SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 294 - Mar/22/24

Mr. John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City, Lib.)

Mar/22/24 11:00:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, small businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy, and our chambers of commerce do incredible work serving and representing member businesses. This winter, I had the opportunity to participate in two panels hosted by the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce and the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce. These local leadership panels are wonderful initiatives that connect businesses with representatives from all three levels of government and provides them with the chance to ask questions about government policies and other areas of concern. I am continuously grateful for the hard work of our chambers of commerce in representing the businesses operating in Cloverdale—Langley City. However, these events would not be possible without the dedication and leadership of Cory and Scott in improving our community. I want to thank my co-panellists for joining me in participating in the local leadership panels. I also want to thank the business leaders who attended these panels as well as the organizations and institutions that support our chambers of commerce and make these events possible.

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Mr. Kevin Waugh (Saskatoon—Grasswood, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:01:41 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we honour the life of Saskatoon philanthropist, Les Dubé. Les and his wife Irene have donated millions of dollars in our community for health care, scholarships, education, research, poverty, homelessness and, most importantly, mental health. Les built his success from humble beginnings. He was the founding member of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority and served on multiple boards and committees. He holds the Saskatchewan Order of Merit and the Order of Canada. In 2013, Les was awarded as the outstanding philanthropist of the year for North America. The Dubés were generous supporters of all four hospital foundations in Saskatoon and established a number of charitable foundations bearing their name. Les is survived by his wife Irene and three children. We thank him.

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Ms. Joanne Thompson (St. John's East, Lib.)

Mar/22/24 11:02:50 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, more houses are going to get built in St. John's, thanks to the housing accelerator fund. St. John's is getting over $10 million, which will add over 4,000 homes in the next 10 years, incentivize rentals, allow for fourplexes, more secondary units and the use city lands for affordable housing, and more. This is part of the $4 billion we are investing in housing across this country, and it is getting a large number of housing built. It's a lot more than the six, not the 6,000, not the 600, but the six affordable units that the opposition leader built when he was housing minister. We are working with municipalities. We are changing how we build homes, and we are getting more units built.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP)

Mar/22/24 11:03:42 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this week saw 85 young basketball teams gather in Terrace, B.C,. for the Junior All Native Basketball Tournament, one of the largest youth sporting events in British Columbia. I had an opportunity on Sunday evening to take in the opening ceremony, and watching hundreds of young athletes enter the gym to the sound of the host Nisga'a Nation's drums was a powerful sight indeed. It takes a huge amount of energy and work to pull off a tournament this big. I want to recognize the organizing committee, the host nation, the City of Terrace, the sponsors and, of course, the players, coaches, family and friends who made this event so special. Young people are the future, and the co-operation and unity that I saw at this tournament shows that the future is in very good hands. I wish the very best of luck to all the players heading to the finals this afternoon.

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Mr. Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre, Lib.)

Mar/22/24 11:04:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am excited to rise here today and talk about the building of more and more affordable housing in my community of Ottawa Centre. Thanks to our government's housing accelerator fund, we are building thousands of new, affordable homes across my riding today. This historic investment of $176 million will translate into 4,400 new homes across the city of Ottawa within the next three years. By the end of the decade, it will mean almost 33,000 homes in the area for our neighbours to call home. This comes on top of the $565 million that the government has already spent in my community of Ottawa Centre since 2015 to build another 2,100 new homes. We can do more. Provincial governments, such as Ontario's Doug Ford government, can change the planning laws to allow for four units as of right. I encourage all members, especially the Conservatives—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Mar/22/24 11:05:42 a.m.
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The hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:05:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, last week, Russell Clarke, one of our last surviving veterans of the Second World War, died just a few days before his 100th birthday. In 1942, when he was 18 years old, Russell answered the call and joined the Royal Canadian Artillery. He saw the first casualties come back to England on D-Day and later served in the Netherlands until the end of the war. For the rest of his life, Russell would be an upstanding citizen, a pillar of his community, respected and appreciated by all who knew him. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Everyone who met Russell was struck by his decency, humility and kindness. What was once a living memory for most of us is now rapidly passing into history. There are not many men like Russell left anymore. Those Canadians who did their part in the fight against Nazi tyranny are one by one leaving us to take their rightful place in eternity, men who spent the prime years of their lives far from home. I offer my best to Russell's family and to the members of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 10. Lest we forget.

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Mr. Chandra Arya (Nepean, Lib.)

