Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I met with the Canadian Gaming Association or the advertisers in question here late last year. Their position is that the provinces already have enough regulation and that there are enough controls already to protect Canadians. What is her response to this position from the industry?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am truly honoured to have the opportunity to speak in favour of Bill S-211 today, an act respecting a national framework on sports betting, for many of the reasons we have heard already this evening. I am not someone who spends a lot of time watching professional sports, I will admit, but they are often on my TV when I am home with my family, and even I have noticed that sports bett…
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I will start by thanking the dozens of people who came to Ottawa today to support this legislation, because these reforms are urgently needed. We have organizations like the National Association of Women and the Law, Women's Shelters Canada and YWCA Canada. There are 300 women's organizations across this country that support this legislation, because they hear from victims almost ever…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not think that the government waited. I believe that the government was already working on it in the previous Parliament. However, there is an opposition that does not want us to pass legislation in this country. That is why, to date, we have not been able to get this bill passed.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to explain. It has not been happening all over. It has been happening at the Supreme Court when a case comes to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court decides that we cannot have a mandatory minimum sentence if it is too broad, if it encompasses a situation where Canadians would find it abhorrent for the mandatory minimum sentence to be applied. It is a very high bar. A ca…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I was not involved in the drafting of this bill, but I am certain it was evidence-based. We do know that Canadians want mandatory minimums when they are appropriate and that they can deter crimes. I have sat in criminal courts too long not to understand the member's skepticism and to feel it a bit. It is hard to imagine that a criminal would be deterred from committing a horrific crim…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent speech. I also want to thank her for saying a few words about feminist organizations. I have also heard that police associations support this bill. I would like to know whether my colleague has heard the same thing.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I do not really understand where my colleague's opposition to this bill is coming from. Bill C-16 restores mandatory minimum penalties, which is something he is advocating for. We know that every time the government has tried to impose a mandatory minimum sentence in Canada it gets thrown out by the Supreme Court because, in some cases, it can violate a person's rig…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-16, the protecting victims act, and the government's ongoing efforts to protect children and ensure that child sex exploitation is unequivocally denounced, deterred and prevented. Colleagues may know that I also have a private member's bill coming up for second reading in a couple of days, the keeping children safe act. I fee…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I really appreciated the optimism and hope that the member brought with her words, and I compare this to the Conservatives, who, to this day, say Canada is broken. Perhaps she can reflect on these divergent points of view.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, as a kid at Christmas, all I wanted to unwrap was the latest Little House on the Prairie or Nancy Drew book, and as I hit my teens, it was all about Margaret Atwood. Her books informed my feminism, inspired my sense of humour and instilled in me a lifelong love of dystopian fantasy fiction. Earlier this week, at the start of 16 Days of activism against gender-based violence, I saw h…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I would like to reflect on last week's ceremonies of remembrance. November 11 is always special at the Royal Canadian Legion on Hamilton Mountain, in part because of the valiant leadership of Jean Tomlinson, but particularly because of the Reverend Chisholm. Rev. Dr. Francis Chisholm, a World War II vet, padre since 1964, is still captivating at 99 years old; the junior Rev. Chisholm,…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my friend's speech was very eloquent. I know that he has a background in law, and I think a lot of parts of his speech were particularly poignant. He mentioned the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and I know that some of the things the Conservatives accused the Liberals of doing were actually overturned by the Supreme Court because they were found to be unconstitutional because they le…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite was a journalist in his former life, as I was in my former life. In that role, we get to know a lot of victims of crime. I appreciate the heart the member brought to this legislation and the intent behind it. I, too, know some of the victims he has spoken of today. I wonder if the member has any concerns that this bill, as it is written, may violate the Char…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Bill C-3 sets out a balanced, straightforward framework for citizenship. Canadian parents born abroad would be able to pass on their citizenship if they can prove a substantial connection to Canada before the birth or adoption of their child. This is fair. Would the parliamentary secretary for immigration please share with the House what would be at stake if we were not to act today…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
