House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 50% of the vote.
Public Safety February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives cut frontline border services officers, along with cuts to the RCMP and cuts to police forces across the country, we invested in them. We are going to continue to do that, with $121 million for Ontario and more investments for port and border security.
We are going to continue to step up and keep Canadians safe.
Public Safety February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, this would perhaps be a little more credible from the Conservative Party if it had not cut 1,000 CBSA officers when it was last in government. Conservatives proposed to cut 400 more, if they had the 2015 election.
The reality is that we restored every single border officer they cut and added 800 more. We are continuing to do the necessary work. We recovered 1,800 stolen vehicles last year. We will continue to do—
Public Safety February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, organized crime is responsible for the rise in auto theft across the country. The Conservative Party's attacks on Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 are simply not the solution or the way to solve this problem.
We will continue to invest in the fight against auto theft with, for example, $121 million for the Government of Ontario.
We will continue to work with the CBSA to increase its staff. We are there to do our part.
Grocery Industry February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the NDP's efforts to increase competition in the grocery sector, because we really believe in that. We have included measures in our legislation that correspond to the measures proposed by the NDP. We absolutely believe in increasing competition in the grocery sector. That is something the NDP and the Liberals agree on.
The Conservatives would rather listen to their lobbyist buddy who works for Loblaw and defend the interests of major grocery retailers, instead of fighting on behalf of Canadians to bring down grocery prices.
Grocery Industry February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, right now, with the fall economic statement, we are proposing significant measures to increase competition in the grocery sector. Many of them are ideas that we are in alignment with the leader of the NDP on. We believe in moving forward with greater competition in the grocery sector. That is something the NDP and the Liberals agree on.
It is not something Conservatives agree on; their chief strategist is actually on the Loblaws' payroll. They choose to promote disinformation and misinformation while defending big grocers. On this side of the House, we will stand up for Canadians.
Justice February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out, the issue of advance requests was raised a number of years ago and has been identified as one of the important but difficult discussions we need to have as a society.
Could someone make an advance request to receive medical assistance in dying if their condition reaches a certain point, even if they are unable to consent to it? This is a difficult and important issue.
I welcome Quebec's debates on the issue. We are going to pursue our discussions on that.
Justice February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, we could not agree more that a Conservative government would pose a threat to fundamental rights and freedoms. At the same time, when it comes to medical assistance in dying, we understand how difficult and personal a choice this is. We have a duty to protect the most vulnerable while respecting fundamental rights and freedoms. That is why, with regard to advance requests for people with mental health issues and for minors, we have been holding and will continue to hold in-depth discussions and consultations before going any further.
Housing February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, just last week I was in Kitchener–Waterloo making an announcement for the housing accelerator program for Waterloo.
What the Leader of the Opposition seems to have missed is that we were standing in a freshly completed building for seniors. In fact, $33 million of funding from the federal government a few years ago allowed that building to be built today.
We are building things today that people are moving into in the coming weeks. We are announcing how we are building things for tomorrow, while he just chooses to insult Canadians, insult mayors and insult our intelligence.
Housing February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, our housing ambition can be best summed up by the Conservative member for Dufferin—Caledon who said that it seems that every day our Minister of Housing has a new program, a new announcement or a new cheque for Canadians. That is exactly right.
We continue to work hand in hand with Canadians and with municipalities across the country, municipalities he would rather insult, to get more homes built faster. The investments we are making, including things like taking the GST off purpose-built rental housing, which the Conservatives voted against, will continue to create more homes for Canadians right across the country.
Housing February 7th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, he talks about bureaucracy, but, on the contrary, we are investing in municipalities to reduce red tape and speed up housing construction. We have made about 30 housing accelerator announcements across the country to build more housing faster, providing for greater density, better zoning, faster approval to use vacant land and more affordable homes.
We are there to make real investments, while he would rather insult people.