- Member of Parliament
- Caucus Chair
- NDP
- Cowichan—Malahat—Langford
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $140,733.69
- Government Page
- May/24/24 12:57:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was reflecting on my colleague's use of the term “arc”, and that arc does not bend on its own. In many cases, we have to force it to bend. While I can take pride, as a New Democrat, today for having brought the House of Commons to this moment, I recognize that with this effort and the many efforts of NDP MPs over the years, we did not arrive at this moment alone. It was those in the labour movement that fought for this change. They were the agitators, the people who forced MPs to arrive at this moment.
Can my colleague reflect on that incredible activism of the labour movement that brought the House of Commons to where it is today?
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- May/24/24 12:14:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise in the House today to present petition e-4919, which was initiated by Chris Tucker, the president of Port Renfrew's Chamber of Commerce in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.
The petitioners want the government to recognize that closing the recreational fishery endangers Port Renfrew's economy, threatening over 100 small business owners' livelihoods; that no supporting data for the efficacy of static closures has been provided by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, while many communities' economies face severe impacts; that critical threats to the southern resident killer whales, such as pollution and large shipping vessel traffic, remain under-addressed compared with the focus on recreational fishing; and that Port Renfrew's significant economic contribution, backed by a community and the Pacheedaht First Nation, underscores the need for sensible conservation efforts. They are advocating for a shift from arbitrary, punitive regulations to informed, evidence-based policies that ensure southern resident killer whale protection without compromising small communities' economic stability and future planning.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to adopt science-based regulations that recognize the marginal impact of the recreational fishery on the southern resident killer whales, do not require closures to recreational fishing and support a conservation-minded approach. What they want is thriving orcas, thriving oceans and thriving communities for many generations to come.
I am proud to support the good people of Port Renfrew.
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- May/24/24 11:29:19 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more than 9,000 border workers have voted for a strike mandate. The Liberals keep asking more of these workers, like cracking down on stolen cars being smuggled out of Canada, but will not give them the resources they need. Our CBSA workers deserve better. They deserve a pension, better working conditions and respect. Canadians depend on these workers to keep them safe, but the Liberals are turning their backs on them.
Will the Liberals admit that, by failing to provide a fair retirement to these workers, they are setting the stage for unnecessary disruptions this summer?
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Madam Chair, yesterday the House of Commons voted to defeat Bill C-381. There is obviously no evidence that mandatory minimums work as a deterrent. This was in the case of extortion in the Criminal Code. There is even evidence that they might hinder the work of a prosecutor to use plea bargaining to obtain evidence for the arrest of other members of a criminal organization. However, there are legitimate fears among the South Asian community regarding the increase in extortion from criminal organizations.
How the minister is dealing with this particularly sensitive issue? How will he be directing his department's resources to address these growing fears?
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Madam Chair, members from all sides of the House have supported the creation of a new offence in the Criminal Code for coercive and controlling behaviour. Bill C-332 is scheduled to return to the House for report stage and third reading next week.
Can the minister tell me when the government will act and implement the changes to the Criminal Code that are urgently needed to protect survivors, families and children who are at risk of coercive and controlling behaviour and escalating threats of harm and violence?
Is the government committed to fast-tracking the implementation of the legislation, given the all-party support?
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Madam Chair, there is nothing precluding the minister from setting out certain expectations. I think that is very well and good to be established, and still keeping an organization within the Justice Department at arm's length.
I want to move on. Today I subbed in at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which is currently looking at the issues of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. It is quite obvious that Jews across Canada are reporting a terrifying increase of hate directed toward them as an identifiable group.
One of the recommendations that emerged at today's meeting was to ban symbols of hate. My colleague, the NDP member for New Westminster—Burnaby, has introduced Bill C-229, which would amend the Criminal Code to broaden the provisions related to hate propaganda by making it an offence to publicly display visual representations that promote or incite hatred or violence against an identifiable group. Can the minister comment on this particular initiative and whether the Government of Canada will support it?
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- May/23/24 7:57:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, will the minister personally instruct the war crimes division of Justice Canada to conduct enhanced human rights due diligence for all real estate transactions made in Canada or by Canadian citizens that involve illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories?
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- May/23/24 7:56:36 p.m.
