Julie Dabrusin

[Canadian Heritage, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our government's strong support for the arts is very important to my constituents and all Canadians. What steps is the government putting in place in order to provide Canada's cultural innovators with opportunities to work and collaborate with one another in order to further their art and create economic opportunities together?

[World Ovarian Cancer Day, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize World Ovarian Cancer Day. Ovarian cancer affects thousands of Canadian women. It is estimated that 2,800 women will be diagnosed with the disease this year. Ovarian cancer is the most fatal women's cancer.

On September 10, there will be an Ovarian Cancer Canada walk of hope in Toronto, and there will be similar walks across the country.

Today, on the day of the walk, and every day, our focus should be on giving women hope. With additional research we can develop treatments and continue the search for a cure, and with that comes hope.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting Ovarian Cancer Canada, an organization that helps women who have this disease and their families, raises awareness, and raises funds for research.

More importantly, let us give some hope to all the women fighting ovarian cancer and all the survivors across Canada.

[Privilege, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, which was very interesting. He had some ideas.

We really want to work with people on both sides. We want to work together. It is good to listen to these ideas. That is how we find answers.

If I understand correctly, today we are talking about the fact that two MPs were unable to get here in time to vote. That is a question of privilege. Everyone knows that we have discussed the matter extensively for several days now.

Basically, what we have been talking about is the fact that we could have electronic systems for people to vote remotely. That is something we can do, and it could potentially prevent some of these problems from arising. My constituents really want us to talk about the work we have to do, about job creation, the environment, and many other things. They want us to talk about those issues.

Does the member think it would be more productive to talk about new ways of voting rather than keep talking about this issue here in the House?

[Passover, April 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, tonight, Jewish people around the world will be celebrating the first night of Passover by sharing a seder dinner with family and friends.

I would like to wish everyone a happy Passover.

Last week I, along with the members from York Centre and Eglinton—Lawrence, helped to deliver Passover boxes that had been put together by the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada in Toronto.

These boxes contained kosher foods for families who could not afford them.

On Wednesday, members of the Danforth Jewish Circle, Holy Blossom Temple, Ve'ahavta, and Congregation Habonim, along with guests from Out of the Cold, will be joining for a community seder, where they will celebrate our collective freedom. Passover is a celebration of freedom from slavery.

It is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of our dynamic Jewish Canadian community.

[Member spoke in Hebrew]

[Science, March 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, February 11 was International Day for Women and Girls in Science when we celebrated scientists like Dr. Roberta Bondar, Dr. Victoria Kaspi, and Dr. Barbara Sherwood Lollar from my riding who was named Companion to the Order of Canada for her contributions to geochemistry.

That day I attended an event with the Minister of Science, the Minister of Status of Women, the CEO of Actua, and women scientists who discussed the importance of getting young girls engaged in science, and how to keep women in STEM.

Can the Minister of Science tell the House what our government is doing to encourage women to study science?

[Petitions, February 22nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition organized by Nicole Crellin, director of Youth for Human Rights Toronto.

The petitioners call upon Parliamentand public and private sector organizations to promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through education campaigns, events, and broad publication and dissemination of the declaration to children and adults throughout Canada.

[Preclearance Act, 2016, February 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville.

I am happy to speak to Bill C-23, the preclearance act, 2016. This legislation has a number of significant implications for Canada. It is important to our economy and our security, just as it is for our bilateral relationship with the United States.

I have heard concerns from some people in my community about the bill and its perceived impact on the rights of Canadians. I will address these concerns in the course of my speech, but I would like to note at the outset that I am confident the legislation will not adversely affect our rights. In fact, the rights accorded to Canadians under a pre-clearance regime clearly include the extra protections we enjoy in Canada due to our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Border management is a top priority for our government, with officials from Public Safety Canada and its portfolio agencies working closely with their counterparts in the United States on a wide range of issues to ensure that we keep our border effective and functional.

Border management is a priority for our government and for senior officials at Public Safety Canada and the agencies within its purview, which are working closely with their American counterparts on a wide range of issues to keep our border effective and functional.

This includes putting in place the best framework and policies that allow for the smooth flow of people and goods while securing our border. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that we are enthusiastic to make further bilateral progress on the pre-clearance initiative. To put the statement “smooth flow of people and goods” into context, more than 400,000 people flow back and forth between Canada and the United States every single day. Close to $2.5 billion in two-way trade moves between these two countries every day.

Pre-clearance has long been a part of our strong border relationship and will be key to our future one. With this bill, we have the opportunity to usher in even greater security and economic benefits when it comes to Canada-U.S. border travel. Let me highlight the key elements of this bill and why it is so important that members join me in supporting its passage.

Once passed, this bill will open the door to move ahead with the ratification and implementation of the land, rail, marine, and air transport pre-clearance agreement which was signed by Canada and the United States in 2015. That door, once opened. will offer tremendous benefits to Canadians. There are two primary benefits from this legislation. One, it sets out the legislative authority governing pre-clearance operations conducted by the United States and Canada, including possible future expansion to additional sites and modes of travel. Two, it provides the basis necessary for Canada to eventually conduct pre-clearance in the United States just as the U.S. has done for so long in Canada.

