Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have a small number of petitions to table before the House today. The first petition is in support of a private member's bill tabled by me, so I want to commend the initiative of the petitioners in getting this petition to the House today. It is an excellent bill they are seeking to support. Bill C-257 seeks to end political discrimination in Canada, especially in areas of federal…
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Mr. Speaker, the government has been in power for eight years, and there is a profound dissonance between those alleged expectations and what they have been delivering and doing these eight long years. Arrive scam hearings have been explosive. This week, senior government officials accused each other of lying because the Liberal minister wanted someone else's head on a plate. This government is de…
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Madam Speaker, the fourth and final petition that I will be tabling today encourages the government to butt out of decisions that should properly be made by provinces and parents. It notes that in the vast majority of cases, parents care about the well-being of their children and love them more than any state-run institution. The role of the government is to support families and respect parents, n…
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Madam Speaker, the third petition responds to the aspects of the government's so-called feminist international assistance policy. Petitioners note that this policy has shown a lack of respect for the cultural values and autonomy of women in the developing world, by supporting organizations that violate local laws and push external priorities at the expense of local priorities like clean water, bas…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition expresses support for a private member's bill, Bill C-257, which would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds for discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act. Petitioners know how fundamental and important the free exchange of ideas is in a democracy and that discrimination on the basis of political beliefs and threats to employment and the lik…
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Madam Speaker, I will be short today; I only have four petitions to table. The first petition is from Canadians who are very concerned about the NDP-Liberal government's attack on access to natural health products. Petitioners note how, through the last omnibus budget bill supported by the NDP and the Liberals, access was threatened through new rules that would mean higher costs and fewer products…
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Madam Speaker, the final petition I will table today raises concerns about the Liberal government involving itself in decisions that should be made by parents and provinces. They highlight the circumstances of the Prime Minister's attempt to interfere in New Brunswick politics in relation to policy 713. The petitioners note that in the vast majority of cases, parents care about the well-being of t…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill C-257. This is a private member's bill I have put forward that would add political belief and activity to prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The petitioners say that it is in the best interests of Canadian democracy to have a free public exchange of ideas, to protect the political speech of thos…
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Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to table today. In the first petition, the petitioners draw the attention of the House to the Liberals' imposed carbon tax, saying it will continue to drive up the cost of home heating for Canadians. They say that in Canada, heating one's home in the winter is not a luxury; it is a necessity, and that after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians now …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, all of us here have at least one cellphone, and there is a very good chance it contains component parts dug up by artisanal miners under deplorable conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Artisanal mining is mining done by hand by subsistence miners. In the DRC, this often includes children and pregnant women working in tunnels that frequently collapse. In our shame regarding …
Read full speech →Royal Assent
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In light of some clear misunderstandings in question period, I would request the unanimous consent of the House to table the special permit given by the Liberal government to Siemens to get around sanctions, that the government gave the permit to facilitate Russia selling energy to Germany instead of supporting Canadian oil and gas. That was in support of U…
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Mr. Speaker, it was a unanimous report, but I would draw the attention of the member, respectfully, to the government response, which does not concur with all the recommendations. In particular, the government did not concur with recommendation no. 15. I believe it was actually a member of his party that put forward the unanimous consent motion to recognize the Wagner Group as a terrorist organiza…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. Ukraine is critical for global food security. We have seen the implications of this conflict, this brutal invasion of Ukraine, in that it has been much more challenging for Ukrainian farmers who grow food for their own communities and for export. There are many countries in Africa, for example, that are very much reliant on imports of food from Ukraine. …
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear the member does not want to talk about listing the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. It is clear he does not want to talk about the important work that needs to be done around supporting European energy security. I can tell members that our party strongly supports free trade. We want to have strengthened trade on energy. We believe there is an urgent need for Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented on Tuesday, February 14, be concurred in. I will be sharing my time with my great colleague from Yorkton—Melville. This is an important report from the foreign affairs committee that focuses on the many actions required from Canada to continue and strengthen our support fo…
