Government Orders
Madam Speaker, 88% of the beer Canadians enjoy is brewed and created here in Canada by over 20,000 hard-working Canadians employed by these breweries, whether microbreweries or large breweries like Pacific Western Brewing in my town of Prince George. They are worried. The unions are worried and labour is worried. The breweries are saying they cannot handle a 6% tax increase. I want to ask if my ho…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate our hon. colleague's speech, because for the first four minutes he entered into Hansard the names all the microbreweries and breweries in his riding. I think he owes a care package to all member who are currently present in the House. When the escalator tax was introduced and brought in back in 2017 before COVID, Finance Canada officials testified at committee that the …
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Madam Speaker, the national security community told the Liberals about foreign interference and briefed Katie Telford and the Prime Minister weeks before the election. About 48 hours before the nomination deadline, CSIS urged them to rescind the nomination of a Liberal candidate. Foreign operatives funded their candidates, and the Prime Minister did nothing. The Prime Minister and his bench contin…
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Madam Speaker, for weeks now, the Prime Minister and his front bench have misled Canadians about what they knew and when they knew it. We know the Trudeau Foundation took money from the Chinese Communist Party. We know Beijing Communist operatives were directly funding Liberal nominations and elections. The facts are indisputable, yet they continue to try to sweep the scandal under the rug to cove…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight long years of the Liberal government, housing rates and the cost of living are skyrocketing for Canadians. The average rate for a studio apartment in my home province of British Columbia is $2,200, and mortgage rates are doubling, all because of the Prime Minister's out-of-control inflationary spending. Families cannot afford to eat, heat or pay their mortgages, and he cou…
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Mr. Speaker, I am heartened that the Minister of Public Safety is paying attention. I am truly honoured and humbled to rise in the House to introduce this bill. I thank my hon. friend and colleague from Chilliwack—Hope for seconding the bill. Simply put, my bill will amend the Criminal Code to make assaults against health care workers an aggravating factor during sentencing. If we have learned any…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-321, an act to amend the Criminal Code (assaults against health care professionals and first responders). Mr. Speaker, I am heartened to see that the Minister of Public Safety is in the House to hear the first reading of this—
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Madam Speaker, the hon. colleague has said that the Conservatives are taking the side of tech giants. However, there are legal experts, as well as other experts in the field, including former CRTC commissioners, who have serious concerns with Bill C-11. Who is really misleading Canadians? Is it that member of Parliament, those legal experts or the former CRTC commissioners?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise today to speak on Bill S-222, an act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, use of wood. I thank the member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay for his sponsorship of this bill and his continued effort in championing this important industry in our province and, indeed, our country. This legislation would require that the minister of p…
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Madam Speaker, the Cariboo region was at one time British Columbia's largest lumber-producing region; however, I am not sure we can say that anymore. The forestry industry is a vital sector not only for Cariboo—Prince George but for the Canadian economy, supporting thousands of jobs in countless communities across our country and creating many positive spinoff effects in related industries and ser…
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Madam Speaker, I believe that we should be viewing mental health in parity with physical health. Yes, there are a lot of different things that contribute to one's mental health, such as affordability, access to food and homelessness. We should be making sure that we are doing everything to raise people up and offer the supports that they need. First and foremost, the government needs to follow up …
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Madam Speaker, that is a tough one for me. I would have to actually work with the experts who are out there. Right now, as it sits, I could never support medical assistance in death for those who are struggling with mental illness because I believe recovery is always possible.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-39, an act to amend the Criminal Code with regard to medical assistance in dying. It is a bill I will be supporting to protect the most vulnerable Canadians from the Liberal government's reckless expansion of medical assistance in dying to Canadians who are suffering solely from a mental illness. Unbelievably, if Bill C-39 does not pass, Canadians str…
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Madam Speaker, the intervention of our hon. colleague across the way and others from the Bloc today have absolutely frustrated me to no end, but I appreciate their points of view. I believe recovery is always possible. As our colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River has said, even the experts do not agree with what our Bloc colleague is saying. There are some who can recover and lead healthy and via…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, heaven has another angel. On Saturday, November 5, Richard Ross Wilson returned to be with God. Rick, as he was known to friends, was larger than life. He was intelligent, kind, compassionate and was always the first to step up when he saw the need. When diagnosed with ALS, he did not worry about himself. He worried about his family. He turned his attention to his fellow Canadians who…
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Mr. Speaker, I have taken part in a lot of committees. As our colleague can attest to, I absolutely lost my mind the night that this was taking place and that what we were witnessing was taking place. It was so unparliamentary. Clearly, as I stated in my speech, the deal was done, and anybody who brought forward any type of amendment, who was not part of the NDP-Liberal coalition, was going to get…
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Madam Speaker, I have a couple of concerns with this. One is that with the exception of a few of our Liberal colleagues who are here, this member of Parliament, our hon. colleague, has gotten up three times on this topic: triple, triple, triple. I sit on the health committee and the concern I have is that we literally were given two hours to study a bill worth $10 billion. There were two hours for…
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Mr. Speaker, folks who are watching this debate are seeing political theatrics at its best. We just heard from the member for Vancouver East and the member for Vancouver Kingsway. The member for Vancouver East has been in office for 29 years, and the member for Vancouver Kingsway since 2008, and prior to that he worked for a union, so they both have had dental care. The member for Vancouver Kingsw…
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Mr. Speaker, “triggers” is a good word.
