hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: absolutely we should list the Wagner Group as a terrorist entity, which is something that my colleague moved a motion on in the House. It is something we should all be moving forward on, but listing a group as a terrorist group and sanctioning against it is only as good as the actions taken to enforce the sanctions. Again, I will say that we have seen this over and over again. In the situation in Ukraine, we saw sanctions being put in place against the perpetrators in Russia. However, they are not being enforced. The government is not taking the full actions necessary to wield the power of those sanctions. While we talk about this, and motions are being passed, what we need is for the government to step up and follow through with actions on the sanctions to yield the kinds of results we want to see.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mrs. Julie Vignola: I thank my colleague for her passionate and rousing speech. She spoke about the supports that Canada must provide to regain its former standing on the international scene. It so happens that Gilles Michaud, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, asked Canada a few months ago to support his work, the work of the UN, to ensure the security of the most fragile populations on the planet by providing $10 million and thus setting an example for other countries. Does my colleague agree that this vital funding must be provided to support Mr. Michaud and his team in their humanitarian efforts to keep people safe, particularly in Sudan? In other words, did Canada simply decide to stay at the back of the pack rather than leading the way?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: we have seen that the federal Liberal government has not stepped up to do what is necessary. We just saw it in budget 2023, where the government has cut humanitarian aid at a time when crises are erupting across the globe, and at a time when we need Canada to do more to support these kinds of measures. We are not there. We are not showing up. I make this plea to the government in the name of humanity, for the sake of connecting with each other and lifting each other up. Canada has to do its part. We can do better. Let us show up when the international community needs us.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Elizabeth May: it is my first opportunity at almost midnight to get in on the debate tonight. I want to thank my colleagues, particularly from Edmonton Strathcona and Vancouver East , for being so clear. We have abandoned Sudan. We have been busy with other things. We have given it lip service. When those two war-lords seized power in a military coup, we should have denounced them, and we should have sanctioned them. We should have shifted our attention to how we build up civilian civil society and protect any hope of democracy in Sudan. Now that we are at this place, we have to recognize that, of course, we want to get Canadians out of Sudan, but we cannot be satisfied with only that. We have to help the people of Sudan. They do not want these war-lords. The war-lords are not popular. They are dangerous. I ask my hon. colleague to concentrate for the last moments on what we do to help the people of Sudan in the long term.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: yes, we need to help people to get to safety. Yes, we need to get Canadians to safety. Equally important, we also need to build up the region where they are having those struggles We need to do what we can to broker a ceasefire. I think that at this time Canada can do better. The United States is doing that work. Allied countries are doing that work. We need to get in there as well. In terms of humanitarian aid, which has already been spoken about, we need to make every effort to support that. More than that, we need to work toward building support of the Sudanese--
Declaration on the Essential Role of Artists and Creative Expression in Canada Act
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
The Speaker: At this time, the House has not yet designated a sponsor for Bill S-208 , an act respecting the declaration on the essential role of artists and creative expression in Canada. Accordingly, pursuant to the statement made by the Chair on Friday, February 10, the bill will be dropped from the Order Paper, pursuant to Standing Order 94(2)(c).
