Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member's reflections on what he is hearing in his riding are exactly what I am hearing in mine. I have families that are struggling. I have seniors and young families that would benefit from the support. I also have a large number of people who work in health care, particularly doctors and nurses. They have all said that dental care would improve the long-term health care indica…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this House to speak to this important piece of legislation on behalf of the citizens of Vancouver Granville. This piece of legislation, which deals directly with measures related to dental care and housing, is going to provide immediate support to families across the country. We have all talked about the fact that the global economy is facing serious chall…
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Madam Speaker, one of the things that I think health ministers across the country would say is that the government has done a tremendous job of consulting with them on a variety of health care matters, and has done far less damage, I would argue, to the health care system than the previous government did when it chose to gut transfer payments to the provinces for health care. One of the most impor…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her comments and her question. We need to pay attention to our seniors. We will work together to improve oral health for all Canadians, particularly youth and seniors. If we continue to work together, and if, as I hope, all members of the House of Commons here today support the bill, we will also be able to work on other elements.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to rise today and recognize the Little Mountain Baseball All-Stars on their big win at the Canadian Little League Championship earlier this summer. As they represented our Vancouver Granville community as Team BC, we were proud to cheer on these amazing athletes on their path to victory. The All-Stars went on to make us proud as team Canada at the Little League World Ser…
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Mr. Speaker, today is the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. Thirty-seven years ago today, Air India Flight 182 was blown out of the sky, which killed 329 innocent souls. These were 268 Canadians, including moms, dads, grandparents, friends and 82 children, who would never come home. To this day, this remains the single largest act of terrorism perpetrated against Canadians. It …
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Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the opportunity to speak on Bill C-21, an act to amend certain acts and to make certain consequential amendments regarding firearms. I am proud to support such crucial legislation, which is going to make a real difference in keeping communities like mine safe and free of gun violence. Gun violence is on the rise in Canada. It presents a serious and significant…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member is more than welcome to come over here to look at my notes and look at my computer, if he would like.
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Madam Speaker, through the use of the yellow flag and red flag I think we would start to move in that direction, but there is a lot more we need to do. Working together with organizations that have been advocating for us to do better, we will continue to do so. I think that means doing everything, including ensuring people who pose a threat or risk to their partner cannot get their hands on guns. …
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Madam Speaker, I would not call it a futile example, because it is at once important for us to recognize that guns kill people, whether it is in the commission of crimes or when people are taking their own lives. Our obligation to protect Canadians is to make sure that we make it as difficult as possible for crimes to be committed and for people to use guns to take their own lives. We have an obli…
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Madam Speaker, it is striking the member quotes the CMA and he quotes the importance of being able to register and regulate firearms, yet it is curious his party has consistently opposed any efforts to register firearms. It has opposed firearms registries and pretty much everything, so I am glad he is looking at the research put out by medical professionals, who have said that, in fact, gun violen…
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My colleague is right, Madam Chair. This is a problem, not only for today, but also for tomorrow and next year. We will have to work with our international partners to fix this problem. We must continue to support Ukraine in this war. We must also continue to work together to help Canadian farmers produce the essential foods that our country and the world need.
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. It is an honour to rise in this House on this subject. Many people might be asking why a member of Parliament from Vancouver is speaking about an issue that in many cases is focused on farming and on challenges facing many of our farmers, as we think about global food security and insecurity. It is because food securi…
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Madam Chair, one of the things that it is important for us to do, as a government, is to ensure that we are making investments with partners to ensure that the work that is being done on mines like this one is done in a way that protects the environment and natural resources, and ensures that we are leading when it comes to ensuring that our food security and food stability, and the production of …
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Madam Chair, I agree with the hon. member. It is important for us to recognize what we are facing with the invasion of Ukraine. What we have seen in other parts of the world is an increase in the rise of what I would call authoritarianism and a move away from the world order where we respect human rights and where we respect pluralism. We have really turned away from the values that have made this…
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Mr. Speaker, in the digital era, cybersecurity is national security. Our critical infrastructure relies on interconnected networks and cyber-systems every day. From our financial system to telecommunications and from the energy sector to the transportation sectors, organizations need to be well prepared to be able to prevent and respond to cyber incidents. Can the Prime Minister inform this House …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. colleague for her speech, but I was left a bit concerned, because every piece of research out there shows that mandatory minimums do not work. Every piece of research in Canada, the United States and around the world shows that the only people who are disproportionately affected by mandatory minimums are people of colour. What I would love to understand from the membe…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's speech, but I really fail to understand it. There is no data that shows mandatory minimums work. In fact, every piece of data says mandatory minimums do not work, whether from Canada or the United States. The only thing it does prove is that people of colour, indigenous people and Black people are the ones who are disproportionately affected by mandato…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the fact that our government was able to work with the NDP Government of British Columbia and a former NDP MP, who is now the mayor of Vancouver, to ensure that British Columbians have a plan in place that will be the example for the rest of the country of how this can work and work well.
