- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Eglinton—Lawrence
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $83,797.98
- Government Page
- Oct/16/23 10:52:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Willowdale.
Let me start by extending my sympathy to the families of the victims of the heinous terrorist attack that was visited upon Israel by Hamas, killing approximately 1,400 individuals, including, to date, five Canadians, wounding 3,500 individuals and seeing 200 hostages currently held, including many Canadians.
October 7 was the single worst day of casualties visited upon the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and only hours after the hundreds of rockets were launched by Hamas into Israel, I received my first call from one of the community leaders in my riding of Eglinton—Lawrence. He was desperate. He was extremely anxious about families that were stuck in Israel.
Very quickly we sprung into action and started to connect Canadians who were trapped with Global Affairs in the lead-up to the evacuation effort. I want to take a moment to thank the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Global Affairs for the tremendous work they are doing, even now, in getting those Canadians home safely.
I have been spending an inordinate amount of time in my community visiting Jewish day schools, going to a retirement home, Baycrest, playing some piano and singing Hatikvah with the community. There is no way to convey the depth of despair and anxiety the Jewish community is feeling, not only in Eglinton—Lawrence but right across the country, in their homes, at work and when seeing their kids go to school, whether it is elementary, secondary or on university campuses, by virtue alone of their Jewish identity. This is wrong.
I also want to take a moment, of course, to say that our hearts go out to the victims in Gaza. We abhor the loss of any innocent life, Palestinian or Israeli, regardless of nationality. Israel is indeed working with allies to establish the humanitarian corridors that are necessary to get aid to Gaza and to make sure that people can flee and get to safety by giving them a head-up.
Israel is doing this because it is a democracy. Hamas is not. Israel has regard for human life. Hamas does not. Lest it needs to be said it again, Hamas has deliberately and wantonly murdered innocent individuals, including five Canadians. Hamas has killed Canadians. Hamas continues to hold Canadians hostage, despite our protests and our demands to release them. There can be no greater affront to Canadian sovereignty than the actions of a terrorist organization, as recognized under Canadian law.
It is for this reason that Israel has every right to defend itself, its people, its security and its sovereignty. Here at home, we are continuing to exhibit leadership by ensuring that we see hostages released as quickly as possible, by ensuring that Canadians who are stuck get home as quickly as possible, by ensuring that we deliver humanitarian aid to those who need it the most and by emphatically fighting against anti-Semitism, which in the words of Irwin Cotler is the “canary in the mineshaft of global evil”.
I am sorry to report to this chamber, but the canaries are dropping like flies. When Jewish children in my community are afraid to wear the Star of David, that is fundamentally wrong. I can think of no more fitting day than today to see the passing of the torch from Irwin Cotler to Deborah Lyons with her appointment as Canada's new special envoy. She is committed to ensuring that we teach Canadians and everyone about the Holocaust and the Shoah and that we fight the scourge of anti-Semitism together. That is the cause that all members in this chamber and indeed all Canadians should be united behind.
A Canada that is safer for Jews is safer for Muslims, is safer for Hindus, is safer for Sikhs, is safer for the gay community and is safer for the trans community. It is safer for all Canadians. That is the cause around which we should be united. It is with that closing note that I conclude my remarks.
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- May/4/22 8:46:16 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Labrador. Before I proceed with the substance of my remarks, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre for sharing her lived experiences and those of her family. It crystallizes why it is so important that we continue the work of reconciliation, to ensure that the rights of indigenous people are respected and that we have a relationship that is based on dignity, equality and the recognition of the right to choose their own paths. That is why this debate is so important.
Violence against indigenous women, girls and the LGBTQ2+ community is a devastating reality across Canada today. It is one of the most significant public safety issues facing our country, and has taken far too many sisters from indigenous communities across Turtle Island. That is why the entire Public Safety portfolio is engaged in extensive efforts to prevent and end the violence and to protect indigenous women and girls, as well as their rights.