Mar/22/24 11:06:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on March 7, the community of Barrhaven woke up to the horrific and gut-wrenching news of six people killed, which included four young children, their mother and a family friend. The entire community of the city of Ottawa and beyond shared the grief and rallied to support the injured surviving father of these kids, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, and the family of Gamini Amarakoon. I would like to acknowledge the work and support of the first responders in Ottawa. I would also like to recognize the Sinhalese Canadian community, the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canada, the Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Monastery and the Buddhist Congress of Canada for their hard work in supporting the families of those killed. May the souls of the deceased rest in peace.

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Milton, Lib.)

Mar/22/24 11:07:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the essential work of the United Nations protects human rights, delivers humanitarian aid, maintains international peace and security, promotes sustainable development, fights climate change and upholds international law. Canada is a founding member of the United Nations and our work with the UN has saved lives through peacekeeping, nuclear non-proliferation and refugee programs. In a display of sheer ignorance, the Conservative MP for Haldimand—Norfolk not only sponsored but apparently wrote a petition to withdraw Canada from the United Nations. This is not just reckless but a testament to the utter disregard that the Conservatives have for global co-operation and sustainable development goals. The Conservatives have literally mainstreamed the promotion of harmful extremism and far-right conspiracy theories and this needs to be called out. It is disinformation and it is dangerous. The Conservatives want to isolate Canada, abandon our commitments to the rest of the world and sever our ties with the international community. They peddle a toxic narrative of nationalism and blind self-interest, oblivious to the importance of working together for a better planet. The Conservative petition has been shared and amplified by extremists, anti-LGBTQ groups and the Proud Boys, a listed terrorist group. The Conservatives are the company they keep— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Mar/22/24 11:08:58 a.m.
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Order. I want to remind members, when others have the floor, to please not disturb them. The hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry.

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Mr. Eric Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:09:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to add my congratulations to a good friend, Wes Libbey, who was recently named Cornwall's 2023 Citizen of the Year. There is a saying around home that we chuckle about. It's that everybody loves a good crier, and there is no one better at that than Wes Libbey. By “crier”, I mean town crier, which is one of the many roles Wes has held in our community over the years. The list of his community service is extensive and spans over 50 years: Kiwanis, Kinsmen, centennial choir, historical society, the community hospital board and its foundation, a master mason and Shriner, just to name a few. I have had the privilege of knowing Wes and his wife Carole for over 20 years. They are simply wonderful Canadians. Wes said of his award, “Cornwall was good to us, and we like to give back.” Wes has certainly given a lot back to Cornwall and SDG over the years, through his leadership and volunteering. I could not be more proud to share his service, his story and his award here with the House. Congratulations and “hear ye, hear ye” to a good friend.

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Ms. Jennifer O'Connell (Pickering—Uxbridge, Lib.)

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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Mr. Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:11:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, waste, fraud and corruption: That is arrive scam and that is what we get after eight years under the Prime Minister. There was 60 million taxpayer dollars wasted and stolen, and for what? It was for an app that was not needed, that did not work and that caused chaos at our borders. A scandalous 76% of arrive scam contractors did no work, including a two-person basement company that ran away with 20 million taxpayer dollars for nothing. Now the RCMP has launched multiple criminal investigations. After overseeing all the waste and all the corruption, the Prime Minister has done nothing whatsoever to get taxpayers their money back. After eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the corruption. Taxpayers deserve a refund and they deserve it now.

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Mr. Mel Arnold (North Okanagan—Shuswap, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:13:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of NDP-Liberal inflationary spending and taxes, Canadians are struggling. The NDP, the Liberals and the Bloc had a chance to listen to their constituents, the 70% of Canadians who oppose the April 1 tax hike and 70% of provincial premiers who have asked the Prime Minister to stop this painful tax increase before it is too late. However, they failed to hear from the food banks that are expecting to see a million more people use their facilities on top of last year's record highs and the third of food banks that will have to turn hungry Canadians away. They failed to hear from the families who have to make gut-wrenching decisions about buying food, heating their homes and buying other life necessities. Thanks to the NDP and Bloc, the Liberals are still set to hike the carbon tax by 23% on April 1, driving up the cost of everything. Canadians have lost faith in the government. Only common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax and bring home lower prices for everyone.

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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Windsor—Tecumseh, Lib.)

