Jagmeet Singh

[Allegations Against Government of India, September 19th, 2023]

Madam Chair, my colleague said it so well and so clearly. This is a moment to defend freedom, freedom of expression, freedom to exist in safety and security, and that has been threatened. When any one of us is threatened in this way, we should be able to put partisanship aside and say this is a matter of our national unity, this is a matter of sovereignty, this is a matter of a Canadian on Canadian soil being killed by a foreign government. That is a direct attack on our sovereignty that requires a unified response to denounce it, to demand justice and to demand a full inquiry and an investigation into anyone implicated in this matter, and that is what New Democrats are going to do. That is what we are going to continue to push for, with the concrete steps we laid out. That is what all of us should be doing. It is very disappointing to see the deafening silence of the Conservatives on this matter.

[Allegations Against Government of India, September 19th, 2023]

Madam Chair, when we first learned about this incident back in June, there was a real pain the community. It is a place of prayer, a place of worship and a place of community coming together. Gurdwaras have free langar, a place where people can eat. It is a place of sanctuary, like many other places of prayer.

To have a leader of the community at a place of prayer and sanctuary be murdered in that way was shocking and painful. What has made that pain even worse now is the allegation that this was tied to the Indian government or the Indian state. This has only reopened those wounds and made them even more painful.

That is why it is offensive that instead of showing solidarity, we have a party in this chamber, the Conservatives, not standing in solidarity in a moment where there should be unity, where we should be sending a clear message that this is wrong, we all denounce it and we all stand together in the pursuit of justice in ensuring all the weight of Canadian jurisprudence and legal system is used to hold those accountable.

[Allegations Against Government of India, September 19th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for sharing the personal story.

As elected officials, we sign up for being in the public eye and maybe receiving repercussions for the positions we take, but we are also protected as members of Parliament. I am deeply concerned, as the member pointed out, that there are so many people from so many diaspora communities, including those in the Sikh community who critique the abuse that Sikhs have received under the Indian government, but there are many other diaspora communities. They are not just from India and not just other folks who have been oppressed in India.

I think about the Iranian community and those who have raised their voice about the oppression that their community faces in Iran. I think about those who have championed democracy in Hong Kong and are defending the rights of Taiwan, and of the real and serious threats that they have had against their families. This is a serious moment. We know that those threats exist.

We know that Canadians have been threatened and intimidated, and we know that we have a responsibility in the House to say enough is enough and that it will not happen in our country. We will use all the tools we have to get to the bottom of this. We will use the power of light to shine transparency on what happened and ensure that this never happens again to any community anywhere in our country.

[Allegations Against Government of India, September 19th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for her kind words. I want to send a message to people right now who are thinking about what this means for them. It is to people who might be afraid, who might be scared, and who might be worried about their advocacy, their human rights work or their critique of the Indian government, or any other diaspora community. There are those who are wondering, if they criticize their country of origin's government policies, that they might fear violence against them as well. I want to send a message that I stand with them, and we will not back down. We will remain unwavering and resolute in our pursuit of justice.

We believe that right now the pursuit of justice and ensuring that those responsible will be brought to justice will deter this from happening. That has to be our goal. This should never happen again in our country. No Canadian should lose their life in this way. That is what our commitment is, to ensure that this never happens again.

[Allegations Against Government of India, September 19th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Port Moody—Coquitlam.

When I first learned of these allegations, they shocked me, and when I thought about these allegations even further, I became very angry. A Canadian citizen was killed in Canada by a foreign government. Those are the allegations. That should shock and anger all of us. There is no other response. A Canadian is alleged to have been killed in our country by a foreign government.

This is a time for unity. This is a time for unwavering commitment and to let people know that. These are people who are now very afraid and who have seen a foreign government step into our sovereign nation and killed someone. We have to send a message that this is wrong. This can never happen in our country, and there will be the most severe consequences, using the full weight of the judicial system of our country and using the full weight of our security apparatus, to ensure that every single person implicated in this matter is found, brought to justice and prosecuted with the full weight and power of the Canadian justice system. That is what needs to happen.

