Gary Anandasangaree

[The Budget, April 22nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, no, I do not believe that people will be forced to use the program. It will be available for everyone who needs it.

[The Budget, April 22nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to say best wishes to you and your wonderful wife Heather in your retirement. Although we sit on opposite sides of the House, I have often been inspired by your humility and integrity. I want to congratulate you and thank you for your service. It has been a pleasure working with you over the last five years.

I am speaking today from the unceded lands of the Algonquin people.

I want to congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on her historic budget. It is historic in many ways, the most important of which is that it is the first federal budget introduced by a female finance minister. It is a historic moment for all of us. Of course, I speak in support of the budget, which offers so much hope to so many people.

Three main objectives are outlined in the budget. First is to finish the fight against COVID-19, a fight that all of us have been engaged in. Second is to heal the wounds of the COVID-19 pandemic. Third is to create more jobs and prosperity for all Canadians.

COVID-19 has impacted all of us in Canada and around the world. In Canada, we have lost over 23,000 people. My thoughts are with all those who have lost family members and friends to the pandemic. I know many have not even been able to celebrate their incredible lives at proper services over the last 14 months. My thoughts are also with the many who have lost their jobs and are struggling to hold on to their businesses.

As I speak today, our hospitals in Ontario are overflowing and are at the brim of collapse. They are struggling to cope with the third wave and are trying to arrest this virus. Scarborough is one of the hot spots. The Scarborough Health Network has done an incredible job, and so has Toronto Public Health, but despite our best efforts the pandemic appears to be out of control.

As a federal government, we have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic. Eighty cents on the dollar has been spent by the federal government for all COVID-related spending in Canada. We have helped Canadians get back on their feet, and we will continue to do so until the end of the pandemic. Canadians expect all of us to work together at all levels of government, whether it be the provincial, federal or municipal governments. Locally, Canadians expect all of us to collaborate to come up with solutions. Let me make this clear: I intend to work with the other MPs elected in Scarborough, all five of them, along with our provincial and municipal counterparts.

At this moment, I want to acknowledge some of the members of the Scarborough Health Network whom I was fortunate to meet at one of the pop-up clinics: Dr. Lisa Salamon-Switzman, Dr. Kanna Vela and Dr. Mayoorendra Ravichandiran. I also want to acknowledge the TAIBU Community Health Centre, which I was able to visit recently as it was vaccinating people, and its executive director, Liben Gebremikael.

Like all Canadians, I know people who have died and who have survived COVID-19, so let me tell members about a fighter in my community of Scarborough—Rouge Park.

Peter Thevarajah is a small business owner. Back in January, he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He has been fighting this for the past three months with the help of his amazing family, the staff at Lakeridge Health in Ajax and his friends. He celebrated his 70th birthday two days ago, and sure to form, he is fighting one day at a time. I know that his miraculous recovery will return him home to look after his beautiful garden and his grandchildren.

It was a very hopeful birthday for Peter, and many see the light at the end of the tunnel. As vaccines roll out en masse, between 48 million and 50 million over the next 10 weeks, the struggle of all Canadians will come to an end.

As we come out of the pandemic, this budget looks to ensure that we build back better. Here are some of the key aspects of the budget that I wish to highlight.

As was mentioned by many, today is Earth Day. Climate change is real. Today, we are delivering on our commitment to Canadians and increasing our ambition to fight climate change and build a cleaner economy. This morning, our Prime Minister announced at the earth summit that we are committing to cutting emissions from 30% of 2005 levels to between 40% and 45% by 2030. This is where we need to go, for our health, for our economy and for our kids.

We have a credible and tested climate plan that is already delivering results. We have made historic investments of more than $100 billion to build a cleaner, healthier economy, with more good jobs for all Canadians. This includes $17.6 million for climate and environment; $15 billion through the strengthened climate plan; $15 billion in dedicated, ongoing transit; and $60 billion in pan-Canadian framework. We will continue to fight climate change, invest in our cleaner future and build a stronger economy.

Locally, in the city of Toronto, we will be supporting many of the initiatives on climate action, including the development of the Rouge National Urban Park, which became a reality in 2016, with the work of many of our colleagues, including my good friend from Scarborough—Guildwood.

The second major aspect of the budget is early learning and child care. We have had to wait over 50 years for a national child care program. The Royal Commission on the Status of Women reported in 1970 on the need for immediate prioritizing of this. Unfortunately, it has taken over 50 years to get here, but nevertheless we are here, and it is a historic moment for us to capture.

In the city of Toronto right now, the average expense of child care is $1,327 per child. That amount is unaffordable for many. The budget promises to develop a comprehensive plan, with a 50% reduction on the average fees to the end of next year and an average of $10 per day starting in 2025, with ongoing support thereafter to the provinces and territories to implement a national child care program.

Young Canadians have been critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and I have had a chance to meet many from the riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park. The University of Toronto, Scarborough campus, Centennial College, Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute as well as St. Mother Teresa secondary school are all in my riding as are many other elementary schools. They have been impacted significantly on a number of fronts.