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Madam Speaker, I want to say something very directly to the NDP member. At the government operations committee, we have requested documents related to the government's relationship with McKinsey. We want to insist on having all those documents. Now the NDP member wants to look at outsourcing to other companies. I think this is legitimate, but if we do not have the support of the NDP to demand the …
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Madam Speaker, our position is, of course, that we are calling for the abolition of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. We believe very much in the principle of subsidiarity, that the federal government should work collaboratively with provinces and local governments. We have also taken the position that part of the constructive work needs to include setting goals for the development of, for instance,…
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the third report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, presented on Monday, May 2, be concurred in. I will be sharing my time. It is a pleasure for me to speak today to this important third report of the transport committee. It is a report with one recommendation: “That the Government of Canada abolish the Canada Infrastructure Bank.” I wa…
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Madam Speaker, I think my dear colleagues were inspired by references to Midas; they wanted to bring the Greek chorus phenomenon into Parliament. I welcome the affirmative lyrical support. The member across the way is trying to characterize our position on the infrastructure bank as if we just woke up this morning and decided to do it. We are proposing to concur in a committee report that was the …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, is it possible to identify the Liberal members who said nay in response to—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In light of the persuasive arguments raised by the leader of Canada's Conservatives, I hope you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-350, the combatting torture and terrorism act, be deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Foreign Aff…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, this member's excuse for not listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization is that they have put in place other sanctions and also their security experts are giving them advice in private which we cannot share, but they will not take action. Let me just point out that successive administrations of the American government have recognized the IRGC as a terrorist organization. I know th…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to address the House this evening with respect to my private member's bill, Bill C-350. This is the combatting torture and terrorism act, which is part of a now five-year journey I have been on, working with Canada's brave, heroic and patriotic Iranian community as its members struggle for freedom for the people of Iran and call on the Canadian government to …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his leadership on this critical issue, going back long before I was even in this place. When I talk to politicians in Europe about energy, they recognize the urgency of the situation. They are looking for all of the above. They want more Canadian energy. They want more energy from other sources. They are in an urgent crunch and they need energy from all source…
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Mr. Speaker, my answer would be that investments in international peace and security, if we make the comparison to domestic life, are like the investments that individuals make in an alarm system. When someone invests in peace and security in protecting themselves, it gives them greater peace of mind and is a way of protecting them from possible threats that may come. The threats may never manifes…
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Mr. Speaker, respectfully to my hon. colleague, that is pretty far afield. I have to say that I have many thoughts on the Spanish-Dutch trading relationship in the 16th century as well. I do think some mistakes were made at that time. I will just say, with a little bit more seriousness, that there are trade agreements and there are also political partnerships that nations pursue. Those questions a…
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Mr. Speaker, our party supports having clear, rule-based dispute resolution mechanisms that allow for certainty for businesses and that contribute to felicitous relationships among allies. The member mentioned a number of sectors that are very important. Of course, there is Ukraine's agriculture sector. Canada has an important agriculture sector as well. One of the things now being explored at the…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to address the House this afternoon and to speak about one of the critical challenges facing the world today. That is the ongoing illegal, genocidal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the important work that Canadians need to do in order to continue to support Ukraine in this struggle. This is an existential struggle for Ukraine, as well as a critical battle for …
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Mr. Speaker, the government has really been letting down our allies when it comes to responding to their needs in the area of energy security. Most of the world's democracies are geographically small and densely populated nations, such as our partners in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, that need the import of natural resources to not have to rely on hostile actors, such as Russia, to meet their energ…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague did an excellent job of highlighting the Liberal failure to support Ukraine in the area of energy security. European countries vitally need the natural resources that Canada is ready to produce and sell. Last summer, we had emergency hearings at the foreign affairs committee because, instead of supporting the sale of Canadian energy to Europe, the Liberal government gave …
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has rightly highlighted the unique nature of trade with a democracy on the front lines of the fight against totalitarian threats. This is important. Ukraine is not the only country in that situation. I wonder if she can share the government's position on Taiwan's application to the CPTPP?