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Madam Chair, with respect, the minister is been quite evasive. I am not talking about the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am not talking about Israeli settlements abroad. I am talking about Canadians who may have broken the law here in Canada regarding the purchase of properties in the occupied Palestinian territories being done here on Canadian soil. I would like a specific answer to that specific question. That is not under the purview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. That is under the purview of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
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- May/23/24 7:56:09 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I understand that very well. That does not preclude the minister from issuing broad statements about what the government expects.
Again, I would like to hear an answer from the minister.
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- May/23/24 7:55:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to know what work the minister is personally doing to make sure that there is an investigation and potential prosecution of people in Canada who are facilitating the purchasing of property, investments or businesses in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
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- May/23/24 7:54:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is all very clear, but I am looking at the investigation of the particular potential sales that happened here on Canadian soil. I would like the minister to comment on that specifically. I think Canadians have a very deserved right to know.
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- May/23/24 7:53:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in March there were several events in Canadian communities in which real estate sales of settlement homes in occupied Palestinian territory were promoted and real estate was potentially sold. There was a real estate tour called the Great Israeli Real Estate Event, which was held in Montreal and Toronto.
Israel's far right government has been expanding and authorizing illegal settlements at a rate that exceeds those of all previous years. Settlements are illegal under international law, and under Canadian policy they are an impediment to peace. They should be a priority of the department, given that this is illegal under domestic law and also given the increasing settler violence in the West Bank, which the minister's government acknowledged last week when it imposed sanctions on extremist settlers.
Has the minister's department investigated these illegal sales that may violate the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, which lists population transfer by occupying powers as a recognized war crime under domestic law?
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- May/23/24 7:52:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, with respect, I just need a simple yes or no answer from the minister.
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- May/23/24 7:52:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, does the minister agree with me that Canada has a duty to act within its jurisdiction with respect to the subject of illegal Israeli settlements?
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- May/23/24 7:51:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to change the subject now. I have a quick question for the minister. Does he agree with me that the illegality of Israeli settlements is one of the most firmly established issues in modern international law?
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- May/23/24 7:51:33 p.m.
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Madam Chair, could the minister correctly inform me, through the committee of the whole, that the November deadline will be met?
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- May/23/24 7:50:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to turn to the subject of criminal records. Twice the Liberal government has been asked, and twice it has not answered, whether and how it will meet its legal requirement to sequester the criminal records for simple possession of drugs for more than 250,000 Canadians. The legal deadline is coming this November, and Canadians are rightly asking whether they will be notified that their records have indeed been sequestered.
I do not need to remind the House that these kinds of records for offences that are no longer offences impact the ability of people to seek employment or housing, or to travel abroad to visit loved ones. The records also disproportionately impact indigenous and racialized Canadians and those living in poverty.
Could the minister please inform me as to how the government will meet the legal November deadline and inform the Canadians affected as to how they would know their criminal records have been sequestered?
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- May/23/24 7:49:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, could the minister commit, with those figures he just cited, to making sure they are going to be a new floor and not a ceiling in the future?
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- May/23/24 7:47:46 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I wish to notify the Chair that I am going to be using my 15 minutes to delve right into questions. I appreciate having this opportunity to speak with the minister at the committee of the whole regarding the estimates for the department.
I want to get started on a question regarding legal aid. I note that in these main estimates, the contributions for criminal legal aid would decrease by $57 million, from $193.8 million to $136.8 million. One of the biggest barriers to justice in this country is being able to afford legal representation. Too often, the most vulnerable Canadians do not have access to competent legal assistance in an already overburdened justice system. While legal aid is primarily the responsibility of provincial governments, there is a role for the federal government in providing funding.
Can the minister explain why the amounts allocated to contributions for criminal legal aid are being reduced in such a substantial way?
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to see the member for Winnipeg North stand in this place to loudly proclaim his support for the important programs of pharmacare and dental care. This is even more so due to the fact that, in the 43rd Parliament, when it came to Bill C-213, introduced by the member for New Westminster—Burnaby, and a motion on dental care, which was introduced by former MP Jack Harris, that member and the entire Liberal caucus voted against those measures. They voted against pharmacare and against dental care.
I am glad to see that, on the road to Damascus, the Liberals have arrived at their conversion. I just want to know what changed. What led the Liberals to suddenly have this vision that these were, in fact, the right programs to put in place now? Could it be that the New Democrats forced them to do it?
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