Government Orders
Madam Speaker, this has nothing to do with the debate. The chamber is cold and I was wondering if the air conditioning can be turned down a little so we can continue.
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Madam Speaker, I will ask a question of the hon. member. She finished on a collaborative tone, as far as working together in this specific area goes. I do not believe any of us would disagree on what we need to do when it comes specifically to Afghanistan. However, my question is about the timing, the 18 months she and many other members referred to in terms of the bill. How does she see this? Is …
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman. The title of Bill C-41 is a bland one, an act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other acts, but the impact on people's lives is exciting. This bill is about providing help and hope for those in desperate need. It highlights the Canadian tradition of caring for those in ot…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, representatives of Open Doors Canada came to Parliament Hill this week to highlight the 2023 World Watch List of the 50 most dangerous countries in which to live as a Christian. More than 360 million Christians around the world are suffering high levels of persecution and discrimination. Last year, 5,621 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons. An additional 4,542 were deta…
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Madam Speaker, this bill has gone back and forth in the House for a long time. the NDP's position before was completely different from what it is today. I would ask the hon. member to tell us what kind of revelation happened for New Democrats to have changed their minds all of a sudden.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for the motion. The text of this bill claims: it is fitting that March 11 of each year be officially designated as “Pandemic Observance Day” in order to give the Canadian public an opportunity to commemorate the efforts to get through the pandemic, to remember its effects and to reflect on ways to prepare for any future pandemics. Certainly, it is…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I respect your decision, but you never called my riding by name. You looked my way, and I—
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Madam Speaker, I did actually edge on where the federal and provincial responsibilities come on certain aspects of privacy and privacy protection. Again, the definitions come into play in understanding the legislation. That is why the government could have done much better in bringing more clarity to the bill, so we could at least study it better.
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Madam Speaker, I did mention the European law and the fact that the government was too late at looking at it and in considering steps to bring Canadians legislation that would help and that was most needed. I also mentioned the fact that there are a lot of vague definitions that will lead to problems for this bill to be resolved. The government presented the bill much later than the Europeans, who…
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Madam Speaker, I go back to the one thing I mentioned. Even these vague definitions would still be in the hands of the minister to decide after the fact, and that is one of the biggest flaws in the bill. We do not understand how the minister would handle this and whether the minister would let the commissioners play their roles and do their jobs. That is why we have to be very careful approaching …
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Madam Speaker, last week, the federal government banned the use of the TikTok app on government devices because of data privacy concerns, so it is very appropriate for us to be discussing this matter today. Digital data privacy can be seen as a fundamental right, one that urgently requires strengthened legislation, protections and enforcement. Canadians must have the right to access and control th…
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Madam Speaker, in a previous Parliament, the government killed Bill C-11 because it wanted to have an election. It did not see the importance of that bill. Now the government is proposing a flawed bill and expecting us to support it. We will support a bill that really makes sense, a bill that will help and work for Canadians. I do not think we have any interest in wasting time. It is up to the gov…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise once again to offer my support for Bill C-232, an act respecting Arab heritage month. I am one of more than a million Canadians of Arab descent. As so many have, I came to this country as an immigrant, escaping the dangers of war and economic upheaval. Here I have made my home, raised a family, and I am proud now to be able to give back by serving al…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for his bill coming to third reading and passing most of the difficulties that any bill can face in the House. Ottawa is a place with a very large Arab community. I know that my own Lebanese community is quite established here. Could the hon. member give us one incident that he found in the past about the community's involvement and contribution …
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Madam Speaker, it was in our platform during the last election to address this. Mental health is a health issue. The two can never be separated. The strategy has to be wide and wise to be able to address all the issues, because health care is at the front of everything we do in this country. It seems that the government is missing the point on that. We call on the government to act wisely and to a…
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Madam Speaker, the member's question speaks to the spirit of my speech and what I was trying to address here, the last-minute actions and the non-action on the government side when it comes to addressing even election promises. It has been dragging for the last eight years, and there is no action happening to support the palliative care promise the government also made. We are on the same page her…
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Madam Speaker, this issue is for everybody, for every politician in Canada and in this Parliament, to work together on. There is no way this should be swept under the rug. We can delay the poison pill that we could give to Canadians—
