foreign interference, yet the …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the important work of Genwell, a grassroots movement tackling one of today's biggest challenges, which is loneliness. As social beings, we thrive on human connection. In a world where much of our interaction has moved online, in-person connections are more crucial than ever. Genwell's efforts highlight the alarming reality that 50% of Canadians report feeling…
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Madam Speaker, our government continues to manage Canada's public finances responsibly. I know the member opposite seems to disagree with that, but he should remember that our debt service costs are the lowest in the G7 when compared to GDP, as 0.6% of GDP is the cost to service the national debt. Also, contrary to what the member has said, the International Monetary Fund has rated Canada number o…
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Madam Speaker, I find the member opposite's speech and question a bit melodramatic, but he is known for that in this House. As the hon. member is aware, the CBSA initiated an internal investigation as soon as there were allegations of inappropriate contracting practices. The matter was also referred to the RCMP for investigation. Contracts with three companies involved, including GC Strategies, ha…
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Madam Speaker, I will say “no” as a direct answer to the member's question, but I will offer to sing “happy birthday” to his mom if he so chooses. I do wish the member's mother a happy birthday as I have wished my mother a happy birthday fairly recently. She is a bit older than the member opposite's mom, but taught me the same values of accountability and affordability, those principles that I hol…
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Madam Speaker, I was a little shocked to hear the hon. member call some of our programs and the things we stand for and have been implementing, “all of [those] care programs”, as if they can be lumped into some nebulous, unintelligible phrase. It seems to me a shame that he does not understand the value of pharmacare, dental care, mental health care and the health care investments we have made. Al…
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Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the member talks about a false reality. From where I sit, it is the Conservatives that have a false reality. They are unhinged from reality. In fact, they offer zero solutions. They offer three-word slogans, and others such as “powerful paycheques”. What the heck does that mean? I have no clue what the Conservative Party means by that. It is a false promise. I…
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Madam Speaker, I am proud of our government's track record on managing the resources of this country in a way that is responsible and on stewarding our country through some very challenging economic times. Again, I do not need to remind the member about the pandemic, but I will anyway; I think he has amnesia when it comes to understanding the economic impacts of a global pandemic, a once-in-a-hund…
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Madam Speaker, time and again in this House, the Conservatives cite food bank line-ups and food insecurity to try to signal that they care about Canadians, while every day they stand up in this House, cheer on bad news and really root for the failure of our economy in Canada. Inflation is down to the Bank of Canada's target rate of 2%. That is good news for all Canadians. That affects food prices …
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Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that through some crude political calculus, the NDP has compromised a progressive agenda for Canadians and abandoned the great work that we were doing together on programs like dental care, pharmacare and a national school food program, all of which strengthen the social safety net in this country. We have offered on grocery prices, with elevated inflation, a groce…
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Madam Speaker, once again, these Conservatives will never let the truth get in the way of their exploitation of the real challenges that Canadians are facing. They do not want to acknowledge the fact that, in Canada, inflation is down to the target rate of 2%. Interest rates are down, gas prices are down and emissions are down. However, we have heard it from the Conservatives over and over again. …
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Madam Speaker, it was interesting, this summer, to see our athletes compete at the Olympics. When our gymnasts at the Olympics stick a landing, all of us cheer. I think we should do the same this week with the Bank of Canada and the Government of Canada sticking the economic landing of inflation coming down to 2%, which is the Bank of Canada's target rate. Only the Conservative Party in this House…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and consistent with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Agreement between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union, of the other part, on the Participation of Canada in Union Programmes”, which includes the “Protocol on the Association of Canada to Hor…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that the NDP's recent hard right turn has taken them down the wrong path. It is too bad that they have caved to Conservative pressure. We worked collaboratively for many months to introduce numerous rounds of changes to Canada's competition laws. These are significant signs of progress that would amount to better prices and more options for Canadians and include more pow…
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Mr. Speaker, I had a very hard time listening to the member referencing support for Ukraine in his speech. He stood up multiple times in the House and voted against more support for Operation Unifier, support for Ukrainian refugees coming to Canada and an updated free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine, which President Zelenskyy himself asked us to pass. I cannot understand. The BIA has ad…
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Mr. Speaker, it was great to hear the member recognize climate change. It is not often we hear Conservatives speak about stress on prairie grass or heatwaves, wildfires or droughts, which the member opposite mentioned, so he is recognizing the impacts on our climate and on the Prairies, which is great to hear. The member also mentioned numerous other things that our government is doing in the fede…
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Mr. Speaker, I too have a passion and love for agri-food businesses, especially the ones in Quebec, like the microenterprises that produce high-quality products in Quebec that are to be savoured and enjoyed. When I travel through the region, I really appreciate that about Quebec. In the federal budget this year, the BIA, we have the Canada carbon rebate for small businesses, which supports a rebat…
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Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate my hon. colleague's remarks. Every day we hear in the House the Conservatives talk about the cost of living pressures that Canadians are under. Obviously, they continually make it sound like global inflation has been caused by our government. We know that is not true, and it is misleading to imply that. We see in this budget numerous measures that would help Canadi…
