Parliamentary Speeches
1,030 speeches by Adam van Koeverden — Page 2 of 21
Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend for speaking today on the important issue of online dangers for children. I also thank him for his work on the committee. What is the Bloc's position on improving the safety of online platforms and social media for young people in Canada? What measures should the federal government take to better protect minors online? What activities should be promoted…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for that member. I have been to his riding and I know the farmers in his riding very well. They know that industrial carbon pricing does not affect the cost of food in Canada. He should spend more time talking to those farmers. However, if he wants something to put on his hot dog, here are four things: dental care for Canadians, $10-a-day child care for young k…
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Mr. Speaker, there are no taxes on food. Look, food is too expensive. That is a fact, but I have some other facts for the member. One, the number one driver of food cost inflation is climate change, something those Conservatives will never say. Two, industrial carbon pricing applies to goods sold on international markets, and it is not passed on to consumers. Three, industrial carbon systems impac…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Terrebonne for that excellent question. The extraordinary success of Burlington's pride and joy, Victoria Mboko, at the National Bank Open reminds us how essential it is to make sports accessible to all Canadians. That is why our government has championed sport as a project in the national interest. Victoria's success proves that when we invest in sport, Canada …
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Mr. Speaker, food security experts and poverty elimination companies do a great job advocating directly to government, and what they are saying is that we need more affordable housing. In the last two weeks alone, we have announced 857 new co-op housing units. That is really close to home for me because I am proud to have grown up in co-op housing, unlike some of the Conservatives who like to call…
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Mr. Speaker, Feed Ontario and Food Banks Canada do important work on the front lines, but they also make important recommendations for government. What are some of those recommendations? They recommended that budget 2025 include automatic benefits, There is the Canada disability benefit, which was brought back by our government and the national school food program, which was made permanent by our …
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Mr. Speaker, there was so much misinformation and conspiracy theory jargon in that little question that I do not even know where to start. Let us start with the obvious. A $13-billion investment in non-market housing over the next five years is precisely what this country needs. Currently, our co-op and non-market housing stock is too low a percentage when compared to other OECD nations. This shou…
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Mr. Speaker, even as I am being heckled by the member who asked a question in good faith, I will continue to answer. Four thousand homes is just the beginning. The member has multiplied an ongoing denominator, or divided it, by the total amount we will invest over the five years by the current allocation. That is not just bad math, it is disingenuous. He knows that is not the case. He can do math,…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that Canada is at economic war with the United States and that we need to take action now. We need to consider the tools available to our government to protect all sectors, workers and families in Canada and to give them confidence. In my view, the people of Canada, Canadian workers and families, can trust our leadership.
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Mr. Speaker, it is nice to stand in the House to talk about the budget implementation act, but before I do, I would like to briefly remember a good person, a great Canadian, a champion and a fine friend. Yesterday, athletes at the 2025 Canadian Olympic curling trials in Halifax took a moment away from their competition to honour Colleen Jones and reflect on her legacy. The world champion curler an…
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Mr. Speaker, I will make a recommendation. I think it is abhorrent that the Conservatives continue to double down on the notion that healthy snacks for kids in schools is garbage. This supports local agriculture, supports farmers and communities, supports education and edible education, and puts food on the curriculum. It also makes sure that regardless of who forgets their lunch or who does not h…
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Mr. Speaker, my friend and colleague from Spadina—Harbourfront is somebody who knows a thing or two about the fight for gender equity in sport and beyond. We are seeing remarkable progress and momentum in women's professional sport across this country. A smart, sustainable business model has built the Northern Super League, and it is redefining what is possible in Canada with professional women's …
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Mr. Speaker, addiction is a serious issue, and the Conservatives are making it blatantly political, which is wrong. Regardless of where people can access it, nicotine causes addiction to nicotine. The Conservatives should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. We have produced good numbers on nicotine and cigarette reductions. We continue to be there to improve the health of Canadians and make sure …
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Mr. Speaker, we are building Canada strong, and that includes the spaces and places that Canadians go to play, to practise and to exercise. A healthy lifestyle is preventative medicine, and we are building the facilities necessary right across this country, with new rinks, new pools and new field houses, so the next generation of Canadians can have better physical literacy and a healthier lifestyl…
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives are focused on imaginary taxes, we are building Canada strong. Budget 2025 invests $51 billion into the build community strong fund. This is good news for families in southwestern Ontario, like the folks that live in the area my colleague represents. This includes money for the new athletic park in Surrey. It includes the Royal Athletic Park in Victoria. It inc…
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I announced a more than $3 million investment in mental health for athletes to support the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic institutes and networks across our country, supported by the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. We are also supporting game plan, the Canadian national team total wellness program. These investments are critical because ou…
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Mr. Speaker, every time the Food Banks report comes out, I read it. I read what the recommendations are and what the organizations that are focused on reducing poverty and food insecurity in Canada recommend that our government do. The report recommends that we undertake measures like the national school food program, a program that one Conservative member from Newfoundland said last week was “gar…
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Mr. Speaker, what the leader of the Conservatives does not seem to get is that Canadians use hope, hard work and sacrifice every single day to build up our country and our communities. When the failed former MP from Carleton lost his seat, he did not have to make any sacrifices or be accountable. He did not even learn a lesson, clearly. When his constituents fired him, he should have maybe paused …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and fellow team Canada Olympian for his dedication to community sport. He is right. Champions lift our communities up and the Jays Care Foundation is making baseball and softball more inclusive and accessible right across Canada. Through Sport Canada's community sport for all initiative, the government has coinvested $450,000 with the Jays Care Foundation for a milli…
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Mr. Speaker, caring for Canadians means that we are putting forward actual measures that are going to support affordability, and we are also going to be honest with Canadians. We are not going to make up taxes like this made-up, “make plastic bags free again” motion the Conservatives put forward last week in order to pretend to care about food prices. When the Conservatives read the Food Banks rep…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and consistent with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Amendments to Annex I of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport”, notified on October 1, 2023, and November 1, 2024.