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Mr. Speaker, they trigger it, but that is what they want. That is exactly what they want—
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Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate that, because while the Liberals will go on and on saying that people are heckling them, you will notice that I did not even acknowledge them. They can say anything they want to say. It does not bother me at all, because what they are saying is total hogwash. They are triggering. What Bill C-31 is called in the political sphere is a wedge issue, because Liberals ar…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not disagree with my colleague. I said in my intervention that Canadians need a leg up, that single parents and families that are living dollar to dollar and are having a hard time making ends meet need a leg up. They need a plan. They get this top-up, but then what? How do they live for the rest of the year? In my intervention, I said that a plan needs to be in place. While this…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, after a hiatus of two years, the national Diwali celebration is returning to Parliament Hill today. With the support of our Indo-Canadian friends, community organizations and mandirs from across the country, tonight at 6:30 p.m. I will be delighted to host the 22nd national Diwali celebration at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building. I hope all my colleagues will join us. The Diwali cele…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. My colleague, earlier in his speech, shamed those of us who may be follically challenged in this House, and I take offence to that. I would ask for our hon. colleague to apologize.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. colleague across the way knows where I stand on that question. As a matter of fact, I said it in my speech. We are dealing with extraordinary events due to climate change, such as the wildfires we saw in our neck of the woods and the floods we have seen. We had incredible weather storms, the tsunamis, the flooding we saw in the lower mainland and the hurricane we saw on the…
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Madam Speaker, this bill also puts in place the precautionary principle. It is one I have seen, and I am very well aware of it in other pieces of legislation we have studied. It gives the power to the minister of that file to take extraordinary measures when he or she deems it necessary. We always want to make sure we are putting the right tools in place. What we have seen using the precautionary …
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Madam Speaker, my understanding of this bill is that it would put into place a provision that anybody could bring forth a concern about a toxic substance and an assessment on that substance would be developed within 24 months to determine whether that substance is toxic. While I am not familiar with the statistics the member rambled off, that is the challenge of using facts and figures with that. …
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Madam Speaker, I am going to apologize to my hon. colleague across the way. I do not know whether it was the translation, but I did not hear all of his question. I am not the expert on Bill S-5. I do know that we have some serious concerns with it. As we move forward, it is incumbent on all of us to make sure we are working collaboratively with our friends across the way to whatever extent they ar…
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Madam Speaker, the concern we have is that it says every Canadian has a right to a healthy environment, but the Canadian government needs another two years to study that. What does that mean? Our riding has gone through some horrific wildfire seasons, as well as drought and flooding. We have had the whole gamut of the climate change issues facing Canadians, and really facing people from coast to c…
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Madam Speaker, I should apologize to the folks in the gallery, because this is probably not the day to come and listen to a debate. Bill S-5, as riveting as we try to make it, probably does not have the most riveting debate. I just will recap, as I was cut short prior to question period, some of the concerns we have with Bill S-5. I will say that the Conservatives are going to support sending Bill…
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Mr. Speaker, I first want to say happy Bandi Chhor Divas and happy Diwali as well. I have sat through the Bill S-5 debate, which has been riveting. I think the pages are wide awake, maybe not so much after my time. Bill S-5 deals with the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which has not been significantly updated since it was passed in 1999. Bill S-5 is the first major update since 1999. We ag…
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Mr. Speaker, the trouble I am having with this debate is that we are putting a lot of faith in a government that has made a lot of promises over the last seven years. It has failed in its boil water advisories plan for first nations and still allows and permits billions of litres of raw sewage to be dumped in our waterways. It has a Prime Minister who chastised indigenous protesters at an event an…
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Madam Chair, I want to thank our hon. colleague from Courtenay—Alberni for his speech and his passion in this area as well. I know we share that. One of the very first debates I took part in after being elected in 2015 was in 2016 on the Attawapiskat First Nation and the suicide epidemic it had there. I remember standing up and saying in my speech how suicide had negatively impacted my life. One o…
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Madam Chair, I want to thank our hon. colleague for calling for this debate tonight. As my colleagues know, mental health and suicide prevention are passions of mine, and I think, as the minister said, there is so much more we can do. A concrete step we could do immediately as a Parliament would be to set up a mental health parliamentary committee with members from all sides so we can study and de…
