Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we know persons with disabilities are disproportionately under-represented in the labour force and face a range of physical, attitudinal and institutional barriers that prevent access to the workforce. That is why our government is taking action to increase accessibility and inclusion in Canadian businesses and workplaces. Yesterday, the hon. Minister of Employment, Workforce Developm…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad this elicits the same response from my colleagues, because it shows just how little they know about climate change and how they do not really take it seriously, which we have seen time and time again. Even at their national convention, they voted to say that climate change was not real. Who, in their right mind, these days could deny climate change is real? I will go back to…
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Mr. Speaker, I take issue with the assertion from my hon. colleague that somehow our government's track record on fighting climate change is not superb.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I take issue with the member opposite's assertion that somehow our government has a poor track record when it comes to fighting climate change. In fact, we inherited over a decade of inaction from the Stephen Harper era, which was a dark shadow on our country—
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Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today in the House to speak to the fall economic statement. I appreciated the accolades from my colleague across the way, the member of Parliament for Regina—Lewvan. He gave me a shout-out for being authentic and real with Canadians, and I appreciate that. Although I disagree with most of the sentiments he shared, I appreciate the accolades from him.…
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Mr. Speaker, I will start with the first part of the question of the member for Regina—Lewvan, in which he asserts that the Canada Infrastructure Bank has done nothing. My riding of Whitby, and across Durham region, has come up with a memorandum of understanding with the Regional Municipality of Durham to finance over 100 electric buses across the region over the next seven to eight years. To me, …
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Madam Speaker, as part of the mandate bestowed upon him by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Safety is seized with the opportunity and challenge of developing a renewed cybersecurity strategy. We need to make sure we articulate Canada’s long-term plan to protect our national security and economy, deter cyber-threat actors, and promote norms-based international behaviour in cyberspace. The…
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Madam Speaker, before I begin, I will just say that I will be splitting my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands. It is an honour to rise today in the House to debate the second reading of Bill C-26, an act respecting cybersecurity. To me, cybersecurity is essential, and it certainly relates directly to our national security. When we consider the challenges and opportunities we face in…
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Madam Speaker, I share the member opposite's ethical concerns with other state-sponsored actors, disinformation and ensuring that our cyber-infrastructure and our lives as MPs are also protected from the attacks and incidents that are too often affecting some of our institutions and even us, as individuals. This bill really looks to strengthen the work the government has been doing year over year …
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Madam Speaker, I am not really sure how we get these types of critical remarks coming from the opposite side of the House given that in my speech I gave very tangible examples of two agencies that have been set up and some pretty significant investments that have been made since 2018. The $4.8 billion for cybersecurity is no small amount. We are making investments and setting up the systems and to…
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Madam Speaker, as I am not sure of the specific details the member opposite is referring to in her question, I would have to say, in good faith, that I will get back to her on that after doing a bit more research on why that decision was made. What I can tell her is that the key provisions in this act really do further the overall objectives of protecting our critical infrastructure. It specifical…
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Mr. Speaker, we all know that community organizations and non-profits were hit hard by the pandemic, with charitable organizations stepping up to help their communities despite the financial pressures they have experienced. That is why our government announced, in budget 2021, that we would help them help Canadians in need. Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development update the…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to rise in the House today to highlight an exceptional individual from our community in Whitby, who was recently inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame. She has been a dedicated coach for ringette teams in Whitby for over 30 years. Starting in 1991, she began her ringette journey by volunteering to help coach her daughter’s team. For those who do not know, ringett…
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Mr. Speaker, the Sustainable Finance Forum is on Parliament Hill this week. We will have over 60 speakers, and hundreds of participants will attend virtual sessions as well as events on climate finance and social finance. As we are all looking at ways to make the economy more sustainable, I would like to ask the Prime Minister about the progress our government is making to help Canadian businesses…
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when the rules-based international order and democracy are threatened, relations with our American counterparts are more important than ever. This week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the first official visit to Canada by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs inform the House of the importance …
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Mr. Speaker, today marks the start of Small Business Week. In my riding of Whitby and all across Canada, small businesses are the heart of our communities and the backbone of our local economies. This Small Business Week, we are celebrating the incredible creativity, hard work and grit of small business owners and their many successes. Could the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, S…
