- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Board of Internal Economy
Deputy House leader of the government
- Liberal
- Kingston and the Islands
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $112,228.33
- Government Page
- Apr/29/24 3:03:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this government's policies have been focused on promoting diversity, respect and equality among all Canadians.
On that side of the House, however, we learned last week that the Leader of the Opposition visited an encampment set up by individuals linked to extreme far-right groups like Diagolon. CSIS says Diagolon encourages and inspires serious violence, yet the Conservative leader is refusing to denounce it or apologize for engaging with it.
Can the government please reiterate how we will keep Canadians safe from extreme groups and what our responsibilities are as political leaders?
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- May/30/23 4:28:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to pause and reflect on what I was going to say.
The Leader of the Opposition recently said that he does not want to be silenced. He does not want to take a briefing. The Prime Minister said that the government realizes there is a lot going on with national security and wants to make sure all parties are informed. The special rapporteur, David Johnston, recommended that party leaders receive a briefing so they can understand what is going on. At the heart of this, hopefully at the heart of what we are all doing here, is to serve Canadians in the best interest of Canadians. At the heart of this is allowing those who are in these positions of power, whether that is government or opposition, to have the ability to understand the facts, to get that proper security classification and to receive the briefings.
I applaud the member for Burnaby South, the leader of the NDP, for actually agreeing to do that. I disagree with the motion the NDP brought forward, but what I find remarkable is how the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Bloc just brush it off. They say that they do not want to be silenced. That is such a ludicrous statement.
My colleague, the member for Pickering—Uxbridge, stood in this House, gave a 20-minute speech earlier, replied to questions for 10 minutes and she full-on told us during her intervention today that she was a member of NSICOP, she has the security clearances and she receives briefings, but she is capable of deciphering between what is classified and what is not. It has in no way limited her ability to represent her constituents. It has not limited her ability to participate in debate. Other members from the Conservative Party are in the same position as her, and indeed it has not silenced her.
When I asked the Leader of the Opposition that question earlier today after he spoke, he gave the most ridiculous answer. I asked him why he would not take the briefing and if it was really about being silenced. Nobody else who has that classification and who has seen those documents is silenced, but he seems to be the only one who would end up being silenced. I asked him if it was just that he wanted to be willfully ignorant so he does not have to be responsible. His response to me was that he knew the way this would work, and he would go into the Prime Minister's Office, who would throw a bunch of papers on the desk and then put a big stamp on them and say that he could not say a word when he left.
This is an individual who wants to be the leader of the country, and this is the manner in which he thinks security and intelligence is shared in a G7 country, a Five Eyes alliance partner. This is the way he thinks confidential information is shared. He would just go on up to the Prime Minister's Office in West Block, who would throw down some papers on the table and tell him to read them and to not say anything when he leaves. I cannot wrap my head around how somebody can actually think that is how it happens.
Of course he knows better than that and he knows that is not the way it is, but he is playing that game, and I cannot understand why he thinks playing that game and acting that way is something that will resonate with Canadians. I do not understand how he thinks Canadians will take assurances in somebody who acts that way as being responsible enough to be the prime minister of this country, which is ultimately what he seeks to do. I find it very perplexing.
The Leader of the Opposition is trying to hide behind a veil of ignorance. He is trying to not participate. He is trying to not have any information because he just wants to continue doing what he is doing, which is ranting on, pointing fingers at the Prime Minister, talking about the Trudeau Foundation and clipping that.
The leader of this opposition participates in this House of Commons, and to his credit he enjoys being in here, more than I have seen any other leader from that side of the House in the time I have been here. What he does with it is he comes in here, gives this speech and could probably care less who is talking to. He then takes the clip, blasts it out in an email and tells people to look at how he is standing up for them. He then tells them to send money and click “donate now” and to give them more of their money so they can use it to beat the Liberals.
I will shift gears for a second.
Now I want to address the fact that the NDP is bringing forward this motion. The NDP is taking a really interesting stance on this. New Democrats are basically saying that they really respect David Johnston, he is an eminent Canadian, he has done all these great things and they respect him. They respect him to be able to do this work, but they just do not respect the fact that he has come to an outcome that they disagree with. That is the only way I can read this.
