- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- Port Moody—Coquitlam
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $129,260.13
- Government Page
- May/1/24 5:32:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the member's energy and I am going to ask for some of it to come to Port Moody—Coquitlam.
I know that the member is the parliamentary secretary for Veterans Affairs. There is a piece of federal land very close to the legion in Port Moody, on 45 Mary Street. It was outlined in the budget. How can I get some conversations going around this piece of land? I am getting a bit of a runaround. It is not in infrastructure and communities and now it is over to procurement.
Where am I supposed to find this information about 45 Mary Street, because we are very interested in Port Moody—Coquitlam?
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- Dec/14/23 7:04:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the comments. I certainly appreciate him for highlighting the work of SHARE in our community. SHARE is one of the largest organizations in our community and has so many services for people. I really appreciate the work SHARE does in the Tri-Cities.
The member talked about the rapid housing initiative, and at this point in time, I am trying to reach Infrastructure Canada to talk about modular housing with regard to the rapid housing initiative. The member knows that the rapid housing initiative is well oversubscribed, with many denials because it is not enough.
I want to go back to the fact that a one-bedroom apartment in Coquitlam is renting for $2,350 right now. We cannot ask people to wait for homes. They cannot afford homes right now. They need action.
Again, will the government front-load its investments into co-ops and purpose-built rentals, immediately match the B.C. rental protection fund and help those who need to get into a home today?
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- Dec/5/23 1:31:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would just reiterate that the local food infrastructure fund is severely underfunded. It is oversubscribed, just like the rapid housing initiative.
Will the government go back and increase the local food infrastructure fund so that projects can be funded so that people do not have to go hungry in Canada?
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- May/9/23 12:16:35 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, although I see that the member had a prepared speech, I want to reiterate the fact that if capital investments are being made in transit infrastructure, the operating funds need to be assigned at the same time.
I want to revisit the safety aspect. Will the government support the ATU's call for a Canada national transit safety task force to deal with the surge in violence on transit?
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- May/9/23 12:09:26 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to speak to operational funding for transit in Canada because it is essential.
Transit allows people to have reliable and efficient service. Maintaining the capital assets and upgrading infrastructure such as buses, trains and stations, as well as investing in new technologies and equipment, are certainly important for transit, but for those to function, operational funds are needed. Communities across the country are looking for the government to step up and show leadership with operational funding for transit. Without sufficient funding, transit systems can become outdated and overcrowded, which leads to delays, breakdowns and reduced accessibility for passengers.
I want to share a story from my community, which happened just recently, where transit has not had the operating funds to keep its equipment fully accessible. A resident in my riding recently tweeted that they were stuck at a transit station because the shuttle bus was broken and the wheelchair lift was not functioning. The resident was then forced to get onto a transit bus, and that, too, had a broken ramp. This is about not having the operating funds to maintain the product.
I also want to talk about the fact that so many residents in my communities of Port Moody, Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra are looking for simple bathrooms in transit stations. With no operating funds, the transit authorities have not built the bathrooms required because they cannot afford to keep them operational. This is a human rights issue. There should be bathrooms at transit stations.
In addition to improving these services, operational funds are critical for ensuring that transit remains accessible. Riders rely on public transit as their primary mode of transportation, and without adequate funding, fares are becoming prohibitively expensive, especially in these times times when there is so much inflation and we know that folks are struggling to pay the bills at home.
Next week, the TransLink mayors are coming in from the Lower Mainland in Vancouver, and the TransLink Mayors’ Council is also asking Ottawa to step up with necessary transit funding for operations. This will also help us meet our climate goals.
As we see the approach of the TransLink Mayors’ Council coming from B.C., I just want to raise tonight that we need operational funds for safety as well. We all know that there has been quite a few horrific stories recently of people who have died or have been severely hurt on transit. This is something that needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed with operational funding. Security and the ability to have conductors on buses and trains are very important.
Lastly, operational funding plays an important role in supporting the growth and development of Canadian communities. Transit systems provide access to jobs, education, health care and other essential services, and help to connect people across different regions and municipalities. By investing in transit, government can stimulate economic growth, improve quality of life and create more resilient communities. Why does the government continue to fail Canadians by avoiding the steady, reliable and meaningful transit operational funds communities have been asking for?
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- Apr/27/23 7:19:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I had an interesting meeting today talking to some colleagues across the country just around natural infrastructure, green infrastructure and the way to build infrastructure better in community, and there are a lot of NGOs doing this work. I have actually talked to the infrastructure minister about bringing the expertise of those NGOs together. I think that always relying on corporations is not necessarily the path to this new green economy.
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- Nov/17/22 2:49:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, climate change is here. Extreme weather events are more often and more severe, affecting people's access to food and medicine and putting their lives at risk. The Liberal government is missing in action. Rural and urban communities are being left to fend for themselves. This needs to change now. Communities need long-term stable funding for climate-resilient infrastructure that will withstand extreme weather events.
Will the Liberals finally invest the needed funding municipalities have been asking for?
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- Oct/25/22 3:09:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are experiencing the devastation of the climate emergency. Natural disasters, like hurricane Fiona, are leaving entire communities reeling. Local governments want leadership from the Liberals on climate-resilient infrastructure. It is past due for infrastructure funding to live up to the times.
The government would rather give billions in subsidies to big oil and gas instead of helping people fight the climate crisis. When are the Liberals going to stop dragging their feet and fund the resilient infrastructure that communities need?
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- Sep/26/22 8:18:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about the vital telecommunications and other infrastructure losses, as well as the need to proactively move on the energy transition, so my question is about the energy transition. What does the Bloc feel is the barrier for the government to start moving on the energy transition and stop investing in fossil fuel expansion projects?
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- Jun/17/22 12:11:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canada has an equity problem. The Canadian Climate Institute reports that the Liberals are failing again to deliver needed infrastructure in the north. Decades of underfunding mean that people do not have the tools to face wildfires, floods and other extreme weather. Most indigenous and northern communities already lack access to safe drinking water, adequate housing and reliable roads. That is not fair.
When will the Liberals finally make meaningful investments in infrastructure and stop neglecting people in the north?
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- May/2/22 2:47:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a scathing report from the environment commissioner showed that Infrastructure Canada is no longer accurately tracking emissions for the projects it funds. Local communities depend on this data. They are on the front lines of climate change and are committed to meeting climate targets. They need the federal government to provide reliable information, as well as the stable funding they have been requesting.
How can the Liberal government claim to support local communities when it is not even tracking the climate impacts of the infrastructure it funds?
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