moved that Bill C-223, An Act to amend the Divorce Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, I feel enormously honoured to stand here today with significant amendments to the Divorce Act in a bill entitled the “keeping children safe act”. This bill would give children a voice in divorce proceedings and stop the increasing and egregious practice of disregarding children…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I do not think it should be about equal rights for parents. It should be about the best interest of the child. That is the whole point of the bill. Judges should be able to look at all the evidence, and children should be appointed a lawyer. We heard in committee that they were not allowed lawyers when they were attending court; they were not allowed their voice. We were told that the…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, after it passes second reading in the House, the bill will be sent to committee and we will examine it in detail. I think that is very important. I know that the member opposite was present during the study and that she feels compassion for the victims who came forward. That is very important. I am not an expert, so I am not saying that this bill is perfect as is. However, I think the…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her work and support on this, and for all the work she has done for children in Canada over the years. This is all about protecting children. We heard from several children who went through the so-called reunification therapies. Some of them were sent across the border to the United States and given therapy inside a woman's apartment. They were told that th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, hate-motivated crimes are not like other crimes. They aim to divide people, spread fear and destroy the social fabric that unites our communities. Too often, these unacceptable acts go undetected or under-reported. Could the Minister of Justice explain how creating a specific offence for hate crimes would make it easier to identify, condemn and punish these attacks?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know whether my colleague thinks this bill should be sent to committee as soon as possible so we can really study the amendments she talked about at length. Does she think that should happen as soon as possible?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Canadians elected the government with a clear mandate to build a stronger and more prosperous Canada, and one powerful way to do that is to expand our access to international markets. Yesterday, Canada signed a historic agreement with Indonesia, the largest economy in southeast Asia. Would the Minister of International Trade please share with the House what this historic agreement m…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following three reports of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: the first report, entitled “Tech Giants' Intimidation and Subversion Tactics to Evade Regulation in Canada and Globally”; the second report, entitled “Harms Caused by Illegal Sexually Explicit Material Online”; and the third report, entitled “The Hold…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-223, An Act to amend the Divorce Act. Mr. Speaker, it is a true honour for me to table today an act entitled the keeping children safe act, which is a groundbreaking amendment to the Divorce Act. I want to thank the National Association of Women and the Law, in particular Suzanne Zaccour and my good friend with a family law practice Susan Berry for working dilig…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the secretary of state for her excellent speech and bring her back to the moment when she discussed how she spent some time this summer watching bail proceedings happen in court. As a former journalist, I have watched a lot of bail proceedings. I would like to hear more about some of the conclusions she came to and some of the things that informed her during that tim…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Hamilton is known as Steeltown for many reasons, including its long-standing role as the centre of steel production in Canada. Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco still produce steel in Hamilton, and we have derivatives like Walters Group on Hamilton Mountain, which creates beautiful architectural steel, including the beautiful tree-inspired beams that hold up the ceiling of this very ro…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I thank the constituents of Hamilton Mountain for electing me for a second term, and I thank all of the amazing volunteers who brought such passion and hard work to help make it happen. I would like to remind colleagues and Canadians that this weekend marks the start of National Indigenous History Month. A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a Red Dress Day ceremony a…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I was also at the Equal Voice gala the other night, and I truly enjoyed the Prime Minister's speech, which listed dozens of tangible things we have done as a government to advance gender equality, including a cabinet that has equal numbers of men and women, and including $10-a-day child care, a female entrepreneurship strategy and half a billion dollars going out across the country to…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I was also at the Equal Voice gala the other night and I heard the Prime Minister's speech. I heard him talk about all the tangible measures we have taken as a government to advance equal rights among genders, including a gender-neutral cabinet, $10-a-day child care and a women's entrepreneurship strategy. I also heard the speech of the deputy leader of the Conservatives, which comple…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and in accordance with the policy on the tabling of reports in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, Canada's 10th report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women for …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, inflation is cooling and interest rates are dropping, but not all Canadians are feeling the relief quite yet. That is why our government is putting a bit more money back into the pockets of Canadians, to help them afford the things they need and save up for the things they want. The vote passed last week and that means this season, Canadians will not pay GST on things that are holiday…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, I am thinking about all the women suffering from abuse I met during my journalism career and all the families I got to know covering criminal cases caused by femicide. Gender-based violence does not stop at physical harm. It includes psychological and economic manipulation, which also have devastating effects that…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, thanks to some excellent work by Radio-Canada reporter Christian Noel, we learned this week that Conservative MPs are being muzzled by their leader. The article states, “The man who promised during his leadership run to make Canada ‘the freest country in the world’ maintains tight control over the actions of his caucus members.” One Conservative told CBC, “Everybody is being watched. …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to