Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada is facing an unprecedented threat to our sovereignty from Donald Trump and his administration. This is the most serious external danger for our country in decades, but we also face challenges to Canada's unity from within. Actions and words that sow division, spread hatred and foment violence are scourges that undermine and damage society. This week we marked International Holo…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to request an emergency debate on the recent deeply concerning actions and statements by the Trump administration that have grave implications for the sovereignty and security of Canada. On January 3, President Trump ordered American forces to disregard international law and core principles of national sovereignty by attacking Venezuela, a UN member state. This aggressi…
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats just returned from Rankin Inlet, where we witnessed the challenges facing Canadians in the north. We heard stories of 12, 15 or 17 people living in a two-bedroom home, of folks on housing waitlists for decades and of extreme food prices, from $15 onions to $28 orange juice. There is no hospital, not enough jobs and unreliable Internet. People are experiencing similar iss…
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats agree to apply the results of the last vote to the current vote, with New Democrats voting nay.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, New Democrats agree to apply the results of the last vote to the current vote, with New Democrats voting yes.
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the New Democratic caucus and my colleagues, I would also like to extend our best wishes this holiday season to all of the members of the House and all of the staff on the Hill. I cannot do better than my colleague from the Bloc, who, I think, enumerated all of the very many people who, every day, not only make this place work but provide such a foundational support for C…
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats agree to apply the results of the last vote to the current vote, with New Democrats voting no.
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Mr. Speaker, I was in the House when the Prime Minister said that this pipeline would require the consent of the Government of British Columbia, as well as first nations. I then, of course, read the MOU, and it says no such thing. I think the energy minister went to British Columbia and then said that it would require free, prior and informed consent of indigenous nations. What is the position of …
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Mr. Speaker, the former Liberal environment minister says this government approved a bitumen pipeline that abandons Canada's climate goals and risks B.C.'s coast. In the House, the Prime Minister said that British Columbia and impacted first nations must agree to this project. In B.C., the energy minister claimed that free, prior and informed consent would be required, but the MOU signed between O…
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Mr. Chair, we are not the government. The real question should be reversed. How does the government plan to respond to U.S. tariffs? I will tell members one thing. What the Liberals should do is honour the promises they made Canadians during the election campaign, which was that they would stand up to Donald Trump, elbows up, that they would have a robust position where they would match American t…
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Well, Mr. Chair, it is said that when one is in a hole, the first thing one should do is stop digging. We did not just wake up today with this kind of vulnerability in the auto sector. This is the result of policy failures by successive Liberal and Conservative governments over several decades. I was talking to a colleague earlier, from the Conservative Party, who told me that he remembers when th…
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Mr. Chair, I very much respect my hon. colleague's perspective and experience, but I am afraid that I would have to respectfully disagree with him on a couple of points. One is that I do think the future of the auto sector is one that is going to pivot away from the internal combustion engine. I think that the most far-sighted, intelligent economies of the world will be making those investments no…
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Mr. Chair, what I would just mention is this. One thing I have heard in this House for years is that the federal government is going to take the lead on building a nationwide system of EV charging stations. It is true that we have to build the infrastructure to support the transition to those vehicles. The Liberals have never done that, and that is a serious problem. We need a serious government t…
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Mr. Chair, that is an excellent question. There are probably a number of factors that go into that. I think the fundamental flaw was a decision made in the late 1980s, where it was decided that we would more closely integrate the Canadian economy into the United States' economy. At that time, again, as I said, New Democrats felt that this was the wrong course of action. Although, obviously, our lo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is telling Canadians to sacrifice during the jobs crisis. Liberals have no money to sign pharmacare agreements or meet their housing promises, but today we find out they gave $400 million to Algoma Steel when they knew it was cutting 1,000 jobs. They gave $100 million more than they admitted to Stellantis, which cut 3,000 jobs. Why did the Liberals give half a b…
