Charlie Angus

[Aboriginal Affairs, January 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the eyes of the children are on Parliament as they look to us to see how we are going to end the policies that have led to too many indigenous families broken up, too many children denied access to everything from emergency dental care to proper wheelchairs. For indigenous children in this country, this is how the system works. The government is balancing the books on children who are considered not worthy of protecting.

My question is for the President of the Treasury Board. This is a legally binding rule. What is his plan to weed out the systemic negligence that runs through all the key departments of the federal government? What is his plan for action?

[Health, January 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for members of all parties when I express grief for the tragedy in La Loche. However, condolences are not enough. Parliament must take action, because all too often the young people feel left alone, whether it is a suicide and violence in La Loche, or the 600 young people who gave up hope in a Mushkegowuk territory and tried to kill themselves since 2009.

My question is for the health minister. Her department routinely rejects requests for counselling services for mental health for indigenous youth. What steps will she take to guarantee that practice will end and will not continue, not just in the days and weeks ahead but in the years to come?

[Indigenous Affairs, December 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the sentiment, but reconciliation cannot just be words. Therefore, I will ask my question to the Minister of Justice. Last week, her lawyers were lambasted in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland for their unconscionable behaviour in resisting the rights of survivors of the Newfoundland and Labrador residential schools, just as they obstructed the rights of the survivors of St. Anne's Residential School. Will the minister personally intervene? Will she tell her lawyers to stand down and end this culture of obstruction that has denied the rights of survivors of these brutal institutions? Do the right thing.

[Aboriginal Affairs, December 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am heartened by the minister's language on reconciliation but she does know as we do that the reconciliation has to begin on the ground in communities like Shoal Lake, Marten Falls, and Neskantaga where children are facing bacterial infections from dirty water. We all have a responsibility to change that. The Prime Minister has committed to ending the boil water advisory within five years.

Could the minister tell us what her timeline is for an action plan and will that action plan have clear guidelines and commitments so we can get results for these communities?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, December 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the new interim leader for the Conservative Party. I was enjoying the image of small town Conservative values being presented here, and thinking that it does not remind me in one degree of the last ten years of a big, intrusive, nasty, mean government.

We will set aside the record deficits for a moment, and the profligate spending on cronies and patronage, but with regard to this word, “intrusive” that I heard again and again, what about the tracking of people on the Internet without warrants? Remember Vic Toews? What about Bill C-51 and its outright attack on basic Canadian civil liberties?

In this new sunny Parliament, let us shine a light on the issue of the Conservatives' track record on intrusive government. Will they work with New Democrats to restore basic notions of civil liberty and the right to privacy in this country, which was taken away under her government?

[Democratic Reform, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, in the dying days of the 2011 election, Elections Canada warned Canadians about a Conservative voter suppression scheme. However, Elections Canada officials are sounding the alarm bells months before the next election. They are telling people they need to act urgently to get the new voter ID requirement.

Why is it so much harder to vote? Is it because the Conservative Party does not believe it can win a fair fight? The fact is many Canadians, seniors, youth, first nations, will go to vote and will be told “Sorry, you are not allowed to vote this time”. Why is the corrupt government relying on voter suppression tactics in order to try to cling to power?

[The Senate, June 16th, 2015]

Show up for work, Mr. Speaker? He should be mentioning that to the Prime Minister. The only work they have been doing lately is defending the perks of their insider pals.

Yesterday, remember how they were defending the $24.5 million hit to taxpayers so that the senators would not have to walk an extra block to work? Now the senators are telling us that Public Works is just wrong and it is only going to cost $13.5 million to save them from walking a block. This is supposed to be a bargain. Only a senator and the Prime Minister would think it was a bargain to make taxpayers pay millions of dollars so that senators would have a cushier life.

When are they going to stop defending—

[Justice, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, in the dying days of this tired government, the Conservatives are rolling out election-style photo ops, wasting millions on partisan advertising and public opinion polling, all on the taxpayer's dime, but now they are introducing bills that they have no intention of passing. This is a cynical, scandal-plagued government attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians one last time. It will not work.

How can the Conservatives justify this blatant self-serving attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians?

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my hon. colleague. The issue of protecting immigrant women from forced marriage and family violence is very important, but I would like to ask my hon. colleague what she thinks about the intent of this legislation, whether it is actually focused on achieving that end or is focused on stirring up the Conservative base.

We have seen a very disturbing trend lately, which I think is unprecedented, of attacks on the immigrant community. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has talked about devout Muslim women in Canada being potential terrorists. Conservatives have talked about “brown people” and “whities”. The member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound talked about telling foreigners to go back where they came from.

This kind of race-baiting is very disturbing in a country as multicultural as Canada. I would like to ask my hon. colleague if she thinks that this so-called attack on barbaric practices is another way of race-baiting particular groups in this country.

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, June 16th, 2015]

Take off the clown nose.