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Denis Trudel: as usual, my colleague's delight over his government's budget is patently obvious. However, on one topic he was silent, and I know why. Of the budget's 250 pages, only one page addresses the housing crisis. That in itself is completely unacceptable. In the week after the budget was tabled, the National Housing Council, the body created by the federal government to oversee its grand national housing strategy, brought up a very interesting point. Between 2011 and 2021, Canada lost 550,000 affordable housing units. Not only has the government failed to create new housing, but we lost 550,000 units in the span of 10 years. The National Housing Council has suggested a highly practical solution, which is to create an acquisition fund to enable non-profit housing organizations to purchase private housing stock, take it off the private market and make it permanently affordable. It is a solution that everyone is talking about. Does my colleague think it is a good solution?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: I think we need to put housing in the proper perspective. If we take a look at the early nineties, what we will find is that every political party inside this chamber, whether it was the Bloc, the Conservatives, the NDP or even the Liberals at the time, believed there was no role for Ottawa in national housing. When we take a look at the nineties and see where we are today, this particular Prime Minister has made a commitment to housing second to no other in the last 60 or 70 years here in Canada, with a national housing strategy and literally hundreds of millions going into billions of dollars supporting a number of new housing start-ups, supporting groups like Habitat for Humanity and supporting and encouraging the development of housing co-ops. The national government has demonstrated very clearly that it does have a role to play in housing. It is exercising that role and is looking for stakeholders to come onside and support where they can to enhance and complement our housing stock and increase the size of it. I believe the federal government will continue to work in those efforts.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Marty Morantz: I want to congratulate my friend from Winnipeg on his sartorial selections today. They look very good on him. I have a question about the budget itself. The budget projects that this year, over $40 billion will go to interest on the debt, to wealthy bankers and bondholders. That is almost as much as the $50 billion being spent on the Canada health transfer. How does the member justify the Liberals giving almost exactly the same amount to wealthy banks and bondholders as they are to Canadians for health care?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: there are times when the government does need to be able to borrow. The best example of that was during the worldwide pandemic, when the government made the decision to be there to save jobs by providing things such as the wage subsidy program and loans for small businesses. It was there for Canadians in terms of CERB payments. When Canadians were not able to work because of the pandemic, the government stepped up and provided literally billions and billions of dollars of support. Yes, there was a cost to that, but the cost would have been far greater had the government chosen to do nothing. With regard to the opening comments, I always appreciate the opportunity to showcase a turban because, for me, it is all about the equality of people. It is all about strength of faith. In many ways, since 1988, I have had the opportunity to get a better understanding of the importance of Sikhism.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gord Johns: the federal Liberals created the investing in Canada infrastructure program. My concern is around the allocation for British Columbia. It was not even close to enough. In fact, that money has been allocated already and it needs a new cost-sharing agreement. This makes me think about the recreation facilities in my riding. Echo pool in Port Alberni was built in 1967, like many facilities across Canada. That facility needs to be replaced. In Parksville, there are aspirations to build a facility. On the west coast, the five central region nations and Tofino and Ucluelet are looking at building a facility. We know how important recreation facilities are, not just for physical health but also for mental health and bringing communities together. I go to Echo pool and I often see a lot of people who have been injured at their workplace. They use it for rehabilitation. Seniors use it to maintain their health and stay active. Will my colleague commit to replenishing that fund and advancing recreation facilities here in Canada?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: no government in the history of Canada has invested more money in infrastructure than this government has. The member raises a valid point in terms of community services that we do need to support wherever we can. That is one of the reasons we have seen members of Parliament within the Liberal caucus advocate for and be very successful at ensuring that we continue to invest in infrastructure, not just directly but also indirectly. Whether through the Canada Infrastructure Bank or the direct support where Ottawa has a stakeholder, partner, province or municipality in order to expand upon infrastructure, we recognize the importance of it. From a personal point of view, I think the city of Winnipeg needs a first-class basketball facility, and I support the basketball association and people like Manny Aranez who are trying to make that happen.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ron McKinnon: I also would like to compliment my friend on his sartorial splendour today. I take particular notice of his mention of his recent visit to India. I understand there are unique challenges with trade with India and particular states within India. Can the hon. member comment on how we can address those challenges and how that will affect our economy going forward?