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Madam Speaker, we have been here before, with the Liberals scrambling to meet a deadline, unable to get their act together. In this case, though, perhaps the delay will provide us with the opportunity to get things right, or at least, that is my hope. The question that we need to ask here is not whether there should be a delay in when medical assistance in dying is extended to the mentally ill, bu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, only smart people take lessons, by the way. Liberals insist their carbon tax is revenue-neutral, while picking the pockets of average Canadians. Life is no longer affordable. Faced with inflation, tax increases and record-high prices, the Prime Minister shows his sympathy by planning to triple the carbon tax. Conservatives would keep the heat on and take the tax off. For eight years…
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, inflation is at record levels. Grocery prices were up 11% last year. The Liberals' tax hikes make things worse, and they are planning more of them. The wind chill in Ottawa today is -40°C, but this is not as cold as the government's heart. The Liberals caused this problem. When will they cancel the tax hikes?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the government's hydrogen strategy, since January 1, 2020: (a) what is the total amount spent related to the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada or hydrogen development by (i) Natural Resources Canada, (ii) Environment and Climate Change Canada, (iii) Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by program or initiative; and (c) what are the details…
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Madam Speaker, I wish a happy new year to all. The word “genocide” is not one to be used lightly. According to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing …
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Madam Speaker, this is another twist. This world is full of competition, and big companies are there because they have all the tools needed to be a presence. Most of us in the House and beyond use the services of Facebook, Google and others to advertise what we do and what we stand for, so I do not think there is anything in the bill to tell us where the money is going to go and whether the money …
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Madam Speaker, 50 years ago there were metal boxes on city street corners where, for 25¢, one could buy a newspaper. Each box had a window showing the top half of the front page if it was a broadsheet and the whole page if it was a tabloid. If one wanted to read anything more, one had to put a quarter in the box and remove a copy of the paper. In our cities, it was common to find three or four suc…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for being such a good Edmontonian and congratulate her for coming this way. She mentioned the change in the landscape in advertising and of newspapers. The hon. member said what I said in my speech, which is that it is about the money and how big a slice of the pie is going to be. If this is a business deal that has been done in the private sector, why should the …
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Madam Speaker, basically, this bill does nothing to help these industries. Let us make sure we understand what is going on here. This bill does nothing. It is just a symbolic bill that would really do nothing. If the small industry needs to be a presence, it needs to work on itself and needs to increase its activities in a proper business model. That is what we support.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on the other side for putting this private member's motion together. It sheds a light on the importance of awareness, and of analyzing and consulting on the move forward, because we are such a multicultural society. We have all kinds of ethnicities and languages in this country. What does the member think is the secret recipe that would allow all of us to o…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Edmonton Manning residents are asking why everything seems to be broken in Canada. They say government mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled record inflation. It gave $54 million for the useless ArriveCAN app, $237 million to a former Liberal MP for ventilators that sit in a warehouse collecting dust and a billion dollars in wage subsidy cheques to corporations that pay…
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Madam Speaker, what does the member propose for a solution? What are the immediate steps needed to be taken to deal with the pressing issue of cybersecurity attacks we are facing in the country?
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Mr. Speaker, we live in a world where every person is increasingly concerned with cybersecurity. So much of our lives is stored on our personal devices, protected by passwords and multi-factor authentication in the hopes of keeping our most private information secure. Corporations are increasingly at risk. It seems as if every day we hear a new report of companies’ computer systems being hacked an…
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Madam Speaker, I mentioned at the end of my speech that the government was very late in putting forward such a bill. It is a very tough question to answer as to whether or not we can catch up. We know the existing wars and challenges and future wars are mostly around cybersecurity. It will be important in this motion of the House, with this bill, to assess how prepared Canada is for facing future …
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Madam Speaker, I will answer the end of the question and go back to the beginning of what the hon. member asked. We are still not there in terms of assessing our preparedness and our cybersecurity position. I do not know if we have enough understanding of those challenges, what our position is and how prepared we are. That is a very important task for the government. As far as financial penalties …
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Madam Speaker, the NDP member always wants to politicize things. This is a very serious issue, and there is not one party that is more serious about this than others. I wish he had stayed within the non-partisan notion of this bill. Let us talk about facts. Let us talk about logic and stop the attacks.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, as the hon. member has been very active on this file for a long time domestically and internationally, what advice can he give from seeing what is happening in other parts of the world to make this bill better and stronger?