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Madam Speaker, it is clear that this question has been answered numerous times, but it is no surprise that Conservatives do not want to talk about their embarrassing vote against tax fairness. Conservatives believe that, if someone is flipping burgers, they should pay more tax than if they are flipping stocks or houses. With our plan, we are standing up for tax fairness, and let us just be clear t…
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Madam Speaker, let us review the Conservatives' record. In 2015, when our government proposed to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% and cut them for everyone else, the Conservatives voted against it. When our government implemented carbon pricing that put more money in eight out of 10 families' pockets, ensuring everyone but the wealthiest were better off, the Conservatives voted against it. When ou…
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Madam Speaker, it is clear the Conservatives do not care about the future of the planet. They do not care about tax fairness. They do not care about investments that Canadians need and rely on. They believe that, if someone is flipping burgers, they should pay more tax than if they are flipping homes or flipping stocks to make a living. Under our plan for tax fairness, if someone does not profit b…
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Madam Speaker, it is clear that the Conservatives do not care about the future of our planet. They will not stand up for our children and our grandchildren. On this side of the House, we are advancing tax fairness for Canadians with our new capital gains regime. That means people earning their hard-earned incomes on their paycheques will not pay a penny more, unless they earn over $250,000 a year …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member opposite. We both served on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food for quite some time, and I always appreciated working with him. At the time, we had talked about international trade and the impacts on the supply-managed sector. I note that, in the study we did, we saw that there was very little impact at the time. I think ther…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give a shout-out to Whitby's graduating class of 2024. These students are the generation that is going to change the game. They should not just dream big; they should dream bold. They should dream like they are the only ones who can change the game, because they can. They should think about how they can make a difference, how they can leave their mark. They are the one…
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Mr. Speaker, this government has done more to support our local economies than any government I have ever seen in Canadian history. We are stimulating jobs and increasing productivity. We have made major investments in the research ecosystem within our economy, which is promoting innovation and creating more jobs for a sustainable future. I could not be more proud of this government. I know the me…
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Madam Speaker, maybe we will just start on a very collaborative note with, I am sure, a comment that all members in the House will be unified on. I want to say, “Go, Edmonton Oilers”. They have tied it up in the Stanley Cup, in the third game of the series. It is good to see the Oilers score a goal and tie it up. I am really hoping that they come out on top tonight. I am very pleased to rise in th…
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Madam Speaker, I will say that our government certainly stands behind wanting to preserve a publicly funded health care system. Obviously, we have renegotiated the Canada health transfer, which was increased quite significantly, to the tune of approximately $200 billion. It is a significant increase from past iterations of that agreement. I note that we also signed bilateral agreements with provin…
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Madam Speaker, I know that Conservatives often have trouble understanding that the world changes and things evolve over time. I would answer the member's question by saying this: Our government has paid a lot of attention to refocusing government spending, which amounts to a refocusing of $15.8 billion in spending by 2027-28. That is a pretty significant amount of refocused government spending, wh…
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Mr. Speaker, children are our future. I have young children. All of us with children certainly understand that they are the future of our country. We could make no better investment in the future generation than investing in children, whether it be food, dental care, pharmacare, child care, all the things that our government is doing to support families, so they can achieve and have a fair chance …
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Mr. Speaker, since being elected in 2019, I have been an advocate for individuals with disabilities and have advocated for the Canada disability benefit from day one. I have been in touch with my constituents living with disabilities, and I feel strongly about the $200 more per month, notwithstanding that provinces and territories have neglected to provide the supports necessary to individuals liv…
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that the Government of Canada takes the issue of housing for indigenous peoples very seriously. We know that indigenous people are more likely to experience poor housing conditions and overcrowding than the general population is. That is why housing in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities is backed by significant funding from the federal government, …
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Mr. Speaker, obviously we are very concerned as a government with any instances of online fraud that we see. I note that our recent budget implementation act has numerous measures to crack down on money laundering and crime related to fraud. We have done lots of work in this area, successively, in both the fall economic statement and the BIA, and we look forward to looking into the matter that the…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the hon. colleague for her question and her tireless advocacy. I also want to acknowledge that I am standing on the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people. The negative impacts of the legacies of colonialism are numerous and wide-reaching for indigenous peoples. Poor housing conditions, overcrowding and homelessness are just a few …
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Mr. Speaker, I note the member opposite talked about food bank lineups again. It is really a shame that he would not vote in support of feeding hungry children. I do not know how he can say over and over again, as his party does every day in question period, that Conservatives care about the people in the food bank lineups, but they are not willing to support a national school food program. I just…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his advocacy for families and children. It is good to see. I spent my whole career working with non-profits and charities; specifically, I worked on ending food insecurity. However, it is good to hear that Conservatives are finally noticing that food insecurity is a problem in this country. It is too bad they voted against a national school food program tha…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, feeding children in schools through a national school food program, in which there is an investment of $1 billion over five years in this year's budget, is going to roll out in the coming years and months. It has not fed children in the past because it was not in existence in the past. School food programs exist all across the country, but they have needed an injection of a…
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