Peter Fonseca

[Committees of the House, November 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on Finance, entitled “Merger of Royal Bank of Canada and HSBC Bank Canada”.

[Boleslaw Julius Fujarczuk, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the life of Boleslaw Julius Fujarczuk, who passed away June 6, in his 99th year, after a long and remarkable life.

From proudly serving during the Second World War to earning notable commendations such as the Polonia Restituta Cross, the British Defence Medal and the British General Service Medal to becoming a successful businessman and prominent community leader, Boleslaw lived an extraordinary life.

Although he was involved in many Polish organizations in Canada, his most notable involvement was in the founding of St. Maximilian Kolbe church and the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville.

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his loved ones and the entire family at this trying time, in particular with his children Richard, Teresa and Theodore.

On behalf of the people of Canada, I thank Boleslaw Julius Fujarczuk for his services. May he rest in peace.

[Government Business No. 26—Amendments to the Standing Orders, June 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot be doing points of order after 6:30 p.m.

[Portuguese Heritage Month, June 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, in June, we come together to celebrate Portuguese Heritage Month, a significant occasion when we acknowledge the remarkable contributions made by Canadians of Portuguese descent.

Saturday, June 10, was Portugal Day, observed both in Portugal and around the globe. As Portuguese Canadians, this day holds a deep sense of pride for us and a great, deep joy.

This year also marks a significant milestone as we commemorate and pay tribute to 70 years of Canada-Portugal relations. As a testament of our friendship and strong ties, Portugal has contributed 120 Portuguese firefighters to join their Canadian counterparts' efforts to put out our wildfires.

Today, let us take this opportunity to celebrate and honour the accomplishments, rich heritage and seamless integration of our Luso community into Canada.

[Member spoke in Portuguese]

[English]

[Committees of the House, May 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Finance in relation to Bill C-47, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

I would like to thank our legislative clerk, Philippe Méla; the finance committee clerks, Alexandre Roger and Alexandre Sacha Vassiliev; committee assistant Lynda Gaudreault; the whole team of 16 additional clerks who came in to help during the long hours into the night; the whole team of interpreters, technologists and staff of the committee; and, of course, the hard-working members of the committee, our witnesses and department officials for all of their hard work in getting this report completed. I thank them all.

[World Portuguese Language Day, May 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as a Portuguese Canadian, I am honoured to rise today on behalf of the Portuguese diaspora in Canada and across the world.

Initially established as Portuguese language and culture day in 2009, in 2019 UNESCO officially proclaimed May 5 as World Portuguese Language Day, Dia Mundial da Língua Portuguesa. Since then, it is celebrated to honour the Portuguese language and its cultural significance worldwide.

Portuguese is spoken by more than 265 million people globally, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world. Primarily spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, it is also spoken in India's Goa region and Macau, China.

My sincere thanks to the Portuguese ambassador in Canada, Antonio Rocha, and Mrs. Luisa Rocha, for their great service to our Portuguese-Canadian community.

[Member spoke in Portuguese]

[The Budget, April 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is so important. Over the last two weeks, we were in our constituencies, knocking on doors and speaking to families that have had the opportunity to avail themselves of our dental program, which is right now for kids under age 12, but will be expanded to seniors and to kids up to age 18. It makes a tremendous difference for those families, along with many of the supports that we have put in place, which are allowing youth to have a vision for their careers and their futures.

[The Budget, April 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member, and his colleague next to him, because I know that, in my community and in communities right across our country, predatory lenders are out there taking advantage of people who find themselves in dire straits. I am glad this budget will be addressing the issue of predatory lending, so we can bring down those abysmal charges and interest rates, which these companies are driving onto people.

I am with the member for Hamilton Centre and the member from B.C., and I support them on this.

[The Budget, April 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member and the others, because it gives me the opportunity again to speak about our record. The Bloc members did not put in their platform, and nor did the Conservatives, the New Democrats and others, how they were going to help seniors with a 10% increase to the OAS as well as the GIS. However, the Liberals did, and we delivered for seniors. We increased the OAS. Since 1973, the OAS had never been increased by as much as we increased it. It would be good to see if the member would take some direction from the Liberals and be able to do more for seniors, because that is what we are doing. Since 2015, we have been here to support seniors, the OAS and the GIS. The Conservatives wanted to increase the age of retirement; we lowered the age of retirement to help seniors here in Canada.

[The Budget, April 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity from the Conservative member to really highlight the true colours of Conservatives. What they are talking about is that the Conservatives want to cut and cut. They want to cut programs. We talk about affordability, about supporting seniors, youth and business. We talk about investments in Canada and investments in Canadians. The results show it. We have more jobs and low unemployment, and Canadians are doing well. The member and his party voted against it. He votes for cryptocurrency for the Conservatives.