44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 4, 2024 10:00AM
- Jun/4/24 1:26:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak to our NDP opposition day motion, calling on all parties in the House to stand with Canadians, to stand with us in the NDP, and push for measures to go after greedy grocery CEOs, lower food prices and reform nutrition north. Canadians are struggling. Costs are going up across the board. Nowhere is that more obvious than when it comes to grocery prices.
Grocery stores are out of control, and it is Canadians who are getting screwed. On top of it, wealthy CEOs like Galen Weston are raking it in, while Liberals ask them to meekly stop and Conservatives cheer them on. All the while, a couple of CEOs thrive as they live off public money, while northerners, indigenous peoples and all Canadians get screwed.
Over the last three years, the cost of food has increased by over 20%. Food bank usage is at a 35-year high. One in five Canadians is skipping meals. At the same time, the grocery sector made record profits in 2023, raking in $6 billion. It is an unfair system, and Canadians are paying the price.
Nowhere is this clearer than in communities across our north, especially ones that depend on the nutrition north program. Grocery prices in our north are routinely two to three times higher the cost compared to more southern communities. The profits of the largest grocery chain in the north, The North West Company, have gone up 10% since 2022. Its CEO earned just about $4 million in compensation in a single year, which is 98 times what his employees earned. With all those profits, it receives $67 million in subsidies through nutrition north. Are those savings being passed on to northerners? Of course not.
In fact, in larger communities with more than one store, corporate grocers pass only about 67¢ of every subsidy dollar on to consumers. In smaller communities with a single grocery store, greedy grocery CEOs are keeping 67¢ out of every dollar they should be passing on to consumers. The more isolated a community is and the less people have to spend the more they get gouged. It is unacceptable, and that is why we in the NDP have called for a public inquiry. However, we know that the Liberals and the Conservatives do not want to do that, preferring to keep northerners and Canadians in the dark.
This reality did not just happen. The corporate greed that we are seeing has been aided and abetted by successive Liberal and Conservative governments and their policies. It goes beyond food prices in our north. Canada is forcing first nations like Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, Oxford House, Gods River, God's Lake Narrows and others to live in forced isolation. Instead of working with Wasagamack to build a desperately needed airport, instead of funding all-weather road infrastructure for the first nations that need it, they are forced to rely on winter roads to ship everything in, including food. With catastrophic climate change shortening the window for these ice roads, a period in which things can be shipped in, things are only getting more expensive and only getting worse.
Northern and indigenous communities already have to deal with greedy CEOs' price gouging. Adding the collaboration of successive Liberal and Conservative governments, which refuse to fight to make their lives better, only increases people's struggles. The sad reality is that not one politician would tolerate these prices if he or she were the one who had to pay them.
We can be sure that if the Prime Minister lived in Norway House, a cereal box would not cost $17.99. If the leader of the official opposition lived in Wasagamack, a can of soup would not cost four times what it costs in Ottawa. If anyone here paid over $35 for a six-pack of canned salmon like people in Garden Hill do, he or she certainly would not be rushing to hand out $25.5 million to Loblaws and Costco over four years, like the Liberals did. We would not see the type of corporate coalition support that these successive Liberal and Conservative governments gave out, $2.35 billion in subsidies, to grocery giants if the deputy leaders of the Liberals or the Conservatives were paying $25 for a four-pack of Ritz crackers. No, it would be outrageous, and they would be helping people.
This is Canada, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, where we are seeing this kind of unacceptable exploitation, deprivation and inequality grow. Indigenous and northern communities deserve better. Canadians deserve better. That is why this NDP motion is so important. It reflects what we in the NDP have been calling to happen for a number of years, which is much-needed reforms to nutrition north so indigenous and northern communities can afford healthy foods, lower the prices of essential food at corporate grocery stores and end the Liberal and Conservative handouts to big corporations.
Speaking of oligopolies and the unbreakable bond between successive Liberal and Conservative governments and the CEOs they cater to, I would be remiss if I did not bring up another corporation, Bell. We will find few Canadian companies that better exemplify this corporate arrogance than Bell Canada.
