Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Bloc leader a question about his motion. He spoke a bit about the workers we need. I would like him to think on the following question. In Quebec and across Canada, we need skilled trades workers. The government's most recent numbers show that in 2019, we had to wait 12 months to bring in a skilled trade worker to work in Canada and Quebec. In March 2023, the wait ti…
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk numbers. I remember it was a previous Liberal government that left behind a backlog of six to eight million applications for the Conservative government. They did not shut down the program. They returned money to everybody and restarted the program from zero because they botched it so badly. There was no choice but to do that, and they are doing that again. The people who …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question, which I think is very reasonable. Quebec has an agreement with Canada regarding the establishment of criteria for immigrants who want to settle in Quebec. My family settled in Quebec. In the 1980s, my father worked at the shipyard in Sorel, which no longer exists. It is not the government that welcomes immigrants. It is the communities in the citie…
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Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with the member's characterization. I read the motion, both in French and then in English, and it sounds exactly the same to me. This motion basically rejects the Century Initiative, which is big business executives with these pie-in-the-sky dreams, these utopias that were talking about 75 years from now. I want to talk about the immigrant experience today, right…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the hardest parts of being in politics is having to speak right after the leader of the Conservative Party. He just delivered a powerful speech that was full of compassion for newcomers who choose to settle in Canada. As many members know, I was myself a newcomer several years ago. I immigrated to Canada from Communist Poland. That country is no longer communist. That era is be…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, as I have done before, I am tabling another petition on behalf the minority ethnic Hazara community from my riding specifically. They are again drawing the attention of the House to the ongoing genocide of the Hazaras by the Taliban regime, something that has been ongoing for many decades now. The petitioners are calling on the government to recognize the genocide of the Hazaras by th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am also presenting a petition on behalf of my constituents, as I have done many times in the House, on the continuing, ongoing genocide by the Taliban regime of ethnic Hazaras, a minority Shia community in Afghanistan. Again, the petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize the ongoing genocide and the persecution of Hazaras, as well as to include Shia Hazaras in…
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Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today. The first petition comes from a group of Canadians who want the Canadian government to recognize the politicization of the judiciary of Hong Kong and its impacts on the legitimacy and validity of criminal convictions. These Canadians want the Canadian government to affirm its commitment to render all national security law charges and conviction…
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Mr. Speaker, with everything happening now happening in Sudan, my third and last petition is drawing the attention of the House to the ongoing violent conflict in the Tigray region in Ethiopia and the egregious human rights violations, particularly with the humanitarian crisis. They are calling for the following five things: to immediately call for an end to violence and for restraint from all sid…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is now moving to guillotine debate on its own budget bill, and there is really no reason to do it. The Standing Committee on Finance is already considering the budget bill at committee and has been for many days. The only reason to do this is to completely shut down debate on a bill that many members, both in the Conservative Party and I am sure other political parties,…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the Alberta advantage is back. Alberta’s economy has roared back to life, employment numbers are on the rise and more Canadians are choosing to move their families to Alberta than any other province in Confederation. Albertans are confident again and they are in the driver’s seat for their future, but it was not always like this. Between 2015 and 2019, Alberta’s provincial government …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, as I have done before, I am tabling a petition on behalf of constituents of mine who are calling on the Government of Canada to again recognize the ongoing genocide of the Hazara Shia minority in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime. They are also calling upon the Government of Canada to ensure that Hazara Shia minority groups are included in the 40,000 Afghan refugees to be resettled …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be joining this debate. Like the member said previously, today is the National Day of Mourning for those who were injured or killed in the workplace. That reminds me, before I get into the subject matter of the bill, that there used to be a Sobeys in my riding in Douglasdale on the Douglasglen side. I do not know if many constituents know this, but there is a plaque …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, last weekend, I joined Rabbi Reuben Poupko for the Sabbath at Beth Israel Beth Aaron synagogue in Côte St. Luc in Montreal. I was saddened to learn there of the loss of a great local leader, Debbie Sonberg Ajzenkopf, who passed away recently. What a rabbi is to the Torah, so was Debbie to everything in that synagogue. She knew who liked to sit where, who was ill, who was doing bette…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, once again, I am presenting a petition on behalf of Canadians of Hazara heritage. This is a minority group originally from Afghanistan. The petitioners are asking the government to recognize the ongoing genocide and persecution of the Hazaras by the Taliban. As well, they are calling upon the Government of Canada to prioritize Hazara refugees as part of the 40,000 Afghans being brough…
