Parliamentary Speeches
1,030 speeches by Adam van Koeverden — Page 1 of 21
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, what an extraordinary moment we are at in sport in Canada. We are so proud and excited to be co-hosting the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup with Mexico and the United States. Tomorrow, Canada will play its first-ever FIFA Men's World Cup match in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will inspire countless young Canadians. It will bring $1 billion to our national revenue. It will be wa…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the Conservatives' photocopier is out of toner, because they have all received the exact same photocopy of the exact same question. It is too bad that the Conservative leader does not trust his MPs to ask an original question. Perhaps they might ask about their local businesses or something that is happening in their own province. It is the same question over and again. …
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Madam Speaker, I have known the member for a number of years and, in fact, I have a great deal of respect for him. He overcame enormous personal challenges to be in the House, which he has been open about. That is why I respect him, but he conducts himself in this way. The opposition leader's office, I guess, has given orders for him to throw insults like this, and the rest of it. We are not going…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand the member's concerns. I am a strong believer that our job in this House is not to play judge and jury; our job is to create the framework legal system to protect people and to protect victims. That is what the bill seeks to do: protect victims, expedite the justice system, and ensure that justice is served and victims are protected. I also strongly believe that we need t…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize that trust is at the core of every aspect of our AI strategy. This government is taking a multipronged approach. Bill C‑16 would combat those sexualized deepfakes that are concerning for so many Canadians, as they should be. Bill C‑25 would protect our democratic institutions. Our strategy commits to bringing forward legislation on safe social media and updating co…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the members of the committee for their work on Bill C‑16. It is extraordinarily important and serious. We urgently need to find solutions to improve Canada's justice system. We could debate this all summer and into the fall. However, people are urgently awaiting for the legislation to be passed. This is a long-standing issue in the court systems, and as provincial gove…
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Mr. Speaker, AI for all is this government's plan to make AI work for all Canadians. It is about what AI can do in Canadians' lives for better health care, stronger businesses, safer communities and better public services. Our strategy has three foundations: first, trust, so that privacy, children and democracy are protected; second, opportunity, so that every Canadian can use, build with and bene…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague, the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, for her question and for all of her work on this legislation and many other pieces of legislation. It is worthwhile to mention that fully two-thirds of the legislation tabled by this government over the last year has been to address crime and to focus on fixing our justice system. I would just highli…
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Mr. Speaker, our hearts are with the families and loved ones of the victims in Tumbler Ridge. We will do absolutely everything we can, including working with AI companies and advancing our protective legislation, to ensure that these types of tragedies never happen again in Canada. We are advancing this legislation, with trust at its core, to protect Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today at third reading to speak in support of Bill C-16 and the Government of Canada's continued response to criminal justice system delays. Before I start, I would like to express gratitude to all members of the committee who have worked hard and diligently on this legislation. To start, I would like to highlight three measures proposed in Bill C-16 to address de…
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Mr. Speaker, only the Conservatives think that global factors such as wars, climate change and tariffs are a conspiracy theory. They are not a conspiracy theory. They do have an impact on our local economy. What is our government doing? We are responding in ways that help Canadians, like the groceries and essentials benefit, which that member from Hamilton East—Stoney Creek voted against. How abou…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are busy making jobs happen in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek while that member votes against policies that support families in his riding, like the Canada child benefit, dental and the groceries and essentials benefit. That member is cherry-picking things out of the groceries and essentials benefit and from Food Banks Canada. He should be ashamed of himself.…
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Mr. Speaker, today we welcome the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from team Canada. They represent our country and wear the maple leaf and we could not be more proud. Our world-class teams and athletes deserve a world-class sport system. We are building Canada strong from playground to podium by investing over $750 million to strengthen Canada's sport system. I congratulate all members of tea…
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Mr. Speaker, my friend and colleague from Mississauga East—Cooksville knows what it takes to be an Olympic medallist, an Olympian. He has raced the marathon at the Olympic Games for team Canada, so I thank him very much. Today we welcome the 2026 team Canada Olympic and Paralympic athletes to Parliament Hill. Every time team Canada athletes compete, they represent our country and wear the maple le…
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek should talk to the 10,600-plus people in his riding who have accessed dental care that he and his party voted against. Perhaps he should talk to the over 20,700 families that access the Canada child benefit and the benefits that this government has put on the table to fight for affordability that he and his party consistently vote agai…
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Mr. Speaker, why will the member not be honest with her constituents and tell them exactly what she is willing to cut in order to achieve her very irresponsible plans? We can start with dental care. In Cambridge, we have 11,355 members of that community accessing the Canadian dental care plan. That is 11,355 people who visited a dentist and had an opportunity to get their teeth fixed last year. Wh…
