House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2019, with 45% of the vote.
Business of Supply October 2nd, 2018
Madam Speaker, if the Liberals believe it is outside the law for politicians to give directions to CSC on the security classification of prisoners, do they believe that section 17 of the corrections and conditional release regulations is also unlawful?
Business of Supply October 2nd, 2018
Madam Speaker, I first want to correct the record. This has never been about healing lodges having a role to play in our correctional system. Certainly the Conservatives, as the member indicated by referring to the report, recognize that there is an appropriate role for them. What we are saying today that it is not an appropriate role for someone who quite recently killed an eight-year-old girl, continued to commit violent offences when she was in facilities and is now in a healing lodge, which is actually aimed at supporting people transitioning back into their communities. She is not going to transition back into her community until 2031.
The other thing I want to note is that what we are asking for is appropriate and well within the role of government. The member is reaffirming today that it is not possible for the government to reconsider a a policy that is completely inappropriate, which other governments have looked at in the past, and that it is unable to change it. Is that what she is saying, that the government is unable to change inappropriate policies that keep Canadians safe?
Justice September 28th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, despite all of the money they spent on deliverology, they clearly did not learn any lessons. We have something here that is absolutely absurd. We have someone who is a murderer who is in a facility where children play. It has been less than nine years since she committed her offence. Instead of hiding behind excuses, other ministers have taken action in other governments. It is time for the government to act.
Justice September 28th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, healing lodges are for criminals who are getting ready to transition back into society. It is job training, language, culture and household maintenance. Healing lodges are not appropriate for Tori Stafford's murderer who is not eligible for parole until 2031. Her crimes are heinous and she belongs behind bars.
Why can the Liberals not see this? Why can they not act? They are hiding behind a lot of excuses and they just need to actually do something appropriate and take action.
Orange Shirt Day September 27th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, like many across the country, the first day of school for my family meant new shoes, new clothes and that famous awkward family photo. It also included the children returning excitedly home at the end of the day to share stories about their new teacher and who they got to sit beside. For many residential school survivors, the first day of school was often a day of horror and pain.
Orange Shirt Day was launched in my home province of British Columbia, based on the heartbreaking story of Phyllis Webstad. She was six years old when she began attending St. Joseph's Mission School in Williams Lake. On the first day, a bright, new orange shirt that had been a gift from her grandmother was taken away from her. She wrote, “The colour orange has always reminded me of that day...how my feelings didn't matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing.”
This week, children in schools across Canada will wear orange shirts to commemorate the legacy of the residential schools. As each shirt proudly declares, every child matters. Their traditions, families, communities and dreams matter.
Canada Revenue Agency Act September 25th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, three and a half minutes is a very short time to express my support for this private member's bill. I want to congratulate the member for Calgary Confederation for a very elegant and simple solution to a significant problem in Canada.
His proposed solution is when people do their tax returns, they have the ability to make decisions on organ donation and that information is then transferred to the registries of the provinces and territories.
Especially with the electronic forms that are done nowadays or when people give the information to their accountant, it is a quick and very simple question to answer, and a very important question. It prods people to make that decision and to look at that this every year.
I know there is an issue with people who are not taxpayers. We know some people perhaps do not pay taxes, but still fill in the forms for the child benefit program, for example. Not only do taxpayers fill out the forms, but other people do so regularly, often from at a your age, in order to get the child tax benefits or to look for summer employment. Again, I congratulate the member on this elegant solution.
The member also noted, quite rightly, that it would not be a big burden on the Canada Revenue Agency. It already has significant infrastructure in place to move information back and forth between the federal government and the provinces.
We have heard a lot of heartfelt stories. I have listened to the debate tonight. I think we all have someone in our lives who we know has been impacted.
I spent many years in a nursing career in a rural community. I can remember both sides, the donor and the donor recipient. Dealing with patients over the years, I can certainly remember clearly when people would come in and their loved one were not going to make it. We had to have these awful conversations with family members on what their loved ones' wishes were. We wanted to ensure their wishes were acknowledged. Also, in the rural community, we wanted to ensure we got the patient transported to take care of their wishes.
Too often, family members said that they had never had the conversation. Having it on the tax forms would make it easier. Hopefully there will be a way for the provinces to flag it for these small rural centres and other places throughout the province. Then they will know whether loved ones have indicated they want to be organ donors. We would then be able to have those conversations with the families.
I can remember one young girl who had kidney disease. I remember how long she had to wait for a donor to come forward. She was very young. She suffered greatly. We saw her through many months of difficulties as she waited patiently for an organ donor.
I congratulate the member on this elegant solution. I hope we get the support from all members in the House to move this private member's bill forward.
Business of Supply September 25th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, we would all agree that we do not want to have knee-jerk policy changes that would have unintended consequences, but would my colleague not agree that it has taken almost a month from when this was first reported to when we are have finally gotten a response from the government, a completely inadequate one?
Would it not have been an appropriate response for the minister to have said initially that by all appearances this seemed to be wrong, that he would take action and have a report back on his desk within 24 hours, and that his department would look at a policy moving forward that would ensure this was taken care of? Would that not have been the appropriate response that anyone could reasonably expect from a minister, rather than waiting for many weeks and then getting mixed messages? Even the Prime Minister said he would not answer the question. It is quite shameful.
Business of Supply September 25th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with some components of the member's speech. However, I would need more time to talk about some of the other issues that she has brought up.
With respect to the motion we are looking at today, it sounded like she was going to support our position. A convicted murderer getting access to veterans benefits when he has never served is unusual and does not sit well with the Canadian public.
Had the minister initially responded appropriately to this travesty, we would probably not be having this debate today. The fact that the Liberals continue to put forward all sorts of inappropriate arguments is the reason why we are here today.
Business of Supply September 25th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, today the debate has certainly been concerning and very puzzling. It really revolves around the government's response from the very beginning.
Sometimes things happen that are very unusual and clearly wrong. I want to go back to when people heard that Clifford Olson was receiving OAS. The immediate response of the then prime minister was, “I have instructed the minister to look at what options are available to us to rectify the situation because it should be rectified.”
Now, it took a little while to make sure that it was rectified in a way that did not have unintended consequences, but it was recognized from the outset that this was wrong and that it needed to be rectified.
What is it with the Liberals and the government that they could continue to try to defend and hide behind all sorts of ridiculous arguments on this particular case? It is wrong. It should be rectified. Why have they not been willing to go there for so many weeks?
Natural Resources September 25th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the Trans Mountain pipeline is critical to the 43 first nations with benefit agreements and many others. Yesterday, the leader of Canada's Conservatives announced a comprehensive plan that makes use of every tool in the tool box to get this pipeline built. This includes meaningful consultation with indigenous peoples, which the Liberals did not do when they simply sent a note-taker. When will the Liberals show some leadership and announce a real plan instead of dithering along like they have been?