- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Small Business
- Liberal
- Mississauga—Streetsville
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $101,328.92
- Government Page
- Oct/17/23 3:16:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, happy Small Business Week to the small business owners and entrepreneurs all across this country. It was terrific meeting with some of these incredible folks in Montreal. I want to thank my colleague for joining me.
Since 2018, our women entrepreneurship strategy has helped over 22,000 women start up and scale up. Yesterday I announced a nearly $3-million investment for École des entrepreneurs du Québec to support close to 2,000 women entrepreneurs in Quebec and across Canada.
Despite the Conservatives voting against this program and others like it, we will always support Canada's incredible women-owned and minority-owned business.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-306, An Act to establish National Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.
She said: Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that women entrepreneurs in every industry face systemic barriers when trying to start and grow their businesses. Supporting them is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. Our government recognizes that fact and continues to look for ways to stand by these innovative leaders as they break down barriers.
I rise in the House today to introduce the bill entitled “an act to establish national women's entrepreneurship day”. As a former small business entrepreneur, I know it is important that we mark November 19 of each year as national women's entrepreneurship day.
This day is already celebrated in more than 140 countries and it is recognized by the United Nations.
I ask the members of the House to consider November 19 as national women's entrepreneurship day. Women are intelligent, creative and ambitious, and they already know how to achieve success. We will be there for them, and we will assist them as they need. We will work toward solving the problems of today to build a brighter tomorrow.
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- Oct/19/22 2:23:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to highlight that October is Women’s History Month in Canada, and this year marks its 30th anniversary.
This is an opportunity to celebrate the women, past and present, whose achievements help make Canada a more inclusive and caring country.
October 18, 1929, marked an incredibly momentous day in our history when the highest court of appeals granted women in Canada legal rights as a person. This historic decision, now known as the persons case, paved the way for women to become active in public and political life in Canada.
Today we honour the Famous Five, Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards, who helped pave the way for gender equality, and those who worked to expand and strengthen these rights for generations to come.
I wish everyone a happy Women's History Month.
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- May/4/22 10:19:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just want to acknowledge my colleague. I appreciate her sharing her beautiful story about her mom and her experience. That was truly from the heart.
I just want to say that this government has prioritized reconciliation since 2015, and we will continue to work towards building our relationship and assisting with preventing any of these types of tragedies in the future.
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- May/4/22 10:17:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the Government of Canada supports the national action plan released in 2021, which includes a short-term priority of a guaranteed annual living income. I acknowledge that a guaranteed annual living income for indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people would provide autonomy for individuals as well as addressing the broader root causes of violence against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
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- May/4/22 10:17:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what I appreciate about this evening is the fact that we are having open dialogue with each other. This is the type of dialogue we must continue to have with each other to be able to learn and grow and implement the type of change that is necessary to prevent this from happening in the future.
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- May/4/22 10:15:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, budget 2021 invested $18 billion to narrow the gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous people, supporting healthy, safe and prosperous indigenous communities.
Of that $18 billion, $2.2 billion and $160.9 million ongoing is directly dedicated to addressing root causes that contribute to the tragedy of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls and 2SLGTBQQIA+ people.
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- May/4/22 10:09:18 p.m.
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Madam Chair, kwe, unusakut, tansi, hello and bonjour.
I will be sharing my time with the member for Sydney—Victoria, whom I respect so much and who has taught me a lot about indigenous people and their culture.
I am here today speaking to members from the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
Last week, I had the opportunity to rise in the House to speak to the impacts of gender-based violence within my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville. I also spoke in detail about the increase in targeted hate and violence in this country, and how budget 2022 was addressing these items. It is proven that violence and abuse can lead to poor physical and mental health, serious injuries and even homicide.
Today, it is difficult talking about indigenous missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, but it is a topic that is much needed and necessary to help all of us learn and be a part of change.
Culture is the foundation on which we build identity, our sense of self. In Canada, colonialism has robbed generations of indigenous people of their sense of knowing and of their community. It robbed indigenous peoples of their languages, spirituality, and ways of interacting with the land and in the world. It forcefully disconnected indigenous people from each other and their communities. It stripped indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, LGBTQQIA+ people of their vital role, undermining their inherent value and positioning in society.
To heal, indigenous peoples must be able to reclaim, preserve and practice their culture. They have the wisdom and resilience to do this. However, it is the responsibility of the federal government to support this work with steadfast listening and actions that match our words.
The Government of Canada is committed to a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, truth, co-operation and partnership. Historic investments have been made to support indigenous priorities and their path to self-determination, but there is so much work to be done, and our government will continue to be there to work alongside indigenous peoples to address historic injustices.
This evening, I would like to highlight some of the Canadian Heritage programming that responds to the calls for justice from the report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls addressing the violence against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, LGBTQQIA+ people.
As the lead for the culture thematic for the federal pathway component of the national action plan, Canadian Heritage has worked closely with colleagues at other department portfolio organizations and indigenous partners on advancing this work. The culture theme for the federal pathway outlines three ways for us to do that. One is supporting the retention, revitalization, maintenance and strengthening of indigenous languages, cultures and spaces. Two is strengthening opportunities for indigenous cultural expression, participation, promotion and representation in the arts, cultural industries and media. Three is addressing systemic anti-indigenous racism in the public and policy spheres to see lasting change. As we have talked about in this House this evening, we absolutely need lasting change.
The government has shown its commitment and support for the culture thematic priorities through budget 2021 and budget 2022 investments. Budget 2021 provided $453.1 million over five years and $4.9 million per year ongoing for initiatives under the culture theme, and budget 2022 provided $25 million over three years. The funding has been used to support a number of activities.
First, progress continues to be made on the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act, which responds to a number of calls for justice. Canadian Heritage will administer $275 million for the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act with $2 million in ongoing support. This funding supports the reclamation, revitalization and strengthening of indigenous languages as a foundation for culture, identity and belonging. This funding has been used to support various initiatives, including language and culture camps, mentor apprentice programs and the development of indigenous languages, resources and documentation ensuring indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in Canada have meaningful access to their culture and languages, which is absolutely fundamental.
Second, Library and Archives Canada was provided $14.9 million for the preservation of indigenous heritage. To further this work, budget 2022 proposed $25 million to support the digitization of documents related to the federal Indian day school system—
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- Apr/26/22 12:36:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can actually attest to what my hon. colleague just described. I visited Winnipeg and saw what was going on there. I listened to the stories of those people impacted in her community.
As I mentioned, in the funding we are definitely going to be focusing on providing supports to women in that way. I look forward to this being the beginning of a very strong conversation to continue to advocate for that, and I will certainly assist her and other colleagues in the House in that fashion.
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