I have heard from the VP of Bell, Robert Malcolmson, a number of times since we in the NDP summoned the Bell CEO to come to committee on April 11 to explain why Bell cut 6,000 jobs and slashed programming in eight months. We held the CEO to account on behalf of Bell workers, on behalf of Bell customers and on behalf of Canadians.
Curiously, instead of getting to work to make amends with Canadians, Bell Media has been spending its time monitoring my social media and has chosen to send me a number of unsolicited letters that show just how much it does not get it. Let us be clear: It is a company that is an industry setter when it comes to tax avoidance. According to a report from Canadians for Tax Fairness, Bell used a series of loopholes and schemes to avoid paying over a billion dollars in taxes over a four-year period, ranking it as one of the 20 worst companies in the country in that regard.
In terms of corporate salaries, Mirko Bibic, Bell Canada's CEO, in 2023, earned $2.96 million in compensation, despite falling short of Bell's 2023 financial goals. Dividends to shareholders increased by 3.1% during this time. As always, it is workers who pay the price while wealthy CEOs profit.
When the CEO of Bell was at our committee, I confronted him about the reality in my constituency, where most people have little to no choice and have to look to Bell MTS for service. I pointed out how Bell bought out our once proudly publicly owned telecom provider, privatized by the Conservatives in the 1990s, Manitoba's MTS, and promised cheaper rates and better service. Instead, Bell shrunk the workforce and jacked up the rates, leaving many communities still waiting for that better service.
I raised two particular issues. One was the landlines in Dallas, Manitoba, that were not working reliably, forcing Susann Sinclair to communicate with her 89-year-old veteran father by walkie-talkie; landlines not working in 2024. I know for a fact that, following this exchange with the CEO, Bell MTS kicked it into high gear. It contacted Susann Sinclair repeatedly and, most important, it replaced the obsolete equipment servicing landlines in the Dallas area. It replaced it with new equipment that was sitting in storage. Finally, Susann's landlines have been working as they should.
Sadly, the VP of Bell refused to refer to any of that and has, in his two recent letters, incorrectly confused service issues in Bloodvein and Dallas. Bloodvein and Dallas are two different communities. They are not even close geographically. It is time for Bell executives to look at a map of our province and understand where their customers live.
Let us be clear that the service issue in Dallas was resolved, but not in Bloodvein. What is most surprising with my communications with Bell is its continuing refusal to take responsibility. When Bloodvein First Nation needed cellphone service during a wildfire for evacuation purposes, it was told by Bell that it would need to pay $652,000 to turn on a tower that was on its land.
In their letters to me, Bell disputed this even happened and referred to a temporary tower it put up. I was aware of that temporary tower, but the Bell executives got it wrong. It was not in Bloodvein; it was in Loon Straits to service natural resources fighting the fires. The signal did not reach Bloodvein at all. Three years later, and even after our April 11 hearings, Bloodvein still does not have cell service.
I make no apologies for fighting for my constituents. I make no apologies for holding to account greedy CEOs and executives who are making profits on the backs of first nations, rural communities, Manitobans, consumers across the country and workers who have been laid off.
I hope the grocery store CEOs, big oil and telecom giants at Bell Media and the rest are paying attention. Rest assured, we will be working hard to go after them, to go after the profits they make on the backs of Canadians. We will continue to bring the fight for an excess profit tax so they can finally pay their fair share.
While billionaires and CEOs know they can count on the Liberals and Conservatives, northerners, first nations people, people on fixed incomes and Canadians know they can count on us in the NDP to fight for them.
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- Jun/4/24 1:35:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member could provide her thoughts with respect to instituting a price cap and how that would help the constituents who she represents or northern residents of Canada, generally speaking. Could she give some sort of an indication on whether she believes there would be any consequence to having a price cap?
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- Jun/4/24 1:36:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's concern about what measures would benefit northerners. Let me cut to the chase. He is part of the Liberal government that has refused to reform nutrition north, refused to invest in ways to ensure that healthy foods are truly affordable, a Liberal government that has refused to work with first nations like Wasagamack to build an airport and communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg to build all-weather roads that would directly have an impact on lowering prices.