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Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the opportunity to rise to speak to the estimates. Several important steps are being taken by the government to support the effective and efficient functioning of the justice system, in particular regarding access to justice for youth, indigenous and Black persons and those who are economically disadvantaged. As the House is well aware, our justice system has be…
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Mr. Speaker, in the riding I represent, which has many health care workers and many families and folks who have been affected by the opioid crisis, there is support for this important initiative. What it does is treats addiction as a health issue, not as a criminal justice issue. It is about time that Canadians recognize that members opposite continue to further victimize those who are dealing wit…
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Mr. Speaker, health care professionals, the law enforcement community and all kinds of folks who deal directly with individuals affected by this issue support this initiative and support this work. We are proud to be working in tandem with the province and with law enforcement to get this done for British Columbians, and for all Canadians eventually.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, one year ago today, Madiha and Salman Afzaal, their daughter Yumna, and her grandmother Talat were brutally murdered in London, Ontario. They were killed for one reason: They were Muslim. Nine-year-old Fayez Afzaal, in the blink of an eye, became an orphan and lost his sister and his grandmother. Their murder shook us to our core and united Canadians in our grief. For Muslims across C…
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Madam Speaker, on behalf of all Canadians, today I want to congratulate our Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes who represented us at the recent summer and winter games. As we cheered from home, Team Canada delivered remarkable performances in sport excellence, bringing home 96 medals, achieving many personal bests and exemplifying fair play. The athletes represented Canada with grace, dignit…
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Madam Speaker, we heard a lot from the member for Battle River—Crowfoot about the erosion of democracy and the erosion of institutions. I am wondering if the member might be able to share with us his concerns about the rhetoric being shared about firing the Governor of the Bank of Canada and about questioning our democratic institutions. Could he share how that contributes to the erosion of public…
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Mr. Speaker, I first met the hon. member, who is now leaving us, when he and I both worked at the Privy Council Office. It was a great honour for me to be elected and be in the same chamber as him, and—
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Mr. Speaker, this weekend, we saw another horrific massacre in the United States; this time, just across the border from Canada in Buffalo. What was particularly chilling about this murder was the killer's ties to violent, far-right, white supremacist extremist ideology targeting African Americans. Canada is not immune from this threat. We saw this in the horrific killings at the mosque in Quebec …
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Mr. Speaker, this week, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi will visit Canada. In honour of his visit, I want to recognize all those individuals across the globe who have had to flee their homes, communities and countries due to political unrest, war, humanitarian crises, natural disasters and instability. Around the world, refugees fleeing Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Mya…
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Mr. Speaker, Nowruz marked the arrival of spring and is a time to reflect on the past year and look ahead to good things to come in the year ahead. This weekend, Persian, Afghan, Kurdish, Zoroastrian, Baha'i and central Asian communities, and my own Ismaili community, celebrated Nowruz, or Navroz. After two long years of battling COVID-19, communities in Vancouver Granville and across Canada final…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this motion to create the parliamentary review committee per subsection 62(1) of the Emergencies Act. For three weeks, blockades illegally disrupted our daily lives here in Ottawa and across the country. They harmed our economy and endangered our public safety. In my riding of Vanc…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his comments. The reality is that the Conservative Party has decided to politicize the situation that we went through here in Ottawa. The way we can act now is to have a committee that will look at the situation with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP co-chairing the committee. We can work together to find the answers. The member is right: The people of …
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Madam Speaker, I apologize. This is simply not true. No such investigation exists. The interim Leader of the Opposition, instead of seeking a solution to the problem, said, “I don't think we should be asking them to go home...we need to turn this into the [Prime Minister's] problem.” With this type of rhetoric, a willingness to mislead Canadians and a willingness to support an ongoing occupation o…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated very much the proverb, particularly that when we start to sweep, we start to find things. Given that the opposition is actually supposed to be Her Majesty's loyal opposition, surely there would be an interest in getting to the business of sweeping to find out what actually went wrong quickly. Why is there this need to hold back the committee from actually starting the im…
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Madam Speaker, I would be glad to respond. If I understand correctly, there was an email sent by the interim Leader of the Opposition in which she said she thought this should be made the Prime Minister's problem and that they should not be encouraging these individuals to leave Ottawa. Unless the email was a fabrication, unless the email was a lie or unless she changed her mind, that is on the re…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. It is a question that has plagued me for the last couple of days as well, and I am led to wonder the very same things. Could it be that there is something that the Conservative Party does not wish to have revealed during the course of the review? Could it be that there are deep concerns about it possibly alienating the potential voters they …
