- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- Nunavut
- Nunavut
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $178,285.32
- Government Page
Uqaqtittiji, I am pleased to rise on behalf of my constituents in Nunavut.
The leader of the NDP, the member for Burnaby South, has tabled a particularly important bill that can have benefits for Nunavummiut. Bill C-352, an act to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act, is of interest to us because it is all about lowering prices. I thank him for tabling Bill C-352, because there is too much corporate control in Ottawa.
I like the way that the leader of the NDP put it. He said, “The corporate-controlled Conservatives set up a system that continues to benefit wealthy CEOs. The big lobby Liberals continue to protect the interests of those greedy CEOs.”
The leader of the NDP clearly understands the realities experienced by my constituents, and the NDP join him in this fight to stop greedy CEOs who exploit Canadians.
As the fourth party in the House, we have fought the hardest and got the most results for Canadians. Bill C-352 is yet another example of what an NDP government would look like: It would make changes in federal systems that make it easier for Canadians to afford food, to afford the cost of living and, indeed, not be punished by corporate greed.
Competition is particularly challenging in Nunavut. The merger of First Air with Canadian North has seen the impacts of the lack of competition. If this bill had been in place during the First Air and Canadian North merger, anti-competitive rules would have been stronger. There would have been a better review of the merger, including how gains in efficiency and market concentration would be taken into account. I believe that the merger of the two airlines would have been prevented given that this merger resulted in an excessive combined market share.
The merger between Canadian North and First Air is not likely to restore competition in the airline industry in Nunavut. I challenge Nunavut Crown corporations to buy into the airline industry and to increase the market share. Canadian North, while Inuit owned, is owned by two corporations outside of Nunavut. I will admit, while I appreciate the services provided by Canadian North, it is the lack of competition that allows astronomical prices, like a person from Grise Fiord in my riding going to Ottawa at the price of over $11,000. The distance between Grise Fiord and Ottawa is only 3,461 kilometres. For a similar distance, between Ottawa and Victoria, British Columbia, the price of an airline ticket is $500. In the alternate, I challenge Air Canada and WestJet to increase the market share of the airline industry in Nunavut.
The airline industry is our lifeline. The health care system is too lacking, resulting in multiple millions of dollars spent on airline tickets for my constituents to attend everything from the most basic doctor appointments to more complicated and lengthy procedures only available south of Nunavut. A direct impact of the merger includes the cost of groceries and the cost of alleviating poverty.
Recently, the Minister of Northern Affairs showed that he will cut a portion of the nutrition north program that directly helps people to feed each other. The Minister of Northern Affairs is opting to subsidize CEOs and larger for-profit corporations by keeping that portion without review and without consideration for alleviating poverty.
When the Conservatives were in power, food prices went up by 25%. What does this mean? Here are some examples of some prices that went up: ground beef went up by 128%; coffee went up 89%; apples, and we all know that the Conservatives love apples, went up by 43%.
When the Conservatives were in power, what went down in that same period were the taxes that corporate grocery stores paid, that is, the Conservatives gave massive tax giveaways to the richest corporations, hurting Canadians and benefiting their rich friends.
It does not have to be this way. The leader for the NDP, said, in introducing this bill:
That is why we are putting forward our bill, the lowering prices for Canadians act, which would bring down prices for Canadians, take power away from those greedy CEOs and give it back to the working people.
The NDP is fighting for Canadians who are suffering the increasing cost of living allowed by the Liberal government. The Liberals and the Conservatives will show their commitment to Canadians when they vote on Bill C-352.
I ask the same questions that the NDP leader asked:
Do they stand with their rich CEO friends or will they stand with working class Canadians? Will they stand with workers, families and people who are having a hard time buying groceries?
As our leader did, I too invite the Liberals and Conservatives to stop listening to their CEO friends, start listening to working Canadians and support our bill to bring down prices for all Canadians. This NDP bill would stop mergers that end up hurting Canadians, like the merger of Rogers and Shaw, which reduces competition, increases prices and means a loss of jobs.
This NDP bill would increase penalties for consumer scams and help grocery stores by protecting them from the anti-competitive tactics used by big chains.
This NDP bill would give the Competition Bureau more power to crack down on abuses such as price gouging and would stop mergers that reduce competition and hurt Canadians.
As a result of greedy corporations making huge profits, Canadians are struggling. When we ask Canadians, they agree. They believe the number one reason driving up the cost of groceries is more money going into the pockets of rich CEOs.
The NDP leader believes, as do I, that we need more competition and not less. I believe we need more protections for consumers and not more power for CEOs. That is exactly what our bill would do.
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- Oct/5/23 6:39:56 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the cost of flights in Nunavut is astronomical. All 25 communities that I represent are fly-in communities. A flight to Ottawa can cost over $5,000. It costs more to fly within our own country than it does to destinations such as Mexico, London or Nuuk.
