Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question. Truly, this is really about moving forward this important legislation for families and children across the country, as I have already said. It is worth pointing out that as we have entered into agreements with the provinces and territories and we work with our partners, including our indigenous partners, they are waiting with bated …
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Mr. Speaker, what we are talking about here in the House is the importance of enshrining in law a national early learning and child care system. We cannot overstate how important this work is that we are doing here today and what this means, not only for today's parents and today's kids but for families for generations to come. As my colleague has pointed out, unfortunately we have not seen the su…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to speak to that question here today. Obviously, Bill C-35 is a bill that is critically important to families, to children and to our partners, our provincial, territorial and indigenous partners across this country. The bill has been thoroughly studied, both at the House committee and at the Senate committee. I would add that there have been numerous days of debate he…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, I am honoured today to rise to speak to Bill C-35 as amended by our hon. colleagues in the other House. First, I would like to acknowledge the important work and the recommendations from the Senate as we look for ways to always improve on our policies and legislation to better the lives of families in Canada, and in this case, on such an important piece of legislatio…
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moved that the second reading of, and concurrence in, the amendment made by the Senate to Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada. Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the member for Sherbrooke. I am honoured to rise today to speak to Bill C-35 as amended by our hon. colleagues in the other House—
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Madam Speaker, as we moved forward in building this nationwide system, undoubtedly every province and territory came to the table and recognized our core vision and principles around inclusivity and access to high-quality and affordable child care. As we move forward and as we are now about two years into our commitments with most of the provinces and territories, we see new spots being created ac…
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Madam Speaker, absolutely. Of course, as we have negotiated the agreements with the provinces and territories, there have been many conversations about the future of early learning and child care across the country and in Quebec. If I may say so, Quebec has been held up, frankly, as a model and has done incredible work, decades ahead of the rest of Canada. We see that. We have seen the impact of t…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to work with the hon. member as well. As we were negotiating across the country, we worked very well with indigenous governments and indigenous partners. We have been really focused on ensuring that early learning and child care is provided that is culturally appropriate and led by indigenous leaders. That is continuing to roll out across the country, and I b…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada-wide system is making life more affordable for Canadian families by delivering on $10-a-day child care, now in seven provinces or territories, and 50% reduction across the country. As fees have reduced, of course, demand has increased for these spots. We have seen an increase in the number of spots available, with 82,000 new spaces announced by the provinces and territories…
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Mr. Speaker, child care is good for our kids, it is good for families and it is good for our economy. Islanders have already been benefiting and seeing the savings. As of January 1, they have $10-a-day child care, as do six other provinces and territories across this country. At a time when families are feeling the pressure, $4,200 in savings a year is outstanding. Instead of preying on Canadians'…
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Mr. Speaker, our national child care program is making life more affordable for thousands of Canadian families, as is the Canada child benefit. We continue to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that the five-year agreements are upheld and that we do see improvements to wages and benefits for the essential caregivers who we all rely on for the child care that our kids need. On this s…
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives actually do care about supporting families, their actions last week speak differently, and actions speak louder than words. The Conservatives voted against much-needed investments to increase access to child care in underserved communities. They voted against moving forward with a framework to create a national school food policy, which would put food back into sc…
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Mr. Speaker, in a shocking turn of events, just last week, the Conservative Party held hostage the progress and investments that we continue to make in Canadians. When given the chance to support increasing the number of child care spaces in rural and underserved communities, what did the Conservatives do? They voted against. What does this mean? This means not supporting new and much-needed child…
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Mr. Speaker, when the member opposite talks about basics, I would like to point out the basic fact that, just yesterday, every member in the House, including every Conservative member, had the opportunity to support Canadian families and children by voting to support a national school food program. What did they do? Every single one of them voted against it. On this side of the House, we will cont…
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Mr. Speaker, every day that I come into the House and take my seat, I am humbled, as I know all of my colleagues on this side of the House are, to work on behalf of Canadians. We talk about the need to support Canadians, but just yesterday, every Conservative on that side of the House voted against a national school food policy, a policy that would have given food to children so they would not be …
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to do all they can to paralyze government, we are here to work on behalf of Canadians and are happy to do so. We will continue to make the necessary investments in our social programs, in the Canada child benefit and in our $10-a-day national early learning and child care program. These programs are transformational for Canadian families, saving them h…
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to invest in strengthening social security programs like old age security, the Canada pension plan and support for families, like the Canada child benefit and $10-a-day national child care, programs that the Conservatives continue to vote against, totally lacking empathy and understanding for the struggles that Canadian families are facing. On this side of the House, …
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to the support that we do for families, which I continue to share in this House, we have also introduced programs to support organizations that are working with Canadians to help address food insecurity, including over 300 organizations through the community services recovery fund. We have also invested almost $150 million to strengthen food systems and improve food securi…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that many families are struggling to afford groceries. We are there to support Canadians through targeted social programs and income supplements, such as the Canada child benefit and the grocery rebate. We are also providing subsidies and support to food banks and charitable organizations. We will continue to fight against food insecurity.
