Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, now I am being heckled and called a socialist for trying to help people with the cost of living. I am wondering if my colleague is ready to get back to work or if he is going to keep playing partisan games on the backs of Canadians.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, this Conservative filibuster is trying to figure out who is more scandalous, the Liberals or the Conservatives, and I would argue both. I also want some answers. My hon. colleague was a former RCMP member. The RCMP reported that it obtained evidence that demonstrates four very serious issues in regard to India. I am going to read them verbatim: 1. Violent extremism impacting both coun…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it has been three weeks of Conservatives filibustering their own motion and debating with Liberals about who is more scandalous. When we have serious things happening right now, including foreign interference, the leader of the Conservative Party refuses to get a security clearance, but he continues to point fingers. I am a Manitoban, and I know Manitobans are really struggling right …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition that was sponsored by a young woman, Emily Morasty, about service dogs in Manitoba. We know service dogs that support people living with many neurodiverse conditions are becoming more common. These dogs are highly trained animals doing very specific jobs to assist their handlers with daily living. They assist their handlers in becomi…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, certainly I do not think anybody disagrees that the Liberals need to produce the documents. What I find bizarre though is that the Conservatives have stopped any sort of movement in the House by filibustering their own motion. What are they filibustering? There is the bill that the survivors circle is trying to put on record to ban forced sterilization of indigenous women. The only …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the member is clearly passionate about what he was talking about and certainly spent a great deal of time on it in his speech, which, I will honour, was well-written. However, sitting in the House listening to Liberals and Conservatives fight about who is more scandalous is a colossal waste of time and has included the Conservatives filibustering the House and blocking their own mot…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there are nothing but excuses from the Liberals, including with respect to abortion. The Liberals are failing to stand up to Conservative premiers because they will not enforce the Canada Health Act, including Alberta's premier, who is leasing hospitals to Covenant Health, which prohibits emergency contraceptives and abortion services. The Women's Health Coalition says that this jeopa…
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Madam Speaker, it is very clear that the meaning in Hansard was changed. I have spoken to many people in the legal community. They have pointed to the fact that it is troubling if members of Parliament can change legal records when it does not suit their political interests. This is a—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, the member for Winnipeg North was speaking to me directly, screaming at me across the aisle. Perhaps he was put off by my question about his government violating human rights, but I would ask—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I want to start by commending my colleague from Port Moody—Coquitlam for putting forward the debate. It is a debate that is long overdue. I spent the morning listening to the debate, particularly the Liberals' blaming poverty on one's disability instead of on the Liberals' failed systems and their failure to provide adequate programs to ensure that we can end legislated poverty in t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I did not call the member ableist. I said that was an “ableist speech”, and I will not retract that comment, because it was a very ableist speech.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I was not surprised by the Liberals' response. They voted against pensions yesterday. They are patting themselves on the back. They voted against my bill for a guaranteed livable basic income in addition to other supports meant for specific and special needs, which would have lifted people with disabilities out of poverty. At every turn they have continued to be front and centre in vi…
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Mr. Speaker, that was probably one of the most ableist speeches I have ever heard: patting people on the back and telling the disability community to keep advocating. The government has an obligation to uphold the human rights of all persons, including those with disabilities, who have indicated very clearly that $200 a month is inadequate. It is hidden behind the disability tax credit and is at r…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, we are talking about the Canada disability benefit, not every program under the sun. I would also like to remind members to talk through the Speaker and not directly at members. This is unacceptable to me. We are here talking about the Canada disability benefit.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, since Orange Shirt Day, there have been countless examples of residential school denialism, including from Conservative candidates in both New Brunswick and B.C. We know that the leader of the Conservative Party supports this kind of rhetoric, having fundraised with residential school denying think tanks. Survivors have a right to be protected from hate speech. Will the government sup…
