- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Nepean
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $104,578.46
- Government Page
- May/3/24 1:23:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in any society, the public should have trust in its law enforcement agencies. We cannot maintain security in any community with just the implementation of the laws, but with the very clear involvement of the community, and the community should have trust in the law enforcement agencies.
I would like to ask the member whether he agrees that this bill, through the establishment of this commission, would work towards increasing transparency and helping to build Canadians' trust in our law enforcement agencies.
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/3/24 10:36:47 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this is a very important thing. The more complaints that are handled in a transparent way, the more the agencies, the officers and the executives there would feel accountable, and that is how this would work out.
39 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/18/24 12:54:48 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, since we came to power about eight and a half years back, we have taken many measures to help Canadians of all ages, including seniors. We reduced the retirement age from 67 to 65. We have targeted supports for Canadians, especially for seniors, but not just seniors. Through our Canada child benefit, through our $10-a-day day care, through our dental care program and our proposed national pharmacare program, we are there to help Canadians in need.
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/18/24 6:40:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member had listened to my speech, she would have heard that I very clearly condemned the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
There is no other way to describe any organization that murders innocent families, innocent women and children; rapes women; and takes children and grandparents as hostages than as a terrorist organization. I have very clearly mentioned and have called for the return of hostages.
71 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/26/24 2:01:19 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this Black History Month I would like to recognize the African Canadian Association of Ottawa, which serves about 115,000 Canadians of African heritage in Ottawa-Gatineau. It is the flagship for 53 organizations representing the African diaspora from countries spanning Morocco to South Africa and Guinea to Somalia.
In addition to its affordable housing initiative, other programs extend to food security, community development, mental health, senior care, youth engagement through hockey and the innovative ACAO Radio, which underscores its comprehensive approach to community support.
I would like to recognize and thank the current leadership team, including its president, John Adeyefa, and board members Hector Addison, Sahada Alolo, Valérie Assoi, Serge Banyongen, Franklin Epape, Catherine Kizito, Dorris Ngaiza and Godlove Ngwafusi.
125 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/12/24 2:00:12 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the spring festival, I wish all Chinese Canadians a very happy, healthy and prosperous year of the dragon. As one of the luckiest animals in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon offers hope for good luck and health over the next 12 months.
I take this opportunity to recognize the important contributions that Chinese Canadians have made, and continue to make, for the socio-economic development of Canada. Arriving about 160 years back, Chinese Canadians worked hard in the mines and built railroads. Today, with their knowledge and expertise, Chinese Canadians immensely contribute to our technology sector to keep Canada at the forefront of the knowledge-based economy.
I also recognize that Chinese heritage has enhanced the rich multicultural fabric of our wonderful country.
128 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/8/24 5:12:13 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I heard the hon. member say that Quebec manages its own affairs better and that immigration in the Canada-Quebec accord has been and continues to be managed by the Province of Quebec.
I would like to know how successful that management has been during the last several years. Do the housing, manufacturing and tourism sectors in Quebec have adequate numbers of skilled immigrants, as required for their needs? What has been the success in those fields?
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/23/23 2:02:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, October is Latin American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the many contributions that Latin American communities have made and continue to make to the socio-economic development of Canada.
Canadians of Latin American descent have enhanced the cultural mosaic of Canada through their artistic and culinary traditions. This month, we had many opportunities to discover the long and rich history of the many Latin American communities here in Canada, and we celebrated their culture, resilience and heritage.
I would like to recognize Jaime Marulanda, editor of Eco Latino, and community leader Carolina Izaguirre-Campos for their services to the community. I would like to thank Professor Luis Abanto Rojas, chair of the University of Ottawa’s Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, for inviting me to a Latin American Heritage Day event.
136 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/28/23 12:30:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member on the need to combat money laundering and tax evasion. On the disclosure norms, I think he mentioned the threshold of 10%. He seems to agree with that. My concern is this. Why should we have any threshold of any percentage before the names of the shareholders are made public? It is very easy to work around this owner threshold.
68 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/18/23 1:02:02 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, let us take the way I personally look at the deficit of $43 billion. For me, as a working Canadian, I do not like credit card loans. However, I do like having a mortgage because it helps me to invest in my long-term future and long-term assets.
The deficit we have is basically going towards long-term investments required for Canada so that we can continue to be competitive in this world, improve our long-term transportation network and invest in long-term things required for clean energy growth. Those are the kinds of long-term infrastructure-related investments that are required, and these things are primarily contributing to the deficit we have today.
118 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 7:10:15 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, namaste.
