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  • Her favourite word is chair.

Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra (B.C.)

Won her last election, in 2021, with 44% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns May 7th, 2012

With regard to the Centenaries Program funded under the program authority of Western Economic Diversification (WD) and delivered by WD and Canadian Heritage: (a) what is the purpose, cost, and timeframe of all current, ongoing, or completed (i) programs, (ii) commitments, (iii) agreements, (iv) expenditures to commemorate the 100th anniversaries of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, including, but not limited to, capital legacy projects as well as commemorative and celebratory events or any projects or programs transferred at any point to other departments for implementation; (b) what is the (i) source, (ii) partner, (iii) commitment, (iv) value, (v) timeframe of all funds leveraged from other funding sources in support of (a); (c) how did the government measure the success, effectiveness, and efficiency of all projects, programs, commitments, agreements, expenditures, and timeframes referred to in (a) and (b); and (d) what steps has WD taken to ensure that recommendation number one of the March 2010 Evaluation of the Centenaries Program, which is that “the department should ensure its corporate database captures relevant project recommendations and financial information in a timely manner,” be implemented?

Questions on the Order Paper May 7th, 2012

With regard to the 2011 General Election, for every federal electoral district in British Columbia and for the province of British Columbia as a whole: (a) how many contacts has Elections Canada received, including all contacts lodged directly with Elections Canada, forwarded by returning officers or from any other source, of (i) repetitive, late-evening, bizarre, or rude phone calls, (ii) misdirections to wrong polling station addresses; (b) how many of (a) were received (i) during the writ period, (ii) in the week following the general election, (iii) since then; (c) according to the contacts Elections Canada has received, how many of (a) indicated they were from (i) the Conservative Party of Canada, (ii) the Liberal Party of Canada, (iii) the New Democratic Party of Canada; and (d) how many late voter registration papers were approved in British Columbia by a returning officer without the voter’s current or previous address appearing on the voter registration form?

Housing May 4th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in the debate on affordable housing. This is a major issue in British Columbia. In fact, it is a major challenge. Many B.C. families do not have adequate housing. The high cost of housing is undermining the social and economic structure of our rural and urban communities.

This issue of affordable housing is not going away and it is really not improving. It is an issue that affects about 15% of all Canadian families, families that are essentially in a situation of not having stable, suitable and affordable shelter. That is known as “core housing need”. Can members imagine that, in a country like Canada?

Actually, I will correct my number; it was 13% in 2006, but my guess is that the statistics are higher now.

There are that many Canadian families not able to focus on the other important aspects of their lives, such as raising strong, responsible children. They are distracted by wondering whether they will be able to pay the rent or find housing that has enough space for family members, or whether that housing can be heated and whether the electrical wiring is safe. So many health and safety concerns are raised when one does not have access to safe, affordable housing that it would be safe to say that it would distract families from their other important objectives. As a health and safety concern, it is a matter of social justice in our country that we address that core housing need of the 13% of families who do not have access.

This issue is also hugely important from an economic perspective, because when housing is not supporting and nourishing the family, it is difficult to focus on other issues, whether it is education, suitable employment, or income mobility, meaning the efforts of the family members to lift themselves up to an income level sufficient to make housing affordable. It is a matter of social justice that we address this issue.

This is one of those big, complex issues that governments really have a responsibility to address and for which they must take a leadership role. That is something that the current Conservative government is completely failing to do.

Affordable housing is an issue that cannot be left to the municipalities, even though our City of Vancouver has made huge strides in bringing together an affordable housing task force and putting affordable housing on the provincial and federal radar again. Vancouver has made a commitment to emergency shelters and to having spaces for people who otherwise would be on the streets of our city.

Municipalities have a role, but they cannot do it alone, and provinces cannot address this complex challenge of affordable housing alone either, even though in British Columbia, as in other provinces, there have been major influxes of resources and time and effort. In downtown Vancouver, the British Columbia government—and I am sure this is happening in other provinces as well—has purchased buildings and has converted what were rundown hotels into single-resident rooms that can be combined with supports for families or individuals who have other needs in order to reduce the number of people living on the streets and create a portfolio of affordable housing.

So provinces work on this, but they cannot do it alone. What they do not need is a federal government that pumps out some money once in a while but does not have stable, predictable funding and does not take a leadership role on this issue. That is what I am asking the Conservative government to do.

A leadership role does not mean that it is the federal government's responsibility and that the federal government has to be a landlord for affordable housing. However, leadership does mean having discussions with the provinces and municipalities. It does mean taking a lead role in carefully assessing the problem in all its complexities and, with its partners, developing a strategy that will perhaps require funding or other tax measures but that has a compass point that all of the partners are headed toward. It also means having the flexibility to address the issues in the communities where affordable housing is the biggest challenge in the way they need to be addressed to get on top of this problem.

This is one of those big public policy issues, like access to affordable child care and like access to pension security, that Canadians have faced over the generations. Federal governments, especially the Liberal governments, have actually said in this regard, “Yes, this is not easy to fix, but it is our responsibility, for the fabric of our country and its future, to tackle it.” That is what the Liberal governments did with a number of our social programs that today we are all proud of, programs that provide social security upon retirement.

