Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, what an insult to the hard-working tradespeople and building unions across this country who have been standing with this government, fighting to build Canada strong, fighting to train their members and make sure more young people have great skilled jobs that pay fabulous wages, something I thought those guys were for but vote against every single time. What an insult to the hard-worki…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank that member for his constant advocacy for opportunities for youth. We are proud on this side of the bench to have so many young representatives here in the government benches. We are very eager to work with them to ensure that youth have the best opportunities to succeed. In fact, this year there are 100,000 Canada summer jobs across the country, in every riding in this countr…
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Mr. Speaker, the real question is this: When will the Conservatives stop voting against the very constituents they claim to stand up for and support? Here in Ontario, for example, a family can be saving up to $13,000 per child per year in early learning and child care fees, which is something that helps people ensure they can get to work and keep those good-paying jobs that these guys keep talking…
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Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled that in my riding, Lakehead University is opening a new vet school in partnership with Guelph. It is very exciting news for the many people in my riding who are waiting to access veterinarian care. We will continue to work with provinces and territories on making sure that education is affordable. One way the member can help is to stop voting against Canada student loans…
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Mr. Speaker, we work diligently to make sure that Canadians get the benefits to which they are entitled. Indeed, the focus of the department is to ensure that Canadians have access to those benefits and supports when they are challenged in applying for those benefits. We will continue that hard work together to make sure every Canadian gets the benefits to which they are entitled.
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Mr. Speaker, if we check Hansard, we will find that member on record saying that parents do not want help. In fact, what I hear from Canadians, including Albertans, who write to me as the minister of jobs and families, is that we should stand up for each other, that we should make sure not one kid goes hungry, no matter if their parent is out of work, no matter if their family is struggling, becau…
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Mr. Speaker, that member of Parliament has risen before to ask questions like this, but I would ask her a question: Why does she keep voting against the very people in Alberta who are asking for a hand up? In fact, the national school food program in Alberta feeds 58,000 children, and parents are saving up to $13,700 a year per child. These are all things that member has voted against.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for standing up for young people across New Brunswick and Canada. We know that when young people succeed, our communities succeed. That is why we are investing in the Canada summer jobs program by creating 100,000 jobs this year, including more than 12,300 in the Atlantic provinces. We are ensuring that young people can work, build their future and c…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the president of the Crown corporation might be a bit surprised if the Prime Minister showed up to negotiate this collective agreement. Instead, we will do what we have done for centuries. We will let employers work with employees. We will provide them with the support through the federal mediation service so they can negotiate this collective agreement, and we will help make …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank that member for her hard work representing her constituency, which I have had the honour of visiting. In fact, many programs in her riding, and indeed across Canada, hire students for the summer through the Canada summer jobs program, over 100,000 students this summer. This provides young people an opportunity, quality work experience that they can add to their résumés and som…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe that member of Parliament wants to look at the voting record of his party. In fact, the Conservatives have fought against seniors. They have fought against increases to OAS, and they have fought against increases to GIS, very important supplements to seniors' income. Every step of the way, as we have given seniors the support and the dignity they need, the Conservatives have vot…
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Mr. Speaker, first, let me be clear, it is not the Prime Minister or the Government of Canada that is going to make a deal. In fact, it is the employer and the union. That is how labour relations work in this country. We do have a federal mediation service. Federal mediation service is with the parties. We urge the parties to continue to negotiate for a fair collective agreement. We will be there …
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Mr. Speaker, if the member would like to talk about people who are fighting against Canadians and talk about disastrous policies, a disastrous policy would be pulling out the safety nets that this government has worked hard to put there for Canadians. When Canadians are struggling, do members know what they do not wonder in bed? They do not wonder what they can take away from their friends and nei…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her hard work and her advocacy to bring the mining industry together to ensure we have the skills that we need for today and for tomorrow. Yes, this alliance is launched with great fanfare from the industry, which is praising the Government of Canada for taking action to make sure that the skills that are taught are aligned with what the industry needs. This is …
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Mr. Speaker, if the member calls feeding hungry kids a disastrous policy, I would like to introduce the member to some parents and some kids in my riding in the town of Marathon.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives fail to recognize that when times are tough, what Canadians really want is a government that will stand up for them. In fact, that is exactly what we have done time and again, by cutting taxes for 22 million people, by making sure that people can have access to quality child care for a fraction of the price, by making sure people can access training programs and by m…
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Mr. Speaker, that was yet another question from a member of Parliament who continually votes against the very things that would help with housing and homelessness, things like the investment in Ontario of $3 billion through the national housing strategy. The member voted against those things. If the member really wants to help people who are suffering from housing scarcity, what she should do is s…
