Irek Kusmierczyk

[Privilege, October 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the Leader of the Opposition spoke to the Canadian Police Association and said, “All of my proposals are constitutional. We will make them constitutional, using whatever tools the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional. I think you know exactly what I mean.” He was talking about the notwithstanding clause. We have seen Conservative provincial governments override, using the notwithstanding clause, the rights of workers and the rights of minorities. We hear the RCMP saying they have severe charter concerns about this production order.

Could the hon. colleague speak about the RCMP's charter concerns about this production order?

[Situation in Lebanon and Israel, October 1st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, Quebec is home to one of the largest Lebanese communities in all of Canada, and I wanted to ask my colleague if he had a chance to speak with members of the Lebanese community in Quebec and ask them what their thoughts are on the bombing of their country and the major mass displacements of people having to flee their communities because of the bombing and incursions.

Did he have a chance to listen to their responses? Can he share with the House what he heard, speaking to Lebanese Canadians in Canada, in Quebec and in his community?

[Foreign Affairs, September 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Lebanese Canadians call my community of Windsor-Essex home. It is a proud, peaceful and vibrant community and one of the largest in Canada. That community has been shaken by missile attacks and explosions carried out by Israel's government that have killed hundreds, injured thousands and forced countless Lebanese to flee their homes. How much more suffering must the people of Lebanon endure?

Members of my community fear an escalation of this terrible conflict and their hearts are wrenched about the safety of their families. This week I met with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Canada-Lebanon parliamentary association. Canada must continue to press Israel and Hezbollah for an immediate ceasefire, demand that innocent civilians be protected and demand that both parties end this suffering and end this war.

[Young Polonia Leadership Summit, September 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, today I had the honour of hosting the second Young Polonia Leadership Summit on Parliament Hill. We brought together 35 young leaders from across Canada to talk about issues important to Polish Canadians, including getting more young people engaged in politics.

Over one million Polish Canadians contribute to building vibrant and generous communities across Canada. Now we see a new generation of Polonia taking the mantle to lead the Polish diaspora in this new century, young people who say “Yes we can”, and who have the courage and power to build a better Canada and a better world.

I want to thank the Canadian Polish Congress, the Polish Canadian Business and Professional Association of Windsor, and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland for working together to organize this summit and to empower Canada's young eagles.

[Employment, June 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, our government is making record investments to create record jobs, with $50 billion in the auto sector alone, creating tens of thousands of jobs. We are also investing record amounts in skills training, amounting to billions of dollars each and every year for labour market transfers to the provinces, sectoral workforce programs, doubling the UTIP union training and $1 billion supporting apprentices annually.

No government has delivered more for training and jobs than this Liberal government has.

[Carrousel of the Nations, June 14th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, today I rise in the House to celebrate the 49th annual Carrousel of the Nations festival in my community of Windsor-Essex. Over the next two weekends, our community will showcase our incredible diversity and pride at being a welcoming community. Thirty villages, from Greek to German, Croatian, Caribbean, Italian, Lebanese, Polish, Filipino and more, will open the doors to share their heritage, dancing, beautiful cultural dress and, of course, delicious food.

In a world divided by difference, the Carrousel of the Nations celebrates our differences as our strength, what unites us and what makes our country so vibrant and so beautiful. I am proud that our federal government has been a strong partner for Carrousel of the Nations, providing over half a million dollars to the festival over the last eight years.

I want to thank Fred Francis and the amazing team at the multicultural council, and all the volunteers and vendors, for the incredible dedication to a remarkable festival.

Save me a honey bowl and some slivovica, and I will see everyone at Carrousel.

[Retirement Congratulations, June 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House of Commons to pay tribute to a legendary teacher, Mr. Gary Rankin, sometimes referred to as “Mr. Riverside”, for his love of teaching. He has been teaching for 23 years, all of them at Riverside Secondary School. I would also like to pay tribute to his work in the Riverside Minor Baseball Association.

At Riverside High School, he coached sports teams, but where he truly left his mark was leading the Riverside student parliament, teaching leaders of tomorrow how Parliament works and what public service is all about. Mr. Rankin retires this year, leaving behind a legacy of community service as a great teacher and a great role model. I know this because three of my staff at my constituency office and on Parliament Hill were once his students.

To Mr. Riverside, we say congratulations on his retirement. It is never “goodbye”, but perhaps, “this House now stands adjourned”.

[Hannah Pare, May 31st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I rise today in the House of Commons to honour the life of Hannah Pare, who dreamed of being a nurse since the moment she could walk. Her first patients were her stuffed animals that she examined with her toy stethoscope. It was to no one's surprise that Hannah studied nursing at the University of Windsor, where she stood out for her hard work, warmth and peer mentoring. It was her calling. When she graduated, she was snapped up by Windsor Regional Hospital and began a bright future as a neurology nurse. On May 2, Hannah passed away at the age of 22 from medical complications.

In a final act of selflessness, Hannah saved the lives of seven women through organ donation. Her sister Grace opened a GoFundMe page to establish a Hannah Pare memorial scholarship, which has already raised $55,000 to support the next generation of nurses.

Hannah's love and spirit were boundless and will continue to live in our hearts and touch the lives of many.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, there is no government in the history of this country that has invested more money in skills training in Canada. Whether it is through sectoral workforce development, UTIP or apprenticeships, the government has made more investments in skills training than have all other previous governments combined.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely brilliant at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. I really enjoy her questions, her insight and her incredible hard work.

We need a team Canada approach in order to be able to lift communities across Canada. When I see over $100 billion for clean-tech industries in this budget, I know it is going to impact not only communities such as mine in Ontario but also communities such as those in Quebec, especially with the Northvolt battery investment. It is going to help lift communities across the country from coast to coast to coast.

When I see the Canada disability benefit, pharmacare and child care, when I see all these programs, I know that these investments in budget 2024 will lift communities and Canadians from coast to coast to coast. For that very reason, I urge my hon. colleague to continue to work with us as team Canada and vote in support of this incredibly important budget.