- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Eglinton—Lawrence
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 61%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $143,837.28
- Government Page
- Mar/18/24 7:27:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, I want to echo the sentiments and frustrations that have been expressed by my colleagues across the aisle. I think what you are hearing is a concern that the very elaborate amendments that have just been introduced by the government House leader have not been debated. There has been no notice, and this is very detailed.
In the meantime, we have an underlying motion that has been put forward by the NDP, which has been the subject of debate. I feel obliged to add that, on behalf of my constituents in Eglinton—Lawrence, my plan was to vote against the underlying motion of the NDP for reasons that I would otherwise state.
I would say that this is a point of order that should be explored and carefully studied. I would argue that it potentially offends member's privileges in terms of being able to debate the very motions that we are asked to vote on.
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- Oct/16/23 10:52:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Willowdale.
Let me start by extending my sympathy to the families of the victims of the heinous terrorist attack that was visited upon Israel by Hamas, killing approximately 1,400 individuals, including, to date, five Canadians, wounding 3,500 individuals and seeing 200 hostages currently held, including many Canadians.
October 7 was the single worst day of casualties visited upon the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and only hours after the hundreds of rockets were launched by Hamas into Israel, I received my first call from one of the community leaders in my riding of Eglinton—Lawrence. He was desperate. He was extremely anxious about families that were stuck in Israel.
Very quickly we sprung into action and started to connect Canadians who were trapped with Global Affairs in the lead-up to the evacuation effort. I want to take a moment to thank the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Global Affairs for the tremendous work they are doing, even now, in getting those Canadians home safely.
I have been spending an inordinate amount of time in my community visiting Jewish day schools, going to a retirement home, Baycrest, playing some piano and singing Hatikvah with the community. There is no way to convey the depth of despair and anxiety the Jewish community is feeling, not only in Eglinton—Lawrence but right across the country, in their homes, at work and when seeing their kids go to school, whether it is elementary, secondary or on university campuses, by virtue alone of their Jewish identity. This is wrong.
I also want to take a moment, of course, to say that our hearts go out to the victims in Gaza. We abhor the loss of any innocent life, Palestinian or Israeli, regardless of nationality. Israel is indeed working with allies to establish the humanitarian corridors that are necessary to get aid to Gaza and to make sure that people can flee and get to safety by giving them a head-up.
Israel is doing this because it is a democracy. Hamas is not. Israel has regard for human life. Hamas does not. Lest it needs to be said it again, Hamas has deliberately and wantonly murdered innocent individuals, including five Canadians. Hamas has killed Canadians. Hamas continues to hold Canadians hostage, despite our protests and our demands to release them. There can be no greater affront to Canadian sovereignty than the actions of a terrorist organization, as recognized under Canadian law.
It is for this reason that Israel has every right to defend itself, its people, its security and its sovereignty. Here at home, we are continuing to exhibit leadership by ensuring that we see hostages released as quickly as possible, by ensuring that Canadians who are stuck get home as quickly as possible, by ensuring that we deliver humanitarian aid to those who need it the most and by emphatically fighting against anti-Semitism, which in the words of Irwin Cotler is the “canary in the mineshaft of global evil”.
I am sorry to report to this chamber, but the canaries are dropping like flies. When Jewish children in my community are afraid to wear the Star of David, that is fundamentally wrong. I can think of no more fitting day than today to see the passing of the torch from Irwin Cotler to Deborah Lyons with her appointment as Canada's new special envoy. She is committed to ensuring that we teach Canadians and everyone about the Holocaust and the Shoah and that we fight the scourge of anti-Semitism together. That is the cause that all members in this chamber and indeed all Canadians should be united behind.
A Canada that is safer for Jews is safer for Muslims, is safer for Hindus, is safer for Sikhs, is safer for the gay community and is safer for the trans community. It is safer for all Canadians. That is the cause around which we should be united. It is with that closing note that I conclude my remarks.
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- Jun/20/23 2:42:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I was informed on May 30 of Mr. Bernardo's transfer, I took action by contacting the board. Now a review is under way.
I have also issued new instructions to the department to ensure that victims are informed before decisions like this one are made. We will continue to make the necessary investments to keep our communities safe.
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- Jun/19/23 2:50:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to take responsibility means to implement measures where there are issues and challenges. That is exactly what I did when there were challenges with information sharing. I strengthened the protocol for foreign interference and for transfers of offenders in federal institutions.
Yes, we must always work with all members, including Bloc Québécois members. It is very important work.
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- Jun/19/23 2:43:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have made clear now on a number of occasions, I have taken corrective steps to ensure that briefing protocols are provided in a timely manner, especially when it comes to sensitive decisions involving the transferring of dangerous offenders like Paul Bernardo.
As soon as I found out, I contacted the commissioner to express the concerns of the Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French families. That is precisely what the responsibility of this position is, as well as issuing new instructions to ensure that this kind of things does not happen again.
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- Jun/19/23 2:41:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the definition of competence is to be a champion for victims' rights. That is exactly how I responded when I was informed, on May 30, of the decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility.
I will continue to work with the representatives of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. We have since issued new instructions to ensure that victims' families are informed in advance of any upcoming decisions that will affect them.
