Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, national security should be the responsibility and the priority of every single member of the House. We have seen over the last number of months and years the alarming rate with which foreign governments have sought to interfere with the democratic processes in our country and to damage our democracy. Every single one of us in the House bears a responsibility and obligation to ensure …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Hellenic community in Vancouver Granville. With a proud history that spans over a century in Vancouver Granville, this community has profoundly enriched our country and Vancouver's cultural landscape. This past weekend, I was especially honoured to receive its highest award: honorary lifetime membership. This recognition also refle…
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Mr. Speaker, as this parliamentary session begins, I rise to recognize the important work that firefighters did throughout the summer from coast to coast to coast. From protecting our communities to saving people's lives, firefighters are true heroes who put the country's interests ahead of their own. On behalf of the constituents of Vancouver Granville, I want to thank B.C. firefighters and Vanco…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a) of the question, the CRTC fully complied with the production order and provided law enforcement with exact copies of all of the data that the CRTC extracted from the devices. The CRTC is not legally permitted to keep devices obtained during an investigation indefinitely, and the device owner’s lawyer requested the return of the devices. Given that the devices c…
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Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a) of the question, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates broadcasting and telecommunications in the public interest. It holds public consultations and makes decisions based on the public record. The Online Streaming Act, which amended the Broadcasting Act, requires the CR…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, since 2016, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, has received over 117,000 complaints. A comprehensive response to this question would require a manual collection of information which is not possible in the time allotted as it could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.
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Mr. Speaker, on a cool September day in 1993, my very apolitical grandfather took me excitedly to a campaign office. As we approached the office, he said, “Remember this day; you are helping elect a woman who will show Canada the value that refugees can bring and what we Ismailis will do for Canada.” That campaign office belonged to Mobina Jaffer. While she would not win that election, she would e…
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Mr. Speaker, families like mine chose to come to Canada from places that were difficult and where there were challenges. Canadians are proud of the country we have. Conservatives keep talking this country down, but there are people around the world who would choose to come to this country and who are choosing to come to this country every single day for freedom and for the capacity to be who they …
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Mr. Speaker, our government has been there to support media from across this country from coast to coast to coast, from small communities to large ones. Much of the support for small communities would have been flowing had Conservatives not chosen to obstruct the passage of legislation that would have had money flowing to small community broadcasters across this country. We are going to keep worki…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was in government, launched a snitch line and launched a full frontal attack against Muslims in this country. What confidence should Muslim Canadians have that, if given the opportunity, the Leader of the Opposition would indeed go after Muslims and attack their rights again?
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Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in the House, particularly at this time and with this august group, and indeed in the presence of wonderful colleagues across the way. The member for Regina—Qu'Appelle and I had the opportunity to speak on a panel yesterday. It was wonderful to see that he is continuing his ongoing masterclass in misinformation in the chamber. It is important for all of us as…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition voted against same-sex marriage. Does the Attorney General have any confidence that, if given the opportunity, the leader of the Conservative Party would use the notwithstanding clause to take that right away from 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition voted against funding for Holocaust education and the Holocaust Education Centre in my riding. What confidence does the Attorney General have that the Leader of the Opposition, if given the opportunity, would continue to defund Holocaust education, and what would the consequences of that be?