Today, I want to outline a few of those efforts. The calls for justice from the national inquiry point toward the need for urgent reform to policing. That is why we are investing over $1 billion over the next five years in culturally responsive and sensitive policing and community safety services in indigenous communities.
We are stabilizing and improving the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program by improving the RCMP police services funded through this program.
In addition to our investments in indigenous policing, we are devoting more than $80 million over the next five years to indigenous-led crime prevention strategies and community safety services, stopping crime before it starts by supporting initiatives that have already helped nearly 60 indigenous communities to keep themselves safe, and empowering them.
This initiative supports the healing of first nations communities through a facilitated community process that seeks to solve the many problems of security and well‑being.
An area of particular concern that was raised during the national inquiry is the horror of human trafficking and its disproportionate impact on indigenous women and girls.
In 2019, the Government of Canada launched the national strategy to combat human trafficking. The strategy, led by Public Safety Canada, is based on internationally recognized pillars, namely prevention, protection, prosecution, partnerships and empowerment.
The national strategy provides over $22 million in funding to 63 organizations that deliver trauma-informed and culturally relevant supports and services to survivors of human trafficking. Thirty-three of these serve indigenous people and 10 are indigenous-led.
The RCMP has a unique role to play in reconciliation and is committed to improving relationships with indigenous communities, supporting survivors and families, and ensuring investigations are robust, professional and respectful.
In response to the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the RCMP has deployed the following efforts: it developed courses for RCMP employees on trauma-informed approaches as well as on cultural awareness and humility; it updated courses on human trafficking at the Canadian Police College to include elements of first nations awareness and preventing human trafficking; it created a pilot project to recruit Innu police officers in Nunavut; and it enhanced the mobilization of first nations leaders and elders at the national, divisional and local levels.
The RCMP has also established new partnerships with the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, both of which include co-operation to address violence against Inuit women, girls and two-spirited people.
Work to address the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2+ people and to respond to the calls for justice cannot be done overnight, but it is some of the most important work the Government of Canada has on its agenda. That is why I am so honoured to participate in this debate and to continue to shed light on the work that the government has committed to doing with all members of this chamber, indigenous communities and indeed all Canadians in the path to reconciliation.
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- Feb/7/22 7:00:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at the outset I would like to indicate that I will be sharing my time with the Prime Minister.
I want to thank the member for Burnaby South for his motion, and all of my colleagues who are participating in this important debate tonight.
The situation in Ottawa began as an interruption and has now become a sustained convoy and blockade. During the course of the last number of days, we have seen far too many examples of intimidation, harassment, violence and hate. The residents here have effectively been held hostage in their own city, and many of them, especially young women, feel unsafe. They have been blockaded by an angry, loud, intolerant and often violent crowd.
Of course all members in this House support the right to peaceful protest, and it is indeed one of the pillars of our democracy, but peaceful protests do not make people afraid to leave their homes. This convoy has done that, and in doing so has crossed the line.
From day one, the federal government has been there to support the City of Ottawa and the OPS. As the situation evolved, the RCMP approved the successive requests for additional resources. Based on my calls with Mayor Watson last week and today, I can confirm that the RCMP received and approved a request for additional officers.
More officers were made available after another request was made this weekend. Since Saturday, more than 275 RCMP members have been mobilized to serve under the command of the Ottawa Police Service, or OPS. The RCMP is in talks with the OPS, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police, or OPP, and other law enforcement partners. It will assess and adapt its support as the situation evolves.
I insist on receiving operational updates throughout the day, on top of daily briefings with the commissioner and my representatives to ensure that we end this convoy and restore law and order. I am speaking with my provincial and municipal counterparts and have spoken with Minister Jones, the Solicitor General of Ontario, and, of course, with Mr. Watson, the mayor of Ottawa.