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to invest in social security programs like the old age security and Canada pension plan, and in families through the Canada child benefit and the $10-a-day child care program. These are programs which the Conservatives continue to vote against. They totally lack empathy or understanding of the struggle of Canadians. On this side of the House, we will continue to gover…
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Mr. Speaker, at the heart of everything we do as a government is putting families first. For the woman who was just referenced who is experiencing a difficult time, we are there. We continue to develop programs through the Canada child benefit program and through early learning and child programs. We continue to ensure that we provide the support that is needed so that families across this country…
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Mr. Speaker, I have heard directly from Canadian families who are struggling to buy groceries, and on this side of the House, our government continues to make investments to support families through difficult times, investments in affordable housing, and investments in early learning and child care and the Canada child benefit. The Leader of the Opposition continues to oppose these supports. His c…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, we continue to look at policies and programs like the Canada child benefit, like early learning and child care, opportunities to support Canadian families when they need it. At every turn, the Leader of the Opposition continues to oppose the hard work that we are doing. His common sense is just nonsense. We will continue to do the hard work to ensure that we are…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. We know that many Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table. We are working with provinces, territories, municipalities and key stakeholders to develop a national school food policy. We are doing the hard work now, together with our partners, understanding the importance of moving forward together. We will continue this progress.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from my colleague. We know that, right now, many Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table. That is exactly why we continue to do the hard work on this side of the House to support Canadian families and organizations doing that work. Whether that is from the community services recovery fund or whether that is the work that we are doing to dev…
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite mentioned families. Everything we do, at the heart of our actions on this side of the House, is focused on ensuring we are there for families. I look to building a national early learning and child care system as just one way we are looking to support families. Introducing affordable, high-quality and accessible child care across this country saves families hundred…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that, right now, many Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table. We are working with provinces, territories, municipalities, indigenous partners and others to develop a national school food policy and support the creation of a national school food program. We are planning this policy to reflect regional and local needs, because we know that existing meal progr…
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Mr. Speaker, through the community services recovery fund, nearly 5,500 organizations nationwide have been funded. In the member's riding of St. John's East, that means groups like the Association For New Canadians are now better able to support newcomers. The Food Producers Forum, Bell Island Community Food Bank and the Newfoundland and Labrador Food Umbrella can continue feeding their community.…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, on this side of the House we recognize that many Canadian families are facing challenges. Just last week, I had the opportunity to visit Eden Food for Change in the riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills, and that organization helps to feed individuals each and every day. Through the community services recovery fund, we have put $400 million into community organizations to help …
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Mr. Speaker, we know that right now many Canadian families are struggling with increased costs. Last night I was speaking with Fay, who shared with me that he came to Canada with his family five years ago from Syria. He shared the impact that the Canada child benefit had on his family. It enabled them to ensure that they could buy food and the things that their children needed. This is one story o…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that kids learn better on a full stomach, and this remains our goal. The work under way on a national school food policy is critical to achieving that. We continue to work with our partners, the provinces, territories, indigenous partners, stakeholders and children to inform the path forward on this. As mentioned, I look forward to the release of the “as we heard it” report, t…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadian families are struggling to afford groceries, and we will continue to support families with programs such as the Canada child benefit. We have also made funding available to food banks and charities across this country, including through the $400 million invested in the community services recovery program. We will continue to address food insecurity across the cou…
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moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in.
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moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to press pause on the rhetoric here and focus on what is important, and that is Canadian families. On this side of the House, we worry about Canadian families and are here for Canadian families, helping them balance their budgets, particularly in tough economic times. How do we do this? We have reached 3.5 million Canadian families and over six million children with the C…
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Mr. Speaker, I have great news. Today, 3.5 million Canadians and over six million children will receive the Canada child benefit. I know that raising children is expensive, especially now, when the cost of necessities is high. Since 2016, this benefit has lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. This is just one more way that the government is supporting Canadian families.