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: I chair the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, and we have representatives from the Conservatives, Liberals, the Bloc and the New Democratic Party. We need to build the relationship between India and Canada, and enhance it. The Government of Canada has had ministerial visits. I think the Minister of International Trade was there in 2022. There are so many opportunities between Canada and India. India is, as I pointed out, a superpower economically today and going into the future. Canada, unlike other countries around the world, is in a great position because of its diversity. Let us take hold, be proud and use our diversity to our strategic advantage. One of the ways the future of Canada can be bright is if we are able to enhance that relationship between Canada and India.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Mike Morrice: I would like to follow up on the question from our hon. colleague from Longueuil--Saint-Hubert . It is no surprise that housing is barely mentioned in Bill C-47 . It was barely mentioned in the budget also. In fact, it was the opposite. The federal housing advocate said, "The newly unveiled Federal Budget is a sorry disappointment. It completely misses the mark on addressing the most pressing housing crisis this country has ever seen." In this bill, the federal government could have gotten serious about, for example, addressing the loophole for real estate investment trusts. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has now estimated we could direct $285 million over the next five years to build the affordable housing we need if we were simply to eliminate the tax breaks for REITs. Can the member for Winnipeg North speak about whether he is going to put pressure on the government to bring about this change?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: there is a series of actions that the government has taken over the last number of years, from implementing the first-ever national housing strategy, to the issue of expanding housing co-ops, and everything in between. No government in recent history has given as much attention to the issue of housing as this government has. However, the issue of resolving the housing crisis in Canada today goes far beyond Ottawa demonstrating leadership; it incorporates the importance of municipalities, provinces and the different stakeholders. They, too, have to step up to the plate. It can be done through zoning and the cost of doing paperwork. There are all sorts of issues. What Canadians need to know and understand is that Ottawa is here. It is ready, it is investing and it understands the importance of housing. We are prepared to work the best way we can with the different partners in order to ensure that we can enhance the numbers and the quality of our housing stock.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mrs. Jenica Atwin: my hon. colleague spoke a lot about the carbon tax. I did some research in my riding in my home province of New Brunswick to see where this money went. We know that 90% is given back to those who pay into the carbon tax. We have 10% that will be reinvested into community projects and first nations communities. I think about the $300,000 that were given to a first nation in my province to do energy retrofits and ensure it did what it could to reach its environmental goals as well. I wonder if the member would not support projects like that. When can we expect to see an environmental plan from the Conservative Party?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan: first, we are still looking for an environmental plan from that side of the House. All we received was a tax plan that made gas, groceries and home heating more expensive. The Liberals sold this carbon tax scam to Canadians, saying that they would get more in their pockets than these phoney rebates. The Parliamentary Budget Officer proved that wrong. Therefore, if I were that member, I would update the talking points to say that a majority of Canadians will pay more into this scam than what they will get back. The Liberals sold this scam saying they would meet the targets they set for themselves, and they failed to do that. Emissions went up. Therefore, I would ask the member this. Let us see a plan from the Liberals first instead of this tax scam they have created to take more from Canadians.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Rheal Eloi Fortin: I wonder if my colleague could talk about the callousness of this budget. This budget contains little or nothing for housing, at a time when Quebec and Canada are in crisis, when there is virtually nothing for seniors and when health transfers are meagre. Meanwhile, it does contain a provision to modernize or amend the Royal Style and Titles Act to confirm that the King of England is indeed the Canadian sovereign. I find that somewhat surprising. In my view, it is even a bit insensitive, and it is offensive to many of my constituents. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan: I agree with the member when he says that this offended many people. This budget definitely offended a lot of people. The government, which said it would be fiscally restrained and would try to be fiscally responsible, blew right through that and added $4,200 of cost on each and every Canadian household. This is a slap in the face to Canadians, who work so hard but are falling behind because of increased taxes put on by the Liberal-NDP government, which does not respect Canadians anymore. This budget is a slap in the face to them and a direct attack on their paycheques. Conservatives would bring back common sense for the common people and make sure more Canadians can keep more in their pocket.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Matthew Green: the hon. member speaks about common sense, but he has not shared any today. In fact, what he has done is list all the economic violence of capitalism and the impacts it has on everyday Canadians. When the member talks about the housing market, he never talks about the insatiable greed of the real estate investment trusts, of the speculators, of the big corporate gatekeepers who are crushing our housing market. In fact, housing prices will not come down until the government acts to curtail inflationary investor activity in the residential market. Just like the leader of the Conservative Party , this budget refuses to take on greedy private sector gatekeepers who are driving up the price of housing for their own corporate greed. Why are the Conservatives focusing only on municipal permitting when there are so many greedy, capitalist, private sector gatekeepers responsible for the current housing crisis?