Jagmeet Singh

[Victims of Sexual Misconduct and Assault, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That the House recognize that:

(a) victims of sexual misconduct and assault rightly fear that they will not be believed, that their actions will be trivialized, that their own responsibility will be questioned, that they will be judged negatively, that they will be intimidated, persecuted or let down;

(b) victims are courageous whether or not they report, immediately or later and with the means they are comfortable using;

(c) it is unacceptable that still today one in three Canadian women will be a victim of sexual assault in her lifetime; and

(d) the system is failing to protect and support the survivors properly; and call on the government to set up a committee of experts, similar to the one set up by the Government of Quebec with the participation of the elected members of the three other parties represented in the National Assembly, to review and develop measures to benefit victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, and to restore their confidence in the judicial and extrajudicial system.

[Ethics, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, apologizing means nothing if the Prime Minister keeps on breaking the rules to help his wealthy friends.

Here are the facts. The Prime Minister's family has earned over $300,000 in speaking fees from this organization. WE officials have said that they do not normally pay speakers a fee. On top of that, giving a billion dollars to create a brand new program makes no sense when there are so many existing ways to help students that are faster and that are proven. Will the Prime Minister admit that this was never about helping students, and that it was always about helping his wealthy friends?

[Ethics, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has close ties to the WE Charity; that is quite obvious.

Why did the Prime Minister not recuse himself when the decision was made to give the WE Charity nearly $1 billion?

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, that question is difficult because a lot needs to be done. I do not want to hold it as if I have all the answers, but I do have some that have been built by the community and by people who have looked at this question.

What we need to do immediately is end systemic racism: the anti-black racism that exists in policing. That means specifically ending racial profiling, ending carding in all of its forms, and ensuring that we invest in addressing the social determinants of health, which means investing in affordable housing and more affordable health care. It means decriminalizing personal possession of illicit substances. Instead of giving a criminal response, it should be a health care response. It means ending mandatory minimum sentences, which disproportionately impact racialized black and indigenous people.

These are the things we can do. These are concrete steps, not symbolic gestures but real, concrete, legislative changes that will improve the lives of people. That is what we are committed to doing.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the legislation brought forward today is because the New Democrats fought, demanded and pushed for help for Canadians living with disabilities. It is certainly a step in the right direction. The fact that we fought, pushed for and demanded changes to the wage subsidy program to help more workers is a positive step.

I want to make it clear that, every step of the way, the Liberal government did not come to us to say, “Here is an idea. Shall we work together and collaborate?” It came up with an idea that was the minimum possible and then we had to push them. We had to fight with them to actually deliver more for people. Every step of the way, the Liberal government wanted to do the minimum and we had to fight with them to deliver more for people. That has been the way things have happened.

We will continue to fight for people because that is what we do.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, what we have seen in this scandal is a clear example of Liberal rhetoric: the words members use about who they are working for in public, and when the doors are closed. In public the Liberal government has certainly said a lot of very positive things, but behind closed doors it turns out they are actually working to help out their closely connected friends.

In the WE scandal it is very clear that this was never about helping students. The government had ample opportunity to extend the Canada summer jobs program and help students struggling with debt when they go to university, or to help students get into post-secondary education and reduce barriers by providing additional grants.

There is so much that the government could have done, but instead of actually helping Canadian students, it leapt to the aid of well-connected friends of the Liberal Party and the Prime Minister, to give them nearly a billion-dollar contract. That is flagrant. It shows that the Liberal government really wants to work for its closely connected friends, how quickly it will work for them, and how it will tell Canadians who are struggling to continue to wait.

That is the contrast and I think that is completely unacceptable.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

In the statement by the member, who was asked to list out what the Liberals have done since 2015, he said they allowed someone to come in to do a report, and they made a symbolic change, a self-admitted symbolic change.

What has this government done to make people's lives better and to stop police brutality? What has it done to actually stop racial profiling, which it could immediately stop? We talk about mental health. The RCMP's budget is $10 million a day, which is more in one day than this government has committed for an entire year for the mental health of black people. How shameful is that?

The examples given by the member only highlight the inaction of this government.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

When the images of the Prime Minister in blackface emerged, we were told to judge the Prime Minister on his actions. What have those actions been? At a time when there is a movement of people demanding concrete action to address systemic racism, the Prime Minister has asked his ministers to come up with a plan for a plan to do something. That is not real concrete action.

What has the Prime Minister done to immediately respond to the calls and demands for action to address systemic racism in policing? When it comes to the RCMP, has the Prime Minister taken any concrete action to address systemic racism in the RCMP? We have seen the images of indigenous and racialized people brutalized by the police. What has the Prime Minister done since to show any leadership? Effectively, he has done nothing.

