Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed by the member's answer to the question before, but also by the speech because it is a blank cheque that the member has given. This is not the NDP of Tommy Douglas, who said that the Emergencies Act is a sledgehammer on the peanut of what is going on right now. If this is not a blank cheque, then when should these emergency powers end? What is the view of the NDP? Wha…
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Mr. Speaker, I will ask the member a question. He said that the point of all the protesters was to overthrow the government. I have been closely following the Ottawa Police Service and they are now laying out charges against people they detained and arrested. I have noticed that nobody has been charged with treason, conspiracy to commit sedition, seditious intentions or rioting. I wonder if the me…
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Madam Speaker, the government may have heard the protesters who came here full of energy, but it did not listen to them. It is important to admit that. I have a question for the member. I held consultations when I worked in the private sector. Usually, when we hold consultations, it is to convince the people being consulted that we are right or to present an argument we want them to take seriously…
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Madam Speaker, one of the provisions in the Emergencies Act is warrantless search and seizure. This provision is especially relevant to the freezing of bank accounts of those known to be connected to the protesters outside or of people who are related to them, which could happen further down. I would like to hear the member comment on the fact that the government no longer needs to go to a judge t…
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Mr. Speaker, to continue the logic of the Liberal member who just asked a question, I have to say that never in my life have I had a police force or an acting chief of police turn down more powers for their officers. I have never heard a police chief or a police force say that they would like to carry out searches without a warrant. I think that this is true for everyone. The police will never say…
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Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. With all due respect to my colleague from the Bloc, I believe this is the time for questions and comments; therefore, the member opposite has an opportunity to respond if she wishes to.
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Madam Speaker, before I begin, I just want to say that yesterday night, because of the police presence here, I missed a very important dinner with two very dear Kurdish friends of mine: Jowana and her husband Shaheen. I just wanted to mention that at the start. I listened to the member's speech and I want to put a couple of actual facts on the table. In the lead-up to the declaration of this emerg…
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Mr. Speaker, there are three things I would like to address. The member talked about the independent judiciary being active right now. This member must know that the Emergencies Act actually removes the role of judges in FINTRAC and the freezing of bank accounts. This is the shortcut. A briefing one of our members received from government officials specifically says it takes too long to go to judg…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member a question, but I also have a comment. We often hear the Liberals say that the government does not direct the police. In reality, section 5 of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act clearly states that the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, under the direction of the minister, has the control and management of the force and all matters c…
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Mr. Speaker, I remain unconvinced by the member's argument, and I recognize the fact that he was a lawyer by profession before he came to this place. I was not a lawyer, thankfully, in my previous life, but the member, during his speech, said that there must be a very high threshold to suspend civil liberties. I would say let us not use American language, and call them charter liberties or charter…
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about withdrawing support if New Democrats see abuse. As she knows, the Emergencies Act provisions are already in force. What we are essentially talking about here is a confirmation vote by the House of Commons on whether to keep these provisions in place. What we should be doing is preventing harm from happening in the first place. What my caucus and many Conserva…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a commentary to make about the member's speech, just to set the record straight and correct the misinformation. For the last three weeks I too have been walking downtown every weekend and every day across this line, and I have met a lot of very friendly people. Of course, some people are profane in what they say; this is a protest, after all. However, the member was talking abo…
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Mr. Speaker, it is disconcerting to see the government moving again to shut down debate in the House. I thought we were being very reasonable when we moved the amendment to have just a little more transparency and accountability at a parliamentary committee of the House so we could consider this issue. For 21 months, seniors have been dealing with this problem. There are 204,000 Canadians affected…
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Mr. Speaker, I got more applause this time, so we should do this more often. Is it something I said? The government moved to shut down debate on this bill, and I had only two minutes to speak to it last Friday. I know I did not have a Yiddish proverb ready to go then, and that must be why we must rush this bill through the House now. I do have a Yiddish proverb today, though, just to show that I a…
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Madam Speaker, the government runs the agenda of the House of Commons. They are responsible for the agenda. They could have tabled this bill before. They also could have not called an election in August. They could have had us return to the House to consider legislation right away. It is not as if they did not know this was a problem. This is simple legislation. Why did it take so much time to rec…
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Madam Speaker, the GIS is definitely important to seniors in my riding. I believe that our amendment provides a potential solution that would ensure that the problem has been dealt with once and for all. I would not want us to quickly pass Bill C‑12 only to realize six months later that it is flawed and that some seniors are still falling through the cracks. There are 204,000 seniors who are affec…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member. He is one of the few members of the New Democrats, as are you as well, Madam Speaker, whom I quite appreciate as very reasonable members of the House. I want to address the first part of the member's question with respect to the urgency of the matter. The government is claiming there is urgency. The Senate is not even going to sit to consider this m…