I am not going to take any lessons from the Liberals with respect to what it is going to take to make food available in communities like mine. They need to stop giving subsidies to The North West Company the way they are and look at reforming nutrition north based on what works for northerners and make the investments in indigenous communities to bring prices down now.
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- Jun/4/24 1:37:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues mentioned earlier in their analysis of the NDP motion, it is targeting a genuine problem but proposing a false solution. How would we cap the prices of essential foods?
I would like my colleague to tell me how the price of bread can be capped when wheat prices are negotiated on the Chicago Stock Exchange.
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- Jun/4/24 1:38:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying that we invite the Bloc Québécois to support a motion that seeks to put an end to what is going on with the biggest companies in the commercial food sector. We hope that such measures will also be taken in other sectors in the future.
Now that we know from experience that the price of bread, for example, was fixed by companies in Canada, we need to take far bolder action. We know that economists support such measures. This motion is clear. We need to act in a more concrete and far bolder manner to put an end to the enormous profits of companies that are exploiting consumers across Canada.
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- Jun/4/24 1:39:27 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I wonder if my colleague could respond to the impacts of the Liberals' constant delays in making reforms to nutrition north. I have been asking since 2021 for changes, having heard from my constituents all along. To date, the most recent responses have been to do yet another internal review, with a possible later external review.
What is the impact on our constituents when the Liberals keep delaying solutions to fix the nutrition north program?
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- Jun/4/24 1:40:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the MP for Nunavut, has been a steadfast champion for accountability when it comes to nutrition north and for her constituents on all issues, including the food insecurity and price gouging they face when it comes to The North West Company and Liberal action on this front.
In fact, one of our first joint press conferences called for action from the federal government on this very issue. The impacts are devastating. Just a few weeks ago, I was in the Island Lake region and spoke with people. I was in the northern stores and they talked about their inability to buy healthy foods because they were too expensive. Everybody knows that it is a federal government subsidy, but people are saying that it is simply not working.
They also know that in communities like ours, isolation plays an important role and it needs to be addressed through government investment in infrastructure, like all-weather roads. The airport in Wasagamack is critical as well. The reality in communities in northern Manitoba, and I know in Nunavut, is that things are not getting better. Things are getting worse. As prices go up in southern Canada, they are going up even further in the north. We need Liberals to snap out of it, act to reform nutrition north and even call a public inquiry into how it is run.
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- Jun/4/24 1:41:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will start off by indicating that I do not want to come across as someone who is going to defend the big five grocers, whether it is Loblaw, Metro, Sobeys, Costco or Walmart. I do not think that they need any advocates on their behalf on the floor of the House of Commons.
I am genuinely concerned about the cost of groceries, and that is nothing new. It is something I have been concerned about for many months, or in fact, for the last number of years. It is a genuine concern. It is something the Government of Canada, in particular the Prime Minister, has been raising a great deal of concern about. It is not like it is something that has just happened over the last few months.
We can talk about there being issues related to groceries, even prepandemic, and the lack of competition. It is very real, and unfortunately, Canadians have had to pay a price for that. It is one of the reasons we have given it a considerable amount of attention.
Members will recall when the issue started to really heat up. The Prime Minister and the minister responsible were saying that we wanted to call on those big five grocers that, in essence, have about 80%, or maybe a little higher than that, of the market. It is an area we should all be concerned about. That is the reason they have been called before the government. That is the reason they have been called before a standing committee.
To try to give an impression, in any way, whether it is coming from the Conservatives, New Democrats, Bloc or anyone else, that the government is not concerned about the issue is just false. Over the last number of years, we have come up with thoughts, ideas and actions, whether they were budgetary measures or legislative measures, to try to hold them to account or ensure that there is a higher sense of transparency and more accountability in that area.
It is really quite encouraging to see that we have a House that is very much aware of the concerns Canadians have. One of the things that gets very little attention, which I want to highlight, is the food price data hub. It is something that has now been reinforced by the government. We want to make sure that Canadians are better informed about prices. Prior to the speeches today and the debate getting under way, I did a quick search on the food price data hub. I took a look at the province of Manitoba.
