- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council
Whip of the New Democratic Party
Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
- NDP
- Edmonton Strathcona
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $141,604.97
- Government Page
- Jun/4/24 10:06:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 43(2)(a), I would like to inform the House that the New Democratic Party speaking slots will all be divided in two.
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- May/21/24 11:03:30 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is, of course, very worrying. The New Democratic Party is very concerned. We would like to reserve the right to come back at some point in the future. As with all questions of privilege, it is important for us to take the time to look at this very clearly.
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- Apr/9/24 12:02:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to suggest that the New Democratic Party may come back with some comments on this in the future.
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- Dec/5/23 6:22:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the New Democratic Party has agreed to apply the vote, and we will be voting no.
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- Jun/20/23 2:00:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order.
I just wanted to make a point that the New Democratic Party would like to reserve the right to come back to speak to this issue at a later date.
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- Jun/5/23 9:40:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's question is a good one. I would go back to what I said in my speech. This is not a perfect piece of legislation, and it is not what the New Democratic Party would have brought forward.
However, when I look at seniors in my riding, I know how much it is going to help them to have dental care be part of our reality in Canada. I know how much it is going to help seniors to have investments in housing. Those things are going to help seniors in my riding deeply. It is impossible for me to turn my back on those seniors at this time.
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- Jun/5/23 9:37:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, anything that we can do to help with some of those equity initiatives is very important. I have a bit of a concern. For example, one of the things brought forward in this budget is the recognition of the need for a national plan for murdered and missing indigenous women and girls.
I would also say that the government has promised money since 2019 and has not followed through with spending. That is my biggest concern with the Liberal government. It has the ability to say the right things, but it does not do the hard work. It does not do the work necessary to implement things, to spend the money and to get the programs out to the people who need them the most. I feel that the role of the New Democratic Party is to hold the government's feet to the fire.
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- Jun/1/22 8:59:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time this evening with the member for North Island—Powell River.
I want to begin my remarks tonight by stating unequivocally that the New Democratic Party supports Sweden and Finland in their bid for membership in NATO, and that New Democrats call on all NATO members to approve the application as quickly as possible to address the urgent situation that is facing both countries, including the very real threats made against both Sweden and Finland by the Russian Federation.
New Democrats strongly believe in the legal right of self-determination and the right that all people must have to decide their own destiny within the international order. Self-determination is a core principle of international law. It is enshrined in the United Nations charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
All countries must have the opportunity and independence to determine their own fates, and all democratically elected governments must decide what is in the best interests of their citizens. Clearly, the people of Sweden and Finland have decided that, as a result of the illegal war of aggression by the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the very clear indication that Vladimir Putin has no respect for national sovereignty, for multilateral institutions or for international law and order, the people of Sweden and Finland must do what they can to prevent their countries from being threatened further by the Russian Federation. Everyone in the House agrees that Sweden and Finland should be allowed to join NATO and that we should do what we can as parliamentarians to expedite that accession.
I want to take some time today because, of course, since we all agree on this basic principle, we really have an obligation to look at how we got to this position. The illegal invasion and criminal war of aggression that Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation have inflicted upon the people of Ukraine since 2014, with obvious massive escalation of aggression since February 24 of this year, is why we are here today. Prior to the further invasion of Ukraine, support for NATO membership was around 20% to 30% in Sweden and Finland. Now, 76% of Finnish people support joining NATO. Very simply, Vladimir Putin and the aggression of the Russian Federation are responsible for escalating tensions in the region and leading Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership.
The war in Ukraine is horrifying and will have massive implications for all countries. The reports of Putin's war crimes against Ukrainians are appalling. We are hearing stories of children's toys being mined. We are hearing stories of such gross and horrific crimes against women and children that it makes my skin crawl.
I welcomed yesterday's announcement by the government to inflict further sanctions on the Russian Federation. However, currently, we do not know how these decisions are being made, if these sanctions are being enforced or why they are taking so long to implement. I asked an Order Paper question recently on this exact issue, and the government response from the parliamentary secretary on foreign affairs was to say that the government could not share any information because it could not confirm that the information would be correct. As a parliamentarian, I cannot get the information I need to do my job because the current government cannot guarantee that it will be correct, so it will not give us any information.
