SoVote

Ms. Iqra Khalid (Mississauga—Erin Mills, Lib.)

Dec/2/21 12:03:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in the House today to speak in response to the Speech from the Throne. Last week our government outlined a comprehensive plan to move our country forward and finish the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 20 months, our federal government has remained focused on doing whatever it takes to support Canadians. In an unprecedented crisis, we took unprecedented action, and through our federal programs, we have kept food on the table for nearly nine million Canadians through CERB and the CRB, helped more than 700,000 small businesses stay afloat and protected over 3.9 million Canadian jobs. There are local businesses in my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills that had a very successful Black Friday weekend, only because they had our support to survive. Now, as we move forward, we must focus on economic recovery. That means focusing on jobs, affordability, taking stronger action against climate change, moving forward toward a path of reconciliation and ensuring everyone has access to health care. Last week's Speech from the Throne highlighted just that. It is no secret that housing prices have risen drastically across the country over the years, and we are feeling the impact in my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills. Since I was first elected in 2015, hundred of constituents in Erin Mills have written to me to share their concerns about the rising cost of living, and our efforts for Canada's economic recovery must continue to focus on affordability. From day one, our government has made housing a clear priority. We launched Canada's first national housing strategy and invested more than $72 billion over 10 years, starting in 2017, to ensure Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home. To date, our housing strategy has supported the creation of over 100,000 new units and repaired over 300,000 more. As we continue to address supply issues, our government has helped put home ownership back in reach for Canadians with a more flexible first-time home buyer incentive, a new rent-to-own program and a reduction in closing costs for first-time buyers. In the term ahead, I look forward to working with our new Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion to push ahead on the home buyers' bill of rights, which would help ensure that the process of purchasing and selling one's home is fair and transparent. We are taking action because each and every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. As I was knocking on doors over this summer, I met Janet. She is a nurse and a working mother in my riding with two young children. While she has worked on the front lines of this pandemic, she has relied on child care programs to ensure that her children are taken care of. Between the long hours at work and the costs of these services, she has been struggling to get by. For parents like Janet, our government's plan to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system is a game changer. We have backed this plan with $30 billion and earned acclaim from stakeholders across Canada. Our government has always prioritized investing in early learning and child care because it is the right and smart thing to do, not only for parents, but also for our economy. We have signed agreements with Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and, most recently, Alberta. For parents in these jurisdictions, it means that their child care fees will be cut in half by the end of the coming year and reduced to just $10 a day by 2026. Suffice to say, we in Erin Mills are all waiting for Ontario and other remaining provinces to come to the table. Our government will remain focused on making life better and more affordable for all Canadians. This summer we were shocked, horrified and heart-broken by the discovery of unmarked graves and burial sites located near former residential schools. These graves, and countless more waiting to be found, confirm the stories that survivors have been telling for generations. As Canadians, we still have a lot to learn about this undertold part of our country and a lot of work ahead of us. To move forward on the path of reconciliation, we need to ensure that the truths and history of these tragedies are never forgotten. Our government is committed to continuing to support indigenous peoples in these communities by investing in a distinction-based mental health and wellness strategy, accelerating work on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQ people, and appointing a special interlocutor to advance justice for those impacted by residential schools. We must push forward to complete the remaining Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action under federal responsibility, and continue pushing the other named parties and levels of government to do their part. I would like to turn my attention to the climate crisis. On that, our government's position has never wavered. Climate change is real, and it is among the greatest challenges of our generation and future generations. That is why we are taking action by increasing the price on pollution and putting more money into the pockets of Canadians. We are investing in public transit, developing alternative energies such as hydrogen, and making zero-emission vehicles more affordable and accessible for everyone. Building something new takes time, and it takes investment. Canadians want us to make the investments today to build a cleaner economy, and that is what we are doing to reach that goal of a clean energy grid from coast to coast to coast, and net zero by 2050. Residents in Erin Mills are done debating the legitimacy of the climate crisis and so am I. Canadians want all parties, at all levels of government including provinces and municipalities, to get on board and take this seriously. If we work together and continue to push our ambitions higher, we can make Canada the proof that a clean future is possible. Our children are watching. Earlier this month, I heard from Ms. Chen's grade 10 class at Meadowvale Secondary School, asking our government to take action on mental health. I could not agree more. At the onset of the pandemic, we created the Wellness Together portal to provide free, confidential support to Canadians of all ages. Within the first two weeks that portal had received over 1.2 million calls. That tells us we need to continue to make mental health more accessible for all. We have invested $100 million to support mental health projects across Canada, and over the next five years we intend to invest $4.5 billion to expand access to mental health services. To oversee these investments, our Prime Minister has appointed the first ever federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. This is the same person who not long ago helped build the Public Health Agency of Canada. For our youth, seniors, frontline workers, BIPOC communities and Canadians of all walks of life, we must ensure that mental health supports are ready and available when they need them. I have only scratched the surface of what our plan will deliver for Canadians. When I look to the future, we are building a cleaner, more affordable and more resilient Canada for everyone. I am optimistic. I am optimistic because, yesterday, we saw what the House is capable of when we put partisanship aside for the sake of Canadians. If we can move forward in that spirit of unity and co-operation, we can get this done. It is an honour to be back in this chamber representing my wonderful riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills, and I look forward to working on this progressive agenda with members across the chamber to ensure we move forward together toward a better and more prosperous Canada for everyone. It all starts with this throne speech.

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Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21

Ms. Iqra Khalid

Dec/2/21 12:13:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with the member opposite on his call to action on connectivity across the country. I had the privilege to travel to Newfoundland and Labrador earlier this year and really got to see first-hand the issues rural communities face with respect to connectivity. This government has made significant investments in ensuring that Canada is connected. We saw just how important that connection was as we moved to a more virtual workspace. I know that the party opposite may have plans and may have promises, but the government has been delivering on this issue for the past number of years.

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Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21

Ms. Iqra Khalid

Dec/2/21 12:15:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past 20 months, we saw just how critical investments in health care really are. We have to work together with provinces and territories to ensure that Canadians have access to that health care. In our campaign, we made the commitment that we would continue to invest in health care, not only creating new hospital beds but also ensuring that we fill the labour shortage and hire more doctors and health care professionals. We look forward to working with the member opposite to ensure that this is implemented.

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Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21

Ms. Iqra Khalid

Dec/2/21 12:17:22 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-3

Mr. Speaker, I have been on the justice committee for the past six years, and we have done significant work on access to justice. We know that there is institutionalized racism. That is exactly why we introduced Bill C-3: to ensure that judges had that training. It is why we continue to make those investments within the police force and within our justice system to ensure that access is there. The work is being done. The damage was done over 150 years, and we need to make sure that we take it seriously and continue to chip away and push that needle further towards progress.

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