The food price data hub is complemented by Stats Canada. These numbers are fairly accurate. It provides an average price. Consumers can go there to get a sense of many different products and what they can expect for a cost. What I thought was interesting, because we are talking about the issue of inflation, was looking at some of the more common things.
For example, when we think of ground beef, and I am talking about in Manitoba, in November 2023, it was $11.22. It went up in December to $11.75, and dropped down to $11.10 in January and to $10.77 in February. Today it is at $11.37. Pork lion cuts per kilogram were $9.70 back in November, and I will just go right to March, when it was up by four cents.
A whole chicken per kilogram was $8.89 back in November, and it is actually down to $6.89. Chicken drumsticks, one of my favourites, I must say, were at $8.43 in November, and they went down to $7.96. When we talk about milk, a four-litre jug of milk was $5.72 in November and $5.72 in March. Butter was $6.29 in November and $5.99 in March. A 500-gram block of cheese was $6.65 in November and $6.59 in March.
The bottom line is that some of the prices have gone up and some of the prices have gone down. I like the general trend that we have been seeing in groceries, and I hope to be able to continue to see that trend. One of the commitments that the government made a while back now was to try to ensure that there is more price stability within the industry. That is something we want to see. It is one of the reasons we made significant changes to the Competition Act.
We often hear about the bread scandal. Many people following this debate today will have already heard it mentioned a couple of times. Members can imagine an industry that ultimately worked together to prop up the cost of bread. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profit were made at the cost of higher prices for consumers. That took place virtually throughout the whole time period Stephen Harper was the prime minister. Ultimately, it ended up in the courts, and it was found that there was a price-fixing scandal within that industry. There have been hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. We have to realize that, if the industry were left on its own, we would see a lot more price-fixing. One of the roles that government has is to ensure that there is competition.
I look at it from a past perspective. We did, at one point, have six major grocery outlets. We had Loblaw, Metro, Sobeys, Costco, Walmart, and Shoppers Drug Mart. A number of years ago, when Stephen Harper was the then prime minister, Loblaw acquired Shoppers. There were no questions asked, and it was acquired. Many people, including me, would argue that this diminishes competition, and by diminishing competition, ultimately, in situations like this, we are going to see prices potentially go up. There were no Conservatives who talked about that. Today, the Conservatives talk about competition in the grocery market, but back in the day, when they were in government, they did absolutely nothing at all regarding this. In fact, the Conservatives saw one of the grocery giants fall to be taken in by Loblaw.
We can look at the Competition Act and the way the Conservatives filibustered that legislation, trying to prevent the government from passing legislation. That legislation enhanced competition. It provided more resources for the Competition Bureau. By doing that, the Competition Bureau is able to conduct market studies. It is better able to do enforcement. It is better able to look at monetary penalties, and many of the maximum amounts were raised as a direct result.
Most important, from my perspective, is that the Competition Bureau put into place a merger review process that was not of the same nature. For example, it was the whole efficiency argument, where a store would be able to come before the Competition Bureau and say that, by doing this, it would become more efficient and therefore able to provide better prices and more options for Canadians. That argument was thrown out through the amendments that we made to the Competition Act.
These are the types of legislative actions that the government has taken to ensure that there is a better sense of predictability and stability in rates for groceries. That is a positive thing. I will contrast that with the previous administration, and it is a significant change. When Canadians were going through the pandemic, we started to really see it on the inflation graphs. When the rates were coming to the peak, the government responded by taking budgetary action. The government came up with the grocery rebate for Canadians.
The rebate assisted millions of Canadians by giving them extra disposable income because of the increase in grocery prices at the time. Whether it is through legislative actions or budgetary measures, members will find that the government, as a whole, has been very supportive of Canadians. I do think that is worthy of noting.
If we look at other aspects of the NDP motion today, it mentions that the Liberals, as a government, are giving these corporate bailouts, or giving hundreds of millions of dollars to companies such as Loblaw and Metro. It makes reference to Loblaws specifically. What the NDP members are referring to, to the best of my knowledge, are the two ways in which the government, under the Prime Minister, have subsidized groceries.
