Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, supporting small and medium-sized Canadian organizations is a top priority for our new government. Organizations such as Cooperation Canada, Nutrition International and the Humanitarian Coalition are just some of those bringing Canadian expertise to the communities that need it most. With tens of thousands of Canadians working in this sector, these efforts create jobs at home and buil…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is deeply concerned about the renewed escalation in Gaza. These attacks put the lives of countless civilians in danger. We urge both parties to remain committed to ceasefires and stop the preventable loss of countless lives. Essentials like food, electricity, fuel and medical supplies must never be used as political tools. We call for their immediate and unimpeded flow into the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to have, in the second vote, my nay changed to yea.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this summer, millions of Canadians cheered on team Canada at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Paralympic swimmer Sebastian Massabie smashed the world record and brought the gold home to Surrey. Canadian athletes give it their all to represent our country, so budget 2024 boosts our support for them with more pay for our athletes as they train to represent team Canada. Unfortunat…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, last week, I was proud to announce funding to two excellent organizations in Surrey that are helping our veterans. BC/Yukon Legion Foundation and the Legion Veterans Village received $9 million to help our veterans who are facing homelessness with access to housing and wraparound services. While the opposition talks about program cuts, our government is there for our veterans and th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for London North Centre. I am thankful for the opportunity today to debate Bill C-78. The past few years have been challenging. It feels like the price of everything has gone up, thanks to global inflation and the need for central banks all over the world to raise interest rates in response to the after-effects of a once-in-a-generation glob…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think my hon. colleague has not read the bill. The bill is just about a GST tax relief, which would happen from December 14 to February 15. It would immediately give from 5% to 12% relief, depending on the province. That is, consumers will pay less when they go to the till, so the relief would be immediate. It will carry forward into the new year, but there is nothing about the ne…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think the Liberal government has always had a two-pronged approach to grow the economy and increase the pie. If we grow the economy and increase our GDP growth, then of course we want to give relief to the tax base as much as possible and wherever it is possible. That is why we have targeted relief when it comes to pharmacare, dental care and child care. We will continue to work t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think the member uses very crass language in calling those people, who take their families out for dinner at Christmas, imbeciles. I think that is a very inappropriate word for parents who buy their children books. I think that is a very inappropriate word to call those parents who buy their kids puzzles or children's toys, or who might have a beer or two, or a glass of wine, duri…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we are giving tax relief to those who need it the most: Canadian workers, Canadian families and Canadian seniors. We will continue to do that. With respect to more economic growth, I think sales will go up. People will be able to spend a bit more, and we will probably see the government coffers having a little more revenue at the end of the day as well.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my good friend, the member for Vancouver Granville. There should be no doubt that the Government of Canada places the highest priority on strengthening our trading relations with the United States. For a place like Surrey Centre, this is in no way undiminished, as we are a border city and a port city. Trade is of vital importance. These are indeed uniq…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I recall that very vividly. It was no small failure. Capitulating after winning victory after victory in the softwood lumber industry has set a very bad precedent since then. I commend our trade ministers for holding their feet to the Americans, winning case after case and not capitulating. What the member said is no different from what Prime Minister Harper said when we were renego…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, that is the approach the government has been taking. The Prime Minister is meeting with all the premiers of the country to find a proper strategy. My speech did not actually target anybody from the opposition in that regard. I answered a question just before from my colleague as to the approach that the Conservative Party took versus the Liberal government of this tenure. We need an…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are not going to take any lessons from the Conservatives. They shut down nine Veterans Affairs offices. We opened nine, plus another one in my hometown of Surrey Centre. They laid off 1,000 Veterans Affairs officers who were there to help veterans get the services they need. We reinstated those services. We have created services to help those veterans get what they need, and we wil…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, veterans often see music as a profound way to express themselves and heal from the impacts of military service. That is why, last year, Veterans Affairs Canada hosted its first-ever Veterans' Open Mic night. This event brought together veterans, family members, active service members and music lovers. It was so successful that the idea expanded, with events happening across the countr…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we all admire the sacrifice and service that veterans have given for us. I think that question was quite out of line. However, as it is Veterans' Week, it does deserve to remember and commend all the veterans who sacrificed their lives, given back for our freedoms and protected the democratic processes that we have today. We will always remember them not only on Veterans Week but ever…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I think the committee on veterans affairs is currently studying this matter. We are waiting for its report. I can assure colleagues that the government will respond to that forthwith. The Persian Gulf War veterans have done a great service for this country, and we all deserve to see the response to this report. I assure colleagues that the government will respond accordingly.