SoVote

Dec/2/21 10:24:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think there is an obligation on every Canadian to learn both official languages. As a public official, I am taking great pride in learning the language. I am taking daily French lessons, and I hope that some day in the very near future I will be able to communicate in both official languages. I applaud my friend's comments regarding the Governor General, and I think, as a general observation, every public official in Canada should take steps to learn both official languages.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Dec/2/21 10:25:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I keep hearing the Conservatives talk about the runaway housing crisis. I could not agree more that this needs to be addressed. However, the Liberal-Conservative coalition is protecting the big banks and standing together united in protection of the wealthy, doing everything from protecting tax havens that need to be shut down to protecting CEO stock options. We never hear that coalition talk about the lack of solutions to tackle the housing issue. Maybe the member can actually talk about real solutions, such as non-market housing, instead of more incentives to prop up the wealthy. The Conservative-Liberal coalition is ruining this country.

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Mr. Larry Brock

Dec/2/21 10:26:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I guess the old adage about the pot calling the kettle black applies here. The member talks about a coalition between the Conservative Party and the Liberal government. Let us not forget what happened last week with the vote on virtual Parliament. Leaving that aside, if my friend actually took the time and listened to the talking points of our leader, Erin O'Toole, which everyone of my colleagues, every single day of the election campaign—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 10:26:28 a.m.
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I would remind the hon. member that he cannot use names of individuals who sit in this House. I mentioned it prior to this, and I would ask him not to do it. The member for Brantford—Brant has two seconds to wrap up.

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Designation of Members by the name of their constituency or title

Mr. Larry Brock

Dec/2/21 10:26:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my point was that every single day of the election campaign, we talked about a very real, concrete plan to deal with this housing crisis. We talked about taking immediate steps to put shovels in the ground now, not years from now.

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Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)