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Mr. Speaker, what helps Canadians is cutting taxes for 22 million Canadians, and that is what we did earlier this year. We are supporting affordability measures with actual policies, not just with rhetoric in the House of Commons and not with misinformation. Time and time again, the Conservatives have stood up in the House to suggest there are taxes on groceries. Canadians know better; they can re…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to wish the entire Franco-Ontarian community a happy Franco-Ontarian Day. I also want to congratulate all francophones and francophiles, like me, from this province of Ontario on the 50th anniversary of their flag. I would also like to thank my friend and neighbour from Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford for congratulating and encouraging our amazing women's rugby p…
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Mr. Speaker, that was a good show from everybody. We are here talking about the Conservative opposition motion. It is tough, because I disagree with the premise of the motion. The Conservatives are once again fabricating affordability. There are very real affordability challenges that Canadians are facing, but the Conservatives are blaming them on simply the wrong thing. If they ask any food scien…
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Mr. Speaker, it is astonishing that today, members of the Conservative party have stood up and very willingly said they are against healthy food in schools for kids. They are saying they do not agree with a nation school food program that is feeding kids, particularly those who need it. This is an evidence-based program. We used to be the only country in the world without a national school program…
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Mr. Speaker, studies show that school food programs improve student health and mental health. They also improve learning outcomes, for better grades in science, math and reading. Those healthy meals in schools can also save a family up to $200 a month. That is a real solution for affordability and for health for Canadians. Why did the Conservatives, when they had the chance to vote for healthy sch…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec is a leader among all the provinces when it comes to school food programs. Over the past decade, there have been many examples of schools in Quebec offering breakfast, snacks or other food, and there is overwhelming evidence showing that this type of program yields positive results for students. I agree with my colleague. Corporate greed is a problem when it comes to housing or…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for asking the question in English. I am very pleased to offer him a response in English. Mr. Speaker, I have been visiting schools across my riding and assisting when I can with the school food programs. They have a very significant positive impact on learning, nutrition and health, but they also save families money. Some researchers indicate it is up to …
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Mr. Speaker, Food Banks Canada does essential work on the front lines, but it also makes recommendations for politicians like us on better policies to support Canadians, so I would put it back on that member. When we had a vote in this House of Commons not that long ago on a national school food program, he voted against it. Every time we have a policy to support Canadians, such as $10-a-day child…
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Mr. Speaker, when I take the time to sit down with food bankers and experts in poverty reduction right across the country, they make recommendations. They talk about strengthening our social safety net and making sure there are services, like EI, available to Canadians. We also have challenges with northern food insecurity, and that is something we are working on directly on the advice of experts …
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Mr. Speaker, Food Banks Canada conducts important research and also makes very important recommendations for governments. It says we should strengthen the social safety net to support Canadians facing affordability challenges. We are doing that with dental care, with the middle-class tax cut, with “build Canada homes” and with $10-a-day child care. Those things are making a difference in Canadians…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a little rich coming from the guy who voted against the national school food program. I would like to say that Food Banks Canada does exceptional work and it also makes good recommendations for government. One, it suggests we build up Canada's social safety net. Two, it says we should solve the affordable housing crisis and we should help lower-income workers make ends meet. All…
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Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy from the Conservative side today is just astonishing. They have not listened to any of the recommendations from the Food Banks report. What gets me going even worse is that earlier this year when the leader of the Conservative Party lost his job, he did not lose his house. That is because he lives in government-subsidized, non-market housing, but every time he has the ch…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians remember when Pierre Poilievre stood in front of a Canadian woman's house in Niagara Falls and called it a “shack”. I remember when Pierre Poilievre stood in the House and called the co-op where I grew up “Soviet-style” housing. Now, if that were not enough, the Conservatives are stigmatizing modern, modular, affordable housing as shipping containers. The Conservatives voted…
