Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I know there was some discussion about rights, and I heard my Liberal colleague across the way questioning the Conservatives on why they are staying silent while Doug Ford takes away the rights of workers. I found it peculiar that my Liberal colleague asked that considering the government forced postal workers back to work. The member for Carleton has stayed silent, and I am wondering…
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Mr. Speaker, it is tragic that the Liberal government has not responded. Although the Conservatives have moved this motion today, it was the former Conservative government that was responsible for cutting supports to veterans. Now we have a crisis where people who sacrificed of themselves are living on the streets. I know the NDP has offered solutions. I wonder if my hon. colleague could discuss s…
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Mr. Speaker, I was really shocked to hear my colleague criticize harm reduction approaches for people who are struggling with addictions or who use drugs recreationally. I had five people in my riding die from the toxic drug supply last weekend. It goes against what public health experts are saying about the importance of putting in harm reduction to tackle addictions or to ensure people do not ov…
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Madam Speaker, it seems that the Conservatives want us to choose between mental health and people ending up in the hospital because of serious dental care issues. Instead of pitting people together, I want to ask my hon. colleague this. Does he agree with me that instead of placing the onus on people, we need to divest from fossil fuel companies, make corporations pay what they owe and use that mo…
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Mr. Speaker, I know children in Quebec have dental care, and this is great. The NDP is pushing for a plan so that all people across Canada can have dental care. I know many people in Quebec who do not have dental care plans would benefit from it and support this plan. Does the member not agree with me that he needs to support Quebec adults who do not have dental care?
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Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about how hard it is for people. I represent Winnipeg Centre, which competes to be the second- or third-poorest urban riding in the country at any given moment. Here is the thing: Why should it be on the backs of people and families to have to pick and choose what should be available for them between proper mental health care, dental care and affordable housing with ren…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, in the last session I put forward a unanimous consent motion recognizing that what happened in residential schools was an act of genocide. I was shocked when members of the House chose not to support my motion, confirming that residential school denial is still a reality. We need to do better. We need to find a way forward that honours the truth about what happened in this country, es…
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Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations with the other parties and, if you seek it, I believe that you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government must recognize what happened in Canada's Indian residential schools as genocide, as acknowledged by Pope Francis and in accordance with article II of the United Nations Convention on the Pre…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my solidarity with the movement led by young women for human rights in Iran. At great risk to their own safety, people are taking to the streets demanding justice and freedom following the horrific murder of Mahsa Amini. Their courage in the face of horrid state repression is inspiring. Protesters are being tear-gassed, beaten and shot for asserting their rights. This …
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Mr. Speaker, in July, Sunshine House received Health Canada funding to run a mobile overdose prevention site providing peer-led support to people who use drugs, but it has hit a bureaucratic wall. The people at Sunshine House have been told they need an exemption to run the site. Winnipeg Centre has an overdose crisis. Last week, five people died due to a toxic drug supply. People need help and th…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague brought up two words, “freedom” and “privilege”. Cassidy Caron, president of the Métis National Council, is calling on the Crown to apologize for its participation in residential schools. Paul Andrew, a residential school survivor, said the Queen was also a treaty member and had an obligation to live up to agreements that the Crown has never lived up to, such as th…
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Madam Speaker, people need help now. One of the things she said that was really concerning was about buildings. I agree with her that we need to retrofit buildings to help mitigate the climate crisis, but we also need to help people now. She gave the date of 2050, but people need help right now. I am wondering if the parliamentary secretary will support the NDP, which is the only party willing to …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague for his tremendous work, particularly around greedflation, which is something the Conservatives are not willing to call out. It is really going on the theme of being disingenuous. Although they are talking about helping people across Canada, every time the NDP puts forward something to help Canadians, such as dental care and doubling the GST cred…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Winnipeg North and I share a border. We represent ridings with some of the most severe human rights issues in the country, including his riding, which has the highest number of kids are in care in the whole country. Many families are living in poverty. Although I know he has given a lot of good news announcements, one thing the Liberal government has failed to do…
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Madam Speaker, I have certainly enjoyed working with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee to get good things done for women and gender-diverse individuals across Canada. However, we differ on where the problem is. We know that big oil and gas is making record profits and we know that is where the problem is. The Conservative government consistently failed to make big corporations and…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague because the Liberal government is finally getting on board with the NDP and beginning to put in place a dental care plan. I know he spoke a lot about people struggling across the country, and I would agree with him. Winnipeg Centre, the riding I represent, competes to be the second- or third-poorest riding at any given moment. One of the thing…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. I want to remind all members of the House that poverty is a political choice. It is the choice of governments not to fund and support people. It is a choice not to ask corporations and the ultrarich to pay their fair share. It is a choice not to prioritize the crisis of poverty that is putting people on the streets, fuelli…