Indigenous people, black people and racialized people are no better off right now in 2020 than they were in 2015. The Prime Minister has done nothing to make their lives better when it comes to systemic racism in policing. He could have immediately ended racial profiling in policing. That is within the power of the federal government.

The Prime Minister could immediately review the use of force and say we need to completely overhaul it. The Prime Minister, if he wanted to, could say we need an emphasis on de-escalation when it comes to conflicts. The Prime Minister could review the budget so that we could be spending more money on health care and responses to health care crises than we do on police. All of these things are possible, but the Prime Minister has done none of them.

How is systemic racism different now, in 2020, compared to 2015, when the government took office? It is not different.

The Prime Minister has said some nice words and made symbolic gestures, but he has not taken any concrete action to change people's lives.

In the context of this whole movement, at a time when people are calling for concrete action and thousands are taking to the streets to demand meaningful action against systemic racism in the police force and other institutions, what has the government done? Nothing.

The Liberals had an opportunity, and now they have a chance to review the use of force. The Liberal government has the power to make changes that would emphasize de-escalation in conflicts with the police. The Liberal government has the power to alter its funding priorities to give more money to health care workers than to police.

All of that is possible if the government wants to take action. However, it is clear that the Liberal government and the Prime Minister want to make symbolic gestures and pay lip service, but they do not want to take meaningful action to improve people's lives.

I will say it again. What we are seeing is a trend with this government. The government wanted to do the minimum when it came to helping people in this crisis and we forced it. We pushed it, and we demanded more for people.

When it comes to things like systemic racism, at a time when there is a powerful movement asking for change, this government has done nothing to improve the lives of people. People are no better off in 2020 than they were in 2015. When the Prime Minister took a knee, who was he protesting? Who was the Prime Minister protesting? He is in power.

The Prime Minister has the ability to change things right now, but he has done nothing. He has not challenged the status quo. He has not changed anything at the RCMP. He has not brought in any new laws to improve the conditions that people are faced with. He has done nothing to change the reality that if one is black, indigenous or racialized, one is more likely to be brutalized by the police and more likely to be killed by the police, but less likely to be able to find a job or a place to live. Those are the real problems of systemic racism, and this government has done nothing.

I ask the people of this great country to look at the actions of the Prime Minister and the actions of this Liberal government to see that they have tried to do the minimum. They have given us pretty words, empty words, but they lack action.

We will continue to fight for Canadians. They can count on us to have their back. They can count on us to fight for them every step of the way, to demand more and to demand better. That is who we are. That is what we do, and that is what they deserve.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I have pointed out that, throughout the pandemic, there has been a certain pattern emerging.

Looking at people in need, what has the government's response been? When people are in need, the government says to wait. Canadians living with disabilities have been told, since the beginning of this pandemic, to wait. Canadians who saw their CERB about to be cancelled at the end of July were told to wait, and now Canadians, again, do not know what is going to happen at the end of August.

Those who cannot go back to work are going to see CERB end, and the government tells them to just wait, but when close, well-connected friends of the Liberal government and of the Prime Minister need help, the government rushes in to help with a nearly billion-dollar bailout.

Let us be absolutely clear. The billion-dollar bailout of WE had nothing to do with students and everything to do with helping wealthy, well-connected friends of the Liberal government.

The WE scandal was never about students or helping students. It was about helping close friends of the Liberal government and the Prime Minister.

What we also see with the government is an ongoing trend of using a lot of nice words, but they are empty words and symbolic gestures. We see another example of those empty words and symbolic gestures when it comes to systemic racism.

The government has certainly said some nice words, but those are empty words because they lack action. The Prime Minister took a stand. Well, he did not take a stand. The Prime Minister took a knee, but he has yet to take a stand on really addressing systemic racism.

I want to ask Canadians to think back to 2015. From 2015 to 2020, has there been any difference in the lives of people when it comes to systemic racism? What has been the concrete difference that the Liberal government has made? What has the Prime Minister done?

After the images of him in blackface emerged, Prime Minister Trudeau asked us all to judge him on his actions. What were the Prime Minister's actions?

[Ethics, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, there were lots of ways to help students; this was not it. What this was was a billion-dollar bailout of close friends of the Liberal Party and of the Prime Minister. People with disabilities were told to wait for months before they could get help. People who saw their CERB about to end were also told to wait. People who needed help were told again and again by the government to wait, but when close friends of the Liberal government and close friends of the Prime Minister needed help, they jumped in with nearly a billion-dollar bailout.

Will the government admit that this was not about helping students but about helping its close friends?