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last week, we learned that the Conservative leader will reverse Canada's housing progress and cut programs that are building more homes faster in Surrey and across the country. It is not just his own MPs who disagree with his reckless housing cuts. Mayors across the country, including former Conservative MPs, are sounding the alarm over the cuts. The housing accelerator fund invests i…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 1984 is a year ingrained in the psyche of Sikhs across the world. Forty years ago this week, Sikhs were hunted across India by government-orchestrated mobs in a week-long genocidal campaign of violence. The streets of Delhi saw Sikh families being identified by the use of voter lists, resulting in families being burned alive and women facing horrific forms of violence. The world saw I…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security heard from top national security and law enforcement officials on the extent of the Indian government's interference in Canada, including serious criminal activities, extortion and the murders of Canadian citizens. Canadians from across the country are shaken and scared of this blatant attack on our democracy and …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, first, I want to say how surprised I am to be here and to see that at least some members of the Conservative Party of Canada are present at this emergency debate—
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the member opposite said that the leader of the Conservative Party, in relation to these particular, very serious allegations by the RCMP, said the Prime Minister is pitting Canadians against Canadians. I would like to know which Canadians have been pitted against which other Canadians, with regard to homicides and transnational aggression against Sikh Canadians here in Canada.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, the member of Parliament said that nothing was done from September 18, when the Prime Minister announced these serious allegations. I think she is failing to remember that 22 people have been charged with extortion and eight charged for the murder of Mr. Nijjar and others. Now we have an RCMP commissioner and the deputy commissioner stating that they have made numerous attempts and in…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the member of Parliament for Burnaby South is the leader of one of the major parties in the House. He has taken the oath; he has seen the NSICOP report, and I believe he has also seen evidence of what the Prime Minister stated in the House about the Indian government with regard to the Hardeep Nijjar murder. After reviewing those reports and taking the oath, does the member see any …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, has the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, who sits on the public safety committee, seen anything as egregious as the foreign interference by India, which has gone into murder, extortion, harassment and assault, in any of the other cases of foreign interference alleged against Canada, like from China, Russia and Iran? Has this been the most egregious case or have there been other…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
I never said anything about that.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, this is a very concerning question. In my friend's riding of Surrey—Newton, there is a very prominent Hindu temple. The Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey wrote a letter to the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada asking him to not send the Conservative MPs for Edmonton Mill Woods and Calgary Forest Lawn to its temple because of their ideological difference, but to instead send…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, that is what every member of the House from every party, save and except the Conservative Party of Canada, has been stating. We need to be unified against any foreign transnational aggression, and the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada should ask for the oath, get clearance and look at it. If he cannot obtain clearance, he should stand in the House and say that he does not pas…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague is probably fairly accurate in that. I think there is a grave concern about that, but obviously the leader of the Conservative Party will not look at it. As my colleague from Kingston and the Islands stated earlier, it is very strange that the leader of His Majesty's opposition, of the Conservative Party, has not made any statements on his Twitter account, an…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, last week the RCMP revealed to Canadians allegations of transnational aggression by the Indian government. This includes tying murders of Canadian citizens on Canadian soil to agents of the Government of India, the use of organized crime to target the Sikh community in Canada and foreign interference in our democratic processes. This very serious evidence has sent shock waves through …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, if the member's leader actually looked at the report and saw the evidence, he would know who is dictating and actually orchestrating the extortion. The extortion is being done by a foreign agency whose diplomats sat in this country and gathered information. There are 22 who have been arrested, and eight for murder. I would like to remind the House that—
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I commend the Conservatives for having some members here. I want to also remember the last time, on September 19, 2023, when they were all ordered to stay away from the chamber and not make any statements or ask questions. I wonder who called the member for Carleton to vacate the chamber at that time. In 2023, the Prime Minister rose in the House of Commons and affirmed what Sikh Cana…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that the people who have been arrested for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar have been and remain behind bars, so the argument of “bail, not jail” is inadequate in this case. The law enforcement agencies and the legal justice system of our country have actually maintained integrity and shown that they work.