Most of my constituents cannot choose to take vacations, because it is simply not affordable. There are no other options. Flying is an unfortunate reality of living in Nunavut, yet Nunavut does not have adequate airport infrastructure to ensure that prices are affordable.
Nunavummiut have seen increases in fares since the government first approved the Canadian North-First Air merger. I understand these increases were a result of Transport Canada undertakings that made it impossible for Canadian North to maintain sustainable operations. It is difficult and expensive to run an airline in a territory as large and sparsely populated as Nunavut. Imposing onerous conditions on one of Nunavut's only airlines is not the solution. The 25% annual fare increase that Transport Canada has allowed for is also far too high. That is four times the rate of inflation. For a $3,000 flight between Ottawa and Iqaluit, the fare could be raised by $750 this year.
When the government announced its new deal with Canadian North last April, they promised to maintain fares and departures while providing a more efficient service. In the last few months, I have received many complaints about the disruptions experienced by my constituents.
Gjoa Haven only has one or two flights per week, which can leave families in southern facilities for extended periods of time. For example, if a person from Gjoa Haven has a medical appointment in Yellowknife, that patient will most likely end up in Yellowknife for weeks because of cancelled or overbooked flights. These are patients who, because of the lack of a health care system, are forced to leave their territory to access basic health care services that are available to the rest of Canada.
The mayor of Arctic Bay wrote to me, saying they are seeing nine fewer flights per week compared with last year. This is unacceptable for communities that rely on these flights for food, health, education, tourism, infrastructure and economic development. My office is hearing many similar stories from constituents who have been stranded due to cancellations, delays or rescheduled flights.
Nunavummiut struggle every day with the excessive cost of living in the North. Not only are they battling the rising costs of food, fuel and housing, but they are also paying thousands of dollars more for essential appointments. According to the federal government release, the deal signed with Canadian North would provide “the access to air services they need, while at the same time ensuring Canadian North remains a viable service provider”. When will the government admit that it will not do so?
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- Jun/19/23 2:55:55 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, last week, the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario came to Ottawa to demand that the government reinstate its core funding to help keep its communities safe. The minister promised to provide three months of funding as quickly as possible. People are dying as they wait for him to fulfill that promise.
The minister needs to stop playing games with the safety of 45 first nations. When will the funding be reinstated with the terms and conditions that respect the rights of indigenous peoples?
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- Jun/9/23 12:22:20 a.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, back in March, I travelled with committee members of the indigenous and northern affairs committee to my riding in Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk and the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife. We met with many of my constituents and with Canadian Rangers in both of my communities. We went to the joint task force north headquarters office in Yellowknife as well.
We heard from my constituents, especially Canadian Rangers, who are extremely proud to serve and keep the Arctic secure for Arctic sovereignty. Canadian Rangers wear their uniforms with pride when they do their operations. They outlined some issues with being Canadian Rangers. When I asked my original question back in March, my question related to one of those issues, which included how long it takes for their reimbursements after they have completed operations. That was three months ago. Some have waited as long as six months to be reimbursed for their time and for repairs.
One of the images shared during these visits showed that the Canadian Armed Forces must be using horse carriages to get from Yellowknife to Ottawa to submit the paperwork to Ottawa, with Ottawa using that same mode of transportation to send the cheques back to the communities. Part of the response to my question was, “The CAF has recently streamlined the compensation process. This will expedite the process for Rangers to receive their reimbursements.” Can the government please describe exactly in what way the process has been streamlined and by how much time the process has been cut so that Canadian Rangers do not have to wait months for their reimbursements?
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- Feb/20/22 2:40:49 p.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.
Some have tried to hide the influence that foreign extremists had in the illegal blockade and what they might continue to have.
It is also great to start seeing Ottawans walking the streets in joy and with freedom from fear from the so-called freedom convoy. It is great to see them wearing their masks and enjoying the normally beautiful downtown core.
Can the member say whether it is more important to listen to public health officials whose interests are to protect the health of Canadians or to the extremist leadership who have attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government?
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- Feb/20/22 12:07:51 p.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.
Madam Speaker, this morning, I was relieved to see how the physical entrenchment of the extremists' acts were dismantled in Ottawa, though I was dismayed to see the extremists' ideologies expand to Surrey, British Columbia, as we were shown in the news this morning that protests against important public health measures were going on.
Even with the physical entrenchment that was allowed to happen removed because of the Emergencies Act, are there continuing threats to our democracy and to the everyday lives of Canadians?
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- Feb/19/22 11:33:05 a.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji. We know how quickly extremist behaviour and ideologies can spread. With the sheer volume of this demonstration, I am genuinely concerned that racism will grow, entrench and allow widespread violence to ensue. This extremism is dangerous and must be dealt with urgently.
I am not sure if the member heard the news last night, but the interim Ottawa police chief, Steve Bell, said, “Without the authorities provided to us through these pieces of legislation, we wouldn't be able to be doing the work we are today.”
Does the member agree that extremist ideologies from other countries must be stopped and that Canadians must return to their Canadian roots of kindness to their neighbours?
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