House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 35% of the vote.
Petitions December 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition to the government concerning social housing and co-operatives in Canada.
The petitioners, who live at the Pine Ridge Co-op, are concerned that funding has been cut for social housing in Canada. They call upon the government to immediately renew funding for long-term operating agreements for co-ops with social housing providers, in order to preserve rent subsidies for existing units and provide funds for much-needed renovations.
Petitions December 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time that I am rising in the House, I want to thank the good people of Burnaby South for re-electing me. I also thank my staff and volunteers, and my wife, Jeanette, for supporting me all the way through the election.
I rise today to present a petition from many people in Burnaby who are opposed to the Kinder Morgan pipeline. I am sure they will be disappointed to hear today that the minister has decided to go ahead with the current NEB review process for that pipeline.
I urge the government to pay careful attention to this petition, which has been signed by people, including those who were arrested at the protest in Burnaby Mountain.
Housing June 18th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, last week in Burnaby, local residents from my riding rallied to bring attention to the lack of affordable rental housing in our community. They are calling on all levels of government to work together to address our urgent housing crisis.
The #Don'tHave1Million campaign is sounding the alarm that middle-class families just cannot afford B.C.'s skyrocketing real estate prices.
While successive Liberal and Conservative governments slash federal funding for subsidized housing, New Democrats are committed to making life more affordable for Canadians.
I am proud to say that last week our leader announced that an NDP government would sustain investments in crucial social housing agreements, including co-ops, and provide incentives for the construction of 10,000 low-cost rental units. This would help provide the relief Canadians need.
I am proud to be a part of this side of the House, and I look forward to being part of an NDP government.
Science and Technology June 16th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, today I am very proud to say that I signed Evidence for Democracy's pledge calling on the next federal government to stop muzzling scientists and to improve evidence-based decision-making. After years of Conservative funding cuts and the silencing of government scientists, Canadians have been clear: they want our scientists to be allowed to speak publicly about their research, and they want government decisions to be based on evidence, not partisan attacks.
Will the Conservatives end their war on science and allow our scientists to share their research with Canadians?
Petitions June 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present a petition signed by hundreds and hundreds of residents from British Columbia. The petition was created by Gwendy and Alfie Williams, two very passionate advocates from my riding of Burnaby—Douglas.
The petitioners call on the federal government to ban the sale and use of electric shock collars on domestic cats and dogs. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association states that “Training methods utilizing pain, fear, distress or anxiety, including violent use of choke collars and shock collars are to be condemned”, and I urge the government to consider this petition very carefully.
Citizenship and Immigration June 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the former minister of citizenship proclaimed with great fanfare that the government was going to revoke the citizenship of thousands of fraudsters.
Three years later, the government has acted on only 81 cases, and the department has quietly admitted that many of the people it was pursuing were innocent. This is a consistent pattern from the Conservatives and especially that minister, exaggerating threats to score political points.
Why do the Conservatives not, for once, put partisanship aside and focus on finally eliminating huge immigration backlogs?
Science and Technology June 3rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say thousands of Canada's top social scientists are in Ottawa today sharing their latest innovations in their field. They conduct exceptional research on the defining social and economic issues of our time.
Social science research is critical to understanding our society and growing our economy, but of course the Conservatives do not share this view. Since 2007, base funding for the three research granting councils has been slashed by millions, not to mention killing off the long form census.
Why are Conservatives undercutting Canadian social scientists with their reckless cuts to research?
Petitions May 29th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to present a petition signed by hundreds of people across Canada requesting that the Government of Canada extend a 0% GST rate to menstrual hygiene products.
I think the letter they will get back from the government will show that the NDP pushed this motion and that we were supposed to have unanimous consent on it here today, but the Liberals have derailed that.
Science and Technology May 29th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, Conservative muzzling and reckless cuts to science are damaging Canada's research capacity. The Conservatives have cut one billion science dollars and fired 4,000 federal scientists since coming to power, and now a ridiculous federal funding condition requiring old grants to expire before scientists can access new funding is sapping lab capacity and threatening more jobs. That is precisely what is happening right now with the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto.
Will the minister immediately put an end to this unnecessary rule?
Infrastructure May 28th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear them argue about who was the worst government.
Cities are also paying for Conservative politicking. After abolishing the community infrastructure plan in 2014, the Conservatives are now shamefully rushing through a new program, with tight deadlines, as part of their election campaign.
In British Columbia, communities have less than a month to submit proposals. Yesterday, Derek Corrigan, the mayor of Burnaby, testified in committee and said, “It smacks of politics to me”.
Our municipalities need infrastructure investments. Why are the Conservatives, yet again, putting their partisan interests above everything else?