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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 195

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 11, 2023 10:00AM
  • May/11/23 2:48:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Priests for Life is this militant political action group fighting against women's reproductive freedom and its behaviour is so extreme that Pope Francis himself had to kick its leader out of the Roman Catholic Church. How is it possible that this group of anti-women extremists keeps getting approval for Canada summer jobs? It is unconscionable. Canadian youth are being encouraged to get trained by this extremist political network while taxpayers foot the bill. Will the minister explain why Canada summer jobs continues to offer funding to anti-choice extremists?
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  • May/11/23 2:49:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all know in the House how much we value Canada's summer jobs in our community. It provides incredible opportunities for youth and for employers throughout. Throughout this process, we know MP input is critical. We value that input, and I encourage all MPs to bring forward their suggestions, their concerns, their ideas. We are always happy to hear from them.
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  • May/11/23 2:50:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, gun violence and violent crime have prevented Canadians in B.C. from feeling safe in their communities. Since 2015, our government has prioritized prevention, intervention and enforcement as ways to keep guns off the street and give resources to our neighbourhoods. Could the Minister of Public Safety tell the House what the Government of Canada is doing to eliminate violent crime in British Columbia?
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  • May/11/23 2:50:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank my colleague from Surrey for his advocacy and hard work. I would also be remiss if I did not take a moment to express our condolences to OPP officer Sergeant Mueller's family. He died in a tragic incident last night. Our hearts and our thoughts go out to them. We want to be sure that these sacrifices are not in vain. That is why we made an announcement earlier this week on providing $390 million for law enforcement across the country, which will help ensure we can prevent another tragedy like that from occurring again and keep Canadians safe from gun violence.
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  • May/11/23 2:51:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the Prime Minister could be more out of touch with the reality of Canadians. It really was not too long ago that people literally lined up and stayed the night, camping out, to get their passport renewed or a new one altogether. People missed out on being able to go see a dying loved one before they passed away. They missed out on weddings. They missed out on funerals. They missed out on family celebrations. Why was that? Well, it turns out that it was because this government was more concerned with erasing history by removing Terry Fox, Quebec City and Vimy Ridge from our passports, rather than getting passports expedited to Canadians. Why is the government so hellbent on erasing Canada's history?
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  • May/11/23 2:51:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share with members of the House that my hon. colleague is deeply mistaken. With regard to the ability of Canadians to get their passports in a timely way, I want to credit the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development for her work to eliminate the backlogs so Canadians can get passports for travel where and when they were needed. With respect to the changes to the passport, the designs were approved a number of years ago, before there were any considerations of backlogs and passport applications. It is very important that no party in the House claims a monopoly over owning Canada's history. Every member of the House cares deeply about our nation's history and is proud of the country. We will continue to commemorate it in the years ahead.
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  • May/11/23 2:52:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are erasing Terry Fox's picture from Canadian passports. Terry Fox came from Coquitlam, B.C., and was Métis. After his leg was amputated for cancer, he began his cross-country Marathon of Hope to raise funds for research. Terry did not live to finish the race to the Pacific, but now millions participate in the annual Terry Fox Run to continue his race. Terry Fox is an international hero. Why would the Prime Minister rip this great Canadian's picture from our passports?
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  • May/11/23 2:53:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it breaks my heart to hear anyone in the House politicize a Canadian hero such as Terry Fox. That is something that the Fox family has prided itself on since Terry passed away in 1980. Not only that, but during the convoy, Terry's statue was defaced here in Ottawa, and the members opposite were supportive of that convoy— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • May/11/23 2:53:43 p.m.
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Order. On both sides I am hearing a lot of talking among members, which makes it hard to hear the questions and the answers. This then elevates, and the chatter starts back and forth. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.
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  • May/11/23 2:54:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the members opposite are saying that we are erasing Terry Fox from history. Terry Fox will never, ever be erased from history, not here in Canada, and not around the world.
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  • May/11/23 2:54:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the mayor of Terry Fox's hometown said, “Whoever made the decision to remove Terry Fox from Canadian passports needs to give their head a shake. Our country needs more Terry Fox, not less.” The members across the way have the nerve to say that we are politicizing the history of the Canadian passport. More than ever, the government is showing that it is totally out of touch with reality. It is despicable to erase the history of our country from Canadian passports. Will they ever figure that out?