The budget proposes to invest $5.7 billion over the next five years to support young Canadians to get them on their feet and to ensure that the effects of the pandemic are limited to them. We will be waiving interest on student loans for another year, thereby saving $1.5 million. We will be enhancing repayment assistance, allowing many young people not having to pay back their student loan until they make $40,000 a year. We are redoubling Canada student loan grants to another 580,000 students and graduates. We are extending disability supports. We will also be providing an additional 50,000 work placements for students as well as 7,000 additional placements through the employment and skill strategy program. We will be providing 85,000 work-integrated learning placements through Mitacs.

The budget offers so much more, including one of the things for which I have been advocating, along with many of my colleagues, including the member for Pickering—Uxbridge as well as my other colleagues who have been directly impacted with long-term care homes. That is the investment of $3 billion into long-term care homes over the next several years. We have increased old age security payments for those who are over the age of 75 as well as other supports, including a $15 minimum wage, which is far overdue for those working in the federal sector.

Overall there are many elements of the budget that are critical, including additional investments in indigenous communities as well as combatting racism and investment in black communities.

I am very proud to support the budget. I want to thank all my colleagues for working hard for all Canadians during this pandemic.

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, April 15th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me just begin by thanking Professor Sákéj Henderson, and my friend from Sydney—Victoria for his enormous leadership within the indigenous caucus and within our government as well.

As the member just mentioned, this is the moment for us to capture, this is the moment in which we could reset the relationship. For parties that are not supporting this bill, what does this member have to say to them? What is it that they are missing that others have been able to capture? What is the message that he has for the Conservatives and the Bloc?

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, April 15th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I have a shout-out to your father-in-law, Ian, as well. He should be very proud of all the great work that you have done over the years. I want to thank my friend opposite because I have been able to work with him for the last five years at committee.

One of the things we have seen over the last five years, especially travelling with the former MP Romeo Saganash, is the enormous amount of work that was put in to this legislation in Bill C-262 and then subsequently in Bill C-15.

Regrettably, what we have seen from my friend's party is blockage throughout its term in government up to 2015 and then beyond that we have seen absolutely no effort from the Conservative Party to move forward, whether in legislation or in terms of assessing it in Canadian law.

Could the member give us a sense of what his party intends to do in order to implement UNDRIP in Canada if the bill does not go through?

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, April 15th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, UNDRIP was adopted in 2007. We are 14 years into it in Canada, and we still have not domesticated this law. My friend opposite outlined a number of comments made by people who oppose this particular piece of legislation. She has been very selective in picking those.

My question is quite direct. Are there any circumstances under which the Conservative Party would support UNDRIP in any form? The Conservatives had 10 years to implement it within Canada and they have opposed it every step of the way since being in opposition. Is there any way in which the Conservative Party will support this, or any legislation that hopes to domesticate UNDRIP?

[Criminal Code, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the changes to the particular provisions of the criminal justice system are just one aspect of a broader set of measures that our government has introduced over the years, including the Canada child benefit. This has directly taken over 300,000 children out of poverty, which in my opinion is one of the major factors in reducing overall crime. In fact, the social determinants of health have impacted many communities, particularly the racialized communities.

I believe the measures taken by the government are an important step in addressing the systemic issues that my friend opposite has highlighted.

[Criminal Code, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the member's interpretation of this bill is incorrect.

There are 14 mandatory minimum sentences where the mandatory component would be taken out. It would still leave discretion with our highly qualified judges to make the determination. In terms of sexual offences, they are not included in this bill. As well, any serious offences that are highlighted would continue to have mandatory minimums.

The member's comments on this measure are incorrect. I would invite her to review the changes to the mandatory minimum provisions as outlined in the bill.

[Criminal Code, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I believe these are very important measures to address issues of systemic racism.

When I was going across the country to develop the national end to racism strategy, it was evident across the board that mandatory minimum sentences, in particular, had a disproportionate effect on indigenous and Black communities. I believe this is an important step in that direction.

Obviously there is more to do. There is more to do on, overall, addressing systemic racism, but in this particular case, I think this is a very important step that does take us in the right direction.

[Criminal Code, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my good friend, the member for Beaches—East York.

I am speaking to members from the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit in Scarborough—Rouge Park. I want to, first and foremost, thank the Minister of Justice and his team for their hard work in bringing this bill together. I will be speaking in support of Bill C-22. There are three basic elements to it. First, it repeals mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment for 14 such offences. Second, it allows for conditional sentence orders to be expanded and, third, it requires police and prosecutors to consider all other measures for simple possession of drugs, such as diversion and addiction treatment programs for those who may be charged.

I have worked extensively within the criminal justice system as a youth worker. I used to run a youth organization here in Scarborough called the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre. During my tenure there, I met with dozens of young people who had been charged both criminally and under the YCJA. My experience led me to believe that the criminal justice system has a profound impact, particularly on racialized youth, and in the case of Scarborough, particularly Black youth.

