Greg Fergus

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in today's debate. Before I get into my speech, I would like say two things.

First, I want to say that I will be sharing my time with the member for Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville.

Second, I, too, would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of one of my staffers. MPs are nothing without their teams to do the day-to-day work. They support us and assist us. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending an awards ceremony where Louise Goulet received a certificate of recognition. Louise has been working with me for 10 years and she helped me with my first election campaign in 2015. She is always there faithfully serving the extraordinary interests of the people of Hull—Aylmer. I am very grateful to Louise, as well as to Martin, Nicolas, Rania, Mamadou, Elsa and Valérie for all of their help.

I also want to say that, next week, after several months of working with the hon. member for Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, Shane Atienza will be moving to my office for the coming months. He is a parliamentary intern. This is an extraordinary program, and I encourage all members to submit a request for an intern at the next available opportunity.

High-speed rail will fundamentally change the way people travel between Quebec City and Toronto. It is going to provide faster, more reliable and more sustainable service in the busiest corridor not only in Canada but, frankly, in North America. Cutting travel time in half would mean travelling from Ottawa to Montreal in less than an hour, from Ottawa to Toronto in less than two hours. This will not only change everyday travel patterns, it will expand access to jobs, talent and markets.

This increased connectivity will strengthen regional supply chains, support labour mobility and create conditions conducive to stronger economic growth. It will bring communities and businesses closer together, support new investment and innovation, and provide Canadians with a modern, reliable, low-emission means of transportation that will strengthen our competitiveness.

The high-speed rail initiative is necessary because the current transportation infrastructure has already reached its limits. Within the next 15 years, the population will increase to as many as 24 million Canadians living in the corridor between Quebec City and Toronto. We know full well that our highways are already operating at maximum capacity when it comes to traffic. It is very important to have a new rail system available. As I said, this train will be fast, reliable, and will truly serve Canadians.

In a time of global economic uncertainty, the high-speed rail initiative represents a historic opportunity to invest in Canada's future. This is a strategic step toward building a more resilient and competitive economy, one that is better positioned to withstand external pressures, including the growing threat of tariffs.

Major infrastructure projects like this one create jobs. For the high-speed rail project, we expect to support more than 50,000 jobs during the design and construction phases alone. This project will draw on Canadian expertise, including engineers, land surveyors, architects and rail specialists. It will also generate strong demand for Canadian materials and services.

The proponent of this project, Alto, estimates that the combined effect on productivity, the labour market and tourism will result in an annual increase of $35 billion.

The benefits extend far beyond the immediate impact. In the long term, high-speed rail will connect major hubs across provincial borders, creating a more resilient economy by facilitating interprovincial trade. This is a priority we all recognize in the current economic climate.

This fully electric high-speed train will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This will be equivalent to taking more than 100,000 cars off the road. This legislation also ensures that the impact assessment process will apply to every segment of the project, placing consultation and environmental protection at the very heart of this initiative.

I was involved in the launch of this project. The mayor of Ottawa was there. The mayor of Gatineau was unable to attend because she was at another event, but she wanted to be there. The City of Montreal unanimously passed a resolution to promote and support this project.

This is a project that has been discussed for decades. Now that we have reached the point where we can take action, there are people who want to slow down the process. This is no longer acceptable.

This project is clearly in the best interests of everyone, Quebec, Ontario and Canada as a whole. It is time to take action.

The federal government's buy Canadian policy is essential to strengthening our national industries and supporting good jobs for Canadians. As we move forward with high-speed rail, we will prioritize the use of Canadian-made materials whenever possible. These measures will help to create an environment favourable to Canadian products and strengthen our domestic industrial capacity.

As we move forward with this transformative initiative, we are encouraged by the clear signals of support from Quebeckers. This project is supported by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and several several chambers of commerce in the corridor between Quebec and Ontario.

This is a tremendous opportunity to transform our country, modernize our economy and create infrastructure that will be used for decades, if not a century.

By building a faster, more efficient and more reliable rail network, the high-speed rail initiative will strengthen the capacity of Canada's supply chains and stimulate long-term growth.

This initiative, which has the support of provincial partners, is enthusiastically welcomed by municipalities and aligns with national priorities, reflects a shared commitment to modern infrastructure, strong domestic industries and a connected and competitive Canada.

