SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24

Mar/21/24 1:21:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the member surely saw, I did not use any notes for my speech, unlike most Liberal members who come in and read PMO speech number one or number two, or they have their potted-plant questions during question period like “Prime Minister, you appear to be the best prime minister who has ever been prime minister. Why are you so awesome?” That is what we get from the Liberal government and the Liberal member. With respect to the question the member asked, she is factually incorrect. This is just like when the Liberals say that eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back from the carbon tax. They can make up any facts they want. Eight out of 10 people know that. It is patently false. We will fix things like the carbon tax. We will fix things so that we do not have serial killers sent to medium security where they can enjoy tennis courts and ice rinks. What has the member done about it in the months since this has been revealed? Absolutely nothing, because she thinks it is okay.

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Speech

Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24

Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)

Mar/21/24 3:38:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising today with a bit of mixed emotion. As I pay tribute to and express gratitude for my dear friend and colleague, the member for Elmwood—Transcona, I am both excited for the opportunity that this presents for his family and for the province of Manitoba, and also deeply saddened by the loss that it is going to mean for me as a leader and for us as a team. I want to acknowledge right off the bat that his late father, Bill, and mother, Brenda, did a great job. They made not just a great human in the member for Elmwood—Transcona, but great humans of all of their kids. One would think when people have a number of kids that they might miss here or there, but every single one of them are incredible, so a big shout-out to the great work done by some fabulous parents. I think about this speech almost as a résumé, so that it is on the record what this great member has accomplished. For folks who do not know, we talk sometimes about the idea of a poet warrior or a philosopher warrior. This is a philosopher electrician, someone who has a master's degree in philosophy and is a Red Seal electrician, someone who combines the idea of being a worker and who has worked on the front lines as a proud member of IBEW with the heart of a philosopher. He brought that to this Parliament. That already is something pretty phenomenal. Think about the way he has done his work. I have to say that he brought in a particular element that is very unique to the Prairies. It is a prairie pragmatism that comes from having been in a province where we know that, for the past five decades, the majority of that time the province was governed by a New Democratic government that ran and governed on the principles of compassion, competency and getting stuff done. That is very much what we can see in the member for Elmwood—Transcona, this principle of having deep compassion and care. We heard it in his speech. He cares deeply about workers. He cares deeply about people, but he also wants to get things done. He has played many roles on our team. He was the caucus chair. Most recently, he was my critic for finance. It would be difficult to find another finance critic, from any opposition but particularly from the fourth party, who has played such an outsized role in shaping our country. He has been integral to a committee that has been set up to ensure that the Liberals follow through on commitments we forced them to do, and he has been integral to making these things happen. He has played a fundamental role in shaping our country when it comes to bringing in and negotiating record-breaking, history-making dental care and pharmacare programs, programs that are going to save and improve the lives of millions of people, ensuring that people have access to needed medication, as well as access to dental care, which we know has direct impacts on health. He has been integral to making that happen. We have forced the Liberal government to make significant changes. I can say, with confidence, that I could not have done that work without having the member for Elmwood—Transcona there. I also want to share that, as someone who has a young family, I know the incredible sacrifice that is involved. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge Janelle and their two incredible kids, Robert and Noah. My thanks to them for sharing their pops and partner with us. It has made a huge difference in the lives of Canadians. I hope they know how much it was worth it. I know sometimes it maybe did not feel like it when he was so far away, but it has made a huge difference to this country. Losing the member for Elmwood—Transcona is going to certainly feel like a loss, but it is also an opportunity. I always like to look at the positive side of things. We know that he will not be far away. It is a neighbouring province to Ontario, so we can get over there pretty quickly if we need to. He is also going to be continuing to do great work to ensure that the people of Manitoba receive significant and important investments from the federal government, so I acknowledge that great work. I want to acknowledge the Premier of Manitoba for having the vision to recruit such an incredible member. I am a little bit sad, but I think Premier Kinew did a great job because the member is an incredible addition to any team. I think he did the right thing for his province. I just want to touch on some other interesting notes about the member for Elmwood—Transcona. I had never actually been to an Address to a Haggis before in life. The first time I went to one was when I was invited by the member for Elmwood—Transcona. I did not realize, first of all, that he would have such an epic presence at this event. I did not realize he was such a great bagpipe player, another thing that should be added to his résumé. I did not know about his humour, because I have always thought of him as this philosopher and a hard-working member of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Then I heard him break out into a Scottish accent, which I did not know was a thing, and just regale the crowd with incredible humour. I thought, “This is an incredible package: a philosopher, electrician, member of Parliament, and someone who can play the bagpipes and regale a crowd in a Scottish accent.” It was an incredible experience. I thank the member for everything he has contributed to this Parliament. I thank him for the work he has done on our team. Our movement is better because of him. He has done his father, mother and family proud.

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Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24

Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)

Mar/21/24 4:13:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I have the pleasure of serving with him on the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. Regarding the alternative facts that he often cites—instead of repeating ideas written by others, that criticize without offering solutions or that disregard the separation of powers—I would like to know whether they are deceptive, or a distortion of the truth.

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