Majid Jowhari

[Anti-Asian Racism, June 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join the debate on Motion No. 63 pertaining to anti-Asian racism. I would like to start by applauding and congratulating my colleague, the member for Scarborough North, for bringing forward this motion and for his advocacy and hard work on this very important and crucial matter.

Over the past couple of years, especially since the pandemic, we have seen a disturbing rise in anti-Asian hate and racism around the world, something that unfortunately our country has not been immune to either. As of September 2021, 2,265 incidents of anti-Asian racism have been reported in Canada.

In Toronto only, the Toronto Police Service has reported a 51% increase in hate crimes against people of Asian descent. In Vancouver, the police board has reported that anti-Asian hate crime incidents have increased by 878% compared to 2019. The Ottawa Police Service reported a 600% increase in hate crimes against people of Asian descent, while Montreal's Service de police de la Ville de Montréal reported five times more. What is even more horrifying about these numbers is that most of the victims of these xenophobic attacks are women, making up 66% of the respondents.

The Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, CCNC-SJ, reports that both online and public instances of anti-Asian racism rose in 2021, with almost half of all incidents taking place in public spaces, at an increase of 48%, while online incidents have risen 132%. Verbal harassment makes up the majority of anti-Asian incident reports, but physical assaults, such as being coughed at or spat on, increased their share of the data, rising by 42°% from the previous year’s report published by the CCNC-SJ.

This increase in xenophobia is underpinned by the long history of exploitation and “othering” of people of Asian descent in Canada. Many of my colleagues before me went into great detail about how this exploitation has taken place over many years.

As hate-related attacks and racism continue to negatively impact the lives of our Chinese Canadian population, I strongly believe that acknowledgement of our history is essential to moving forward and addressing all forms of hate, racism and discrimination across Canada.

This year marks 100 years since the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, a shameful act that banned persons of Chinese origin from entering Canada. As a result, many Chinese Canadians were separated from their family members for 24 years.

On May 27 of this year, I attended the forum commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. I would like to thank the Commission of Marking the 100th Anniversary of Chinese Exclusion Act for organizing this event and providing the opportunity to learn and reflect. One hundred years later, it is indeed important to reflect on the harm caused by this law and honour the significant contribution that the Chinese community has made and continues to make to Canada today.

It is in this context that the purpose of Motion No. 63 is highlighted. Motion No. 63 calls on the government to:

(i) condemn anti-Asian hate and all forms of racism and racial discrimination,

(ii) ensure all anti-racism policies and programs address the historical and present-day racism, discrimination, stereotyping and injustices faced by people of Asian descent,

(iii) highlight the lived realities of racism and barriers to inclusion experienced by people of Asian descent in national consultations on issues of anti-Asian racism....

Finally, in addition, the motion calls on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across the country.

This motion not only addresses the issue I laid out earlier in my speech, but it is also aligned with previous actions in this House, including the March 22, 2021, motion that was adopted in this House by unanimous consent to condemn the rise of anti-Asian racism and racist attacks throughout North America.

This is in addition to the unanimous adoption of the March 24, 2021, motion urging the government to include anti-Asian racism in Canada's anti-racism strategy, 2019-22, and all anti-racism policies and programs.

Moreover, this motion is aligned with our government's strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. In short, Motion 63 is so widely supported because it is simply common sense. No one should feel unsafe or othered because of who they are, the colour of their skin or their place of origin, and hate and intolerance should not go unchecked.

I am thrilled to see the House unanimously stand up to anti-Asian racism on several occasions as racism cannot be addressed by one individual or one group alone. We need to confront this problem and stand up against rising hate together, as one strong and united front.

Asian Canadians have made invaluable and long-standing contributions to this country's culture and prosperity, and this will not be forgotten as we all collectively work toward building a more inclusive country, one in which all communities from various backgrounds and ethnicities can thrive and flourish.

[Health, June 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has strained our health care system, disrupted our economy and changed the way we interact every day. We know that better health care for Canadians means supporting our health care workers and ensuring patients receive timely access to the health services they deserve.

Yesterday, the Minister of Health announced direct support to the Medical Council of Canada, the National Registry of Physicians, the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine and the Canadian Alliance of Medical Laboratory Professionals Regulators. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport please tell the House how yesterday's announcement is addressing current and emerging labour demands in health care?

