- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Eglinton—Lawrence
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $83,797.98
- Government Page
- Oct/16/23 11:01:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has demonstrated its leadership when it comes to human rights. There are many examples, but the most recent is the $10 million that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has already announced. That money, that federal resource, will, I hope, be used by those who need it most. Yes, there is a lot of work to be done to save lives in Gaza, Israel and the region, and Canada is there and will be there for the long term.
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- Jun/19/23 2:44:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, far from being merely an observer, I have been active in advocating for victims' rights, including those of the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, because, I hope like all members, I share a great and sympathy compassion for them, given the retraumatization that they have no doubt had to endure.
Contrary to what Conservatives have said, this new instruction is stronger than anything the Conservatives ever did when it came to victims' rights, and if they were so worried about it, then why did they cut $300 million to the Correctional Service of Canada in their last year of government?
We know why. They are all talk and no action.
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- Jun/19/23 2:41:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the definition of competence is to be a champion for victims' rights. That is exactly how I responded when I was informed, on May 30, of the decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility.
I will continue to work with the representatives of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. We have since issued new instructions to ensure that victims' families are informed in advance of any upcoming decisions that will affect them.
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- Jun/15/23 2:44:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I take this issue very seriously. That is why, when I was informed on May 30, I took the necessary steps. I had a frank conversation with the commissioner of Correctional Service Canada.
That is why I will be putting in place new directives to protect the rights of victims. We need an approach that respects that. In addition, we will work with all members of the House to protect the rights of victims and to make decisions that make sense.
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- Jun/14/23 2:27:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the questions that are posed by the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Canadians know they will get a prescription for political interference. On this side of the House, we are doing it the right way.
Today, I will be issuing new ministerial instructions to the Correctional Service of Canada to make sure that it puts victims' rights at the centre of decisions to transfer and that it informs victims' families before those transfers take place. We will always stand up for their rights.
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- Jun/14/23 2:22:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was shocked because I was informed about it on May 30, the day after Mr. Bernardo was transferred to a medium-security institution. This was a mistake made by my office, and I will be taking concrete action.
We will always defend the rights of victims. I had a very good call with the representatives of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. We will always defend their rights and all victims' rights.
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- Dec/12/22 12:32:08 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-8
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Kingston and the Islands for his hard work every day in this chamber and for being an advocate for human rights.
It is indeed the need to stand up for human rights that makes this particular bill so urgent. The individuals who are responsible for transgressions of human rights and who brutalize, torture and kill innocent women and other vulnerable individuals in Iran need to be held to account. Canada has been consistently and strongly outspoken on the need to deliver sanctions and consequences so they can never set foot in Canada and, equally, so no one in this country can in any way try to support or facilitate those transgressions of human rights.
What this bill proposes to do is strengthen our capacity to deliver those consequences by rendering people inadmissible. Through more clearly articulated and expressed language under the IRPA, we have the ability to make good on that.
The sooner we can get the bill to committee and the sooner we can pass it into law, the better. I am somewhat encouraged, and perhaps it is the time of year, by the anxiousness that I hear from our Conservative colleagues over moving forward with it.
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- Nov/28/22 2:44:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I want to underline that we stand with women who are marching for their rights in Iran. We stand with those who have been protesting here in Canada. We continue to engage with members of the community here, because we know this is a critical time to stand up for human rights.
As I have said on numerous occasions, that is why we have gone further than just looking at the IRGC as a problematic contributor to the transgression of human rights. We have targeted the entirety of the Iranian regime, including members of the IRGC, which is a very effective tool we can use to ensure that Canada will never be used as a safe haven for the transgression of human rights.
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- Nov/25/22 12:11:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are exhausting every effort and are remaining on guard against foreign interference. We have heard the RCMP make very strong pronouncements about these so-called police stations. That is why we declared the entirety of the Iranian regime to be under IRPA. This will ensure that Canada can never be a safe haven for the suborning or supporting of any kinds of transgressions against human rights. We will always stand up for human rights, both here and around the world.
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- Nov/25/22 12:08:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, I have been in touch with a number of colleagues on both sides of the House regarding this issue. I assure my colleague that we are in touch with Correctional Service of Canada so that those inmates who are fulfilling their sentences are able to exercise their rights under the charter during this season.
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- Oct/6/22 3:02:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to be unequivocally clear that we continue to condemn, in the strongest terms, the brutal killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran. We will continue to ensure that we are taking every appropriate action to hold those who did this responsible for their transgressions. We stand with the women. We stand with everyone who is advocating for human rights.
Speaking of women's rights, now would be a fine moment for the Conservatives to stand up and apologize for the way they exploited technology to proliferate hate among anti-women, misogynistic groups. Today is the day to do that.
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- Oct/4/22 3:11:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful my colleague has set aside partisanship for a moment to honour the memories of Mahsa Amini, and set aside partisanship to honour the memories of the loved ones who were lost in the downing of PS752.
We need to work together to continue to deliver consequences for those who are responsible for transgressions of human rights and for those who are suppressing the rights of women and other vulnerable groups. We stand with those groups. We know they are marching. We know they are speaking with their voices. This is a moment for us to do the work that is necessary to hold those responsible to account so that we can stand up for human rights here and around the world. We will do that.
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- Oct/3/22 3:03:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying when it comes to the atrocious human rights violations, in the face of that action, we have taken concrete action, including ensuring that Iran is listed as a state supporter of terrorism, ensuring that we list the IRGC Quds Force and ensuring, last week, that we sanction the members of the morality police who were responsible for the killing of Mahsa Amini.
We will never stop defending human rights when it comes to this side of the House. We need to be united on that and not play partisanship.
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- Sep/28/22 3:02:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the agreement with the United States is to protect asylum seekers' rights with a process that is transparent and fair and sets out legal consequences should the system be abused.
We are updating our agreement with the United States to strengthen our asylum system. That is the best way to proceed.
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- May/2/22 3:10:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in line with our values, which are enshrined in the charter, Canada, of course, condemns all forms of torture. Canada has a duty to uphold fundamental rights and freedoms in all instances, and, of course, it would be inappropriate for the government or any member of this chamber to comment on matters that are before the courts.
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- Feb/17/22 10:41:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am afraid my colleague operates from the false premise that the Emergencies Act is a kind of suspension of charter rights. It is not.
As I have said throughout the course of the debate, and as the act itself says, all of the powers that need to be exercised in the Emergencies Act must be done in accordance with the charter. That means ensuring that section 8 is respected, which guarantees people the right to be protected from any unreasonable search and seizure, and the same for section 7 as well.
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