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite raised an important point. Having a strong public broadcaster in the country is what this side of the House is going to do, is what our government has done and is what it will continue to do. The minister is working actively on ensuring that there is a plan forward for the CBC, but what is really important is that on this side of the House, we believe in a CBC, in …
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Mr. Speaker, the only way to protect Radio-Canada and the CBC is to support them both. That is what we, on this side of the House, are going to do. The Conservatives, on the other hand, are planning to make cuts. Radio-Canada will be taking money away from the CBC. My question for the members of the Bloc Québécois is whether they will stand with us in supporting Radio-Canada and the CBC or whether…
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Madam Speaker, it is important for me, as a member of Parliament from British Columbia, to rise to speak to this issue. I want to start by talking about the victims of the opioid crisis, and particularly those who have lost their lives to tainted drugs. They are the children of Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, Greens and people with no party affiliation. They are family members, pillars of …
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Mr. Speaker, May 3 commemorated World Press Freedom Day, a day when we celebrate journalists for the work that they do and the risks they take to keep us informed. They pay a high price, with attacks by groups from authoritarian regimes to criminal enterprises. Journalists risk life and limb pursuing truth. This year, the price was high. It was the deadliest year on record, with 115 journalists de…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, as part of its business and employment activities, CBC/Radio-Canada concludes a wide variety of contracts and agreements, many of which could include non-disclosure or confidentiality provisions. CBC/Radio-Canada does not track the specific number of those references. To gather the information requested, an extensive manual search and review of each contract concluded by the corporati…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite talked a lot about the importance of making wise financial decisions, which I would agree with. As a former business person, I know that is something that we should all care about, so the question I would ask is the following. In this budget we have set aside $2.4 billion for innovation around AI, something the Conservatives' former leader said was an importan…
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Mr. Speaker, there are two things I want to touch on. The first is the important funding that we have put forward for research. Universities across this country need funding for research. They need to keep innovating, and the funding that we would be providing would ensure that our institutions of higher learning are able to do the advanced cutting-edge research that they need to do to make sure t…
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Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that, when the Conservatives were in power, they chose to reduce the GST as a popular measure rather than think about the financial consequences. While the Conservatives will say that was many years ago, the thing that I would remind the hon. member across is that decisions that were made then to gut housing, to gut health care and to gut all of the things tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his tireless work as a member of Parliament for British Columbia and for his advocacy on many of the issues we have worked on together. The budgets that this government has put forward over the last number of years, including this one, make tremendous provisions to take care of our oceans and to take care of our environment. I do not know about othe…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, Canada's official report as part of its fourth universal periodic review, as well as its official response to recommendations received from the United Nations member states. The universal periodic review is a peer-reviewed process before the United Nations Human Rights Council. Through the universal periodic review, the human rights r…
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Mr. Speaker, I had risen earlier to table a document. The Chair may not have seen me. I would like to seek consent to table the document.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in relation to Bill C-316, an act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act and the court challenges program. The committee has studied the bill and, pursuant to Standing Order 97.1(1), requests a 30-day extension to consider it.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in the House at all times and particularly today to speak to budget 2024. As we are hearing and seeing from our fellow Canadians, budgets are not just numbers. They are commitments to the well-being and prosperity of every Canadian. I want to begin by talking about the impact of this budget on my riding of Vancouver Granville. We all know that Vancouver stand…
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Mr. Speaker, my riding of Vancouver Granville is a microcosm of Canada. We are diverse in faith and background, and we are united as Canadians. Recently, I attended an interfaith dinner, hosted by the Foundation for a Path Forward and the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House. It left me with a full heart and full of hope for what we can do together. With the theme of “breaking bread and building bo…
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Mr. Speaker, CBC/Radio-Canada is an arm’s-length Crown corporation whose independence from government is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act. That independence includes protection from the provision of “any information the provision of which could reasonably be expected to compromise or constrain the journalistic, creative or programming independence of the Corporation”, according to the Broa…
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Madam Speaker, seniors are at the heart of our communities. Since we were first elected, seniors have been central to our work in government. In Vancouver Granville, I have established a local seniors council to advise me on their priorities. As part of budget 2024 consultations, the Vancouver Granville Seniors Council shared issues that were important to the members that they would like addressed…
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Mr. Speaker, PacifiCan plays a vital role in communities across British Columbia. It partnered with New Relationship Trust to work on the B.C. indigenous clean energy initiative and invest $4 million to support indigenous communities, create good and sustainable jobs, and move toward clean and reliable energy. This investment is also supporting over 100 projects by providing an additional $140 mil…
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and consistent with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled, “Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty Between the Government of Canada and the Swiss Federal Council”, done at Montreal on November 3, 2023.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C‑354, which seeks to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act to impose additional consultation obligations on the CRTC, namely the obligation to consult the Government of Quebec on its cultural distinctiveness and the governments of the provinces and territories on their French-speaking markets. Our government is alrea…
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Mr. Speaker, from January 1, 2020, to November 21, 2023, CBC/Radio-Canada asked various social media companies to act on content posted on their platforms that violate copyright of their platform community standards. CBC/Radio-Canada records do not contain the complete information required to provide a comprehensive response to this question. An extensive manual search would be required to gather …
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Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage entitled “Job Cuts Announced at CBC/Radio-Canada”.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and consistent with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Convention relating to the distribution of programme-carrying signals transmitted by satellite”, done at Brussels on May 21, 1974.
