Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food reported as many as 4.3 million Canadians were food insecure in 2011, and he said, “a growing number of people across Canada are unable to meet their basic food needs.” That was in the dark era of the Conservatives for almost a decade, when food insecurity continued to get worse and worse. I do not know when the Conservatives finally woke…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has been, and will continue to be, committed to ensuring everyone in Canada is paying their fair share. That is why we have permanently raised the corporate income tax by 1.5% on the largest banks and insurance companies in Canada; implemented a recovery dividend of 15% on the financial sector to pay for the cost of COVID-19; implemented a luxury tax on private jets, lu…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is stepping up to fight inflation and alleviate the pressures in our economy to address Canadians' affordability challenges. Meanwhile, we see the Conservatives shudder at even the thought of standing up to corporations. We brought them to the table. They have produced action plans. We are updating our competition laws. I wish all members of this House would get on side…
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Mr. Speaker, it is hard to take these champagne Conservatives seriously. They continue to stand up in this House and speak to the hardships that Canadians are feeling, while every step of the way, they oppose the very measures that our government has consistently put forward to help the most vulnerable. These are such measures as the Canada child benefit, offering families hundreds of dollars per …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I really appreciated my colleague's impassioned speech. We hear comments in this House daily about how the Canada Infrastructure Bank is doing nothing. I think my colleague and I, being from the Durham region, know quite well that we have had some major investments from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, such as repayable financing for Durham Region Transit. I wonder if she could speak t…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is laser-focused on ensuring inflation can stabilize and that interest rates can come down. We are doing it with a fiscally responsible plan, one that has seen inflation come down from its peak at 8.1% in June 2022. It is also a pillar that our AAA credit rating has been reaffirmed. The Conservative leader's plan is to fire the Governor of the Bank of Canada and attack …
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are wising up to the fact that the Conservatives would cut programs that our government has put in place for some of the most vulnerable Canadians in our communities. These have lifted almost half a million kids out of poverty and reduced child care fees by 50%, saving families hundreds of dollars per month, to name just two. Canadians also know that the Conservatives will n…
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Mr. Speaker, we believe in the independence of our institutions. The Bank of Canada pursues an independent monetary policy that is best suited to Canada's economic circumstances. Keeping these institutions free from political interference is not a matter of principle. It is a matter of protecting Canadians' livelihoods, their businesses and our economy. Canada's AAA credit rating was reaffirmed la…
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Mr. Speaker, the amendments to the act are really designed to ensure national security and that Canadian interests are reflected in the act. When foreign investment is coming into the country, it would be subject to a national security review. We have actually seen quite a significant amount of that coming into Canada in recent years. I think giving the minister the powers and authority to be able…
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to Bill C-34, an act to amend the Investment Canada Act. Today the House of Commons will vote unanimously to support this bill's objectives. This bill was studied at the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, and we encourage those members to send this bill to the Senate for its consideration. Members all know very well this legislati…
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Mr. Speaker, you will not be surprised, that, unfortunately, I disagree with the hon. member that this is slack. I do not think that is the case. This is a very strong piece of legislation that was agreed to by committee members.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the amendments that are being proposed by this side of the House are designed to ensure that the bill is consistent. They are amendments that were actually subamendments in our committee put forth by the Conservative Party and the NDP. In essence, the amendments we are making are to ensure that the bill is consistent. I agree with the hon. member that, for our work on the procedure an…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not really sure what the member is referring to, because the amendments that we have put forward and we are debating are ones that make the bill consistent. There were subamendments put before the committee that were from the Conservative Party and NDP. I do not know what the member is bringing forward, but my understanding is that the additional amendment that the Conservatives …
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives have stood against helping our most vulnerable, we have fought time and time again for tangible measures that help Canadians, such as the CCB, the workers benefit, child care, dental care, the grocery rebate, the increased OAS, the GIS and quarterly carbon price rebates. We are proud to have lifted over 2.7 million Canadians out of poverty. That is 2.7 million …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to honour Whitby historian Lynn Philip Hodgson, who passed away peacefully on October 11. Lynn will be remembered as a respected Canadian historian, author and foremost expert on Camp-X, a World War II communications centre and training school for spies that operated in Whitby—Oshawa and that is now commemorated at Intrepid Park. The Whitby Historical Society…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that climate change has many times the impact on general and food inflation that the carbon price has, but we do not see Conservatives jumping up and down to raise ambitions on fighting climate change. Why is that? When Canadians want more action on climate change, the Conservatives are regressive and promote climate denial. Let me also clarify that the vast majority of low- a…
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Mr. Speaker, I can speak to the fact that Canada has created over one million more jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels, has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio, the lowest deficit in the G7 and lower inflation than our comparative partners around the world. The IMF and OECD project the strongest growth in 2024. We know that Canadians are struggling right now, but the real difference between us and the C…
