- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Nepean
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $104,578.46
- Government Page
- Jun/3/24 1:59:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was my pleasure to attend the 50th anniversary reception of the Toronto Canorient association organized by Senator Andrew Cardozo. The organization traces its roots to the Canorient Christian Association, which was formed in Montreal in 1971.
To serve the Christian community from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, a Toronto chapter, which became the Toronto Canorient association, was formed 50 years back. It has been actively serving its members since then.
I would like place on record my appreciation for the late Tony Moscrop, who left a valuable legacy to the association in the form of the Canorient Community Centre. I would like to thank the members of the association, led by its president, Florence Suares, for travelling to Ottawa for the reception.
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- May/31/24 11:01:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Ottawa is a global tech hub with about 1,800 tech companies, 88,000 tech professionals and North America’s highest concentration of tech talent.
Ottawa is renowned for our cutting-edge R and D and innovation in SaaS, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, advanced networks and 5G, health tech and life sciences, smart mobility, IOT and many other disruptive technologies.
Thanks to Invest Ottawa and federal government funding, we have Nepean-based Area X.O, which evolved from the Ottawa L5 connected and autonomous vehicle test facility into a world-class R and D complex that enables and accelerates the development, testing and application of next-generation smart mobility, autonomy and connectivity technologies.
I would like to recognize and thank former CEO of Invest Ottawa, Michael Tremblay for his contribution to Ottawa's tech sector.
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- May/24/24 10:59:38 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, recently, I was pleased to attend the opening of Hollyer House, an affordable housing structure that has funding of $2.72 million from the federal government. Hollyer House is a new, four-storey, 35-unit, mixed-use apartment building in Ottawa's west end, the Bells Corners neighbourhood. The building also is home to a community health and resource centre, the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, and to FAMSAC food cupboard.
The federal government funded $100,000 for the community room located in Hollyer House. Thanks go to the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa and Christ Church Bells Corners for making this possible. This is an excellent example where our federal government has partnered with a willing organization to meet the mutually shared objective of addressing affordable housing and other needs.
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- Apr/19/24 11:06:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Nepean Nighthawks Field Hockey Club is dedicated to fostering a love for field hockey among youth.
Field hockey in Ottawa stretches back to the 1950s. A recent explosion of participation in the Ottawa region began in 2007. Interestingly, unlike globally, 70% of Ottawa members are female.
The Nepean Nighthawks’ vision includes fostering sport participation for life. Their goals include reaching out to underserved communities in Ottawa and building a world-class field hockey complex to serve the local field hockey community. The club is particularly noted for its inclusive Stick Together program, which emphasizes teamwork, sportsmanship and the development of field hockey skills for all ages and skill levels.
The Nighthawks are committed to reconciliation, and they actively promote the participation of indigenous youth.
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- 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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- Mar/18/24 2:08:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Black History Ottawa, which emerged from the activities of the Barbados (Ottawa) Association and of the Black History Month Committee, formed in 1986. Since then, every February, this organization has been celebrating Black History Month in the nation's capital.
Their activities honour the numerous achievements and contributions of Canadians of African, Caribbean and Black heritage in fields such as sciences, medicine, literature, the arts and sports. They also serve to acknowledge the roles Black people have played in the growth and development of Canadian society and culture.
I would like to recognize and thank the key leaders associated with Black History Ottawa. They include, but are not limited to, June Girvan, Godwin Ifedi, Joanne Robinson, Sarah Onyango and Jean-Marie Guerrier.
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- Feb/26/24 2:01:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Black History Month I would like to recognize the African Canadian Association of Ottawa, which serves about 115,000 Canadians of African heritage in Ottawa-Gatineau. It is the flagship for 53 organizations representing the African diaspora from countries spanning Morocco to South Africa and Guinea to Somalia.
In addition to its affordable housing initiative, other programs extend to food security, community development, mental health, senior care, youth engagement through hockey and the innovative ACAO Radio, which underscores its comprehensive approach to community support.