That is one program, unfortunately, that the current government wants to change, and to change in such a way that those with the lowest incomes will have to wait two more years to get their pensions, so the burden of the supposed fix would fall most heavily on low-income senior single women. Liberal governments over the years have had the courage and taken the bold action to put those social safety nets in place, and that kind of effort and commitment is needed on the issue of affordable housing.

In British Columbia, affordable housing was the most important and highest-profile policy discussed at the Liberal Party convention last November. The people of British Columbia, along with Liberals from across the province, agreed that affordable housing is critical to the well-being of our residents. It is the responsibility of all citizens and those who have affordable housing to help create a framework to ensure that all people have that right.

It was a primary proposal by Liberals at our last convention. The solution is federal government leadership, which we are not seeing. In fact, the Conservative government is doing a variety of things to undermine income equality in Canada. Not having affordable housing, which 15% of our families do not have, costs families not only their well-being but also their economic opportunities. In Canada the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing faster than it is in the United States, and some of the government's policies are responsible for that.

I will cite the example of tax credits. Those credits go only to families who can afford to pay income taxes. For example, the sport tax credit is a transfer of $120 million from the treasury to above-average-income Canadian families, totally leaving out those families who probably are the ones in need of affordable housing.

The government has a job to do on affordable housing, and it is not doing it.

I call upon the government, for humanitarian, economic, equality, and justice reasons, to take a leadership role and begin to do its job.

Immigration May 4th, 2012

Madam Speaker, tens of thousands of international students flock to British Columbia every year, bringing in over $0.5 billion of direct revenues for our communities and our small businesses. Canada-wide, this industry is worth $8 billion. However, the government is eliminating visa services in some of the most important countries that are the source of these students. Now those students will likely go to other countries to learn English.

Why would the government attack the international education industry, one of the engines of our economy, at the very time that this economy is sputtering?

TD Scholarship for Community Leadership May 4th, 2012

Madam Speaker, it is with immense pride that I congratulate Vancouver Quadra student Leah Bae, from my alma mater of Lord Byng Secondary School, for receiving the prestigious TD Scholarship for Community Leadership.

Worth up to $70,000 each, the scholarships recognize Canada's 20 most promising students who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to their communities.

I am deeply impressed by Leah's fierce devotion to youth engagement and social activism. As president of the Vancouver District Students' Council, she represents 58,000 students. She organized a youth forum to respond to the Stanley Cup riot and to offer the city a critical youth perspective in its report.

That is not all. Through the YWCA, Leah has mentored girls to guide them through their transition to high school. She is also principal violinist in Lord Byng's orchestra and an advocate for the rights of minority groups.

If anyone bemoans the lack of youth and women leadership, they should pay attention to Leah Bae. She is going to make us proud.

Statistics Canada May 1st, 2012

Mr. Speaker, apparently the government just does not like facts. First, it cut the long form census and compromised years of data collection. Now, it is slashing half of the jobs at Statistics Canada. StatsCan provides unbiased demographic data that is essential for small businesses, for the success of new Canadians and for public services. That benefits all Canadians.

Why does the government make decisions based on belief and ideology rather than evidence? Will the government stop its war on information and reverse the StatsCan cuts?

Asian Heritage Month May 1st, 2012

Mr. Speaker, May is Asian Heritage Month recognizing the rich history of Asian Canadians and their important contributions to the settlement, development and character of Canada.

Canadians of Asian roots are a critical gateway for Canada's connection and trade with fast growing Asian economies.

Canada's cultural diversity enriches us socially, politically and economically. Asian Heritage Month is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the many Asian cultures and their contribution to our country's growth and prosperity.

Each May in my riding of Vancouver Quadra, Canadians experience and learn about the history and contributions of Asian Canadians through dozens of celebrations, including the annual explorASIAN Festival and a variety of cultural, culinary and sport exhibitions.

I encourage all Canadians to participate in celebratory events and join me in appreciating our country's vibrant Asian Canadian community.

Petitions April 25th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased as the member for Vancouver Quadra to also be presenting petitions that were collected by Dogwood Initiative.

Many people in Vancouver Quadra are concerned about potential oil spills on the Pacific north coast. They know that, since 1972 when a Liberal government put protection in that area, the Liberals have stood for protecting the environment and for excluding oil tankers from the Pacific north coast. We continue to stand for excluding tankers in that area because of the environmental risks.

I am pleased to be tabling the names of those who agree with the sentiment and we call on the government to pay attention.

41st General Election April 24th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, were the members opposite laughing when their own government contracted Ekos to the tune of $10 million in research?

In just the seven ridings it has examined, Ekos said that up to 50,000 non-Conservative voters were targeted by this widespread fraud. When will that disgraced government stop its ethically corrupt denials and excuses and call a royal commission?

41st General Election April 24th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, today's shocking news of the extent and nature of the election fraud scandal was released by Ekos, a non-partisan polling firm the government—