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Mr. Speaker, if Conservatives really care about grocery prices, then why are they not supporting our affordability bill in the House? They have stated repeatedly that they are going to vote against measures that would increase competition and bring down food prices for Canadians. Do they expect us to believe that common sense means working against the interests of Canadians? We are fighting for af…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance takes her role as the regulator of the financial sector very seriously. As the Department of Finance stated on November 29 of last year, “The Minister of Finance's decision [on the acquisition] will be informed by all required regulatory review processes”, including those administered by the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Competition…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said in this House numerous times now, when the minister learned about the allegations of mismanagement at SDTC, he immediately acted to hire a third party to do an independent, impartial review. It came back with a report. Those findings are now being turned into corrective actions, which are part of an implementation plan that SDTC is implementing by December. Let us make …
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives consistently use the carbon price as a scapegoat for global inflation in this House. I think they are having trouble grasping the concept of magnitude. The Bank of Canada governor recently said carbon pricing contributed 0.15% to inflation, which is equivalent to 15¢ on a $100 grocery bill. The European Central Bank said climate change contributes as much as 3% to the co…
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Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that what the member falsely claims is something that we take issue with. Earlier this year when the minister became aware of the allegations of mismanagement, he acted immediately and decided to conduct a fact-finding exercise through an impartial third party review. That third party produced a report, and that report has now resulted in an action plan that is being…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, when the minister became aware of the allegations of mismanagement in this particular case, he immediately acted to commission a third party independent review of SDTC. That review produced an action plan that, now, SDTC will implement by December. That will make a substantive difference to addressing the mismanagement. The highest standards of governance are the ex…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that Canadians are wising up to the fact that the Conservatives are just not worth the risk, but let me answer the member's question by saying this: When the minister became aware of the allegations of mismanagement at SDTC, he immediately acted and commissioned a review. The review resulted in an action plan that the executive will now implement by December, and we expect the …
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Mr. Speaker, as the Conservative leader recycles “common sense” cliches from decades ago as if he were an automaton from the Mike Harris era, our government has taken decisive action to help Canadians with the price of groceries by supporting more competition in the marketplace and by increasing housing supply, waiving GST on new rental construction. These are two significant measures the members …
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Madam Speaker, obviously my colleague across the way does not truly understand the gravity of the situation of the global climate crisis we are in. The transition of workers from one industry to another, from high-emitting to low-emitting industries, is going to require a significant transition of workforce. That is exactly what this legislation aims to do, to make that transition as equitably, fa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, thank you for this opportunity today to speak to an incredibly important piece of legislation, Bill C-50, Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act. For many reasons, the people of Canada are going through challenging times. I think we can all agree on that. Many of them are unprecedented. Canadian workers and jobs, and the global economy, were heavily affected by the global pandemic. On top of…
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Madam Speaker, I know the language shifter, the lingo and the way we are talking about this has evolved. That evolution in language in talking about sustainable jobs is part and parcel of working with labour leaders across the country. I believe it actually reflects the language and framing they would like us to use. The evidence shows there is a lot at stake here. There is a lot of investment and…
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Madam Speaker, RBC has said that over 400,000 jobs are at stake by the end of 2030, so over the next seven years. What this legislation is looking to do is ensure we create more jobs in Canada. The member opposite rightly points to the fact the investment tax credits our government has introduced and is working on rolling out are going to play a key role in incentivizing the sustainable investment…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today is World Food Day, a day when we are reminded that we must work together to confront the issue of food insecurity here in Canada and around the world. With the rising cost of living, 24.6% of Ontario kids live in a food-insecure household, a sharp increase from last year. Whether breakfast or lunch, healthy school meals play a vital role in alleviating household food insecurity …
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Mr. Speaker, our government is fighting for Canadians on affordability every step of the way. We are fully seized with addressing the affordability challenges that Canadians are facing, like calling in the top five grocery CEOs to work with us to stabilize food prices. Conservatives can call this a photo-op. I think calling decisive action for Canadians on affordability a photo-op says more about …
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative leader was having a self-aggrandizing, goodwill-hunting delusion in an apple orchard, our government was focused on stabilizing food prices for middle-class Canadians by calling on the five grocery chain CEOs to produce action plans that would make a difference for Canadians. Our government is now tracking and monitoring the grocery chains and holding them accou…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I attended an event on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the Durham Community Health Centre. At that event, a residential school survivor shared his experience and healing journey. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Bernard Nelson, a residential school survivor from the Eabametoong First Nation north of Thunder Bay. He dug deep into …
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Mr. Speaker, I know it must be hard for the leader of the Conservative Party to empathize with Canadians, when surely he does not pay for turkeys at Stornoway. We know they are free. On federal leadership, we have demonstrated leadership and brought the five largest grocery chains to Ottawa, and we are moving forward with them to lower and stabilize food prices for Canadians. Those grocery chains …