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Madam Speaker, the constituents of Vancouver Granville, and all British Columbians, believe in the importance of supporting small business and supporting organizations in our communities, and they deserve to know which members of the House stand with them or against them. That is why I am requesting a recorded vote.
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Madam Speaker, we believe in building infrastructure for Canadians and building a strong economy, and that is why we will call for a recorded vote.
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Canadian Museum of History, BDO was paid $95,000, with a contract start date of September 2020 and end date of November 2021. The assignment of the work provided by BDO was to conduct a workforce assessment to measure the museum’s overall working environment and capture employees’ sentiments and comfort within the culture of the workplace. The scope of the workforce…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Broadcasting Act requires the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, to regulate online broadcasting entities. As a first step, the CRTC created the registry to obtain some basic contact information about certain larger services operating in Canada, which will further the CRTC’s understanding of the Canadian online broadcasting la…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, is a quasi-judicial tribunal that operates at arm’s length. It regulates the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the public interest. The CRTC makes decisions after broad public consultations and a thorough analysis of the evidence on the public record. Its broadcasting operations are funded throug…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's Walk of Fame is a national non-profit charitable organization that inspires Canadians by proudly shining a light on extraordinary Canadian achievers and their successes. This Saturday, Canada's Walk of Fame will celebrate a history-in-the-making 25th anniversary gala. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, I look forward to attending this truly inclu…
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Mr. Speaker, gender-based violence perpetuates cycles of fear and trauma, hinders social and economic development and reinforces gender inequality. Women and girls are often the primary victims, but men and non-binary people can also experience this type of violence. Our government is committed to preventing gender-based violence by promoting a responsive justice system and supporting victims, sur…
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Mr. Speaker, since January 1, 2020, the National Arts Centre did not make any requests to social media companies to take down, edit, ban, or change in any other way social media content, posts, or accounts.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a comprehensive response. The CRTC concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question wou…
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Mr. Speaker, from January 1, 2020, to September 27, 2023, CBC/Radio-Canada asked various social media companies to act on content posted on their platforms that violate copyright of their platform community standards. CBC/Radio-Canada records do not contain the complete information required to provide a comprehensive response to this question. An extensive manual search would be required to gather…
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Madam Speaker, first, our thoughts are with the more than 500 families who are affected by these job losses. We will be there for them, and we will also be there for the cultural industry and the media. The reality is that this is the reason why we need to continue our work on Bill C‑11. That is why we introduced that bill. The reality is that the Conservatives always oppose measures to protect th…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that British Columbia, as a leader against climate change, has been working hard for almost two decades now on its own price on carbon. The plan we have put forward will benefit thousands and thousands of British Columbians who continue to use home heating oil. They will be able to take advantage of what we have put in place. In addition, as was already said,…
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Madam Speaker, simply put, what we have put in place will help the thousands of British Columbians who continue to use home heating oil. It will help them move to heat pumps. The Premier of British Columbia has announced that he will work with us. That is how we will continue the fight against climate change: by working together, not by opposing every single measure like the Conservatives do.
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Madam Speaker, this situation is another sad example of what the Online Streaming Act and the Online News Act are meant to address. We understand that it is not easy to reform the media landscape to make it fair, competitive and respectful of all Canadian voices, but we have worked to ensure that markets across Canada, including the francophone market, are supported. Our culture and our democracy …
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Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to hear the Conservatives quoting the Governor of the Bank of Canada, someone they wanted to fire a few months ago. It is surprising and wonderful, because if we listen to what the Governor of the Bank of Canada said, he said that carbon pricing was contributing 0.15% to inflation and that cutting the carbon tax would have no long-term effect on inflation and no effect…
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