Statements by Members
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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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 …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Kitchener Centre. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this very important issue that has tragically touched so many lives right across the country and of course in my riding of Vancouver Granville. British Columbia has been seized by the opioid crisis as we have heard from other members. It does not matter whether we are r…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, we have to work with the provinces and the cities where we are going to be putting this in place to understand what makes the most sense. There is lots of opportunity for us to look at SUAP, the substance use and addictions program, and ways in which we can direct funding from there to work with physicians to deal with safe supply. There are so many options available to us, and we need …
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the time has come to work together and tackle this problem. We must work with all the provinces to find solutions that will work for their regions and for the cities facing this crisis. We will work together, because that is what it will take to find these solutions and solve these issues in an effective manner.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, while listening to the speech by the member opposite, I reflected on his comment about ordinary Canadians. The ordinary Canadians I know do not go to protests where there are swastikas and Confederate flags. They do not go to events where people are calling for the hanging of elected officials. I will leave aside all of that rhetoric and all of that anger for a moment, and leave aside…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we have now seen the occupation of Ottawa by right-wing radicals and racists, an occupation that has been supported by some of the member's colleagues and denounced by others. We have seen Confederate flags, swastikas, anti-indigenous racism, not to mention the total shutdown of small businesses in Ottawa. My hon. friend has said he does not support any new spending because that is no…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the constituents of my riding of Vancouver Granville felt the effects of COVID-19 in all aspects of their lives. Thanks to this government's prudent financial management, however, we have seen a strong economic recovery. Could the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance tell the House about some of the measures included in the recent financial update that will continue to suppor…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on December 13, Ismaili Muslims across Canada will celebrate the 85th birthday of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan. An honorary Canadian citizen and honorary companion of the Order of Canada, the Aga Khan has worked tirelessly to reduce global poverty, advance gender equality and improve health care and education around the world. His Highness continues to inspire the Ismaili commun…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the hon. member makes an important point. We are in a place right now where we do need to be thinking about those people who are taking care of us. Health care workers have put themselves on the line, tirelessly and constantly, throughout the pandemic. They have done so before and will continue to do so after the pandemic. It is our job as parliamentarians to ensure that those healt…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I do not know the answer to that question, but I am sure we will be able to get back to the hon. member with an answer. If we are working together on this legislation, we should be able to protect those workers as well.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Nickel Belt. Before I begin my formal comments, I would like to tell the member for Bow River that he does indeed represent a beautiful riding. I have enjoyed many trips to his part of the country, and it is a beautiful part of Canada. I am thankful for the opportunity to discuss Bill C-3, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. It is becoming insidious. During the last election, many of these very same protesters chose to attack our office. They harassed young people who were volunteering in the office. They intimidated people who were trying to come to have conversations with us. I think all of us need to do exactly what the hon. member said. We need to recognize that …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the answer is no, never, not even once. The reality is that most Canadians wanted to know that government was functioning and that their parliamentarians were doing their work. That was the question, not where we work. It is important to remember and note that, while we have heard the concerns of the members opposite, they are also the party that often talks about learning from the pr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what the question was, but I hear the hon. member's concern. I think the important thing to remember is that this process allows for accountability regardless of where individuals are. It enables people to participate in the activities of the House without endangering their communities, without potentially causing super spreader events and perhaps most importantly. It al…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-4, which was adopted in October 2020, created three new temporary recovery benefits to support Canadians who were unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19. Bill C-9 put in place new targeted supports to help businesses through the pandemic with the emergency rent and wage subsidies. Bill C-12 charted a course for clean growth for generations to come by legislating net-zer…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge. I am pleased to speak in favour of this motion. I believe that it sets out a reasonable approach to allow the House to perform all of its regular business while keeping members and all the staff who support us safe during the ongoing pandemic. It is particularly frustrating that all parties in the House were not able to…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, again, I hear my hon. colleague's concerns. I think the reality is that we have an example from the last Parliament of when things can work and when things do work. I do not see anything in this motion that steps into play anything sinister or anything long term. This is a motion to deal with this session of Parliament.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, indeed the hon. member is right. In my riding of Vancouver Granville, constituents chose a plan that they knew made sense. They knew capping orphan wells was important and that not cutting funding to capping orphan wells was an irresponsible decision. They knew that making sure we transitioned away from fossil fuels was important and that investing in that appropriately was the righ…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, when we talk about the Sumas Lake, I think of the guidance that was provided at the time to the first nations communities about what might happen in a situation like this. That said, we are where we are today, and of course the government has pledged to make sure that we are able to rebuild British Columbia and do our part by doing everything that is required to ensure that the prov…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. I am grateful to rise in the House of Commons for the first time as the member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, which is located on the traditional unceded territory of the Coast Salish first peoples, the Musqueam, the Squamish and the Tsleil-Waututh. I am grateful to represent…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, bold and decisive action means implementing a plan that was supported by Canadians in the last election, which is what we are here to do. Bold and responsible action is making sure that we are able to meet our targets, as we have committed to doing. Bold and decisive action means ensuring that we are working with all stakeholders, provinces and indigenous communities to make sure th…
Read full speech →