Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, clearly my colleague has not read the motion and did not listen to my speech. I was very clear that what Hamas did on October 7 is appalling. It is written into our motion what actions we are calling for with regard to Hamas. I spoke very clearly about that, so if she would like me to explain the motion to her again, perhaps the Speaker could read it for her again.

Business of Supply  moved: That, given that, (i) the situation in the Middle East is devastating to many Canadians, particularly those with friends and family members in the region, (ii) the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 30,000, with 70% of the victims women and children, (iii) the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,200 people and over 100 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, (iv) millions of residents of Gaza are displaced and at risk of starvation, death, and disease, and Gaza is currently the most dangerous place in the world to be a child, (v) the United Nations reports over 70 per cent of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including homes, hospitals, schools, water and sanitation facilities, have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli military attacks, (vi) on January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered six provisional measures, including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, (vii) Israelis are still at risk of attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups including Hamas and Hezbollah, (viii) the forcible transfer and violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have significantly increased in recent months, (ix) the casualties of the war on Gaza and the Hamas terrorist attack include Canadian citizens, (x) Canadian citizens remain trapped in Gaza, blocked from leaving, (xi) Jewish, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Canadians have reported an increase in hate-motivated attacks and racism since October, (xii) Palestinians and Israelis both deserve to live in peace, with full enjoyment of their human rights and democratic freedoms, the House call on the government to: (a) demand an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages; (b) suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas; (c) immediately reinstate funding and ensure long-term continued funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and support the independent investigation; (d) support the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law committed in the region, and support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court; (e) demand unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza; (f) ensure Canadians trapped in Gaza can reach safety in Canada and lift the arbitrary cap of 1,000 temporary resident visa applications; (g) ban extremist settlers from Canada, impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide, and maintain sanctions on Hamas leaders; (h) advocate for an end to the decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories and work toward a two-state solution; and (i) officially recognize the State of Palestine and maintain Canada’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace with its neighbours.

Pharmacare  Mr. Speaker, New Democrats are delivering diabetes medicine and devices and contraceptives for all Canadians today. Free contraceptives would be life-changing for women across the country, but shamefully, Danielle Smith said that she does not want that for Albertans. My constituents are outraged, and the Conservative leader, when he was asked by the media about this, literally ran away so he would not have to talk about fairness for women.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, I have two points on that. First of all, we know that Danielle Smith kept half the money back and did not give it to the child care providers. Many of them were almost on the brink of bankruptcy before they could actually access that funding from the premier. That is quite well known, and I would hope that the Conservatives recognize that.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a moment to once again thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for the incredible work that she has done on this legislation. The fact that we have this child care bill before us goes, in a large part, to the work that the member for Winnipeg Centre has done.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier about some of those champions of child care, and I brought up some of the previous members of our caucus and many in the labour movement who have fought so hard for this. I think that those people today are very excited that we have child care. The member is talking about a budget that happened well before my time, and so I will not comment on that.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, absolutely. My apologies for not speaking in French now. This is something I have stood on in the House multiple times. I raised the issue that, for minority languages outside Quebec, and English in Quebec, we need to make sure that families are able to educate their children in the language of their choice.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, the relevance of course is that I am a representative for the people of Edmonton, which is in the province of Alberta, and I am speaking about the delivery of child care in Alberta, so it is very relevant to what we are talking about. I understand why the Conservatives do not want to talk about this.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, it is always very difficult to speak after the member for Nunavut because she is such a force within our caucus and such a champion for the people she represents. It is an honour to be in a caucus with her. Today, we are talking about Bill C-35 and the amendments that have been brought forward.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, today is the day we were supposed to be talking about the Senate amendments to Bill C-35, and the Conservatives have brought forward a concurrence debate with respect to food security in the north, which of course is an extraordinarily important topic. The issue, though, is that the Conservatives are using this as a tactic to delay a very important debate with respect to child care.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, for four months, innocent Palestinians have pleaded for help. Close to 30,000 people, including children, have been killed. In Rafah it is even worse. All we hear from the Prime Minister are empty words. He is concerned, but he will not stop arms sales to Israel. He will not help Canadians fleeing Gaza, and he will not reinstate funding to UNRWA.

Situation in Ukraine  Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move: That this House: (a) condemn the continuation of Russia's unjustified full-scale aggression against Ukraine; (b) call on Russia to end hostilities against Ukraine and withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine; (c) call on the Government of Canada to continue to provide military and financial assistance to Ukraine, to conduct the security guarantee agreement with Ukraine in order to increase its capabilities to defend itself from Russian unprovoked aggression; (d) support Ukraine's future membership in NATO; (e) call on the Government of Canada to strengthen sanctions against Russia, confiscate the assets of Russian oligarchs and Russian sovereign assets for Ukraine's rebuilding; (f) call on the Government of Canada to exert all possible efforts and provide necessary diplomatic and financial support to ensure the return of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia; and (g) call on the Government of Canada to support efforts to bring those responsible for violations of international law to justice.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the government’s policy towards international law and the situation in Israel and Palestine: (a) what is the government’s position on the role that international criminal law plays in addressing alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide committed in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas; (b) with respect to the November 2023 United Nations General Assembly vote which reaffirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, what political and legal motivations led Canada to vote against the resolution; (c) does the government accept that Israeli settlements in Occupied Territories are illegal under international law; (d) does the government believe that, under international law, Gaza is a territory under occupation by Israel; (e) what is the government’s position on and response to the proposal by Israeli government ministers and Knesset members to “voluntarily move” Gazans to other countries and that Israel can no longer put up with the “existence of an independent entity in Gaza”; (f) what is the Canadian government’s position on the principle of proportionality, as it relates to attacks in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces, (i) does the government believe that all of the attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, have been proportional, (ii) if not, which attacks have not been proportional or which attacks require further investigation; (g) does the government accept that the lawful right of states to self-defence must be proportional, and what is the government’s position on the proportionality of self-defence under International Humanitarian Law; (h) what is the government’s legal position with respect to both the blockade and siege of Gaza, and does it accept that the blockade is illegal; (i) does the government accept that it is obligated to prevent the commission of genocide under international law, and what obligations does the government accept in this regard; (j) does the government accept that it is under obligation to punish any persons responsible for the commission of genocide under international law; (k) does the government believe that the Responsibility to Protect doctrine is of relevance to the situation in Palestine, and does the government accept that it has a responsibility to protect civilians in Gaza, (i) if so, then how so, (ii) if not, why not; (l) what specific obligations does the government believe follow from Common Article 1 of the Genocide Convention which requires all High Contracting Parties, including Canada, “to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances”; (m) should the opportunity arise, would the government be willing to exercise its universal jurisdiction powers, under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, to prosecute, rather than deport, a person involved in the commission of genocide or war crimes in Israel or Palestine; and (n) does the government make any distinction between lawful and legitimate “unilateral actions” that are peaceful, non-violent and within the framework of international politics and diplomacy and “unilateral actions” that are illegal and war crimes (per the Rome Statute) under international law?

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, unbelievably the Liberal government has authorized $28.5 million of new military exports to Israel since October 2023. Today, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands must stop sending F-35s to Israel. Spain and Belgium have suspended arms sales, but Canada continues to send arms, doing nothing to ensure that they are not being used against civilians.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I apologize to my colleague for interrupting his questions. I hope it gives members of the government and the opposition an opportunity to come up with better questions to ask him when I am done. However, I rise on a question of privilege related to written Question Nos. 2068, 2069 and 2070, which I submitted on December 7, 2023.