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Mr. Speaker, March 1 marks UN Zero Discrimination Day, a time to celebrate the right of everyone to live a life full of authenticity and dignity. This year’s theme, “Remove laws that harm, create laws that empower”, is a reminder that we all have a responsibility to make fairer laws that leave no one behind. We have done much, like banning conversion therapy, which was passed unanimously in the Ho…
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Mr. Speaker, two people were trampled. News reports say the reporter actually admitted that there was, in fact, no trampling. I just want to make sure we clarify the facts in the House. I would ask the following question. The other side does not trust the government. Would the members trust the national security adviser to Stephen Harper, and the former director of CSIS, Richard Fadden? He said th…
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Mr. Speaker, instead, members of the opposition have stood with, encouraged, supported and even broken bread with the very people who have terrorized the citizens of Ottawa and threatened the lives of law enforcement officials. The organizers of this movement have led blockades that have cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars. Many of the organizers are not interested in protecting the righ…
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Mr. Speaker, that was an impassioned speech. I have to admit that I am struck by much of what the member said. In the spirit of thinking through some facts, he mentioned that many people were trampled.
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Mr. Speaker, like my colleague, I rise to speak in a moment when we are called on to do what is right, to choose to defend our democracy and the fabric of our country. I am the child of immigrants who were part of freedom movements that saw the overthrow of oppressive colonialism in East Africa. Members of my family experienced the violence of a dictatorial xenophobic regime in Uganda that used it…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to know that the government has reassured and continues to reassure citizens of this country that law-abiding citizens will not be caught up in some kind of massive dragnet. That is not what these measures are about. In fact, as my hon. friend said earlier, I believe there are 73 bank accounts in total that have been shut down. The member should rest assured that lawfu…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's question is an important one. On the first point the member raised, the right to demonstrate peacefully and lawfully is enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That is something that we all hold dear and that we will always defend. This is not meant to obstruct in any way, shape or form peaceful, legal protest. To the member's second point, in respect to W…
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Mr. Speaker, I was speaking to a friend of mine who is a journalist and who was harassed yesterday by some of these so-called protesters. For the first time in his life, he was actually afraid to do his job. It is incumbent upon all in the House not to feed the fake news narrative. It is incumbent upon all in the House to protect and preserve the rights of journalists to do their jobs, regardless …
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Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot from the hon. member about common sense and doing what is best for Canadians, and I would love her comment on whether it was common sense for the interim leader of the Conservative Party to be photographed wearing MAGA hats, to talk about making the convoy the Prime Minister's problem and to say we should not be asking them go home. I wonder if she thinks that is…
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Mr. Speaker, parents in my riding understand that enrolling their children in French immersion programs enriches them culturally and gives them an advantage later in life. However, because of teacher shortages and long wait lists, it is often difficult for parents to enrol their kids in French immersion. Could the Minister of Official Languages tell the House how our government is providing more c…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-10. COVID-19 continues to be part of our lives, which we all know, and testing and screening remain important tools. They allow us to rapidly detect and isolate new cases. They support contact tracing and they help prevent community outbreaks by breaking the chain of transmission. As we have been, we continue to be committed to…
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Madam Speaker, access to rapid tests in British Columbia has been virtually impossible over the course of the last little while. I can say from personal experience that over the course of the Christmas holidays it was a source of anxiety for many of my constituents who wanted to know, at the very least, whether they were going to be able to take some kind of test for their small and limited Christ…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and for her work on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. It is a pleasure to work with her as well. We recognize that we need to work with the provinces and territories to improve our health care systems. We will work together. We all know that COVID‑19 has added another dimension. We will have to look ahead and conside…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague notes a very important point here. I think it is important for us to recognize that this is one tool in the arsenal and it is not a silver bullet, but rapid tests make it possible for us to have a baseline of information that we may not have had otherwise. It gives us an additional piece of information from which to make informed decisions. They add a layer of informati…
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his advocacy on this issue. There are many elements we need to consider. Working with the provinces is key. Vancouver and British Columbia have already put in applications for exemptions. These are tangible things we can put into place right away. All of these opportunities are ones for us to take up in partnership with the provinces and the cities. It is how we a…
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