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Madam Speaker, may I start with what a joy it has been to have that hard-working member of Parliament join our benches. Her experience in agriculture and farming is such an asset to the government. Here is a number that, I suspect, is not going to make it into the clips that the Conservatives usually use to rage farm across this country. In fact, 88,000 net new jobs were announced in May and there…
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Madam Speaker, I will pass by the obvious material in that question to focus on what is important, which is jobs, and jobs for youth. That member has spoken many times about the importance of creating good jobs for youth, and in fact 99,000 new jobs for youth is something to celebrate. In fact, Benjamin Reitzes from the BMO said that the solid May jobs report should silence the people who are talk…
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Mr. Speaker, inclusivity is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. When people have a chance to thrive, our entire country grows. In our economic update, we announced 43 disabilities that would be eligible for a streamlined disability tax credit application. We have also expanded the list of practitioners who can certify people for the credit. The disability inclusion action …
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Mr. Speaker, do the Conservatives know what is not a joke? It is when someone loses their job and there is nothing there to catch them, yet if the Conservative members had their way, that is exactly what would have been facing Zahra. They voted against the very measures that we put in place to protect people like Zahra—
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Mr. Speaker, what I find to be a joke is that, when the government steps up, not only to lay the foundation of prosperity for the future but also to protect people like Zahra by putting into place things like modernized employment insurance, which the Conservatives routinely laugh about, they vote against those measures, time and—
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Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign worker program is administered with three principles. First of all, the program makes sure that any Canadian who wants that job comes first. Second of all, it makes sure that employers that are eligible for temporary foreign workers treat those workers with respect and honour and follow those rules. We have inspectors to make sure that happens. The third principl…
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Mr. Speaker, that member's numbers are quite incorrect. In fact, temporary foreign worker use has declined, so much so that the large corporations that many of his colleagues continue to advocate for are actually now focused entirely on Canadian talent. That is the way it should be, and that is why we have taken these actions. It is much harder for employers to hire temporary foreign workers in re…
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Mr. Speaker, do members know what Canadians are excited about? Canadians are excited about building up this country, building Canada strong. Whether it is things like a new NORAD base, a new wind project, mining projects in my neck of the woods in northern Ontario, new ports, or new opportunities for people to participate in the skilled trades, the Conservatives talk down every opportunity Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, when the global winds of uncertainty were blowing, what did this government do? We took immediate action to put things into place to protect workers if their jobs were threatened, if their economies were threatened or if their sector was threatened. Every time we take action to protect workers, these guys vote against it. Just recently, $6 billion to skilled trades workers, i…
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Mr. Speaker, yet again I think the Leader of the Opposition should read the entire report, because although people are of course struggling, in fact, what the national food bank said was that it is seeing some reasons for optimism because of the very things they have called for, like automatic tax filing, the introduction of the groceries and essentials benefits, expanded dental care and investmen…
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the member stands up to vote against the very things that would help members in his province. For example, parents are now paying $10 a day for child care, saving up to $6,900 per child per year through early learning and child care. The member has voted against the spring economic update, through which young people, apprentices, are going to get income top-ups …
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the member opposite does not have compassion for the Canadians around the country who count on essential medical products and, yes indeed, medical organs that are delivered every single day around this country, not just from within our own borders but across international borders as well. During a labour dispute, the minister of labour has the responsibility of working w…
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Mr. Speaker, constituents I am meeting in my riding are talking about the changes in their lives through the Canada dental care plan. People who have never been able to get dental care, who have not been covered by plans, for the first time in their lives are able to see the dentist. People with young children who have not been able to bring their children for dental care now have coverage. Let us…
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Mr. Speaker, last week I was in Marathon, Ontario, to talk about mining. There is a mining boom in northern Ontario, something I think these guys are not aware of. Do members know what came up over and over again? It was gratitude for a government that is taking seriously the investment into natural resource extraction in northern Ontario, that is helping provinces in the country get natural resou…
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Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I had lunch with Sean Strickland from Canada's Building—
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Mr. Speaker, since those guys do not know how to pick up a cheque, in fact, I paid for lunch and I took Sean Strickland, president of Canada's Building Trades Unions, out for lunch because we want to hear their ideas about how we make sure that these good, union jobs, which, by the way, employers need all across the country, come to fruition. Canada's Building Trades Unions' operating engineers, w…