[Firearms, June 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, gun violence poses a real threat to the safety of our communities. Canadians expect to be able to take their kids to school, ride transit and visit places of worship without fear. People from my riding of Richmond Hill, like Canadians across the country, have been very clear. They want us to take strong action to prevent gun violence and keep their loved ones safe.

How is the government taking action to deliver on safety for Canadians?

[Innovative Agri-Food Businesses, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, with a once-in-a-century global pandemic, worldwide increase of agricultural commodity prices, energy costs and, most importantly, climate change and population increase, maintaining access to sustainable and affordable food systems is an important priority.

In parallel with our government’s initiatives, Fresh Green Farms, a Vancouver-based private enterprise run by brothers Bahram and Shahram Rashti, has championed the path towards sustainable food systems using vertical farming.

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting their facility in B.C., where I saw first-hand how UP Vertical Farms is doing its part in helping Canada navigate its food security issues by developing Canada’s largest, most advanced and cost-effective hydroponic vertical farms to locally grow high-density leafy greens, all while maintaining the operation’s environmental impact at a minimum. At full capacity, they would be able to serve not only B.C. but western Canada.

I would like to congratulate the Rashti brothers for the inspiring work they are doing for their community and for Canada.

[Mothers, May 11th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, “mother” is a simple word, yet it has many deep meanings. Mother is birth, mother is love, mother is warmth, mother is hope and mother is a walking miracle. A mother comprehends what the child does not speak. A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go.

“Mother” is a simple word, but being a mother is no simple job. Indeed, the mothers of our nation and those of others, such as Iran, are the embodiment of strength and resilience. They take these traits with them everywhere they go, from home to their community and society. A feminist economic policy that puts equality and providing opportunities for our nation’s mothers at its core is essential, and it works. It is not easy being a mother. If it were, fathers would do it.

I say to my wife, Homeira, that to the world she is a mother, but to our family she is the world.

[Criminal Code, May 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I am indeed honoured and very pleased to join the second reading debate on Bill C-321, an act to amend the Criminal Code as it relates to assaults against health care professionals and first responders.

First, let me congratulate the member for Cariboo—Prince George, whom I have had the privilege of working with on a number of projects, especially in terms of mental health. I congratulate him and convey that I will be supporting this bill. It is indeed a pleasure to work with him on this file.

I think all members would agree that health care professionals, personal support care workers, frontline workers and first responders are not just workers. They are co-workers, friends, daughters and sons, and mothers and fathers. They are members of our community. They are the ones who reach out to us. They are extraordinarily empathetic members of our community. Every day, their risk their health to bring a smile to the beautiful faces of our community members. Every day, they risk their lives to save our lives and to protect our communities. They are not just workers; they are heroes. However, these heroes are struggling.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to connect with the amazing SEIU health care workers in Richmond Hill, and I learned about the economic, physical and mental challenges that they combat every single day because of the critical nature of their job. Despite all of this, with ever more fascinating courage and resilience, they continue to work to keep their communities safe. Their tireless effort is simply sparked by passion, love and care.

Richmond Hill firefighters are another group and another inspiring example of first responders. They face physical danger not only while on duty but also as they put on their protective gear for firefighting. This is because the PFAS used in their gear cause severe health effects. This is in addition to the mental impacts of living with the uncertainty of what the next mission on the job holds every moment of every day. It is truly hero-like that, every time, they face the uncertainty with the same bravery and notion of service.

Today I met with the Paramedic Association of Canada. I was given one of those coins that we are not supposed to use as a prop. In light of CMHA Mental Health Week, I would like to highlight the fact that, with the vital and high-pressure nature of their jobs, paramedics are exposed to severe mental and psychological pressures. This issue is exacerbated by the increasing violence and number of assaults they face, all while they passionately maintain the health and safety of their fellow community members.

Health care workers and first responders put their lives on the line every day to keep Canadians and our communities safe. They should never fear for their own safety or feel intimidated as they are going to and from work. Bill C-321 aims to respond to ongoing calls to denounce and deter violence against nurses; paramedics; firefighters; police officers, including transit officers or special constables; and other frontline health care staff. The bill proposes to amend the Criminal Code to require a court to consider the fact that the victim is a health care professional or first responder who was acting in the performance of their duties as an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes. The amendment would apply only at sentencing for cases involving assault-related crimes.

