SoVote

Ms. Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.)

May/9/24 2:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today on Parliament Hill, the anti-choice lobby is marching to demand control over women’s reproductive rights. Conservatives are standing with them, propping up their insidious claims, celebrating the demise of Roe v. Wade and vilifying the achievements of Henry Morgentaler. They do not want us to have access to abortion, and they voted against providing Canadians with contraceptive choices. They are bringing America’s divisive political playbook across the border and are infecting our population. The Liberal government is not going to reopen the abortion debate, so why do we keep seeing petitions, bills and motions by Conservative members intended to do just that? The conservative agenda is clear. The opposition leader has even said that he would use the notwithstanding clause to rip up our rights. This trampling of rights is coming from a party that pretends to champion freedom. That is not lost on me. I do not want to live in a country where my rights are restricted, and I will fight. On this side of the House, we will all fight to keep Canada from sliding back into the dark ages.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

May/9/24 2:49:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, reproductive rights are under attack, including by Conservatives who voted against free contraceptives, have pushed back-door legislation and tabled petitions attempting to violate abortion rights. However, the Liberals are no better. They failed to uphold access to abortion care, including in New Brunswick, where there is not a single abortion clinic. When will the government enforce the Canada Health Act and protect the right to access a safe abortion?

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Ms. Lisa Hepfner (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Lib.)

May/9/24 2:49:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my friend from across the way that we need to protect abortion rights in our country. I saw her this morning with people on Parliament Hill who are fighting for choice, who are fighting against the people who are there to take our rights away. I agree there is more to do. It is not perfect yet. We will get there. On this side of the House, we are committed to it.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mrs. Sophie Chatel (Pontiac, Lib.)

May/9/24 3:05:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our sisters south of the border no longer have the right to safe access to abortion. If anyone thinks Canada is immune to such attempts to control women, they are wrong. As Simone de Beauvoir said, all it takes is an economic, political or religious crisis for women's rights to be called into question. These rights can never be taken for granted. Can the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec reassure us that, here in Canada, our government will always protect our rights and freedoms?

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Hon. Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Lib.)

May/9/24 3:06:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, throughout the world, Canada is seen as a land of promise and freedom. When I returned to Chile at the age of 18, I realized that I was pregnant, with no rights and no choice. Canada saved my life for a second time, this time by allowing me to have a safe, legal abortion and a future of my own choosing. Then and now, for me, as for so many women, that is what Canadian freedom is all about. Why do the Conservatives want to attack women's freedom to choose?

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Hon. Steven MacKinnon (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

May/9/24 3:09:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Campaign Life Coalition publishes a list of Conservative MPs whom they deem anti-choice and anti-LGBT enough to endorse in the election. The member from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes has a green light, and that makes him one of 80 Conservative MPs who would deny women the right to choose in this country and who would chop up the Charter of Rights into an à la carte menu. When will the Leader of the Opposition get up, turn around and say that they are not putting abortion rights back on the table in the House?

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.)

May/9/24 8:52:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the way the member started off her speech today, by talking about the right of a woman to choose what to do with her body. Unfortunately the House has been under assault over the last few days, with the member for Peace River—Westlock talking about preborn children. He and the member for Yorkton—Melville today spoke on the front lawn to an anti-abortion rally, where the member for Yorkton—Melville said, “The truth is not being told in the general media, or in our House of Commons, about what abortion really does to your heart and mind and your soul and your body, let alone to that life that is lost.” She went on to say, “We in the House [of Commons], as Conservatives, stand for equality between women and men from the instant of conception.” I am wondering whether my NDP colleague has had an opportunity to reflect on what has happened over the last week, from the Leader of the Opposition's comments about using the notwithstanding clause to the member for Peace River—Westlock's comment and to now what is being said on the front lawn of Parliament.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Ms. Sylvie Bérubé (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, BQ)

May/9/24 10:23:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I feel it is unacceptable that we are discussing abortion rights today. Women have the right to choose what they do with their bodies. I therefore feel it is inappropriate that we should engage in such discussions today. This is what the right to freedom is all about.

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