House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2021, with 56% of the vote.
Business of Supply March 18th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, to echo my colleague's comments on the scope of this, as to including the West Bank issue, my colleague from the Bloc is absolutely right. We are being asked to vote on a matter that is material to Canadian foreign policy, and we do not have it in both official languages.
Business of Supply March 18th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, amendment (m) reads, “reaffirm that settlements are illegal under international law and that settlements and settler violence are serious obstacles”. These are all major substantive amendments to the scope of the original motion. As I argued, and as said on page 541 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, this materially “introduces a new proposition which should properly be the subject of a separate substantive motion”.
Given that it is major public policy for Canada, peer nations are going to be watching this debate, watching this table drop at seven o'clock—
Business of Supply March 18th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order that pertains to the relevancy of this amendment. On page 541 of chapter 12, Bosc and Gagnon says that an amendment may not be in order if “it deals with a matter foreign to the main motion, exceeds its scope, or introduces a new proposition which should properly be the subject of a separate substantive motion with notice”.
This morning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stood in this place and talked about how this motion would substantively alter Canada's foreign policy positions on matters of grave urgency to the entire world. This amendment has been dropped with, to my point of order, substantive changes to the original motion, which no member in this place has had a chance to look at or debate since it was provided to the Table.
For example, for your consideration, it is adding, after paragraph (vi), a new paragraph on Israel and its right to defend itself; adding paragraph (d), support the work of the International Criminal—
Business of Supply March 18th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, my concern with the motion is the complete lack of accountability that it asks Canadian Parliament to deliver to Hamas.
What I did not hear my colleague talk about was the fact that Hamas is a listed terrorist organization in Canada. He did not reaffirm that. He did not condemn the acts, the brutal rape and murder of over 1,000 Israelis on October 7, 2023. He did not call for the unilateral release of hostages and the unilateral surrender of Hamas right now.
Instead, he is making the argument to Parliament that we should reward the behaviour of Hamas by supporting the motion. Why is he?
Business of Supply March 18th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, on October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered, raped and tortured over 1,000 Israelis in the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas is listed in Canada as a terrorist organization. It wishes the destruction of Israel, still controls Gaza and holds dozens of Israeli hostages in captivity.
The provisions of the motion before us ask much of Israel and include no accountability for Hamas at all. Does the member believe that the motion is supportable and, if it were to pass, that Hamas would essentially be rewarded by the Canadian Parliament for its brutal acts of terrorism?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns March 18th, 2024
With regard to the Canada-Wide Early Learning & Child Care System: (a) how many kids are currently enrolled in a $10 a day spot, in total and broken down by province or territory; (b) what is the average income of the parents who have the $10 a day spot; (c) how many of the $10 a day spots are for flexible childcare outside of the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; (d) what is the average wage of a childcare worker who provides $10 a day daycare; (e) how many additional childcare workers are needed to achieve the amount of spots that the government promised would be created; (f) how many of the $10 a day spots are located in urban areas versus rural areas; and (g) for each statistic in (a) through (f) that the government doesn’t have the answer for, why does the government not track such information?
Government Orders No. 35—Extension of Sitting Hours and Conduct of Extended Proceedings February 26th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. If members want to show that they are in the House and choose not to vote, they simply do not rise in their seat. There is a video record of them not rising in their seat either for or against, thus showing an abstention visually.
Government Orders No. 35—Extension of Sitting Hours and Conduct of Extended Proceedings February 26th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I would argue that type of revisionist history is why the Liberal polling numbers are so flaccid. Debate on legislation is why we are here. We are here to hold the government to account, and we are not here to make this easier for Liberal cabinet ministers because they failed to work plan.
For example, responses to Supreme Court rulings, such as the one on MAID, have been introduced into the House at the last minute. The government then attempts to ram these things through without intervention, and that is because of its failure to work plan. It is often the Liberals who are holding up legislation. It is often they who are delaying Parliament. For example, last week, a Liberal on the government operations committee filibustered to block a Conservative motion to compel the owners of GC Strategies, a company at the centre of the “arrive scam” debacle, to be questioned by parliamentarians.
Is the real reason the Liberals are putting this motion forward that their cabinet has failed to work plan due to the legions of scandals the government is facing?
Public Services and Procurement February 16th, 2024
Madam Speaker, to be clear, I am not questioning the integrity of the Auditor General. I am questioning the integrity of the government that is hiding these documents from the RCMP. Canadians deserve accountability. Somebody needs to be held to account for the waste of $60 million that went to a shady IT company that had two people working in a basement.
Why have the Liberals not released these documents? Release them now.
Public Services and Procurement February 16th, 2024
Madam Speaker, the RCMP needs access to the documents so that people can be held to account for this waste. The NDP-Liberal government's waste of at least $60 million on the arrive scam app, which wrongly put 10,000 people into mandatory quarantine, was so bad that the RCMP are investigating, and it needs access to these documents. After eight years, Canadians deserve better. They deserve accountability and transparency.
Why have the Liberals not released these documents and what are they trying to hide?