Andrew Leslie

[Royal Galipeau, January 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to mark the passing of my predecessor, Royal Galipeau, the former member of Parliament for Orléans. Although Royal and I were rivals in the last election, I cannot say enough about his professionalism, his dedication to this country, and his honourable reputation as a parliamentarian.

Proudly calling himself “the servant for Orléans in the House of Commons”, Royal was an advocate for francophone Ontarians and cleaning up the Ottawa River, and was passionately involved in preserving and honouring our local and national heritage.

I offer my sincerest condolences to his wife, Anne, and his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.

Royal, thank you for your service to your country and to the riding of Orléans.

[International Trade, December 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our position is clear. We will defend and maintain the elements of NAFTA that are key to our national interests.

We are negotiating in good faith, and we expect our partners to do the same. However, we cannot and will not accept proposals that put Canadian jobs at risk and do harm to our economy. We will always defend Canada's national interests and stand up for our values. We want a good deal, not just any deal.

[International Trade, December 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, no.

[Softwood Lumber, December 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said throughout this dispute, punitive U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber are disturbing, troubling, and unjust. In recent weeks, we have put legal challenges against U.S. duties on Canadian softwood under both NAFTA and the World Trade Organization rules. Our lawyers are hard at work. Our forest industry has succeeded in every previous dispute and we will continue to fiercely defend our softwood lumber industry and its fantastic workers.

[Foreign Affairs, December 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is well aware of the seriousness of the complaints from residents in the city of Windsor, where I was a couple of weeks ago with my distinguished colleagues and, of course, the resulting pain caused by the noise. We understand their concern. Our officials have consistently raised the issue with their American counterparts. We will continue to engage and work to find a solution.

[Housing, December 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, some 1.7 million Canadian families still do not have adequate housing, which is unacceptable. In a country as highly regarded and prosperous as Canada, everyone should have a roof over their head.

Under the leadership of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the member of Parliament for Spadina—Fort York, our government took a big step toward achieving this goal with the first-ever national housing strategy.

Over the next 10 years, this strategy will help meet the housing needs of 530,000 households and reduce chronic homelessness by half in this country.

Recently, I met with local stakeholders from the Emily Murphy Non-Profit Housing Corporation, the Cumberland Not for Profit Housing Corporation, the Orleans-Cumberland Resource Centre, Habitat for Humanity Ottawa, and Place Perrault to discuss how the new Canada housing benefit will ensure stability for Orleans residents struggling with the basic costs of housing. We are all excited about the benefits this strategy will bring to the community.

[Softwood Lumber, December 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Tribunal are unwanted, unfair, and deeply troubling.

We recently challenged the countervailing duties under NAFTA's chapter 19, and two days ago we initiated legal action under the World Trade Organization. Our forestry industry has succeeded in every such previous dispute, as has Canada. We will continue to fiercely defend our softwood lumber industry and its incredible work.

[International Trade, December 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our negotiating position is clear and always has been. We will defend the elements of NAFTA that Canadians know are essential to our national interests . We are negotiating in good faith, and we expect our partners to do the same. A winner-take-all attitude is not conducive to the actual results that we all seek in terms of a win-win-win. We cannot and will not accept proposals that put Canadian jobs at risk and do harm to our economy. We will always defend Canada's national interests and stand up for our values.

[International Trade, November 24th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, our negotiating position is clear, and we will defend and maintain the elements of NAFTA that Canadians know are central to our national interest. We are negotiating in good faith with our partners, but we cannot and will not accept proposals that put Canadian jobs at risk and do harm to our economy.

By the way, I would just like to add, in terms of jobs, our government has added half a million jobs in the last two years, and our GDP is the best of all the G7. We will always defend Canadians' national interests and Canadian values.

[Softwood Lumber, November 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the punitive duties imposed by the U.S. commerce department are unfair and deeply troubling. Our forestry industry has never been found guilty in previous cases. We will challenge this decision before the courts and we will win, as we have done on every past occasion.

We want a good agreement for Canada, not just any deal.