Colin Carrie

[Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, June 8th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Yukon. I visited his area of the world, and it truly is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited.

He mentioned zero emission vehicles. Coming from Oshawa, I know that it is extremely important that we support the industry as we transition. One of the challenges I have with this budget is a lack of investment for charging stations. According to the European Union, we would need about one charging station for every 10 electric vehicles, which means we would need about four million charging stations for 40 million vehicles, and this budget really does not put any plan forward to fulfill that necessity.

I am wondering if my colleague could comment on the lack of investment for charging stations as well as the lack of investment for the provinces and territories to upgrade their grid in order to handle the huge influx of zero emission vehicles by 2035.

[Fiesta Week, May 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of Oshawa, after two long and difficult years, I would like to welcome everyone to celebrate our 48th annual Fiesta Week. I welcome everyone back. We encourage residents to enjoy and experience Oshawa's rich and diverse cultures. We have many pavilions that will let us appreciate different traditions, from dance to, of course, food. This year, especially, let us recognize the Ukrainian community, which will be welcoming and embracing newcomers who have travelled far from Ukraine to the safety of Oshawa.

After two years, we will also welcome back our fun-filled Fiesta Week parade on Sunday, June 19. Let us line our streets and celebrate. Once again, congratulations and a big thank you to the Oshawa Folk Arts Council for organizing this wonderful week-long party. It is their hard work that will continue make Fiesta Week such a successful and enduring celebration.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 31st, 2022]

With regard to data held by the government related to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine: (a) on what date and how was the government informed of the clinical trial data of the vaccine that was published on November 4, 2021, in the New England Journal of Medicine; (b) on what date and how was the government informed of the adverse reactions and side effects of the vaccine as mentioned in the documents released in accordance with the order made by Justice Mark Pittman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on January 6, 2022; and (c) is the government aware of any additional data that will be released by Pfizer this year, and if so, what are the details, including the (i) date the government became aware of the data, (ii) date the data will become public, (iii) summary of data findings?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 31st, 2022]

With regard to the government’s response to COVID-19: (a) on what date did the government first become aware that COVID-19 vaccines could not prevent infection and could not prevent transmission; (b) did the government change the definition of the terms (i) vaccine, (ii) herd immunity, (iii) fully vaccinated, in 2021; (c) if the answer to any part of (b) is affirmative, what are the details of each change, including the (i) term whose definition has changed, (ii) date of the change, (iii) scientific basis for the change, if any; (d) why did the government change the long-standing definition of “case” from a “sick person” to “anyone who tested positive on a PCR test”, even individuals who remained perfectly healthy; and (e) what was Health Canada's guidance about cycle thresholds for the PCR test and what specific scientific evidence was this guidance based on?

[Naturopathic Medicine Week, May 20th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, this week is Naturopathic Medicine Week. As a chiropractor myself, I understand and have seen first-hand what Canada's incredible naturopathic doctors do. Canada's naturopathic doctors are primary care providers and experts in natural medicine. Naturopathic medicine blends the healing power of nature with modern scientific knowledge to offer a new perspective on safe and effective ways to restore health.

Focusing on health promotion and disease prevention, naturopathic doctors work with patients to identify the root causes of disease and to identify all the factors that are affecting their health. Addressing a variety of health concerns including acute and chronic conditions, naturopathic medicine can ease symptoms and help to reduce the use of prescription medications, making it a valuable complement to conventional treatments.

Especially as we emerge from the COVID-19 virus, I am asking all members of the House to join me in thanking our naturopathic doctors for all they have been doing to help patients in their communities across Canada.

[Business of Supply, May 19th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would like my hon. colleague's opinion, because, from a public health standpoint, vaccines should provide sterilizing immunity, and these shots do not. They do not stop transmission. From a public health standpoint, vaccine mandates make scientific sense only if they stop the transmission.

The Prime Minister was in Moncton in July 2021, with the members for Fredericton, Beauséjour and Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe. He basically said that one can still pass on the virus if one is fully vaccinated. He knew almost a year ago that this still could be passed on.

Does my colleague think that the Prime Minister and the Liberal government should have any public discourse, or is there anything the House can do if they are not giving the true facts to the Canadian people as regards the validity of these vaccine mandates?