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Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, Ontario is allowing for-profit child care to gouge parents. After signing an agreement with the federal government, Ontario removed profit caps and reduced the oversight for for-profit child care centres. This means higher fees for parents and lower wages for staff to maximize profits. This morning, the Prime Minister stood with Premie…
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Mr. Speaker, it has been years since the national inquiry, and progress on ending violence against indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people has been painfully slow. Yesterday, advocates and families of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls raised serious concerns about how police have handled their cases. This includes inadequate communication. In fact, 11 of the 231 calls for ju…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are clawing back the Canada child benefit for parents who needed pandemic support, but do members know what they are not clawing back? It is the wage subsidy from corporations that gave out executive bonuses or shareholder dividends, like Air Canada, which got $554 million and gave out $10 million in bonuses, or Imperial Oil, which got $120 million and paid out $324 milli…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is critical with what is going on that we continue to call out Russia's war crimes and crimes against humanity. We need to continue to support refugees and visa-free travel for people from Ukraine. Lives are on the line. Watching the news and with the growing concern of escalating nuclear threats, the need for global nuclear disarmament is more important than ever. I would ask the …
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Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present two petitions. The first petition is e-3932, which calls on the government to address period poverty and to address the barriers vulnerable people in Canada have in accessing menstrual necessities and products. This petition calls for funding to be provided to provinces to administer free access to menstrual necessities and to ensure the provin…
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Madam Speaker, the second petition is on a guaranteed livable income. This petition, e-3987, calls for the federal government to begin negotiations with the Government of P.E.I. to develop and implement a guaranteed livable income in P.E.I. and ensure that all federal transfers that support current provincially funded services and programs remain in place during these negotiations. I am proud to t…
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. When I was trying to ask a question, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan started heckling me. I know it is difficult for him to control his toxic masculinity, but I think people across Canada expect a lot better.
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Mr. Speaker, on International Safe Abortion Day, the Prime Minister said that he was committed to upholding “a woman's fundamental right to choose”, but here is the thing. The Liberals have yet to end charitable status for crisis pregnancy centres that help spread misinformation on abortion care. They promised to do it. It is in the Minister of Finance's mandate letter, but they still have not don…
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Madam Speaker, I offer my condolences, as well, for the loss of my colleague's mother over the summer. I would like to start by saying that I was really shocked when I heard the new leader of the Conservative Party talking about men taping up their boots. I was shocked because he failed to mention women, who also work, but then again, we know the record this current Conservative leader has on upho…
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Madam Speaker, although the Conservatives are having trouble even accepting the fact that we are in a climate emergency, the Liberal government has not done much better. Instead of investing in a green future, it is spending that money and investing it in fossil fuel subsidies, to which the NDP has called for an end. We know that oil companies right now are gouging Canadians. They are taking advan…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party members are talking a lot about how families are struggling, often including the current new leader of the Conservative Party's mentioning cryptocurrencies as a way out of inflation, and they often mention single moms needing help. I actually was a single mom. When I was a single mom, I needed dental care and universal child care, and I needed parties like the…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the Liberal government has followed the NDP's lead with the GST tax credit, along with the Conservatives. I know my colleague kept going on about the Canada child benefit; however, here is the thing. His government is currently clawing back Canada child benefits from single mothers. Meanwhile, guess who they are not clawing money back from. Let us look at Galen Weston. Lob…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, inflation is the problem, and we can guess who is paying for it. It is everyday people, but there are solutions. For example, we have big corporations and CEOs who made record profits during the pandemic. They are not paying for it; that is a choice. Do members know who is paying for it? It is single parents getting clawbacks to their Canada child benefit. That is who is paying f…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that this bill is lacking. The Liberals have had seven years to put it in place, but there are no details and there always seems to be quick solutions. I will give a couple of examples. Pipelines received $2.2 billion in fossil fuel subsidies, something the Conservatives supported. The Conservatives were in power forever and had years to do something. …
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With regard to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan, broken down by province and territory since their respective agreements were announced: (a) how many new childcare spaces have been created; (b) how many early childhood educators jobs have been created; (c) how much of the federal investment has been delivered; and (d) to date, what is the average savings per child (i) with 50% av…
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With regard to the government’s research and analysis on policies and programs that could positively impact Canada’s economy and society, since fiscal year 2014-15: (a) what reports, studies or analyses have been done on implementing a guaranteed liveable income; (b) what were the conclusions of each report listed in (a); and (c) which jurisdictions were included in the government’s review of exis…