Dec/2/21 10:27:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a true honour to stand here once again. My thanks to the hon. member for Brantford—Brant who may have just had his first speech in the House of Commons. I think that all of us Parliamentarians do better when we have more Crown prosecutors in the House of Commons to teach us about our justice system. It has been a really good, busy few weeks getting Parliament back and getting back to business. While I was encouraged to see an acknowledgement of the ongoing emergencies, to have the debate on British Columbia and to have it acknowledged in the Speech from the Throne, I will continue to push the government for concrete action on flood recovery and building infrastructure. My constituents and British Columbians are demanding that of all British Columbia MPs right now. Government ministers have been responsive, and emergency personnel from the military have been essential, to disaster response efforts on the ground, including today. I commend their work and thank them for their attention, but when the rains let up and the flooding is managed, will the federal government still be there? Will the media still be paying attention in a few months' time? That is my greatest concern right now. I repeat that I am going to be resolute in my efforts to make sure that the upcoming federal budget responds to the Speech from the Throne, and that it addresses the critical challenges my province is facing right now. I will ensure that the village of Lytton, which I represent and which was devastated by one of the most disastrous forest fires in our country's history, gets the type of federal support it needs moving forward. The upcoming federal budget must contain a comprehensive suite of supports, and must revise policies for those who have lost their homes and do not have insurance, for impacted businesses that might not be able to secure loans, and for agricultural producers, especially the blueberry producers, dairy farmers and chicken farmers whose crops and livestock were devastated. We need updated flood mapping to account for future disasters and to adapt to climate change. Municipalities need money for dike upgrades and critical infrastructure, and there has to be provincially led construction of resilient infrastructure across the board to address the highways. I have been walking around showing photos of Jackass Mountain summit and Highway 1 to many people in the House. The road is completely washed out. We have to build those roads back better. Finally, we need to do more on emergency response policies and capacity for our indigenous brothers and sisters. Frankly, the way we handle disasters right now in British Columbia is not sufficient. We have to empower first nations leaders and emergency responders, and make sure they have the tools they need, especially in rural parts of my province, to do their jobs effectively and to help keep their people and their nations safe. I just have a few more comments. The Speech from the Throne often gives members of Parliament a time to reflect on the election, on what people told them during the election and how they can respond to that in Parliament. Before I go into some of the things I heard on doorsteps during the election campaign, I want to give a shout-out to a very close friend of mine. Ten years ago, he was my roommate, and we were sitting around the kitchen table in our apartment. We were staffers under the Stephen Harper government, and we were looking at the redistribution boundaries. They were creating a new riding in my home town. It was at that moment I decided that I was going to pursue a career in politics. Blair was there with me from day one. I do not think I could be here today without a friend like Blair, who has supported my family for so many years. When someone works in politics, having a staffer to confide in who knows your strengths and weaknesses is a blessing. I did not get a lot of sleep last night. Whenever that happens, I start to cry. Blair is moving on. He has a wonderful woman in his life and is moving to the Prairies. He is going to be leaving my office at the end of the year. Blair will be sorely missed. He exemplifies public service and is an amazing dude. I thank him so much. The Speech from the Throne talked about listening to diverse voices. Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is one of the most diverse places in all of Canada. I also think it is the number one riding in all of Canada, and I challenge anyone to have a debate with me on that anytime in the House of Commons. Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is 22,000 square kilometres of ruggedness. It spans from Matsqui and Abbotsford, British Columbia, up into the Bridge River Valley in the South Chilcotin Mountains. The only connecting feature of my riding is the Fraser River, which runs right through it from the north to the south. I am proud to live in a place where there is a rich indigenous culture and a rich immigrant culture. All of these people bring so much to the work that I do and so much to the communities that I represent. I am so proud and honoured to stand up for them every single day. It is a true honour. During the election campaign everyone talked to me about one thing, and that was housing. In Abbotsford and Mission, not too many years ago a family perhaps working in the Gloucester Industrial Park in Langley, or working for a local small business, could afford a home. It was not too long ago that homes were selling in the $300,000 to $400,000 range in many of the communities I represent, but over the last seven or eight years, those prices have skyrocketed to levels that none of us could have ever imagined. The values of homes have doubled and tripled. Now we find ourselves in the situation where a good job is not good enough to have a secure place to live anymore. Many families appreciate the Canada child benefit, mine included, and the positive things it does such as helping to pay for day care and good food to put on the table. However, the Canada child benefit, or a small increase for seniors to old age security or the GIS, does not account for the significant and drastic increase we have seen related to the cost of housing. The government talked about a housing accelerator in its budget. I do not know what a housing accelerator is. Frankly, it kind of reminds me of something the Liberals do not talk about anymore, and that is a supercluster related to an industrial area. They never mention superclusters, but a few years ago, every single day minister Bains would talk about superclusters. We do not hear that anymore. What Canadians want from the government is a concrete plan to address housing supply. The reality is that we are not building enough. Where I live is a key place for immigrants to come to live. Immigrants do not have safe places to live anymore. The government needs to set targets, to be accountable to those targets and to help municipalities build the types of homes that people need to live their best lives. We are failing on that front. During the election campaign, there were some good points in the Liberal platform and there were definitely some good points in the Conservative platform. However, people are acknowledging the issue now. There needs to be no more rhetoric, and we need to see action. We need to see the federal government working with municipalities to incentivize the construction of new homes. We need to see housing tied to infrastructure development so that when the new SkyTrain stations are built expanding out to Langley, or if hopefully one day we expand the West Coast Express in Mission, housing is a key component of how we look at infrastructure. If we do not start looking more comprehensively at some of these key challenges we are facing as a nation, we are not going to address the housing supply crisis. I will say one more thing on housing, and that is regarding indigenous housing. My indigenous constituents want “for indigenous, by indigenous” housing. If there was one thing in the Speech from the Throne that I was very concerned about not seeing, it was that. Let us work toward reconciliation. It has been a tough year for British Columbia. It has been a tough year for Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc nation, which I represent. Let us work toward reconciliation and let us give indigenous children safe places to call home. There is so much more we can do on that front collectively in the House to address this scar on our nation.

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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Windsor—Tecumseh, Lib.)

Dec/2/21 10:37:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon for his passion, hard work and dedication raising the issue of flooding and fires in British Columbia and climate change. He is doing terrific work. The constituents of Windsor—Tecumseh stand shoulder to shoulder with his constituents. In June of this year, this government passed a budget that allocated $63.8 million to Natural Resources Canada and ECCC to work with the provinces to complete flood mapping for higher-risk areas. I am just wondering this. Does the hon. member have any regrets? His party and he himself voted against the budget, and this particular provision for flood mapping in higher risk areas.

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Mr. Brad Vis

Dec/2/21 10:38:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, yes, I did vote against the budget, and there is one big reason I voted against it. Just the other day, Bill Curry in The Globe and Mail said there was $600 billion of money that has not been accounted for. To function as a government, the government needs to be transparent and it is not, with more money spent ever than in the history of Canada. I welcome that line item in the budget and want to see that work completed so the insurance companies, the home builders and the people who want to live their lives, the agricultural producers, actually see those maps. To this day, they have not see them, but I hope they do soon.