One of them is through the subsidies for the north, and the other one was more of an indirect one. The government came up with a series of policies dealing with emissions and the environment. One of those policies concerned the way products are refrigerated and the technology advancements in that area. We said that, if a company were to modernize, then the federal government would step up and assist with, I believe, about 25% of whatever the total cost of the project would be.
There were 50 or so applicants under that particular program, and one of them happened to be Loblaw. Loblaw took advantage of a government program to reduce emissions. The total amount spent was about $48 million, and $12 million came from the government, under that particular program to reduce emissions. That one project, from what I understand, was to reduce emissions. I will ask members not to quote me on this, but I believe it was the equivalent of taking thousands of vehicles off the road. It enhanced the opportunity for Canada to continue its leading role in the manufacturing of refrigerators. It created jobs, was better for the environment, and yes, Loblaw was one of many applicants. That is the program they are accusing the government of squandering tax dollars for. I beg to differ on that.
The other program I am aware of is support for northern Canada. Those northern supports are very real. When we take a look at the nutrition north program back in 2011, the budget was just over $50 million. Today, that budget is worth just under $150 million. That does not incorporate the community food programs.
On the one hand, in the very same resolution that is being proposed, the NDP is being critical of the Liberals for not supporting northern food prices, stabilization and reduction. They are also saying that we are supporting corporate greed. I mentioned the two programs I am aware of, and I am open to anything else that I might have missed. That is a question I would love to have answered.
When we think of the nutrition north program, it is a program that the Liberals greatly enhanced from a financial point of view with contributions. We have also looked at ways we can ensure that there are technological advancements, so we can see more community food programs put into place. By doing that, we are providing opportunities for northerners to potentially produce more food and become more diversified, if I can put it that way.
At the same time, we are looking at ways we can continue to support lower-priced food in the north through that specific program. We have also invested, with this budget, in local food infrastructure programs, again, to enhance the ability of non-profits, in particular, to generate that local food.
There are many initiatives that the government has taken to support the stabilization of prices, and we see the impact of that when we look at the numbers. The numbers clearly show that we are having a relatively positive impact. However, contrast that to what the Conservative Party is saying. With the first two Conservative members who stood up to speak about this important issue, I do not think they even talked about the issue of food security. All they wanted to talk about was what they were hearing from Jenni Byrne, who is a lobbyist, by the way, for the big grocery chains. The Conservative spin, no matter what is being debated, is that they have to talk about the axe the tax bumper sticker.
The Conservatives are not contributing to the debate or adding any sort of value to it. All they want to talk about is calling an election and axing the tax. I find it unfortunate because there is a whole lot more that we could be doing here in the House of Commons. As much as the Conservative Party wants to focus its attention on one issue, we will continue to look at ways we can enhance opportunities in many different sectors so that Canadians will ultimately see things such as stabilized food prices. We are already starting to witness that, not to mention the many different programs the government has been bringing forward, one of which I hope to talk about very soon, once we get into members' statements.
Suffice it to say that I appreciate the thought of talking about the price of food, but I think that the motion itself is somewhat misguided. I realize that I will get a little bit more time after question period, and I will provide some more thoughts on that issue when we resume debate.
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- Jun/4/24 2:00:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an emergency department is not the best place for a person in a mental health crisis, yet more folks are presenting at ERs as a last resort.
There are better options and organizations like Thresholds Homes and Supports and the Canadian Mental Health Association of Waterloo Wellington are showing the way. They are opening an integrated crisis centre in my community to offer specialized, trauma-informed care in a welcoming space, relieving the strain on ERs in the process. However, with no government support to date, they are pressing forward using existing budgets, meaning that they only can provide three months of service to our community before needing additional funding.
I hope that all levels of government will realize what a critical solution integrated crisis centres are and will step up with the funding required to ensure that when a neighbour is in a mental health crisis, they will get the best possible care.
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- Jun/4/24 2:01:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians love our health care system. From coast to coast to coast, we understand and we believe in the Canada Health Act and in the importance of health care to all Canadians.
I was disappointed yesterday when members of the Conservative Party and the Bloc, the unholy alliance, came together and voted against a national pharmacare plan that would support millions of Canadians. Whether with respect to contraceptives or diabetes, these types of programs, I believe, will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Canadians.