While properties, business assets and yachts are being seized by other countries, we have almost no information about what is happening in Canada. We know that the sanctions have been too slow and we know that they have been implemented too late. For example, why was Igor Makarov permitted to move $120 million out of Canada before he was added to the sanctions list? That $120 million was money that should have gone back to Ukraine to help build Ukraine. That was $120 million that should have gone to Ukrainians in Canada to help them settle in this country.
We need a full review of Canada's sanctions regime. The last time the Parliament of Canada reviewed Canada's sanctions regime was five years ago, when the foreign affairs committee found it lacking in transparency and accountability. Why is it that Canadians do not know how sanctions are decided, how they are enforced or why the enforcement of the sanctions is so poor?
I will be calling on the foreign affairs committee to review the government's implementation of the recommendations in the 2017 report on Canadian sanctions and assess the need for changes since then. We need this review. The government must do better when it comes to sanctions.
I want to make another point about NATO. I want to reiterate that I support Sweden and Finland's bid to join NATO, but I want to talk about the bigger picture of how the global community must work together and how we must increase support for our multilateral institutions. Multilateralism is the most effective way we have to ensure peaceful global order.
Ultimately, what is NATO? NATO is a defence and security alliance, and its purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. As we have seen since February 24, there is a role for NATO to play. In fact, as Canada's Arctic becomes more accessible, we need greater protection in the north and we need to be a part of NATO, but we need to do more than invest in just security. We need to invest in peace.
I have learned a great deal from my mentor, the honourable Douglas Roche. If he has taught me anything, it is that war is a failure to build peace in this world. War is never a solution that we can depend on. We always have to be pushing for peace. I have spoken to Doug about the need to develop a declaration on the right to peace.
In 2012, the UN Human Rights Council began a study to draft a human right to peace. This is vital work that we need to be doing. As a species, we should be promoting peace as a basic human right, and I will continue to work with any member in the House who is interested in working towards that goal.
What we need right now is dialogue, diplomacy and pluralism that puts the common global good at the forefront. Climate change, global health pandemics, food shortages and nuclear war are global challenges that will require global solutions. We need multilateralism to solve the biggest challenges facing humanity right now.
We need United Nations reform. I know many people are working very hard on United Nations reform. We need to make sure the UN has a strong set of institutions that can protect all people and all countries.
We need to look at the Security Council. The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine while they were chairing a Security Council meeting. What is the obligation of the United Nations General Assembly when the Security Council is no longer able to meet its mandate? What is the obligation of all the other countries in the world to stand up and say that it is not okay?
We need to work to reform our multilateral institutions. We need to work to make sure that the investment we put into foreign security and into defence is echoed in our investment into diplomacy, our investment into peace and our investment into making sure that the world is fair and equitable for all people, regardless of which country they come from.
We want to see stronger support from Canada for the International Criminal Court. We were glad to see Canada's decision to refer the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court. We support the government's decision to send resources. I was proud to see the support going to prove that what is happening in Ukraine is genocide. Every member in the House supported my resolution on that.
However, I have to say that Canada has a long history of picking and choosing when human rights matter, and a long history of deciding when the International Criminal Court is applicable and when it is not. I am shocked that Canada does not support the investigation into Israel and Palestine and what is happening there. This would look at crimes being committed by Israelis and Palestinians.
Canada has to start playing a better role by being universal in its approach to human rights. This is a great place to start.
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- Mar/29/22 12:32:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy spending time with my colleague across the aisle. We have had many good conversations in the past, and perhaps we can have a conversation in the lobby afterward so I can explain to him how governance in the Westminster system works, because clearly he does not understand it.
What I can say is that as a member of an opposition party, the New Democratic Party, I am so excited that Canadians are going to have dental care, pharmacare, support for workers and support for seniors, and all because of the work that my leader, the member for Burnaby South, has done on our behalf.
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