House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 46% of the vote.
The Economy December 8th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, more than a quarter of Canadians have mortgages with a variable rate. The number of high-leverage uninsured mortgages is more than 25% according to the Bank of Canada. The bank suggested today that it would raise interest rates soon. Some experts predict five interest rate increases next year.
How many thousands of families are at risk of losing their homes because the Prime Minister has ignored the inflation crisis?
Foreign Affairs December 8th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand all announced that Huawei would have no place in their 5G infrastructure years ago. Our Prime Minister has still not made a decision. The Five Eyes all came out with a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, and the Prime Minister was the last one to sign on.
When it comes to the international stage, why is the current Prime Minister always the last one to show up?
Foreign Affairs December 7th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, the only thing the Prime Minister does tirelessly is call elections. This Liberal government's foreign policy is a disaster. It is one failure after another.
There are 1,250 Canadians trapped in Afghanistan. The terrorist group continues to terrorize people, but this Prime Minister was focused on calling a pointless election. He is all talk and no action.
Why did this government abandon our Afghan allies?
Foreign Affairs December 7th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, we had two years of reflection, slowness and failures, and this continues despite the SOS messages. The evacuation of Canadians and the Afghan interpreters and contractors who helped us was not a priority for this Liberal government.
Why did this government ignore Canadians' pleas and cause the greatest diplomatic disaster in decades?
Foreign Affairs December 7th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, he says historic efforts. Do members know what the Prime Minister was doing as Afghanistan fell? He was preparing for an election. He was calling an election as Kabul fell. He was planning an election instead of an evacuation.
My simple question for the Prime Minister is this. On August 15, when he was briefed that Kabul was about to fall, why did he put his own political survival ahead of the real survival of people on the ground in Afghanistan?
Foreign Affairs December 7th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, at the end of August, when evacuation operations ended in Afghanistan, 1,250 Canadians remained in that country: 1,250 Canadians were stranded on the ground as a terrorist group seized control of the country. What was the Prime Minister doing at the time? He was campaigning.
The longest war in Canadian history ended with Canadians, Afghan interpreters and contractors being completely abandoned by the Prime Minister. Canadians want to know why.
Foreign Affairs December 7th, 2021
Mr. Speaker, two years is how much time the government had to prepare for the evacuation of Canadian citizens, interpreters and contractors in Afghanistan. A 2019 CSIS report said there would be a quick collapse in Afghanistan if the U.S. withdrew.
With over two years to prepare, how did the Prime Minister oversee the biggest foreign policy disaster in decades?
Business of Supply December 7th, 2021
Madam Speaker, I think in the spirit of non-partisan action, this committee would be specialized to do what Parliament should have done at the time, which is to look at the situations of people who are at risk because they helped Canada, or who are at risk because they are religious minorities or members of the LGBTQ community. How can we help them now? How can we help build capacity on the ground to get aid into Afghanistan from neighbouring countries?
In the spirit of non-partisanship, this motion will pass. We can do this work together if the NDP members step up and show that there is not a coalition, that there is a—
Business of Supply December 7th, 2021
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
We need a committee on the situation in Afghanistan because the Prime Minister called an election right in the middle of a crisis in Afghanistan.
The people needed a voice over there, but we were deep in an election campaign. That is why we need a special committee to look at what happened and also take action now to help families at risk, like the families of Ahmad and Mohammed, whom I talked about in my speech.
We need to take action now to defend our values and interests, because the government has totally ignored the situation.
Business of Supply December 7th, 2021
Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is right about one thing. This should have been a non-partisan issue. The Afghanistan mission started under the Liberal government and continued under the Conservative government, which created a program for interpreters and contractors. Some people were left behind after the mission ended: people who did not know about the program, in a country with no infrastructure.
In the last five or six years, I and the MP for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman have worked with the government, trying to work in a non-partisan fashion. John McCallum brought an interpreter named James Akam home. I praised him publicly when that happened. He was fired by this Prime Minister. I think he aged out. As the former minister now knows, he lost favour with the Prime Minister's Office and the replacement would not even respond to our inquiries from people who were at risk in that country.
It is time for the Liberal backbench to start showing leadership and demand the committee themselves to make this non-partisan.