Parliamentary Speeches
284 speeches by Anthony Housefather — Page 1 of 6
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saint‑Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton. The combatting hate act has been before this House for nine months. During those nine months, we have had extensive debate in this place, in the other place and at committee. This bill is important. I want to take members back to what started the process of amending our hate laws in a way that is broader than t…
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that this will foster a sense of security for all communities, because no one wants to be the target of hatred. It is true that CJA-Québec said that it supports the Bloc Québécois and the proposal that it put forward a few years ago. We saw what was happening on the streets of Montreal and the fact that no prosecutor was taking action due to the potential use of this religio…
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Mr. Speaker, the organizations that speak for the organized Jewish communities, all of them, support the bill, whether it is CIJA, B'nai Brith, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, the numerous groups that Mark Sandler has assembled in Toronto or the Canadian Women Against Antisemitism. I do not know of any major Jewish organization in the country that does not support this bill, so I do not be…
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Mr. Speaker, my very first conversation with the Prime Minister was about this issue. The very first time I talked to the Prime Minister was during the Liberal leadership race in 2025. Our very first conversation centred around intimidation, obstruction and the need to change the law to protect community buildings, and the Prime Minister, to his great credit, immediately said that, yes, he support…
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Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate the parliamentary secretary's questions. The goal of the current government is for people to both be safe and feel safe, and for communities to be safer. That is why the government brought forward an ambitious agenda of criminal reforms that would make it tougher for bad people and repeat offenders to get bail, would make sure victims of hate crimes have better acc…
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague said, this legislation is a step forward. Everyone needs to be pragmatic. We will never get everything we want, but this bill is very good news for everyone who wants safer communities in Canada. It was unfortunate to have to sit in committee hour after hour as our colleagues tried to derail this bill. Like the other justice bills that we introduced, this is somet…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by seeking unanimous consent to share my time with the hon. member for Prescott—Russell—Cumberland.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today at third reading of Bill C-16, the protecting victims act. This legislation reflects a simple but important principle: Our laws must keep pace with the realities that Canadians face today. Crime evolves. Technology evolves. The experiences of victims evolve—
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Mr. Speaker, there is no reasonable way that the bill can be interpreted as making mandatory minimums optional. What the bill would do is prevent courts from striking down minimum mandatory sentences based on hypotheticals. This should be exactly the type of bill Conservatives would support. Conservatives have railed against what the courts have done to strike down minimum mandatory sentences base…
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Mr. Speaker, crime evolves. Technology evolves. The experiences of victims evolve. Parliament has a responsibility to ensure that our criminal laws evolve as well. The protecting victims act responds to the realities of modern victimization. It strengthens protections for victims and survivors. It addresses emerging forms of abuse and exploitation. It increases accountability for serious offenders…
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Mr. Speaker, one easy example is that of an AI-created sexual image of a person. Our previous law had not advanced to the point of addressing a person's having sexual images of them shared from AI. The bill would now cover that circumstance to make sure we can prosecute people doing something like that.
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Madam Speaker, June is Filipino Heritage Month. It is a chance to celebrate the amazing Filipino Canadian community that has enriched our country in so many ways. It is a chance to celebrate the culture and traditions of the Philippines. It is a chance to celebrate Dr. José Rizal, the founder of the modern Philippines, who championed patriotism, education, justice and civic duty, which are values …
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Madam Speaker, I would refer the member to this morning's non-partisan C.D. Howe Institute's Business Cycle Council bulletin to note that his comments are premature. The Canadian economy is actually in a very good position today, with 88,000 new jobs having been created. We can see that the government's plan is working. There is lower youth unemployment, lower unemployment for women and more and m…
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Mr. Speaker, to be told that I have abandoned my people, my Canadian people but presumably the Jewish people, to say that the member for Winnipeg South Centre abandoned his people, to me is incredibly unparliamentary. It is unacceptable and I would ask the member to withdraw his comments.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. There is a crisis of anti-Semitism in Canada. That is why the government denounced, through the Minister of Public Safety, what happened in Montreal last weekend. That is why we put forward the combatting hate act to listen to the demands that the Jewish community has been making for the last three years. That is why we augmented funding for Jewish community s…
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Mr. Speaker, in December 2024, the justice committee, of which I was a part, put out a report. It recommended to governments across the country, the federal government, provincial governments, municipal governments, and police and universities what we thought they should do in this circumstance. We need to show leadership. The Prime Minister will show leadership and has shown leadership on this is…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister spoke very clearly in this House, making it very clear that the government was going to defend private property rights and that the government immediately appealed the decision. My question is for the hon. member whose speech I just listened to. I felt there were multiple times when it sank into disinformation. Does the hon. member believe a parliamentary committee …
