Niki Ashton

[Business of Supply, October 25th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

I am pleased to speak in Parliament today in support of this motion. I believe that it is time for us to take the next step in asserting and strengthening our democracy, in part by ending our ties with the monarchy.

We are living in an important time. We are seeing attacks against democratic institutions and processes around the world. We here in Canada need to look at what we can do to strengthen and reinforce our own democracy. We cannot sit idly by. It is time for us in Canada to reflect on our own institutions and our own processes. It is time to ask, how democratic are we in reality?

It is 2022, and we have a king. We have been independent since 1867. We have had our own foreign policy since the 1930s. We repatriated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. In 2022, we still have a king.

I think it is legitimate to debate this question, about whether we should keep moving toward a more democratic system.

I recognize that there are people in this country who do support the monarchy and there are people with emotional connection. My own grandmother, who was born in England, camped out to witness the coronation of the Queen in 1953. My grandmother felt a direct connection going back to World War II, when during the Nazi bombardments the Queen and the monarchy were a symbol for many in England of the resistance at that time.

For many indigenous peoples, the relationship with the Crown is of significance. That is with whom the treaties were signed. It is a relationship going back in history and we must acknowledge this.

However, the question is this. Here, in 2022, are we not at the point where we can elect or select our head of state, rather than having the head of state represented by the British Crown?

The answer should be yes. We need to view this question through a modern lens in 2022.

We must acknowledge the second-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which has built on the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, making it clear that we must recognize the truth when it comes to Canada's ugly history of colonization. That colonization is rooted in the Crown's control, to its benefit. With the Indian Act, the reserve system, the residential school system, the pillaging of indigenous resources and the genocide of indigenous peoples, the devastating impacts of colonization are still evident today.

Reconciliation means carrying on a journey of decolonization and this must include ending our ties with the British monarchy. The monarchy is a symbol of colonialism for many indigenous peoples and for many people who have come to Canada from around the world. Many people left countries for a better life because of the conflict, impoverishment and repression waged by the British Crown. Many left from countries that had struggles for independence and where resistance was brutally quashed by Britain and those who served the British Crown, including India, Malaysia and Cyprus. The list of countries goes on.

Reconciliation also means embarking on the path to decolonization. It means severing ties with the monarchy. I am thinking about all the people who left their countries in search of a better future because of the wars, economic hardships and repressive measures inflicted on them in the name of the British Crown.

We must be clear. The monarchy is a symbol of colonialism, a symbol of slavery, a symbol of oppression, a symbol of repression and a symbol of conflict.

We know that in recent years the monarchy has engaged in a fair bit of public relations. It has said sorry for some things, but sorry will not cut it. Countries like Jamaica are demanding reparations from Britain. Countries like Barbados have done away with the monarchy entirely.

It is time for Canada to boldly take a step forward on the path to decolonization and away from the monarchy. There are steps we can take right now. Elected members of Parliament are asked to swear allegiance to the King. This is an anachronism that we can get rid of. I would like to point out that Sol Mamakwa, an NDP colleague in Ontario, and many Québec Solidaire and Parti Québécois members in the Quebec National Assembly have refused to swear allegiance to the King. We should be swearing an oath to the Canadians who sent us here.

I have long had many people asking me why Canada is not an independent country and why we do not swear allegiance to Canadians instead of to the Queen or the King. However, we need to do more. How democratic is it to have an elected House of Commons and an unelected Senate, a Senate modelled on the House of Lords, whose duty is to check our democratic excesses?

While there are good people in the Senate, it is profoundly undemocratic. We have to recognize that. I believe the logical thing to do is abolish the Senate, and I am proud that the NDP has always stood for the abolition of the Senate.

Canada lectures other countries around the world on the importance of being a democratic country, of having a democracy. Of course we have an elected House of Commons, but we cannot lecture other countries because we are far from having a perfect system. We have a king, we have a Senate where senators are appointed and we have a Parliament that is elected through a first-past-the-post system, where parties like the Liberal Party form a government with less than 33% of the popular vote.

We must strengthen our democracy. We must bring in electoral reform to ensure that the voices of Canadians and the will of the Canadian people are truly reflected in their houses of government across our country. We have made some small steps to bring our House into the modern era, including bringing in a hybrid Parliament, but the reality is that the foundations of our Canadian democracy, and certainly our institutions, have a long way to go to be able to strengthen the democracy we claim to believe in.