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With regard to the Integrity Services Branch (ISB) of Employment and Social Development Canada: (a) how many investigators were employed as of (i) January 1, 2022, (ii) January 1, 2023; (b) how many individuals were trained to be ISB investigators in 2022; (c) how many ISB investigators were (i) hired, (ii) stopped working (retired, resigned, etc.), in 2022; (d) how many ISB investigators complete…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, most of the immigration rules that the government has changed, such as visas, are designed to keep people out of this country. Anyone identified by the government as a member of the regime should not be allowed to enter Canada. The next step is to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of terrorist organizations in the Criminal Code. Consequently, anyone who is in Canad…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his good question. Some terrorist groups are listed in the Criminal Code. What we are asking and what Parliament asked in 2018 is to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. That simply involves adding this organization to the Criminal Code so that it cannot cross our borders or fundraise in our country. It is possible to amend the act. We already have …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the question. When I see the government indicate in its response to a report that it agrees “in principle”, to me that means “no”. The government rarely says no to the recommendations of a parliamentary committee because if it did it would have to explain itself. It would have to tell us why it does not want to follow these recommendations. It is therefore eas…
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Madam Speaker, I do not really have much of a question because I am not convinced I will get an answer, but I do have a commentary to make. The government is confusing, and the member is confusing, the best interests of the Liberal Party of Canada and the best interests of the House of Commons and the way we conduct business here. Members get to decide what we debate on the floor of the House of C…
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Mr. Speaker, I am tabling this petition on behalf of constituents in my riding. It is regarding the ongoing genocide and persecution of the Hazaras in Afghanistan by the Taliban. The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to prioritize Hazaras coming to Canada as part of the target of 40,000 Afghani refugees. They are drawing the attention of the House to the persecution of the Haza…
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Madam Speaker, let us start with the obvious: The IRGC or Sepah, as it is known in Farsi, is a terrorist group. It has been a terrorist organization for decades, since 1979. It has been organizing terror campaigns in the Middle East, both against opponents of the Iranian Islamic regime in Tehran and also against its own people. It has been successful at intimidating and bullying, but also at murde…
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Madam Speaker, let us talk about misplaced priorities. The Liberals could have tabled legislation by now, which we could have been debating, on making it possible for IRGC conscripts not to be affected by the listing of the IRGC as a terror group. They have known for months and months that this is a problem, but they have not done anything about it. They have chosen not to do it. On misplaced prio…
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With regard to the International Mobility Program (IMP), since January 1, 2016: (a) what are the top 10 employers, in terms of the number of applications received by the government from the employers, for the IMP, and how many employees have each of the top 10 employers sponsored through the IMP; (b) for each employer in (a), what is the overview of the jobs that each has sponsored, including the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am glad I caught your eye so I can speak to this piece of legislation. I know I started speaking on it, but I guess the government made a mistake in its original motion. I was so keen to make sure I was here to add my voice and the voices of my constituents on this. Years ago, when this bill was known as Bill C-10, which then got converted to Bill C-11, I remember standing at a Calg…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what I would like to see is an opportunity for indigenous Canadians to participate freely, just like everybody else on YouTube, and upload their content free of the requirement to obtain government licences or of the requirement to keep updating their licences with the CRTC. That is not what they need in their lives. They do not need more government; I am certain of that. Just like my…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the media bailout fund, which I think is what the member is referring to, was a $595-million fund. I remember it distinctly because I was on the Standing Committee on Finance at the time and held it up for about three to four hours asking basic questions. A government official was there from Finance Canada, and I asked whom it would cover and how one would actually obtain the funding.…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I do intend to split my time, but I just cannot quite notice the member I intend to split my time with, so when I get there and see the member, I will name his riding. It is possibly in the Wellington region. I am glad to be joining this debate, because this is, for me, about the accountability of the government on the enforcement portion of passing legislation, regulations, rules and…
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Madam Speaker, when we talk about results, we really mean what we expect from the CBSA and all government agencies. I hear the member talking about another ombudsperson, and it reminds me of what members on the government side are saying. They talk about statements, meetings, quotes on websites, updates to websites or meetings they have had in other countries about this, but they do not talk about…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, that is actually quite simple to answer. I would turn to the member for Dufferin—Caledon and ask him for the electronic list that the Department of Homeland Security has of companies sourcing forced labour goods and trying to ship them in, and I would give it to the CBSA. It is pretty simple. Also, the particular treaty the member is referring to is not secret; it is a public document…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure which book the member is referring to. I kind of missed that part. I did catch the word “inquiry”, though, and I notice that we are still waiting to hear how the New Democrats intend to vote on our motion to call the Prime Minister's chief of staff to testify before a committee of the House.