- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Halifax West
- Nova Scotia
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $116,563.05
- Government Page
This is what it looks like to have the backs of Canadians as they pursue the education they need to succeed.
The fall economic statement delivers for our small businesses, which is another top priority of mine. It outlines our approach to lower credit card transaction fees for our small businesses without adversely affecting other businesses or consumers.
In conversations with community members after the statement came out, I heard about how our minister's “fix this or we'll fix it for you” message was resonating with small business owners. That was echoed loud and clear when I stopped by at the Atlantic Convenience Expo and the Convenience Industry Council of Canada's retail awards last week. Halifax West has so many incredible small businesses and iconic convenience stores. One example is Fairview's Super Mike's, and I know that this change will benefit it and many more.
What is also included is significant support for youth employment. I spent a lot of time this summer, as I am sure most members did, connecting with employers and employees benefiting from the Canada summer jobs program in Halifax West. The response was incredible. There were jobs for coaches, yard clerks, lifeguards and camp counsellors. Over 450 jobs were created by the program in my riding alone this year, boosting local businesses and non-profits and providing youth with valuable work experience. Suffice to say, I was thrilled to see the fall economic statement include over $800 million to support youth employment through job placements, wraparound support and, of course, the Canada summer jobs program.
I am seeing first-hand the benefit of a whole lot more in my community. The fee reductions for parents that our child care agreement is delivering is another great example. I was out door knocking last week in my riding, and a woman on Forestside Crescent stopped me. She has twins who are 17 months old, and she told me that the 25% cut in fees that we delivered has made a world of difference to her.
For families like hers, fees are scheduled to be reduced further, and I look forward to the commitment on child care for all families. That is vital, because we have a significant labour shortage across sectors and we have to address it. I have heard that loud and clear from builders, from the Canadian Construction Association and from many corners.
Canadians understand that immigration must be part of the solution.
We need more skilled immigrants, more construction workers and more health care providers, among many others. Fortunately, we have a new immigration levels plan that sets us on the path to do just that so we can welcome those who can help us get more homes built, reinforce our struggling health care workforce and drive our economic growth. We need to hit our bold target of 500,000 new permanent residents by 2025, and we need to ensure that those people can settle in regions where housing is available, can have their foreign credentials recognized and can work productively in their fields.
The labour shortage is also why we recently announced the lifting of the 20-hour-per-week cap on hours that our international students can work off campus while studying in Canada. This helps students ease the financial strain of paying for school, supports our businesses and leaves them with more valuable Canadian work experience.
That is why I was thrilled yesterday when I heard that 16 new occupations are eligible for PR through express entry. I know there is a lot more to be done on processing the backlogs, and I am very pleased to have heard the announcements on that as well.
I can also tell members how excited I am to have seen first-hand the benefit of the $500-million cities stream of our extended rapid housing initiative. Halifax was one of the cities announced for that. One good example there is the Adsum for Women and Children's sunflower project in Lakeside, which is also funded by that money, and the 28-bed crisis shelter for indigenous women that we are supporting in Hammonds Plains through the shelter enhancement program.
I believe we have hit the right balance between positioning ourselves for economic and demographic growth and providing targeted relief for the Canadians who need it.
728 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/1/22 2:13:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, every March, we come together to celebrate Francophonie Month.
I invite everyone to celebrate the diversity and richness of the Francophonie and to show our solidarity as an important part of the global Francophonie. In my home city of Halifax, local organizations will be hosting many activities and presentations throughout the month of March to showcase the richness of our local French-speaking community and contribute to its development.
I was proud to support that development in my previous roles by introducing the first francophone immigration action plan for Nova Scotia. I am also proud today to see that our new immigration plan recognizes the importance of increasing francophone immigration.
To all those celebrating in Halifax West and elsewhere, happy Francophonie Month.
125 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/4/22 11:03:14 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge Black History Month. It is an occasion to celebrate, show appreciation and recognize the accomplishments of Black Canadians throughout our history to building a better Canada. They include trailblazers of yesterday, among them boxer, activist and Nova Scotia sergeant-at-arms Buddy Daye, and civil rights pioneer and Nova Scotia businesswoman Viola Desmond; and the change-makers of today, including the inspiring women who joined me at the minister's Black women's round table in Halifax in November.
I especially want to acknowledge the diverse Black communities in my riding of Halifax West, such as the historic community of Lucasville as well as the newer generation of Black immigrants.
Many of these new immigrants are francophones who are making important contributions.
Let us keep moving forward to support Black Canadians.
I wish everyone a happy Black History Month.
146 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Dec/2/21 1:49:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Parkdale—High Park. I want to acknowledge that I am standing on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
Since this is the first real opportunity I have had to speak, I feel it is important to begin with some acknowledgements.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank the voters of Halifax West for putting their trust in me. They know I will work every day to make their lives better and leave a better Canada for our next generation.
