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Hon. Arif Virani

Member of Parliament
Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
Liberal

Parkdale—High Park
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 64%
Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19

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Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)

Jun/5/23 9:36:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite started her speech by acknowledging what just transpired with the provincial election in Alberta. I want to turn to that for a moment. She acknowledged some landmarks being achieved in terms of the first female, Black member of the provincial legislature in Alberta, which I believe is something she mentioned. That is worth applauding. I wanted to draw her attention to aspects of the budget. She outlined a lot of what is in the budget. There is a lot in there. Specifically, there are references to funding and supports to deal with some of the challenging divisions that we continue to see in Canadian society. The budget includes $25 million for supporting Black Canadian communities initiative, which is about empowering Black organizations. Another $25 million will go to supporting the anti-racism strategy and dealing with some of the pernicious issues that relate to anti-indigenous racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. In the wake of the almost two-year anniversary of the Afzaal family being killed in London, Ontario, could she comment on the equity initiatives in the budget and her position on them?

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Context: House Hansard - 106 - Oct/3/22

Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)

Oct/3/22 2:46:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her persistence on this issue about supporting small businesses. We share that persistent prioritization. What we have been doing for the past two and a half years is supporting small businesses through the pandemic with targeted wage supports and supports for rent. What we have been doing since the pandemic is launching a women's entrepreneurship strategy and a Black entrepreneurship strategy, and we are empowering indigenous businesses. We know the power of small businesses will be unleashed through inclusive growth, and that is what we are prioritizing.

96 words

Context: House Hansard - 87 - Jun/13/22

Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)

Jun/13/22 2:57:24 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. I would just point out to her that what we are doing and what we have done throughout the pandemic, and afterward as we exit this pandemic, is supporting Canadian small businesses. We have recovered over 115% of the jobs lost prior to the pandemic, which is point number one. Point number two is that budget 2022, which I am sure the member opposite has perused carefully, actually shows significant supports for small businesses, such as the phase-out of the small business tax rate, $15 billion invested in the Canada growth fund to scale up and $97 million to secure Canadian IP. We will continue to work hard for Canadian small businesses because we know that they are the backbone of our economy.

134 words

Context: House Hansard - 37 - Feb/28/22

Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)

Feb/28/22 9:38:30 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member opposite for his vigilance on the Ukraine file and for his advocacy on many things we see eye to eye on, particularly this issue. What I have seen at rallies in my riding and at rallies in the city of Toronto, some of which the member opposite has been at, is that the support for Ukraine is not just from Ukrainian Canadians. It is not just from Canadians generally. It is from people of all demographics and all ethnicities and backgrounds. I have seen Tibetan Canadian constituents of mine gathering forces with Ukrainians, supporting this fight against authoritarianism. I have seen Taiwanese Canadians standing up with Taiwanese flags at these rallies. I am wondering if the member opposite could comment upon the unifying features we have seen among Canadians in rallying to this cause and what that portends in general for the fight against authoritarianism going forward and how we can rally against that and against the repression Vladimir Putin represents.

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Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

Hon. Arif Virani