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely correct. He named some of the crimes that we see happening against the Turkic Uighur people in the Xinjiang province, which have really ramped up since 2017, the start of these formal labour camps that the regime in Beijing keeps referring to as “vocational schools”, typically. That is kind of the nomenclature it uses. As someone of Polish heritage, I am prett…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. As I said, this reminds me of the Yiddish proverb: “A drowning man will reach even for the point of a sword”. With respect to this file, the government talks about consultations, commissions, websites and attestations. That is not good enough. What we need are results from the CBSA, to ensure that goods imported into our country are not made with forced labour…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this petition comes from constituents of mine, who are calling on the government to prioritize Hazaras coming into Canada as part of the target of 40,000 Afghani refugees. The petitioners draw the attention of the House to the fact that over 28,000 Afghans have been brought to Canada as refugees. They also remind the House that for the past 130 years, the Hazara ethnic group has faced…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, previously the member for Dufferin—Caledon brought up the fact that an answer from the government to a written question, Question No. 1112, signed off by a parliamentary secretary, indicated that since 2016, CBSA has not actually seized any goods coming into Canada that were made through slave labour or forced labour. I listened carefully to the speech given by the parliamentary sec…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the member for Dufferin—Caledon did his job and looked into the matter. He submitted a written question to the government. Question No. 1112 asked whether the Canada Border Services Agency had intercepted any goods from the Xinjiang region of China that were made or produced using forced labour, and, if so, how many times since 2016. The answer was zero. Because that answer came fro…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Canadians of Kurdish, Persian and central Asian heritage a very happy Nowruz, as this day marks the start of their new year. Nowruz is an ancient new year celebration adopted by many central Asian peoples. For Kurds, this new year will be 2723, and the word “Nowruz” literally means a new year, marking the first day of their spring. In Kurdistan, Kurds will light f…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, they are stalling for time. Intelligence agencies briefed the Prime Minister's staff about direct election interference. They know information that the parliamentary committee needs to do its work. They are offering word salad, an alphabet soup of agencies and organizations to hide behind. Will they stop blocking the work of Parliament and get the chief of staff to testify immediate…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, they are stalling for time. They are not allowing the committee to get to a vote to call the Prime Minister's chief of staff to testify. They are announcing a special rapporteur to take even more time to give us the one thing we need, which is a national public inquiry. They are now directing to NSICOP, where they will hear secret hearings, evidence and conclusions. Moreover, every …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, it has been weeks since bombshell allegations appeared in the Globe and Mail about a sophisticated foreign interference campaign in our federal elections. The claims are shocking, as they include bullying and intimidation of fellow Canadians, a foreign consulate directing votes and volunteers, and illegal donations. After ferocious denials and face-saving backtracking, we have a han…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I invite the member to follow along with me. Clause 7 of the legislation says that the cabinet can issue a directive, an order, to the CRTC because it amends certain sections of the act. When I go into the original act, it actually gives the right to cabinet to set policy objectives for licensing, service fees and for access. The way I read Bill C-11 right now, it would allow the go…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Yiddish proverb will then have to wait until after we resume. I am saving it for next time. In addressing Bill C-11, which is in fact a censorship bill, I want to go into the legislation. I am going to start with clause 7 of the legislation that is being proposed, which would amend section 7 by adding a “for greater certainty” clause after subsection 7(6). Generally, I like thes…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Beijing's communist agents engaged in a sophisticated strategy of manipulation and disinformation to wage a ground war on our democracy and on our elections. That is not me saying it; that is on the front page of The Globe and Mail. It reports that a Conservative MP was targeted for daring to champion establishing a foreign agent registry to plug a national security hole. The governme…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canada has never felt so polarized. That is not just my opinion. A senior Liberal MP said, “I think it’s time to stop dividing Canadians, to stop pitting one part of the population against another. I can’t help but notice with regret that both tone and the policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during the last election…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the people playing politics are Beijing and its communist agents in Canada, while the government does nothing about it. It knows and it does not tell Canadians that there have been serious accounts of foreign interference. The Globe and Mail reports a CSIS source of direct interference, including illegal donations, communist agents directing volunteers and a Beijing embassy official t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling two petitions on behalf of constituents in my riding who are drawing the attention of the House of Commons and the Parliament of Canada to the fact that there is still a backlog of 2.1 million applications in the immigration system, which has been caused by the Liberal government. I am going to draw attention to two specific lines in the petition that the petitioners are …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, during question period, accused a member on our side of the House of deliberately engaging in disinformation. The definition for “disinformation” in Oxford Reference states, “dissemination of false information with the deliberate intent to deceive or mislead.” I am asking for two simple things from you. The first is that there are terms in th…
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Madam Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, I am tabling a petition on the immigration backlog. Petitioners are reminding the government that the backlog is over two million applications. They are specifically drawing the attention of the Government of Canada to seven immigration programs. I will not read them all, but I will draw members to some that are effecting my riding specifically. The ser…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the signal it sends to other countries is that we are slow to act. That was the case when the protest in Iran happened, for example. It took the government six to eight weeks before it actually reacted as a government. There were statements made in the House by different government caucus members for sure, and members on our side of the House mentioned it as well. However, there was…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, as I speak, Turks, Kurds, Syrians and many others are living the tragedy of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. As of now, reports estimate the death toll at over 22,000 people, and unfortunately the number of lives lost is expected to increase. However, there is more we can do to help, both as a government and as a people, starting with urging Turkey’s government to end the discriminatio…
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