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Mr. Speaker, what the good people of York Centre do not have to put on their credit card are their dental bills. In fact, 11,147 people do not need to pay out of pocket for their dental care because they signed up for the Canadian dental care plan. I will say it again. There are 11,147 people who were helped, just in York Centre alone. In addition to that, 27,665 kids benefit from the Canada child…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Ottawa West—Nepean for always supporting Team Canada. We know that support for our athletes on and off the field is absolutely vital, and that is why we are so proud to be investing $6.2 million with our Olympic team, Paralympic team and sports networks right across the country to ensure that they have all the resources they need to c…
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Conservatives not only do not want to take care of people but also do not understand what an investment is. We are talking about a party that voted against dental care for children and for seniors. The Conservatives are a group of people who voted against supporting kids' just having a healthy lunch in school. We are talking about a party that voted against child …
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask the question again, just as the government House leader did. The Conservatives talk a big game, but they do not want to get specific about what vital programs they would cut in order to pay for their irresponsible plans. We have the Canada child benefit and the Canadian dental care plan. Just recently we brought forward the Canada groceries and essentials benefit that will…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the speech from one of the most knowledgeable members of the House. He spends more time in this room than anybody I know and really does understand how this place works. He mentioned the lawful access bill, which was delayed by the Conservatives until they kind of came around and, I suppose, were convinced, maybe by their constituents or perhaps by law enforcement offici…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, this anti-intellectual approach to policy on behalf of the Conservative Party is not convincing Canadians. This is coming from a guy, the failed former leader of the Conservative Party, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, who claimed to be an insurance broker. Actually, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said he was never a broker and asked him if he could take it back; he had t…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition wants Canadians to judge people by what they say in the House of Commons. I kind of agree. He thought Brexit was a good idea. He said that marriage should be exclusively a bond between a man and a woman at the exclusion of all others. He also said that Canadians should opt out of inflation by buying cryptocurrency. We have real solutions for Canadians. We …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are saying that, on this side of the House, we are blaming global factors. We are not. We are acknowledging global factors and putting forth measures to address global factors. They want to completely ignore the fact that we live in a globally connected society and that price factors are influenced by global affairs like a war in the Middle East. Gas prices are too h…
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Mr. Speaker, it is what the Conservatives do not say in their prepared speeches, written by the Conservative leader, that Canadians really need to know, which is how they plan to pay for these outlandish and irresponsible proposals. The Conservatives can question the economic acumen of one of the most world-renowned economists if they like, but what Canadians know is that Liberals are delivering o…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the Conservatives are angry because they cannot read or because they are getting told what to say in this place. Either way, we have Canadians' backs.
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Mr. Speaker, the hidden cost is exactly what the Conservatives are hiding from Canadians. What are they going to cut to pay for their irresponsible suggestions? They are going to cut child care. They are going to cut dental care. They are not going to do a tax cut for 22 million Canadians. They are certainly not going to do a groceries and essentials benefit. How do we know that? They voted agains…
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Mr. Speaker, try as they might, the Conservatives are not fooling Canadians, and that member is not fooling Hamiltonians. They know that fuel is too expensive because of the war in the Middle East, and they also know that our Liberal government is meeting the moment with a tax cut for 22 million Canadians, with affordable child care and dental care for families, and with the groceries and essentia…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives just learned a new word, “affordability”, and they use it often in the House of Commons, but every time they get the chance to vote in favour of an affordability measure backed by experts, they vote against. This feigned new interest in supporting lower-income Canadians is not fooling anybody. Besides, our policies are working, particularly on rents. I will read a co…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are sick and tired of the alternative Conservative facts from the opposition. We all know that food costs too much, but instead of exploiting the challenges that are facing Canadians right now, the Conservatives should do a little bit of reading and look into why food costs too much. All the research indicates that 85% of food inflation is due to imported factors like war, t…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are demonstrating that they have no credibility on affordability because they are ignoring all of the recommendations that the experts are making to pursue a more equitable future in Canada. One of the recommendations the Conservatives chose to ignore was the groceries and essentials benefit. We are using a proven mechanism to provide relief to families i…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit ironic to be criticized about political talking points when the members opposite read from the same page over and over again. They ask the same 15 questions over and over again. They do not write their own questions. There is no creativity from that side. The level of this debate deserves a bit more. With respect to housing, we have invested $13 billion in non-market housi…
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Mr. Speaker, never in his more than 20-year career has the new, temporary member of Parliament for Battle River—Crowfoot cared about people who are in financial need. The new, feigned approach to affordability is not convincing any Canadians. The GST rebate makes a big difference for families who need it. The Conservatives have committed to voting for the bill, but they still want to criticize it …