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Mr. Speaker, indigenous people have a right to culturally informed community health care when they need it. Due to failed health care policies under the Liberal and Conservative governments, nearly 10 years since the release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, health care gaps for indigenous people have widened. Why will the Prime Minister not listen to indigenous exper…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the motion is great, although it is very late for the Bloc to be pushing for programs to assist seniors, at the eleventh hour, pretty much before a potential election, when it voted against so many programs to assist seniors. My bill for a guaranteed livable basic income was voted against by the Bloc. It voted against dental care, even though the highest number of people using it live…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, with the rise of residential school denialism, survivors, their families and communities need protection, especially when members of Parliament, including the leader of the Conservative Party, fundraise with residential school denialist think tanks such as Frontier Centre. Willfully promoting hatred against indigenous people through residential school denialism has no place in Canada,…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day. This is a day to reflect on the genocide that was committed through the residential school system and the ongoing impacts it has on survivors, family members and communities. For more than 150 years, over 150,000 children were kidnapped from their families and communities and placed in residential scho…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-413, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (promotion of hatred against indigenous peoples). Mr. Speaker, today I rise to table an act to amend the Criminal Code regarding the promotion of hatred against indigenous peoples. If passed, this bill will add to the Criminal Code the offence of wilfully promoting hatred against indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, ju…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, with all due respect, I have real issues with this. On two occasions, once before the House rose, you let a Conservative member liken somebody's racial background for criminally—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member's record is clear. When he was in government, the Conservatives hid the abuses at residential schools, refused to have a national inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women and girls and voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Why? It was because they did not support free, prior and informed consent. Why should indigenous …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today, members of Parliament will vote on Bill C-223 for a guaranteed livable basic income in Canada. While the affordability crisis is hurting all people, those who depend on a deteriorating social safety net are hit the hardest. That includes women and gender-diverse people fleeing violence, who may be stuck in abuse because they lack the financial resources to leave. The reason for…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The corporate sellout leader of the Conservative Party used unparliamentary language, and if this language is not acceptable from me, it should not be acceptable from him.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to build on the leader of the Conservative Party's constant attack against freedom of the press in this fake freedom crusade of the Conservatives. They have spent most of their time protecting freedom of speech for people who have been accused of hate speech. I will give an example: Jordan Peterson had his licence as an Ontario psychologist taken away by the governing body beca…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, under the Liberals, Feed Ontario has reported an eight-year high in food bank usage. The report suggests cited the lack of a social safety net as a cause for this crisis. I know the sore-losing leader of the Conservative Party is only concerned with protecting his rich friends and that people will get poorer under his watch, so my question is for the Liberals. Will they listen to aw…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to start out by thanking many people, specifically, Basic Income Canada, Manitoba, UBI Works and, of course, the Hon. Senator Kim Pate, whom I partnered with on the bill; she presented it on the Senate side. It is time for a guaranteed livable basic income to bring together people across Canada who are falling through the cracks. I want to urge my colleagues to take thi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals, housing prices in Winnipeg are out of control. The average rent for a one-bedroom suite in Winnipeg has increased over 22% since last year, the largest jump in the country. Corporate landlords are buying up affordable housing and jacking up rents because they know they have the support of both the Liberals and the Conservatives. I can tell them one thing: They are …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it has been clear since day one, since June 2023, that the Conservatives do not want to rectify the unconstitutional second-generation cut-off rule for lost Canadians and their families. They voted against provisions that would have rectified the unconstitutional amendments. They filibustered the bill for 30 hours at committee, and they stalled reading debate for the bill eight time…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, my answer to that is certainly no, but if we look at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, there are not just calls to government; there are also calls to police. There was a study at the status of women committee, and I asked a chief of police if he could name the calls for justice related to policing and he could not. The onus is on everybody. Th…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I certainly cannot answer what justice will look like for the families and how they will get the justice and closure they need. What I can say is that we have had several major reports, including the aboriginal justice inquiry, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the final report of the TRC. I do not think we lack responses. We have the respon…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my wonderful colleague across the way, whom I worked with so closely on putting forward and realizing a red dress alert. In fact, we just tabled the study in the House today, which was just so exciting. We hear a lot of rhetoric from the Conservative Party about tough-on-crime approaches. I know that tough-on-crime approaches do not work. I will be sharing an e…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking my good colleague, the member for Nunavut, for requesting this emergency debate. I also want to give a shout-out to my good friend and colleague Kim Pate, on the Senate side, who has done tremendous work in this area as well. This is a topic, as we know, that is often neglected by politicians, and quite frankly the media normalizes systemic violence a…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of levels to that. One is that it is so normalized, it does not even get covered. The fact is that six indigenous people, within a span of a couple of weeks, lost their lives at the hands of our so-called justice system and it barely made the news. What is making it worse is the extremist, misinformation, alt-right media outlets that perpetuate racism against indige…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the National Research Council (NRC) buildings located at 435 and 445 Ellice Avenue, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that were declared surplus in 2012: (a) at what point in time was it determined that the property, including both (i) the laboratory building, (ii) the office tower, would be maintained under federal government ownership; (b) whereas the removal of the laboratory building from …
