Lisa Marie Barron

[Canada Business Corporations Act, June 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008. At least one-third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared. I am wondering what the member can share with us this evening about why it took so long to start the work on implementing this important move in the right direction.

[Online News Act, June 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, is it appropriate that we have a member in the House currently heckling me, who has been asked to not heckle? She is in the corner right now, heckling, despite a Speaker's having ruled that she should not be heckling in the House.

[Online News Act, June 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member. I enjoy my time sitting on the fisheries committee with him. Although we disagree on almost everything, we do have many good conversations, so that is good.

First, I want to quickly express my concerns about a continuation of misinformation happening; the Speaker ruled, yet we hear the member continuing to heckle in here and other members saying that it was censorship. It is completely absurd.

The other thing is that I do not understand the attention being paid to CBC, which is the only independent broadcaster in Canada. It is not the only one, but it is the only one that does not have corporations at the forefront of its work. My question to the member is does he agree—

[Fisheries and Oceans, June 16th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, abandoned vessels have been left to sink, polluting our coastlines. The Liberals promised to clean this mess up, yet in the last year, only 33 vessels out of thousands on the west coast have been removed. What is worse is that the number of these derelict vessels is only increasing. Luckily, there are solutions. Yesterday I tabled a bill calling on the government to work alongside locals and first nations to protect our oceans.

Will the Liberals stop pretending they have this under control and clean up these abandoned vessels?

[Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, June 15th, 2023]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-344, an act to amend the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, national strategy respecting abandoned vessels.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand today to table my bill, an act to amend the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, national strategy respecting abandoned vessels. I would like to thank my NDP colleague, the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, for seconding it.

Abandoned vessels in Canadian waters have been left to sink, polluting our oceans, harming wildlife and threatening food security. Canadians who live on our coasts know all too well the harms, seeing what locals call “vessel graveyards” lining the coasts. It is time that something is done about it.

This bill includes the development and implementation of a much-needed strategy to address the ever-increasing number of vessels being abandoned along the west coast of Canada, working in partnership with indigenous governing bodies and the province. The measures include, among others, developing a system to promptly and effectively identify the owners of vessels, developing a mooring plan for vessels and developing innovative recycling initiatives for wrecked vessels and their components.

Derelict and abandoned vessels cannot be allowed to continue to threaten our coasts. Our oceans, marine ecosystems and coastal communities deserve protecting.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, June 14th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's work on child care. There is a lot to be said for parents collaborating together to implement real solutions for families and children.

One area that the member highlighted quite frequently throughout her speech, and this is similar to the question I asked the minister, was the gaps of people who are getting paid appropriately to work in the field. This is an ongoing issue in provinces and territories across Canada, where, in order to offer the spaces, we need trained, qualified people in these positions.

Could the member share her thoughts with us today on what steps need to be taken to ensure that people are in the positions that we need?

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, June 14th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, we know how important child care is. I have spoken in this House many times about the impacts on constituents in my riding. I wonder if the minister could explain the plan a little more for moving forward to ensure that we have skilled and qualified people in these positions.

We know this is not a workforce shortage but a pay shortage, a benefit shortage and a retirement income shortage. How are we making sure that we have qualified people in these positions and that they are paid appropriately so that children in Canada get the quality care they deserve?

[Canada Disability Benefit Act, June 14th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, first and foremost, I want to express how shameful it is that it has taken us this long to get to the point we are at today. I know so many people living with disabilities in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith who have been legislated into poverty and struggling to make ends meet, keep food on the table and keep a roof over their head. It is time for us to get this done, so I am happy we are moving in the right direction today.

One thing the NDP has been pushing for through this whole process, and of course my colleague from Port Moody—Coquitlam has been fighting to ensure, is that people living with disabilities have enough money to be able to make ends meet. It is not good enough for us to just push this through and then they are still struggling to make ends meet.

My question for the member is this. Does she feel this is a step that provides her with the optimism we all need that people with disabilities will not have to keep living in poverty and will in fact allow them to live with the dignity and respect they deserve?

[Electoral Reform, June 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, every election the Liberals campaign on electoral reform, yet the only thing the Liberals have done is leave a trail of broken promises. Canadians are feeling increasingly disengaged with not seeing their votes represented. People do not want political games; they expect action. The NDP believes that all Canadians deserve a voice in our democracy.

My question is simple. Will the Liberals make right on their promises and implement a citizens' assembly on electoral reform?

[Government Business No. 26—Amendments to the Standing Orders, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening intently to the speech by the member for Edmonton West this evening, and I feel as though I have an entire speech of questions I would like to pose, so I am going to try to narrow it down.

The first thing that comes to mind is accountability. I really think that, when we are holding fellow members of Parliament accountable in the House, we have to do some self-reflection with respect to our own parties.

Just the other day, I watched as Conservative members decided they wanted to circumvent a vote. They went on the other side of the wall here to cast their votes through the hybrid voting system. They did not have the appropriate headsets on, which put the interpreters at risk. Therefore, I think we need to look at ourselves.

Currently, the representation of women in Parliament is only at 30%. We can do better to ensure we have representation in this party. To say that everybody has equal access to being members of Parliament and serving here is completely out of touch and unrealistic. Quite frankly, those remarks show an element of privilege.

My question for the member is this: Why does he not believe in the tools necessary to have equitable representation within the chamber?