Arif Virani

[Justice, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, this legislation would literally save children's lives. I find it very difficult to comprehend how the official opposition Conservatives can bear being the only party in this House obstructing the advancement of this legislation. I would share a question that was posed at committee by a mother whose child suffered horrendous abuse. She asked what kind of person does not want to protect the future of our children or grandchildren.

Once again, I implore the official opposition to look beyond its self-interest and look these parents and their children in the eye who need help. It is time we passed the online harms act with unanimous consent.

[Justice, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, last week in this place, the Conservatives blocked the child protection measures in the online harms act from advancing. Worse still, the Conservatives have vowed that if we succeed in passing this legislation, with the help of the Bloc and the NDP, they will actually reverse it at the earliest opportunity. What does that mean? It means that if we get child sex abuse material off of the Internet, if the Conservatives took power, they would put it back on the Internet. I wish I could make this up. That position is morally bankrupt.

I would say that when we claim to care about victims of abuse, we need to stand up for victims of abuse. I would ask the Conservatives to please do that.

[Finance, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, that member is a former Crown attorney. He knows that in terms of keeping communities safe, it starts with addressing the prolific amount of guns that are in communities. What is in that fall economic statement? There is $597 million to take weapons off our streets. What else is in there? That member knows organized criminality is a problem in Canada from coast to coast to coast. What we are doing with organized criminality is ensuring tougher penalties for financial crimes, cracking down on money laundering and cracking down on terrorist financing. One gets at the cause of the problem when one addresses the money flow. That is what we are doing in the fall economic statement. We wish we could have their support.

[Finance, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take the opportunity to inform the justice critic that in fact in that fall economic statement, he would have seen a series of measures that address community safety in our communities across the country. He would have seen measures that crack down on auto theft. He would have seen stricter bail and sentencing provisions. He would have seen provisions in the sex offender registries to get tough on child sex predators. He would have seen securing our borders to provide confidence to our American counterparts, cracking down on money laundering and terrorist financing. These are all measures we all have an interest in promoting, passing and getting funded in this country to keep Canadians safe.

[Justice, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the online harms bill is the product of four years of consultation. It is comprehensive legislation that would remove child sex abuse material from the Internet. By blocking that very act, the Conservatives have made a clear choice: that they will not prioritize the safety of our kids. They do not stand with parents. Amanda Todd's mother, Carol, said she has been waiting 12 years for this type of change. We need to pass this legislation to do right by Carol and every other parent of every other child who has suffered abuse online. The question for Canadians and for that party is this: Will they stand with us and keep kids safe?

[Justice, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I asked for unanimous consent to split the online harms act and advance the child protection measures as soon as possible. Every single party got on board except for the Conservatives. The Conservative Party said no to forcing the removal of child sexual abuse material from the Internet. They said no to Amanda Todd's mother, Carol. They said no to Rehtaeh Parsons' mother and all the other parents who are begging us to act.

While Conservative inaction keeps child sexual abuse material online, on this side of the House, the government will continue to fight for victims, parents and kids to keep them safe.

[John Horgan, December 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Regarding Bill C-63, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for—

[Finance, December 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to reference not just what the domestic Bank of Canada is talking about. Let us talk about what the IMF is stating. The IMF is projecting that Canada will have the strongest economic growth in the G7, on average, in 2023 and 2024. Canada is expected to maintain its position as the country with the smallest deficit as a share of GDP among G7 countries and still, by far, the lowest general government net debt as a share of GDP in the G7.

What is up? It is Canada's growth and leadership of the G7. That is what is up, and we are proud of it.

[Finance, December 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am equally delighted that the member is talking about the Bank of Canada because what has the actual Bank of Canada governor said recently? He said, “CPI inflation has been about 2% since the summer, and is expected to average close to...target over the next couple of years.”

With respect to inflation, what has Tiff Macklem actually said? He said, “We're no longer trying to get inflation down. Government spending is not pushing against us getting inflation down, we've got it down.” That is the handiwork of the finance minister and the government, generating economic growth and being prudent with fiscal management. That is about inflation being on target for 11 straight months.

[Finance, December 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the first question from the Conservatives relates to the economy and the finance minister. Let us talk about the work she has been doing on behalf of Canadians.

Yesterday, we had a 50 basis points interest-rate cut announced by the Bank of Canada. That was the fifth time in a row, leading the entire G7, that we have seen the interest rates come down from the Bank of Canada. On Saturday, we have further great news for Canadians, which is a GST tax cut on basic essentials for every Canadian from coast to coast to coast. That is on groceries and things they will buy for their kids for Christmas. That is great news for Canadians, under the leadership of the finance minister.