SoVote

May/2/23 5:13:28 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, once again, it is the same answer as for the question prior. This is the dialogue we are having. It is a great question. Of course, I have to confess it was a tough budget this year. The government really tried to strike that balance between fiscal responsibility, especially after what we went through the last three years with the pandemic and of course getting a handle on that, while at the same time hearing what our partners are telling us and really being a part of that dialogue. To the member, those are some of the options this government will consider moving forward.

106 words

Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

May/2/23 6:00:15 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-321

Madam Speaker, one of the reasons the government has addressed this issue previously, in part, is because we do value our first responders and our health care workers. We saw some horrific scenes during the pandemic where people protested against health care workers. All sorts of profanities were levelled against them during the pandemic itself in and around hospitals and other institutions. I suspect there is a great deal of sympathy, for good reason, toward our first responders and health care workers. This is not something that is new. Sadly, it has been going on for a long time, but it was really emphasized during the pandemic. Would the member agree?

111 words

Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

May/2/23 6:43:03 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-321

Madam Speaker, I am very happy to hear the support for this bill in the House today. I want to congratulate the member for Cariboo—Prince George for bringing it forward. There is great opportunity in this bill to further ensure that those who go out, as he indicated in his speech, to protect Canadians and to quite often stand in the way of harm would be given further protections in terms of the consequences for those who seek to harass or intimidate them. I must admit that, when listening to the debate in the House today and when reading the contents of the bill, the first thing that popped into my mind was what was happening in the middle of the pandemic. People were trying to survive, were falling asleep or being deprived of sleep. They were trying to enter Kingston General Hospital, in my riding of Kingston and the Islands, and were being subjected to harassment and intimidation by protesters, believe it or not, on the street. I totally respect and understand that the people who choose to put their names forward and are elected to the House could be subject to that from time to time, but I completely disagree that anybody who is simply following the policies and legislation enacted by the various different levels of government should ever have to be subject to that. They are just there to do their job, as the member for Cariboo—Prince George pointed out so well. Perhaps I will have time to expand a little further in the second hour of debate on this. I am hopeful that the discussion at committee will be a productive one, that we can perhaps identify some weaknesses in the bill, strengthen it and look for other opportunities to make it even better.

303 words

Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23

Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

May/2/23 7:52:20 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Chair, my hon. colleague spoke about all this money. I am going to mention some of that money. Of $724.1 million that was issued in the 2020 budget, only 5% has been spent. Meanwhile, women are being murdered and going missing. We are dying on the streets, and they are throwing us in landfills. Although I was very pleased that there was support given for searching, the current government has failed to invest in keeping us alive, in real time. The minister talks about all this money: $1.6 million over six years. He knows very well that this funding is completely inadequate. I will tell members how I know that; it is because we continue to go missing and be murdered. The government, in real time, is cutting $150 million for women's shelters in September because it was emergency support given during the pandemic. I will tell members something. Gender-based violence was a crisis before the pandemic, and it has increased since the pandemic. The government should not be cutting back resources from shelters; it needs to be increasing these resources. We have a right to be safe, and we have a right to justice. The time for waiting for the government to figure it out is over. When is the minister going to get that money out the door? How is he going to ensure that women who are survivors of violence, family members of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, trans women and nonconforming women who are impacted by this violence are actually going to be able to lead these discussions?

269 words

All Topics