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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was perhaps.

Last in Parliament September 2018, as NDP MP for Burnaby South (B.C.)

Won his last election, in 2015, with 35% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Petitions June 20th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition regarding the Kinder Morgan pipeline that runs from Edmonton to my riding of Burnaby—Douglas. The signers to this petition are opposed to the project. Although I am not allowed to comment on the content of the petition and how I feel about it, I know that many residents in my riding are also opposed to this. I would encourage members who are interested to contact my office for more information.

Canadian Coast Guard June 19th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, the member for Nanaimo—Alberni keeps wanting to have things both ways. When he is in B.C., he is against major Coast Guard cuts in the budget. When he is in Ottawa, he votes for them.

Do not get me wrong. The member is right to be concerned about these cuts. These proposals would leave only two centres to monitor over 27,000 kilometres of coastline.

However, just like when every Conservative voted to impose the HST on British Columbians, Conservative members from B.C. are again acting like the Prime Minister's personal rubber stamp. The member for Nanaimo—Alberni could have voted with new Democrats to protect the Coast Guard last week, but he chose not to.

The Coast Guard cuts are risky for the west coast and this budget is bad for B.C. British Columbians know it, New Democrats know it and even some Conservatives know it. I only wish my Conservative colleagues had the courage to stand up for British Columbians and vote against these risky cuts to B.C.'s Coast Guard.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act June 18th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, part of this budget is streamlining environmental assessment. I know his riding sits at one end of a pipeline and my riding sits at the other end of a pipeline. I wonder if the member, like many of his colleagues, supports the new Kinder Morgan pipeline running from Edmonton to Burnaby?

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act June 18th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are very worried about a new oil pipeline that is proposed from Edmonton to Burnaby. They are worried about a number of things with this proposal by Kinder Morgan.

First, they are very concerned about oil leaks and spills, as we have seen in Abbotsford, Burnaby and, most recently, in Alberta near Red Deer.

They are also really worried about expropriation of land and how these changes in the budget would affect their input into this process.

I wonder if the member could explain how shortening the length of time constituents can input into this process and maybe even limiting it so they do not have any say at all into this project is somehow protecting the environment.

Criminal Code June 5th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the bill and to congratulate the member for Vancouver Centre for bringing it forward. This issue is important to her, and I share her concerns.

Bill C-273, an act to amend the Criminal Code (cyberbullying), has been brought forward to really slightly redefine criminal harassment, defamatory libel and legislation pertaining to false messages. It is a good bill and one that we should support.

This issue is especially pertinent in my riding of Burnaby—Douglas. Last year we had quite a local controversy. It was about bullying in general, but also cyberbullying. We had a number of charges of cyberbullying within our local school system toward LGBT community members in our riding. That launched a purple letter campaign by local constituent Kaitlin Burnett, which really took off. It was an effort to get all members of the community to act against bullying.

To show that this kind of bullying is real, during the municipal election we had a small political party slate form that was against this purple letter campaign and against changing any laws that would reduce bullying toward the LGBT community. Heated debates were held all the way through the municipal election campaign about this issue . I strongly support the purple letter campaign and this bill to strengthen measures against cyberbullying, because it is very real.

Most Canadians also believe in this. I have here some polling from Angus Reid showing that a vast majority of Canadians agree that bullying now extends beyond face-to-face or even written bullying to the Internet as well. This is a very real issue. It is real for Canadians and it is real for my constituents.

I hope members on the other side of the House will join with us and support this important private member's bill.

BUSINESS OF SUPPLY June 5th, 2012

Madam Speaker, just to bring it back to the larger issue of science, I am just wondering if my hon. colleague could let me know what he thinks about who should be asking the fundamental research questions. Is it scientists or is it big industry?

His government is moving the research agenda toward making scientists answer the questions of big industry, whereas the scientists are saying that they are the ones best suited to ask these questions.

I am wondering where the hon. member stands on this debate.

Business of Supply June 5th, 2012

Madam Speaker, I listened very closely to my colleague's speech, and I hope he can help me work through a dilemma that I face.

I hear contradictory statements from Minister of State for Science and Technology. The first is that the government is putting more money than ever into science. It is tripping over itself to open up the coffers and help scientists investigate problems. In the next breath, the government says that it has found efficiencies and is making cuts. With one breath it is saying that it is keeping everything the way it is and in the next breath it is saying that it is fundamentally shifting so that science can serve industry.

I find this a problem. The government cannot keep things the way they are and fundamentally change them. Could my colleague perhaps shed some light on these rather contradictory statements made by the government?

Business of Supply June 5th, 2012

Madam Speaker, in his speech, the minister of state said that NSERC made the cut to the MRS program, but then, in his answer to my previous question, he said that the government found efficiencies and made the cut. I am just wondering what it is. Did NSERC make the cut to MRS or did the government make the cut to MRS, and will it restore the funding if it is the government's choice?

Business of Supply June 5th, 2012

Madam Speaker, I can see that the Minister of State for Science and Technology is a very slick salesman on these matters. However, I am trusting the scores of scientists who are sending me letters and contacting me personally saying that the government is fundamentally changing how we support and approach science in this country. It is shifting from scientists asking the questions and deciding funding to politicians asking the questions and basing funding on whims.

I worry that we are turning the scientific approach and innovation in this country into some kind of sausage machine where we put the meat in one end and the sausage comes out the other. That is not how science works, and that is what scientists are telling me.

Earlier in the day, the minister of state stated that the MRS cuts were solely decided by NSERC, but I doubt this. However, does he think these cuts are a mistake?

Business of Supply June 5th, 2012

Madam Speaker, there is a direct and indirect effect of this muzzling, first of all, where we have kind of government flak sitting beside scientists at conferences telling them what they can and cannot say, we have a direct muzzling. Of course, we have an indirect muzzling where the colleagues who I have spoken to and members of the scientific community are now fearful of what they can and cannot say because they are worried about cuts to their own funding and the impacts that will have on Canadians in the future.