Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a technical matter with respect to the vote that just took place. I was attempting to vote using the app and received a notice on my phone saying that my vote had been flagged and may not have gone through. I rushed down here to participate in the new vote in person and to confirm that my yea vote was in fact recorded.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, in his point of order, his intervention, my hon. colleague used language that is impermissible in this place. He has to withdraw it. I request that you request it of him, Madam Speaker, as would be done for any of us.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would request that there be a standing vote.

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I am rising to follow up on a question that I raised on May 12, before the break. On a number of occasions over the course of the past year and a half, I have raised the issue of the prison farm at Joyceville. There is a proposal to expand it to allow for the development of a goat farm. Although the government insists on denying that this is what the expansion will entail, it also i…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment just to observe, seeing that the member started with the subject of the goat operation, that she has stated once again that there are presently no goats. We already knew that. There are, however, plans for the construction of a goat barn. She mentioned that the barn under construction is for cattle. That is true. The construction plans had called for th…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, this gives me a chance to start by correcting my colleague from Kingston's observations about speeches written weeks ago. The heartfelt commentary from my colleague about hunting on Manitoulin Island were not written for him by a speech writer who has never been to Manitoulin Island. With regard to the fundraising issue, I am not sure that it is actually true that it raises all this…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, meeting notes obtained via access to information reveal that the union representing prison staff is alarmed that, at Correctional Service of Canada's existing prison farm, staff are required to work with inmates after hours in unsafe conditions. This includes being alone and unaccompanied, and being denied the personal paging devices necessary to call for immediate backup. The union's…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I take it this evening my question will be addressed by the parliamentary secretary for all departments. On the final sitting day prior to the Easter break, I rose in this place to ask the immigration minister the following question: ...the immigration minister's program to admit the families of language and cultural advisers who assisted our troops in Afghanistan has such rigid cri…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, of course it warms my heart to hear how deeply the current government cares, and how much more it cares than the people in my party care, so I will just repeat my question. Will this caring government change this particular criteria, which is 100% under the control of the caring government, and extend Canada's protection to Afghans who meet all other eligibility criteria but who lef…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, the immigration minister's program to admit the families of language and cultural advisers who assisted our troops in Afghanistan has such rigid criteria that it will freeze out almost everybody it should be helping. For example, only those who were still in Afghanistan after July 22, 2021 are eligible, so this rules out the Afghans who were in the most dangerous parts of the countr…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell a short story about the government's regulatory failure, which has cost constituents in my riding hundreds of well-paying jobs in the last month or so. Until February 9 of this year, Canopy Growth, a licensed cannabis producer, was the largest private sector employer in my constituency. Based at the former Hershey chocolate factory in Smiths Falls, it has been transform…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, the fundamental problem is this: if the cost to produce and sell legal product is higher than the cost to produce and sell illegal product, then the illegal product will have the ability to drive out the legal product. This is exactly what is happening in the market today in Canada. There is some high-end product, which, I grant, the legal sector predominates in, but the fact is that,…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I did not expect to get a second chance to do this, so I will just make the observation that, with regard to mental health and mental issues, the definition of most illnesses and diseases have not changed over time. The definitions surrounding ALS, for example, have not changed substantially over time. However, the definitions of various mental illnesses under the Diagnostic and Sta…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, we are talking about mental illness, mental distress and depression as being reasons why it may be permissible to ask for assistance in dying. I look at this and say that we have come a long way. Our laws were based on some court rulings surrounding people who wanted to die because they had lost their ability to control their bodies. They had ALS; they had no control over their bodi…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, Canopy Growth, which is the largest private-sector employer in my riding, announced it is laying off half of its workforce. This is why: Canada's legal cannabis sector functions under crushing federal taxes and insanely high regulatory compliance costs. The result is that for consumers, legal cannabis costs about twice the price of illegal product. The government has made it impossi…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs): (a) since June 20, 2022, have any meetings, communications, briefings, or other informational materials pertaining to AEDs been requested, formally or informally, by the Minister of Public Safety, the office of the Minister of Public Safety, the office of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety, or the office of the Commissioner of the RCMP; (b…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to Correctional Service Canada’s (CSC) Chaplaincy Program: (a) since November 2015, have any meetings, communications, briefings, or other informational materials been requested, formally or informally by the Minister of Public Safety, the office of the Minister of Public Safety, the office of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety, or the office of the Commissioner of the Correctional S…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the report entitled "Minister of National Defence Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination with a focus on Anti-Indigenous and Anti-Black Racism, LGBTQ2+ Prejudice, Gender Bias, and White Supremacy Final Report": (a) have any meetings, communications, briefings, or other informational materials with regard to chaplaincy, or section 6 of Part III entitled “Re-Defining Cha…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker,'Tis just before Christmas, and 'tis both strange and true,That our home's Yule colours will be yellow and blue.That's not red, green and white, so let me explainThat our house is home to six guests from Ukraine.It was back in the spring that from Dnipro they flew:Two parents, three children and a babushka too.Our home town of Perth is a welcoming place;You’ll fit in, regardless of lan…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, a year ago, the advisory panel on systemic discrimination in the military recommended excluding clergy of the three Abrahamic religions from being chaplains. It said: Defence...cannot consider itself supportive of inclusivity when it employs as chaplains members of organizations whose values are not consistent with National Defence's ethics.... For example, some churches [exclude] w…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, unfettered access by incarcerated individuals to spiritual guidance from prison chaplains is a key component of recovery and plays an important role in reducing the chance of reoffending. Equitable access to this guidance across faith groups is also a charter right. Therefore, it is disturbing to learn that incarcerated Canadians from a number of faiths, including over 1,000 Muslims, …

