Julie Vignola

[Criminal Code, June 22nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, we fully agree that we need better gun control. However, I would like to make a brief comment: We also have to control the border, because illegal weapons are coming across it, which is a problem.

The way the bill is currently drafted, even airsoft players, who use air guns like paintball guns, will be banned from playing their sport. These are people who are very respectful of safety measures, but they will no longer be able to play, even though airsoft guns cause no injury, other than bruises.

Would my colleague be open to proposing amendments in committee on this matter?

[Global Food Insecurity, June 16th, 2022]

Madam Chair, before he started his speech I told my colleague that he would be the cherry on top of the sundae. He said that he might just be the sundae. He is both the cherry and the sundae. The teacher in me is irrationally happy to hear him talk about passing on knowledge and about sharing Canada's success stories, especially when it comes to supply management. At the same time, he also reminds us not to repeat the mistakes of the past, and the historian part of me loves that as well.

I would like to hear my colleague talk about the mistakes we should not repeat and the success stories from Quebec and Canada that deserve to be better known.

[Global Food Insecurity, June 16th, 2022]

Madam Chair, there are already concerns about the number of countries living with food insecurity or even famine. There are 44 countries at risk, which is 20% of all the countries in the world. That is what is going on right now.

I always wonder why grain is part of the marketplace. I would think it should be a right, but that is all I will say, since I do not want to get scolded by my economist friends on the way out of the House.

We need to be thinking ahead to next year. Farmers who cannot sow this year will not be able to grow grain next year. If there is no grain this year, there will be even less next year, since there will be none at all. This means that next year, more than 20% of the countries in the world might need help. It could be 40%. How do we respond to that?

[Global Food Insecurity, June 16th, 2022]

Madam Chair, what I am hearing is that there are huge needs and that Canada is making an effort to respond.

I am thinking about the future, however, because we also need to look ahead. Traditional or ancestral grains are often turned down on the global market because people prefer wheat, rye or barley.

Would diversity not be a good thing, and would it not be good to encourage diversity in areas struggling with food insecurity?

[Global Food Insecurity, June 16th, 2022]

Madam Chair, I am pleased to hear the investment amounts referred to by my colleague to help countries in Africa feed themselves, as well as the steps that are being taken to support small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in those regions.

That said, I still fundamentally believe that money cannot be eaten. Even here at home, we are at high risk of seeing food shortages. What can we do right here to support not only our own agriculture, but also agriculture in developing countries that are having a very tough time?

[Global Food Insecurity, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Chair, a few moments ago, I was speaking about the importance of teaching a person to fish. I used to live in the near-northern town of Fermont, which did not have road access until 1984. I know and remember very well how expensive food can be, such as a $15 salad. Even a $25 million investment to help communities even farther north than Fermont, which is after all only on the 52nd parallel, is a band-aid solution.

What steps does the government plan to take and what measures will it implement in order to help communities access reasonably priced, healthy food?

[Global Food Insecurity, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Chair, this crisis is incredible, and its effects will be lasting. I cannot help but think of the old saying, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Millions of dollars in food aid is like giving people a fish, not like teaching them to fish. I would like my colleague to comment on how knowledge, local knowledge, especially in African countries, is essential to helping people develop a local, responsible, sustainable agricultural economy.

[Judges Act, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned unanimous consent. It is possible when parties speak to each other. We are in a Parliament, so the parties must talk, negotiate and use diplomacy. Is that happening right now? Are the parties in talks to reach unanimous consent, given that we all agree?

[Judges Act, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Langley—Aldergrove for his speech. He was one of the first people to say hello and welcome me here when I was first elected back in 2019.

I listened carefully and, from what I understand, Bill C‑9 is important to him and to everyone here, and we are debating it now because it is so important.

What will it take to finally get this bill sent to committee so it can be studied and amended if necessary?

[Judges Act, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand my colleague's eagerness to finally get this bill to committee. It makes sense because that is where amendments can be made, and amendments are improvements.

In fact, speaking of improvements, a lot of people say there are no separatist judges because a separatist judge would not promote Canada. I understand that too. The problem is that any separatist who goes to court could say that they do not want a particular judge to hear their case because the judge would be biased.

How can we make sure judges are unbiased?