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- Jun/19/23 2:36:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague and all members of the House that the work is already under way with new powers for CSIS, with new transparency mechanisms and, now, with constructive discussions led by my colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, to find the best way to get Canadians involved in protecting our democratic institutions in a strong and transparent manner.
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- Jun/15/23 3:00:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are getting the job done by making sure that we equip our national security establishment with the tools that it needs to fight foreign interference, by adding resources for the RCMP, which we put into the budget, by raising the bar on transparency through the creation of NSICOP and NSIRA, and by continuing to engage Canadians on this.
That is what we are doing. What the Conservatives are doing is continuing on with an agenda that focuses on partisan attacks. They should stop that and do the work with all members in the chamber so that we can fight against foreign interference and protect our democratic institutions.
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- Jun/15/23 2:59:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with great respect to my colleague, he needs to listen carefully to the RCMP, which has consistently updated Canadians that it is taking action in regard to foreign interference associated with these so-called police stations.
If the Conservatives are serious about fighting foreign interference, they will stop with the partisan attacks. They will support the government's agenda to tackle this issue and do so in a way that is unifying, because we must protect our democratic institutions, and most importantly Canadians, from this phenomenon.
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- Jun/15/23 2:56:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, that is absolutely not true. I called the representatives of the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French to express our government's solidarity and our full support.
In addition, we will now work with CSC to prevent further cases like this from happening. Victims must be notified before such decisions are made. That is the commitment we are making for the future.
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- Jun/15/23 2:41:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting gun violence, we are banning AR-15s. The Conservatives want to make them legal again. When it came to the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, we defended that decision to restore public safety. The Conservatives were doubling down, encouraging illegal protesters to stay in the region they should have left. We will always—
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- Jun/15/23 2:31:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very encouraged by the exchanges between my hon. colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Bloc and the NDP. I hope there will be other conversations with the Conservatives. Fighting foreign interference is not a partisan issue. If we work together, we can create new authorities, provide resources and strengthen them to fight foreign interference. That is the most important thing.
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- Jun/14/23 3:03:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with one aspect of the question from the member opposite, and it is that I do agree that victims' families should be notified ahead of these transfer decisions.
That is precisely what we are in the course of doing. We are issuing new instructions to the Correctional Service of Canada so that we can prevent a situation like that from occurring again. We will continue to put victims' rights forward and front and centre when it comes to these decisions.
I agree to work with my colleague opposite, who represents the Niagara region, and the colleagues on this side of this House, some of whom have been personally and profoundly impacted, along with victims' families, so that we can prevent a tragedy like this from occurring again.
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- Jun/14/23 2:47:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said on numerous occasions, I was personally informed on May 30, the day after an independent decision was taken by CSC to transfer Paul Bernardo. I expressed shock and outrage at the time, along with the families.
I should have been briefed immediately by my staff. I have dealt with that matter internally through corrective steps. Going forward, we have new instructions coming to CSC to put victims at the very centre of these decisions. We will ensure they are notified so that we can take a trauma-informed approach.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the way is not the final arbiter of trust. It is Canadians. We are working hard every single day to protect public safety.
We have introduced Bill C-21, which will take AR15-style guns out of our communities. The Conservatives want to make those types of guns legal again.
My colleague refers to the so-called police stations. The RCMP has repeatedly confirmed that it has taken disruptive action to stop foreign interference in relation to those so-called police stations.
On the matter of Paul Bernardo, there is an internal review. We are working with the families. We will always stand up for victims' rights.
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- Jun/14/23 2:35:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, I was shocked by CSC's decision to transfer Mr. Bernardo. I was informed of that decision on May 30.
I am taking corrective steps at my office. It is my responsibility and I take it very seriously.
We will continue to focus on victims' rights. I had a very good conversation with the representatives of the French and Mahaffy families. We will work together to protect victims' rights.
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- Jun/14/23 2:32:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier in this chamber, I was notified on May 30, the day after Paul Bernardo was transferred to a medium-security institution. I have taken corrective steps to deal with the issues within my office, and going forward, I have indicated that we will be issuing new instructions to the Correctional Service of Canada to put victims' rights at the very centre of transfer decisions and make sure that victims' families are notified. This is something I will continue to be focused on every day: defending victims' rights.
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- Jun/14/23 2:27:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada lays out a prescription for political interference, which foreshadows what Canadians would get with a Conservative government.
On this side of the House, we recognize the independence of those decisions. When I became aware of the fact that Bernardo had been transferred to a medium-security institution, I raised it with the commissioner. I raised the concern—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/14/23 2:23:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nothing could be farther from the truth. As I said earlier, I was informed on May 30, the day after Paul Bernardo was physically transferred to a medium security institution. At that time, I took immediate action, expressing the concerns of the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French to the commissioner. There is an internal review process.
I have also made it clear to my staff that this should have been briefed immediately. Corrective steps have been taken. I have dealt with it, and we will now always defend the rights of victims.
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- Jun/14/23 2:22:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was shocked because I was informed about it on May 30, the day after Mr. Bernardo was transferred to a medium-security institution. This was a mistake made by my office, and I will be taking concrete action.
We will always defend the rights of victims. I had a very good call with the representatives of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. We will always defend their rights and all victims' rights.
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