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Mr. Speaker, there is an old saying about people in glass houses. Well, a lot of the Conservative members also have quite a few investment properties. They rent out their units. However, for another thing, I just want to reiterate that their leader, Pierre Poilievre, did not get re-elected, and he continues to live in taxpayer-funded government housing. What is clear is that any time the Conservat…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from the Green Party for always raising issues of importance, for being the conscience of this place in so many instances and certainly for being such a stalwart for environmental protection. As is often the case, we get kind of stuck on one idea or one notion, and a couple of words come to mind, certainly from the Conservative Part…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my neighbours in Burlington North—Milton West for their confidence, but I would also like to sincerely thank the good people of Carleton for electing a fantastic community champion as their member of Parliament. The community sport for all initiative lifts people up by breaking down barriers to physical activity, with programs such as Dribble Dreams in Milton a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate you on your election. At this time, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I would also like to wish my colleague and friend from Bow River a merry Christmas. He used to be a teacher and taught one of my former colleagues, my friend Sherraine, and she always asks me how the member is doing. I tell her we have lively debates into the wee hours sometimes, but I do genuinely appreciate the opportunity. I also appreciate the opportunity to say merry Christmas …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is nice to be here in adjournment debate with my colleague from Bow River. Unfortunately, once again tonight, my colleague over there is spreading misinformation about carbon pricing to discredit the system, and that is misleading Canadians. Just recently, the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan estimated that a large, 5,000-acre farm spends around $10,000 a year on…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), since 2018, Sport Canada has worked in consultation with experts and athletes to promote safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for all sport participants, bolstered by investments in budgets 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, OSIC, was launched by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, SDRCC, in June 2022 as…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his impassioned speech this afternoon. I would like to wish him and his family a merry Christmas, and of course, I express my condolences on the passing of his brother. I was raised in a Catholic household and went to church. I since have not attended church. I have taken a slightly different path personally, but I attended catechism, and …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I apologize for interrupting, but the RCMP has said repeatedly that it has all the documents it needs to conduct the investigation.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I would like to read a quote from the RCMP commissioner: The RCMP can confirm having received all the documents from the Office of the House of Commons Law Clerk relating to...SDTC which were collected in August pursuant to an Order of the House of Commons.... The RCMP has concluded that the available reports do not identify any criminal offences or evidence of criminal wrongdoing at …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is a real privilege to highlight two incredible organizations in Milton that are making a profound difference in our community. I would like to acknowledge the Special Friends Network and its inspiring dream kitchen initiative. By partnering with the Halton Down Syndrome Association, chef Brandon Bousfield and team are creating opportunities for those with special needs to develop …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my colleague will not be surprised to hear that I disagree that effective climate policy, climate action and emissions reductions are chasing away investment. They do not. They do the opposite, in fact. The world wants cleaner and greener electricity. The world demands cleaner and greener energy, oil products and fuels, and that is where we have to go. Many of the oil companies, and t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleague in welcoming his daughter Jada to the House of Commons and to Ottawa. As well, I would like to join my colleague in welcoming the Shaunavon Badgers to Ottawa. Since there is no Milton team in the tournament, I presume, I can cheer for the Shaunavon Badgers. Is it the Badgers, Jeremy?
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It is the Badgers, okay. Mr. Speaker, I am a big fan of sports and I love that we celebrate that collectively, as we did last week when our Olympic and Paralympic teams were here. It was a nice moment of non-partisan celebration here in the House of Commons for everyone. On to the issue of the day, which is the emissions cap that our government has proposed very proudly. We are one of the first oi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight that just on Friday, I was able to make an announcement in Acton in the riding of Halton Hills, which is very close to Milton, with the mayor, Ann Lawlor, and the regional chair, Gary Carr. The announcement was about a project that used three different federal programs: the enabling accessibility fund, some CMHC funding and a reaching home grant. It is more t…
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Mr. Speaker, team Canada is in the House of Commons today. Our best athletes, Olympians and Paralympians, from across the country are here so that we can all congratulate them on their success and thank them for representing Canada so well. From Milton, we have Michael Foley, who is a track cyclist, and Kayla Alexander, who is an amazing basketball player. I was one of these athletes eight years a…
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