House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • Her favourite word was children.

Last in Parliament March 2014, as NDP MP for Trinity—Spadina (Ontario)

Lost her last election, in 2015, with 27% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Libya June 14th, 2011

Madam Speaker, Libya is a country of different tribes. It is deeply divided along tribal and geographic lines. There must be a major push for peace building after the bombing, the fighting and the civil war. Peace building is the tough work of developing the physical, social, political and security infrastructure for sustainable peace. It is the societal integration after a civil war and it is critically important.

Does the government have a peace-building plan now? If it does not, does it plan to build or develop one?

Infrastructure June 6th, 2011

Mr. Speaker, in the 1990s, the federal deficit was downloaded onto the backs of Canadian communities. Twenty years later, Canadians are stuck in traffic, our bridges are crumbling, and our water systems are failing. Friday's throne speech ignored municipalities and infrastructure completely. Canadians deserve a vision, a national public transit strategy.

Will the government act immediately with new funds to deal with the $123 billion infrastructure deficit?

Government Priorities March 24th, 2011

Mr. Speaker, 85-year-old Vera Cudjoe is anxious and worried because she cannot afford her $260 hydro bill. She tried turning off the heat to save money but got desperately sick.

Vera was a nurse and the proud director of the first national black theatre. She worked hard her whole life but the current old age security and guaranteed income supplement payments simply are not enough to live on.

Instead of helping seniors like Vera by removing the tax on home heating, the Prime Minister would rather take care of his buddies like Bruce Carson. Thanks to taxpayer dollars, Carson has two houses, a condo and a Benz for his escort fiancée, while Vera cannot even afford heat.

That is just one example of the Conservative government's twisted priorities. No wonder Canadians believe Ottawa is broken. No wonder the Conservative government no longer has the trust of ordinary Canadians.

G20 Summit March 22nd, 2011

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative G20 photo ops cost Toronto businesses tens of millions of dollars. Just the restaurant industry alone lost $84 million in sales. These businesses desperately need to be compensated. First, the Conservatives mired them in red tape and then stiffed them with a complicated system that is neither fair nor transparent. Downtown Toronto businesses desperately need compensation. They are fed up.

To get the compensation they deserve, do they need to hire a Conservative insider like Bruce Carson?

Income Tax Act March 11th, 2011

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-639, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (universal child care benefit).

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to move a bill to remove the taxes from the universal child care benefits, seconded by the member for Halifax.

Every Christmas parents get a rude surprise. They receive a letter from the government and are told that they must pay taxes on their $100 a month baby bonus from the government. It is a classic case of the Conservative government giving with one hand and taking with another.

Working parents are particularly hard hit. In a month's time, by the end of April, these parents will have to pay collectively over $200 million in taxes.

My bill would make this child benefit tax free so Canadians have a few more dollars in their pockets to buy a few more toys, books and nutritious food for their kids. There is absolutely no excuse to pay taxes on money destined for children.

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

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act March 9th, 2011

Mr. Speaker, I totally agree that spouses and children are more important. However, it used to be that it would take six months for people who sponsored their spouse and children to come here. Now it is at least a year or year and a half, depending on which country they are coming from.

It used to be that if people were sponsoring a mother or father, it would be a year or two years. I remember two years was a long time in the early eighties. Now, they are lucky if just the sponsorship application gets considered in three years.

Why does it have to be an either or situation? Why can we not increase the quota so it would go beyond the 65,000? We could clear the backlog so that the wait time does not become longer. I know of families whose parents died waiting.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act March 9th, 2011

Mr. Speaker, already there is a backlog of 12,000 parents in New Delhi, waiting to join their children in Canada. These Canadians have waited on average for 13 years. They are looking at 6, 8, 10, and 13 years.

Why is it growing that way? This year the quota for parents coming from New Delhi is now 2,300. Last year, it was 5,000. Last year's quota of 5,000 dropped by half to 2,300. This means that the people who are waiting for their parents are going to wait much longer. The list is going to grow and that is really unfair.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act March 9th, 2011

moved that Bill C-566, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (sponsorship of relative), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to move my private member's bill, seconded by the member for Vancouver Kingsway, Bill C-566, a once in a lifetime bill.

We know that about 1,000 young people leave Ireland each week in search of work. Most of them are young and educated and about 50,000 of them are expected to leave this year alone. A large number of them are going to Australia and many other countries. We know they are highly skilled. Some of them are coming to Canada as temporary foreign workers. One reason they are leaving is that the youth unemployment rate in Ireland skyrocketed from 10% to 30% between 2008 and 2010. Ireland is not the only country young people are leaving.

In Spain, youth unemployment doubled from 20% to 40% between 2008 and 2010. In Greece, youth unemployment is over 25% and 40% of young people are actively looking for jobs abroad.

I am talking about these young people because some of them are coming to Canada as temporary foreign workers. As New Democrats, we see immigrants as nation builders, not just economic units. We want them to come as landed immigrants so that one day they, too, can bring their families to Canada.

This once in a lifetime bill would allow Canadians to sponsor nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters to come to Canada. It would be Canadians' choice as to who they want to sponsor. They may want to sponsor a niece who is looking to leave Europe because she is in search of a job and Europe is having a hard time.

This bill would allow Canadians to sponsor relatives to come to Canada. They would need to have enough financial resources to support a landed immigrant coming to Canada. If we look at the history of Canada, that is in fact what has been done in the past.