With all due credit to Quebec parliamentarians, we should pay tribute to the leaders of the Quiet Revolution and finally become masters in our own house.

It is time for Canada to move into the modern era, one that is rooted in reconciliation and committed to decolonization and strengthening our democracy. This ought to include ending our ties with the British monarchy.

[Pandemic Day Act, October 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to debate Bill S-209, an act respecting pandemic observance day, proposed by the hon. member for Vancouver Centre, which would designate March 11 of each year as pandemic observance day to give Canadians an opportunity to commemorate the efforts to get through the pandemic, remember its effects and reflect on ways to prepare for any future pandemics.

First of all, it is important that we first recognize the incredible toll COVID has taken on our country and indeed our world. In Canada, already more than one in 10 Canadians has had some form of COVID. Almost 50,000 Canadians have died as a result of COVID-19. Around the world, the numbers are horrific: 625 million people infected and over 6.5 million deaths.

We know people's lives have been shaped irreparably, in some cases, as a result of COVID. Lives have been put on pause, finances have crumbled, and weddings, funerals, new births and last moments have been missed. Special moments and milestones with loved ones have been missed as well. I would argue there is not one family in our country that has not been touched by the tragedy of COVID-19.

What we are also here to talk about today is the clear fact that much more could have been done, both within our borders and abroad. If we look back to the last couple of years, we need to talk about the support Canadians so desperately needed. We cannot forget the Liberals only wanted to support Canadians with a one-time payment in the face of not just a public health emergency but also a financial crisis for many Canadians. It was the NDP that successfully fought for regular CERB payments, which helped to lift many people up during this time of crisis.

Now, unfortunately, the government is targeting the benefits of people who relied on CERB throughout the pandemic, including many in our region. All the while, wealthy CEOs, who used tax avoidance schemes to avoid paying taxes, and who received support during the pandemic, are getting a free pass. We need to see amnesty for those who needed CERB and applied for it.

Unfortunately, this is in character for the government. It cut the guaranteed income supplement for the most vulnerable seniors, leaving low-income Canadians in desperate situations until New Democrats forced it to reverse the cuts. Recently we learned it cut the Canada child benefit for families struggling to feed their children. It is clear whose side the Liberals are on.

Rich companies that used the wage subsidy, even though they were making profits and gave millions in dividends to their shareholders, are not being asked to pay the money back they received. The government is not hesitating to make hard-working Canadians, who are struggling to make ends meet, to pay back the CERB they desperately needed throughout the pandemic. The reality is that the COVID-19 crisis held up a mirror to the country we have built and the cracks at its foundation.

No one need to look further than the reality of first nations during the COVID-19 pandemic. First nations in our region, such as the Island Lake first nation, which does not have regular hospital access, communities such as OCN, Shamattawa, God's River and others, had such bad COVID outbreaks that the military needed to come in to help. A lack of PPE, testing kits and even nurses and doctors left communities fending for themselves. They were scrambling and without support.

Then we had communities such as Pukatawagan, where the government decided the best way to help community members to isolate was to give them tents in the middle of winter, which nobody from that community asked for. It was not quite the heartlessness of the Harper government sending body bags during the SARS pandemic and H1N1, but it was awfully close. The worst part is that no one in the community even asked for this. We looked into it, and it turned out a board member of the company that made the tents also sat on the COVID-19 supply council, whish was designed to advise the government on procurement during the pandemic. When this came to light, that person was forced to step down.

COVID showed us how vulnerable so many of our institutions are and how ill-prepared we were. A COVID outbreak at a Cargill meat processing plant highlighted how unserious our country is about workers' safety. Over 1,000 cases were linked. People died because they worked in unsafe workplaces.

Throughout the pandemic, we also saw how ill-suited our institutions were in ensuring that the most vulnerable in our society were protected. Our health care system, for which the Prime Minister and the government never replaced the cuts to transfer payments brought in by the previous Conservative government, was stretched beyond its absolute limit. Nurses complained about the lack of PPE while they put their lives on the line to keep people safe and to save what lives they could.