We need solidarity. A Canadian was killed. That means everyone in this House should stand together and say we demand justice and we demand action.

It is a fundamental attack not just on our sovereignty, but on our freedom of speech and right to be secure and safe. It is a fundamental right that every Canadian should be safe in their country and should be free to express their thoughts, to express dissent, to criticize and to critique our country and other countries' policies and decisions of government. That is absolutely what it means to be in a democracy.

Let us also be clear that there is a significant propaganda machine that the Government of India has put in motion. Let us talk about the Government of India and separate it from the people of India. We do not hold the people of India guilty for the actions of the government. The people of India, in a sense, have contributed immensely to this country. New Canadians who come from India and South Asia have contributed in so many ways and in so many sectors, whether it is in health care, in business, in the arts or in the cultural sector in the communities we all live in. They have contributed immensely.

Our concern is specifically about the allegations involving the Government of India. For a moment, let us reflect on what the Government of India is about. We are talking about its Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. This is a Prime Minister who was once chief minister of Gujarat and was implicated in the massacre of thousands of Muslims.

This is a current government that makes no qualms about wanting to divide the country, exclude minority communities and oppress critics, academics and journalists. There is the systemic oppression of women, minority communities, the poor and those of low caste. This is a government that is rife with human rights violations.

It really begs the question when we see other parties, like the Conservative Party, try to stand up and parrot the propaganda of the India government: Whose side are they on? Who are they trying to defend? We should see solidarity in defending Canadians and a Canadian who was killed.

We have a number of things we want to ask for, and this is what I want to make clear. For now, what we are calling for are a number of concrete steps.

First and foremost, I wrote a letter to the commissioner of the public inquiry to indicate that India now must be included in the public inquiry. We need protections offered to anyone who has received threats to their lives. We need to make sure there are diplomatic sanctions and a review of all diplomats from India in Canada. The RSS, which is a paramilitary, far-right network from India, must be banned in Canada.

We need to take the threat to Canadians seriously. We need to see serious action. This is a call to arms for us to defend our democracy, to defend our freedom of expression, to defend our freedoms in this country and to use the weight of a democratic nation and our allies to defend justice, to defend freedom and to defend the security and liberty of life.

[Public Safety, September 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the shocking allegation that a Canadian citizen was killed on Canadian soil by a foreign government rocked our country.

People fleeing violence and persecution have always thought of Canada as a safe place, but now that sense of safety and security has been rocked. People are afraid for their lives.

My question to the Prime Minister is as follows. For people who have received active credible threats of violence to their lives here in Canada, what is the plan to provide them with protection so that they can be safe in Canada?

[Grocery Industry, September 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been struggling with food prices for almost two years now. Here is a classic Liberal response. They asked the CEOs of the big grocery stores to come to Ottawa, to nicely ask them to stabilize the prices, not to bring them down but to stabilize them.

All the while, the Liberals do not want Canadians to know that they met with the grocery lobbyists over 57 times in the past two years. They had 57 opportunities to ask them to lower the prices, but did not.

Why should Canadians trust this “could have, should have” Prime Minister now?

[Lowering Prices for Canadians Act, September 18th, 2023]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-352, An Act to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act.

Madam Speaker, Canadians are hurting with record-high grocery bills. For 20 months in a row, food prices rose faster than inflation and the Liberals did nothing about it. They protected the profits of rich CEOs and let everyone end up paying the price. The Leader of the Opposition let food prices rise by 25% when he was in power and let big grocery stores pay less taxes. CEOs got big breaks while everyone paid more. It does not have to be this way. Today, I introduce the lowering prices for Canadians act. This bill will increase fines and make it easier for the Competition Bureau to crack down on price-gouging, price-fixing and other abuses of Canadian consumers. It will stop the mergers that hurt Canadians. It is time that we end the free ride of CEOs and big corporations.