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Mr. Chair, Canada's auto industry has long been a proud cornerstone of our economy. It contributes over $16 billion to our GDP annually and supports more than 600,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide, but today, that foundation is cracking. For decades, Canada's auto sector has relied on a highly integrated North American supply chain dependent on just-in-time delivery and seamless cross-border…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says he wants to make generational investments in nation-building projects. New Democrats agree. We also know that a healthy economy is a healthy workforce. The NDP pioneered dental care and pharmacare because they deliver essential primary health care to Canadians. We believe every Canadian should have head-to-toe health care regardless of their ability to pay. Wil…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are suffering one of the worst affordability crises in generations. Sixty per cent of them are having trouble meeting their monthly expenses; half are using credit cards or borrowing money for daily needs, paying interest rates of 19% or more; and food bank usage has doubled since 2019. People should not have to struggle like this in a country as wealthy as Canada. What step…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the New Democrats agree to apply the results of the last vote to the current vote, with the New Democrats voting in favour.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the country are suffering from punishing high costs of daily essentials, such as food, housing and utilities. Grocery prices are sky-high, and rent is completely unaffordable, yet today's inflation numbers show the problem is getting worse, with food up 4%; rent is up 4.8% and 9.6% in Quebec. Under the Liberals, life keeps getting harder for workers and their families…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-250, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (flight attendants). Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce the flight attendants' remunerations act. I thank the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for seconding this bill and for his tireless advocacy for workers' rights. The legislation addresses a long-standing injustice in Canada's airline industry: the wid…
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to request an emergency debate on Stellantis' plan to shift production from its plant in Brampton, Ontario, to Illinois and what this means for Canadian workers, communities and our very economic independence. This follows the announcement of General Motors that it intends to lay off 2,000 workers at its Oshawa plant in January. In Brampton, 3,000 workers are affecte…
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Mr. Speaker, higher unemployment for young people is not good news. Yesterday, I met with the elbows up for climate coalition, a national group of mayors calling for federal investments to prevent and mitigate the ravages of climate change. They explained the real cost of failing to do so, from catastrophic destruction in such places as Jasper to the high cost of food because of crop failure and d…
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Mr. Speaker, September's job numbers are out, and it is more bad news. Unemployment remains at a 10-year high, and the situation is getting worse for young people, who face the highest unemployment rate since 2010. One in six youth is out of work, with many more underemployed and unable to gain experience in their chosen careers. This is not only unfair to them, but it is damaging our economy as t…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, working families across Canada are struggling. Half of all Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque. The cost of essentials is climbing, and our economy is on the verge of recession. Unemployment is at its highest level in a decade, with young people hit hardest. One in six youth is out of work, with many more underemployed. At the same time, Donald Trump's trade war continues to h…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, young Canadians do not need summer jobs; they need permanent jobs. The overlapping crises that Canadians currently face are not isolated problems; they are symptoms of an approach that is failing working people. Now the Liberal government is threatening to make things worse with an austerity budget. That means cuts to the public services people rely on, fewer good jobs and less suppor…
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Mr. Speaker, we all know that Donald Trump is erratic and very difficult to deal with. However, the Prime Minister's growing list of concessions and appeasements is clearly not working. The latest sees him offering up the Keystone pipeline to the Americans and getting nothing in return. This is an uneconomic, environmentally damaging project that directly contradicts his pledge to reduce integrati…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, economic anxiety is rising across the country and Canadians are deeply concerned. Unemployment is at the highest level in a decade. This summer alone, 100,000 workers lost their jobs, with thousands more announced this week. Folks across our country are facing excessive costs for groceries, housing and utilities, and Trump's trade war threatens more damage. We must meet this moment wi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to request an emergency debate on the government's proposal to dismantle Canada Post services and the growing national response to these deeply concerning changes. Canada Post is older than Canada itself. It connects communities across this vast country and serves as a vital lifeline for hundreds of northern, indigenous and rural communities. At a time when our economy an…
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Mr. Speaker, alarming reports reveal that Canada will miss our 2030 climate targets, yet the Liberal government is abandoning key climate policies the Liberals once called essential. Before entering politics, the Prime Minister said that he believed in climate action, but now in office, he is ripping policies right out of the Conservatives' playbook. Canadians know economic development must be sus…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Standing Order 158 speaks to the conduct of visitors in our galleries. I received a notice during question period that Air Canada flight attendants who were in the gallery were wearing red T-shirts that said “Unpaid Work Won't Fly”. They advised that they sent a picture of their shirts to the Sergeant-at-Arms or whoever controls admission to the gallery and…
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Mr. Speaker, unemployment has surged to its highest level in a decade. Young people are being hit the hardest. One in six cannot find work. Our economy is facing a recession and millions of Canadians are worried about their jobs, yet the Liberals are planning to slash services people rely on and eliminate family sustaining jobs through an austerity budget this fall. Will the government reverse cou…
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With regard to Canadian counter tariffs and other countermeasures put in place by the government since March 4, 2025: (a) how much money has been collected, in total, and broken down by (i) month, (ii) countermeasure; and (b) how much of the money collected has been allocated to help for workers in total and broken down by program?
