House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2025, with 43% of the vote.
The Environment May 9th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act was introduced in the Senate on February 9, 2022. Between the two parliamentary committees, nearly 50 hours were devoted to the study of the bill, 80 witnesses were heard and 105 briefs were submitted for review in committee.
Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change update the House on Bill S‑5?
Dutch Heritage Day May 4th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, Dutch Heritage Day is celebrated annually in Canada on May 5 to recognize and honour the contributions made by the Dutch community to Canadian society. It coincides with the anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by Canada during World War II, a day my own mother remembers well, as she and her family were there. They came to Canada on the first ship after the war: my grandmother and her six children, with the seventh on the way. They moved to Owen Sound, where they re-established the dairy farm they had left behind in Holland, maintaining the connection to agriculture that informs my own role on the agriculture committee today.
I was delighted to meet with the Dutch ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Ines Coppoolse, on Tuesday at an event hosted by the Speaker of the House. She spoke passionately about the many areas of shared values and co-operation, from security and agriculture innovation to respect for freedom of the press and technological advancements.
I was also able to meet with members of the Liberal Party of Holland during the meetings of Liberal International in Ottawa over the last two days. It was a great opportunity to see so many of my colleagues celebrating Holland.
The Dutch community in Canada is one of the largest and most well-established immigrant communities in the country. I am proud to be of Dutch descent. I thank all Canadians of Dutch descent, especially my mother and her family and those of Dutch descent living in my riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, for all they have done and for the Dutch treats like stroopwafel, pannenkoek and oliebollen.
Business of Supply May 2nd, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite represents another community in York Region not far from me. Why are the Conservatives putting forward something that talks about municipalities and regions needing us to tell them what to do?
We have been working with regions and municipalities through a number of different initiatives to help them and to provide incentives. The member refers to gatekeepers. Are those the fire codes, the environmental regulations or the need for proper water and sewage? What is the member talking about when she talks about removing these gatekeepers? I feel that our municipalities and regions are doing a good job. They know their communities best.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1 April 27th, 2023
Madam Speaker, the hon. member questioned how revenue could go up from taxes and why our expenses went up.
Typically, the balance sheets affect income and expenses, so the revenue went up because of inflationary pressures. These are global, as we all know. Although the member would like to give credit to our government for causing global inflation, I do not think we are quite that powerful.
The other thing the member opposite was talking about inflation. Since the budget came out, inflation has actually gone down. I think it is about half of what the high was. Perhaps it did have an effect.
The other point I wanted to make was that the member opposite mentioned that we get nothing for the interest we are paying. Again, as business people, we know that when we borrow money, we invest it. We are investing, in this case, in things like the Volkswagen plant, which will create jobs and increase our economic growth—
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1 April 27th, 2023
Madam Speaker, I heard several times that he was trying to make things clear to us. I am not sure what the member opposite's background is, but it does not sound like it is business. You asked how we could have revenues go up but not have expenses—
Earth Day April 20th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about our planet, as April 22 marks Earth Day. Now, more than ever, we must recognize the importance of protecting our natural environment and combatting climate change.
My riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill is home to many hectares of the greenbelt, as well as the ecologically diverse Oak Ridges Moraine. I am proud of local organizations such as the York Region Environmental Alliance, Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust, MapleCross, the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and many more who work tirelessly, advocating for the health of our planet.
Additionally, I would like to thank members of the York Region delegation who are here in Ottawa, including Mayor West and Mayor Mrakas from my riding, and my brother, Mayor Taylor of Newmarket, for their commitment to integrating ecological and environmental considerations into all aspects of municipal and regional development.
The theme of Earth Day 2023 is “Invest in Our Planet”. The House has certainly heard much about our government's investments in a sustainable green economy, but we can all invest individually through the decisions we make in everyday life, by raising awareness about climate change or simply by taking a moment to spend in nature. For my part, I will be in Richmond Hill and Aurora with volunteers to help clean up local parks and streets. I encourage all members to similarly engage.
We must remember that we only have one home, our Earth, and it needs all of us to make its health a priority.
The Budget April 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments made by the member opposite, but I am confused. The program we have in place to fight climate change, the price on pollution, has shown to be the best market mechanism to actually combat greenhouse gas emissions. This is about the future, as is investing in clean tech. I am wondering why the member opposite believes that we are not focused on the future when this budget is all about the future.
The Budget April 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, yes, there is a dire need for housing in indigenous communities. I would say that in addition to what is in the budget and has been allocated for indigenous housing, there are also ongoing programs. Again, this is the first time we have had a national housing strategy in Canada and much has been accomplished through it. We have continued programs such as the rapid housing initiative and the housing accelerator program. All of these have funding for indigenous housing as well.
As I said, there are many things that I wish we could have funded in the budget, but the fiscal constraints led to a more limited scope.
I thank the member for that question and I agree.
The Budget April 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her work. We share a passion for the environment.
I would say what we are trying to accomplish is to meet our carbon targets, the reduction in C02. We are using many different ways to do that. We have been working together on a study to end fossil fuel subsidies. I am not a great fan of the fossil fuel industry, but I also recognize that we are going to continue to need fossil fuels in the transition. Putting in place carbon capture, utilization and storage that will help make that cleaner is a step toward meeting our international goals.
The Budget April 18th, 2023
Madam Speaker, in fact the Lake Simcoe watershed is in my backyard. I do live in that area and I am very concerned about it. Like I said, there were many things that were not included in this budget, but we have funded a clean water agency for the first time in the history of Canada and have put significant money into clean water. It is up to that agency to determine how that money is spent. There are many individual requests that were not met.
I would like to add, however, that the provincial government's decision to build on farmlands, wetlands and greenbelts, and to continue to build highways across farmlands that specifically affect Lake Simcoe is adding to this problem, not helping. We have to work together.
The Bradford Bypass was a disastrous decision and Highway 413 is going to follow in its steps.