In 2019, as the hon. member mentioned, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health studied the prevalence of violence faced by health care workers in Canada. It reported that health care workers have a rate of workplace violence that is four times higher than that of any other profession. What is particularly alarming about this figure is stakeholders' report that most of the violence that workers experience remains unreported because of a culture of acceptance. That is not acceptable.

In its report entitled “Violence Facing Health Care Workers in Canada”, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health made several recommendations, including that the Government of Canada amend the Criminal Code to require courts to treat the fact that the victim of an assault is a health care sector worker as an aggravating factor for sentencing. In light of these calls for reform and the rise in violence against health care workers during the pandemic, our government introduced former Bill C-3, which, when it came into effect in 2021, added to section 718.2 of the Criminal Code an aggravating factor targeting offences committed against any person who, in the performance of their duties and functions, was providing health services. Bill C-321 would complement the amendments enacted by former Bill C-3 by providing additional protection for first responders and expanding the range of circumstances to which the aggravating factor would apply.

First, I want to provide some additional context in relation to aggravating factors. Aggravating factors are circumstances that relate to the seriousness of the offence or the degree of responsibility of the offender and justify the imposition of higher sentences. The Criminal Code contains specific provisions that apply to certain types of first responders. These provisions include, for example, specific offences that capture all forms of assault against peace officers, directing that the sentences imposed for these offences be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed for an offence arising out of the same event.

The proposed aggravating factor in Bill C-321 is consistent with the broad discretion conferred to sentencing judges under section 718.2 of the Criminal Code. The list of aggravating factors provided in this section is not exhaustive, and courts can and do expand the list when recognizing new aggravating and mitigating factors at sentencing. In fact, reported cases in Canada have already recognized that assaulting first responders and persons working in the health care system is an aggravating circumstance at sentencing.

The aggravating factor enacted by former Bill C-3 applies where a victim of an offence was, in the performance of their duties and functions, providing health care services at the time of the offence. However, the beauty of Bill C-321 is that it would apply where a victim was a first responder or health care professional engaged in the performance of their duties. This is a subtle but important difference between the aggravating factor under section 718.2 and the amendment proposed in the bill before us.

The proposed section 269.02 would apply where the victim was performing any other duties, not only those duties relating to the direct provision of health care. For example, even if a firefighter who was assaulted on the job was not providing health-related services at the time of the assault, the aggravating factor proposed in Bill C-321 would still apply.

Our government supports the proposed amendments and would like to suggest replacing the reference to “health care professional” with “person who provides health services”. Our concern is that the term “health care professional” may be interpreted narrowly by the court, which could result in the exclusion of those who work in the health care field but who may not be considered health care professionals. Making such a change would not only result in protection for as broad a class of victims as possible, but the protection they are entitled to would also ensure consistency in terminology between the proposed section 269.02 and the aggravating factor enacted by former Bill C-3 in section 718.2, which applies to persons providing health services.

In closing, our government is committed to addressing the serious issue of violence against health care workers and first responders, such as SEIU health care workers and Richmond Hill firefighters, as well as paramedics. This amendment would, I believe, better achieve the objective of Bill C-321, resulting in expanded protection for all persons working as first responders and working in the health care field.

[Canada Business Corporations Act, April 28th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, indeed, we need to make sure that we tackle money laundering through real estate.

I believe that, if the real estate is purchased through corporations, the current bill would be able to assist, but I strongly suggest that we introduce a land registry with a clear indication of who the beneficiaries are, because that in itself is a tool to flip real estate and further assist in the laundering of money.

[Canada Business Corporations Act, April 28th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, we are looking forward to getting this bill to committee where we can explore all the opportunities available to us to further strengthen it. Any measures, tools, regulations or legislation that help our law enforcement officers to identify the criminals and people who are money laundering, using the values of the Canadian people in a very negative way, need to be addressed. They need to be empowered.