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats want to build our economy and create family-sustaining jobs, but it must be done right. Today, the Liberals and the Conservatives are ramming Bill C-5 through Parliament with shockingly little debate or public input. This bill creates Henry VIII powers, letting the Prime Minister override laws by decree. It guts environmental protections, undermines workers and threatens…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-217, An Act to amend the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act and the Income Tax Act. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the post-secondary education financial assistance for persons with disabilities act. I wish to thank the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni for seconding this important piece of legislation. The bill would provide tuition-free post-secon…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-214, An Act respecting the development of a national renewable energy strategy. Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to introduce the national renewable energy strategy act. I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for seconding the legislation and for all his work to protect our environment. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been …
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Mr. Speaker, during the last election, the Prime Minister said, “The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies...and military cooperation is over”. Yesterday, a leaked document revealed his government is willing to participate in Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defence system. Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy called this…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with sincere and profound respect that New Democrats add our voices to honour the life and legacy of our colleague, the Hon. Marc Garneau, a trailblazer, a patriot, a devoted public servant and an exceptional human being. As Canada's first astronaut, Mr. Garneau soared beyond our world, embodying the spirit of exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. His historic journey inspir…
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Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has examined the government's fiscal commitments, and he is warning that the numbers just do not add up. Among his troubling findings, the PBO says there is no way the Liberals can meet their spending targets without “severe cuts to the public service”. Federal services provide critical supports to Canadians across the country, which are especially nee…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' economic update failed to recognize the reality facing working Canadians. It failed to address the housing crisis. It failed to address the health care crisis. It failed to address the youth jobs crisis. Instead of fighting for Canadians, Liberals are fighting with themselves, and Conservatives only propose cuts that will hurt workers while big business gets tax breaks a…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, if we are speaking of latitude, in my 16 years in this place, I have never seen such latitude given to a government in presenting a fall economic statement, which was basically to table it outside, run for the hills and not be in the House to present the document. That is showing latitude to a government. In terms of the carbon tax, New Democrats have for many decades been very conc…
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Madam Speaker, I will join issue with her on one thing, which is that we also believe the Prime Minister should resign. Our leader called for that very thing today. The New Democratic Party has 25 MPs in the House. My hon. colleague is a member of the Bloc Québécois and it has, I think, 33 seats. It has more seats than we do. What have the New Democrats accomplished in this Parliament since 2021? …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the housing crisis that we experienced in 2024 did not develop yesterday. It did not develop in the last five years. This has developed over decades of successive Conservative and Liberal governments, beginning in the early 1990s when the Liberals and Conservatives cut CMHC's investments in social housing in this country. That was the start of the long slide. That is why Canada toda…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As the NDP finance critic, I have attended the lock-up, I have read the fall economic statement and I have gone to considerable lengths, along with my colleagues, to prepare the New Democrats' response to this. What I find patently unfair is that the government has chosen to release that document to the public at four o'clock. That document, a very thick bo…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with a lot of what my hon. colleague said in terms of his description of how difficult it is for many Canadians. I do not know that I would say everything is broken, but I can say that a lot of people are broke. A lot of families are struggling. Fifty per cent of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque, and one out of four parents is skipping meals to feed their children. …
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Madam Speaker, on the occasion of the 2024 fall economic statement, it is clear that Canada is at a crossroads. Many Canadians are struggling and uncertain about their and their families' futures. We are facing multiple, overlapping crises that require immediate and decisive action from the federal government, yet we are watching a Liberal government in complete disarray, out of ideas, flailing wi…
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Madam Speaker, the member raised the question of what we are voting for. I can give a little sample of what I and my New Democratic colleagues have voted for. We voted to bring dental care to nine million Canadians. We voted to bring diabetes medications and devices and contraceptives to 10 million Canadians. We voted to bring a school nutrition program to schools in this country. We voted to perm…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for all of her work. She has been a crusading force in the House fighting for people with disabilities, including getting a meaningful Canada disability benefit. She continues to fight for that. In a word, I guess, the shorter list is to explain what the Conservative opposition has obtained for Canadians in the House, in this Parliament. The a…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour one of Canada's finest public servants, our ambassador to Germany and former premier of British Columbia, the late John Horgan. Raised by a single mom, John overcame great challenges to rise to the highest levels of public office. His political career actually started in this place, staffing NDP MPs. In 1991, he left to assume important roles in the B.C. NDP governmen…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour one of Canada's finest public servants, our ambassador to Germany and former premier of British Columbia, the late John Horgan. Raised by a single mom, John overcame great challenges to rise to the highest levels of public office. His political career actually started in this place, staffing NDP MPs. In 1991, he left to assume important roles in the B.C. NDP governmen…
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