Indeed, the United States has conducted pre-clearance in Canadian airports for many decades. As I live in Toronto, I have seen the pre-clearance regime that is currently operating in one of our airports, that being Pearson International Airport. It is currently operating in eight major Canadian airports, and in five pre-inspection sites in B.C. for rail and marine. Last year, more than 12 million passengers went through U.S. pre-clearance in airports located in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto Pearson, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax.

Pre-clearance has been a boon for business and leisure travel from both nations. For Canadians, having pre-clearance in Canadian airports allows us to land in U.S. airports that have limited or no customs facilities. It nearly doubles the number of American destinations that are accessible directly from Toronto.

The first part of the bill sets out the important aspects of pre-clearance, including where and when new sites can operate, who will have access to the pre-clearance areas, what U.S. pre-clearance officers can and cannot do while working on Canadian soil, and how Canadian police and CBSA officers work with the U.S. officers.

It is at this point that I would like to address some of the concerns that I have heard about this bill. In particular, some have raised a concern that Canadians will have diminished rights in the pre-clearance zones. It is stated, not only in the preamble but also in clause 11, that the operations of pre-clearance by U.S. officers on Canadian soil are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights, and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The preamble states, among other things:

Whereas the exercise of any power and performance of any duty or function under United States law in Canada is subject to Canadian law, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act;

Clause 11 of the bill states:

A preclearance officer must exercise their powers and perform their duties and functions under this Act in accordance with Canadian law, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

This statement in the preamble and the wording in clause 11 are very important to me. I believe they respond to some of the concerns I have heard. In fact, the bill appears to provide greater protection to Canadian travellers in a pre-clearance zone than we would have at a U.S. border crossing in the United States on American soil. We would not have the protections of the charter, our Bill of Rights, and the Human Rights Act. These are things that are specific to our rights in our country.

I need to underline that there is no compromise on this. Canadians expect us to keep their rights and values top of mind in all of our work, and this is no exception. On this point, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has been abundantly clear.

As it has been clearly established, all pre-clearance activities in Canada must be conducted in compliance with Canadian laws, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There can be no compromise on that. Canadians expect us to always make their rights and values a priority in all of our work, and this is no exception.

The second part of this bill is where we see the reciprocal element come into play. Along with the enforcement authorities that have been provided under U.S. laws, it would give the Canada Border Services Agency the authority to conduct pre-clearance in the U.S., in all modes of transport: land, air, rail, and marine.

This legislation would pave the way to expand the benefits of pre-clearance to any site and any mode of transport in either country pursuant to future agreements.

As we have heard, this legislation will pave the way to expand the benefits of pre-clearance to any site and any mode of transport in either country pursuant to future agreements. Canada and the United States have already announced their intention to begin the expansion with the Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City, the Billy Bishop airport in Toronto, Montreal's Central Station, and the Rocky Mountaineer Station in British Columbia. These sites were covered by agreements in principle signed during the state visit to Washington last March.

Already in Canada we have made these announcements. The necessary American legislation was adopted last December. It is now time for Canada to do likewise, so we can move forward with this important initiative. Bill C-23 would allow us to build on more than 60 years of pre-clearance co-operation.

I encourage all members to give this legislation their support.

[Housing, February 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, a World War II-era bungalow in my community sold for over $1 million.

Our government understands the importance of evidence-based decision-making. In order to provide affordable housing for middle-class families, I would like the minister to inform this House of the advancement of CMHC's work on escalating home prices in major urban centres, such as Toronto.

[Petitions, February 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition that was organized and prepared by a constituent, Joan Howard. The petition asks that Parliament create and support a national program for helping loved ones of murder victims, fund and promote programming that diverts young people away from gangs and crimes, take steps to ensure equal access to opportunities for young people across Canada, and strengthen and enhance the Canada Border Services Agency's ability to stop gun smuggling.

Joan Howard has been a tireless advocate on these issues since she lost her son, Kempton Howard, to gun violence on December 13, 2003. I would like to thank her for her work on this petition and for her advocacy.

[Taber Family, February 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our community suffered a terrible loss on Christmas Eve when a fire broke out at a family cottage on Stoney Lake, taking the lives of Jacquie Gardner, Geoff Taber, their sons, Scott and Andrew, and their family dogs, Shelby and Haley.

We met when Andrew started JK with my daughter at Frankland Community School. Jacquie volunteered in the classroom and was an active member of the parent community at Frankland, and later at Moncrest School. Jacquie was a founding member of the Danforth Hunger Squad for Second Harvest and was always there to lend a helping hand.

Geoff was a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and worked to support entrepreneurs. Active in the community, he was a cyclist, a leader of the Riverdale Riders, and a coach for Withrow Park ball hockey.

Geoff and Jacquie were dedicated to Scott and Andrew and supported their love of hockey. They were growing up to be wonderful young men. We grieve for their loss but also celebrate all that they helped us build in our community.