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I think all tools are at the disposal of the government and should be used. I think the very first measure, when it was discovered that Indian officials were involved, was the expulsion of those diplomats. My understanding is that more measures will be forthcoming, and I would not mind supporting what the member opposite was just saying. When minorities are being threatened and persec…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I stand here today to share the loss of Tony Moore, veteran and president of Whalley Legion, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 229. Tony was a dedicated advocate for veterans and served as president for as long as I can remember. He was also instrumental in the building of Canada's most modern full-service veterans facility, the Whalley veterans village. Opene…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, Surrey has one of the fastest-growing populations in the Lower Mainland, and with that, the number of seniors is set to rise over the next 25 years. I am honoured to share with members information about the groundbreaking of the new Guru Nanak diversity village seniors facility opened by the PICS Society of British Columbia. Behind this much-needed community project is the progressi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, there are over 1,350 Legion branches across Canada, including Whalley Legion Branch 229 in my hometown of Surrey. Their members represent one of the largest volunteer bases in this country. We set up the veteran organizations emergency support fund during the pandemic so that they could safely keep their doors open. We have been proud to support legions to improve infrastructure, ma…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I want to stress that this is an issue we are not taking lightly. Let me first say that I am very proud of the public servants who worked so diligently to ensure that the government could deliver services and programs to Canadians during the pandemic. At the same time, it is clear that something went wrong with the procurement of professional services related to ArriveCAN. Our gover…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we are committed to preserving the integrity of federal government procurement, and that is precisely what our government is doing. Public Services and Procurement has already taken several steps to implement the recommendations of both the Auditor General and the procurement ombudsman. It is strengthening guidance and training in federal procurement and making great progress in our…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak to the vital, ongoing work that the Government of Canada is doing to protect Canada's democratic institutions. As all members of this House are aware, threats to Canada's democracy do not affect only some Canadians; they affect all Canadians. That is why the enhancements to safeguard Canada's democratic systems and processes against foreign i…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada continues to support the important work of the public inquiry into foreign interference, as it has done since the inquiry was established last year. The government continues to provide thousands of classified documents and to make government witnesses available to meet with the commission to answer its questions. While supporting the commission's work, the g…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, Surrey is home to high-level athletes from across the country. Last month, 26-year-old Buneet Bisla was crowned as the Canadian light-heavyweight champion in a first-round knockout, making it his first professional title. Turning pro in 2019, Bisla has amassed a record of 10 wins and is now the undisputed number-one ranked fighter in Canada for the light-heavyweight category. Bisla …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I believe that 25 million tonnes have been reduced per year, which has been the biggest reduction with a carbon tax since, I believe, the 1990s. I think it was the Oilers' last win, if I am right. However, this has been the biggest contribution to the reduction of carbon from our atmosphere that has ever happened in the history of this country. It is definitely more than what happen…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, Canadians are at the front lines of the climate crisis. Climate change manifests itself in our lives on a daily basis. It has already forced and will continue to force us to adapt and to change how we manage our businesses, organize our lives and interact with nature. With warmer temperatures comes more intense and frequent weather events everywhere on earth and here at home. At the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32, it is my honour to table, in both official languages, the 2023-24 annual report of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, that is exactly what we would like to do on this side of the House, but I would like to remind the member that the motion is an opposition day motion, and it seems like the Conservatives' only priority is to fight on how we can produce more carbon and how we can release more carbon into the air. We are fighting for Canadians and will continue to fight for Canadians. Fighting the imp…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is very clear how they are different. One is subsidizing the production of oil, which emits carbon, especially in the process of production and also when it is burnt. The other is a subsidy in order to capture any carbon that is used in the process and store it so that it does not get into the atmosphere but goes back into the ground or some other place where it will not harm the…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, June 2024 is a sombre time of remembrance for the Sikh community. Forty years ago, the skies of Amritsar turned red as the Indian government attacked the Golden Temple complex, Akal Takhat, plus 40 additional gurdwaras across the country, killing thousands of Sikhs. Forty years ago, the Sikh Reference Library, home to our histories dating back to the inception of our faith, was reduce…
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Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, which took place on June 6, 1944, during the Second World War. We honour those who sacrificed themselves and served our country in the ultimate battle that led to allied victory and the liberation of Europe. On June 6, 1944, more than 14,000 brave Canadian soldiers were involved in the Normandy landings and fought with exceptional…
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Madam Speaker, Surrey is a young city. With over 35,000 individuals aged between 19 and 25, Surrey is home to the largest number of youths in all of B.C. It is no surprise that our youth are at the forefront of Surrey's growth and innovation. Every year, the Surrey Board of Trade recognizes 25 outstanding youth with its Surrey's Top 25 Under 25 award. This award pays homage to business and communi…
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