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Ms. Monique Pauzé (Repentigny, BQ)

Dec/2/21 10:39:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about the Conservatives' amendment to the throne speech. Among other things, the amendment states that there is a national crisis that requires the government to respect provincial jurisdiction. Yesterday, we voted on a Bloc Québécois amendment calling on the government to respect the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces and increase health transfers by 35%. Why did my colleague's party vote against the Bloc Québécois's amendment?

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Mr. Brad Vis

Dec/2/21 10:39:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that was a unanimous consent motion. All I can say is that we talk a lot about Quebec jurisdiction. We also need to talk about British Columbia jurisdiction. British Columbia only has six senators. I do not think there is a Supreme Court judge from British Columbia right now. The reality is that British Columbia needs a strong voice in Parliament right now. I am very pleased that in the last few weeks here I have been able to sit down with so many of my colleagues from all political parties representing British Columbia to work united and stand up for our province in a real, serious time of need. I am very pleased to be back in Parliament fighting for the flood infrastructure and for everything B.C. needs that is of national importance. I am talking about our ports, our roadways and our environment.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Dec/2/21 10:40:42 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to give my condolences to all the families in Lytton, B.C. who have lost their homes as a result of the climate catastrophe. Is the hon. member committed to ensuring, and pushing for the current government to meet, climate targets as a long-term way to mitigate the climate catastrophe currently raging in B.C.? That will continue unless we take bold action on the climate emergency.

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Mr. Brad Vis

Dec/2/21 10:41:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is incumbent upon the Government of Canada to meet the targets set by Stephen Harper a long time ago now and to see Canada move forward. Related to climate change, what my constituents want to see, and what the village of Lytton wants to see right now, are concrete actions related to climate resiliency and adaptation in the reconstruction of their homes and of their communities. It is incumbent upon us to work with everyone to make sure that when the next major disaster comes our communities are more prepared and more resilient.

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Mr. George Chahal (Calgary Skyview, Lib.)

Dec/2/21 10:42:17 a.m.
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Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'll be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North. As I stand in the House of Commons as the newly elected member of Parliament for Calgary—Skyview—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 10:42:35 a.m.
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The member for Cumberland—Colchester is rising on a point of order.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis

Dec/2/21 10:42:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am concerned about the allegations against the hon. member across the—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 10:42:49 a.m.
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I am not going to allow this to continue. We dealt with this yesterday. I want to indicate that the hon. member is questioning another member's right to participate in debate. The member was duly elected and sworn in and has the same rights and privileges as other members. Whether there is or is not an investigation into a member's conduct has no impact on their ability to participate in proceedings. I would ask members, while I am reading this statement, to please keep their comments to themselves. As it is stated on page 254 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, “Even the laying of a criminal charge against a Member,” which is not the situation being raised here, “has no effect on his or her eligibility to remain in office.” I would also remind members that the conduct of a member can be brought before the House only by way of a specific charge contained in a substantive motion. Therefore, there will be no other points of order entertained on this particular matter. The hon. member for Calgary Skyview.

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Mr. George Chahal

Dec/2/21 10:43:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I stand in the House of Commons as the newly elected member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, I want to give my thanks, first, to all those in Calgary Skyview who voted in the 2021 federal election. Regardless of partisan differences, their participation in the democratic process matters deeply. I am honoured to have been elected to represent and serve every one of my them in the 44th Parliament of Canada. I will strive to be the kind of representative they deserve: hard-working, accountable and always available. I want to thank my wife Aman and my three daughters, Amita, Noor and Liv, for their incredible support through the election and in my transition from being a city councillor to a member of Parliament. They have stood by me, side by side, every step of the way and I am so grateful for their love and support. I also want to thank the hundreds of volunteers who believed in me and contributed their time and abilities to my campaign, helping us to one of the most decisive election results in the country. Finally, I want to thank the former member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, Jagdeep Sahota, for her service to the residents of Calgary Skyview. Throughout my time as a city councillor for Ward 5 and recently as a federal candidate, I often spoke about how governments can make life better for Calgarians. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 10:46:04 a.m.
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Order. I want to remind members that heckling is not allowed. Having conversations from one side of the House to the other is not acceptable while someone has the floor. I want to ask members in the House to be very respectful of those who have the floor. The hon. member for Calgary Skyview.

