- 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/30/24 10:15:03 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have one more petition signed by Canadians. This is about an issue that has already been dealt with, but I nonetheless see the need for their voices to be heard.
The petitioners call to the attention of the government that the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement will assist Ukraine in rebuilding after it defeats the illegal invasion by Vladimir Putin. They bring to the attention of the government that the Conservative Party of Canada is not supportive of Ukraine. I am just representing the words in the petition.
Therefore, they are asking the Government of Canada and all parliamentarians to reaffirm their unwavering commitment to Ukraine by swiftly adopting the updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, which we know has already occurred.
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- Apr/19/24 12:27:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am presenting today is from farmers primarily from the riding to the north of mine, which is Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston. They are bringing to the attention of the government that the abattoir that was located at the Joyceville Institution was shut down a number of months ago. As a result, there are no longer options to utilize an abattoir within the local area of Kingston. As such, these farmers have to bring their cattle to abattoirs that are a much further distance away.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to explore all options to ensure that the abattoir located at the Joyceville Institution is reopened to address the issues noted above.
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- Apr/19/24 12:25:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first petition is on behalf of constituents who are calling to the attention of the government the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has warned us repeatedly that rising temperatures over the next two decades will bring widespread devastation and extreme weather.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to move forward immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets that Canada has set to reduce emissions by 2030.
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- Apr/18/24 10:09:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will summarize the next petition.
This petition is on behalf of individuals who work for National Defence, in particular, those in the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services.
I have met with these petitioners prior to their assembling this petition, and they draw attention to some very important observations—
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- Apr/18/24 10:07:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have four petitions to present.
The first three petitions are the same, and they deal with an issue that has already been dealt with, which is to bring national school food programs to Canada. These petitions are presented by the Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute, also known as LCVI high school, in Kingston; Pathways to Education Kingston; and the St. Patrick Catholic School community of Kingston.
The petitioners specifically want to make sure that we do not axe the snacks and that we actually have school food for kids—
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- Mar/18/24 4:23:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a petition that actually has to do with Joyceville Institution. It is not a federal prison within my riding. It is actually in the neighbouring riding of Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston. This petition is with respect to an abattoir at Joyceville Institution.
The petitioners are beef farmers and supporters of the beef farming community. They are drawing to the attention of the government that some beef farmers must wait six to nine months and, in many cases, up to a year to have their cattle processed at provincial facilities. The abattoir located at Joyceville Institution has not been utilized for a couple of years. The closure of that abattoir put even more strain on processing, negatively impacting processing wait times for beef farmers in Lanark and Frontenac counties. The closure has had negative economic impacts on neighbouring businesses and restaurants that have relied on products from the abattoir.
The petitioners are therefore calling on the Government of Canada to explore all options to ensure that the abattoir located at Joyceville Institution is reopened to address the issues noted above.
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- Mar/18/24 4:22:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have was created in my community and has to do specifically with respect to a national school food program.
The petitioners are calling to the attention of the House, and indeed the government, that Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program, and that Canada should move immediately and quickly in developing such a program. The petitioners are specifically from the Glenburnie Public School community. They are calling on the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to prioritize funding for a national school food program in budget 2024 for implementation in the fall of 2024.
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- Mar/18/24 4:21:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I actually have three petitions to present today. I will do them as quickly as possible.
The first petition is on the subject of the environment. It draws to the attention of the House that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned us repeatedly that rising temperatures over the next two decades will bring widespread devastation and extreme weather. The petitioners have also referenced the 2021 federal government commitment to cap and cut emissions from the oil and gas sector to achieve net zero by 2050.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to immediately move forward with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in terms of achieving those targets.
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- Feb/5/24 3:54:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition today comes from students and the community of St. Thomas More Catholic School in my riding of Kingston.
The petitioners call upon the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to prioritize funding a national school food program for budget 2024, with implementation in schools by the fall of 2024.
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- Feb/1/24 10:15:57 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the last petition that I have today comes specifically from members of the Nexus and Bayridge Secondary School community in my riding. The petitioners are calling upon the Minister of Finance; the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development; and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to prioritize a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation by the fall of 2024.
As petitioners specifically draw to the attention of the government and the House, Statistics Canada indicates that one in four children in Canada lives in a food-insecure household—
An hon. member: Oh, oh!
Mr. Mark Gerretsen: Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is heckling me. I am just trying to present this on behalf of my constituents.
Finally, the petitioners state that school food programs are recognized around the world as essential to the health, well-being and education of students, with over 388 million children in at least 168 countries receiving free and subsidized school meals.
I really want to thank the community at Bayridge Secondary School in my riding of Kingston and the Islands for—
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- Feb/1/24 10:10:31 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition actually had good news, because the government announced measures with respect to it towards the end of last year.