[Canada Business Corporations Act, April 28th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, naturally it is not that simple. However, all those tools that exist are still open to us, and we are hoping this bill will further strengthen the regime we have and allow us to increase our vigilance over those types of illicit activities.

[Canada Business Corporations Act, April 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address the chamber on Bill C-42, which would amend the Canada Business Corporation Act, or CBCA, and make consequential changes to other statutes.

We are here to discuss this proposed legislation because a lack of beneficial ownership transparency is impairing Canada's ability to combat serious financial crimes, such as fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. It also limits our capacity to enforce domestic and international sanctions and to effectively trace and freeze financial assets. Finally, it is impacting the trust of Canadians and foreign investors in our marketplace.

Our inability to quickly and quietly identify a company's beneficial owner delays criminal investigations; denies law enforcement leads to potential suspects, witnesses and evidence; and impairs the identification and seizure of suspected proceeds of crime. It also reduces the ability of private businesses to protect themselves.

Bad actors have long used corporate vehicles to obscure the ownership and control of assets to the detriment of Canadians' and other's confidence in private businesses. A public beneficiary ownership registry would complement the existing tools of law enforcement, while facilitating the identification of changes of ownership without the risk of alerting the suspects of an ongoing investigation. In turn, this would help prevent the dissipation of criminal assets subject to investigation or freezing orders.

The need for this type of registry has, by now, been well established, notably by public consultation held by the Government of Canada in 2020, as well as the Commission of Inquiry Into Money Laundering in British Columbia more recently. Such registries have, moreover, existed in the United Kingdom and many countries since 2016 and have proven a useful tool in deterring misuse of corporations for illicit financial activity by law enforcement, journalists and civil society.

In 2018, for example, Transparency International found that the then Czech prime minister was the sole beneficiary of two trust funds owning shares of a Czech conglomerate in receipt of EU subsidies. In a significant conflict of interest, Slovakia's public registry showed that the prime minister remained the ultimate owner of these trusts.

In 2019, the department responsible for the U.K. registry, the world pioneer, published a review of lessons learned so far. All law enforcement organizations the department spoke to had used the registry to inform criminal investigation, with most reporting using it at least weekly and noting the positive effect it had on their work. According to other resources, the U.K. registry was accessed more than two billion times a year.

More recently, the OpenLux investigation by journalists who had compiled and analyzed data from the Luxembourg's public beneficial ownership registry uncovered politically exposed persons, criminal organizations, an arms dealer and oligarchs linked to Luxembourg companies.

A beneficial ownership registry would also serve tax authorities here and abroad, who would be able to use the information to track and fix tax evasion and aggressive avoidance. The Panama papers, as well as other mass leaks, have shown that private players look for places with weak beneficial ownership transparency and then layer ownership of corporate entities across those jurisdictions to obscure personal ownership interests and income. The longer the chain of entities between the income and the beneficial owners, the harder the truth is to ascertain.

We should not underestimate the significant burden tax evasion and avoidance have on the Canadian economy. More generally, placing beneficial ownership information in an accessible registry would provide criminal and civil intelligence value, helping law enforcement and regulators stay abreast of evolving fraud cases, trends and ways corporations may facilitate these trends.

This awareness supports actionable intelligence to generate investigative leads. Certain government authorities may also have a bona fide interest in identifying the beneficial owner of the corporations they do business with, licence or oversee.

Making beneficial ownership information publicly available further supports good governance and trust. All businesses can check who they are doing business with by reviewing the registry of potential suppliers and customers, and businesses regulated for anti-money laundering purposes can consult the registry to support their due diligence.

Registries and the transparency they foster further serve as a deterrent to illicit actors. When reporting and disclosure requirements are tightened against a particular sector, product or service, prospective criminals will shift their tactics to find alternative ways of laundering funds. By depriving owners of their anonymity, registries will make Canada a less desirable jurisdiction to commit financial crime, forcing them to use more risky criminal vehicles or to go somewhere else entirely.

All in all, it is clear that the registry proposed by the bill would significantly improve Canada's ability to fight financial crime. It would help public authorities verify owners across corporate layers, help businesses better validate the identity of their trading partners, fight money laundering, fight tax aversion, and render more difficult the use of corporations for illicit activities. I hope all members of the House will join us in supporting the passage of this bill.