Our behaviour as a country was no better abroad. It was the Liberal government that blocked countries like Bolivia from accessing a Canadian-produced generic vaccine, preferring to put the economic profits of giant pharmaceutical companies ahead of the lives of people around the world. Do not forget that Bolivia reached an agreement with the Canada-based drug manufacturer Biolyse to acquire desperately needed vaccines for a country that, at the time, had only been able to vaccinate 5% of its population. The government, despite publicly stating that it was doing everything in its power to get the vaccine to the global south, worked to block Bolivia's efforts at the WTO. Canada has put lives at risk.

It is abundantly clear that much more could have been done and could still be done, both at home and abroad. The government did the bare minimum and it was up to Canadians to pick up the pieces, with people checking in on their neighbours when they were sick and helping them out with things like groceries and basic necessities.

When we talk about the cracks in our foundation, we also saw the way in which the loss of our vaccine production capacity rendered us at risk. The inability to produce the PPE we needed here at home put us at risk. Publicly owning the capacity that we need to be safe in a pandemic is something that we as Canadians need to act on. We cannot be vulnerable the way we were during the pandemic.

I also want to highlight that many have pointed to the lessons we should be learning from this pandemic. I appreciate the work of Nora Loreto, who wrote a book called Spin Doctors: How Media and Politicians Misdiagnosed the Covid-19 Pandemic. It talks about how the media, in many cases the mainstream media, overlooked the reality that was afoot in our country, and how politicians and public health officials were mostly given the benefit of the doubt that what they said was true and that they acted in good faith, when, in many cases, we know that this was not necessarily the case.

Her book documents each month of the first year of the pandemic and examines the issues that emerged, from the disproportionate impact on racialized workers and the people who died in residential care to policing. Her book demonstrates how politicians and uncritical media shaped the popular understanding of the issues. It very much argues that we desperately need to move beyond the idea that individual actions will keep us safe and move toward collective action, backed up by the political will to ultimately put people's lives ahead of profit, something that we did not see happen the way it should have throughout the pandemic.

In wrapping up, I want to share my thoughts with the many people across the country, including here in our north, who lost loved ones to COVID-19. Our thoughts are with them.

We also know that thoughts are not enough. What we need is clear action, so that lives that were lost were not lost in vain and so that we are there to protect workers, people on the margins, indigenous communities and people living in long-term care. We need to protect them going forward.

This requires political will. This requires public investment. This requires supporting our health care system and our health care professionals. It requires public ownership when it comes to the production of vaccines, PPE and the materials we need to keep our community safe. It requires ending the housing crisis in first nations and building hospitals where they are needed for indigenous communities. It requires lifting people up in concrete tangible ways and ultimately making it clear that lives, whether they are in Canada or around the world, are much more important than profit.

We need to act now.

[Taxation, October 6th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we have a government of fakers. The Liberals fake standing up for working people, and they may even believe it, which is shocking given their record of corporate giveaways and their refusal to make the wealthy pay their fair share to the tune of $30 billion in 2021 alone. The reality is that billionaires have it easier under this Prime Minister than they did under Stephen Harper.

It is time for fair taxation. It is time to make the rich pay. Which will it be, more faking or will the Liberals make the ultrarich pay their fair share to deliver the support Canadians need now?

[Taxation, October 6th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we have a government of fakers. The Liberals fake standing with working people, and they may even believe it, which is shocking given their record of corporate giveaways and their refusal to make the wealthy pay their fair share to the tune of $30 billion in 2021 alone. The reality is that billionaires have it easier under this Prime Minister—

[Business of Supply, October 6th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, we know it is bad when Shell is out there saying that oil and gas companies should be paying more in taxes.

Instead of hearing the Liberals listen to them or anybody else who has said that the time is now, not only in terms of tax fairness but also tackling the climate crisis, we need to step up—

[Business of Supply, October 6th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I had to compose myself, as somebody who grew up with Blockbuster video.

I am not sure the member actually listened to my speech, because what I was talking about was taxing corporations and the rich. Maybe he did not hear it because the Conservatives seem to be largely allergic to wanting to tax the rich and corporations, something that they did not do when they were in power a few years ago.

