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Kevin Vuong

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Independent

Spadina—Fort York
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 62%
Expenses Last Quarter: $144,966.01

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 132 - Nov/22/22

Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Nov/22/22 7:08:11 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon colleague for spending his evening with me on this very important matter. As I mentioned last week, Izabela and other parents from my riding of Spadina—Fort York have told me about the proliferation of illegal cannabis shops operating in our community. Many of these illegal stores are using targeted ads and promotion to attract children, and these unscrupulous illegal businesses are also selling copycat edibles that look like candy. However, some of the products have actually poisoned children. The problem exists because there has been a serious lack of enforcement of the many regulations that legitimate Canadian cannabis businesses must follow. Ignoring these rules has allowed the black market to flourish. Many of these illegal businesses make upwards of $50,000 a day, according to some reports. Most are operating 24-7, selling their unregulated and contaminated products that, and I cannot emphasize it enough, target children. Some have even set up businesses right across the street from a school. Some parents have tried to organize against these illegal cannabis shops, but they have been warned to stay quiet or face retaliation. People are also afraid to even sign a petition against these operations using their real names, and they only do so anonymously. Parents are left feeling threatened, helpless and hopeless. The growth in these illegal businesses is unacceptable and very dangerous to our youth. Moreover, the millions that are gained from selling illegal cannabis is often used to buy firearms and fund organized criminal activities, major crimes like money laundering and human trafficking. While I commend police in Spadina—Fort York, especially 14 Division, for their work in trying to shut down these illegal stores, they cannot do it alone. I hope the federal government will assist police in closing these illegal operations, so I want to ask my hon. colleague what the government is prepared to do to crack down on these illegal pot shops.

327 words

Context: House Hansard - 128 - Nov/16/22

Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Nov/16/22 3:14:30 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Izabela and many other parents from my riding are worried about the proliferation of illegal cannabis shops in our community, which specifically target children. They are selling copycat pot edibles that doctors say look like candy, but are poisoning kids. I also recently met with the Cannabis Council of Canada. It feels that a lack of enforcement on the many regulatory rules that legitimate businesses must follow allow black market operators to flourish. The millions of dollars gained from illegal cannabis selling is known to be used to buy firearms and fund organized crime. What is the government doing to stop these illegal pot shops?

107 words

Context: House Hansard - 36 - Feb/21/22

Mr. Kevin Vuong

Feb/21/22 7:15:12 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, again, one of the real issues I have observed walking through the streets of Ottawa is how the people have been impacted. For example, the National Arts Centre has been closed. To give members a sense of the scope, I will provide a statistic from my riding. Ms. Kendra Bator of Mirvish Productions comes from my riding, which is our country's largest theatre production company. Every dollar spent generates $10 in the local economy. How many millions were lost as a result of the disruption by the occupation? It is so vital that we move forward so we can support Ottawa's businesses and people's livelihoods.

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Context: House Hansard - 36 - Feb/21/22

Mr. Kevin Vuong

Feb/21/22 7:13:10 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, yesterday I was in Ottawa and wanted to patron a local restaurant, as I hope anyone would want to do if my own city of Toronto had gone through the same thing that Ottawa had. It took me 20 minutes of walking before I could find a local restaurant to support here in Ottawa. Even a fast casual dining restaurant will have a minimum complement of staff of seven to 10 people, so imagine how many hundreds of workers were out of work. I imagine that is an opinion my Conservative colleague and I would share: the importance of supporting local businesses. How many jobs and livelihoods were impacted? How many millions in business revenue were lost? These are revenues to the treasury that support the important services that make our country what it is. This has been a black eye on our country, and it is so vital that we move forward.

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Member of Parliament

Kevin Vuong