the many benefits provided by Correctional Service Canada's penitentiary agricultural program. The government remains committed to the implementation of evidence-based policy informed by experts that contributes to offender rehabilitation and safer communities across Canada. In response to the question from the member for Lanark—Frontena…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, Correctional Service Canada will continue to implement evidence-based policies and programming to keep Canadian communities safe, all while providing Canadians good value for money. Programs, such as the penitentiary agriculture program, help offenders become productive, law-abiding citizens and skilled workers when they return to the community. Research dating back to 2014 has note…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this Veterans' Week, I want to thank all those who have served and all those who continue to serve in the defence of our country. Two weeks ago, we marked 10 years since Corporal Nathan Cirillo was senselessly gunned down while on sentry duty in Ottawa at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That morning, I walked over to the War Memorial to pay my respects to this brave Hamiltonian, a cl…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, our government will always stand up for a woman's right to choose what happens to her body, which is why we have introduced new legislation to ensure that, when a woman seeks reproductive care, she is not unwittingly walking into a clinic that tries to dissuade her from options like abortion. According to the Abortion Rights Coalition, about 157 so-called pregnancy crisis centres in C…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, indigenous partners have been absolutely clear on this point: Indigenous procurement programs have been essential to supporting indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs and creating jobs at indigenous-led businesses. Initial reports show that the government is exceeding the 5% targets. We are already speaking with first nation, Inuit and Métis partners, business leaders and financial i…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, by now we all know that Conservatives prefer to ignore the truth and spread fear, so it should come as no surprise to any of us that the Conservative leader continues to refuse to get top secret security clearance and a briefing by intelligence officials. He prefers to speculate on what could be true and claims that learning the truth would prevent him from speaking on the topic. Is i…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, what concerns me is the increasing number of Conservative caucus members who oppose abortion. We have heard it from Conservatives who are still in caucus and we have heard it from caucus members who are no longer there because they have values. On this side, we will always fight for women's rights, like abortion.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree that abortion is health care and that we should have equal access across the country. What concerns me is the growing anti-abortion caucus on the Conservative side. We have heard evidence of this, and its power on the Conservative leader is growing. We have heard it from the member for Peace River—Westlock and the former Conservative from Richmond—Arthabaska. He was…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to my friend's speech. I wonder if he saw the letter from the RCMP. I saw it for the first time today. As someone who covered criminal court for many years as a journalist, I have a lot of sympathy for the RCMP, which is saying even that if it gets these documents, which it does not want, it would not be able to use them in a court of law because it does not …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I also regularly speak to the member for Foothills' constituents because my sister lives in his riding. I know for my family one thing that is really important in Canada is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What the Conservatives are asking for is the right to violate the charter. I know the Leader of the Opposition has talked about using the notwithstanding claus…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Women's History Month gives us an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Canadian women, and since this year's theme is about women at work, I want to highlight the integral role that women play in shaping our economy. I regularly meet with women entrepreneurs in my riding of Hamilton Mountain, like Brigitte Soares of Apostrophe Accounting, Julie Bobiak of the Lukaya Café, Julie…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Spadina—Fort York has raised some concerns around Samidoun, so I will take this opportunity to state that the Government of Canada is deeply concerned by the issue of hate against Jewish communities. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or hate in any form is unacceptable. Hate propaganda and hate crimes are taken very seriously by all orders of government in Canada. The …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada is firm in its stand against hate and against terrorism. As a government, we are deeply concerned by the issue of hate against Jewish communities. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or hate in any form is unacceptable and has no place in this country. The government encourages all those affected by hate propaganda to contact law enforcement, as well as local electe…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the hard work that CRA employees do every day, day in and day out. We will get back to the member on the specifics of his question.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as Gender Equality Week wraps up, I want to highlight why we have so much to be proud of here in Canada. Our feminist government has maintained gender parity in cabinet, passed the Pay Equity Act and created a department dedicated to women and gender equality. It is boosting women's economic power with programs like the national child care plan, the menstrual equity fund and the women…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take the opportunity here to point out that tomorrow is International Safe Abortion Day, and to reaffirm that, on this side of the House, we always stand up for a woman's right to choose. We are investing in reproductive health across this country, unlike the Conservatives, who are, to this day, still green-lighting candidates who want to make abortion illegal in this countr…
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