Karina Gould

[Pearson Centre Laureate, June 11th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to celebrate the Hon. Irwin Cotler, who is in Ottawa to be honoured by the Pearson Centre tonight for his lifetime of service to Canada and his work on human rights and justice.

He is a former member of Parliament and cabinet minister, an emeritus professor of law at McGill and an international human rights lawyer, and I am very proud to call him a friend. As minister of justice and attorney general, Irwin enacted same-sex marriage equality laws, appointed two women to the Supreme Court, tackled wrongful convictions and launched anti-racism initiatives.

In his so-called retirement, he founded and now actively chairs the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, which advocates for political prisoners, human rights, justice and democracy. He also served as Canada's first special envoy on combatting anti-Semitism. Irwin is today, as he has always been, a powerful advocate for the marginalized and a champion of progress and justice.

I speak for all Canadians when I thank Mr. Cotler for his incredible and ongoing service.

[Burlington Student Innovator, June 4th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, as it is the first time I rise in the House in this Parliament, let me begin by thanking the good people of Burlington for electing me to a fourth consecutive term. It is a real privilege to be their voice and stand for them in this place.

Speaking of the good people of Burlington, it brings me tremendous pride to highlight Keerthana Srinivasan, a grade 12 student at Aldershot School. Keerthana won first place in Samsung Canada's Solve for Tomorrow contest. Her system analysis and reporting for advanced hardware is an innovative algorithm designed to detect and locate faults in large-scale solar farms, significantly reducing downtime and improving the efficiency of renewable energy systems. Her project is a powerful example of how youth are using their creativity and skills to build a better future for us all.

Congratulations to Keerthana and the entire Aldershot School team.

[Business of the House, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is such an honour to rise in this place on behalf of the constituents of Burlington. I would like to say to all of my colleagues, despite the fact that this was a rather unusual session of Parliament, it is a pleasure to be able to work with everyone on all sides of the House, mostly. I know everybody is ready to go into the holidays.

On behalf of the Liberal members of Parliament, I would like to extend my gratitude to everybody who works in the House of Commons, who serves us so well, stays here on late nights and makes sure we are so well supported. To them and their families, I wish a very happy holidays as well. I would like to wish folks in Burlington and right across the country a very merry Christmas and a very happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating. I look forward to 2025 and all that the new year has to offer. I want to wish all of my colleagues all of the best for the year ahead.

With that, pursuant to order made Wednesday, February 28, 2024, I move:

That the House do now adjourn.

[Finance, December 17th, 2024]

No.

[Finance, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservative opposition is doing is focusing on us while we are focusing on Canadians. We are focused on ensuring that we are delivering affordability measures for Canadians at a difficult time. We are focused on ensuring that we have a strong relationship with our most important trading partner, the United States. That is what the Liberal government is squarely focused on: Canadians, protecting the Canadian economy and protecting Canadian jobs.

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader knows full well that we won the confidence of the House last week on multiple occasions. This government's objective is always to protect Canadians, Canadian jobs and the Canadian economy. That is what we are focusing on right now, and I can assure the House that we are managing our relationship with the United States effectively.

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the House voted in confidence of this government just last week on multiple occasions. We have important work to do on behalf of Canadians. We have a very important relationship to manage with the United States at a pivotal time, and that is exactly what the government is focused on doing.

[Points of Order, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2024 fall economic statement.

[Business of the House, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, given the events from earlier today, I would like to inform the House that, notwithstanding the special order adopted on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, there will not be a statement by the Minister of Finance at 4 p.m. today.

[Finance, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, again, all we see from Conservative members of Parliament are personal attacks and mudslinging against Canadians.

What we all need to be doing right now is standing united for our country, making sure that we are protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian jobs, making things a bit easier for Canadians.

We look forward to presenting the fall economic statement later this afternoon.