Parliamentary Speeches
1,030 speeches by Adam van Koeverden — Page 21 of 21
Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I just cannot thank my hon. colleague and friend from Fredericton enough for her speech and her advocacy on this very important topic. I admire her willingness to come out here and always confront difficult topics of conversation. I share her satisfaction with the fact that we are the first government that has a Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, that does the hard work …
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Madam Speaker, I will forgive my colleague's cynicism. This is a political place that we live and work in, but the Government of Canada is committed to strengthening Canada's health care system, as we all are, and supporting the health of Canadians and working together with provinces, territories and stakeholders. To improve that access to prescription medications is really important. That is why …
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Madam Speaker, I really do appreciate the advocacy on affordable housing, but I could not agree less with my colleague about the results. Our government has made significant investments for affordable housing in budget 2021, and we are on track to deliver over $70 billion by 2027-28 through the national housing strategy, with great investments in ridings close to mine in Hamilton and in Mississaug…
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Madam Speaker, I would also like to acknowledge my role as an ally in this place. As a white, cisgender, straight man, I have never experienced racism, homophobia or bigotry in any form, and I do feel like I have a role, as an ally, to stand up. We are taking steps to review the Employment Equity Act, particularly in light of comments that it does not address the distinct experiences of Black empl…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Edmonton Strathcona for her advocacy on ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and certainly on pharmacare. I will tell her that this is the first job I have ever had that has a drug plan. Olympic athletes do not have drug coverage in Canada, and my father, who does not have ALS but has Parkinson's, pays out of pocket for prescription drugs that h…
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Madam Speaker, I have a quote to read from the website of the United Church of Canada, which states that conversion therapy is a widely “discredited practice” of trying to change someone's “sexual orientation or gender identity” based on the premise that being gay or transgender is a disorder and can be cured. In policy and principle, the United Church of Canada affirms that human sexual orientati…
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Madam Speaker, I too feel a great sense of pride and obligation in working on this bill. I wish I had been around to vote for Bill C-262. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to move forward on this. This bill will, indeed, require multi-party support. I look forward to supporting this bill with my colleague and further discussing the urgency when there is more time.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and for her participation in the committee. We are talking about full participation in decisions that have a great impact on indigenous people. This is not about the many nations that exist in Canada. This bill does not have great implications on Quebec's sovereignty. It is absolutely enshrined in Canada's Constitution, as it should be. This is …
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Madam Speaker, the language around what FPIC was and how it greatly differs from a veto was debated thoroughly in committee. In fact, it does not bear any similarity to a veto. We are talking about a deep level of consultation and a deeper level of participation and involvement. The member used the term “free, prior and informed consent”, which is absolutely important, but the duty to consult does…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my friend and colleague, the member for Oakville North—Burlington. Today, I am speaking to members from the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron, Anishinabe, Huron-Wendat, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. I would also like to acknowledge that I arrived here as an athlete. An Inuit invention, the ka…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague across the way for her advocacy on behalf of her own communities and other Asian communities. Like millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast, our government is very concerned by the proliferation of anti-Asian hatred and racism in Canada and in other parts of the world. Anti-Asian racism, discrimination and stigma have no place in Can…
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Madam Speaker, anti-Asian racism is unacceptable in Canada today. We all have a role to play in preventing and stopping the spread of stigma and racism, whether online, on our streets, in our homes or in the workplace. Unfortunately, what we have witnessed over the past year shows us that, right now, the anti-Asian racism that exists in Canada stems from hatred and misinformation related to the CO…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the great pleasure today to rise in the House in recognition of Dutch Heritage Day. Today, May 5, is Dutch Heritage Day. Over a million tulips are in bloom in Ottawa, and a few dozen are up here in my garden in Milton as well. Today, Canadians of Dutch heritage from coast to coast to coast are celebrating their culture. In 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs t…
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Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism and all forms of hate have no place in Canada. Our government is unwavering in its commitment to diversity and inclusion, including tackling all forms of systemic racism and discrimination that is informed by lived experience. Eighty-five projects worth over $15 million have been selected through a call for proposals to support the anti-racism action program and its obje…
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Mr. Speaker, this has been a really tough year on everyone, but recent research from SickKids Hospital has shown that children and youth have experienced a unique variety of negative impacts on their mental health because of COVID-19. Greater stress from feeling isolated; the cancellation of sports, other events and in-person class; and just not being able to hang out have all caused increased anx…
