44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 7, 2024 10:00AM
- May/7/24 2:14:46 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to bring to the House's attention that May 6 was Dr. Ambedkar Equality Day. We are celebrating this wonderful event in our nation's capital with a historic gathering of citizens from across Canada.
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was a towering figure, both in his native India and around the world. From humble beginnings, suffering the abuse of caste discrimination, he rose to achieve the highest distinctions as a scholar, a lawyer, an author, a social reformer and a political leader of global stature.
Dr. Ambedkar played a major role in the formation of India; he was the prime author of India's Constitution and served in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Nehru. Throughout, he relentlessly fought against the caste system and untouchability, courageously advocating for equality and dignity for everyone.
Dr. Ambedkar left a lasting legacy of humanity that inspires us all to educate, agitate and organize for a better world. I send a special thanks to my friends from Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha on Gilley Avenue.
Jai Bhim.
179 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:16:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to be even more rigorous in their interventions because the scientific community is watching. Researchers from all over have come to Parliament Hill for the 4th edition of Science Meets Parliament. At the invitation of the Canadian Science Policy Centre, these rising stars in science and innovation have come to build closer relationships with policy-makers.
It goes without saying that gaining a better understanding of our respective realities will lead to collaboration, which is crucial, because science must clearly be at the centre of all the policies debated in the House. Today, I had the opportunity to discuss French-language science as well as research funding in the regions with Simon Girard, a professor at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and research chair in genetics and genealogy.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to thank the delegates. I want them to know that Parliament is their home and that the door of Bloc Québécois MPs is always open.
180 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:17:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the Prime Minister is not worth the crime, chaos, drugs and disorder. After the failures in British Columbia, he must put a full stop to the legalization of hard drugs, including fentanyl, meth and crack, in other cities, such as Toronto.
The Liberals can accuse us of politicizing, but they are the ones treating Canadians as pawns in a wacko drug experiment with their lives. The most vulnerable Canadians deserve hope and treatment, not more taxpayer-funded hard drugs. Canadians have two choices: They can side with Conservatives in the fight to ban hard drugs and offer recovery to those battling addiction or legalize smoking meth and fentanyl in parks around kids with the NDP-Liberal government.
Only common-sense Conservatives will end this wacko and deadly experiment. Let us bring our loved ones home.
140 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:18:17 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, today I want to pay tribute to an exceptional group of young athletes from Laval who outscored the competition to win gold at the 2024 Copa Surf New England tournament on March 10.
Congratulations to Alessio, Alexandre, Alexis, Ahmed, Adriano, Damian, Gianni, Ghilas, Jacob, Juliano, Ken, Kevin, Kouasseu, London, Lucas, Mohamed and Nicholas.
Under the guidance of their coaches, Michael and Santino De Seta and Anita Rinaldi, these young people demonstrated that perseverance and teamwork are the key to success. Their exemplary commitment and discipline are life lessons that will prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Congratulations once again to the AS Laval U11 team for this amazing achievement. They made Laval proud and did a fantastic job of embodying the values that we hold dear. Bravo to the whole team on this outstanding victory.
139 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:19:24 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Montreal's mayor and city council have called for the legalization of hard drugs in their community.
Will the Prime Minister openly acknowledge the grave mistake of legalizing hard drugs in British Columbia, or will he try to repeat it in Montreal?
45 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:19:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, when British Columbia asked for a pilot project, we worked with it and recently agreed to modify the pilot project agreement to better meet its needs.
We will always be there to work on a science-based and respectful approach with our partners, but we will not move forward on any project without the support of the provinces involved.
The Leader of the Opposition knows this very well, but he continues down his ideological path, the same one as the Harper government. That path was rejected by one of his own advisers as immoral and obsolete.
99 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:20:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, does the Prime Minister believe in the decriminalization of using crack in children's parks, smoking meth in hospitals or using other hard drugs on public transit, yes or no?
32 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:21:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we believe in working with British Columbia and with any province that wants us to work with them on this, which is why we accepted its request to modify its pilot project on exactly those issues. This is something we will continue to do, to work in a basis of science, around compassion and a medical approach, a health approach, not a criminal justice approach to deal with the toxic drug supply and addictions.
At the same time, we will not be taking lessons from the Conservatives, who continue to chase after a Harper-era policy that their own adviser said was obsolete—
106 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:21:44 p.m.