Today I am introducing the lowering prices for Canadians act. It will increase the fines issued to companies that abuse consumers, and it will make it possible to stop corporate mergers that hurt Canadians.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Foreign Affairs, September 18th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, what we have just learned today in the House is something that shocks the safety and security so many Canadians rely on. It is outrageous. It is shocking and it is going to have deep and devastating impacts for Canadians.

I want to also begin by acknowledging the family of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a family that is now learning that the loss of its loved one was potentially directly related to Indian government involvement. I spoke with Hardeep Singh Nijjar's son, and I could hear the pain of that loss in his voice. I can only imagine how much more painful it is going to be, knowing this potential connection.

On a personal reflection, I want to share what this means to the Sikh community. I grew up hearing many stories that said that if someone raised concerns about human rights violations in India, they might be denied a visa, or that if they went back India, they could suffer violence, torture and even death. I grew up hearing those stories, but to hear the Prime Minister of Canada corroborate a potential link between a murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil and a foreign government is something I could never have imagined.

To understand what that means to the community, this is a place that so many people around the world have sought as a refuge. People have fled persecution in their home countries, where they were threatened by torture, violence and death, to come to Canada, a beacon of safety, a place where they could be safe and free from violence, and where they would be able to speak their thoughts, speak their minds and not worry that they would wake up dead the next day or that someone they loved would be tortured or killed. The safety and security so many Canadians feel has now been rocked. It has been shocked and destabilized.

I want to send a message directly to activists across our country who have fled persecution and who speak truth to power, knowing of the real, dire consequences to themselves and potentially to their families. I want to speak directly to people of Indian descent who have come to Canada and who spoke justice and spoke truth to power, and who challenged the oppressive practices of India: caste violence, violence against women, systemic abuse of minority communities and systemic abuse of the poor. I want to speak directly to those activists. Governments around the world are trying to silence them. The Indian government, and the Modi government specifically, is attempting to silence them, but truth cannot be silenced. Justice cannot and will not be silenced.

We know that the practice of the Indian government has been one of division, violence, persecution and attacking those who are critical of the government. It is now an important time to send a clear message as a democratic country and a country that respects the rule of law. What will be our response?

I want people to know that, as leader of the New Democratic Party, I will use every tool at my disposal to ensure that Canada uses every tool and every power of a democratic nation to bring those responsible to justice. We will ensure that no rock is unturned, that every possible link will be examined and that a public inquiry should also turn its eye to this with the full rigour of that public inquiry. We need to know the truth. We need to know all potential links, and anyone and everyone responsible should be brought to justice using the full power of a democratic nation.

I call on our allies to condemn this violence, this direct violation of a sovereign nation's rights, and to condemn this act in the harshest terms possible. This will require all democratic nations to come together to send a clear message about what it means that a foreign nation killed a Canadian on Canadian soil. This is something all democratic nations have to stand up and denounce clearly.

Finally, I want to send a clear message to many people who are still learning of this and will be angry and are going to be afraid. I understand why they would be angry and afraid. I call for everyone who is hearing this news now to come together, not in anger but in love of justice. There is a Sikh practice that the love of justice is what we should focus on, not the anger, the frustration and the fear. We should focus on the love of justice, and I will do my part. We will do our part in the chamber to ensure that justice is served, using every tool a democratic nation can.

[Member spoke in Punjabi]

[English]

I want Canadians to know that they can trust that New Democrats and everyone in the House will fight with everything we have to ensure that this serious, reprehensible matter is treated with the utmost seriousness and focus, and that we bring justice.

[Housing, September 18th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has lost one million affordable housing units under the Liberals and Conservatives, and housing construction has been declining for the past five months. Removing the GST on affordable housing construction is important, but eight years too late. A lot more needs to be done.

When will the Prime Minister put a stop to the delay and announce that the federal government is going to start building affordable housing again?