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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word is conservative.

Liberal MP for Winnipeg North (Manitoba)

Won his last election, in 2021, with 52% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, as I indicated, there are direct and indirect ways that government programs assist individuals. I cited the example of seniors. The poorest of all the seniors in Winnipeg North are the ones collecting the guaranteed income supplement, and the seniors most challenged by the coronavirus are those receiving the guaranteed income supplement. We are giving those seniors the most money, and we are giving other seniors $200. It is a significant amount of money, given what their annual income is.

We are trying the best we can to ensure that seniors have disposable income during this very difficult and trying time. There have been some additional costs. We recognize that. At the end of the day, however, the government is trying to support Canadians during this difficult time through a wide spectrum of programs both directly and indirectly, indirectly by using the United Way, for instance. United Way Winnipeg has been given millions of dollars to support our seniors. Disabled seniors would be included in that.

I cannot not give more detail offhand, but I appreciate the question.

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, the programs were developed to support private companies, non-profit groups and individuals to minimize the negative impacts of the coronavirus. We have come forward with these programs because Canadians need them. Will there be individuals who will take advantage? I suspect there will be, and no doubt we will hear about that, but it would have been worse if a decision was made such that people who needed the program did not get the money, for whatever reason. There is no absolutely perfect system.

In regard to question period, as the member knows, there are 30 seconds for a question and 30 seconds for an answer. Through virtual Parliament, now we see more of a dialogue of questions and answers. As a parliamentarian, I would rather have five minutes with a minister, with differing amounts of time for questions and answers, than just have one question followed by one answer.

There are some good aspects to the virtual Parliament that our current Parliament does not have. There is a bit of a trade-off, in other words.

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, I am sure the member is aware that he can still ask those questions in many ways, and if not directly, then indirectly. There are opportunities, through virtual Parliament, to pose them.

We need to recognize that during the pandemic we cannot expect everything to be normal. Is it going to be perfect? I doubt it. I do believe, however, that whether through this particular motion or through motions that preceded it, we have been able to allow for accountability and transparency in the government. There have been more questions for the government in the last few weeks than there would have been had we been sitting inside the House. Things have been more focused, but at the end of the day there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that there is a very high sense of accountability through virtual Parliament. Once all is said and done, I am hopeful that PROC will come back with additional recommendations.

I do not believe that the concerns the member has raised have not been dealt with through the changes we have made to date to get us through this particularly difficult time.

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, there are many different resources that Canadians can check into to get updates and all sorts of incredible information. I always tell constituents and anyone who wants to know that it never hurts to get the applications that are there for smart phones as ways in which people can keep on top of the many changes that are taking place. I want to commend the individuals in the Government of Canada who are responsible for maintaining and putting that information on the web, and I want to thank them for the fantastic service they are providing to keep Canadians from coast to coast informed.

On that note, as of 11 o'clock this morning, 1,479,838 Canadians from all regions of our country have been tested. We can imagine the fear or concern of people that they might have the coronavirus, to such a degree that they felt it was important to get tested. Out of that, there are 85,103 total cases, and out of those there are 6,453 deaths. I would suggest that literally thousands, if not tens of thousands, of lives have been saved to date. They have been saved because of Canadians as a whole and because of the actions of the national government, the provincial governments, the municipal governments, and the many different stakeholders, including non-profit organizations and so forth, recognizing exactly what COVID-19 is and the dangers it poses to our society. As a direct result of that, we have saved tens of thousands of lives and taken a great deal of pressure off our health care system as we try to make the changes that are necessary in order to be able to provide the quality health care services that are absolutely essential in order for us, again, to save lives.

Let there be no doubt whatsoever that we as a government, working with the many different stakeholders, are doing the very best we can, day in and day out, to minimize the negative impacts of the coronavirus or COVID-19, whatever one prefers to call it. We have seen profound impacts in all regions of the country. When taking a walk in different communities, urban and rural, one can see individuals wearing masks, continually washing their hands, knowing what to do if they need to cough, and knowing what type of symptoms require making a call. In the province of Manitoba, we call it Health Links; no doubt other provinces call it different things.

There has been an educational curve upward on this particular issue. I would challenge anyone to demonstrate where we have seen such a stark increase in the uptake of education on a specific issue. As a result of people from across our country listening to health care experts and following, for the most part, the requests from the different levels of government and agencies, we have been able to minimize this and be as successful as we have been. When I say “we”, I mean collectively, in the whole sense, not just the Government of Canada. We all have a very important role to play, each and every one of us.

As members of Parliament, we need to play a leading role. Who they are and the type of position they hold will often dictate the type of role people need to play. Canadians, in good part, have been very pleased with how the national government has responded to this epidemic.