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Mr. Speaker, while it is heartening to hear the Conservatives talk about affordable housing, it would be nice if they actually voted in favour of some of the policies that would help get affordable housing built. A couple of years ago, we invested a novel $1.5 billion into new co-op housing builds, and that means that there are 3,500 units under construction right now. We are having Canadians move…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives talk a good talk on affordable housing, but when it comes time to actually vote in favour of policies that get affordable housing built, they are nowhere to be seen. For the last year, they have been filibustering in committee, making sure that really important policies do not follow through. They ought to stop filibustering in committee. We have a first-time homebuy…
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Mr. Speaker, I know it is convenient for the Conservatives to say that a GST rebate is from Justin Trudeau's playbook, but as a kid who grew up in the eighties and nineties, when there was a GST rebate that helped lower-income families and my family, I would like to call that into question. It is an age-old Canadian policy that has worked for decades, a means-tested way to get money to the familie…
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Mr. Speaker, to the member's question, not only do we take the statistics very seriously, but we also take the recommendations of the organizations that are working to feed hungry Canadians extremely seriously. The top recommendation of Food Banks Canada was to create a groceries and essentials benefit. The Conservatives have a chance to support that motion and to vote in favour of it to help Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, farmers know that the number one cause of food inflation in Canada and globally is climate change. When they are listing off the products that are most affected by climate change, they often list lettuce, which is impacted by climate change in California; coffee, which is imported to Canada as we do not grow coffee here; and beef, which is impacted by climate change. The Conservatives…
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Mr. Speaker, there was actually a study on the impact the industrial carbon pricing has on the cost of food, and the result of that study was that it has a 0% impact on the cost of groceries. The number one cause of food inflation is actually climate change, and we only have to talk to one farmer to realize that. I fully recognize that food costs too much these days, so our government is here with…
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to correct the record. Unfortunately, the Conservative member is mistaken. We have fast-tracked many projects, including recreational facilities across this country. Those were outlined in the budget. If the Conservative members allowed time on the legislative schedule, voted in favour of the budget implementation act and supported the supports that are going out to Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, just a couple of days ago, there was a fad on Instagram where everybody was looking back to 2016. The Conservatives were saying exactly the same stuff in 2016 that they are saying today. That was 10 years ago. They are still talking down climate action. They are still ignoring lower-income Canadians. They still think climate change is a hoax. Some things never change. What has not cha…
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Mr. Speaker, I just wonder if my hon. colleague could either agree or disagree that something like this has happened, because this is something I have experienced. The Conservatives are standing in the House disparaging the Major Projects Office, talking down our initiatives to build up Canada, create more projects and ensure that more projects get built in Canada. Publicly the Conservatives are a…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for speaking up for the environment and for the fight against climate change. It is a cause that is close to my heart. It is one of the many reasons that prompted me to put my name on the ballot. Fighting climate change is a priority for our government. We have many programs and tools to achieve this. Industry and the energy sector can do their part. A lot of Onta…
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak to this important motion today, particularly in the context of where our nation is in early 2026. Our government is restoring economic sovereignty to this country. We are encouraging resource development, strengthening competitive investments, both foreign and domestic, and spurring on innovation here at home. Being from the beautiful riding of Burlington North—Mil…
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Mr. Speaker, after listening to the member's speech, I think we live in alternate realities. Times are tough and food is too expensive, but we have solutions and things have been going well, particularly on the jobs front. Will the member acknowledge that Canadians built 190,000 jobs in this country between September and December of last year; that Canada's real GDP growth is forecasted to be high…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada groceries and essentials benefit will put food directly onto the tables of hard-working Canadian families and not just a few. We are talking about 12 million Canadians. Only Conservatives are willing to stand in the way of affordability for families that need a little bit of help. This Liberal government has the backs of Canadians. That Conservative leader turned his back o…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always pretty fresh to hear the Conservatives talk about elitism when they are talking down supports for hard-working Canadians. Twelve million Canadians are going to benefit from the Canada groceries and essentials benefit. From a personal perspective, when my hard-working single mom got that benefit four times a year, that meant running shoes for me and my brother, that meant …
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Mr. Speaker, let us remember when the Grinch tried to steal Christmas. He drove all the way up to the top of Mount Crumpit because he had everything he needed and was going to throw away the gifts the Whos deserved because he thought they did not deserve to have nice things. That is kind of like the Leader of the Conservative Party. For 25 years he has had dental care because he has had a job here…
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Mr. Speaker, first, there is no tax on groceries. There is no tax on food. There will never be taxes on groceries, and there will never be taxes on food. That member is a farmer; she should know better. She should know that the industrial carbon price has absolutely no impact on the cost of groceries. The Conservatives keep talking about things like the price of coffee. Maybe they should stand up …
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Mr. Speaker, watching the leader of the Conservative Party lose in slow motion today has been a little amusing, but what is more interesting is watching him do it with a big grin on his face, because he is so proud of himself. He is proud to vote against child care; he is proud to vote against school food programs, and he is so proud to vote against affordable housing. What else is he proud of tod…
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