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, that was a very informative answer from the parliamentary secretary. It was very helpful. This is not so much in the nature of a question, but rather a comment on the response that the RCMP gave to the parliamentary secretary. Some of the issues that are presented are, I understand, real issues, but some of them are red herrings. I just want to alert her to that. An example is the s…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, this evening I am following up on a question that I raised in the House on October 28. The question I raised at that time was a follow-up on some encouraging news that had been passed on to me by the hon. member for Oakville North—Burlington: that the Minister of Public Safety would, for the first time since the Liberals took office seven years ago, be initiating a discussion with t…

Statements by Members

Madam Speaker, when the Taliban seized power last year, about 13,000 Afghans fled north to Tajikistan. Some of these refugees had rendered service to the Canadian Armed Forces earlier during the war. For several months now, the Tajik government has been openly contemplating deporting all Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan. For those who helped foreign troops during the war, this would be a death …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wanted to say this with regard to the first point of order seeking unanimous consent. The last one actually had the consent of the House and that had been sought beforehand. I think that if we had a slight change to the wording formula, such as, “Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent to the following motion, which has been a…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I cannot imagine what the rush is. I appreciate the kind comments of my hon. colleague. We have always had good relations. She has good relations with many people on this side of the House and elsewhere, and that is something to be encouraged. After being here 22 years, I can say that, although there never was a golden age where we all got along, it is much worse now. However, we shou…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I think that is more of a comment than a question. However, my hon. colleague is right.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I will observe that in terms of there being a rush, I was just saying that the Canadian Judicial Council dealt with eight complaints and dismissed four judges over the course of the past half-century, so I am not exactly sure where the rush is. Clearly, the government does not actually see it as a rush; I mentioned the delays. Which of the following is the fault of the o…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I think this is something that may have never happened in the House before, a member beginning a speech on a bill in one seat and continuing it in a separate seat on the very same day. This was made possible, of course, by a standing order change that allows us to sit absolutely anywhere in the House. I was tempted to do it from the Prime Minister's seat, but that would have involved …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, based on an email I received yesterday from his parliamentary secretary, I understand that the Minister of Public Safety will, for the first time since the Liberals took power in 2015, be initiating a discussion with the RCMP on the subject of putting defibrillators in police cruisers. Placing defibrillators in cruisers would save over 300 lives a year. That is 30 a month, so time is …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I have two minutes. I will be continuing after question period, after a delay of about an hour, which is better than a situation I once had where I started a speech and then was delayed by a two-week break. There is nothing like having two weeks between the first two minutes and the remaining eight minutes of a speech to allow one to refine those remarks. The second half of the speech…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, last week the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety said the following with respect to the placement of defibrillators in RCMP vehicles, which would save 300 lives per year: “If the hon. member had a private company that wanted to donate AEDs to all RCMP vehicles, I would be happy to work with him on that.” My question is this. In the event that one or more outsid…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for that very informative answer. There were a number of pieces of information that I was unfamiliar with. One thing I picked up was her reference to what she calls contract partners, which really means the provincial and territorial governments. I am going to ask her if she is saying the following, that if the initiative were taken, say, by the government of…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, today's question relates to the number of lives that could be saved if the government would instruct the RCMP to install automated external defibrillators, also known as AEDs, in each cruiser. I have been raising this issue since the Liberal government came to power in 2015, but the government unfortunately has taken no action. By my calculation, about 300 lives would be saved every y…