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Mr. Speaker, it terrifies me to think of the reckless cuts that the Conservatives would make on the backs of Canadians. We have supported families with our national $10-a-day early learning and child care program, saving families hundreds of dollars, as well as the Canada child benefit. The best part is this: empowering parents by empowering mums and dads to get back into the workforce, giving the…
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Mr. Speaker, the people who take care of our children day in, day out deserve to be well respected and well compensated. Building out a national early learning and child care system takes time, it takes effort and it takes hard work with our partners. We need to attract and retain our ECEs across the country. To do that, we need them to have better working conditions and competitive pay. We have b…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we continue to do the hard work to ensure that Canadian families are supported. Just look to our investment to create a nationwide system of early learning and child care, or look to our Canada child benefit. On this side of the House, we are making investments to make sure that families can buy the food and get the school supplies and sneakers their kids ne…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right. Many families are struggling right now, and we know how important child care is to families. That is exactly why we are building a nationwide system. In Newmarket—Aurora and across Ontario, families are feeling the 50% reduction in costs already, saving literally hundreds of dollars each month. “What is next?” my colleague asks. We have already created or announ…
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Mr. Speaker, if we want to talk about affordability, just this week, up to $619 has arrived in Canadian families' bank accounts. That is $619 to help with groceries, school supplies and new sneakers. The Canada child benefit has helped lift literally hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. We will continue to do all we can to support Canadian families.
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Mr. Speaker, as it is my first opportunity to rise as the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, I would like to thank the residents of Kanata—Carleton for putting me in the House and the Prime Minister for his confidence. We are building a nationwide system of child care that is affordable, inclusive and high quality. This is literally putting hundreds of dollars back into the poc…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and celebrate the hundreds of high school students graduating in my riding of Kanata—Carleton. To the students of AY Jackson, Earl of March, Holy Trinity, Maurice-Lapointe and West Carleton, I say congratulations. I hope they look back on their high school years as wonderful memories, with amazing teachers and fabulous friendships that will last a lifetime.…
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak today to Bill C-311. I trust all hon. colleagues in the House condemn acts of violence. The member for Yorkton—Melville wants to amend the Criminal Code. She wants to mandate that knowingly assaulting a pregnant person or causing physical or emotional harm to a pregnant person would be considered an aggravating factor in sentencing. This is a…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has a world-class medical isotope ecosystem. From production to processing to delivery, we house almost the complete isotope supply chain. One of Canada’s largest medical isotope clusters is in my riding of Kanata—Carleton. Companies like Nordion, Best Theratronics and BWXT Medical are leading the market in developing, manufacturing and supplying isotopes. These companies contr…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party opposite is far too comfortable using divisive, sexist rhetoric to gain cheap political points at the expense of women. It is crass. It is gross. It is reckless. Let us not forget that the leader of the Conservative Party used misogynistic hashtags to drive alt-right traffic to his YouTube page. He could not care less that many women in this country feel unsafe …
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Madam Speaker, this week I visited CANSEC, Canada's largest defence and security trade show, and what a show it was. From wearable exoskeletons to a new generation of light armoured vehicles to the technology that will take the first Canadian to the moon, what a show it was. I was blown away. As I toured the floor of the show, innovations in the air, land, sea and even space were on full display. …
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Mr. Speaker, the amount of $539.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, is to enable provinces and territories to supplement and enhance services and supports within their jurisdictions to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors. With regard to parts (i) and (ii), budget 2022 funding is being provided directly to provinces and territories through negotiated bilateral funding ag…
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Mr. Speaker, this spring, volunteers from across my riding are setting out to plant 10,000 trees at Pinhey’s Point, thanks to investments made by our government and the City of Ottawa. These trees will transform over four hectares of land into an amazing forest, providing residents with new trails and trees to explore and appreciate. As we know, these new trees will help combat climate change by r…
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Mr. Speaker, when the pandemic impacted our semiconductor supply chain, one thing became very clear, which is that Canada needs to nearshore this critical economic sector. I am proud that our government is working to do exactly that by building a semiconductor corridor across North America. Canada is in a unique position. We have the resources, the critical minerals and the talent to get the job d…
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