Mar/22/24 11:14:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, last Thursday, I joined local Unifor presidents Dave Cassidy and John D'Agnolo to welcome the Prime Minister of Canada to Windsor and to our local union hall. Well over 100 workers and retirees welcomed the Prime Minister and heard him talk about the new partnership with labour; about delivering on our battery plant and 2,500 well-paying jobs; and about delivering policies unions have long sought, such as dental care, child care, pharmacare, 10 days' paid sick leave and a ban on replacement workers. Unions built the middle class and the fight continues. The Prime Minister said thanks to the salt workers who were out on strike for 192 days; the auto workers who bargained the largest contract in history; the transit workers who defended their right to 10 days' paid sick leave; and the workers at Jamieson and GreenShield fighting for better. It was a historic day at the union hall and a new partnership with labour. The best is yet to come.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Mar/22/24 11:15:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians want greedy CEOs and mega corporations to stop profiteering off the backs of unpaid work, yet the federal government continues to ignore this issue. Over 17,000 Canadians called on the federal government to close loopholes that allow airlines to force flight attendants to work up to 35 hours per month unpaid. Six million people watched as the CEO of Canada’s largest airline refused to comment. Workers are being exploited by billion-dollar companies, and the government is letting it happen. At Air Canada, the CEO earned over $12 million last year, while flight attendants struggled to pay rent and buy groceries. Thanks to CUPE components across this country, workers are fighting back with a campaign called “Unpaid Work Won't Fly”. The NDP stands with these flight attendants and is calling on the government to protect all workers and stop the exploitation by greedy CEOs.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Mar/22/24 11:16:41 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we often talk about the importance of saving, protecting and promoting Quebec songs, but it takes more than words. It takes music and, more importantly, it takes people who put words into action. It takes people like Véronique Cloutier and the team at Rouge FM, who decided this week that their flagship show, Véronique et les Fantastiques, is going 100% francophone. Only French-language music will play on the airwaves during what Numeris says is the country's number one drive-time radio show. The Rouge FM team is sending a strong signal to their entire audience, their competition, and the entire Quebec population. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I say thank you to Véro and Rouge FM for standing up for francophone singers. I thank them for concretely supporting our creators, but also for sending them the message that Quebec is behind them during these difficult times for the music industry. I thank them for proving that we can create extremely popular and highly diversified radio programming thanks to all the talent we have at home. I want to thank Véronique and the Fantastiques. They truly are fantastic.

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Mr. Branden Leslie (Portage—Lisgar, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:17:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, do you know the most common question I get in any community I represent? It is not “what are we going to do about this policy or that policy?” It is “when can we have an election?” This is because, after eight years, Canadians know that the Prime Minister is simply not worth the cost. However, last night, the Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition abandoned their constituents and decided to prop up the historically unpopular Liberal Prime Minister in the twilight of his disastrous career. From groceries and gas to home heating and everything in between, it has all become unaffordable. What is the solution in the minds of the costly coalition members? It is to ram through a 23% carbon tax hike on April 1. How out of touch can they be? Nobody I have talked to has said that maybe the solution is sending more money to Ottawa. It is time for a carbon tax election, so we can let Canadians decide if they can afford another carbon tax hike. Common-sense Conservatives would axe the tax for everyone, on everything, for good.

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

Mar/22/24 11:18:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canada summer jobs is back, and we are ready to help young people gain the skills and work experience they need to succeed. Last year, through the Canada summer jobs program, our Liberal government invested over $285 million in organizations across the country, which created over 74,000 youth jobs. I can tell members first-hand the impact that this program is having in my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills; last year, we invested in 57 local organizations and small businesses to create nearly 400 jobs for youth. I want to recognize a few of these awesome organizations that received funding last year in my riding, including the Boys and Girls Club of Peel, Ivan Franko Homes, the Mississauga Dolphins Cricket Association and Music for Every Child, which do so much great work in the community. I thank all the recipient organizations and all of those who continue to invest in our youth for our future.

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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay (South Surrey—White Rock, CPC)

Mar/22/24 11:20:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in an act of political cowardice, the NDP and Liberals ignored 70% of Canadians and seven out of 10 premiers last night, showing Canadians they do not care. They have abandoned the people whom they were elected to serve by voting to increase the carbon tax by 23% on April 1. They are forcing families to pay higher prices for gas, groceries and home heating at a time when food banks are shattering records. After eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. If the carbon tax is so popular, why will he not call a carbon tax election so that Canadians can decide for themselves?

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