Statements by Members

Madam Speaker, many Afghans who bravely helped our military are still stranded in Afghanistan. One such case has been brought to my attention by a retired Canadian serviceman. A former Afghan police colonel, whose courage and competence helped save Canadian lives, has been unable for months to get confirmation from Canadian authorities as to whether his application to come to Canada has been fille…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, in June I asked the public safety minister about equipping RCMP cruisers with defibrillators, which would cost only $10 million and save 300 lives per year. He responded that the RCMP have “invested hundreds of millions” in life-saving equipment, which begs the question why the government does not take 10 million of those dollars and use them for the device that would, dollar for do…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, equipping each RCMP vehicle a decade ago with an automatic external defibrillator, or AED, would have cost under $10 million and would have saved roughly 3,000 lives over the 10-year life of the AED units, at a cost of $3,000 per life saved. However, this Liberal government has done nothing and those lives are gone forever. I first raised this issue in the House in 2015 and again in 2…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): (a) how many Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) does the RCMP possess, (i) in total, (ii) by location, province or detachment; (b) since January 1, 2011, how many AEDs has the RCMP purchased, by year of purchase; (c) since January 1, 2011, what has been the total amount spent relating to the purchase, use, and maintenance of AEDs, brok…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to Correctional Service Canada’s (CSC) penitentiary farms and related CORCAN operations, related to the Joyceville and Collins Bay institutions: (a) what are the total amounts spent to build, repair, maintain, and operate all related infrastructure since January 1, 2016, broken down by (i) year, (ii) location, (iii) purpose, (iv) source of funding; (b) what are the total amounts spent …

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Universal Broadband Fund and other funds relating to the government's various commitments since October 2015 to provide broadband and high-speed Internet services to rural and underserved communities: (a) how many applications for funding have been received for projects located in whole or in part in Lanark County or Frontenac County, Ontario; (b) of those applications in (a), h…

Madam Speaker, at Her Majesty's coronation on June 2, 1953, the following sublimely optimistic, traditional formula was repeated: “God bless Queen Elizabeth. God save Queen Elizabeth. May the Queen live forever.” So long was our late Queen on the throne that it felt almost as if her reign really never would end, and it seemed possible to hope that the Queen really could live forever. She became so…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, a strange sort of slow-motion sparring match has been taking place in the Commons since March 22, when I first rose to ask the Minister of Public Safety about the government's plans for a potential goat farm at Joyceville Institution. I have asked questions over and over again on a very specific matter: Will the government guarantee that it will not permit CORCAN, the profit-making …

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I have a very brief question for the parliamentary secretary. I am aware that he is not in a position to make a statement on behalf of the government, so I will simply ask him to take this back to the Minister of Public Safety. It is the question that I ended with. Will the government commit to instructing the Correctional Service of Canada that no second Joyceville construction con…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, my question is for the public safety minister. Just before the pandemic, I met with his predecessor on the subject of placing defibrillators in every RCMP cruiser. He agreed with me that this would save 300 lives per year, and he expressed personal pride at the fact that earlier in his career he had placed defibrillators in every city of Toronto police cruiser. Could the current min…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in April, in response to questions regarding a possible goat farm in Joyceville, the parliamentary secretary stated: “Correctional Service Canada does not intend to do any goat milk production.” In May, she told the House: “they were not moving forward with goats.” However, on June 2, CSC stated that, while it clearly had no plans for dairy operations, it would “reassess at a later da…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, in defending CORCAN's plan to rebuild the dairy herd at Joyceville and Collins Bay institutions, the minister and his parliamentary secretary have made claims that are completely divorced from reality. Let us start with the minister's claim made in April. He said, “offenders who participate in [CORCAN] programs are three times less likely to reoffend and find themselves back in cust…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments. It was very strange hearing him reciting back to me the same statistics I had just given to him. I pointed out that they been decontextualized by the minister. He simply repeated them. He repeated the same claim about being three times less likely to offend when one has been in a CORCAN program, which is just not true. Someone is one-third as l…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, a year ago today, five members of the Afzaal family, out for an evening stroll in London, were struck at high speed, and with deliberate malice, by a pickup truck. Four family members were killed; only the youngest child, then age nine, survived. As the suspect’s trial has not yet taken place, we cannot know with certainty whether he was motivated primarily by racial hatred, by religi…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, we are talking today about Bill C-246, which provides that the total number of members from the province of Quebec can never be less than 25% of the total number of members in the House of Commons, regardless of whether Quebec's population decreases. However, if Quebec's population increases and its percentage of representation exceeds 25% of the total number of members in the House…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, first of all, I did not know that the hon. member was denied the ability to speak on the passing of Alexa McDonough. That is a real shame, in and of itself. Alexa McDonough was a great Canadian. I think the answer to this would be something like this. On the issue of what constitutes a recognized party, the number is settled at 12. I know that my colleague would say it should be set…