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Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely correct. Oftentimes during this pandemic, we have seen the government approve a program, rush it through the House and tell us not to worry as it is going to work. Then we constantly hear from our constituents saying they cannot apply for it, their particular situation does not count or they use their personal chequing account for their business so they cann…
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Madam Speaker, the member for Beauport—Limoilou's comments about the government's motivation was spot on. The Liberals are using the seniors file to score political points, to boast they have rescued seniors from a problem the Liberals themselves admit they created in the first place. As my colleague mentioned, the opposition parties had said that they were in agreement. All we want is for the gov…
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Madam Speaker, it is a policy question he is asking, and I do not have a definitive answer. However, I worry about this. Why would we trust the Liberal government to create another government program when the Liberals have screwed up so many of them? They have rushed them through the House and tried to make it up through regulations or cabinet orders to patch programs incessantly. We can look at t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following nine reports of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The first report is entitled “Report 1, Procuring Complex Information Technology Solutions of the 2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada”. The second report is entitled “Report 2, National Shipbuilding Strategy, of the 2021 Reports of the Auditor Ge…
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank the member for what I also think is a speech in strong support of the right of Ukraine to its self-determination and its borders. I mentioned there is a series of countries that have offered and already transferred weapons and arms to Ukraine in an effort to try to bolster its military forces to act as a deterrent to the Russian Federation potentially invading different …
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With regard to the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program in the riding of Calgary Shepard: (a) how many applications were received in the riding of Calgary Shepard; (b) of the applications in (a), how many were (i) successful, (ii) denied or rejected; (c) what is the breakdown of the number of successful applicants by type of business (hotel, restaurant, tour operator, etc.); and (d) what is th…
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With regard to pharmaceutical drugs, treatments and therapies authorized by Health Canada since January 1, 2020: (a) how many pharmaceutical drugs (or new drug submissions) were granted authorization; (b) what are the details of each drug in (a), including the (i) name of the drug, (ii) date of the approval, (iii) purpose of the drug, including the disease or condition treated by drug; and (c) of …
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With regard to programs which provided money or financing to businesses, sectors, or communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, the Tourism Relief Fund, and others, and broken down by program: (a) for each program, what is the total amount distributed to date in the riding of Calgary Shepard; (b) what was the total number…
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With regard to the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) announced by the government in 2019, from September 1, 2019, to date: (a) how many applicants have applied for mortgages through the FTHBI program, broken down by province and municipality; (b) of those applicants, how many have been approved and accepted mortgages through the FTHBI program, broken down by province and municipality; (c) of…
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Mr. Speaker, I would prefer to make a comment rather than ask the member a question. He explained his position very clearly as well as that of the Bloc Québécois. I would therefore prefer to comment on the narrative. I am a Canadian MP and I am of Polish descent. I was born in Poland and lived the history of eastern Europe. I would say that when we talk about NATO moving its borders closer to Russ…
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Mr. Speaker, I will just respond to some of the member's comments. I do not know if I will have a question. It is more just a commentary. She compared the Russian Federation and President Putin with a bully. We know that bullies only respond to strength, not to more talking. At this point, more talking without some type of action, without a response that strengthens Ukraine's capacity to defend it…
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Mr. Speaker, that was what I would term a strong endorsement of support for Ukraine and for ensuring its territorial integrity. I am of Polish origin. Many eastern Europeans fled to Canada over the last century. They usually came here in different waves. Eastern Europe is still a troubled region, typically because of the Russian Federation and the different names that it has been known by. The mem…
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the minister for taking part in this debate and explaining Canada's humanitarian help to Ukrainians. I talked about civic institutions and how important it is to build them in Ukraine, and one of things the minister mentioned is media. We know that there is a large disinformation campaign being run by the Kremlin through different outlets, and closer to home we hav…
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for a great intervention in this House. I had the honour of serving with the member at the foreign affairs committee a few Parliaments ago. There is a lot of wisdom in the words he brings to the House, and that it is in our national interest to ensure that the Government of Ukraine remains independent, has territorial integrity, and is able to stand up…
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for her contribution to this debate. I guess I am going to sound a softer tone, but I am always worried that when we do comparisons to World War II we are not getting it right. This is not the Soviet Union anymore, but it is still the same type of Russian leadership that we are seeing. Its default stance is to be hyper aggressive towards its neighbours…
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Madam Chair, I will speak in French as a sign of respect for our country's languages. I want to comment on the debate over whether Ukraine's allies could supply weapons to Ukraine in an attempt to make Russia think twice before deciding to invade. I believe that this would make a difference in diplomacy. Just look at President Trump's meeting with President Putin in recent years. I think that did …