Once again, we see the difference between the Conservative Reform Party and a caring Liberal government. Conservatives are more concerned about cutting back on things, compared to the Liberal government, which recognizes the true value of a national health care system that incorporates some components of pharmacare.
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- Jun/4/24 2:02:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the long, cold winter is gone. The sun is shining, and the days are warmer. June is here, and with its arrival comes the much anticipated opening of local farmers' markets all across Canada.
In my community, we are very fortunate to have three major local farmers' markets operating.
The Barrie farmers' market is back outdoors and is open every Saturday, on Collier Street, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Oro-Medonte farmers' market is open Canada Day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and after that, it starts its season every Thursday this summer at Chappell Farms, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Last but not least, the Springwater farmers' market is held every Thursday from June 13 to August 29, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Elmvale municipal parking lot.
I encourage all residents to get out and attend one or all of these great farmers' markets and to support our local small businesses and farmers when they need it most.
I wish a happy summer to all.
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- Jun/4/24 2:03:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we consider the relationship between Canada and China, I am rising today to mark the 35th anniversary of the massacre of those who joined the movement for democracy in China in Tiananmen Square.
In response to that movement, which spread to 400 cities and, according to observers, caused deep divisions within the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the decision was made on June 2, 1989, to send in the military to put an end to the protest.
Nobody knows the cost in terms of the lives taken on June 4 or in what had been a gradual shift to a more liberal society for China, but the level of suppression ramped up significantly. Today, one can be arrested anywhere in China or in Hong Kong if one dares to comment on or to observe this anniversary.
Democracy is a resilient force, and thousands of Chinese diaspora here in Canada and around the world are speaking up today on behalf of the Chinese people who must mark the day and harbour hopes for the future in silence.
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- Jun/4/24 2:04:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, certain symbols resonate strongly with a people and a nation. Joseph-Armand Bombardier launched his business in Quebec, in Valcourt, to be precise. It was in a garage in this municipality in the Eastern Townships that he came up with his inventions, in a building that has since been turned into a very popular museum.
On May 9, over 60 years after the first snowmobile model came out, its creator was inducted into the prestigious National Inventors Hall of Fame in the United States as part of the class of 2024, joining a select club that includes the likes of Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
Having recently visited the BRP facilities in Valcourt, I was struck by the impressive number of patents Joseph-Armand Bombardier held, patents that continue to change the world to this day. His ingenuity still draws attention to Quebec's SME model. What is more, he inspired Quebec to dream. He stimulated Quebeckers' entrepreneurial spirit and helped put us on the global economic stage.
The Americans now recognize what we have long known, that Joseph-Armand Bombardier is a giant.
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- Jun/4/24 2:05:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mabuhay. Happy Filipino Heritage Month. Throughout June, we honour the contributions of Filipino Canadians who have worked tirelessly to build their lives here in Canada and who have woven themselves into the very fabric of our communities, one million strong and counting.
In Vaughan, the contributions of Filipinos are invaluable, from dedicated health care workers who have been our frontline heroes, to educators and entrepreneurs across all fields. As a twin city of Baguio City in the Philippines for nearly three decades, the ties between the City of Vaughan and the Philippines run deep. In our community, we owe much gratitude to my dear friend, Erlinda Insigne, and all the members of the Filipino-Canadian Association of Vaughan.
A community favourite, Fiesta Extravaganza, started in Vaughan in 2018. It has now expanded to nine cities across Canada and will soon be going south of the border. Together, let us celebrate the vibrant Filipino community, their heritage and their enduring spirit that reminds us of the importance of unity, perseverance and cultural pride.
Happy Filipino Heritage Month.
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- Jun/4/24 2:06:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, we celebrate the Festa della Repubblica in honour of the Italian Republic. This event symbolizes the continuing friendship and co-operation between our two nations. Canada and Italy's relationship has always been close. We are connected through over 1.6 million Italo-Canadians who mainly reside in Toronto, Vaughan and Montreal. We were honoured to have His Excellency Andrea Ferrari, the Italian ambassador to Canada, join us for our flag-raising this morning.
