Celina Caesar-Chavannes

[Firearms Act, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to tell the House about a mom and two teens, the Pejcinovski family, of Ajax, who were murdered on Wednesday, March 14, in a situation of domestic violence.

I want to remind all members that last November, the Minister of Public Safety introduced $327million to combat guns and gangs. He held a summit in March prioritizing the violence of guns and gangs.

I am wondering what the member opposite will tell constituents in Ajax, or maybe her own constituents. What is so wrong with enhanced background checks for anyone who wants to purchase a firearm? What is wrong with confirming that the licence is valid? What is wrong with having vendors confirm and keep records, keeping in mind that this is not a registry and that one death from gun violence is one death too many?

[The Budget, March 20th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, in his speech, my hon. colleague started talking about the area where he is from, Preston. I had the opportunity to visit Preston a little while ago. I understand there are some challenges that the community faces there, the black community in particular.

You could talk about land rights claims, and you could talk about other issues. How important is it that this budget, for the first time in history, has mentioned the black community specifically, and put resources towards ensuring their success in this country today and beyond?

[International Day of La Francophonie, March 20th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, 220 million francophones are celebrating the International Day of La Francophonie today. I want to recognize and highlight the work being done from coast to coast to coast by its Canadian members, namely Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. They are all dedicated to helping the French language flourish.

This year, the Francophonie summit will be held in Armenia. Canada is working to achieve progress on the Francophonie's gender equality strategy. It is an important step in the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie's examination of its fundamental values. The Francophonie knows neither borders nor colours, and it is at the service of a better world.

[Latin American Heritage Month Act, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I, too, am really proud to stand to speak to this legislation. I would like to recognize my colleague opposite for sponsoring the bill. I would also like to recognize the late Senator Enverga for the legislation, which is critically important.

As mentioned, Latin American month is critically important to recognize the rich colourfulness, experience, and culture of a particular community like we have done with others such as Black History Month and Asian Heritage Month. We recognized the Jewish community not too long ago. This is not just to recognize the experience and culture of those various groups, but also, and I do not want to put words in the late senator's mouth, to recognize the challenges those groups also face. We cannot be blind in understanding that these various groups face challenges when they come to the country. Therefore, it has to be a holistic and a comprehensive understanding and learning during these months. We could do it throughout the year. The month gives us a catalyst, but throughout the rest of the year, after October, it gives us an opportunity to understand more understand more about each other and to celebrate with each other.

I am really proud to speak to the legislation. As our Prime Minister has said, diversity is our strength but with that strength comes understanding and a willingness to not just be there for part of the celebration but also an understanding of the challenges that are faced as well.

As mentioned, this group is one of the largest growing. In the sixties and seventies, I was part of a group from the Caribbean, coming to Canada in 1975. My parents came to Canada to ensure we had better economic and social standing, especially for us, their children. Also, as an immigrant, it allows me to ensure my children have a better opportunity. Canada has afforded us those great opportunities and we are very thankful for that. The opportunity to celebrate is one that we should not take for granted.

As we talk about these groups within our country and understand the great sense of responsibility they have here, it is also important for us to recognize that as we celebrate these months, it brings us together as communities. It allows us to learn more about each other. Bill S-218 supports our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

As we have seen in budget 2018, it not only looks at things from a gendered lens, it also makes investments in multiculturalism, ensuring we have an anti-racism strategy, investments in the black community, investments in ensuring we have desegregated data. This will ensure that the limited resources we have are able to contribute to looking at the barriers that some of these communities face.

While we are celebrating, we also have to be very cognitive of the fact that we have to make policies and investments to ensure our communities that are facing challenges have the resources they need to overcome those challenges.

I thank the hon. member across the way and the late senator for introducing this very important legislation.

[Latin American Heritage Month Act, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to recognize and pay respect to Senator Tobias Enverga for introducing this bill, and I would like to thank the member for sponsoring it. It is incredibly important.

In his speech, Senator Enverga recognized the importance of Asian Heritage Month and Black History Month, looking at the rich colour, vibrancy, and culture of those groups, and now he has introduced Latin American heritage month, which includes the Caribbean, where I am from. As mentioned, I came here in the 1970s, so I can attest to a lot of the things my hon. colleague talked about.

As it is the fastest growing group in Canada, I am wondering if my hon. colleague could speak to how important it is for Canadians across the country to learn about and understand multiculturalism, and the intersectionality, heritage, and history of this group in our Canadian context.

[Impact Assessment Act, February 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask my hon. colleague to go back to the creation of the single agency, the impact assessment agency of Canada. I am wondering if she could expand a bit on how having this single agency will streamline processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency, as well as build trust.

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, we have heard the member's story. She has listened to veterans across the country, and their families in particular. I want to ask the hon. member what she thinks we can do to do more. What gold standards or best practices has she heard of that we can do to better serve and to honour our sacred commitment to our veterans?

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her speech, for sharing her story, and I thank her sons for their service, as well as all veterans.

You have listened to veterans, and their families in particular, across the country.

[Business of Supply, February 15th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, as I stand to ask a question of the member, I would like to give a shout-out to my local Canadian legions, Branch 112 and Branch 152 in Brooklin and Whitby.

I will agree that we can do better, but when I was canvassing, the veterans in my riding of Whitby asked the government to change the lump sum into a pension for life, which we did. The member opposite said that words matter, but we believe that actions matter even more. When we made the investments in our veterans, when we opened offices, when we decided that we were going to hire new staff in order to expedite, to honour the speed the member opposite talked about, and to make the investments in terms of generosity, we have done that with our actions. We spoke to veterans around the country and honoured the speed, generosity, and respect that he is referring to.

I would ask the hon. member how the previous Harper government honoured speed, generosity, and respect when it made cuts, closed offices, and let the veterans charter wither.

[Fisheries Act, February 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, a few years back, my daughter Candice was an Earth Rangers ambassador. She raised thousands of dollars for the Oregon spotted frog. From that, we see that there are a number of young people who understand the importance of the environment and of protecting our environment and our coastlines, etc.

I am wondering what my hon. colleague would say to the young people in his riding and elsewhere who want to restore the protection of fish and fish habitat, who want to ensure that we are protecting up to 10% of our coastal area by 2020, and who want to ensure that the environment and the economy go hand in hand.