Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for a thoughtful and important question. I see my Arab Canadian neighbours and friends. I see the entrepreneurs and the investors. I see Arab Canadians in senior ranks of the public service, in Parliament, in medicine, in law, in engineering, running real estate companies, doing international trade and running airlines. I see Arab Canadians as unbelievable citizen…
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moved that Bill C-232, an act respecting Arab heritage month, be read a second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in the House this evening to begin the debate on my private member's bill, which would establish the month of April in Canada as Arab heritage month. The first immigrants of Arab origin arrived in Canada in 1882, in the early years …
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Mr. Speaker, what I would like to see is shawarma in the House of Commons lobbies so we can all enjoy a tasty meal. The good thing about a month like this is that it will enable Canadian Heritage to plan and financially support celebrations across Canada in small communities and big cities. Arab communities will be able to ask for funding to recognize the contributions of Arab Canadians and help t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, in 2014, I had the distinct privilege of conducting a pre-election assessment for the entire country of Ukraine for the National Democratic Institute in Washington, D.C. I was part of a delegation of five or six members. At that time, it was clear to us that Ukraine was struggling to become the modern democracy that it has since become. Unfortunately, I think a choice was made by th…
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Mr. Speaker, I will use this short answer to commemorate my good friend Arnold Chan, a young man who I actually drafted into public life. He was a very fine and decent man. I would recommend everybody watch the video. It was one of his final speeches and, in fact, a very moving invocation of what we are supposed to be doing here as we come together at our best.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. Many business owners from my riding of Ottawa South had to close their downtown establishments in the face of the illegal blockades. The occupation carried on for more than 20 days, and the cost to local businesses was simply staggering. Could the minister please update the Ho…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-232, An Act respecting Arab Heritage Month. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honour and a privilege to rise in the House of Commons to introduce my private member's bill, which would establish the month of April in Canada as Arab heritage month. The first persons of Arab origin arrived in Canada in 1882 in the early years after Confederation some 140 years ago. Sinc…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the voters of Ottawa South. This is my seventh consecutive election. I am honoured and privileged to represent such a magnificent riding, a very diverse riding, with over 82 languages spoken and over 160 countries of origin. I like to describe my riding as “the United Nations of Ottawa South”. A great deal of time has already been spent describing the obj…
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Madam Speaker, the answer is yes, we are treating this as a health issue. Yes, this government remains open to the concept of decriminalization based on evidence and comparative experience, and I would encourage the member to bring that evidence forward to committee when this bill is being studied.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to pick up, if I could, where I left off, and that is the role and purpose of judges and the difficult role they fulfill when they sit as triers of fact. I remember when I began my career as a young articling student with a criminal law firm, and I was struck by the difficulty judges face when these cases are presented to them. I was also struck by the connection between crim…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, although I am desirous of seeing the kind of consistency the member alludes to, one size does not fit all. When there is a crime being adjudicated in a court, judges have a specific responsibility to adduce and hear all of the evidence; to consider it; and to take into consideration background, mental health and addiction. We have heard repeatedly on the floor of the House that this…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, as I have noted in my remarks, the NSICOP Act allows the committee to review any matter relating to national security or intelligence that a minister of the Crown refers to it. The committee carefully deliberates before beginning one of its reviews, and it undertakes them on a very consensus basis. Deliberations can include discussions with relevant officials or with other review a…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member is partly correct and partly incorrect. NSICOP is located halfway between Parliament and the executive. The committee is housed within the executive body of government and does report to the Prime Minister, but it is composed of parliamentarians. It is not bound by the procedural rules of parliamentary committees and operates at arm's length. However, the Five Eyes o…
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Thank you, Madam Speaker, for your indulgence. The committee, of course, has been reviewing the major threats for the country, such as terrorism, espionage, foreign interference and cyber actors, for example. We have reported very openly now for Canadians on the question of terrorism, the growth of ideologically motivated violent extremists, the rise of groups embracing xenophobic violence, anti-a…
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I have the motion, and as I was saying earlier—
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will not be long and the relevance will become quite evident. Following our examination of the documents provided to the committee and our meetings with DND CAF officials, the committee formed an opinion that DND intelligence activities conducted as part of overseas operations may not be in compliance with the Privacy Act. The committee referred this matter to the Attorney General…
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Madam Speaker, I was saying that this is very similar to the process followed by the United Kingdom's intelligence and security committee, which must submit its annual and special reports to the prime minister for consultation and review prior to tabling, identifying at that time any redactions that have been made on national security grounds. Since 2017, we have completed seven studies and produc…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, as chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, I want to provide this evening an overview of the committee's composition, mandate and functions, given there have been numerous recent references to NSICOP in the House. I speak this evening exclusively as the chair of our non-partisan committee. To begin, I wish to offer my sincere thanks on behalf o…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will wrap up my presence this evening in the House, which was for sharing the work of NSICOP: the membership, the act, the powers it possesses, the restrictions, its role and its mandate. I really want to thank all of the members who have served on the committee since the committee was created three and a half years ago. I really want to welcome the new members from the Bloc Québé…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, the member's question gives me an opportunity to come back to an important theme that runs through the debate going on right now, which NSICOP members have been scrupulously careful not to directly participate in because of our special responsibilities. I mentioned the significant constraints that we all carry with respect to sharing information and the fact that our parliamentary p…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, to my colleague for Yukon, maybe I will take a moment to go back to a theme that I think is important to tonight's debate, and that is the question of whether the Prime Minister may direct a committee to revise its reports, and he may, but the discretion to do so is not unlimited. The Prime Minister may only direct NSICOP to remove information that would be injurious to national sec…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Ottawa has lost a true legend. Michael O'Reilly, the remarkable local artist, musician and comedian, has passed away. Born in England to a Canadian World War II serviceman and a Devonshire girl, Mike was raised in Ottawa. He studied at Glebe Collegiate and the University of Ottawa, and then earned a teaching degree at Queen's University. Mike O'Reilly was a world-class bluegrass perfo…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to congratulate my constituent and a true community builder, Mrs. Lamia Dib, on the 50th anniversary of her outstanding local business, Metro Dry Cleaners. In 1958, Lamia came from Lebanon to join her siblings in Canada. In 1962, she married Maurice Dib and, together, they saved every penny to purchase a dry cleaning machine. They worked very hard to establish themselv…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we recently tabled the most small business-friendly budget in Canadian history. Last Friday, our government made an announcement to significantly increase rapid testing for businesses and their workers across Canada. Could the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade please tell us how this would both protect the health and safety of Canadians, and benefit …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is a real privilege for me to thank essential workers in my riding and across Canada. Essential workers bravely go to work every day in these very challenging times. I thank our Canadian Armed Forces, first responders, day care workers, teachers and school staff, grocery store clerks, pharmacists and their staff, automotive technicians, truckers, municipal workers, bus drivers, was…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, as the son of a nurse, it is a very special privilege for me to thank health care workers in my riding and across Canada. Since the beginning of this global pandemic, they have worked day and night to help their patients. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone at the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Ottawa Hospit…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, a report of the delegation of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union respecting its participation at the 206th session of the governing council, which was held virtually from November 1 to 3, 2020.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the pandemic our government has provided financial support to millions of Canadians, helping them put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, but this crisis continues to have dire consequences for many Canadians. They need more time and flexibility to pay back the interest on their tax debt. Can the Minister of National Revenue talk about the recent…
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