Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, when it comes to tourism, heritage, culture and our indigenous peoples' heritage, our government is committed. That is why, if we look at budget 2021, we are investing $1 billion over the next three years to support tourism. That is exactly what the people on the ground were advocating for. The finance minister has had many virtual meetings with chambers of com…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, before I start my speech on the budget, I would like to congratulate the member for Brampton East for his parliamentary secretary assignment. I will be sharing my time with him in the House. I rise today to communicate my strong support of the federal budget delivered this week and to speak specifically about the strong economic measures announced in support of Canadians and businesse…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to supporting tourism, I already explained, but when it comes to supporting small businesses, our government has already extended the business subsidy to the fall to make sure that we are able to support those businesses that need the help the most and the tourism and travel industry is one of them.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, to go back to the 2015 election, the Liberals made a promise to seniors when the Conservatives were trying to bring in a retirement age of 67. The Prime Minister, then the leader of the Liberal Party, made a promise that we would retain the retirement age at 65 so that seniors would not have to go through another two years of poverty. Now, we see that the most vulnerable group of seni…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
[Member spoke in Punjabi] [English] Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Vaisakhi, Khalsa Day and Sikh Heritage Month. Khalsa Day and Vaisakhi are very important dates for Sikhs who pay tribute to the birth of Khalsa and the harvest season, respectively. April is also recognized as Sikh Heritage Month in Canada, where the contributions and accomplishments of Sikh pioneers are celebrated for the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I speak today to oppose this motion, which is yet another display of political grandstanding on the part of opposition members across the way. It is another example of the Conservative Party being completely out of touch with the realities that Canadian citizens and businesses are encountering during the pandemic. I would like to begin my remarks by saying that I understand the impo…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, nowhere in my speech did I say we were perfect and have done everything perfectly. Every step of the way, when I walk through my riding, I meet people who say that the Canada emergency response benefit has helped them or the Canada emergency business account has helped them. Other people will say that the business account benefited them, or the Canada emergency wage subsidy has help…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I did not say that we are trying to ignore members of the airline industry. In fact, for every Canadian, including the people who work in the airline industry, this government has tried to help those affected. We are not perfect. Every day, the Prime Minister has received input from members and organizations on the ground. He has come out every day with different efforts to help wor…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the important contributions that truck drivers across Canada have made to our pandemic recovery efforts. Over the past year, truckers have ensured that our nation’s supply chain continues to deliver the essentials we all rely on. Last week I met virtually with the United Truckers Association, an organization that represents over 1,100 independent operators in B.C. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the hon. member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke for all the great work he does for his constituents. The issue that he raised is a genuine one. However, now during the pandemic, when it comes to businesses, whether it is the wage subsidy, the emergency rent subsidy or the Canada business account, all of these have tried to help business owners to make sure—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member touched on Conservatives raising the age from 65 to 67. During the 2015 election, I received hundreds of calls, and many people who opposed that came to see me. They told me that Conservatives were trying to push seniors into poverty for two more years. Did the member see the same response in his riding, and in Quebec generally?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in order to target gun and gang violence, we need better data to trace firearms used in the commission of an offence. In 2014-15, the Harper Conservatives closed half of the RCMP laboratories that analyzed and traced these types of firearms. It is clear that we need to rebuild and further that capacity. Can the minister provide an update as to what our government is doing to help Brit…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would also like to congratulate the hon. minister on his new role as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am sure he will face many bullies around the globe, but being a fellow engineer, astronaut and a strong member of the Prime Minister's team, he will be able to stand up to those bullies. However, we are very lucky to have the new administration to our south, which will be very c…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the new highly affected sectors credit availability program was introduced yesterday. The program is being directed toward companies that have already qualified for and received the Canada emergency wage subsidy or the Canada emergency rent subsidy. My question for the minister is on behalf of businesses throughout Canada that have not received either of the subsidies. Will their appl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hard-working hon. member for Sudbury. Today I speak in support of Bill C-18, an act to implement the Agreement on Trade Continuity between Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as the hon. member mentioned, I had the opportunity to work with him on the international trade committee for many years, and in fact we travelled together to different places to advocate for Canadian businesses and workers. The passion and the teamwork that he showed were enormously appreciated. The member asked me about the consultations. When CETA was brought into effect, at that…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as I mentioned earlier in my answer to the hon. member for Prince Albert, many consultations were in place when we passed CETA, and this is totally based on that agreement. I will tell members that time was of the essence to make sure that industries and businesses, particularly in Quebec, were able to take advantage of those 98% of goods that would not be taxed. That is why we had …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, Canada and the U.K. have a long-time relationship when it comes to trade. I am certain that, moving forward, even though we do not have a sunset clause, we will come up with a bilateral trade agreement that will benefit Canadians as well as businesses in the U.K.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, this piece of legislation demonstrates how the Government of Canada continues to pursue trade opportunities for Canadian businesses and exporters while maintaining certainty and stability in the face of global geopolitical developments that are entirely out of Canada's control. The United Kingdom is Canada's fifth-largest trading partner, with bilateral merchandise trade between Can…
Read full speech →