Jenica Atwin

[Privilege, November 7th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the member mentioned it is Veterans' Week. I am proudly the member who represents CFB Gagetown and also one of the largest veteran populations across the country. I am certainly eternally grateful for those who serve and have protected our freedoms and democracy in this place.

I know the member respects veterans and those who have served. I wonder if he also respects the men and women who protect us here at home, namely the RCMP. The RCMP commissioner has said, “There is significant risk that the motion could be interpreted as a circumvention of normal investigative processes and Charter protections.” Is the assertion that the commissioner does not know what he is talking about?

[Premier of New Brunswick, November 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I remember the first time I visited the office of the premier of New Brunswick. I was met with a wall of framed portraits, not dissimilar to this House, where all the faces represented were men. Times have changed and a glass ceiling has been shattered. It is a privilege to congratulate New Brunswick's first woman premier, Susan Holt, and the Liberal Party of New Brunswick on their recent victory in the provincial election. This historic milestone is not only a significant personal achievement for Premier Holt, but a monumental step forward for all New Brunswickers, and indeed all women and girls in our province.

Premier Holt's new role changes the game in so many ways. Not only is she determined and hopeful for our future, but her hard work and passion for her province and community inspire us all. This is a collaborative moment that everyone in our province can bask in and be a part of, something truly unforgettable. As a determined leader and a fantastic mother, she understands the struggles and needs of families across the province.

I want to thank all who were involved in this transformational moment, as well as Premier Holt and her family, for stepping up when we needed them most. It is a new dawn in New Brunswick.

[Privilege, November 7th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I sincerely congratulate my colleague on her maiden speech in this chamber, and I welcome her. Any strong woman who serves in this place is an addition for all of us. I also echo the concerns she has brought forward in this chamber. I look forward to working with her.

I also want to congratulate her predecessor, Daniel Blaikie. We certainly miss him. He was a giant in this place. I know he is doing very well in his new role in Manitoba.

I just had those congratulatory comments. I appreciate the member's work today.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 6th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to government contracts with health care agencies to serve rural and remote indigenous communities, Indigenous Services Canada, ISC, does not systematically track this information in a centralized repository.

ISC undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a comprehensive response.

The information requested is not systematically tracked in a centralized database, and producing a comprehensive response to this question would require a manual collection of information that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, Indigenous Services Canada cannot disclose the full results of forensic audits for privacy and security reasons. The department is in the process of preparing summary reports that will provide details of the findings, which will be posted on the department’s website within 120 days.

[Privilege, October 24th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from the Atlantic for his discussion this afternoon. He certainly took us on a journey and covered a lot of different topics. I am going to use that same latitude and take this opportunity to highlight a very important and exciting event that happened in the Atlantic.

On October 21, New Brunswick elected its very first female premier. We are so excited. As an advocate for women's rights, for trans and queer youth, for health care reform, for positive and meaningful engagement with indigenous communities, and moving forward on reconciliation, I am so proud of Premier-elect Holt. I invite my colleague, and everyone in this House, to share that congratulations.

[Committees of the House, October 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to highlight the idea that this capital gains increase is a job-killing tax. According to an economic report cited in BNN Bloomberg, “analysis suggests that favourable tax treatment of capital gains disproportionately benefits the wealthy and does not help the economy.”

In fact, sectors that own the most capital gains, notably “venture capital companies and investment banks, as well as the real estate sector, together made 52.6 per cent of all corporate capital gains reported...between 2018 and 2022. Meanwhile, these sectors shed nearly 5,000 jobs during that time period.”

I am just trying to reconcile the member's comments with these statistics.

[Housing, September 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, decades of underinvestment and discrimination means that there is a tremendous lack of safe, affordable housing and housing supports for indigenous peoples across this country. We have taken action to support indigenous peoples in urban, rural and northern communities to build strong, healthy communities.

In our efforts to close this gap, we have increased our funding for on-reserve housing by 1,300%. We have supported the construction, renovation and retrofit of over 36,000 homes with 23,000 completed.

We will not stop. We are focused on results, following the lead of indigenous partners that is creating tangible, lasting, indigenous-led solutions to close this gap.

[Business of Supply, September 26th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am a mom too; I have two children. I came to this place to fight for a clean environment for them and for generations to come. Because of the work of our government, we have lowered emissions to the lowest they have been in 25 years, getting the equivalent of 62 million cars off the road. We prevented an increase of 41%, which we would have had if we had done nothing.

When will there be a plan from the member's side of the House that can address the same concerns that we have for our children, a plan for the climate crisis that impacts all of us? By the way, it is the biggest factor in the price of food right now.

[Housing, September 20th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we are taking action to address the tremendous lack of safe, affordable housing and housing supports for indigenous peoples in urban, rural and northern communities.

Conservatives are pulling from the same old “Ottawa knows best” approach. Since 2016, we have taken a different approach, working closely with partners to determine the scope and scale of housing needs on reserve.

In our efforts to help close the gap, we have increased our funding for on-reserve housing by over 1,100%. We are supporting the construction, renovation and retrofit of over 36,000 homes in first nations communities and are co-developing a 10-year housing and infrastructure strategy. We will not stop.