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure that all of us have a teacher, or many, in mind who shaped our future in significant ways. The Prime Minister's awards for teaching excellence in science, technology and math recognize elementary and high school teachers across the country who have meaningfully contributed to the lives of their students by supporting and mentoring them in school. Today and every day, we shou…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is fighting for Canadians on affordability every step of the way. We are fully seized with addressing the affordability challenges that Canadians are facing. We called in the top five grocery chain CEOs to help stabilize food prices. They have come up with plans that they are now implementing. The fact that Conservatives call that a photo op, when it is a decisive actio…
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Mr. Speaker, we are doing the right thing, which is to bring the grocery CEOs of the largest grocery chains in the country to the table and get them on board with an action plan to help fight for affordability for Canadians. They have committed to implementing action plans that include discounts on a basket of basic goods, bringing back price-matching because some of them did not have that before …
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Mr. Speaker, our government is taking action with grocery CEOs. They have gotten on board. They have produced plans. They are rolling out measures. They do not know what the others are going to do. They are going to be competing to bring down and stabilize those prices. There are many measures that we will move forward in weeks and days to come, and this is good news for Canadians, because grocery…
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard loud and clear from Canadians across this country that grocery prices need to come down. Our government gets up every morning and is working hard every day to lower those prices or stabilize those prices. Not only did we call the top five largest grocery CEOs to Ottawa, but we got them on board to work on action plans that would help stabilize food prices for Canadians. …
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Madam Speaker, it was good to see my hon. colleague out in Oshawa this weekend as well. We share an interest in fighting homelessness and solving the affordable housing challenges that Canadians find themselves in. Our government, unlike previous Conservative governments, has made a historic investment, through the national housing strategy, of $82 billion, which has repaired units, built new unit…
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Madam Speaker, today I rise in this chamber to debate Bill C-56, which would make several important and timely amendments to the Competition Act. A stronger competition framework is good for all Canadians, ensuring that companies are playing fairly, preserving opportunities for new firms to enter the market and ensuring that consumers benefit from more and better choices in the marketplace. The bi…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite and I served on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, so he knows we have some disagreements on this. The Bank of Canada Governor recently said that carbon pricing contributed 0.15% to inflation. That is equivalent to about 15¢ on a $100 grocery bill. The European Central Bank has estimated that climate change contributes as much as 3% to the cost …
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Madam Speaker, I support the fact that the Competition Bureau's powers needed to be amended and strengthened so that it can undertake market studies and look at mergers that may not be in the best interest of Canadians or in the best interest of a competitive marketplace, which is specifically what Bill C-56 aims to do. It is outlined in the work that we did when I was on the agriculture and agri-…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for helping me find an audience for my speech. I do not think that these are token measures, and adding 200,000 to 300,000 units of affordable housing or rental construction units is not a small feat. It is a significant amount, and we can couple that with the $82 billion in the national housing strategy and the housing accelerator fund dollars, which are…
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Madam Speaker, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers has stressed that restrictive covenants in lease or purchase agreements, a form of vertical restraint that is not currently reviewable as a competitor collaboration under the Competition Act, have a serious impact on the food supply for a significant number of Canadian communities. The International Center for Law & Economics also agree…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, I would like to start by taking this opportunity to recognize and appreciate our new police chief in Durham region, Peter Moreira. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the Durham Regional Police Service's youth in policing program graduation ceremony, where they recognized the remarkable achievements of 85 young graduates. Members should have seen it. This diverse grou…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is good to be back in the House after the summer break. Over the course of the summer, I met constituents across my riding of Whitby and they are rightfully worried about the rising cost of living. They expect our government to create real solutions that make a real difference in the lives of Canadians, and not make slogans and empty promises. Canadians spoke and we listened. We ar…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize two organizations that are making Canada a healthier and happier place by fostering and supporting human connectivity through face-to-face social connections. OOt is a Whitby-based social enterprise that launched on Monday. Co-founders Thyagi and Paul developed a social media platform to help people more easily find others with common interests so they can co…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to discuss Bill C-320, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (disclosure of information to victims). I want to thank the members for Milton, Oshawa and Cariboo—Prince George for their efforts in moving this bill for our discussion today. Victims who share their contact information with the Correctional Service of Canada and/or the Parole Board …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last week in my riding of Whitby our fire and emergency services held their recruit graduation ceremony. It was an incredible event. It recognized the nine new Whitby firefighters who took the oath of service affirming their commitment to protecting our community. Firefighters are essential to our country, and without their service, Canada could not be the safe place it is today. Thes…
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