I would like to recognize and thank the current leadership team, including its president, John Adeyefa, and board members Hector Addison, Sahada Alolo, Valérie Assoi, Serge Banyongen, Franklin Epape, Catherine Kizito, Dorris Ngaiza and Godlove Ngwafusi.
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- Oct/31/23 2:08:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I had a meeting with over 60 Ottawa-based Afghan-Canadian community leaders to listen to and discuss the issues affecting their community.
Everyone expressed their condolences for those who lost their lives due to the earthquake in Herat province. They recognized the significant impact it has had on the affected communities, and they requested more Canadian humanitarian aid for them. They expressed grave concern regarding the degradation of the fundamental human rights of women and girls to education and work.
All speakers conveyed their concern for the Afghan nationals currently in Pakistan, who have no legal status. Today is the deadline for them to leave the country to go back to Afghanistan. They also expressed concern that Afghanistan would again become a safe haven for the global jihadi groups.
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- Oct/27/23 10:26:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad this bill would require the airport authorities to inform the public about diversity among the directors and senior management. Back when I met the board members of the Ottawa airport, I had to point out the lack of diversity among the members.
My question is regarding airport noise and the complaint process. I am glad a new requirement is being brought in. Unfortunately, it does not cover aircraft noise from low-flying aircraft, such as from flying clubs. In my riding of Nepean, there is a community called Country Place, which has been directly affected by the noise made by low-flying aircraft. To prove how low they are flying, they are also dealing with the federal government and Nav Canada. Is there any chance that a mechanism will be established to deal with noise complaints about low-flying aircraft?
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- Sep/18/23 2:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure I state that TCXpo, the epic second annual day of dynamic and interactive Canadian smart mobility technology demonstrations, will be hosted by Nepean-based Area X.O on Wednesday, September 27 in partnership with the Government of Canada and other sponsors.
Area X.O is an all-weather R and D complex for next generation smart mobility, autonomy and connectivity technologies, founded and operated by Invest Ottawa.
The only national demo of its kind in Canada, TCXpo will bring together hundreds of innovators, entrepreneurs, technology developers, industry leaders, regulators, smart mobility partners and stakeholders from Canada's capital and across the country.
TCXpo will showcase Ottawa's thriving tech ecosystem and the organizations that contribute technology and intelligence to future vehicles and other smart mobility innovations.
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- Jun/13/23 12:35:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the beauty of the various programs under our national housing strategy is that each one of them is making an impact. I am from Ottawa, as Nepean is part of Ottawa, and almost every single program of the federal government is making a major impact on providing affordable housing and affordable rental units to the people in Ottawa. As I said, we also have to focus on how we can improve housing starts.
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- Oct/7/22 11:08:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased that our federal government is investing $15.2 million to construct a new library and performing arts and cultural centre in downtown Barrhaven in my Nepean riding. The facility will also include a community centre for seniors and an outdoor urban plaza. This will provide Nepean residents with flexible spaces to foster social interactions and community engagement for years to come. This project includes a 15,000-square-foot cultural centre, a 3,000-square-foot seniors’ space and a 25,000-square-foot library.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the many organizations and individuals who advocated for this, including the Barrhaven BIA, the Barrhaven Seniors' Council and its president, Don Winchester. I give a special thanks to Ottawa city councillor Jan Harder, who was instrumental in proposing this project.
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- Sep/27/22 2:11:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week in my Nepean riding, Invest Ottawa’s Area X.O, in collaboration with our federal government, hosted an epic Canadian smart mobility demonstration day. It was the first of its kind in Canada and brought together hundreds of innovators, entrepreneurs, technology developers, smart mobility partners and stakeholders from Canada’s capital and across the country. They experienced more than 30 interactive smart mobility demonstrations hosted by Canadian entrepreneurs and companies, from connected and autonomous vehicles to drones, low-speed automated shuttles, the Internet of things and smart city solutions.
I was on the board of Invest Ottawa before entering politics. Invest Ottawa is doing a great job in promoting the knowledge sector in Ottawa and keeping Canada at the forefront of advanced technologies.