I am certain that, together, we are investing in a future in which Canadians will benefit from greater opportunities and our economy will be more resilient, more dynamic and better positioned to succeed in a rapidly changing world. It is a project for the 21st century.

[Petitions, February 4th, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in the 45th Parliament that I have risen to present a petition. I am presenting petition e-6685, signed by nearly 600 Canadians. This petition stems from the efforts of a great Canadian, a veteran, retired captain Jocelyn Démétré.

I know I am not supposed to recognize any individual in the gallery, so I will not recognize the former captain in the gallery. However, I can say that he is a veteran, that he has written a book and that he works on behalf of veterans.

The petitioners are pointing out that “Canada does not have any laws prohibiting contempt of the flag, as many countries do, such as France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland”. The petitioners are calling on the “Government of Canada to introduce a bill to protect our Canadian flag from any action that would destroy or desecrate the national flag without lawful excuse”.

[Health, February 2nd, 2026]

Mr. Speaker, my mother-in-law has Alzheimer's. I know how devastating this disease can be.

She is far from alone. Every day, 300 Canadians are diagnosed with dementia. Although there is no cure, we know that community initiatives can make a big difference for people with dementia and their families, friends and caregivers.

Could the Minister of Health tell us what steps the government is taking to ensure that Canadians with dementia have access to the health care they deserve?

[Gender-Based Violence, December 5th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, December 6 marks 36 years since the murder of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal. This was a horrific event that shook the entire country.

We have a collective duty to fight gender-based violence.

Can the parliamentary secretary tell the House what measures have been taken to honour the memory of these young students and ensure that such a tragedy never happens again in Canada?

[Disaster Assistance, November 3rd, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, last week Canadians watched in horror as hurricane Melissa, which was the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean's history, tore through the region, leaving widespread destruction in its wake. Hundreds of thousands of people were affected, lives were lost, homes and infrastructure were damaged and destroyed, and families were affected by the flooding and landslides.

As the people of Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and across the region begin the difficult work of reconstruction and recovery, can the Secretary of State for International Development talk about what Canada is doing?

[Committees of the House, October 27th, 2025]

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to see you in the chair and to take part in these debates. I listened very carefully to my friend from the Bloc Québécois, a very experienced member. All through his speech, however, I asked myself one question.

What could have changed in a process that was previously considered perfectly acceptable until the day this new Prime Minister arrived? Is anything substantially different? It seems to me that the process is the same one that all members used to consider acceptable, until today.

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, there are many elements to the premise of that question that I have some difficulty with, but there are two things that should give the hon. member some confidence. First of all, this legislation reflects directly the recommendations by former Supreme Court justices Louise Arbour and Morris Fish. Second, the member can take confidence in the fact that the person responsible for making sure the recommendations are being followed going forward, Madame Jocelyne Therrien, is following through on them. She can assure parliamentarians and, most importantly, members of our Canadian Armed Forces that these recommendations are being followed through on.

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important point the member for Winnipeg North raises in the House. Because the system has been in place and there has been action already on some of the reports that have been brought forward, which understand the scope and severity of the situation, these things have been acted on.

Now we are codifying this. Now we are making sure that the resources are put in place. Now we are making sure that training is provided and that our folks in the armed forces understand better how to transfer files to the civilian courts and provide support to the victims of sexual misconduct and harassment in our system.

These are very welcome changes, and it is wonderful to hear in the questions from different colleagues that there seems to be general support among members to make sure the bill gets to committee. I hope it becomes adopted as legislation before the end of the year.

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I have come to know my hon. colleague very well, and I know he takes these issues very seriously.

It is not a guarantee that the culture will change, but it is clear that we must take every step possible. One of the first things to do is assure victims of sexual harassment or misbehaviour that the system is not stacked against them. The way to do that, as we saw in the report by Madam Justice Arbour, is to take them out of the system where they could be seeking justice from their superiors or where those working on a file could be trying to pursue a case against a military superior. That does not lend confidence to the system, so it is important for victims to have an independent system, which is what they would be guaranteed by criminal courts outside of the military service. That is the first step, and it is one step that would go a long way to changing the culture in the military.

