44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 9, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/9/22 2:12:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, thunderclouds rolled over the foothills of southern Alberta, bringing desperately needed rain for the grasslands of the foothills. It was a perfect backdrop for a celebration honouring a legendary cowboy.
The stories of John Ware are almost too fantastic to believe. He would stop a steer head-on. He would lift small cows and he would break horses that others thought were unbreakable. What is indisputable is a story of survival and perseverance. John Ware embodied the strength and resilience of Black Canadians. He overcame racism, rough frontier conditions and slavery to build a life for himself and his family in the foothills, and he became a successful and renowned rancher. A highly skilled horseman, John joined a crew that drove a thousand head of cattle to the Rocky Mountains, where he built a life for himself.
His achievements are now being honoured with a plaque at the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site in the saddle barn that he helped build. I would encourage all Canadians to learn more about this incredible pioneer so that the legend of John Ware lives on.
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- Jun/9/22 2:14:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to talk about an organization that is doing fantastic work on behalf of the Black community in Pierrefonds—Dollard.
The West Island Black Community Association, properly known as WIBCA, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month. This wonderful organization provides a wide array of services to all segments of society while also empowering Montreal's Black community. Its services include a clinic, a scholarship program, its first-ever robotics expo being inaugurated this week and fitness programs, as well as security and financial literacy workshops for seniors.
I want to thank the West Island Black Community Association for playing such a vital role in the pandemic response and for its hard work in our community.
I thank them for making the West Island a better place. I look forward to celebrating this important milestone with them.
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Mr. Speaker, in the face of continued misinformation from the Prime Minister's Office, yesterday's passage of Bill C-248 establishing Ojibway National Park was a victory for Caldwell First Nation, the City of Windsor, Essex County and the environment. New Democrats, Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, the Green Party and two courageous Liberal MPs voted to establish this historic park.
I want to thank Chief Mary Duckworth and all of Caldwell First Nation for years of advocacy, Mayor Dilkens and all of the city council, Janet and Dave of Wildlands League, the Unifor Environment Committee, Friends of the Rouge, Friends of Ojibway Park, Essex County Field Naturalists' Club, ERCA, thousands of resident schools and businesses, Wildlife Preservation Canada, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Green Ummah, the Audubon Society and Save Ojibway.
These remarkable organizations and people came together and worked hand in hand to make this park a reality. We now invite members who did not vote for this park to work with us on the next steps.
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- Jun/9/22 2:15:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal and Conservative members from Quebec showed their true colours yesterday. They voted against protecting Quebec's political weight in the House of Commons. They voted against maintaining the proportion of seats in Ottawa for the Quebec nation at 25%.
Because of them, Quebec is doomed to slowly disappear. Maintaining Quebec's political weight at 25% is not a new concept. It was proposed as part of the Charlottetown accord in 1992. It was Brian Mulroney's compromise in order to accommodate Quebec within the Canadian system. It was known as the “beau risque”. That is what the Liberals and Conservatives said no to.
It is even worse coming from the Conservatives, because they are abandoning the only real legacy they ever had in Quebec. In 1992, the Conservatives were in favour of protecting Quebec's political weight, while the Reform Party opposed it. This is basically proof that that party over there today is the Reform Party. It also shows how important the Quebec nation is to the rest of Canada. Let us face the facts.
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- Jun/9/22 2:17:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Chinese Communist Party continues to commit horrific acts of violence against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims: acts that this House has rightly recognized constitute genocide. Actions by Parliament and the government continue to be vitally needed to more effectively block products made with Uighur forced labour, halt complicity in organ harvesting and prevent Canadian imports from supporting this repression, and to sanction perpetrators of violence.
This week, I was very pleased to join Senator Leo Housakos in welcoming a leader in the fight for Uighurs and for human rights in general to Parliament: NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom. Honestly, I am not normally a big sports fan, but it was great to see the way that the convening power of celebrity could be used to constructively engage more people in an important cause. Mr. Freedom has leveraged his audience of millions to bring awareness and promote action in support of the world's most vulnerable. Uighurs in concentration camps often cannot have their voices heard, so Mr. Freedom is using his platform to magnify their voices.
I also want to recognize his important work on human rights in Turkey to defend the rights of those persecuted by the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan regime.
While many stars and corporate brands only stand for racial justice when it is convenient, Mr. Freedom is always a champion on the court that matters most. I thank him for being a voice for the voiceless.
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- Jun/9/22 2:18:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to rise today to welcome back, after two long years of waiting, the in-person Italian Week Ottawa celebrations in my community of Ottawa Centre. Italian Week is focused on creating exciting experiences that share Italian culture with all of us.
The events scheduled this year include a film screening, master classes, children's bedtime stories and much more. The grand finale will take place from June 17 to 19 along beautiful Preston Street in Little Italy in my community.
I encourage everyone to join us next weekend to see live entertainment, a soccer tournament, kids' rides, opera performances, street animations and the Ottawa bike race as we close out the week.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Department of Canadian Heritage for the ongoing support it has provided to Italian Week Ottawa, and to applaud the festival organizers and board directors, Lydia Di Francesco and Gina Maddalena, along with all the volunteers for their tireless efforts in planning this fantastic celebration.
Happy Settimana Italiana di Ottawa.
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- Jun/9/22 2:19:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, soon masks will no longer be required on public transit in Ontario. Soon masks will no longer be required on public transit in Quebec. The provincial governments listened to the recommendations of their public health experts.