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With regard to supporting safe communities during resource extraction projects: (a) what funding has been dedicated towards establishing equitable benefits and community-led initiatives to ensure the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people at all stages of major resource projects; (b) what activities have been co-developed to mitigate impacts of temporary work camps a…
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With regard to Family Information Liaison Units (FILUs), since the fiscal year 2014-15, broken down by province or territory and fiscal year: (a) how much funding has the government provided to support FILUs as part of the Federal Victims Strategy; and (b) how many families have accessed services provided by FILUs?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, people are struggling with the rising cost of living. Things are getting harder. Instead of helping, the Liberals are clawing back the Canada child benefit. Who will be hit the hardest? It is single mothers struggling to make ends meet. This is cruel. Families need more support to pay rent and feed their children, not less. Will the Liberals reverse these clawbacks and ensure that fam…
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Madam Speaker, I welcome any support that lifts persons with disability out of poverty. However, the Liberals have had seven years to put it in place. There are no protections in this bill to ensure that it would lift anybody out of poverty. I put forward a bill in support of a guaranteed livable basic income, Bill C-223, supported by disability groups and organizations through the country, which …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his acknowledgement of my private member's bill, Bill C-223, to put in place a guaranteed livable basic income. I share many of his concerns, certainly, like the very clear lack of detail in the bill, the fact that there are no protections in the bill that would actually lift anyone out of poverty and the fact that the minister has stated it would take …
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Madam Speaker, I agree that poverty for those with disabilities is a crisis in this country, and the Liberals have had seven years to address this crisis. This is my second time being elected, and this crisis still has not been addressed, and then I read that it is going to take three years for anybody to even receive this benefit. This is deeply concerning, because we know, according to Disabilit…
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Madam Speaker, we have discussed this a lot in the House, and one of the things I have often heard is that people who are working online are not working. I have heard this from the Conservatives, yet as I work online today, I see a number of Conservatives online. I am wondering if they are calling out their own members for the same. We have worked hard during the pandemic. Particularly for women, …
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Madam Speaker, we know that in most violence in intimate partner relationships, in terms of murders, there is the use of handguns. I am wondering what the Conservative Party would do, if anything, to put in stricter laws for handguns to make sure that women, in particular, are safer.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' failure to fund a single new shelter or transitional home since announcing their violence prevention strategy in 2020 is putting indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people at risk. This inaction is costing lives. We need oversight. Call for justice 1.7 of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls calls for an independent ombudsperso…
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Madam Speaker, I just want to say that this is getting disturbing. I hear the Conservatives time and again spending all the time of the House trying to tear this place down, instead of fighting for people in their ridings. People are struggling right now. I say that with great frustration, because just in May there were three women murdered in Winnipeg—
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Madam Speaker, I will repeat that it is disturbing to listen to the Conservative Party taking people down instead of fighting for people in their ridings in question period after question period, and stalling things at committees. It is concerning to me because, in my riding of Winnipeg Centre, there were three women murdered in the month of May. One other woman was hit and left to perish. These a…
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Madam Speaker, the member spoke about people needing to take responsibility when referring to gang violence, about people helping themselves and about people caring. I want to point to something very specific, indigenous women. Thousands have gone missing and been murdered. They are 12 times more likely to experience violence. We know all the stats. They are 4.5 times more likely to go missing or …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, today I am honoured to acknowledge a special anniversary of an extraordinary organization in Winnipeg Centre. The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, known as IRCOM, is celebrating 30 years this month. This organization uses a one-of-a-kind model that provides safe, affordable transitional housing, along with wraparound supports, to 111 newcomer families in Win…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for mentioning the systemic racism that continues to be perpetrated against indigenous women. I am certainly glad to see some amendments to mandatory minimums in Bill C-5, but I want to point specifically to R. v. Ipeelee, a Supreme Court of Canada decision which reaffirmed the court's previous findings in the Gladue case. It states: courts must take judicial no…
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Mr. Speaker, indigenous women, girls and diverse gendered individuals continue to experience high rates of violence, go missing and are murdered, yet out of the $724.1 million allocated for the violence prevention strategy announced in 2020, guess how much the Liberals have spent? Zero. I have something they can spend it on: an adequate 24-7 low-barrier safe space in Winnipeg for women, girls and …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for bringing up the genocide of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. I want to point to the national inquiry in which specific calls for justice called, in fact, for the end of mandatory minimum sentences because of the over-incarceration of indigenous women. This includes the 98% of women in prisons in Saskatchewan who are indigenous. …
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Mr. Speaker, as the cost of living skyrockets, the Liberal government is abandoning families who are increasingly relying on food banks to feed their kids. Worse, while families are struggling, the PBO found that the Liberals cut the Canada child benefit. Families' budgets are already stretched and the Liberals are making it even harder for them by cutting the amount they currently receive. This i…
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