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Mr. Speaker, the real question is whether the member will vote for the spring economic update, which invests $6 billion in working people, including in skilled trades workers, in unions and in the people across the country who are not only bringing in the next generation of tradespeople, but also ensuring these good union jobs are filled with people who have the opportunity to take advantage of th…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe if that member went to northern Ontario and talked to people in the mining sector and really listened to what big employers and small business owners are saying, he would hear that what we are doing is exactly what is needed. In fact, we have been applauded by employers, by union representatives, by trainees and by hard-working people who are saying, “We need an opportunity to t…
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Mr. Speaker, I am so excited to stand and talk about Bill C-30, the spring economic update that would invest $6 billion in working people, skilled trades workers, unions and great-paying jobs, building up the workforce of today and the future. It is clear that these guys have no idea what working-class people are calling for. They are calling for investments in their communities, investments in th…
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Mr. Speaker, here is a big idea: Do not vote against child care that is saving families in Saskatchewan thousands of dollars a month per child, one of the most effective measures to make sure that young families get ahead, that women can participate in the workforce, that women's productivity and wages grow along with their career and that CPP enhancements are there for women at the end of their c…
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Mr. Speaker, on one hand, they say that families do not want help. They have fought against school food programs. They have fought against early learning and child care. They have fought against support for families. Now, when we actually move forward to support the skilled trades community and get more great-paying jobs across the country, they fight against that too. Here is what Russ Shewchuk f…
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Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to hear a northern Ontario member of Parliament run down the very things that he himself knows northern Ontario leaders and workers have been advocating for, for years, such as investment in infrastructure, investment in major projects, investment in mining and investment in the kinds of things that create great-paying jobs, and on top of it, they are endorsed by p…
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to share with the members opposite the number of projects in their ridings, the number of people who have received early learning and child care, the number of people who have received dental care, and the number of people who are getting fed in schools. That is the information on these sheets, by province and by MP. I will stand up for our records any day.
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Mr. Speaker, in that member's province alone, the national school food program is feeding nearly 60,000 children, and with early learning and child care spots, families are saving up to $13,700 per child per year. In fact, we have the Canadian dental care plan in that riding as well, which helps over 155,000 people in Alberta. All across the province that the member claims to represent, people are…
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Mr. Speaker, since the program to modernize these processes began, $1.8 billion has been invested out of a total budget of $4.8 billion. In fact, the modernization of old age security was delivered under budget, which is a testament to how rigorously this project was managed. This information was disclosed in a fully transparent manner and reviewed by the opposition parties and the committee chair…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know which Canadians the member is talking about, but let me talk about some of the hard-working people across the country who are working so hard together to build up this country, people like electricians, plumbers, automotive technicians, crane operators and heavy-equipment operators. In fact, many are our sons and daughters all across this country are getting their skille…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their government to pay them their benefits reliably. The modernization of the system is one of the best ways we have to protect the benefits Canadians depend on. The members opposite would rather have Canadians use an outdated system that was breaking down.
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Mr. Speaker, if investing in skilled trades workers and opportunities for young people and helping apprentices in the pipeline finish with their Red Seals is inflationary, unnecessary spending, I guess we see where these guys are going in terms of their support. However, let me tell members what the Building Trades Unions said yesterday, including Sean Strickland, Robert Kucheran and so many other…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Mississauga Centre for being such a passionate advocate for youth across this country. We are really learning from his wisdom and expertise. Our team Canada strong plan is built on the voices of youth, and it includes providing 100,000 youth with training, income and paid work placements for those who want to join the skilled trades workforce. On this si…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been in front of committee at least twice talking about this, and our officials have also appeared at committee to talk about Cúram. We are, as the member opposite knows, within budget, and we are proceeding exactly as the member opposite has urged us to do, which is with urgency, to make sure that people are not on wait-lists and that the most urgent cases are seen. We have se…
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Mr. Speaker, I have great news for skilled workers all across this country and everybody who wants to join the skilled trades. A $6-billion investment in getting people into the trades is helping apprentices right now to finish their training with up to $16,000 in support, while making sure employers have the support to hire those workers. In fact, Robert Kucheran from the Canada's Building Trades…
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Mr. Speaker, this is what Sean Strickland said. He is the executive director of Canada's Building Trades Unions. He said, “Our members work hard, often far from home, to build Canada. Today's measures will be felt at kitchen tables across the country.” He also said, “This announcement demonstrates a strong commitment to helping Canada Building Trades meet the moment by investing in increased capac…
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Mr. Speaker, it was hard to tell if the question was over or not, but I want to thank that member of Parliament for his constant advocacy for investment in the skilled trades. Yesterday, in the spring economic update, we announced over $6 billion to mobilize skilled trades workers; up to 100,000 new opportunities for young workers across this country; a $16,000 income top-up for apprentices, which…
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