- Watch
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
6 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:21:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is an important question, because we need to know what the Prime Minister is going to do next. I just gave him a chance to indicate whether he believes people should be allowed to smoke crack on children's soccer fields or meth in the faces of nurses in hospital rooms. He refused to answer, which begs the question of whether he will try to impose the same radical and extremist policy elsewhere.
Once again, does he believe that people should be allowed to smoke meth or crack on children's soccer fields?
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:22:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, obviously no one in the House does, which is why we agreed with the British Columbia government to modify its pilot project to better suit its concerns.
At the same time, we have seen the extent to which the Leader of the Opposition will continue to try to use tragedies and ongoing challenges that Canadians and vulnerable people are facing to try to score political points. It is the same reason he has said that he will suspend people's fundamental rights and freedoms: to score cheap political points. That is not something Canadians want to see.
99 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:23:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister legalized the use of hard drugs, such as meth, crack and heroin, in children's parks and in hospitals, and he will not rule out doing it again. This is not an academic question.
The City of Toronto submitted a 153-page application seeking “an exemption under section 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that would decriminalize personal possession of illicit substances within Toronto's boundaries.”
The Prime Minister's government has been working secretly with Toronto on that plan ever since. Will he, yes or no, rule out decriminalization in Canada's biggest city?
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:23:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again, we see the Leader of the Opposition trying to score cheap political points on the backs of vulnerable people to promote an ideology that does not work.
We will continue to be there with a thoughtful, compassion-based public health approach on the toxic drug supply. That means working with jurisdictions. When Vancouver asked us for an exemption, we said no, that we would only work with the province. That is what we did; we worked with B.C. The same thing goes when it comes to Ontario or Quebec: We will only work with the provinces to ensure that any projects they have go forward.
110 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:24:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister refuses to rule out repeating the disastrous experiment that killed 2,500 British Columbians, because he strongly supports decriminalization, and if he got a chance he would do it all over again in Toronto, in Montreal and anywhere else.
The final question, therefore, is this: Even the radical NDP government in B.C. asked for the Prime Minister to reverse his decriminalization. Why did it take him 10 days and 66 more deaths to do it?
81 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:25:17 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again we see the extent to which the Leader of the Opposition will make political attacks on the backs of the most vulnerable people in this country. We actually received the completed request from British Columbia only on Friday last week, and we approved it the following Monday, three days later.
We will always respond quickly in a science-based way when people's lives are on the line. The Leader of the Opposition is continuing to spread falsehoods instead of actually following the facts and caring for Canadians.
92 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:25:59 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are having a hard enough time as it is convincing people that they are committed to the French language. I will spare them the trouble of claiming it is part of their culture. At the very least, the Prime Minister should take responsibility for one of his members uttering such a vulgar slur about our national language.
Will the Prime Minister at least suggest that the member step down as president of the Canadian branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie?
88 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:26:32 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, defending our two official languages is a fundamental pillar of the Liberal Party of Canada. We were the first government to recognize that the federal government also has a special responsibility to protect the French language, including in Quebec. We will always be there to defend the French language. We will always be there to defend Canada's linguistic minorities.
I realize that the Bloc Québécois is trying to pick a fight. Sometimes it succeeds, but we will continue to fight every day for official language minority communities.
94 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:27:17 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is so oblivious to the political cost of his last response. Failing to ensure that the member resigns as chair of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, or APF, when he refuses to apologize for his remarks and when he thinks that protecting French is an extremist position, is a personal endorsement from the Prime Minister himself of the contempt voiced.
Will he demand that the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell resign from the APF?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:27:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canada is a proud partner of the Francophonie. Unlike the Bloc Québécois, we continually show that we are here to protect the French language across the country. We do not want to isolate Quebec. We recognize that the French language needs support and protection across the country and, yes, at times with too much enthusiasm.
We are not trying to pick a fight. We will always be there to defend official language minorities. We will share our leadership everywhere in the world as a proud member of the Francophonie.
95 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/7/24 2:28:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals delay, and the Conservatives block. Everything is expensive for people. Thanks to the NDP, diabetes medication will be free, which will help lower costs for millions of Canadians. It is appalling that the Conservative leader wants to take that away from people. The Conservatives want more money in the pockets of big pharma and less in the pockets of Canadians.
Will the government work with us to thwart the Conservatives' cruel attempt to block access to free diabetes medication?
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