The experience goes beyond my work at the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre. It goes into my work as a lawyer when I started practising, as well as into when we developed the national anti-racism strategy in 2019. As I went across the country, community after community spoke to the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on young people, particularly Black, indigenous and racialized youth. I believe Bill C-22 addresses, in part, some of the concerns that stem from the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences, particularly since 2006 when it was brought forward by the previous Conservative government.

My experience with young people leads me to believe that they are often caught in a moment when they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They may have been with the wrong set of friends or they may have just acted stupidly. This gets them into the criminal justice system. It is an on-ramp that eventually leads to greater charges, in part because they are also being surveilled by several police services.

I want to highlight the recent case of someone I know quite well now. His name is Rohan George. He was admitted to the bar of the Law Society of Ontario just last year. He served eight years for manslaughter. He talks about his life experiences as a young person who went to St. Mother Teresa school in my riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park.

It started when he was about 14 with a stolen bottle of alcohol and a failure to attend court. This eventually escalated into something much more serious. This speaks to the failure of the criminal justice system to ensure that there are adequate supports and off-ramps for these young people. This young man served his time. He served eight years, went to law school and did thousands of hours of community service. I know him because he was working at an organization called the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre. I never knew that he had a criminal conviction and he was finishing his time.

I want to quote a line from the Law Society panel. It said, “The concept of rehabilitation is based on the capacity in human nature for someone to recognize their mistakes, to make amends, to correct the course of their lives, and to become productive and positive members of their community.” I believe that young people, particularly those from racialized communities who have been charged, are often not given the support that they need to get out of the criminal justice system.

As a member of Parliament, I have seen many cases that have come to our office where there may have been criminality that has escalated to removal from Canada because of immigration status. I believe the supports were not there when young people were around and getting into trouble for them to get off on these off-ramps.

The work I did, particularly with young Tamil men in Scarborough, has proven to me the need for community intervention and investments into the community. At that time, the work we did stemmed from the national crime prevention strategy funding of $50,000. We were able to help hundreds of young people avoid the criminal justice system. Those who did enter into it were supported to get out, often through education.

Since being an MP, I had the chance to visit institutions such as Millhaven and Beaver Creek. One does not have to spend too much time there before one realizes there is a gross misrepresentation within these institutions. It is partly because when one goes in, the officers, those who help people enter the facility, are primarily white, but once one goes into the facility it is racialized Black and indigenous people who occupy the cells. Once one talks to people, and I think as MPs we have the prerogative to speak to these individuals, one soon finds out there is an incredible story, which is the failure of the system, when one digs deeper into each and every one of those cases.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to welcome the Minister of Justice to Scarborough—Rouge Park. There are many organizations in Scarborough as well as around the GTA that do a great amount of work supporting youth. I want to recognize their work. Fernie Youth Services is an organization that provides an off-ramp right here in Scarborough—Rouge Park, as well as the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, which has been really vocal in its opposition to the impacts of mandatory minimum sentences, particularly on Black youth. TAIBU Community Health Centre, the Zero Gun Violence Movement, the Urban Rez Solutions, Urban Alliance on Race Relations are some of the organizations that were able to meet with the Minister of Justice and outline the disproportionate effects mandatory minimums and other measures have on young people within our community.

The numbers speak for themselves and I want to give members some highlights.

Between 2007 and 2008, 39% of all Black offenders and 20% of all indigenous offenders were admitted into federal custody for MMP offences. That is an astonishing number. When we look at the proportion of indigenous offenders admitted with an offence punishable by an MMP, it has increased from 14% in 2007-08 to 26%. It has essentially doubled in the decade from 2007 to 2017. Of the offenders convicted of a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act section 6 offence, 42% were Black. The proportion of Black offenders increased from 33% in 2007-08 to 43% in 2016-17.

In 1999-2000, indigenous people represented 2% of the Canadian adult population, but accounted for 17% of admissions to provincial and federal sentenced custody. In 2020, despite this population growing to 5% of the overall adult population, 30% of male inmates and 42% of female inmates were indigenous.

The numbers are quite clear and show that there is a need for this to be addressed. This is systemic racism that needs to be addressed. I believe—

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 22nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is concerned, the response is as follows.

With regard to (a), the Enoch Cree Nation submitted its Yekau Lake Practice Bombing Range specific claim in November 2007, on the basis that the Crown breached both its fiduciary and statutory obligations under the Indian Act in respect of the lease of the former Yekau Lake Bombing Range as part of Canada's war effort during the Second World War. Canada has provided $91 million in compensation to fully and finally resolve the Yekau Lake Practice Bombing Range specific claim. Please see https://orders-in-council.canada.ca/attachment.php?attach=39817&lang=en for additional details.

With regard to (b), the text of the agreement is not publicly available and is protected by settlement privilege.