The Prime Minister, with a very caring heart, has clearly demonstrated that he wants to see the national government do everything it possibly can to save lives and to condition our communities in the best way it can in order to fight this pandemic. We have initiated programs, virtually from ground zero, to the degree that we are now subsidizing a wide spectrum of people and organizations, both private and non-profit. We are talking about hundreds of millions, going into billions, of dollars that have been allocated in order to ensure that we continue to support Canadians in ever possible way imaginable.

We talk about the 100%. I know it is important to the cabinet, to the Prime Minister and, I would suggest, to all members of the House that we not leave people behind. Unfortunately, we do not necessarily live in a perfect world, and we might not be able to achieve 100%, but that is our goal. If governments were not prepared to get engaged, one can only imagine what the outcome of this would have been. Hundreds of thousands of people would have died, businesses throughout the country would have gone bankrupt and the economy would have broken. I cannot imagine what it would have taken to get us out of that situation, which is why the government had to get engaged. I am very proud of the way members of the House, particularly our Prime Minister, have led the country to make sure that we are covering all the bases we possibly can. It is hard to imagine the many thousands of policy decisions that are being made in a relatively short period of time.

I always like to say to the constituents I represent that, as a parliamentarian, I believe in our democratic institutions. I do not think that, even in pandemics, we should forgo the issue of accountability and the important role of the House of Commons. I am very happy that we have a Prime Minister who believes in this institution. This is one of the reasons why the Prime Minister, leaders of opposition parties and members of the House have been fairly clear in wanting to ensure that the House has some level of interaction, some level of accountability, and we have seen that in a very real and tangible way. In fact, more questions are being asked now than when we were actually sitting, in terms of question period versus a virtual Parliament.

I take this issue seriously. I stood up on my first question since getting back, which was related to the motion we are debating today, whether or not the House should be sitting and in what format. I have been a parliamentarian for nearly 30 years now. I actually have more experience in opposition, by far, than I do on the government benches. I understand the important role that opposition members, and in fact all members, have inside the House in terms of holding government accountable. I really and truly do not believe that we have lost focus on that issue, which is why we have a motion today that would ensure ongoing sittings and accountability in regard to the government. However, as a parliamentarian, I would argue that our first responsibility is to serve and be there for the constituents we represent.

I know the types of questions we get, whether by email or phone calls. I am learning more about Zoom and Skype and using my telephone more than usual in communicating with constituents, trying to answer questions and, in many ways, trying the best I can to help them in this very trying situation.

Within the Liberal caucus, we have a priority for members of Parliament to work with their constituents and be there in whatever way they can to get a good understanding of what is happening in our communities. We are afforded the opportunity to communicate those messages, as opposition members are, about issues related to COVID-19 and ideas we might have that would assist Canadians overall. I am very happy with individuals like our deputy whip, who, several days every week, is fielding questions that members of our caucus have in regard to COVID-19 and constantly asking us what is happening at the ground level.

We have members of Parliament who are in tune with their constituents so that we know what we should feed back to the government to try to change policies where we can. With the amount of change we have seen in a relatively short time span and the billions of dollars being spent, we all have an important role. Not only have government members been able to influence and make successful changes to policy, but we have seen members of the opposition do likewise.

The leader of the Bloc party brought up how important it is that people have trust and confidence in their leaders, whether they are members of Parliament, members of provincial legislative assemblies, city councillors, community leaders or premiers. I want to focus attention on the Prime Minister, because I have heard a little bit of negative feedback from the opposition bench, particularly the Conservative Party.

I believe the Prime Minister is working every day of the week. I believe his mind is on the issue every waking hour. I have seen that through presentations, media, telephone discussions and through many organizations that have been reaching out to ensure that the government is responding to the needs of our society, whether it is the economy or our social needs.

I know that many people look forward every day to hearing what the Prime Minister has to say. As the leader of the Bloc party has correctly pointed out, it is about confidence and trust. One of the ways to build that is by not hiding behind things and being prepared to come forward. We have seen our Prime Minister do just that.

We have seen great participation in the virtual Parliament. When I participate on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from my home in Winnipeg or the sectioned-off corner in my office, there are well over 250 MPs participating.

MPs are afforded the opportunity to ask the government a number of questions related to COVID-19. All in all, I do not necessarily agree with all of the questions, even the manner in which they are posed, but I respect them because this is part of the process. Having opportunities to come back to the House in a limited way is a positive thing.

There are checks being put in place to ensure that our parliamentary institution is not being neglected. Some parliamentarians, like me, are comfortable with the way the House of Commons is proceeding during this pandemic. We need to demonstrate leadership. If we were to put 338 members of Parliament in their seats today, that would send the wrong message. Pulling MPs from all regions of the country, putting them in airports and on planes, trains and so forth, is not what health experts would recommend. We need to be respectful of our health experts, who have done a phenomenal job in providing the information and science for us to make good, solid decisions.

