- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Independent
- Spadina—Fort York
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 62%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $144,966.01
- Government Page
- Feb/12/24 7:15:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have to give it to the parliamentary secretary, to home in on one word, “immigrants”, and try to spin it as some kind of xenophobia. I am the son of immigrants. I am the son of refugees. It is simply stating a fact that as immigration increases and there is not the housing supply, there is more demand and there is pressure for housing prices to go up.
The parliamentary secretary speaks about reality and says that no one has done more than this government. Let me tell him about the reality. Let us accept what he has said at face value. The reality is that it takes 26 years for a Torontonian to save up enough for a down payment for a home. Is that the best the Liberals have? Is that plan working for them? Is that success for the Liberal government? Give me a break.
Therefore, I will ask it again: How are they actually going to address housing unaffordability and unavailability and record-high interest rates, so that the dream of home ownership can actually be possible?
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- Apr/25/23 11:29:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am afraid I have to agree with my colleague. The track record is not great. There are people who have served side by side with my colleagues in the Canadian Armed Forces and are now being hunted by the Taliban. Leaving them behind is tragic. It reflects extremely poorly on our country and our ability to honour our international commitments. It is my hope that with respect to Sudan, the current government can change that. I am going to use this opportunity to reiterate some things.
We should offer emergency immigration measures and support to Sudanese people caught in the crossfire, as was offered to Ukrainians. As well, we should not wait to grant urgent refugee status to non-citizen Sudanese who have Canadian relatives. We can do that now and quickly.
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- Jun/9/22 12:03:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the son of refugees, I applaud the government's commitment to 40,000, but my question for my hon. colleague is, when? He has spoken about the importance of supporting members of the LGBTQ community and activists. There is Rainbow Railroad. When are we going to be able to support them to come over?
I talked about Canada's law firm in Kabul and Mr. Shajjan. His 28 lawyers are still stuck in Afghanistan. When will they be brought over?
I have talked about a number of journalists and a justice, but there is also an Afghan interpreter who is now seven months pregnant. She is wife to a veteran of our nation and is in a third party country right now, Pakistan. She has still not been able to make her way here.
When can they come to their new home?
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- Jun/8/22 11:56:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are here this evening because the government has made a commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees, a commitment that we are failing to deliver on. How many have we actually welcomed? It is only 15,000.
While the minister pats himself on the back for welcoming 37.5% of our commitment, people are suffering. While the minister pats himself on the back for a failing grade, people are dying.
How many people are hiding in abandoned buildings trying to evade the Taliban's wrath, who would kill not only them but everyone they hold dear, like women and children? It does not matter who, because the Taliban are a group of people who have put individuals into cages and set them on fire.
The government is keeping 25,000 terrified people waiting. Canada made a commitment. The government is not delivering, and people are dying because of it.
Even of the 15,000 who have made it, how many were because of the government and how many were because of the heroic efforts of civil society organizations like the Veterans Transition Network? It stepped up in the absence of government leadership to help resettle at least 2,061 refugees. Sadly, as even the CBC reported, even it has had to stop its efforts because its staff were so exhausted by “logistical nightmares” and “bureaucratic red tape”.
Since November of last year, I have had the extreme privilege of working with the Cassels law firm in Toronto in the hopes of savings the lives of people who have assisted Canada in Afghanistan. They were our nation's lawyers in Kabul, but right now it seems their lives do not matter very much. Enough with the excuses; bring them to Canada now.
A short time ago, my hon. colleague, the member for Calgary Forest Lawn, raised in this House the tragic death of Nazifa, who was a 10-year-old girl murdered by the Taliban because her father worked with our military in Kandahar. How many more children will die before the government honours our nation's word?
Just two weeks ago, I was in Warsaw and met with a number of Afghan refugees who were rescued by Poland. Poland has also welcomed 3.6 million Ukrainian refugees. The Afghan refugees need our help. They want to resettle in Canada.
I met with an Afghan couple, he a journalist and she a teacher. He showed me the messages that he had received from the Taliban telling him they would kill him and his wife and any family members they could find.
I also spoke with a former justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan. She told me about how she cannot go back because when the Taliban took over, they opened the doors of the prisons and released all the criminals, criminals she had convicted of heinous crimes.
What happened to the government's feminist foreign policy? Canada made a commitment. People's lives are at risk, and the government must honour our nation's word.
What is the plan for the 25,000 people who are waiting for the government to honour its word? Give us a timeline. Please.
We are at 15,000 now. When will we hit 20,000 or 25,000? When will we hit 40,000 refugees?
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- Jun/2/22 3:14:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I met with Afghan refugees who have been stranded in Poland since August of 2021. These people put their trust in Canada to give them a safe haven. Poland has done all it can. These refugees will soon be penniless and homeless. Some analysts suggest that the Afghan refugee program has been de facto shut down and that Canada has abandoned them.
What does this failure tell the world about Canada's commitment to those who stood shoulder to shoulder with us? Their lives are not those of pawns. Will they be brought to Canada now, or will the minister admit that people were mislead?
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- Mar/21/22 6:29:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the answer I received to my initial question, one that I support, outlines Canada's efforts to assist people trying to flee the violence in Ukraine. I support our nation's legacy of providing shelter to those in dire need. Forty years ago, it was my parents and other refugees who were being generously welcomed to Canada. I would not have the honour of standing before members today if not for the compassion of Canada.
However, my question was not on Canada's effort to assist Ukrainian refugees to come to Canada, but on whether Canada would be providing assistance to Poland and other NATO allies that have opened their borders to the Ukrainian exodus. Three weeks ago, when I asked the government if it would assist, there were 115,000 refugees headed for Poland. Today, 3.3 million Ukrainians have fled their country to seek sanctuary. Poland has welcomed more than two million of them.
Poland is a nation of honour. The Polish know what it is like to stand up to aggression and they know what it is like to stand up to tyranny. It is why the first line of the country's national anthem is “Poland is not yet lost”. It is why the country's historical unofficial motto is “for our freedom and yours”.
I have seen first-hand the courage and honour of the Polish people as a proud member of the Warsaw Security Forum community. I see the efforts of my friends in Poland who are doing everything they can to support Ukrainians who have sought shelter in their country, but resources are being stretched to the brink. Thus, my question remains relevant: Will Canada support our allies at this tragic time?
I am asking if my hon. colleague can inform the House whether Canada will be providing help to those nations that have opened their borders to the sea of humanity seeking safety. That is my question that I am asking again, both of the government and of my hon. colleague.
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- Feb/28/22 3:09:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week I met with Ilya and Liudmyla in my constituency office. They will soon be Canadian citizens and are excited to begin the next chapter of their lives. However, Liudmyla also told me that she is worried about her mom and her family, who are living in bomb shelters. In Ukraine, others are in long lines of refugees at the Polish border. Over 115,000 refugees are heading for safety in Poland. Thousands are also going to Romania and any EU country offering sanctuary. However, resources are being stretched to the brink.
Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs inform the House if Canada will provide assistance to countries opening their borders to the Ukrainian exodus?
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