House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 60% of the vote.
News Media Industry June 3rd, 2019
That is another attack on workers, Mr. Speaker.
Why are the Conservatives so scared of middle-class workers? Under the Harper regime, they waged a war on workers' rights. They made it more difficult for workers to organize freely, bargain collectively and work in safe environments.
Unlike the Conservatives, we know that unions are our partners, not the enemy.
News Media Industry June 3rd, 2019
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we do not want just CEOs around the table. Yes, we want the CEOs, but we also want people who are representing the entire industry: the journalists, the workers, the people in the newsroom, small papers, large papers in English and French. Why? Because it is the right thing to do.
Conservatives want to get rid of the free press, and we want to make it stronger.
News Media Industry June 3rd, 2019
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing the free press being attacked all around the world, and today the Conservatives are officially joining that movement.
The Conservatives decided to use their allotted day to attack the Canadian press and journalists. That is worrisome. The Conservatives are directly attacking our democracy. On this side of the House, we will always support a free, strong and independent press.
Democratic Institutions May 31st, 2019
Mr. Speaker, that is a fascinating conspiracy theory. It is impressive to hear.
Ultimately, the Conservatives are attacking one of the foundations of our democracy. They are attacking the media. A free and independent press is one of the pillars of democracy and that is what they are attacking.
We are implementing a program that respects the independence and freedom of the press, unlike the Conservatives and their attacks. They are saying that journalists can be bought. That is what he is saying. He is saying that journalists can be bought and his colleague called them fossils.
We take exception to that.
Democratic Institutions May 31st, 2019
Mr. Speaker, we will do so by ensuring that we have a strong and independent free press. That is exactly how we are going to do it. That is exactly what the Conservatives do not want. We want a strong press that asks tough questions. Sometimes, we may not feel like answering all of those questions, but we do it because that is our duty. Similarly, it is the duty of journalists to ask those tough questions. The Conservatives basically want to do away with all that.
News Media Industry May 31st, 2019
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to decide who should be on the panel. They decided that the workers should not be there and that the journalists should not be represented. The Leader of the Opposition, this week, went as far as to say that he is going to tell CBC how to cover a story; he is going to tell CBC how to write a story, which questions to ask and whose questions should not be asked.
We are against that. Why? We respect the independence and freedom of the press, and the Conservatives should do the same.
News Media Industry May 31st, 2019
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we do not want only CEOs around the table. We need the workers and the journalists. We want francophones, anglophones and members from the ethnic media. We want everybody to be represented, because this is something extremely important. In the last year, thousands of jobs have been lost. Many, many dailies have closed their doors.
We have to act, and we acted in a way that respects the independence and freedom of the press. The Conservatives should stop attacking the press. They should stop attacking our journalists and saying that they are fossils.
News Media Industry May 31st, 2019
Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives are playing a dangerous game. They are attacking the media. They are attacking the independence of journalists. I have been very clear since day one that everything will be transparent.
Instead of attacking professional journalists, the Conservatives should be there to support them, because they are part of our democracy. They are a pillar of our democracy. That is why the program is in place, to respect the independence and freedom of the press.
News Media Industry May 28th, 2019
Mr. Speaker, what we need is a panel that is both independent and representative of the entire industry. Yes, it takes employers and people from newsrooms, but it also takes people who represent workers, people who represent journalists, people who represent minority communities and people who represent ethnic media.
We need a variety of opinions while respecting one fundamental thing: freedom of the press. Rather than attacking the media, the Conservatives should follow our lead and support it. Our media is one of the pillars of democracy.
News Media Industry May 28th, 2019
Mr. Speaker, it is quite something to hear that from a Conservative who wants to get rid of the CBC and control how it covers the news.
Once again, the Conservatives are playing a dangerous game by attacking professional journalists and calling them fossils. We, on the other hand, are introducing a program that respects fundamental principles such as the independence and freedom of the press.