Here is what David Christopherson had to say, the former NDP member. He was a member of this House for a very long time, had a lot of character when he was in here, he represented—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/9/23 2:09:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Bhavana Varma, an outstanding citizen and community leader from my riding of Kingston and the Islands. Bhavana has just announced that she will step down from her position as CEO of the United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington at the end of August.
Since 1999, Bhavana’s leadership has inspired record annual fundraising campaigns and successful local initiatives. A true community partner, Bhavana has been a leader in addressing complex issues like food insecurity, poverty reduction, addictions and mental health and homelessness.
With Bhavana at the lead, the United Way's impact has grown significantly in our area, providing funding support to a substantial network of agencies that deliver vital programs and services. The United Way helps thousands upon thousands of people in our region on an annual basis.
As the member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, I want to express my deep appreciation for all that Bhavana has accomplished over the past 24 years. I have no doubt she will leave the agency in good hands and will continue to be a positive force within our community.
I wish Bhavana the best of luck in her future endeavours.
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Madam Speaker, Jean Charest was a lawyer for Huawei. The member brought up Huawei. Jean Charest is a well-known Conservative who ran in the leadership. Why would they have allowed Jean Charest to run in the leadership had that been the case?
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by congratulating the Leader of the Opposition on his recent victory.
What we are fully aware of, and I think Canadians are quite aware of it as well, is that during his leadership contest, the member started off by talking about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a solution for people to invest.
I already hear the heckles coming from across the way because they do not want me to bring this up, but I have a sincere question for the Leader of the Opposition.
He started to change his position on it and pretty much stopped talking about it right around the time that cryptocurrencies took an absolute dive and anybody who was investing would have seen their investments absolutely devastated. Therefore, I have a genuine question for the Leader of the Opposition.
Has he had an opportunity to reflect on that position and perhaps has he evolved his position on that and would he be willing to share that with the House?
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- May/19/22 4:22:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge today.
I found that last comment about a leadership crisis to be quite amusing coming from Conservatives, given what is going on in their party right now. When the member for Abbotsford tried to speak his truth to power yesterday, he was silenced by the individual who is not even the leader yet.
The member for Carleton has not even been anointed formally yet, because that is not going to happen for three months, but he is already pulling the strings, in terms of who is allowed to say what and who is allowed and not allowed to be critical of him. If there is a leadership crisis, I think it is very clear to Canadians where it exists right now.
I have been listening to this debate throughout the day, and I have found a number of comments to be quite interesting. The member for Dufferin—Caledon had an exchange I found very interesting. He went on about listening to science and making sure we listen to science, because listening to the science will point us in a certain direction. Then, I asked him where the science was in the Conservatives' motion. They introduced this motion today that asks the government to change a particular policy. Where is the science in that? Do members know what his response to that was? It was that the Conservatives are not the government.
Apparently, according to the member for Dufferin—Caledon, people can try to influence policy if they are Conservatives, because they happen to be in opposition. It does not require any science to do it. When people are in the government, they need to be taking the Conservatives' version of science, which they do not even have. It is one of the most ridiculous and ludicrous exchanges I have had in the House today.
The member for Regina—Lewvan, who I believe is heckling me right now, was a few moments ago asking why he needs to wear a mask in the House, when he does not need to wear it when he walks outside the House. It is a rule that the House made. BOIE, the Board of Internal Economy, made that rule. He has membership on that board—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/3/22 4:28:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree 100% that this is what we should be doing. Do members know where some of the real leadership is in Canada with respect to renewable energies? It is in Alberta. Alberta's renewable energy sector has outpaced the fossil fuel industry for almost a decade now, or at least seven or eight years, but some people do not want that to happen.
I totally agree with the member from the Bloc that this is the way of the future. If we really want to help Europe, we will need to help contribute to that energy security conversation that the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke brought up, because at the end of the day, I think that is where we are going to go with this. We can be leaders in renewable energy. We can be leaders in developing and building the technology. We can export that knowledge and can export that leadership if we seize it now. Otherwise, we will just be taking it from other countries as they develop it.
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