I am proud of my grandfather, who came from Calabria for the opportunity of a better life. I am especially proud of my grandmother, who raised me to always treat people with respect and compassion. We all have the opportunity to excel in the country that gives everyone the opportunity to achieve their goals.
Nonna, ti amo oggie e tutto I giorno.
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- Jun/4/24 2:07:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Fédération des communautés culturelles de l'Estrie has been serving our communities for over 30 years. With 180 projects for cultural associations to its credit, the federation is a key contributor to the socioeconomic and cultural integration of newcomers.
The federation creates spaces where immigrants and their host communities can come together and engage with one another, spaces like the community garden. Federation members are also proactive in the fight against racism, violence against women and discrimination. They prioritize innovative actions that support diversity, openness and inclusivity in communities and workplaces.
I am especially grateful to Boubacar, Mariame, Jesus, Charphadine, Roberto, Soumaïla, Henri and Juan Carlos, who are here in Ottawa today, and to the whole federation team for their amazing work, which fosters intercultural understanding and supports development in the Eastern Townships.
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- Jun/4/24 2:09:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight months of the horrible pain of war in the Middle East, many families in Canada are feeling the pain here at home. Too many of us know a family who has lost someone in Gaza or has family living there in fear and in unbearable conditions. Too many know of a hostage who is no longer coming home or a friend or family member who was killed on October 7 in Israel. Too many of us have been affected by the vandalism and violence directed toward our communities because of who we are or because of our beliefs and actions. While we, as Canadians, are out protesting, we must remember not to spread hate and fear through our words and actions, but rather to consider our fellow Canadians and how they might be impacted by them.
We have a right to protest and to free speech, and we also have a responsibility to respect and to protect our fellow Canadians. As we advocate and work toward permanent peace and a long-term resolution to this conflict, let us first and foremost do no harm to our fellow Canadians.
Love for all, hatred for none.
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- Jun/4/24 2:10:05 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, after nine years under this government, our streets are becoming less and less safe. Crime rates across the country keep rising. Montrealers are increasingly afraid in their own city. It has gotten to the point where the city's police department is completely overwhelmed.
Yesterday, the Montreal police service's annual report revealed that 911 calls in Montreal have increased by 10% since last year, to a total of 1.6 million calls. People are worried, and I can see why. This increase in calls is the result of the Liberal government's dangerous catch-and-release policy. Which party is fully supportive of this policy? That would be the Bloc Québécois, even though it has caused all this crime and chaos in our communities.
Bloc members, who claim to be the defenders of Quebec, voted in favour of Bill C‑5, which allows convicted criminals to stay at home rather than go to prison. That is why a Conservative government will crack down on criminals with tougher policies to stop crime. We will protect people and their loved ones.
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- Jun/4/24 2:11:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, which took place on June 6, 1944, during the Second World War. We honour those who sacrificed themselves and served our country in the ultimate battle that led to allied victory and the liberation of Europe.
On June 6, 1944, more than 14,000 brave Canadian soldiers were involved in the Normandy landings and fought with exceptional courage to regain control of Juno Beach and other positions controlled by the occupying German forces. The price of this sacrifice was heavy. On the first day, 359 Canadians lost their lives, and more than 5,000 died in the two and a half months of fighting in Normandy.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, let us not forget the sacrifices our Canadian soldiers made in this battle to bring peace to the world.
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- Jun/4/24 2:12:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years, Canadians are struggling because the Prime Minister's inflationary spending and tax hikes have increased the cost of everything. In fact, the average Canadian family will pay $700 more for groceries this year, and many Canadians will have no choice but to go to food banks.
Canadians deserve relief from the government’s failed policies. That is why Conservatives introduced a motion to give Canadians the summer break they need. We proposed to axe the carbon tax, the federal fuel tax and the GST on fuel this summer so Canadians could afford a summer vacation because, unlike the Prime Minister, working Canadians cannot afford to jet off for a luxury vacation. However, instead of fighting for Canadians, the NDP-Liberal government opposed our motion and voted to keep the tax on Canadians this summer.
Only common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax and bring home lower prices for all Canadians.
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