I would like to begin by thanking my colleagues from all political parties for strongly backing the motion to designate November as Hindu heritage month. I am humbled by the support of dozens of organizations across Canada and from thousands of Canadians.
Hindu Canadians are a peaceful, hard-working community. They have made and continue to make significant contributions to Canada’s socio-economic development and cultural heritage. On Hindu heritage, Hindus have an ancient, magnificent and robust inheritance, which they have received from numerous sources: our wisdom traditions, our religious rites and rituals, our literature, the many arts and crafts, our elders, our fairs and festivals and, above all, from the many samskaras or sacraments in our home. That heritage not only gives us a drishti or world view; it also defines our purusharthas or aims of life and equally defines our sanskriti or culture. In short, the Hindu heritage defines our dharma.
What is striking about such an ancient civilization is not only the unbroken tradition of 5,000 years of recorded history but also the plurality or diversity of our tradition. Even in the absence of a monolithic religious dispensation, we Hindus, whether in Canada or anywhere in the world, are connected by an invisible thread that binds us together: the strength of our Hindu heritage.
Our wisdom traditions, which start from the Vedas and then flow into the Upanishads or forest discourses, followed by our puranas or our songs and stories, are philosophically rich and form the foundation of our temple traditions. It is the same vast heritage that informs our costume and cuisine, our habits and behaviour, our arts and crafts. The Hindu heritage does not restrict itself to religious matters: We have a strong aesthetic foundation, which leads to the celebration of saundarya, or what is beautiful.
We celebrate the beautiful in our lived lives through stories and paintings, song and dance, colour and cuisine, festivals and family events. Though ancient, our heritage is alive and growing. It is open to influences from other civilizations and freely adapts and gives to whomever we come in contact with.
Thus it is that for us Hindus, Canada is a comforting and embracing home away from home. For many people in the world, the term “cultural heritage” is still primarily tangible or material cultural heritage. There is a need to recognize, preserve, celebrate and promote the Hindu heritage as defined by UNESCO’s intangible or living cultural heritage. This intangible or living cultural heritage includes oral traditions such as songs and dramatic performances; performing arts, such as vocal and instrumental music and dance; social practices, such as rituals and festivals; traditional knowledge, such as cuisine and medicine; and traditional craftsmanship, such as pottery, metalwork and jewellery.
Proclaiming Hindu heritage month provides an opportunity to remember and celebrate Hindu heritage and the contributions of Hindu-Canadians to our great nation, as well as to educate both current and future generations.
I would like to again thank my colleagues in this House, dozens of organizations across Canada and the thousands of Canadians who have reached out to me in support of this motion. This support is so Canadian, in that people with different political ideologies and people agnostic of any political ideology are all coming together in recognizing and promoting Hindu heritage in Canada.
562 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:07:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity to recognize the contributions Canadians of Asian heritage have made and continue to make to the social, economic, political and cultural heritage of Canada.
I organized Asian Heritage Month celebrations on Parliament Hill yesterday, with about 500 people attending and performances from 10 diaspora groups. I would like to thank the volunteer team, led by my friend Karunakar Reddy Papala, fondly known as KK. The team included Bangladeshi-Canadian Shah Bahauddin, Cambodian-Canadian Vuthy Lay, Chinese-Canadian Alex He, Iranian-Canadian Alma Rahmani, Pakistani-Canadian Dr. Syed Aziz, Sri Lankan-Canadian Anura Ferdinand, Taiwanese-Canadian Tony Fan, Tamil-Canadian Sivaruban Sivalingam, Vietnamese-Canadian Can Le and also, Jessie Xue, Monica Gupta, Puneet Aggarwal, Reaz Zaman and Subir Paul Chowdhury.
127 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/2/22 11:20:42 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, there are several federal government programs that allow multicultural communities to celebrate various events. At Canadian Heritage, for example, I know there are funds for The Great India Festival, a three-day festival that is organized every year in Ottawa. Like many other kinds of heritage, the Indo-Canadian or Hindu heritage is also promoted. In addition, there is one specific program that every not-for-profit organization can use, which is the Canada summer jobs program, where students from the community can be employed to help organize the various events that are happening in their communities.
99 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/2/22 11:17:49 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, Hindu heritage is adaptable. Wherever it goes, it adapts to the communities in which it resides. In the same way, Hindu Canadians, who have been coming to this wonderful country for more than 100 years, have adapted to the culture and heritage of Canada and Canadians. Just to give one example, it is very common to see Hindu-Canadian families lighting Christmas trees during Christmastime in Canada, and that is the beauty of Hindu Canadians.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