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be following the hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil, who spoke so eloquently about the struggles that independent travel advisers are having. I have met with many of them as well. Absolutely, they do feel left out of what the government is doing. The government is essentially proposing in Bill C-2 that we give it all the money it needs right now and it will worry a…
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Madam Speaker, at the time the government said it was an emergency, and we on this side of the House agreed it was an emergency. It was a worldwide pandemic. Three days before the WHO announced that it was a worldwide emergency pandemic, the minister of health at the time said it was low risk, there was nothing going on and we should not worry about it. I remember, it was Easter weekend, and we we…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question and the energy with which he asked it. I agree that there is a housing crisis in our country. The average price of a home in Canada has now increased to $720,850. Even in my region, in Calgary, prices no longer have any connection to the salaries people can earn in the communities that I represent. From November 2021 to now, the increase was 19.…
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Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely correct. I have spoken to many travel agents in my riding, primarily women. Usually it is either their second job, or one of two part-time jobs. They are being excluded. The simplest solution is to make them eligible for the same government programs for which larger corporations are eligible.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the minister. I recognize this is a very unusual way to pass a private member's bill in a government bill. I was just telling my colleagues I could not find another example of this having been done in such a manner. I also want to say to the member for Central Nova that he is forgiven for drawing me as number 293 in the private member's bill draw as we were able to d…
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Never again? Never say never again here, from the other side. Madam Speaker, that was on Bill C-235, which Mr. Bagnell tabled in the House. We had a second reading vote on his private member's bill. Fifteen Conservatives voted with him. I was one of them, because I thought an assessment order for those with fetal alcohol syndrome should get them some type of special treatment in the courts and jud…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the member enjoys my Yiddish proverbs. It is a disappearing language, which is why I refer to them. I will save the member me trying to pronounce it in Yiddish. My Yiddish pronunciation is not very good. The member mentioned that part of the bill deals with the very serious crisis of people who are addicted to opioids. It is a health crisis, not a criminal crisis. I know p…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sitting in my usual place, because Standing Order 17 does not apply. Government Motion No. 1 made sure of that, so I am taking advantage of that motion. This is the first time I am rising in the House to give a speech of some length, although I have risen several times in Routine Proceedings and on some other things, but I want to thank my constituents, the residents of Cal…
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Madam Speaker, five seconds is not enough. I will have to find another Yiddish proverb. The member is correct. It was Bill C-235, proposed by Mr. Bagnell from the Yukon. He will forgive me for saying, “from the Yukon”. I understand we are not supposed to say that, as it is the Yukon territory. It was an excellent piece of legislation because it carved out special treatment for offenders who have f…
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Madam Speaker, I think we have hit the twilight zone in this chamber. The Harper government has not been in power in six years. It has been the government of the member for Papineau for the last six, so we should ask questions about that. This bill has nothing to do with financial decisions or spending decisions, so I cannot answer the member's question.
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Madam Speaker, of course I realize that Bill C‑5 will not eliminate all sentences, only mandatory minimum sentences. However, for serious sentences, it is up to us, the members of Parliament, to determine what the judge should consider for each offence. That is our decision. We can set the minimum and maximum sentences, but the judge will decide how they will be applied based on the specific circu…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-211, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (bereavement leave). Mr. Speaker, there is a Yiddish proverb that says, “Everything ends in weeping.” I will not say it in Yiddish. I want to thank the member for Bay of Quinte for seconding the bill. This private member's bill is like Bill C-307 from the last Parliament. It would introduce six weeks of leave for paren…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, 40 years ago Polish communist leaders imposed martial law across Poland to crack down on the growing democratic trade union movement known as Solidarnosc. Military units would occupy cities; labour unionists would be jailed until 1986, and the families of Solidarity members would be persecuted and expelled. My father was a member of Solidarnosc. A shipyard worker at the Lenin Shipya…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for the Bloc Québécois member about an amendment he mentioned. An amendment proposed by my colleague from Parry Sound—Muskoka could be included in Bill C‑3, either now at second reading or in committee. During the previous Parliament, I introduced Bill C‑307, which would amend the Canada Labour Code to include a six-week bereavement leave for parents who lose …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a special day for wonderful people in our lives who carry an extra burden and through whom we can experience and see the innate worth and dignity of their lives. I think of Shailynn, who despite her wheelchair and SMA diagnosis is an advocate, podcaster, YouTuber and, judging from her Instagram, a beach bum too. I think of…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I note that the member mentioned the first-time homebuyers incentive, and I have been a long-time critic of the program. It has only helped 9,100 Canadians actually purchase a home because the government has changed the criteria. As of this throne speech, this will be the third set of criteria since September 2019. If we just look at the number of homes sold last year in 2020, which…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, the member briefly talked about housing. The throne speech actually only mentioned one housing program, the first-time homebuyer incentive. I called it an election gimmick when it was introduced just before the 2019 election. I hope the member would recognize that the program has massively failed. We are about to undertake the third change to the program's criteria. Last year, in 20…
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