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to debate a bill that is very important for the military community and for Canadians, that is, Bill C‑11, the military justice system modernization act.

This bill will have a significant impact on members of the Canadian Armed Forces as well as veterans. Indeed, Bill C‑11 address the concerns that victims and survivors within Canada's military community have shared with us over the past few years. It includes a series of targeted amendments that aim to modernize the military justice system and strengthen support for victims and survivors.

The bill responds to recommendation 5 of the report from former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour and the eight recommendations of the report from former Supreme Court justice Morris Fish. More specifically, the bill proposes to make six amendments. I will give a brief overview of all these amendments.

First, it will enshrine in law the fact that the Canadian Armed Forces no longer has jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada. Second, it will enshrine in law that civilian authorities have exclusive jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada. Third, it establishes a victim's liaison officer, who will be available to victims throughout the transfer of cases, regardless of jurisdiction. Fourth, the bill seeks to strengthen the role of key positions in the justice system to make them more independent. Fifth, it seeks to address the historical discrimination faced by under-represented groups in how cases have been processed and transferred. Finally, the bill ensures that the military justice system remains aligned with the Criminal Code and the civilian justice system.

Our government takes the well-being of Canadian Armed Forces members very seriously. That is why we have worked hard in recent years to implement all 48 recommendations from former Justice Louise Arbour's report. More than 30 of those recommendations have already been implemented. By the end of the year, with the passage of this bill, I hope we will be able to say that not just 47 recommendations, but all 48 recommendations made by former Justice Arbour have been implemented.

I would like to provide an overview of Justice Arbour's recommendations. Three years ago now, Justice Arbour submitted her final report on sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces to the Minister of National Defence. This report, entitled “Report of the Independent External Comprehensive Review of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces”, contains 48 recommendations that focused on reforming the “institutional shortcomings and structural impediments” that allowed the problem to persist.

In recommendation 48 of her report, Justice Arbour called for the Minister of National Defence to appoint an external monitor to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the report and other external recommendations that she accepts. The external monitor, Jocelyne Therrien, shared her fifth report in July. Ms. Therrien emphasized that we are making progress and are on track to meet the intent of the 48 recommendations by the end of 2025.

Indeed, in our efforts to follow up on recommendations 1 and 2, we have made significant progress in clarifying definitions and terminology.

In June of last year, the defence team announced that policies using the term “sexual misconduct” would be updated to replace it with “harassment of a sexual nature”, “conduct deficiencies of a sexual nature” and “crimes of a sexual nature”. In addition, “sexual assault” will be separately defined in the relevant policies.

In March of this year, CAF adopted the Canada Labour Code definitions of harassment and violence, aligning its harassment and violence prevention program with the public service workplace harassment and violence prevention program. This resulted in a unified workplace harassment and violence prevention policy that applies to both National Defence public service employees and members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

This change also addressed recommendation 3 of Justice Louise Arbour's report. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces who experience or witness harassment or violence in the workplace now have a simplified incident reporting system, informal resolution mechanisms and a simplified investigation process.

We have also made progress in providing a range of relevant services and supports to victims. In response to recommendation 14 of Justice Arbour's report, the sexual misconduct support and resource centre has expanded its services to include a full-time legal resource responsible for providing information and assistance to victims of sexual misconduct in a military context. The next step will involve providing access to civilian lawyers able to contribute their assistance in different parts of the country at no cost to victims.

Bill C‑11 takes another step forward by improving support for victims and assigning exclusive jurisdiction to civilian authorities for investigating and prosecuting Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada. Our government remains steadfast in its ongoing commitment to addressing all forms of misconduct and unprofessional behaviour within the Canadian Armed Forces. It is imperative to ensure that victims and survivors receive the support and justice they deserve.

In conclusion, Canadian Armed Forces members are always there to ensure Canada's security and it is our duty to protect them from harassment and misconduct. The 48 recommendations made by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour clearly showed us the path to follow to change the culture of our institution, and the external auditor, Jocelyne Therrien, is ensuring that we respect this commitment, this new path.

In closing, I want to thank the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the veterans for their service to Canada. I hope that all my colleagues in the House will support this bill so that we can ensure justice for victims of harassment and sexual misconduct.