[Criminal Code, May 12th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member for St. Albert—Edmonton for asking me to speak to Bill S-206. It has a personal part in my life and in my family. I also want to thank him for his tenacity. He has a gift of identifying an injustice and also suggesting a solution. He is able to recognize a weakness in our system and offer a very sensible, common sense remedy.

Some people may think this is a very small change, but it is going to make a huge difference in the lives of Canadians who have done their civil duty to serve as a juror, which is the last mandatory civil duty. As was mentioned, conscription was previously the other mandatory civil duty, but it was abolished.

This bill would carve out an exception to the jury secrecy rule and allow the disclosure of the deliberation process by jurors to a health care professional who is bound by confidentiality. I can only imagine these trials and deliberations subject jurors to traumatizing evidence and stress. We heard about Paul Bernardo and some of these other trials, and it has been proven that these can cause post-traumatic stress disorder.

These jurors almost always have mental health challenges, and they need the services they deserve. Sadly, today they do not have access to them. As an advocate for victims' rights, I am so proud to speak to this bill because sometimes these jurors, who are stepping up, become other victims of these crimes. I want to thank my colleagues in the House for speaking positively to the bill, as well as those in the Senate. Senator Boisvenu was acknowledged.

The goal here is to help Canadians who step up to accept the duty of being a juror and perform these essential services to the Canadian public. Our system of justice, sadly, often forgets the victims of these crimes. These jurors become victims because of the jury experience, and it is only right we support them. We can and we must do better.

The member for St. Albert—Edmonton originally introduced this initiative in October of 2018, so it has been going for almost four years now. It is about time, and maybe the third time we will be lucky and we will get this passed. This is an example of a bill supported across party lines. It is a solution brought about from witnesses who were listened to at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Parliamentarians heard first-hand from jurors who had lived through some of the most difficult trials in Canadian history. These are jurors who were exposed to horrific evidence, evidence that in some cases has made permanent changes in their lives.

Imagine someone who sees these horrible pictures. They cannot unsee them. They cannot unhear the screams and the victims' stories. We need to be there to support these people who are so essential to our justice system. There are incessant questions when they go back to their ordinary lives, their work and their families. I ask members to imagine dealing with these incessant questions and repetitions after their duty has been done, as well as the suffering that can occur. There are also the questions from their loved ones who are wondering why they are not the same person they were before jury duty.

Can members imagine being diagnosed with PTSD and not being able to talk to a professional who could make a real difference in their life? This is something that is affecting each and every one of us. As I said earlier, it has affected my family. I have one family member who was asked to be a juror in a child pornography case. That case was only two weeks long, but that was two weeks away from work, family and friends. One cannot not be affected by the things one sees, yet he says he would do it again. He was proud to do it and to step up.

However, we need to make sure they get the support they need. I have another family member who was a juror in a horrible murder trial that was on for two months, and she was in the same situation. She said that it was a horrific case and that one could not go through this case and not be affected after. She realized that Canadians who serve as jurors should not become sick themselves.

With that, I support this bill. I want to thank all members in this House, particularly the member for St. Albert—Edmonton, for allowing this bill to go through.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 25th, 2022]

With regard to the government’s requirements as a signatory to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the government’s Emergency Economic Measures Order SOR/2022-20: (a) did the government adhere to the section of the ICCPR which states that “Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of the right of derogation shall immediately inform the other States Parties to the present Covenant, through the intermediary of the Secretary-General of the United Nations”; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what are the details including (i) the date, (ii) who was notified, (iii) who provided the notification, (iv) how was the notification provided; and (c) if the answer to (a) is negative, why was notification not provided?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, March 28th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent speech.

The Liberals are doubling down on their first-time homebuyer incentive, which is something that was introduced a couple of years ago, but it has helped less than 15% of its stated goal. Now, Conservatives have brought forward Motion No. 54, which would help increase supply.

Could my colleague explain to the Liberals and the NDP why it is so important to let these failed programs die and reinvest that money so we can actually increase the supply for young people and seniors to have a safe place to live?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, March 28th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, that will show a difference between Conservatives and the NDP. Of course, the NDP always wants to tax the rich. If my colleague listened to my speech, who are the rich the NDP is starting to go after?

The new CMHC report shows that a million-dollar home is an average home in Oshawa. The NDP and Liberals just want more and more taxes. What we would like to do, as Conservatives, is create jobs, because jobs are the best opportunity. It is a future where Canadians can afford home ownership, if they have solid jobs and a solid way forward.