This petition specifically talks about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and says that we have been warned repeatedly that rising temperatures over the next two decades will bring widespread devastation and extreme weather, that addressing climate change requires a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and that, in 2021, the federal government committed to cap and cut emissions from the oil and gas sector to achieve net zero by 2050.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to move forward immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets that Canada has.
Mr. Speaker, I have presented a lot of petitions in my day. I have never had the Leader of the Opposition or the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman heckle me while doing that. I will just jump straight to the petition.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from by Canadians that specifically addresses the fact that this House no longer unanimously supports Ukraine.
The petitioners call on all members of Parliament to immediately and swiftly pass Bill C-57, which is an important update to the Canada free trade—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Mark Gerretsen: Mr. Speaker, in all my time presenting petitions on behalf of Canadians, I have never been heckled by the Conservatives, but they are literally heckling me while I am trying to do so.
Canadians are asking that all parliamentarians immediately and swiftly pass Bill C-57, which would update the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement and assist Ukraine in rebuilding after it defeats the illegal invasion by Vladimir Putin.
I am happy to present this petition on behalf of Canadians. I am certain that many more will follow.
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- Dec/12/23 10:20:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today, both on the same subject. One is signed by members of the North Addington Education Centre in Kingston, and the other is signed by the St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School community.
These petitioners are calling on the federal government to implement a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation in the fall of 2024. They bring to the government's attention Statistics Canada data from 2022 indicating that one in four children in Canada lives in a food-insecure household. They also draw to the government's attention that Canada is the only G7 country without a school food program.
Finally, they draw to the government's attention that there are 388 million children throughout the world in developed countries who benefit from such a food program, yet we do not have one in Canada.
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- Dec/6/23 5:19:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the second petition I am presenting today comes from the Lord Strathcona Public School community in my riding of Kingston and the Island.
The petitioners are specifically calling upon the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to develop and prioritize funding for a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation in schools by the fall of 2025.
The petition draws attention to the fact that Statistics Canada data from 2022 indicates that one in four children in Canada lives in a food-insecure household, that Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program, and that school food programs are recognized around the world as essential to health, well-being and education of students, with over 388 million children in at least 161 countries receiving free or subsidized school meals at their schools.
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- Dec/6/23 5:18:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first has to do with the environment. I believe this is the 17th or 18th petition to this effect that I have been asked to present on behalf of Canadians. It calls attention to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's most recent report, which warns about the next two decades and the widespread devastation and extreme weather that will occur as result of global warming.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to immediately move forward with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets that Canada has set to reduce emissions by 2030.
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- Dec/5/23 12:13:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a petition that comes from community members in the Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox and Addington region, in particular, Frontenac Secondary School.
The petitioners are calling to the attention of the government that school food programs are recognized around the world as essential to the health, well-being and education of students. They note that data from Statistics Canada for 2022 indicates that one in four children in Canada lives in a food-insecure household and that Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program.
They are calling on the Government of Canada, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to prioritize funding for a national school food program through budget 2024 and for its implementation in schools by the fall of 2024.
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- Dec/5/23 12:12:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first is with respect to climate change. The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that we are feeling the impacts in Canada today with the increase in floods, wildfires and extreme temperatures.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to move forward immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets for Canada to reduce its emissions by 2030.
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- Nov/27/23 3:47:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present what I believe is the 18th petition like this that I have presented. I am not quite as far along as my Conservative colleague across the way.
The petition brings to the government's attention the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's most recent report, which indicates that the next two decades will bring widespread devastation and extreme weather. Petitioners indicate we are certainly feeling this in Canada now with increased flooding, wildfires and extreme temperatures, and that addressing the climate crisis requires a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Petitioners therefore call on the Government of Canada to move forward immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets that Canada has set to reduce emissions by 2030.
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- Nov/24/23 12:16:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am starting to receive several petitions, from various different school communities in the Kingston area, bringing to the government's attention the incredible need now more than ever for healthy food programs within schools.
The petitioners bring to the government's attention that Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program. They also draw to the government's attention that new data from Statistics Canada indicates that one in four children in Canada lives in a food insecure household.
The petitioners, among them members of the Loyola community learning centre's open book campus community and the residents of the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington region, call upon the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to prioritize funding for a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation in schools by the fall of 2024.
I thank members of the Loyola community learning centre for bringing this matter to my attention so I could deliver it to the House.
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- Nov/24/23 12:15:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first is the 17th petition I have presented on this particular topic. It is signed by Canadians across the country who are calling to the government's attention the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's most recent report warning that rising temperatures over the next two decades will bring widespread devastation. In particular in Canada, we will continue to see flooding, wildfires and extreme temperatures.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to move forward immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets that Canada has set to reduce emissions by 2030.
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