The same principle applies to the House of Commons. We have opportunities to be engaged, and individuals have the ability to look at ways for us to possibly expand. That is why the procedure and House affairs committee is attempting to deal with the issue of how we can change some of the rules. All members of Parliament should have the opportunity to vote. That is really important. I would like to see changes that would ensure that takes place.

What seems to be in dispute right now is that the official opposition wants to have opposition days. It misses having them. I would remind my friends across the way to look at the crisis situation. Given the other things taking place, whether it is the standing committees or virtual Parliament, we can forgo opposition days for the short term, the short term being a few months. Members should think of the impact that this pandemic is having on all Canadians and small businesses.

I could talk about the many different programs. Sometimes a program is direct; sometimes it is indirect. I will use the example of seniors. The one-time increases to GIS and OAS, the $200 or $300 to help seniors, are direct. As for the indirect programs, there are the investments in the United Way to support seniors in communities and the dollars going into health care and the many other things we invest in. When it comes to businesses, the government is providing loans. It is looking at ways to support people with their rent and is providing wage subsidies and so much more, not to mention the CERB, which is becoming the backbone for ensuring that people have disposable income, which is absolutely critical at this time. Taking all of the programs into account, we are ensuring that Canada will be able to come out of this into a situation that is equal to or better than that of other countries of a similar nature, economic performance-wise, socially and so forth.

I will conclude my comments by recognizing the incredible work of the individuals who have contributed to allowing us to get to where we are today. I will expand upon that possibly during the time for questions and answers.

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments by the leader of the New Democratic Party. When we talk about the working person, the individual who is often in that lower-income spectrum, it is one of the reasons I think the CERB program is such a critically important program. Governments are there, whether at the national, provincial or municipal level, to support their citizens. In good part, I think we are seeing that being addressed.

I like what the member has been talking about with respect to the options for workers. What I want him comment further on is the idea that Ottawa itself cannot necessarily do it alone. It can show strong national leadership, but it is also going to become very important that we work with the provinces. He referred to the province of British Columbia.

Could he pick up on how important it is that Ottawa work with the provinces and territories when it comes to defending the rights of workers?

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, I appreciate many of the comments that leader of the Bloc has put on the record. There is no doubt that the goal of the government is to hit that 100% through all regions of our country. Like all parliamentarians, we care about what is taking place in our communities. We want to be there for our people and businesses. For those things that need the government to be there, we want to be there and get as close to that 100% as possible.

Having said that, in listening to the leader, the question that comes to my mind is this. Is the Bloc prepared to support the motion? In listening to what the leader had to say, it seems he is very sympathetic to it. He talks about some its benefits. Does he see his party voting in favour of the motion?

Proceedings of the House and Committees May 25th, 2020

Madam Speaker, I have been a parliamentarian for almost 30 years at the provincial and national levels. As the Prime Minister and government House leader have said, Liberals understand the importance of Parliament, and we understand the issue of accountability and transparency. This is one of the reasons we have been working so closely with the member opposite, opposition parties and government members. It is to ensure that there are opportunities to hold the executive branch of government accountable. All in all, I think we have been successful in doing that.

We are talking about the past three months with a pandemic that is truly unique. When we take all of this into consideration, and based upon my experience over the last 30 years, what we are seeing today is in fact a good, balanced approach. This motion would ensure that members of Parliament could hold government accountable and serve our constituents, which is so critically important given the circumstances and needs of our constituents.

Would the member agree that the needs of our constituents are that much greater today than they were even two months ago?

Business of Supply March 12th, 2020

Madam Speaker, I suspect if you were to canvass the House you would find unanimous consent to call it 6:53 p.m.

Business of Supply March 12th, 2020

Madam Speaker, my colleague and friend truly understands what it is we are trying to accomplish. I appreciate his comment. As a former member of a provincial legislature, he understands the important role that a provincial government plays, but he also understands the important role the national government plays. One of the ways we can deal with the patchwork of differences between provinces and provide the assurances that Canadians truly want in terms of a national program is by working with provinces to get the program that would best benefit all Canadians, no matter where they live in Canada. That means we need a strong national government with a strong Prime Minister and that is something that we have.

Business of Supply March 12th, 2020

Madam Speaker, I would suggest that the member needs a better understanding of how health care is administered in Canada. He says he was never an MLA, but as a member of Parliament, we have a responsibility to have an appreciation of how we administer health care, given the importance of health care to our country.

The member should be very much aware that we have now had several Liberal members of Parliament standing up saying they will be voting in favour of this motion. It is something we have been talking about all the way back to the 2015 election when we were knocking on doors and talking with Canadians first-hand and bringing the concerns of Canadians back to the government caucus when we won back in 2015.