SoVote

Dec/1/21 5:43:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. Once again, it is an honour to work with you, as well as with all of the members and my colleagues in the House. Before I start my remarks, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Steveston—Richmond East in British Columbia. He became a dear friend very shortly after his election in 2021. I would also like to mention that we are on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation. We are very grateful to be here and to share the territory with them. This is my first official speech in the House of Commons, and I am very proud to be able to represent voters and residents of Hull—Aylmer for the third time. I am truly grateful and, to be frank, I am humbled to know that the people of Hull—Aylmer have entrusted me with a third term. I would therefore like to thank them and to reassure them that I will work very hard and devote all of my efforts to making sure that we can build a stronger, more united and more sustainable Hull—Aylmer, Quebec and Canada. Before talking about the throne speech, I would like to thank the men and women from all parties who ran for election in 2021 in Hull—Aylmer, those from the Bloc Québécois, the New Democratic Party, the Conservative Party, the Green Party and the others. These women and men had the courage to take part in the democratic process to discuss their ideas and debate in a very respectful manner. I think that the true winners of the election are the residents of Hull—Aylmer, given the quality of the candidates who ran in the last election. I love Parliament. I love the idea of our constitutional democracy. I think that we, the 338 members of the House, are fortunate to be able to debate ideas and the major issues of our day. As I said, I will devote all of my efforts to the job, but I would like to point out that I am not a perfect man. I will make mistakes. I have made many in the past, but I do my best to get back on track and continue to do the work, which leads me to the throne speech. The Speech from the Throne is truly an expression of our government’s desire to do our best to ensure a better, more sustainable and more prosperous future for all Canadians. I love the fact that the throne speech—I will be the first to admit it—is imperfect. It is not the Gospel, but it is a good plan, even an excellent plan, for Canada and Canadians. Our top priority reflects the times we are living through and it is putting an end to the pandemic. We know that when we are on lockdown we cannot enjoy all of our freedoms or do the things we should be doing. That is why we must use all the means at our disposal to put an end to the pandemic and allow all Canadians to thrive, whether by creating social cohesion, fighting climate change or creating a stronger, more sustainable and more prosperous economy. There is a plan in the throne speech to put an end to the pandemic. Our main goal, right now, is to get the pandemic under control and to complete the vaccination process. In so doing, as I said, we can create real opportunities for all Canadians to shine and thrive. I am proud of what Canadians have done. Almost 88% of us have been vaccinated. That is an outstanding rate. Canadians decided to accept science and all the good work that our scientists and researchers have done in Canada and around the world. Canadians stood in line to get vaccinated because it was their duty as citizens to do so. I am very pleased to see that most Canadians took part in this remarkable effort. As a member from the national capital region, I must also say how proud I am that federal public servants have stepped up and gotten vaccinated. They did their duty to better protect not only their own health, but also that of their colleagues. I know that the member for Ottawa West—Nepean here beside me, who is also a member from the national capital region, is also very proud that 98% of Canadian public servants are vaccinated. That is an extraordinary number, and I commend them for that. As the son of an immigrant, I tend to be dissatisfied with the missing 2%. I wish that we could reach 100%. Let us move on to other major themes that were addressed in this throne speech. There is one thing that is personal to me, and it relates to my last comment. I am referring to the diversity and inclusion initiatives. As a member of a visible minority, a Black Canadian and the son of two people who had the courage to leave their home country and settle here in Quebec, Canada, in order to create a better world for their family and contribute to Canadian society, it touches me deeply to find the issue of diversity and inclusion not only in the throne speech, but also in the 2021 budget. In the two previous budgets, there were also initiatives that for the first time specifically addressed issues affecting Black Canadians. I am very proud that the economic statement includes specific initiatives to fulfill the Government of Canada’s solemn declaration to include the talents of all Canadians, no matter where they come from. I will conclude by saying that the throne speech includes initiatives to end the pandemic, as well as initiatives on diversity and inclusion. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to talk about the existential debate on the environment and all the related measures. This throne speech is worthy of the support of all members of the House of Commons.

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mr. Greg Fergus

Dec/1/21 5:55:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques on his re-election and thank him for his question. I know he supports diversity. It is very simple. First, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister for having the courage to admit that unconscious discrimination, systemic racism, exists in all institutions, whether in government, the private sector or NGOs. It is also a federal concern. There is an easy way to fix this problem. The governments of Quebec and Canada need to work together on immigration, especially when it comes to foreign students. If we want to have more students from francophone African countries, we can perhaps make it easier for international students to manage the tuition fees they have to pay and help them make the transition from student life to citizenship so they can become good citizens of Quebec and Canada.

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mr. Greg Fergus

Dec/1/21 5:57:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Kenora on his re-election. I have had the pleasure of visiting his riding a number of times. I am particularly proud of our record on reconciliation. When we were elected in 2015, there were 105 boil water advisories on reserves. By 2021, this problem has been addressed in more than 110 of these communities. My colleagues are probably wondering how we addressed more cases than the number announced in 2015, but that is because new cases came up during that time. The government continues to work on addressing these problems and ensuring that reserves have access to clean drinking water, as all Canadians and human beings should.

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mr. Greg Fergus

Dec/1/21 5:59:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating the member for North Island—Powell River on her re-election. In answer to her interesting question about oceans, I would say that I am proud to be part of a government that has its own oceans protection plan. When we took office, very few of the oceans around Canada were protected. However, we have already managed to protect 20%, and we have a target of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Not only is that a good record, but it is also a great goal.

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