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Mr. Speaker, my question relates to litigation directive number 14, which I, again, have heard a lot of misinformation about, claiming that somehow the directive would preclude counsel for the Government of Canada from making every argument necessary to defend property rights. My understanding is that all the directive does is, if I can find the right words, require “a principled basis and evidenc…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today regarding a deeply troubling complaint filed with the Canada Revenue Agency targeting 11 Jewish schools in Montreal and Toronto. These schools are essential pillars of Jewish life in Canada. They exist to teach language, history, culture and identity, just as faith-based schools across this country do. For months, there has been a coordinated effort to mis-characterize Je…
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Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to have the chance and the opportunity to speak to Bill C-263 today. First, I want to thank my friend, the member for Kildonan—St. Paul, for proposing a bill that is not only meaningful to the Moberg family, and I want to salute the courage of the Moberg family who were in Ottawa today, but could make a real difference in the lives of seniors living with dementia. I thi…
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Madam Speaker, do you know who had something positive to say about the spring economic statement? It was Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, the premier of the province of that member. When he was talking about the sovereign wealth fund, he said, “We would say this is a good initiative for our nation. I think it really speaks to what we need to do in this nation, and working together at all levels of …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his passionate 20-minute speech. I—
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I also thank the member for Lakeland for having the best laugh in the House. Mr. Speaker, it is funny that there are so many statistics related to Canada's performance within the G7 that are so favourable to Canada, and yet some in the opposition basically say, “Well, it doesn't matter. We're only comparing ourselves to ourselves, so what does it matter what the debt ratio is in France or in Engla…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has really talked down this type of fund, which has been enormously successful in countries like Norway and Singapore. Both countries started the fund in similar types of ways when they were not running a surplus. Can I ask the member why he feels this type of fund is so unsuccessful when parallel funds have worked in so many other places?
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague asked an excellent question. I completely agree. One of this government's greatest strengths is that we have a Prime Minister who is looking ahead to Canada's future. He does not just think about tomorrow. He does not just make political decisions for the next month or the next year. He makes long-term decisions. If this sovereign wealth fund operates like the ones in Sin…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to say two things. First, no one said that these projects were too risky for private investment. This is about attracting other investments. By showing that Canadians and the Government of Canada believe in those projects, we will attract private investment from here and other countries. Second, I would be very excited to invest my money in it, but I am not allowed to as …
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. It is a pleasure to participate in today's debate on the government's plan to build a stronger, more independent and more resilient Canada for all. It is a plan that builds more affordable homes. It is a plan that builds major infrastructure. It is a plan that will help transform our economy. It is also a plan that wi…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to believe that the member is actually equating an individual's own wealth with the country's obligation to fund massive projects within the country. The idea of countries borrowing to enable to grow their economies is not something new. Obviously, there needs to be fiscal prudence. The government's plan balances that fiscal prudence with a very solid balance sheet of t…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, I have recently been going door to door. I knocked on a lot of doors in Terrebonne. Given the results of the three recent by-elections, where the Conservative vote plummeted in Terrebonne, I think going from 18% to 3%, and lost half their vote in both University—Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest, I am wondering why the member thinks that Canadian voters as a whole are so bli…
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Mr. Speaker, is the minister aware of any point in Canadian history when a majority government has not had a majority on committees, and is he aware of any time when certain committees have had a different composition, where the majority government has not had a majority on those few committees but not on others?
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I do not share the pessimistic outlook of my colleague on this issue or others. I do believe that we want to make sure every young person in this country has the chance to find gainful employment, because young people are the drivers of Canada's future economic growth, and everybody has a right to live in this country with opportunities. I want to talk about some of the opportunities …
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Mr. Speaker, I think that the new government has changed many policies, starting with eliminating the consumer carbon tax, which is one of the things the member asked for; building projects across this country; unleashing our potential; and removing economic barriers between provinces. The government is actually constantly listening, looking, and seeking new information and ideas, including ones t…
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Mr. Speaker, naturally, I will adopt the same tone as my colleague, because I like the collaboration we have with the Bloc Québécois and all the partners in the House. Did I understand what the hon. member said correctly? If the number of Liberal members on committees were set at six instead of seven, the Bloc Québécois would agree with the proposed changes?