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan: the problem is with the party that keeps supporting this inept, corrupt government and always props it up and makes things more expensive. As the member likes to talk about socialism all the time, I would like to read him a quote from Margaret Thatcher, who said, "either you believe in capitalism, or you believe in socialism. Capitalism, as we know, creates wealth. Socialism, as we also know, creates poverty." The clear example is today in Canada, when one in five Canadians is skipping meals and 1.5 million Canadians are visiting a food bank because of failed NDP-Liberal policies. When the two parties get together, they are doing nothing but causing more and more pain to Canadians and sending more of them to food banks. We are going to turn these failed policies around when our leader becomes the Prime Minister of Canada.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Rachel Bendayan: it is my understanding that the Conservative leader and his caucus have committed to supporting our $2-billion investment to save our health care system. I would like my colleague to elaborate on the Conservatives' recently announced policy on cuts to the CBC/Radio-Canada. My colleague quoted a Radio-Canada reporter in his speech, so I imagine that he has a great deal of respect for Radio-Canada. What does he think of his leader's proposal to make cuts to the CBC/Radio-Canada?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Richard Lehoux: it is a very simple concept to grasp for my colleague across the aisle. Our leader's comments were very specific on the issue of protecting Radio-Canada. I think that Radio-Canada and the CBC are very different. Perhaps some management changes may be required. However, I think we really need to face the facts. If we analyze my leader's thinking carefully, it is clear that preserving Radio-Canada in Quebec is not at all an issue, because it is intended to serve the francophone community throughout Canada.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Marie-Helene Gaudreau: I commend my colleague from Beauce, who raised a lot of issues that have a direct impact on Laurentides--Labelle. I am taking time to talk about agriculture and agri-food. After all these years and all the challenges related to maintaining supply management and keeping the industry as it is, one in 10 farmers are being forced to shut down. That is happening in my colleague's riding of Beauce just as it is in Laurentides--Labelle. My question is this. Are my colleague and his party willing to support, in both the House of Commons and in committee, any assistance measure to save our agriculture and agri-food industry?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Richard Lehoux: I thank my colleague for her excellent question. She is obviously preaching to the choir in asking me that question, because I was a farmer for over 45 years. I was a fourth-generation farmer and, today, a fifth generation has taken over our family business. The current government must clearly indicate that it upholds and supports our agricultural industry. It is true that many farms are finding it increasingly difficult to find people to take over, and the economic context is unique. My colleague mentioned supply management. In my speech, I talked about the closure of a pork processing plan. The pork industry is not supply managed. Some export markets closed, and so perhaps we need to support our farmers and processors in developing and conquering new markets.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Don Davies: my hon. colleague and many of his Conservative colleagues have been talking about housing. I think one thing we all agree on in the House is that there is a crisis of unbelievable proportions related to housing in this country. I live in Vancouver and have been there for close to four decades. The rise in house prices began in the mid-eighties, particularly after Expo, and then continued with the repatriation of Hong Kong back to China in the late 1990s and the Olympics in 2010. With each of these things, it became obvious that there was an inflow of foreign capital, from both corporate and foreign investment, that destabilized house prices in the Lower Mainland. It is at the point now where, for people who live and work there, the price of detached or even non-detached houses is completely divorced from what people actually make. What specifically does my hon. colleague say a Conservative government would do to help provide real affordable housing for people in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia? I would like to hear specifically what policy his government would advance.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Richard Lehoux: I thank my colleague for his question. I am a former municipal councillor and I think that our leader, the member for Carleton , makes an important point when he talks about cutting red tape to ensure that municipalities can issue building permits faster. I live in Beauce, and our reality may not be identical, but housing is still a major concern. I think that there should be less red tape. I have been here for four years, and I have been saying the same thing for four years. I hope that we will see some signals in that regard over the coming months.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_24
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Dave Epp: prior to being elected to this chamber I served with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. I had the opportunity to work in Pontiac with that organization, and I got to know some of the excellent farmers and rural folks in the member's riding. I am curious what reaction to the budget the member is seeing from her own agricultural constituents, as 6.8% of Canada's GDP comes from the ag sector. I noticed that she voted against Bill C-234 , the carbon tax exemption for farmers, as did most, but not all, of her colleagues, which I want to acknowledge. There is almost nothing in this budget for agriculture. What reaction is she getting in her riding from her agricultural constituents?