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Madam Speaker, my apologies to the member opposite if he does not like the numbers the Liberal Party puts out, but they are factual and based in reality. Based on the many measures we have put out there, Canadian families are getting a whole package of supports in their time of need, everything from the Canada child benefit and a reduction in child care fees to direct quarterly payments for the pr…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak about Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations. My views on this matter are straightforward. Taiwan should participate meaningfully in international organizations whenever there is a practical imperative to do so and whenever its absence is detrimental to global interests. Consider, for instance, the question of Taiwan's o…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the member is right that Canada needs to be prepared to respond strongly to whatever eventuality manifests. That is not to say that we can predict the future, but it is to say that we need to be prepared. Whether it is pandemic preparedness or a response to the potential aggression the member suggested from China in the future, we need to prepare for all eventualities.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, what model we should use for future pandemics is a great question to reflect on. I certainly see learnings that could be integrated into Canada's future pandemic preparedness. We can take lessons from many countries around the world. Taiwan is one of many that have done well. I am sure there are some we can take lessons from on what not to do as well, and there are many examples. The …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to rise in the House today to recognize the phenomenal work of Whitby's beloved Station Gallery, as it recently held its 29th annual Drawing for Art fundraiser. The Station Gallery is a historic and well known place in Whitby. Many will recognize it for its 119-year-old exterior, as it was formerly Whitby's Grand Trunk Railway station that was saved from demolition near…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I am pleased to contribute to the debate on this important legislation today. Making life more affordable for Canadians is a key priority for our government. The pandemic has been tough for everyone, and unfortunately one of the consequences has been inflation. This worldwide inflation problem has made affordability…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite mentioned, just as constituents in my riding have shared with me, concerns about the cost of living, which are very real for Canadian families. Our government has put forward a whole suite of measures. There is the 50% reduction in child care fees, which is thousands of dollars per year to Canadian families with children. There is dental care for children under 1…
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Madam Speaker, I really am at a loss for words with the incessant repetition of “triple, triple, triple” so many times in the House. It reminds me of a Tim Hortons drive-through. Maybe the Conservatives should stop their caffeine-induced rage farming over the climate plan we have and the price on pollution and rather focus on what Canadians really need, which is information and solutions. To me, w…
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Madam Speaker, I take that to be a good faith question. I am not sure of the actual lapse of which the member speaks, but I can assure her that our EI system is a very important part of our social safety net. As we have seen, our government believes in supporting that social safety net. The Conservatives continue to call it a payroll tax, which it absolutely is not. When we contribute to our pensi…
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Madam Speaker, what is most disturbing is that the Conservative Party of Canada does not take the climate emergency seriously. What is interesting is that the Conservatives seem to purport to care about climate change, but put it at odds with the pocketbooks of people. In fact, we have to do both. We have to fight climate change, build a stronger economy and make life more affordable, which is exa…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands. I could not be more opposed to this opposition day motion. I am not sure how they could pack more falsehoods into one short motion, but they have certainly done their best. It is a privilege to rise in the House today to speak to this motion, although I am opposed to it. These past few years have not been easy w…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure how this pertains to the Conservative Party's opposition motion, but I have seen the issues with passports and the backlogs continue to get better based on our minister's willingness and ability to take a lot of real-time feedback, address the concerns. We continue to hire new staff and ensure that the process in passport approvals and processing get better and better.…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member, with whom I share a passion for fighting climate change. I appreciate the fact that our government continually needs to raise its ambition. I know the fossil fuel subsidies to which he refers are being phased out, probably not quick enough for the—
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Mr. Speaker, I do agree there are members of her community, my community and all our communities who are vulnerable. As I think about this package of affordability measures, I think about a low-income family of, say, four people, which I think is, generally speaking, the average size of a Canadian family. It might be less than four, but let us just say four for the sake of it. Low-wage workers are…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today's debate on Bill C-30, the cost of living relief act, no. 1. As my colleague has already mentioned, inflation is a cause for concern for Canadians and their families. While inflation is definitely a global challenge, the impacts on Canadians are nonetheless real, which is why our government has been working directly to help Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear an hon. member on that side of the House acknowledge that inflation is indeed a global problem and also acknowledge that Canada fares much better than many of our peer countries around the world. Inflation obviously is a challenging problem and the inflationary pressures that we see today are not just the result of pandemic relief spending, which I know the Conservat…
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Mr. Speaker, the affordable housing challenges we experience today are deeply problematic for many reasons, but what we have seen is a market dynamic that has exacerbated the problem that has been around for a while. What our government has done in addition to the national housing strategy, which is a massive and sizable federal government investment in addressing that problem, is it has created g…