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Mr. Speaker, I would respectfully disagree with my colleague. Not only does this government value agriculture and the incredible role that farmers play and that other people involved in the agricultural sector play across the country, but we have continued to engage with the industry to ensure that we best respond to the needs that it faces, given the very challenging circumstances that we face ri…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to hear from my colleague. The agricultural sector is an incredibly important sector in Canada. I think the minister had explained in that answer why that decision was made. I am pleased to hear, in terms of the five priorities he outlined, that the consumer carbon tax was eliminated as one of the very first acts of this government. As we know, the global econo…
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Mr. Speaker, let me simply reject the premise of literally everything the hon. member said. The Prime Minister was elected with a new government last April, and that was Canadians' choice, whether the hon. member accepts it or does not accept it, likes it or does not like it, likes the fact that we have a majority or does not like the fact that we have a majority. We all should be working together…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I get up to speak to a bill that I think we absolutely need to send to committee. We are already very tardy on lawful access. As my fellow parliamentary secretary mentioned just a moment ago, all of our other Five Eyes partners and all of our other G7 partners have modernized laws with respect to lawful access. Our government entered office with a couple…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that we should invite those groups to testify in committee. We should invite the Barreau du Québec, the chambers of commerce and anyone who can tell us about the work that entrepreneurs in Quebec have done to adapt their privacy practices. In my previous job, I noticed that, even though the laws vary from place to place around the world, companies always find a way to adapt. O…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague on his speech. I believe there are exceptions in Bill 25. They have to do with the personal information that can be requested by the police if there are threats or if there is a real reason to believe that someone is violating the Criminal Code. I want to be sure I understand my colleague. Do we agree that the best way forward is to pass the bill at se…
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely, one of the focuses of the government is crime. It is not only crime, but also making sure all Canadians have a sense of safety. People need not only to feel safe, but also to be safe. That is why we brought forward a robust number of crime bills and worked with the public safety critic of the official opposition on private members' bills, which add to the list of bills. I …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague, especially for his personal story about what happened to him in 2015. As he said, nomination contests frequently, for certain parties in certain regions, choose the person who is almost certainly going to win the seat. I understand what happened in these contests, and I understand the concern, as a result, about having permanent residents participate…
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Mr. Speaker, this bill contains targeted changes based on recommendations made over the past few years by the various commissions and by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. Personally, I believe that tax credits are a good way to encourage contributions and empower political parties. Having said that, I also believe that the study of this bill in committee will be an opportunity to propose …
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Mr. Speaker, I wish a happy birthday to the members' friends. It was a very interesting use of the question. I see nothing worse in society than when members of Parliament, members of the Senate, elected officials or people with roles of responsibility attack the norms of our society, as we see happening around the world. We all have to have trust in our institutions. At the very least, we should …
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation. Before I begin, I want to congratulate the previous speaker on having referred to himself by his name more than I have ever heard any other member of Parliament do in any speech, ever. I congratulate him on that. I am going to be dealing largely with foreign interference. Before I do, I just want to say that I …
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Mr. Speaker, I will start by saying that I am proud to represent a riding where the name Mount Royal has lasted since 1935, and I do not have any plans to change it. Everybody's privacy rights are incredibly important, and I am very pleased with this legislation that would protect people's privacy rights, which is very important.
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my hon. colleague on his speech. The Conservative motion is based on the assumption that the price of oil will stay the same until the end of year. Can my hon. colleague explain why this assumption is incorrect, given that we have no idea how the situation will unfold?
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things the Conservatives are assuming in their motion is that the cost of oil will remain the same for the rest of the year, but the price of oil fluctuates constantly. The $9 billion to $10 billion that the Conservatives claim is going to be collected by the government depends on oil prices not falling over the next nine months.
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Mr. Speaker, I will start by answering the question that was asked at the beginning of my colleague's speech. Yes, I believe that some proposals in the Conservative motion are unrealistic. These proposals do not consider the environment and its importance. They also do not take into account the fact that the costs they are trying to eliminate have nothing to do with the price at the pump, as my ho…
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Mr. Speaker, given that the first four minutes of my speech dealt with fuel prices, I would say of course, which is why we are removing the excise tax. The excise tax has been in place since the 1990s, and we are taking the proactive step based on the current worldwide oil prices to cut that. The excise tax is 10¢ per litre for regular people buying standard gasoline. This will no longer be the ca…
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Mr. Speaker, as my friend knows, global gas prices are driven by global supply and demand. When some of the leading producers in the world are unable to ship oil to markets, the price goes up. When we have instability, the price goes up. When the President of the United States makes certain announcements, the price goes up. Global oil prices are completely unstable, which has led to an increase as…
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