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- Jun/15/22 2:02:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish to recognize and thank several City of Ottawa officials who are not seeking re-election in the coming fall election.
Our mayor, His Worship Jim Watson, with whom I worked on the board of Invest Ottawa, has promoted affordable housing, tourism and the knowledge-based sector in Ottawa. Councillor Jan Harder has contributed tremendously to the development of present-day Barrhaven. Councillor Keith Egli, as the chair of the Ottawa Board of Health, has played a key role during the pandemic. Councillor Scott Moffatt, with his family’s 200-year history in his ward, has always been an influential voice for our rural population.
I want to thank them all for their co-operative relationship with me during the last seven years. On behalf of the residents of Nepean and Ottawa, I wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to speak to the investments mentioned in the budget that we are making in the defence and security of our country.
Before I get into specific issues, I would like to mention two things: first, the importance of defence and security industries from the economic point of view; and, second, how Ottawa, as a city, is very well placed to be the hub of companies involved in the ISR, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, segments of the defence and security industries.
The Canadian defence and security industries are an essential service and a critical sector in Canada’s economy. These companies are highly innovative, export intensive and provide high-wage employment. These companies export 54% of their total sales. These companies provide employment to 64,000 people whose salaries are about 60% above the average Canadian manufacturing salaries.
During the last couple of decades, we have seen most of our manufacturing jobs outsourced to low-cost manufacturing countries across the world, but the jobs and manufacturing facilities of Canadian defence and security industries will never be outsourced. Also, for the U.S. defence purchases, which run into hundreds of billions of dollars every year, Canadian companies are considered to be U.S. domestic companies, offering a huge advantage to the Canadian defence and security industries.
Ottawa, as a hub, can be home to ISR companies, similar to hundreds of small companies around Washington, D.C. and the Annapolis beltway. Also, we are just few hours away from the centre of defence establishment in the U.S. We already have several companies in defence and security industries in Ottawa today. We also have Defence Research and Development Canada. Decision-makers on technology and procurements are also located here. All of these make Ottawa an ideal location for promoting it as the hub for ISR industries.
Canada is geographically well placed, with the powerful and friendly United States as our neighbour, who also is our major economic partner. The physical security threats to the country from outside our borders are minimal, and Canada was never worried much about physically protecting our land.
National defence is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government. In addition to protecting Canada from international threats and defending our sovereignty, the Canadian Armed Forces play an important role in making the world a safer place.
Budget 2022 recognized those challenges and proposed new action to respond to them. It invested in Canada’s defence capabilities, and in the alliances that will ensure a strong and coordinated global response to the ongoing challenges that the world faces today. Based on recent events and the changing global environment, the government acknowledged the requirement to reassess Canada’s role, priorities and needs in the face of a changing world.
Budget 2022 announced a defence policy review to allow Canada to update its existing 2017 defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”. In my view, merely updating the current policy is not enough. There has been a paradigm shift in the kinds of threats facing our country.
First, we have cybersecurity threats, including those that come from foreign actors, that target Canadians, Canadian businesses and our critical infrastructure. As Canadians grow more dependent on digital systems, the potential consequences of cyber-incidents continue to increase, and Canada needs to be ready.
Second, we have the spread of misinformation and disinformation that is directly challenging the stability of even the most long-standing democracies. Foreign threats to democracy, including state-sponsored disinformation, which is misinformation that is deliberately targeted to deceive people, have continued to grow amidst rising geopolitical tensions, a global pandemic and the rapid evolution of technology.
Third is biological threats that know no boundaries. The nature and severity of biological threats has grown in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the potentially catastrophic impacts of a deliberate biological event. Concerns are growing that the pandemic's unprecedented scale and reach could inspire terrorists to turn to biological weapons. United Nations Secretary-General Guterres has understood this threat. He warned:
The weaknesses and lack of preparedness exposed by this pandemic provide a window onto how a bioterrorist attack might unfold – and may increase its risks. Non-state groups could gain access to virulent strains that could pose similar devastation to societies around the globe.