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Madam Chair, that is a great question and, in truth, I do not have the answer, but I can speak from my experience with my family. I talked with my brother last summer, after he had been shot twice with a shotgun, and he said all the right things. He said that he was going to get clean. This is someone I have taken off the street so many times over the last 20 years. I have no idea why he is here. …
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Madam Chair, I am honoured to take part in this evening's debate. As those in this chamber know, I have been a huge proponent of raising mental health issues and suicide prevention issues since the first day I was elected. I know we have made huge strides as a society when it comes to mental health, but we have so much further to go. There was a time not so long ago when people were embarrassed to…
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Madam Chair, I appreciate the question, and absolutely, but we are not the experts here in the House. We have to work with those who are on the front lines. We have to work with those who have lived experience. We have to work with the national organizations and the true medical experts to really develop something that is tangible and can impact and help Canadians. I know that far too many Canadia…
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That is a great question, Madam Chair. We know that just on suicide prevention alone, 11 Canadians each and every day die by suicide. We know a further 275 Canadians attempt suicide. The reality is we know that those statistics are probably even greater because of the stigma associated with suicide. The same goes with overdose and drug abuse. There is such a stigma attached to suicide, mental illn…
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Madam Chair, I appreciate that from the minister. I am 54 years of age. I had my birthday just the other week. I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have spoken publicly about this. For many years, I did not even tell my wife and my kids about this. I just knew that each and every day I wanted to live, not to perpetuate the dysfunction. I did not want to talk about it. As I said at the…
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Madam Chair, I wonder if our hon. colleague could tell us exactly what Quebec's provincial mental health plan is.
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Madam Chair, I apologize to my friend, but perhaps he could state this one more time. I just want to know again the amount of money that Quebec has committed to its mental health plan, as well as the seven pillars. I am not quite sure I heard that there was anything in them for addictions or recovery. I wonder if Quebec is seeing the same things that the province of British Columbia is seeing in t…
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Madam Chair, earlier this week, on Tuesday as a matter of fact, we heard about the death of Constable Yang, a three-year veteran with the RCMP, a mental health and outreach worker. She was somebody who was so passionate about doing everything in her power to support those who were struggling with mental health and addictions, a dedicated member, a committed volunteer and a champion in her communit…
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Madam Chair, I want to offer our colleague another opportunity. Today in question period she brought up a tragic case of a young mother who was pregnant, I believe, and could not find housing in her community. Sadly, this young mother died by suicide. We must consider the importance of housing, the importance of clean water and the importance of, as my colleague said, nutrition in our rural and re…
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Madam Chair, I am going to take our hon. colleague's last comments a bit further. I am where I am today because of the volunteers, the sports I was in and the cadet program I was in, which essentially provided me an outlet and a safe place from the dysfunction I was growing up in. The reason I am not on the street, in a gang, in prison or dead is due to this: the importance of these volunteers and…
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague not just for her intervention today, but also for the passion she has shown since we were elected in 2015. I know she does a lot of outreach work within her communities. There are some strong mental health organizations within her community that do incredible work on the ground. I know she is a champion of them so I want to give her an opportunity to …
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Madam Chair, we know that millions of Canadians right across our country do not have access to a family doctor. Family doctors are very often the first point of contact for those who are struggling with mental health. Does our colleague feel there is more that is needed to be done by the government and other governments, and what can be done to perhaps provide more medical professionals within our…
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Madam Chair, I would like to offer my hon. colleague a little bit more time to finish his speech.
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Madam Chair, I must have misunderstood or misheard my hon. colleague in reference to a question that was asked earlier about one of the challenges we are facing with respect to the government's dollars and why they are not flowing. I think I heard him say that it was an issue with the provinces. I am wondering if he could clarify that.
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Madam Chair, my hon. colleague across the way was the first member from the government who stepped forward to do whatever she could on her side to champion my bill, Bill C-211, and she has assisted us along the way with our other initiatives we have put forth. This is a question I asked one of her colleagues earlier, and I think it is relevant now because I know her passion in standing up for our …
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Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for her passion on this file. Since we were elected, she has been one of the loudest voices in terms of standing up for veterans who were prescribed mefloquine and the mental injuries they have faced from that drug. While we are on the topic of veterans, we know that when our veterans serve, their families do as well. Perhaps the member could talk about some …
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