So V ote

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/26/23 3:04:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at present, more than 99% of members have already registered with Canada Life, which has escalation procedures in place for urgent situations. The public service health care plan is the largest health care plan in Canada, and we continue to work with Canada Life to ensure that everyone can receive their benefits.

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Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/26/23 3:03:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, all public servants, retirees and their dependants deserve proper support in accessing their benefits. There is no doubt about that. Wait times at the Canada Life call centre are unacceptable. I spoke with Canada Life executives, made them aware of our concerns, and told them again that this is unacceptable. We will continue to work to ensure that everyone can get their benefits.

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Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/26/23 2:54:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague represents the town in which I was born. This week, I tabled the year's Public Accounts for the Government of Canada to help Canadians better understand how taxpayer dollars are spent. These documents show that we decreased the deficit by 33% when compared to the projection in budget 2022 and we did so without cutting supports for Canadians, like the opposition plans to do. We have to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and prudently. Unlike the Conservatives, we will always fight for Canadians.

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Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/26/23 2:52:47 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, our government works every day on behalf of Canadians to solve the problems of affordability and high grocery prices. We are monitoring the actions taken by big grocery chains, including their commitment to price matching, price freezes and discounts on staple foods. We are also stepping up support for consumer organizations, to help them fight practices such as price cutting.

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Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/26/23 2:51:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all public servants are entitled to their pay and benefits, and our government will always stand up for their rights to receive their benefits and pay. We are working diligently on ensuring that the Phoenix pay system delivers for Canadians. That work is continuing and is in progress. Canadians can rest assured that our work will continue. Our government will always support public servants on this.

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Context: House Hansard - 238 - Oct/24/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/24/23 10:04:20 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table today, in both official languages, the “Public Accounts of Canada 2023”. The Auditor General of Canada has provided an unqualified audit opinion on the Government of Canada's financial statements.

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Context: House Hansard - 235 - Oct/19/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/19/23 2:51:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we are taking a responsible and balanced approach to fiscal management. Just this week, we announced new measures to ensure Canadians are treated fairly by their banks. These measures include protecting Canadians from rising mortgage payments, enhancing low-cost banking options, lowering non-sufficient funds fees and ensuring that Canadians have an impartial advocate when they have complaints against their banks. Today and every day is a great day to fight for Canadians, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

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Context: House Hansard - 234 - Oct/18/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/18/23 2:50:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the party opposite, on this side of the House we do not balance budgets on the backs of Canadians. On the contrary, we invest in Canadians. Let me give members one example: lifting almost 500,000 children out of poverty with the Canada child benefit. Every single time there is an opportunity to support Canadians, what does the other side of the House do? They vote against. That is not the way we will build a strong economy— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Context: House Hansard - 234 - Oct/18/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/18/23 2:47:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has a AAA credit rating, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and low unemployment. In addition, we will always be there to support the middle class, whether it is six million seniors with the old age security benefit, 11 million Canadians with the grocery rebate or four million Canadians with business supports. What we do on this side of the House is invest in Canadians to build a stronger economy day after day and year after year, and we will continue on that course.

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Context: House Hansard - 230 - Oct/5/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/5/23 2:57:47 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has always been there to support Canadians. Whether it is through the CEBA loan, the grocery rebate, the Canada child benefit or the Canada dental benefit, the fact of the matter is that we will continue to invest in Canadians while prudently managing the fiscal purse. We will also make sure that we are creating jobs and building a strong economy for this country. That is our goal, and we will continue to work hard for Canadians.

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Context: House Hansard - 230 - Oct/5/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Oct/5/23 2:35:24 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ. We have been putting in place programs to support Canadians with bill after bill and law after law. We supported 11 million Canadians with the grocery rebate, 4.2 million Canadians with the workers benefit and six million Canadians in increasing old age security. Why is that? It is because our government believes in investing in Canadians time after time, and we will continue to do that to build a stronger Canada.

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Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Sep/21/23 2:20:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives across the aisle, our government actually has a plan to support Canadians, whether it supports 11 million Canadians with the grocery rebate, 4.2 million Canadians with the workers benefit or six million Canadians by indexing old age security. Unlike the Conservatives, our government actually has a plan. Every step of the way, we will focus on Canadians and what they need during this economic time.