The threat due to domestic terrorism is on the rise due to increasing hate and due to the spread of misinformation and disinformation. During the latest occupy movement, the cross-border connections between the extremist groups were alarming. Based on these threats, in my view, merely updating the current policy is not enough. We need a change in our approach to national security. We need a unified approach to defence. We need a unified approach between all government departments to seamlessly share the information for a unified response. We need a unified command to address the modern needs of security.
The existing policy document, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, stated:
This policy is deliberately ambitious and focuses, first and foremost, on the heart of the Canadian Armed Forces – the brave women and men who wear the uniform.
We know how this worked out.
The document was geared more toward the big-ticket items like ships and fighter aircraft, which, while important, do not address the major threat that Canada and Canadians are facing.
In the current policy document, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, which is 113 pages long, the word “misinformation” is mentioned only once. Similarly, the word “disinformation” is also mentioned only once. Also in this policy, the investment in cybersecurity was under “Joint Capabilities”. It was grouped with IT and communications, signal intelligence, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive detection and response capabilities. All of these had just a $4.6-billion investment over 20 years out of about $164 billion in proposed spending.
We should stop saying threats involving guns and bullets or ships and fighter planes from foreigners invading our land and sea are the only responsibility of the Canadian Armed Forces; or that cybersecurity threats are the responsibility of the Communications Security Establishment alone; or that biological threats should be handled by the Public health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces role is limited to providing a few medics; or that threats posed by misinformation and disinformation are the responsibility of maybe Canadian Heritage or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service; or that the threat from domestic terrorism is the responsibility of the RCMP, CSIS and local law enforcement agencies.
We should stop compartmentalizing the threats and divide the responsibility. We need to act cohesively.
We need generals who have a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and other leading technologies. We need generals with a Ph.D. in biology. We need to completely start afresh and come up with a comprehensive strategy and policy. The existing policy document “Strong, Secure, Engaged” focused on a $164-billion investment in procurement of traditional assets and tools, including ships, fighter aircraft, etc.
When we review this policy, it may be a good idea where the new high-technology companies are going. As an example, a Silicon Valley company called Anduril is succeeding commercially in transforming the U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. It says that the next generation of military technology will depend less on advances in shipbuilding and aircraft design than on advances in software engineering and computing. Unlike traditional defence contractors who focus primarily on hardware, its core system is an autonomous sense-making and command and control platform that serves as the core platform for its suite of capabilities.
Ideas are turned into deployed capabilities in months, not years, saving the government and taxpayers money along the way. The company combines military veterans with engineers who are experts in artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced sensors, secure networking, aerospace, virtual reality technology, aircraft modelling and simulation. We should look at companies like this to see what is happening elsewhere and where the defence systems are going.
I would like to quote extensively from the report, “A National Security Strategy for the 2020s”, prepared by the Task Force on National Security and the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
It said:
We are living in a time of intense global instability when the security of Canada and other liberal democracies is under growing threat. An increasingly aggressive Russia is only one of a series of threats, both old and new, that endanger national security in Canada. It exemplifies the worrying re-emergence of great-power rivalry. It also interacts with or amplifies other threats, such as the use of new technologies to wage cyber-warfare, an increase in ideological extremism at home and abroad, attacks on democratic institutions, and transnational threats such as climate change and pandemics. We witnessed a different constellation of such threats in the protests that blocked border crossings and disrupted Canada's capital in early 2022. Where once the state was the focus of these threats, individuals and societies have also become targets.
When these and other threats reach the scale and potential to endanger what matters most to us as a country - our people, our democratic values and institutions, our economy, our society and our sovereignty - Canadians expect their government to protect them. Yet Canadians and their governments rarely take national security seriously. Taking shelter under the American umbrella has worked well for us.... We have not experienced a direct violent attack against our citizens in recent memory on the same scale as some of our allies, with the last major one being the Air India attack of 1985. This has made us complacent and paved the way for our neglect of national security....