In 1847, 38,000 Irish immigrants came to Toronto because of the famine in Ireland. At that time, Toronto's population was only 20,000. These Irish immigrants were welcomed with open arms and went on to help build Toronto into the city that it is today. In my riding just a couple of years ago, Ireland Park was opened to honour the 38,000 Irish immigrants who overcame difficult hardships and suffering. It speaks to the kindness and generosity of Canadians at that time.

These young people are highly-educated and they need jobs and to begin their lives. If they come to Canada, they can travel, visit, study or work but they cannot come here as landed immigrants. Most of them would not be able to turn their temporary status into permanent status in Canada.

I recently spoke to a friend of mine, Jonathan Kearns, with whom I worked very closely during the establishment of Ireland Park in Toronto. He has an architectural firm and is doing well. He has received new contracts and is looking for workers. Jonathan was able to bring a few young people over from Ireland but he had to go through a lot of red tape to make sure they were able to work in Canada. When their temporary work visas expire, they will have to go back home where they will have to wait for a long time before coming back here. It is very onerous. They still have temporary status.

The New Democratic Party wants people who come to Canada to be able to establish roots here and eventually bring their families here. That is why we are pushing this once-in-a-lifetime bill. My former colleague, Peggy Nash, was able to get this bill to second reading stage but unfortunately, the Liberals across the way were badly split on it and by a narrow decision the bill was not passed. As a result, many Canadians who want to sponsor their loved ones, a brother, a sister, a son or daughter over 22 years of age, a cousin, a niece or nephew, are not able to do so.

That has not always been the case. Other than family class, Canada has always had an assisted relative class. A Canadian would be able to sponsor a brother, sister, cousin, or a child over age 22. That person would get five points and if they qualified would be able to come to Canada. Unfortunately that provision in the immigration act was eliminated in the late eighties or early nineties.

As a result, Canada has been treating immigrants as economic units. We now have 180,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada. They come and work but they cannot stay. They can only work here for a few years and after that they have to leave.

That is not our vision of Canada. The Conservative government has said that it values families, yet it is taking much longer now to sponsor a parent. The waiting list has mushroomed. There is a much longer waiting period.

In the last 10 years family reunification has become less important. Canada benefits greatly when families come together. That is a Canadian value. That is how Canada was built. Irish immigrants were able to sponsor their relatives. During the sixties, seventies and eighties Portuguese immigrants were able to do the same. They were able to sponsor their brothers and sisters, sons and daughters over age 22. It was the same with the Italians. Many Europeans who came to Canada brought all of their relatives with them. That is no longer the case with the present immigration act.

St. Patrick's Day is next week. In Toronto this coming Friday the Ireland Fund of Canada will be holding its annual celebration. It reminds me again of the role that the Irish have played in building our city.

It is about time that we say to young people across Europe that they should consider coming to Canada and not just to Australia because a large number of them are going there.

We note that they are coming here on a study travel work permit. Last year 4,229 people were granted a visa to come here. The number of temporary foreign workers coming to Canada from Ireland has doubled since 2004. These are highly skilled young people. Many of them have relatives in Canada and they want to stay in Canada because their loved ones are here.

Jonathan Kearns tells me he has a cousin that he would love to sponsor to Canada. Jonathan and his brother Robert have never sponsored a person into this country. They think it is important that they be given the chance, if they so choose, to give a family member the chance to start a career and put down roots in Canada.

The bill has an impact more on the older immigrant groups that are more established in Canada. Most of them have not sponsored anyone, whereas the more recent immigrants have been able to sponsor their father, mother, spouse or their children, which is fine, but in this time, especially with the young people of some European countries having a hard time, it is important to consider this bill.

We could still keep the immigration quota to 1% of the Canadian population. We know that we could use the labour force and we need these young people in this country. We need their work, their drive, their enthusiasm and energy. I know they would be successful.

According to Ireland's Economic and Social Research Institute, 70% of the unemployed youth 18 to 25 years old are set to emigrate from Ireland to Australia this year. We know that the education system in Ireland is extremely successful since university education is almost free. They are highly educated and we can use their talents. The same thing may be said for Spain, Greece and Portugal. With such high unemployment, it is a good opportunity for people to connect with their relatives here in Canada.

The bill would expand the family class definition and would allow a Canadian to sponsor loved ones into Canada. This is what Canada has always done. This is what our immigration system should be about. It is about building our nation. It is about uniting families. It is about giving people the opportunity to build a better life here in Canada. We have the history to show that it is successful and this is an opportune time for us to enact this once-in-a-lifetime bill.

I do hope that I have the support of both the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. In the past the Bloc members have been supportive of this bill to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and bring these young people to Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration March 9th, 2011

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism cannot tell the difference between right and wrong. He cannot be trusted to tell the difference between his partisan interests and the interests of ordinary Canadians.

The minister has the power to determine the life or death of refugees. He has the power over those who want to curry favour from the government.

When will he stop abusing his power and shaking down immigrants?

Political Financing March 7th, 2011

Mr. Speaker, the senior staffer was fired just because he was caught.

This was a scheme organized by the minister of immigration to exploit immigrant communities. The minister has been doing much of this fundraising himself, abusing his power as the minister.

How many organizations hoping to get funding or some special favours were hit up for donations? Who else has he shaken down?