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Mr. Speaker, while I appreciate the speech from my colleague opposite, I have to wonder if we are reading from the same document when we are looking at the budget, although it is likely that my colleague reads most of these types of documents with blue-tinted glasses because we are still stuck in an era when we are talking about government debt as if it is a Visa card or a mortgage and we have to …
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2021 was announced this week. I was really happy to see that $80 million is being invested in Canada's active recovery. With facilities closed and events cancelled, physical activity is at a standstill. Sports have a way of bringing people together and promoting fair play among Canadians of all backgrounds. The sports community has stayed positive throughout the pandemic. We no…
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Mr. Speaker, in response to (a)(i), out of the 10,000 individual responses from youth-led discussions, 12% of respondents provided responses to the “Have Your Say” booklet in French; 88% of respondents provided responses to the “Have Your Say” booklet in English; there were 68 submissions from youth-led round tables and stakeholder discussions, youth-serving organizations, and participants and sta…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague for his work on other files, protecting rights of people. He always speaks from the heart, which is I really appreciate. I do, however, want to bring up a couple of things. First, I just want to remind everybody in the House that the use of possessive nouns when referring to indigenous people should be avoided at all costs. Indigenous peop…
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Madam Speaker, I am so happy today to be able to share the good news story of Raufikat Oyawoye-Salami, a Milton resident who was recently crowned the season four winner of The Great Canadian Baking Show. Raufikat wowed the judges with a combination of natural talent and incredible flavours, which were inspired by her time growing up in her mother's kitchen in their home of Nigeria. A proud mother …
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Madam Speaker, I have been in touch with athletes and I have been in touch with officials, and we understand that Artistic Swimming has taken measures to address these complaints. We are also working very hard on an independent safe sport mechanism, which will be implemented in the coming weeks and months. Sport Canada has had the opportunity to speak with Canada Artistic Swimming regarding these …
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Mr. Speaker, today I am delivering a statement written by Milton's Daughters of the Vote delegate Wardah Shaikh. She states: “As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has put immense strain on families and businesses across the country. Too many people have been unable to work, and local businesses have been struggling to make ends meet as this crisis persists. Fortunately, there are many organizatio…
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Mr. Speaker, last March our government issued a nationwide call to action to companies across Canada to help fight COVID-19. Over 6,500 businesses and manufacturers stepped up and answered that call. They retooled their facilities and increased production capacity, collected and donated existing supplies and equipment and combined resources to manufacture needed supplies more quickly. To celebrate…
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Madam Speaker, it is a real pleasure to speak on behalf of everybody in the House who does have Irish heritage. I cannot claim to have such heritage, but it is a real privilege to discuss this private member's motion, Motion No. 18, to proclaim Irish heritage month in Canada. If passed, this motion will establish March as a month of recognition to commemorate and celebrate the historic legacy and …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for Richmond Hill for his extraordinary hard work on Motion No. 36 to designate August 1 as emancipation day in Canada. There is much work to be done in the fight against anti-Black racism in Canada. That is why $50 million was spent to support anti-racism initiatives, and the work of the Anti-Racism Secretariat was included in the fall economic st…
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Madam Speaker, I am proud to present a petition from my neighbours in Milton. The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to ensure that the human rights of Uighurs, Kazakhs and predominantly Muslim minorities are protected. It also calls for an investigation into the human rights situation in Xinjiang, China, to be pursued, because Canada is obligated to confront the violation of international…
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Mr. Speaker, throughout the month of February, Canadians have been celebrating black excellence and honouring the many contributions Black Canadians have made in building this nation. It is so true that Black history is Canadian history. However, it is the future of this country we are focused on building. Black leaders and Black-led organizations I have met with recently are asking for a more res…
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Mr. Speaker, bilingualism is such an important part of Canadian culture and identity. For anglophone MPs like me, this reality represents both a challenge and a golden opportunity to develop our full potential as Canadians. I have been working hard with my French teacher over the past year. Since this is Teacher Appreciation Week in Quebec, I want to take this opportunity today to thank all teache…
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Mr. Speaker, while I disagree with much of what my colleague has just said, I rise on a point of order because of a word that he used when he was categorizing the indigenous positions on this and many other subjects as somehow unanimous or collective. I disagree with that assertion entirely, but my point of order is that the member for Carleton used a possessive noun to describe indigenous people,…
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Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change released a list of the 325 conditions that the CN intermodal project must meet before it could proceed with any development in my riding of Milton. I recognize that these conditions address some of the concerns raised by my community and that this conditional approval is a technical assessment, not an endorsement by the federal…
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