44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 22, 2024 10:00AM
- Mar/22/24 11:10:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am sad to rise today to reflect on the recent passing of former Pickering regional councillor Peter Rodrigues.
Peter was a colleague but, more than that, he was a true friend. I am devastated thinking about the fact that our last time together was, in fact, the final time I would see my friend.
We had some memorable council meetings together, and we knew we were in for an interesting debate when Peter started his intervention with “to make a short story long”. Peter was never at a loss for words and he may have been the catalyst for the implementation of speaking time limits for councillors.
I was lucky to know Peter outside of politics and what I always remember most about him is his unmatched kindness and generosity. He was always helping someone out or volunteering in his beloved Whitevale community.
Peter lived every moment with such joy. I know he would not want anyone to be sad about his passing, but we have lost a fearless advocate for our community and a dear friend to so many.
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- Mar/22/24 11:23:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I find it incredibly interesting that, while Conservatives pretend to care about Canadians, we are actually working to implement legislation and procedures to bring down prices, such as grocery prices and Internet fees.
While we are working hard for Canadians, do people know what Conservative lobbyists are doing? They are creating fake, secret lobbying companies to lobby the government while hiding from Canadians that they are the same chief advisers. They are lobbying for higher Internet costs. The Conservatives should come clean about whom they are standing up to.
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- Mar/22/24 11:37:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, once again Conservatives stand in this place and talk about affordability measures. Meanwhile, their own chief lobbyist for the leader of the official opposition is also lobbying on behalf of big grocers to not sign our code of conduct.
We are working every day to bring in affordability measures for Canadians. While Conservatives talk a good talk, behind the scenes they are there to help their wealthy, connected insider friends.
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- Mar/22/24 11:38:25 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the member opposite brought up the use of consultants. What happened the day after the eighth leader of the Conservative Party, the current leader of the official opposition, came into power? The very next day, the Conservatives' chief strategist created a secret lobbying company. That lobbying company then produced—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Ms. Jennifer O'Connell: Madam Speaker, they are yelling, “It's so secret, you found out about it.” It is not part of their plan, certainly—
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- Mar/22/24 11:39:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives heckled, “It's so secret, you found about it.” That is right: To their surprise, Canadians now know exactly what they are doing behind the scenes. They say one thing to Canadians, which is that they are going to stand up for them, but what they actually do is set up secret companies to lobby for higher prices against Canadians' interests.
We cannot trust Conservatives, because they are not in it for Canadians.
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- Mar/22/24 12:00:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I have said before in this place, we take these allegations extremely seriously. We expect all contractors in the procurement process to follow all the rules. For anyone who does not follow those rules, there will be consequences.
The CBSA has already put in place several new measures to improve the procurement process. There have been announcements made as well with the Minister of Procurement to ensure that the procurement process throughout government is transparent and accountable, and that questionable issues like this do not happen again.
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- Mar/22/24 12:02:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we obviously recognize and condemn the Iranian government as a state sponsor of terrorism. We have implemented several measures to ban members of the IRGC from entering Canada. We have put in place sanctions.
We will take the advice from our national security advisors and officials who make these recommendations. We will do everything to keep Canadians safe.
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- Mar/22/24 12:04:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we condemn and acknowledge that the Iranian government is a state sponsor of terrorism, and we have put in place robust sanctions. We have used the immigration legislation to ban people from visiting Canada.
We will continue to listen to the advice of security services, but make no mistake: We recognize that the IRGC is a state sponsor of terrorism, and we will do everything to keep Canadians safe.
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- Mar/22/24 12:05:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are listening to Canadians and we take this matter very seriously. This is precisely why, as I said in my earlier answers, we have put in place robust sanctions against the IRGC. We have recognized Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. We are using immigration legislation to ensure that there is a ban on entering Canada.
We will continue to listen to the advice of security services, because we will do everything in our power to keep Canadians safe.
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