SoVote

Mr. Marc Serré (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 1:11:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the people of Nickel Belt for a third time. I am also honoured to speak today on the Speech from the Throne. The parliamentary session resumed yesterday. I am grateful to be in Ottawa to represent the residents of Nickel Belt, and will continue to advocate for their priorities and strive to deliver solutions. Although these uncertain times have created challenges, there are so many opportunities afoot to move forward in a progressive and positive way. I am looking forward to the debates in the House and also in my riding. The actions over the last few days and the weekend by some of the protesters in our nation's capital raise serious public safety concerns and undermine our right to a safe democratic process. There is no place for symbols of hate, for disrespectful actions on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, for defacing public property or for intimidating residents, business owners or parliamentary staff. Truckers have always been important to our country’s economic prosperity. They have stepped up throughout the pandemic and remain essential. The safety of truckers continues to be our government’s priority, which is why Transport Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency have been working closely with the industry throughout this process to ensure that companies and drivers are prepared. To reiterate, both the governments of Canada and the United States have made being vaccinated a requirement to cross the border. Our path forward post-pandemic and beyond needs to be built on a foundation of respect and on mitigating the spread of misinformation. Social media reporting of some of the events emboldens extreme behaviours and leaves little room for positive, impactful and real action. We must denounce further division based on fear. I encourage all of us here, and all of our constituents, to connect with members of the community on how to truly advance change. One way to do that is to be deeply engaged in the democratic process, which means showing up to vote, consuming credible information and holding our elected officials accountable at election time and during campaigns. MPs are the people's voice, and I am as committed as ever to each of my residents in Nickel Belt. I have kept a grassroots approach when engaging with Nickel Belt residents, and I will continue to meet with individuals who have varying opinions on topics while seeking to preserve the safety and development of the region. The right to protest is fundamental, but when we see a movement propped up with hate, racism and intimidation, which happened to my home and family, we have to ask ourselves what we are truly supporting. I wish my colleagues, the residents of Ottawa and all involved parties a safe and peaceful resolution to this convoy initiative happening today. Disagreements should not incite violence and threats. We are Canadian. Let us get back to today's debate and my desire to build a resilient economy and a cleaner, healthier future for our children. That is my top priority for people of Nickel Belt. After 19 months of dealing with the kind of pandemic that only comes along once every 100 years, Canadians made a choice in September to continue with our Liberal plan. They gave us a clear mandate to put COVID-19 behind us and find real solutions to build a better future for Canadians. Today we laid out our Liberal plan, which will finish our fight against COVID-19, take tough action on climate change, make life more affordable, move forward together on the path to reconciliation, help Canadians become homeowners, and create jobs while growing the middle class. The people of Nickel Belt expect all parliamentarians to focus on the important issues that matter and work together to deliver results. If we want to build a better future, we must first get the pandemic under control and continue our vaccination efforts. That is why I want to congratulate Nickel Belt residents for their high vaccination rates. We will continue to encourage eligible Canadians to get vaccinated against COVID-19. We will take steps to address surgical delays brought on by COVID-19, improve long-term care, and provide easier access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. Now, Parliament must come together to move forward on what matters most to the people in our ridings. We must put the pandemic behind us. We will truly rebuild an economy for everyone while tackling the rising cost of living, housing affordability and child care. We have signed agreements with the provinces for hundreds of thousands of new spaces across the country in the early learning and child care system. As we strive to build a resilient economy, create jobs and grow the middle class, it is also important to cap and cut our emissions, invest in public transit and mandate the sale of zero-emission vehicles. I am proud of the work that Nickel Belt residents are doing to create a green economy and green jobs. Together, we need to go further, faster on implementing climate action, not only to protect our environment, but also to grow our economy by getting all workers involved. Northern Ontario has experience in creating a green economy and green jobs in the mining and forestry industries. It is important to continue to build on that work. We have to move faster on the path of reconciliation. Canadians were horrified by the discovery of unmarked graves and burial sites located near former residential schools. As a country and as a government, we must continue to tell the truths of these tragedies. We will continue to support indigenous peoples and their communities by investing in distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategies, and we will ensure fair and equitable compensation for those harmed by the first nations child and family services program. I want to thank the three first nations communities in Nickel Belt: Atikameksheng Anishinawbek, Wahnapitae and Mattagami first nations play a proactive role in each other's communities. We have a Liberal team that will continue to work to keep all Canadians safe and help them get ahead, regardless of their gender, who they love, or their background, language, faith or skin colour. We will also stand up for the LGBTQ+ community by banning conversion therapy. As the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Official Languages, I am also looking forward to the tabling of a bill on our two official languages. We will continue to promote French across Canada, particularly in northern Ontario. The Official Languages Act is very important to me and my constituents in Nickel Belt. I will continue to work closely with them to find solutions to grow our economy and create jobs in northern Ontario.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Marc Serré

Feb/1/22 1:21:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. It is important that we reach out to individual Canadians. They need to be heard and we need to find solutions, and all parties in the House of Commons need to do this. It is so important. Yes, we call out the hate and the violence, but more importantly, we need to find a solution together to make sure we understand why certain individuals are not getting vaccinated. We need to understand why there are threats and why there is misinformation. Together, we need to find a way to make sure that we support our health care workers, our nurses and doctors, because hospitalization rates are really high, and we have a lot that is being cancelled. We need to be there to listen to the protest, but we also need to get some resolution and move forward. The protesters have made their point. Now let us move forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Marc Serré

Feb/1/22 1:23:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has spent $8 of every $10 in aid to provinces, municipalities, individuals and businesses. We were there to support the provinces. We need to keep playing that role, but we also have to look at how we can stimulate economic recovery and make jobs greener. The people exercised their democratic right last fall. Canadians have spoken. The people of my riding, Nickel Belt, tell me they want the Parliament of Canada and political parties here in Ottawa to work together and find solutions that will move us forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Marc Serré

Feb/1/22 1:24:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I have sat on several committees together working to find common solutions, but the tone of her question is a bit disappointing. Both the official opposition and the government are there to support the freedom and rights of individuals. We have to continue to do that. We have to respect the charter, but we also have to look at how we get out of this pandemic. It is a health crisis around the world, and we have to find ways to get people vaccinated and get the economy up and running again.

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