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  • May/11/23 2:55:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a Terry Foxer. I am proud every member in the House is probably a Terry Foxer. There is no Canadian who people relate to more than Terry Fox. He will never be erased from history. I want to remind the members opposite, who seem to stand here wanting to politicize one of the greatest Canadians ever, that they said nothing when Terry's statue was defaced on Wellington Street during the convoy.
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  • May/11/23 2:56:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I invite the parliamentary secretary and everyone over there to repeat what they said to the mayor of the city Terry Fox was born in. Good luck! That is not all. The passport is the most important document Canadians carry when they are abroad, but it is also important for what it contains. Quebec City is referenced in it four times: The Quebec conference, Quebec City itself, Samuel de Champlain, and Captain Bernier, who discovered the Canadian north with his boat, are illustrated within its pages. Once again, why is the government erasing our national history, which we can be proud of, from the Canadian passport?
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  • May/11/23 2:56:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very important that nobody in the House claims a monopoly over caring for our national heroes, such as Terry Fox, or claims a monopoly over caring about our nation's history. The reality is that over the past 10 years, an exercise to consult Canadians was taken on to understand what people wanted reflected in their travel document. We have themes recognizing the different regions of Canada, our natural environment, the contributions of indigenous Canadians and of course improved security features. The Canadian passport is one of the most powerful travel documents. It allows one access to almost every country in the world. It is something we should be proud of. We can protect the security of our passport and celebrate our history at the same time.
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  • May/11/23 2:57:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister meets with CSIS once a week. If we do not include his vacations and his many foreign missions, we can presume that the Prime Minister was given at least 50 briefings since 2021, when CSIS was informed of the threats against the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. In all those briefing sessions, no one apparently addressed an issue as important as threats against one or more MPs. Come on, that is unbelievable. Of the fifty or so weekly meetings with CSIS, how many of them addressed the threats made against one or more elected officials?
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  • May/11/23 2:58:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister already stated earlier this week, CSIS decides what information it shares with departments and with the Prime Minister. The 2023 budget provides funding for the establishment of a national counter-foreign interference coordinator and for the RCMP. That is how to protect not only democratic institutions, but also all Canadians
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  • May/11/23 2:58:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister was notified by CSIS that candidates in his party might be getting support from Chinese authorities, he did nothing and said nothing. When he was notified by CSIS that members of Parliament and their families were victims of threats and intimidation, he did nothing and said nothing. Can the Prime Minister tell the House with a straight face that if the threats against the member for Wellington—Halton Hills had not been made public, he still would have expelled the Chinese diplomat?
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  • May/11/23 2:59:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have said many times that we are a government that takes the threat of foreign interference extremely seriously. We have been announcing measures since we formed government, and we have enhanced them. As far as threats against members, senators or parliamentarians are concerned, obviously this is completely unacceptable. We gave a clear directive to the authorities and intelligence agencies to share this intelligence, and we will always follow up as needed.
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  • May/11/23 3:00:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberals, this is where housing is at in Canada: Housing prices, rent and mortgage payments have all doubled. At a time when we need more housing built, the Liberals' own statistics show they are down 32% in housing starts. The Liberal response has been that they are spending record amounts of money, and now we know where that money is going. The housing minister signed off on $51 million in performance bonuses for gatekeepers at the CMHC. Can the Liberals explain why they are giving bonuses to housing gatekeepers who are failing by every possible measure?
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  • May/11/23 3:00:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that independent Crown corporations are responsible for the compensation of their staff. When it comes to the housing supply, we are supporting Canadians struggling with the cost of housing and protecting the dream of home ownership by including things such as a $4-billion housing accelerator fund to speed up the construction of new housing, a federal top-up to the Canada housing benefit to help millions of Canadians, our $40,000 first-time homebuyer tax-free savings account and new guidelines to protect Canadians who already have mortgages. All of these measures are helping Canadians, and what did the Conservatives do? They voted against each one of them.
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