Our peers, including our partners in the Five Eyes partnership (Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are reacting to this rapidly changing situation by revamping policies, identifying new tools and authorities, reforming institutions, devoting new resources to security and seeking new partnerships. They possess not only a deeper appreciation of the threats facing the West but also a more sophisticated national security culture writ large.
The report makes the case that Canada is not ready to face this new world. As a country, it says we urgently need to rethink national security.
The best part of the report is that the core recommendations do not require massive amounts of new spending, but, rather, focus on making better use of the tools we already have and improving co-operation among key partners.
The report makes recommendations in four broad categories.
Number one is to develop new strategies. Canada needs a national security strategy that reflects today’s realities. We can no longer count on some of the traditional pillars that have guaranteed our security and prosperity for decades. The essential first step is to hold a public review of national security. A thorough and transparent review would help inform the public, highlight priorities, identify the policies and tools required to address them, and point to the required changes to governance. In reviewing its national security strategy, the government should also take a hard look at whether its foreign, defence and development policies are adequate. This does not mean an isolated update in each case, but a holistic approach that examines all our national security assets in a coordinated fashion.
Number two is to strengthen existing tools and create new ones. Canada must build new tools and make better use of existing ones to deal with this diversifying and intensifying range of threats. More specifically, Canada should invest more in the following areas: sharing information within government, sharing information with other levels of government, reviewing outdated legislation, enhancing the use of open-source intelligence, strengthening cybersecurity, protecting economic security, guarding against foreign interference, and deterring organized crime and money laundering.
Number three is to enhance governance. Canada needs to rethink its national security governance framework: how decisions are made, policies developed and information shared.
Number four is to increase transparency and engagement. Many Canadians today mistrust government. This has major implications for national security. This erosion of trust opens space for misinformation and disinformation to spread, which weakens democratic institutions and contributes to a vacuum that hostile actors do not hesitate to fill. In this context, the national security community’s tradition of secrecy is outdated and counterproductive. As such, the report strongly recommends that the national security community’s recent engagement efforts be significantly ramped up, both with the public, including civil society, the private sector, the media and academia, and with Parliament. The community, moreover, must continue and intensify its efforts to increase diversity within its ranks.
It has been over 15 years since we produced a national security or foreign policy statement. We have not seriously reviewed the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act since CSIS was established in 1984. We need to have an integrated approach involving the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Security Establishment, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Public Health Agency of Canada and other agencies dealing with defence and security.
I will conclude with a quote from Alex Deep. In his article “Hybrid War: Old Concept, New Techniques”, in the Small Wars Journal, he mentions that we need “an adaptable and versatile military” to overcome the complex threats posed by the modern hybrid war, which combines all the conventional and irregular components.
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- May/30/22 2:09:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Canadian Jewish Heritage Month I would like to recognize and celebrate Jewish culture, heritage and history in Canada. Jewish Canadians have made and continue to make important contributions to the socio-economic development of Canada. I would like to recognize and thank Rabbi Mendel Blum of Ottawa Torah Centre and the leadership team at Congregation Beit Tikvah of Ottawa for their services to the Jewish community and beyond in Ottawa.
I would like to recognize and thank Andrea Freedman of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa for her services to the Jewish Canadian community. I also would like to recognize and thank Corey Balsam for his hard work representing Independent Jewish Voices Canada.
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- Feb/20/22 7:15:12 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable that the member opposite is defending the foreign-funded groups illegally occupying our city, illegally blocking our critical economic infrastructure and openly floating the rule of law. These foreign-funded groups have made a mockery of our law and have held our men and women in uniform in contempt.
Does the member not agree with the interim Ottawa police chief, who said that this Emergencies Act provided the police with the resources they needed to handle the situation? Senator—
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- Feb/17/22 10:59:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the people of Nepean are so concerned. For them, it is unbelievable that a few groups of people can so blatantly flout the rule of law and misuse their freedom to the right to protest. They occupy parts of Ottawa and bring misery to families and business owners.
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