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Noise/conversations/heckling, interrupting Member speaking

Mr. George Chahal

Dec/2/21 10:46:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have seen some very challenging times in Alberta over the last number of years, and in my riding in particular. The economic downturn, a massive hailstorm in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic have had profound impacts on those who call Calgary's northeast home. No matter the challenge, we have come together time and time again to fight for what matters: safe neighbourhoods, healthy families, well-paying jobs and a bright future for our children. I am proud to be part of a government that has put forward bold solutions to the difficult problems facing our city while always focusing on a fair recovery for all. I especially want to acknowledge that the Province of Alberta has received the largest dollar amount in per-capita transfers from the federal government to assist us with pandemic relief and economic recovery. This federal government had our backs when we needed it most. More than ever, Canadians appreciate the value of a strong national government that shows leadership in the face of adversity. The riding I represent is one of the most ethnoculturally diverse in Canada, with people from all around the world who have come to Canada to build better lives for their families. Sadly, all levels of government have not always fulfilled all of their commitments to invest in new Canadians and to adequately respond to racism and discrimination. When I was elected city councillor, I committed to being a strong voice for my constituents by immediately addressing long-standing inequities. In my new role as a member of Parliament, I will continue to embrace my duty to carry on much of this work by investing in people and infrastructure. Our government must help transform Calgary's economy while supporting workers, always making sure that nobody is left behind. I am grateful that our government has committed to continuing its important work in combatting inequities, systemic racism and discrimination. Working Calgarians were instrumental in getting us through the pandemic. Calgary Skyview is home to thousands of essential workers: health care workers, public transit workers, truck drivers and taxi drivers, people working in grocery stores and food preparation, utility workers and tradespeople. These workers did not have the luxury of working from home and were directly exposed to the virus throughout the pandemic. It is easy to thank them, but we must do much more to show our gratitude. Leaders need to show leadership, and those of us with the privilege of sitting in the House need to work even harder, whether we are here in person or working in our constituencies. This federal government has walked the talk by providing key benefits to those who lost their jobs and by procuring vaccines for all Canadians. I have encouraged all Calgarians to get vaccinated and to follow public health guidelines. I will continue to advocate for public health as vaccines become available for our children. Working Calgarians, particularly visible minorities, were often criticized for the high infection rates, even when they were sacrificing their personal health by ensuring the safety of others, volunteering and sharing, and keeping the economy moving by ensuring the flow of goods. Today, upper northeast Calgary has one of the highest rates of vaccination in Canada, at 99.3%. All of those over the age of 12 have had at least one shot. It very likely has a higher percentage vaccinated than my colleagues in the Conservative caucus across the aisle. Ultimately, I know that my constituents will answer the bell when times get tough. As a government, we must remain by their side in support, and embrace their trust by working as hard as they do. The cost of living has become one of the most critical concerns facing Canadian families, and the situation is no different in Calgary Skyview. This government has done great work in tackling the affordability crisis. One example of this is the rapid housing initiative. In Calgary Skyview, across the street from the Akram Jomaa Islamic Centre, the rapid housing initiative is supporting a seniors housing facility with the conversion of a former hotel into a much-needed seniors facility. Local non-profits, such as the Dashmesh Culture Centre, have also shown tremendous leadership through collaboration with government to build the first women's transitional housing project in northeast Calgary. Projects like these save lives and give those in need a chance to get back on their feet and live safe and dignified lives. There is much more work to be done, and our government is ready to get to work on several meaningful initiatives, such as the multi-generational home renovation tax credit. This would impact thousands of families living in northeast Calgary by helping them add a second unit to their home. I recently had the privilege of joining the Prime Minister and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development for an important announcement in Edmonton. Our federal government came to an agreement with the Province of Alberta on affordable child care, which follows through on our election commitment to make life better not only for families but for all Canadians. Thousands of working families in Calgary Skyview will benefit from our government's commitment to making life more affordable through $10-a-day child care. We cannot talk about how to build resilient and inclusive communities without talking about how we move around them. I have been a long-time advocate for robust and affordable public transit. People living in my riding are the highest users of public transit in Calgary, and this federal government has consistently supported increased investments and access. Whether it is the Blue Line or Green Line, we will stand and support public transit in Calgary—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 10:54:37 a.m.
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I have been trying to give the hon. member a signal to let him know that his time was running out. Maybe he could add to his speech during questions and comments. The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot, whom I will advise to be very careful.

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