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Mr. Speaker, the government has, in the eight years I have been here, gone on about court decisions, yet we have seen in the last week how it has been completely slapped down by the Supreme Court for showing a flagrant disregard for provincial jurisdiction. It has no regard for how our Constitution is supposed to work as it relates to natural resources and provincial responsibility, yet it is brin…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition that I am tabling deals with instances where the Prime Minister, in particular, has tried to interfere in areas of provincial jurisdiction that relate to the rights of parents to make decisions and be involved in conversations about important aspects of their children's lives. In particular, we have seen this attempted interference in the case of New Brunswick wher…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling two petitions today. After eight years, it is clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost and his priorities are not aligned with those of Canadians according to these petitioners. The petitioners raise concerns about the government prioritizing spending on bureaucracy, consultants and waste over a vital area of need for Canadians, which is supporting women's…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, there were aspects of that response that were, frankly, bizarre. First of all, let us be clear. This NDP-Liberal approach is just not working. The member said that one is not entitled to one's own facts, even if one can have one's own opinion. That is true, of course, but all one has to do is look at the impact, the drug abuse, the disorder and the crime we are seeing in the streets…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to address the House on the critical issue of the opioid crisis. So many of our communities and families have been devastated by this metastasizing crisis, in terms of the use of dangerous opioids in our communities. After eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, it is very clear that the approach to this issue is not working. We have heard many people say that the …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Iranian regime supports Hamas and is responsible for death and destruction throughout the world. Yesterday I asked the House to support my Bill C-350 to list Iran's IRGC as a terrorist organization, and therefore to shut down their operations in Canada. However, the Liberals refused. After eight years, why are Liberals still refusing to hold this regime accountable, and why are th…
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Mr. Speaker, Hamas, the perpetrator of this attack, is a listed terrorist organization here in Canada. However, Conservatives have been calling for the IRGC, affiliated with the Iranian regime, the enabler of so much terrorism in the region by Hamas, by Hezbollah and other actors, also be listed as a terrorist organization. This attack by Hamas terrorists is another crime that we can ultimately la…
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Mr. Speaker, I think we all absolutely agree with the importance of having a humanitarian corridor. In terms of the logistics around it, all of us need to be working on that solution. In particular, the governments of the world need to be working on that solution. Of course, the different actors have a role to play, but it is not as simple as Israel deciding there is going to be a humanitarian cor…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time. I come to this debate tonight as a Christian, as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and as someone with deep love for my many Muslim friends. The three great Abrahamic faiths have many points of unity. We share our commitment to the singular worship of one God, a belief in a moral framework that flows from the Ten Commandments, an appreciation for the role…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing some very important personal reflections that I think are very valuable for the House to consider. I want to ask a question on a somewhat different aspect of this debate. It is a question I have asked a few government members. It is about the role of the Iranian regime in supporting Hamas and supporting other terrorist organizations that threaten Israe…
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Mr. Speaker, I just heard the leader of the Green Party propose that perhaps Hamas could be eliminated by another international force. I would speculate that, if other countries volunteered to do that, Israel would be happy to have that occur. However, in the absence of having other countries commit troops to defeat Hamas, Israel is obviously on the front line and committed to protecting itself. M…
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Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague is very sincere in her convictions on these matters. I wanted to pick up on the issue of the importance of establishing a humanitarian corridor and safe zones for the distribution of essential humanitarian assistance. Our party supports that and has called for that. I want to note that the last time there was conflict between Gaza and Israel, there was one ins…
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Mr. Chair, I am not sure if that was the member's first speech in this place, but we were actually at the same university together years ago. I did not expect to be agreeing with him when I asked him my first question in the House. I look forward to future opportunities no doubt to cross swords with the member with greater sharpness in the exchange. I do thank the member for what he shared in his …
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Mr. Chair, I want to ask my hon. friend about his views on the Iranian regime's role behind this attack. It is clear, I think, that the Iranian regime is seeking to support terrorist organizations throughout the region. If we look at Israel's borders, we see Iranian regime engagement with Hamas, with Hezbollah and with the Assad regime in Syria. We have called for the government to take additional…
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Mr. Chair, it seems like the NDP leader has essentially offered a defence of complete pacifism. He has stated, as a principle, that he seems to believe that war is never the solution, that more war is never going to lead to peace. I want to just clarify his views on that. Does he believe that there is no case in which war is necessary or just? If there is any such case, it would seem to me that a …
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Mr. Chair, I agree with my colleague about the importance of having a humanitarian corridor. I would add that the setting up of a humanitarian corridor will require the buy-in and collaboration of multiple parties, but it is certainly important for the international community to work on delivering that outcome. I wonder if he could share specifically what he thinks the response of Israel should be…
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Mr. Chair, my colleague has put forward a bill in this House, Bill C-353, that deals specifically with this issue of hostages. Of course, many of us are seized with concern about the situation of these hostages, including Canadians. I wonder if the member can share a bit about the private member's bill she put forward before this situation happened, what the provisions of that bill are and the imp…
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Mr. Chair, I thank the minister for his comments this evening. I want to underline our belief in the importance of humanitarian access. In the past, we have heard stories of humanitarian crossings being targeted by Hamas. Two years ago, we heard testimony on this at the foreign affairs committee, so no doubt access will be challenging, but it is certainly very important. I want to ask the minister…
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Madam Speaker, the final petition I will table today raises concerns about the politicization of charitable status determination by the Liberal government, proposals around applying a values test to charitable status determination and having discrimination on the basis of values associated with charitable status determination. Petitioners note the Liberals signalled in their last election platform…
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