I want to give a special thanks to my family, especially my mother Houda; my children, my son Antonios, who managed my election campaign; my daughters Stephanie, Monica and Marena; all my volunteers and friends who did so much to bring me here today; as well as my father Stephen, who is watching from above with a great smile and a tear in his eye. I am going to make him proud.
It is hard to find the words to describe how very proud I am to rise today for the first time as the member for Halifax West.
Today I am profoundly humbled to stand and address my colleagues in this chamber as the first female member of Parliament to represent my community in the House of Commons. Most members are familiar with my predecessor, the Hon. Geoff Regan, a former speaker of this House, and I hope to continue his strong record of collaboration and advocacy.
All my colleagues know the feeling I am experiencing. It is one of pride, enthusiasm and passion for one’s community and country. We do not really know how to describe it, but we know this feeling is going to push us to do everything and anything we can to make a difference in the lives of the people who sent us here.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to my new colleagues and talk about my riding.
My constituency of Halifax West is the most diverse and multicultural riding east of Montreal.
I would also like to share a few thoughts on the Speech from the Throne.
My name is Lena Metlege Diab. I am a proud Lebanese Nova Scotian, a mother of four children, a grandmother to four, a small business owner, a lawyer and a community volunteer. Though I am new to this chamber, I am not new to political life.
Prior to the election, I served two terms as a member of the legislative assembly of Nova Scotia, with you, Mr. Speaker, when you were in that chamber. I also served as the provincial cabinet minister responsible for justice, public safety, immigration and population growth, labour and advanced education, and Acadian affairs and francophonie. In 2013, I was appointed as the first female attorney general in Nova Scotia.
In my previous roles, I worked hard to push forward the cause of equity, address Nova Scotia’s economic and demographic challenges, and support businesses and workers. That is why I was so encouraged by the themes and priorities laid out in this year’s Speech from the Throne. What was clear to me was that the government gets the type of action this moment calls for. If ever there were a time when Canadians needed an active government, a government that takes the reins and charts the course, that time is now.
That is the vision I see in this year’s Speech from the Throne, one that is bold, forward-looking and intentional. It is an acknowledgement that our biggest problems will not simply right themselves, including the climate emergency, the housing shortage, the inequities experienced by many of our community members, and the challenges of building back our workforce and our industries from a once-in-a-lifetime economic shock. We have to act intentionally, collaboratively and urgently on them all, and we have to back that up with real investment and meaningful policy change.
I will now come back to the incredible diversity in my riding. As I knocked on doors in Halifax West, I met people from around the globe. Many are not yet Canadian citizens, but their stories are touching and inspiring to me. I myself experienced life as an immigrant when I came to Canada at the age of 11. What struck me the most about these people was their great hope and immense pride in being here and soon joining our Canadian family and community.
I remember my days as a young girl at St. Agnes Junior High in Halifax, feeling brand new to my city. At the time, I was still working to learn English, and I did not truly understand what the other children were saying about me. I knew they looked at the way I looked, the way I wore my hair, and I could sense they saw me as different from them.
However, after eight years serving as Nova Scotia's immigration minister, I know that today the hearts of Nova Scotians are more open than ever before. This is why I am so encouraged by the Speech from the Throne’s mentions of increasing immigration, reducing wait times for reunification and a continuing the commitment to resettle those displaced from their homes. My community is a daily reminder and living proof that our diversity is our strength.
I do not mean to imply that we have no challenges ahead, because that is far from the case.
There are many forms of hatred and discrimination in our communities, and truly addressing them requires continuous, vigilant action from all levels of government and collaboration from all members in the House. This is something I am committed to working on in my time here, and I see that too in the Speech from the Throne. We need active, renewed initiative when it comes to eliminating racism and bigotry from our communities. An essential part of my mission here is to do what I can to ensure my community and my country feel like home for every individual and family, no matter where they come from.
In Nova Scotia, we are now just counting the days before the mark of one million residents is passed. Having been on the front lines of that work, I could not be more proud. It is clear from the Speech from the Throne that this government understands how essential immigration is to strengthening our economy, our workforce, our communities and our public services in Nova Scotia and across the country.
At the same time, we must act purposefully to ensure that the economy we rebuild after this pandemic includes everyone. It is inconceivable to me that we would let the pandemic roll back the gains made by women and under-represented communities in the workforce.
I see the government's commitment in that in its establishing of an affordable national early child care system and its investing in the empowerment of Black, racialized and indigenous people.
I am encouraged by the priorities and the focus. I am encouraged because I came here to make a difference in the lives of Canadians, and I welcome the attention given to this pressing issues, which I heard about on the door steps.
I am ready for the work ahead, and I will do that work in my three languages. I feel it is important to bring my enduring love of the French language to the House every day I have the privilege of sitting here.
I also proudly address this House in the beautiful Arabic language, and I will do my very best to represent the many residents of Halifax West who speak it themselves.
[Member spoke in Arabic]
[English]
To conclude, let us all now get to work with renewed commitment to address the needs of Canadians and to make good on the promise of building back better.
1325 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
