Jagmeet Singh

[Grocery Industry, April 15th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, people are getting gouged at the grocery stores, and CEOs are making record profits, all because the Prime Minister kept the Conservatives' $60-billion corporate handout, and Canadians are paying the price. Loblaws made $1.2 billion because of this corporate Conservative handout. Therefore, will the Prime Minister—

[Persons with Disabilities, April 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is not just indigenous people the government is letting down, but also Canadians living with disabilities. Right now, Canadians living with disabilities are disproportionately living in poverty. According to Angus Reid, 90% of Canadians support a Canadian disability benefit, but the Liberal government continues to delay the implementation of this benefit, and the Conservatives voted against it.

Why is the Liberal government continuing to delay? Enough is enough. When will people get their cheques? When will people actually get the benefit?

[Indigenous Affairs, April 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Assembly of First Nations made it clear that this government is letting down indigenous people. Right now, the indigenous funding gap in infrastructure has risen to an astronomical $350 billion. That is not just a number on paper. It means that indigenous people are living in mouldy homes. It means that indigenous people do not have access to clean drinking water.

Why did the Liberal government turn its back on indigenous people?

[Climate Change, April 9th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is delaying the $15 billion for hard-working people, and that is wrong.

Last summer, kids could not play in the park because of smoke from forest fires. The Liberals' brilliant plan is to delay climate action. They have earmarked $18 billion for subsidies to big oil, but they are delaying $15 billion in investments that would address the climate crisis and help people.

Why is the Prime Minister choosing to put money in CEO's pockets instead of helping people?

[Climate Change, April 9th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Climate Deny and Mr. Climate Delay strike again. The Corporate Knights' report shows that the Prime Minister is delaying $15 billion that he promised to hard-working Canadians to lower their costs and emissions, yet he has no problem finding $18.6 billion in free subsidies for big oil and gas.

Why is it that the Prime Minister wants to shoulder the burden of the climate crisis on hard-working people and not give them a hand, but wants to give billions of dollars, like the Conservatives, to big oil and gas corporations?

[Housing, April 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I noticed that the Liberals had nothing to say about the Conservative corporate handouts that they maintain.

The last time the Conservatives were in power, big corporations got a big fat gift: a $60‑billion blank cheque. It is a gift that the Liberals keep on giving.

That money could have built millions of affordable homes. That is the price of voting Conservative.

Will the Prime Minister commit today to reversing this $60‑billion gift, yes or no?

[Housing, April 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, do we know how much money the Conservatives gave away to big corporations when they were in power? They gave away $60 billion in free money. Imagine what we could have done with $60 billion. Instead of giving it as corporate handouts, we could have built a million affordable homes.

The Liberals love to criticize the Conservatives, but they have maintained those same corporate handouts.

Will they stop the free ride for CEOs? Will they stop the $60 billion in Conservative corporate handouts, start investing to build homes that people can afford and start building a life that people can afford?

[Business of Supply, March 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today with a bit of mixed emotion. As I pay tribute to and express gratitude for my dear friend and colleague, the member for Elmwood—Transcona, I am both excited for the opportunity that this presents for his family and for the province of Manitoba, and also deeply saddened by the loss that it is going to mean for me as a leader and for us as a team.

I want to acknowledge right off the bat that his late father, Bill, and mother, Brenda, did a great job. They made not just a great human in the member for Elmwood—Transcona, but great humans of all of their kids. One would think when people have a number of kids that they might miss here or there, but every single one of them are incredible, so a big shout-out to the great work done by some fabulous parents.

I think about this speech almost as a résumé, so that it is on the record what this great member has accomplished. For folks who do not know, we talk sometimes about the idea of a poet warrior or a philosopher warrior. This is a philosopher electrician, someone who has a master's degree in philosophy and is a Red Seal electrician, someone who combines the idea of being a worker and who has worked on the front lines as a proud member of IBEW with the heart of a philosopher. He brought that to this Parliament. That already is something pretty phenomenal.

Think about the way he has done his work. I have to say that he brought in a particular element that is very unique to the Prairies. It is a prairie pragmatism that comes from having been in a province where we know that, for the past five decades, the majority of that time the province was governed by a New Democratic government that ran and governed on the principles of compassion, competency and getting stuff done. That is very much what we can see in the member for Elmwood—Transcona, this principle of having deep compassion and care. We heard it in his speech. He cares deeply about workers. He cares deeply about people, but he also wants to get things done.

He has played many roles on our team. He was the caucus chair. Most recently, he was my critic for finance. It would be difficult to find another finance critic, from any opposition but particularly from the fourth party, who has played such an outsized role in shaping our country. He has been integral to a committee that has been set up to ensure that the Liberals follow through on commitments we forced them to do, and he has been integral to making these things happen.

He has played a fundamental role in shaping our country when it comes to bringing in and negotiating record-breaking, history-making dental care and pharmacare programs, programs that are going to save and improve the lives of millions of people, ensuring that people have access to needed medication, as well as access to dental care, which we know has direct impacts on health. He has been integral to making that happen. We have forced the Liberal government to make significant changes. I can say, with confidence, that I could not have done that work without having the member for Elmwood—Transcona there.

I also want to share that, as someone who has a young family, I know the incredible sacrifice that is involved. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge Janelle and their two incredible kids, Robert and Noah. My thanks to them for sharing their pops and partner with us. It has made a huge difference in the lives of Canadians. I hope they know how much it was worth it. I know sometimes it maybe did not feel like it when he was so far away, but it has made a huge difference to this country.

Losing the member for Elmwood—Transcona is going to certainly feel like a loss, but it is also an opportunity. I always like to look at the positive side of things. We know that he will not be far away. It is a neighbouring province to Ontario, so we can get over there pretty quickly if we need to. He is also going to be continuing to do great work to ensure that the people of Manitoba receive significant and important investments from the federal government, so I acknowledge that great work. I want to acknowledge the Premier of Manitoba for having the vision to recruit such an incredible member. I am a little bit sad, but I think Premier Kinew did a great job because the member is an incredible addition to any team. I think he did the right thing for his province.

I just want to touch on some other interesting notes about the member for Elmwood—Transcona. I had never actually been to an Address to a Haggis before in life. The first time I went to one was when I was invited by the member for Elmwood—Transcona.

I did not realize, first of all, that he would have such an epic presence at this event. I did not realize he was such a great bagpipe player, another thing that should be added to his résumé. I did not know about his humour, because I have always thought of him as this philosopher and a hard-working member of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Then I heard him break out into a Scottish accent, which I did not know was a thing, and just regale the crowd with incredible humour. I thought, “This is an incredible package: a philosopher, electrician, member of Parliament, and someone who can play the bagpipes and regale a crowd in a Scottish accent.” It was an incredible experience.

I thank the member for everything he has contributed to this Parliament. I thank him for the work he has done on our team. Our movement is better because of him. He has done his father, mother and family proud.

[Indigenous Affairs, March 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, indigenous communities live in overcrowded housing that is in desperate need of repair. The Auditor General's report released today shows that 80% of housing needs are not being met.

The Prime Minister would never accept this in Toronto. Why does the Prime Minister have a lower standard for indigenous communities?

[Indigenous Affairs, March 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after decades of Liberal and Conservative failure, indigenous communities continue to live in overcrowded homes that are in desperate need of repair. The Liberals promised to take a major step toward improving this by 2030, but today's Auditor General report makes it clear that the Liberals will break yet another promise to indigenous people.

Will the Liberal government stop spending millions of dollars on private consultants and make this serious issue a priority in the upcoming budget?