Randall Garrison

[Human Rights, May 11th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, today Canada is undergoing its third Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations. This is the moment when Canada is held accountable for our human rights record.

All children have the right to evidence-based, straight, gay, and gender-affirming sex education, yet the delivery of comprehensive sexuality education in Canada often fails to meet these human rights obligations. Advocates such as Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights have been asking for improved delivery of comprehensive sexuality education for every child.

Will the government take leadership and work with the provinces to implement comprehensive sexuality education for all our children?

[Human Rights, May 10th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17, and the urgent need to combat hatred and discrimination against the LGBTQ community here at home and around the world.

While Canadian law now guarantees equal rights for all LGBTQ2 Canadians, on the ground things are still quite different. Trans rights guaranteed in Bill C-16 still have not been fully implemented. The gay blood ban remains in place. Discrimination and violence remain all too common.

In 113 countries, members of my community have no legal protections from discrimination. In over 77 countries, we face lengthy prison sentences, violence, and even death because of who we are or who we love. Indonesia is now considering criminalizing the LGBTQ community, the largest rollback of gay rights in history.

Today I call on the government to speak up more forcefully on the world stage for the universal values of equality, inclusion, and respect. I call on all members of Parliament to work together toward the elimination of all forms of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia.

[Foreign Affairs, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, despite the risk of nuclear conflict being as high as it has ever been, the Liberal government has done nothing on nuclear non-proliferation. Now, the Iran nuclear deal, which was unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council as a binding resolution, is at risk. The U.S. withdrawal from the deal represents a dangerous moment for international peace and security, and shows growing disrespect for international law. This leaves the nuclear prohibition treaty as the world's greatest hope for preventing nuclear war.

Why will the government not embrace the rules-based multilateral system it claims to champion and finally sign the treaty?

[Business of Supply, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to the member that obviously transparency is a good thing. My worry is that we have a lot of sound and fury coming from the Conservatives to cover up the fact that they do not have a plan to tackle climate change. The cost to Canadians of not dealing with climate change, whether through a cap and trade system or a carbon tax, will be far higher than anything we have looked at so far. We have seen the impact of forest fires. We have seen the impact of climate change in rising sea levels in places like Richmond.

I would like to know what it is that the Conservatives are going to do. If they actually convince the Liberals to give up a carbon tax, what is it that they are talking about that would meet the challenges of climate change?

[Foreign Affairs, April 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, recently the Prime Minister posed for a cover photo for Attitude, the U.K.'s largest LGBTQ magazine, and expressed his support for international LGBTQ rights.

Today he is in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, supposedly an organization founded on shared values, yet one where 36 of its 53 members still criminalize being gay, and the topic has never been on their agenda.

Did the Prime Minister make the same effort to get LGBTQ rights on the Commonwealth agenda as he did to score his own magazine cover photo?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 18th, 2018]

That is what I am saying. You went this far, so you might as well have a bigger bill. Then you could have protected workers' pensions against companies paying their shareholders and paying out their profits before they take care of what they owe their workers. You could have included the pay equity legislation that we have been waiting for, which would have a big impact on families, or you could have done something about the fact that only four out of 10 unemployed workers can actually access benefits from the EI program.

Why, when you have gone all this way to 556 pages, did you not do some of those things that actually would help working families and those who are trying to retire?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Hill for his speech and his focus on families, but I hope everyone has brought their sense of irony with them today.

Bill C-74 contains 556 pages and amends 44 separate acts. It is bigger, by 100 pages, than anything the Conservatives ever did.

What I am going to ask, since the government has gone that far, is why there are no concrete measures in this budget to protect workers' pensions. Why is there nothing there to prevent companies from paying—

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke's remarks, even though there are not a lot of times we agree, I particularly enjoyed her description of the infrastructure bank, which is something we will share an opinion on with the Liberals giving preferential access to insiders.

I wonder if the member is bemused by the Liberals adopting her old government's strategy of omnibus bills. In particular, I noticed her remarks on the carbon tax. She certainly demonstrates that she is an independent thinker, and our views are obviously wildly different on this topic, but would she not agree that the bill ought to be separated so that we can have a clear debate and vote on things like the carbon tax?

[Foreign Affairs, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, while the repeated use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces is unquestionably a war crime, the air strikes last week were not only contrary to international law but similar strikes last year failed to end the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians. The government has clearly expressed its support for these air strikes, but there is no evidence of any plan for what is next or any diplomatic effort to try to end this crisis.

Where is Canada in pushing for an international solution to the Syrian crisis?

[An Act in Relation to Firearms, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I do want to express my thanks to the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park for his remarks. What he illustrates to me is the importance of hearing the voices of members of Parliament on the impact of issues in their riding. I am very moved by the things he had to say about his involvement in trying to prevent gun violence.

I have to say I am very disappointed the government has used time allocation. As someone who taught criminal justice for 20 years and worked for a long time with police in my riding, and as a former police board member, I would also like to be able to enter the debate on this bill. I am expressing my disappointment here that all voices will not get to be heard because the government has limited the time for this debate.

My specific question has to do with the issues around transportation of firearms. When I met with police in my riding, they were concerned that the automatic transfer permits not be a very large list, because it would encourage people to have firearms in their vehicles on more occasions. Therefore, those who break into vehicles and steal firearms would be given a lot more opportunities to get guns on the street.

It was not about worrying about the legitimate firearms owners. The police said they were worried about too many weapons in vehicles, which could then be seized by others who would use them for negative purposes.