- Member of Parliament
- Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (on parental leave)
- Liberal
- Burlington
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $131,115.10
- Government Page
- Apr/25/23 2:38:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we respect the right to collective bargaining and we respect the right to strike.
We also respect Canadians, and that is why, unlike the Conservatives, we brought in the Canada child benefit, which has helped lift 450,000 children out of poverty. Unlike the Conservatives, we increased the guaranteed income supplement, which has helped lift thousands of seniors out of poverty.
We are going to get a good deal at the negotiating table, because that is where they happen. We respect Canadians, we respect public servants and we are going to make sure we get a good deal for both the public service and Canadians.
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- Apr/24/23 2:47:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during a general strike, by law, passport services are not considered to be essential. If there are urgent or humanitarian cases, they will be processed. That information is available on the website.
However, I have grave concerns with the short-term memory loss of the Conservatives. They have forgotten that those investments that were made were there to help eight and a half million Canadians get through the biggest health and economic challenge of our time. Canadians understand that when they are in need, the government has their backs. We just do not know where the—
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- Apr/24/23 2:36:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we actually respect workers' rights. We are taking an approach that makes sure that we respect the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.
We believe, and we are committed to making sure, that the best deal will be reached at the negotiating table. Those negotiations are ongoing. We are going to make sure we get a good deal for both public servants and Canadians. We know how important it is to deliver core government services. We are going to get that deal.
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- Apr/20/23 2:32:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important for us to compare and contrast with what the Conservatives did, because since 2006, they did not increase vote A funding for core services to any of the services we provided to Canadians. That means that, as the population of Canada has continued to grow, we actually have been spending, since we came into government in 2015, to deliver services for the population we have.
Unlike the Conservatives, we know we need to deliver good services for Canadians. We have made those investments and we are seeing those investments delivered to Canadians. The Conservatives can talk about cuts and they can talk about austerity, but we are going to continue to invest in government and, most importantly, in Canadians.
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- Apr/20/23 2:31:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the members on this side show up to work every single day to work for Canadians. Let us talk about the public servants who showed up to work every single day throughout the pandemic to deliver CERB to eight and a half million Canadians. Let us talk about the public servants who worked overtime to make sure they could help Canadians access the services they needed.
We respect collective bargaining. We respect the right to strike. We respect the fact that we are at the negotiating table having hard conversations. In the end, we are going to get a good deal for Canadians.
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- Apr/20/23 2:30:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives opposite, we respect collective bargaining, we respect the right to strike and we understand that negotiations need to happen at the negotiating table. The government has been extraordinarily engaged to ensure we get a fair deal for Canadians, a fair deal for the workers and a fair deal for government. We are going to continue to negotiate in good faith and to ensure that we can continue to serve Canadians in such an effective way.
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- Mar/21/23 3:09:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, this situation is completely unacceptable, and I would like to thank the member opposite and the citizen involved for turning in these documents. As soon as I heard about this, I asked the department to do an investigation to make sure that it does not happen again.
I can assure the member that this is completely unacceptable. We are responding appropriately and effectively.
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- Nov/25/22 11:59:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are collaborating with workers, unions, organizations and businesses in order to introduce reforms to the EI system. I am also working with my hon. colleague and all the Bloc Québécois members to ensure that we address individual cases where there have been delays with people's employment insurance. As for seasonal workers, we are working with the Government of Quebec. We will continue this important work.
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- Nov/3/22 3:09:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the fact that over the summer we added 13 passport pickup locations across the country, including, for the very first time, in Canada's north, in Whitehorse in Yukon, which is really important.
We are continuing to ensure that we are delivering passport services for Canadians in a timely manner. I can assure my colleague that we are looking across the country to make sure those services are available and accessible to all Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 3:06:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite owes the hard-working public servants an apology, because they have been working day in and day out to serve Canadians. I understand that Canadians are frustrated. There are a lot of challenges right now and this government is working hard to serve them.
The only thing that I can conjure up from that member's response is that, unlike hard-working people across this country, when Conservative members of Parliament were working from home, they were not working.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/23/22 3:05:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite owes the hard-working public servants an apology, because when it comes to Service Canada, they have been back in the office for months serving Canadians. These are the same people who delivered—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/23/22 2:43:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are taking the situation very seriously. That is exactly why we adjusted our approach in Montreal. The situation in Montreal is exceptional. It is not like anywhere else in the country.
Every day for the past seven days, between 1,500 and 2,000 people have lined up outside passport offices. Each person in line today got an appointment card for either today, tomorrow, Saturday or even Sunday, because we want to make sure they get their passport.
That is what we want, and that is what we are doing.
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- Jun/23/22 2:41:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have already done all of those things that my hon. colleague is calling for. It takes 15 weeks to train a passport officer. This has already been going on for months. The first class of passport officers starts on Monday. This is not something that changes overnight. It is already in place.
The situation in Montreal improved today. In Laval and in Saint‑Laurent, everyone was given an appointment. At the Guy-Favreau complex, everyone is working to ensure that the hundreds of people there get their appointment.
We will continue to prepare and do everything we can to serve Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:40:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, passport offices are open weekends in the busiest urban centres to make sure that people who urgently need their passport can get it.
We have hired 600 people since January and we are in the process of hiring 600 more. We are reassigning hundreds of employees from Service Canada and other organizations, including the Canada Revenue Agency, Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
We are making every effort to resolve this situation, which is truly unacceptable for Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:27:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Service Canada employees are already working 12, 14 or 16 hours a day. They are there first thing in the morning. They are serving Canadians. They are also working Saturdays to process passports.
They receive applications during the day. At night, they process them and print the passports. They are working extremely hard in this extraordinary situation that is happening in Montreal.
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- Jun/23/22 2:26:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal is truly unacceptable. That is why, since yesterday, teams of 10 managers have been going down the line to ensure that everyone gets a chance to have a conversation and get an appointment ticket.
Service Canada offices will be open until midnight today to serve people. We have a new strategy in place, and people lining up today who will not be travelling in the next 12 to 24 hours will receive an appointment for Friday or Saturday.
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- Jun/23/22 2:20:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand Canadians' frustration with the passport situation.
We implemented a new strategy as of yesterday. We saw the lines of people forming outside of the Saint-Laurent, Laval and Guy-Fravreau offices, so they received tickets and appointments.
Today, 250 people who were outside the Laval and Saint-Laurent offices spoke with managers and got appointments. There are 10 or so managers in each office who are organizing people into 12-hour shifts to ensure that everyone can travel on time.
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- Jun/22/22 3:14:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal right now is like nowhere else in the country, with hundreds of people lining up at the three passport offices. With the Saint-Jean and Canada Day holidays coming up, we know that many Quebeckers want to travel.
We have now changed our strategy to ensure that people receive the services and information they need. We will continue to respond to the situation to ensure that Canadians receive their passports.
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- Jun/22/22 3:07:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a passport is a secure document. We must ensure the integrity of the process, which involves stringent screening measures. This document confirms Canadian citizenship, and the integrity of the process is paramount.
In addition, nearly 85% of the passport applications we have received are from first-time applicants, and that process is much more complex than a simple renewal. That said, we are here, and we have hired more staff. We are reallocating resources, and we will be there for Canadians.
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- Jun/22/22 3:05:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, today, we adopted a new strategy to deal with applications in Montreal in particular. Hundreds and even thousands of people are waiting outside Service Canada offices. We gave out tickets for appointments. The director for Quebec assured me that senior management will be there all day to make sure that everyone in line gets the information they need and that those who are travelling in the very near future get an appointment.
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