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With regard to loans disbursed through the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, from 2015 to present, broken down by debtors’ racial or ethnic background, gender, and immigration or citizenship status: (a) what is the average total outstanding loan balance; (b) what is the average outstanding loan balance of debtors who completed a graduate degree; (c) what is the average outstanding loan …
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With regard to the residence located in Winnipeg previously known as Lions Place: (a) did the City of Winnipeg or the Government of Manitoba contact the federal government to request assistance in maintaining non-profit ownership of Lions Place; (b) what measures did the federal government undertake to assist, prevent or otherwise shape the sale of Lions Place to its purchaser, Mainstreet Equity; …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to federal funding in the constituency of Winnipeg Centre, between November of 2019 and May of 2024: (a) what applications for funding have been received, including, for each, (i) the name of the organization, (ii) the department, (iii) the program and sub-program under which they applied for funding, (iv) the date of the application, (v) the amount applied for, (vi) whether funding ha…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I would like to start out by welcoming back my colleague who has returned from mat leave. She is a fellow Winnipegger, and I thank her for some really thoughtful remarks. One of the things that really struck me was her focus on indigenous-led solutions. We need to listen to the indigenous community. I agree with her. If we are going to talk about reconciliation, then we need to actu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' failure to fund services through Jordan's principle is endangering first nations youth. In fact, in Winnipeg, Spirit Horse Therapy is owed almost $400,000, and the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society says that the government's neglect is putting kids at risk. When will the Liberals respect their legal obligations to Jordan's principle and ensure the health and sa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, one of the things I am really concerned about is foreign interference. We heard about it in the news. The leader of the Conservative Party refuses to get the security clearance he needs to participate. I think this is happening at a time when there are many things people are questioning around the safety of our elections. How does the member across the way feel about the Conservativ…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my point of order is about parliamentary behaviour. We cannot use such words as “shit” or “fuck” in this place, but we can say such things as “because of [somebody's] racial background”. We can perpetrate racism in the House, and it is treated less seriously than swearing is. It is deeply troubling for me that we do not find it terribly troubling when one's racial background is blamed…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, you pointing out my language in the House speaks exactly to my point. You commented just now, with all due respect, that my language was unparliamentary, but saying in this House that “he was more likely to reoffend because of his racial background”, which is highly racist, was totally disregarded. In fact, it was not just totally disregarded. The total meaning of that sentence was al…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, since I was elected, I have noticed the Conservatives punching down, on seniors for example. They are talking about cutting CPP. In fact, I was a long-time schoolteacher, and one issue under the Harper government was that kids were going to school hungry, so I, as a teacher, paid out of my own pocket for food. What do the Conservatives do? They vote against the school food meal prog…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, one issue often found when there are miscarriages of justice has to do with the process of plea bargaining with folks who cannot afford proper legal help. Something we know about the justice system is that it is riddled with systemic violence, and it is targeted more prominently against specific groups. I would say these are indigenous groups, where there is an overrepresentation of…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Jordan's principle is supposed to uphold equity and health services for indigenous children and youth, yet multiple organizations in Winnipeg Centre are going without funding. Biigewin is owed almost $600,000, and Spirit Horse is owed almost $400,000. Staff are going without pay. The minister would not work without pay, so why should indigenous organizations? When will the Liberals …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member across the way for his intervention, as I have given. This is a very significant, serious matter in the House. The member for Saskatoon West has made similar comments in the past. However, I will not go into those comments. It is important we have trust in the blues and have trust in Hansard, and that members cannot just alter the record to avoid acc…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Vancouver East, who is a tremendous advocate. I would have to say that I agree with her that this is a totally irrelevant motion because the information has already been tabled. I find that it is another opportunity for Conservatives to axe the facts, including the fact that we are in a climate emergency. Their party is still arguing about whethe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, once again, we have an “axe the facts” day. I want to know some facts. I want to know why the leader of the Conservative Party is avoiding getting security clearance at a time of foreign interference. I want the facts on that, instead of another day where the Conservatives spin and axe those facts.
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