Concretely, we point to the groundbreaking work of Canadians for Tax Fairness that talked about the $30 billion that corporations did not pay in taxes, the $30 billion that could have and should have been invested in Canadians. I will say there is a double standard in this country. Working people are expected to pay their fair share of taxes while the richest among us get away scot-free. It is time for the Conservatives to get on board with the idea that there should be tax fairness for everybody, including their rich friends, who are clearly not paying their fair share of taxes. I invite the Conservatives to support our plan to tax the rich and lift Canadians up during these hard times.

[Business of Supply, October 6th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the openness of the member and I certainly hope it will result in the Liberals supporting our motion and, more importantly, acting on what is in our motion, it has been disappointing so far to see the Liberal Party, which claims to stand up for the middle class, not actually taking bold action when it comes to taxing the rich, which we know is a critical step in standing up for the middle class and reinvesting in our social programs and the social safety net that is essential to greater equality in our country.

We believe it is important to act on the recommendations in the groundbreaking report by Canadians for Tax Fairness. It is not a quick fix, but there are clear steps we could be taking right now to close loopholes, to tax capital gains and to increase the corporate tax rate, which would obviously apply to not just grocery chains but all sectors that have seen record profits during the pandemic.

[Business of Supply, October 6th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise today to talk about our NDP motion, proposed by my colleague the hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, which urges the House to recognize the struggle and the pain Canadians are going through right now.

The reality is that excessive corporate profits and out-of-control inequality are harming our country. These excessive corporate profits are fuelling inflation. A government that cares for its citizenry would have done something about it. Sadly, we are not seeing that from the current government. A government that cared about the struggle that working people and families are going through would have requested an investigation into the predatory behaviour of grocery store chains. Not only did we not see that, but this is the same government that preferred to buy fridges for these grocery chains a short time ago.

Unfortunately, that is how it has been with the Liberal government, preferring empty words to real systemic change, preferring to be there to support its rich friends rather than holding them accountable and making them pay their fair share. It is time for the wealthy to pay their fair share in Canada. It is clear that we simply cannot afford not to do so. Every tax loophole and avoidance scheme is money taken out of the pockets of working people and the most vulnerable in our country. It keeps them in poverty and holds our country back. It is a choice made by the current government and governments before it to keep people poor, marginalized and divided. All the while the rich are laughing all the way to the bank.

It is clear that Canadians are angry. Many of them are increasingly also hungry. They cannot afford their next meal. They do not know how they are going to feed their families. All the while, rich CEOs in our country are gouging them. There is only so much to squeeze out.

It is hard to even call what is in our current system loopholes anymore, as these are by design. We are talking over $30 billion in tax avoidance in 2021 alone from only 123 corporations. That is $30 billion in the pockets of the already obscenely wealthy that could have been invested in communities across our country. Let us be clear. This is a choice, a choice with disastrous effects on Canada.

In August 2022, the price of a grocery basket rose 10.8% in one year, exactly twice as fast as people's wages. Meanwhile, the CEO of Sobeys has been given a total compensation package of $8.6 million in 2022, an increase of more than 15.5% over 2021. This is a choice our government has made and it is clearly not a good one. The choice by the government to cover its eyes and avoid helping Canadians who are struggling has left nine out of 10 Canadians tightening their budgets, as if there was room for many to do so. Almost one-quarter of Canadians are buying less food. We need to call this what it is, a crisis, and one that has been growing for a long time for far too many people. It is only now that the Liberals are noticing.

While the Liberals are not offering any real solutions, and neither of course are the Conservatives despite all their bluster, there is an important distinction to make. We, in the NDP, will work with anyone if it means getting results for Canadians, if it means real results for people struggling to get by so they can get the supports they need, whether to make rent, get dental care or afford the most basic necessities.

When the Conservatives and the Liberals team up, watch out, because it is the little guys, the working people, the Canadians on the margins, who are getting screwed. They may sit on opposite sides of the House for the TV, but when it comes down to it, the Liberals and Conservatives have a track record of going to bat for the ultrarich in Canada. This is the real coalition government in our country, one run by the wealthy, for the wealthy. It allows the Liberals and Conservatives to block meaningful change, whether it be ending the housing crisis facing indigenous communities, stopping the billion-dollar giveaways to big oil or ending the ability for telecom companies to screw Canadians over, time and time again.