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Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Sep/20/23 2:28:25 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, our government actually has a plan to support Canadians during this time. We have, for example, the grocery rebate helping 11 million Canadians. We are helping 4.2 million Canadians with the workers benefits and over six million Canadians with indexed old age security. What is the Conservatives' plan? That is right; they do not have one.

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Plan
Support

Sep/19/23 8:09:27 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, of course, this affects not only members of the Sikh community but every single person in Canada. Every individual, regardless of age, ethnicity, cultural background or religion, must feel safe and secure in their own community. That is fundamental to our democracy, it is fundamental to a country governed by the rule of law and it is absolutely central to the Canada that we know and love. In this instance and every other, we need to make sure that law enforcement can take its course and can bring perpetrators of illegal actions to justice. That is fundamental to operating and living in a country governed by the rule of law. Such is the country of Canada.

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Sep/19/23 8:07:34 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I can confirm the veracity of the statement made by my hon. colleague just now relating to our past collegial relationship as professor and student. I will say that it would be highly imprudent for anyone to comment on potential or actual evidence in the process of an ongoing investigation. Therefore, the question for us to adduce such evidence while an ongoing investigation is occurring is simply inappropriate. We cannot and should not be involved in an independent investigation, which must take its course, especially for the grieving families of the victim.

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Sep/19/23 8:05:20 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for her service to her community on behalf of all Canadians. I have heard from many constituents as well as members of the broader South Asian community, and I will say that there is concern coming from the community and Canadians generally about the Prime Minister's words yesterday, especially because people want, need and should be able to feel safe in their own communities. It is for that reason that I thought I would stand in this House this evening to express how important it is for us to have confidence in a government that will always protect the rule of law, democratic principles and human rights.

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Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Sep/19/23 7:58:37 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as you may be aware, I come from a family originally from India. Both of my parents came from India. They have passed now, but my father was from Tamil Nadu and my mother was from Jandiala Guru, a small town outside Amritsar. Many years ago, they immigrated to the province where you hail from, Mr. Chair, Nova Scotia, and settled in a small rural town of 5,000 people. I was born there. Life was good there. I really like the province of Nova Scotia. I want to say that, regardless of where we hail from, we all in this country should always defend the rule of law, human rights and Canadian sovereignty free from foreign interference. That is ironclad and what I am here to speak about this evening. When I was young, we were one of the very few South Asian families in the province at the time. That did not matter because the people of Kemptville, Nova Scotia, embraced our family and we had a wonderful childhood there. I will say that is the story of towns and cities across this country. In fact, it defines Canada, and we need to hang on to the respect and integrity that typifies so many towns and cities across our country. My parents' way of raising us was to enrol us in all of the extracurricular activities they possibly could so that we felt as though we were very much a part of the community, but I, like many children of immigrants, understand the anxiety, emotions and affinity people have regarding their ancestral home. We have all learned to embrace our backgrounds and all they entail as part of the Canadian identity. Diversity and inclusion are our biggest strengths. My ethnic background is part and parcel of my entire identity, which is made up of different components, including being a mother, a professor, now a member of Parliament, a Canadian and a Canadian of Indian origin in fact. I am a Canadian who is very proud of my Punjabi and Tamil heritage. Yesterday, like so many, I was appalled to learn about the credible allegations of possible involvement by a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of Hardeep who are having to relive this horrific incident. My thoughts are with them and, today especially, I am thinking about my parents and what this means for so many of us who have our roots in India. I know this is a very difficult time and as the process unfolds it will continue to be difficult, but I want to be very clear that our government takes any and all allegations of foreign actor interference in Canada extremely seriously. Canada is a country that is governed by the rule of law, and the protection of our citizens and the defence of our sovereignty are fundamental to our society, to our security and indeed to our very being. As the Prime Minister said, we must let law enforcement and security agencies take their course for the continued safety of all Canadians and we must take all necessary steps to hold the perpetrators to account. Today I have shared things that I have never shared in this House of Commons before, because we do need to remain unified and empathetic, and we must remain a country where our democratic principles and the rule of law are protected. All Canadians have the right to feel safe in their communities and free to practise their religion of their choice, and our government will always protect this right. I hope that we can remain united and allow the justice system to run its course, but I want to echo what the Prime Minister said. We will remain committed to democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights.

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