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill S-4, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other acts (COVID-19 response and other measures). The judicial system has been facing a series of delays in cases proceeding to trial, which has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conservatives have raised concerns a…
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Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot of stories. In my constituency office I was approached by several people who had the same concern over the timing. Again, it is the job of the government and lawmakers to provide all the tools needed so we do not end up facing these circumstances. As I said earlier, justice should be in the justice system itself, which is why there will always be a demand to prov…
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Madam Speaker, we spoke earlier about cybersecurity, which I think is a bill that will be discussed too. However, any time we use technology, there is a risk of someone breaking through, and they may see the selection of jurors, which has to be anonymous for the protection of the people who get selected to be jurors. It is an observation, but I hope that a bill such as this would be equipped with …
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Madam Speaker, I referred to it with respect to justice, and hopefully all Canadians would have equal opportunities to use technology and that must be provided, especially in rural areas. With respect to the level of technology that is available to make this bill specifically of better use to Canadians, and to make justice fair, we need to be more technologically fit. We need more Internet, especi…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I am respectfully asking you to really point out to the member that this speech is about Bill S-4, and she must stick to the subject.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. If the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona has an ambition to run provincially and to have a role there, her speech today is not related, by any chance, to the subject of Bill S-4. I would really appreciate it, Mr. Speaker, if you would point that out to the member.
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Madam Speaker, the government members should be more receptive to what we are saying on this side and—
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Madam Speaker, I want to point out one thing. This bill is not a controversial bill by any stretch. We are all in agreement about the importance of putting this bill back—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as a young man filled with hopes and dreams, I came to Canada from Lebanon, which is a country rich in tradition. Here, I found opportunities that led to a career, a family and now the privilege of serving the people of Edmonton Manning in the House. I love Canada, but I will never forget my homeland. Today, Lebanese people celebrate their independence day. It has been 79 years of dem…
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Madam Speaker, will the hon. member be able to tell us what the interest payment will be on just the $38-billion deficit we are carrying this year?
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Madam Speaker, it is very concerning when the government is living on a completely different planet than reality. Usually with math and the economy, good formulas deliver good numbers. If the numbers are wrong, that means the method is wrong and the plan is wrong. The plan which the government is trying to say is working and there is nothing to be concerned about is not working. The government nee…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the commitment of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in January of 2022 to eliminate backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of the current year: (a) what are the current backlogs, broken down by immigration stream or program; (b) will the backlogs be eliminated by the end of the year; and (c) if the answer to (b) is negative, when will the backlogs be…
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With regard to the request made by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) to the government to list noma on the World Health Organization's (WHO) list of neglected tropical diseases: (a) what is the government rationale for (i) supporting, (ii) not supporting, the request; and (b) if the answer in (a) is affirmative, what are the details, including the dates, of how this support has be…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, Conservatives put the Canadian people first, protecting their savings, paycheques, homes and their country. The immigration system is broken. The Liberals must know this after years of their mismanagement and backlogs. It is time for an immigration system that works. Doctors and nurses who dreamed of coming to Canada should not be denied work just because they come from another coun…
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Madam Speaker, government revenues have increased by $40.1 billion this year. This is not economic growth; this is more taxes for Canadians on top of the increasing cost for essentials such as gas, groceries and home heating. Why will the Liberals not give Canadians some relief and cancel their plan to triple taxes on gas, groceries and home heating?
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Madam Speaker, I indicated that we are supporting this bill going to the committee stage, which we believe is very important and worthwhile. As far as policy, I do not think the government has a plan for the environment. The government has a plan for taxation. That is exactly what the government has. It has not hit even one single target that it has been boasting about for the last seven years and…
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