- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Board of Internal Economy
Deputy House leader of the government
- Liberal
- Kingston and the Islands
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $112,228.33
- Government Page
- Apr/18/24 1:44:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the Minister of Justice.
Budget 2024 involves a number of programs. I do not have a lot of time today, so I want to focus my remarks on one particular program, and then provide some comments on some stuff I heard earlier today in this debate.
I would first like to applaud the government on the introduction of a national school food program. Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program. I know that, in many parts of our country, different organizations like the Food Sharing Project in Kingston, in my riding, has been collaborating over the years with volunteers and donations in order to put food in schools so that children can have a healthy start and can have food in their stomachs when they start the day, and throughout the day, when they are at school.
I had the opportunity, not that long ago, to go with my family to help the Food Sharing Project pack, organize and prepare food to be sent out to schools. I really was impressed when my seven-year-old son looked at me and acknowledged that this was where the food came from. It dawned on me in that moment that, as far as children are concerned, when they are in school and accessing this food, there is no stereotyping as to who is receiving it. Whether they are less well off or more well off, everybody has access to the same food. It helps to break down the stereotyping that exist around who needs food because their parents cannot afford everything they need, and it gives kids a start in life where everybody is on an equal playing field.
Therefore, I am very glad to see $1 billion committed over the next five years to a national school food program because it is more than just giving food to particularly vulnerable Canadians and vulnerable children; it breaks down the stereotyping that exist among the haves and the have-nots, so I am happy to see that the government has responded to the calls to action within our communities to provide this.
I have had the opportunity to present many petitions over the last several months. Each school community in my riding put together a petition, which I have presented at various times over the last several months to the House. I want to thank them for that incredible work. By doing that and by responding to that need, these school communities in my riding can see that their voices have been heard. They called on the government to do something so urgently, and it responded. I am very proud to be part of a government that is introducing this national school food program.
The other thing I want to talk about today is misinformation and some disinformation. In particular, I want to go back to an exchange that happened earlier today between the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Winnipeg North, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
After the introductory speech, where the member for Carleton went on for hours, I believe, because the first speaker has the opportunity to do that, the first question he received from the parliamentary secretary was about how many affordable homes he had built. The parliamentary secretary was gracious enough to allow the Leader of the Opposition to know that he had built a total number of six homes.
What I find really interesting about this is the response from the Leader of the Opposition. This will demonstrate the master manipulator of information that he is, which the parliamentary secretary pointed out at the time. This is what happened. In response to that question, the Leader of the Opposition got up and basically chastised the member for Winnipeg North for spreading disinformation that he got off a Twitter account. I hope those who are listening in the gallery and at home will listen to the specific word he used. He said, “If you want to know...how many affordable homes were built when I was...minister, we completed 92,782 apartments”. That is exactly what he said. The member for Winnipeg North, the parliamentary secretary, stood up on a point of order and said that the Leader of the Opposition was intentionally—
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- Mar/21/24 10:08:56 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.
One is on behalf of members of the Queen's University community and residents of Kingston and the Islands, who 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 funding for a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation of schools by the fall of 2024. They indicate that Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program and highlight the importance of having one.
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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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- Dec/7/23 10:12:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of the community around Enterprise Public School in Kingston.
The petitioners call 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 through budget 2024, for implementation in schools in the fall of 2024.
The petitioners bring to the government's attention the new Statistics Canada data from 2022 that indicates one in four children in Canada lives in a food insecure household. They remind us 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 the health, well-being and education of students, with over 388 million children in at least 161 countries receiving food or subsidized school meals at their school.
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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/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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- 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/22/23 3:54:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition is certainly a lot closer to home. It is being presented on behalf of Collins Bay Public School in Kingston.
The individuals who signed this petition are calling to the attention of the government that Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program. They also remind the government that the 2022 budget reaffirmed mandate letter commitments to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, directing them to work with provinces, territories, municipalities, indigenous partners and stakeholders to develop such a program.
The petitioners are, therefore, calling on the government, 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 fall 2024.
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- Nov/20/23 3:54:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to table a petition on behalf of the residents of the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington region, and specifically the community of Clarendon Central Public School in Kingston, regarding the school food program.
The petitioners call to the attention of the government new Statistics Canada data that indicates 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 budget 2022 reaffirmed the December 2021 mandate letter commitments to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development with respect to developing a program of this nature.
They, therefore, call on the government and ministers responsible to prioritize funding for a national food program through budget 2024, with implementation in schools by the fall of 2024.
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- Nov/9/23 10:25:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the second petition is from community members in Kingston and the Islands regarding food programs in schools. They recognize that around the world, these programs are essential to the health, well-being and education of students, with over 388 million children in at least 161 countries receiving free or subsidized meals at school. The petitioners indicate that Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program.
The petitioners from the Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School community and residents of Kingston, Frontenac, 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 a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation in schools by the fall of 2024.
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