This is perfectly in character for the new Conservative leader. Do not forget, the Conservative leader wants to give a $567-million gift to corporate CEOs at the expense of workers, who will see their EI benefits and pensions cut. So much for standing up for working people. Not surprisingly, he has already voted against the minimum wage increase twice. Why is the Conservative leader putting the interests of wealthy CEOs ahead of workers?

What should we as parliamentarians, who are supposed to be acting in the best interests of Canadians, be doing next? We need to find solutions and act on them to end the unfair tax system. We must place a priority on fixing the tax gap, as highlighted by Canadians for Tax Fairness earlier this week.

First, we must raise the corporate income tax rate. It is only 15% today, and with all the loopholes available to corporations, it is clear that they can easily avoid, and they are easily avoiding, paying that tax. Increasing the basic tax rate is a solution to tackling inequality in our country.

Second, we must implement a minimum tax on book profits and take inspiration from what our neighbours to the south are doing. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed this measure that will be a check on corporate exploitation of tax loopholes. It is essential in ensuring that we close the tax gap. Had Canada had a 15% minimum tax rate in 2021, we could have increased government revenues to fund essential services by over $11 billion.

Third, we must close the capital gains loophole, finally. Income must be taxed as income, whether it is for rich shareholders or working-class Canadians. It is a matter of basic fairness. Doing so would go a long way to fixing the housing crisis that many people on first nations and indigenous communities face. It would go a long way to ending the crisis in our emergency rooms and hospitals. It would go a long way to lifting people up across our country in every community across Canada.

The reality is that Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. Those of us connected to our communities hear this, day in and day out. In regions like mine, people do not have more to give. As somebody who represents one of the poorest parts of Canada, people are already set back and are only being set back further. I have heard from many indigenous people who had already been struggling to make ends meet and afford healthy foods in their communities that things have only become worse. I have heard from working people across our north, for whom access to basic services are already limited, that times are increasingly tough. I have heard from families who do not know how they are going to pay for a Thanksgiving meal with their children.

The reality is that we, as MPs, are not just here to talk about the difficulty people are facing. We are here to act on their behalf and to act on the solutions that many have said are right in front of us. That starts with showing some political will: political will that we have yet to see from Liberals and Conservatives, political will that prioritizes taxing the rich and political will that requires looking into why so many corporations, including supermarkets, made a killing during the pandemic and made sure their CEOs got off with major bonuses and incomes, only to see Canadians set further and further back.

We are not here to just talk; we are here to act. That is why I am proud that we in the NDP have put forward a concrete plan in today's motion to act on ending inequality in our country, to act on the affordability crisis many Canadians are facing and to act to end the greedflation that we are seeing, aided and abetted by the Liberal government.

Let us no longer sit by. On the eve of Thanksgiving and families coming together, however they do, to celebrate being together over food, let us make sure we are taking actions so that they can afford what they need, and what we all need, to move forward. It is our responsibility to act now.

[Indigenous Affairs, September 26th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, with Orange Shirt Day fast approaching, we are going to see once again a government that talks a good game about respecting the rights of indigenous peoples but does not follow through. For clean drinking water, deadline after deadline has been missed. On overcrowding and homes in disrepair on first nations, there has barely been a dent, and for all the government's public commitments that communities must lead their own searches for the unmarked burial sites of their children, communities are saying that the government is dragging its feet instead of supporting them.

Can the government explain why, when it comes to really supporting indigenous communities, its answer is no?

[New Democratic Party of Canada, September 22nd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative leader and the Prime Minister may disagree on some things, but when it comes to standing with the billionaire class, they are both just in bed with their corporate buddies.

Like the Liberals, the Conservatives do not stand with working people. They are unwilling to tax the ultrarich; they are unwilling to stop the billion-dollar giveaways to big oil; and they are unwilling to take the steps necessary to end the housing crisis in this country. However, Canadians are increasingly tired of the games of these two parties: both the silver-tongued snake oil of the opposition leader and the entitlement of the Prime Minister.

Canadians struggling to get by need real action. Far too many indigenous communities lack basic housing. More than half of Canadians are $200 from insolvency. In this Parliament, Liberals and Conservatives are competing on who can fight better for the billionaire class, but it is the NDP that is fighting to deliver true justice to Canadians.