While the situation remains very concerning on the ground, we have seen progress made over the last number of hours. We have seen charges laid. We have seen investigations ongoing. We have seen the cutting off of propane and fuel to participants in the convoy. We are seeing structures removed. We are seeing the dispersing of crowds safely and respectfully with the excellent performance of our law enforcement. Hundreds of charges will continue to be laid where appropriate, and those decisions will be made independently by our police services.
In the weeks that follow, we will need to be very clear that we cannot find ourselves in a similar situation again. We must also be clear that we cannot expect to yield to the reckless forces that are outside as a way of imposing reckless change in public policy through disruptive activities like the blockades we are seeing, the bringing in of heavy equipment and scaring and intimidating tactics.
For now, however, we must continue to work together and assess what needs to be done. I have been asking for operational updates through the day, as well as daily updates, to make sure that my partners and I are doing everything we can to help restore the rule of law. I am confident that today's announcement of a table being convened between all levels of government will help to make sure those on the ground have all the tools and resources they need to get the job done and see the situation defuse.
Colleagues, the pandemic is approaching its second anniversary in Canada, and I want to assure every member in this House and all Canadians that we all want to get back to normal life. That day is coming. Canadians have been united and have persevered through it all. Our government has taken a responsible, evidenced-based approach, using science and using good-faith efforts day in, day out to protect one another. It is because Canadians have chosen this path that thousands of lives have been saved.
We cannot allow an angry crowd to reverse the course that is saving lives in this final stretch. This should never be a precedent for how to make policy or law in Canada.
We believe in peace, order and good government. The stories that are coming from communities from coast to coast are of people who are looking out for one another, who are sticking up for each other, who are giving back despite the fatigue. Throughout the course of the pandemic, the story has been a narrative of the resilience and unyielding spirit of Canadians. Now more than ever, we need to support one another and we need to work side by side, regardless of the level of government or party stripe, to take care of one another.
Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities, and I know that all members will join me in that spirit.
Before yielding the floor, I will just go on to say that I know this is a particularly difficult moment for the residents of Ottawa. I know that businesses have had to shut, that families have not been able to take their kids to day care, that seniors have not been able to get around, that disabled persons have not had access to public transportation, that people do not feel safe, that the reports of intimidation and harassment and violence and the images that we have seen over the course of the last number of days have been very disconcerting to all of us.
Those of us who respect the rule of law, those of us who expect that while we can hold disagreements, disagreements are certainly never a justification to cross the line and not respect other Canadians and break the law. That is why I am very proud that the government, since the very beginning of this convoy, has done everything that it can to give resources and support to our police services locally, including the provision of some 275 Mounties who have now been deputized and who are now able to enforce the law locally. I want to take a moment to thank the members of the RCMP who are assisting the OPS in dealing with this very challenging situation.
I will say, given the great length of time that has passed since the beginning of the pandemic, that of course everyone will feel a degree of fatigue, and we obviously share that sentiment right across the country. However, we should not confuse the sharing of that emotion and the sense of wanting to get back to life as normal with a lack of respect for the law. That is where we must draw the line. That is where we will draw the line.
We do this because this is the shared sense of values on which our country is built. We do it out of respect for those who have worked so hard to see those values and those principles enshrined in our charter, to ensure they are not just words on a page, to ensure that there is a sense of unity and common ground that sees itself manifested in our daily lives.
We have not seen that in the past number of days in Ottawa. I would hope that all members would recognize that it does us no good to yield to perhaps some of the darker angels of our nature. We need to be listening to the better angels of our nature, especially when those values are tested, especially when we have vigorous disagreements around the pandemic. Those disagreements can never be a justification for the kind of conduct and the kind of behaviour we have seen here in Ottawa.
That is why I am calling, and indeed I hope all members are calling, on the convoy to go home—to contribute to the debate, but not to break the law, not to make those who live here in Ottawa feel unsafe. That is what Canadians do. Canadians respect the law. No one is above the law.
We will get through this together.
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