Vaccine passports are no longer required in the country unless you are taking a plane, working for the federal government or entering the Parliament buildings. It is so ridiculous that some Liberal MPs have asked the Conservatives not to talk about it because they are afraid it will upset the Prime Minister and he will dig in his heels.
What is wrong with the Prime Minister's political science?
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- Jun/9/22 2:19:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first allow me to thank Canadians for the sacrifices they made to get through the pandemic. Our collective efforts have borne fruit: Canada has the second-lowest mortality rate in the G7 and the lowest unemployment rate in the last 50 years.
Such effective outcomes are a result of the vaccines and all the public health measures we implemented.
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- Jun/9/22 2:20:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, her talent for not answering questions is incredible. What is the difference between being crammed into a subway or lining up at an airport? People on the subway have physical contact with others, vaccinated or not, and public health is fine with that. At an airport, everyone is vaccinated and must still wear a mask.
The Prime Minister has no science to justify this. Does the Prime Minister think that the provincial public health agencies, which are responsible for health, are wrong? Are all the agencies in all the provinces wrong, or is he the only one who is right? Why does the Prime Minister insist on making people wear masks and maintaining these measures?
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- Jun/9/22 2:21:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the incredible talent is the Conservative's talent of not understanding that these public health measures and vaccines are the reason Canada has succeeded in the fight against COVID‑19.
If the United States had matched Canada's vaccination rate, they could have avoided 690,000 hospitalizations and 163,000 deaths.
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- Jun/9/22 2:21:56 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, all we ever hear from the minister is “if”. She never gives real answers. Let us talk about real-life things.
Even as shootings are on the rise in Montreal, the Liberals are in such a hurry to release criminals that they are going to gag the opposition to pass Bill C‑5, which imposes mandatory minimum sentences.
Here is what one Montrealer said on TVA: “My mother and I were sitting on the porch after supper, and we had to go inside and hide because there was shooting. There was gunshot after gunshot.”
This is not a war zone we are talking about; it is Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Why are the Liberals more interested in helping criminals than in offering reassurance to this woman and all Montrealers?
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- Jun/9/22 2:22:33 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, what we are interested in is taking concrete action to reduce the number of guns, such as handguns, in Canada.
I find the Conservative members' questions absurd. They are against the important historic measures we are proposing.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives believe that meaningful and effective steps must be taken to end gun violence and gun crime in Canada. Canadians need to be safe, and victims of domestic violence need to be protected. While there are aspects of Bill C-21 that we can agree on, specifically on domestic violence issues, the rest of the bill falls short and would do nothing to end gun violence.
Will the Liberals agree to split Bill C-21 into two bills? One would be to protect the victims of domestic violence, while the other aspects of the bill would be reworked to offer real and effective solutions to gun crime and gun trafficking.
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Mr. Speaker, speaking as a member of Parliament for downtown Toronto and as a mother of teenagers who live in my riding, I want to say very clearly that we will never water down our measures on gun control. We know that these are essential to protecting Canadians, and I just wish the members opposite would stop their posturing and join us in savings lives.
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Mr. Speaker, divisive policies do not protect people. Fear does not protect people. Virtue-signalling does not protect people. The Liberals are using U.S.-style wedge politics for their own political gain. It will not keep Canadians safe, and it will not stop violence.
Conservatives will be putting forward a sincere offer to split Bill C-21 so that victims of domestic violence can be protected as soon as possible. We can work together to get this done, but it is up to the Liberals. They have two options: They can either accept the offer to protect victims immediately, or they can reject it and continue with their divisive rhetoric, which would leave victims vulnerable.
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Mr. Speaker, do members know what protects Canadians? What protects Canadians is banning military-style assault weapons, which have no place in our society. What protects Canadians is limiting access to handguns, and I will tell members what is entirely insincere. It is the Conservatives' fake concern for Canadians who are victims of gun violence. Conservatives could support those Canadians by supporting our legislation.
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec gave all members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages a book of amendments for Bill C‑13, in which is sets out how to actually protect the French Language. Quebec reiterates that the bill must mention the particular situation of French as a minority language within an English-speaking continent. It also reiterates that the Charter of the French Language must apply to federally regulated businesses. Quebec has a unique expertise when it comes to the French language, earned over its 400-year history.
Will the federal government meet Quebec's demands?
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said last week, our government recognizes that the French language needs to be strengthened in Quebec and across Canada. Our government knows that the French fact is declining in Quebec and across Canada and that we need to halt that decline.
With respect to expertise, it is clear that I am an anglophone and “ukrainophone”, but we have francophone members from Quebec and from all over the country in our party.
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Mr. Speaker, I have seen a lot of bills, and it is extraordinary for Quebec to officially submit amendments to a federal bill. It is extraordinary because it is existential. Bill C-13 is about our official, common and national language. Quebec is saying that, without amendments, Bill C-13 does not protect French in Quebec. Rather, it promotes bilingualism, which leads to anglicization.
Does the federal government realize that there is one area, only one area, where Canada must must Quebec's demands, and that is the protection of the French language?
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree that French in Quebec and Canada is an existential issue. I absolutely agree. As a Ukrainian Canadian, I understand full well, on a very personal level, the importance of language and culture. However, I must also say that Bill C-13 is an excellent bill that will protect French in Quebec and across the country.
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