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Mr. Speaker, as usual there seems to be a real confusion on the other side that somehow CPP contributions and EI contributions are a tax, which is utterly preposterous for anyone to suggest. What our government is doing to help Canadians who are struggling with the cost of living is the following. We are reducing child care fees by 50%. We are increasing the Canada child benefit. We are doubling t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to rise today to speak to Bill C-31. Before I begin, I want to let members know I will be sharing my time with the member for London—Fanshawe. I must say that I was entertained by the previous speaker, the member for Red Deer—Lacombe. I think he brought some great rhetoric to the House that was quite entertaining, although there was not much substance. If we sea…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. I said the member's rhetorical speech was quite entertaining. Our government understands that times have been tough in many households across Canada, which is exactly why our government has been introducing new measures to lessen the financial burdens that Canadians are facing due to the effects of global inflation impacting our country. We know that we are f…
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Mr. Speaker, Russia has announced plans for sham referendums in the Ukrainian territories it has invaded. It is clear that Russia's war is only about Vladimir Putin's desire to redraw the map using force. This is also an admission of Russia's failure, as Ukrainians are bravely retaking territory with the help of the aid provided by Canada and our allies. Ukraine's territory must remain Ukraine's. …
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Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that this would be direct support from the federal government. It would not go through the Canada housing benefit, which is partnered with provinces and territories. It would be a direct benefit that Canadians could apply for. The terms of eligibility are very succinct and clearly laid out in the bill, so I cannot understand why the member opposite would have troub…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, who I get to sit very close to in the House every day. I have shared many good conversations with her over the last few years, mostly about climate change. I am happy to hear of her advocacy work on dental care, and we could not be more supportive of that. I also acknowledge the NDP's advocacy on that topic. It is good to see this piece of legislation come f…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today and speak to Motion No. 42 to designate Hindu heritage month every November moving forward. I could not be more supportive of this motion. I am glad to hear that it seems we have quite a bit of consensus in the House today. We all get a source of pride from multiculturalism across Canada. We know that other months have been designated to celebr…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her incredible work and advocacy for individuals who lack the income to live a full life. I have always been a vocal advocate for a guaranteed basic income, and I have never hidden that from anybody. I think the patchwork of benefits we offer today could be greatly enhanced by a guaranteed basic income, so I thank the member.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is with great honour that I rise in the House today to speak about one of Whitby's finest: our very own Mike Shoreman. Despite being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome and being told it would leave him disabled and unable to continue his lifelong passion for paddleboarding, Mike decided to take on a monumental challenge: paddleboarding across all five Great Lakes. Not only did Mik…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. It gives me great pleasure today to rise in the House to speak to a piece of legislation that I think is essential to supporting Canadians, reducing poverty, making life more affordable and building a more inclusive and accessible Canada. Bill C-22 is another step forward on the path to reducing poverty in …
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Madam Speaker, I do not think that one in five Canadians will receive or be eligible for the Canada disability benefit. I believe it will be targeted at working-age individuals living with a disability who need supplemental income in addition to the income benefits they already get. It really has to be very targeted. That is why I think the consultation process across the country with provinces an…
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Madam Speaker, the consultation process that is engaging provinces and territories in designing this benefit is essential for ensuring that this really is a supplemental income benefit that individuals living with disabilities will be able to get. There is no intention, from my perspective, to overstep into provincial jurisdiction, but to work collaboratively with stakeholders who serve individual…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, whether supporting homeowners to retrofit their homes, get into an electric vehicle or ride an electric bus, working together at all levels to green our lifestyle will save us money, build a stronger economy and protect the planet we cherish. Last week, I was ecstatic to hear that Infrastructure Canada’s zero-emission bus strategy is reaching my community. An MOU was signed by the Can…
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Madam Speaker, our government knows that illegal gun smuggling is important, as is increasing the investigative capacity of the CBSA and the RCMP to investigate purported gun smuggling and crack down on it. We have increased the penalties for those who are caught, from 10 to 14 years. To my knowledge, we are increasing capacity at our borders and ensuring that our law enforcement agencies can shar…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member's question is a good-faith question, and I appreciate it. The freeze on handguns definitely limits the market. It starts to regulate the market so that there will be no more handguns in circulation in Canada from the moment this bill reaches royal assent. That allows us to start to understand and work on the issue of getting guns off the streets in a way that respect…
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Madam Speaker, I do not know the specific example the member speaks of, but embedding red flag and yellow flag laws within legislation would only give additional tools to law enforcement and individuals who suspect that someone has suicidal ideation or may harm others. That is a good thing. We can all probably agree that the fewer the number of individuals who commit suicide via a firearm and the …
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Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity today to join this important debate. Let me begin by saying two words: Resolute and realistic. I think the Minister of Public Safety said it best. Resolute and realistic is what this government has strived to be since we began tackling gun violence as soon as we were elected to lead this country almost seven years ago, and these adjectives have been our…
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