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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was terms.

Last in Parliament September 2021, as Conservative MP for Brantford—Brant (Ontario)

Won his last election, in 2019, with 40% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Persons with Disabilities June 13th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it is truly a privilege to speak to the debate that has been part of this motion.

I want to thank both opposition parties for their support of this motion and especially those who spoke to the motion in terms of their support.

I am under no illusions with this motion, having lived and watched persons with disabilities from the time they were small children to the time they were adults. I am under no illusions of the multiplicity of challenges that they have in their lives and the multiplicity of services and support they need to live fulfilling lives.

This motion has been as prescriptive as possible to put forward five elements for progress. They are small steps forward, but is it not better to make those small steps forward and to get to the point some day where we are in a position where we are completely inclusive of individuals who suffer from all ranges of disabilities?

I must thank members of the organizations from across the country to whom I have spoken over the past year and who were a very significant part of putting together the elements of this motion, because it was their experience and their suggestions that said, “This will move the yardstick forward. If you present a motion with these elements, it calls very prescriptively on the government to do things”. To the credit of our government, in the past budget several of the elements we were working on were adopted even before the motion came to the floor of the House of Commons.

I also thank our Minister of Finance and the leadership of our government on this file, in taking it forward in a way that I, frankly, did not actually anticipate we would be able to move as quickly as we did.

We provide significant resources to provinces and territories and we have a window of opportunity on one of the elements mentioned in the motion, which is to have a new generation of labour market agreements for persons with disabilities. When we get that new generation, we will be able to direct to the actual individuals more concrete and measurable results for those who seek to work.

As has been mentioned over again in this debate, there are 800,000 individuals who are ready, willing and able to work in the country and our country is on a path of labour shortage, so this is an untapped pool of talent.

In our society, sometimes these people get overlooked, maybe because of their physical appearance, perhaps the way they walk, or the fact they cannot walk, or the fact they cannot speak clearly or their sight is an issue. Some people have episodic disabilities, as we have learned, who need programs and the assistance of our society, our government, as well as their employers in moving forward.

We are also picking up on the report for persons with disabilities, which has been mentioned over again and over again, to focus on private sector participation. I disagree with one premise that was said tonight and the fact that it did not address small, medium and large-sized business.

I have had my own small business for 25 years and had 20 employees. There are so many opportunities for employers to look beyond the wheelchair, to look beyond the eyesight, to look beyond the intellectual disability and say, “The business case is there to hire this individual, not only for their talent, but for the multitude of benefits that my company will receive”.

I will wrap up with one last comment. The verdict is in. Not only does employing people with disabilities unlock enormous opportunities for their social and economic inclusion, but we now know that doing the right thing makes good business sense.

Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013 June 10th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, listening to the member's speech and knowing the party he represents is quite interesting. He talks about the notion of tax cheats, people who do not pay their taxes. The NDP knows that full well because there are members of its caucus, one being the critic for this very file, who have not paid their taxes. When he puts those people in that category, he is putting his own colleagues in that category. They are members of the House of Commons who have not fessed up and the Leader of the Opposition has not taken any action at all to ask those people to pay their taxes back and remove themselves from the party while they do that. We have heard nothing.

What is the member's opinion of that cheat situation?

Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada May 23rd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it took the leader of the NDP 17 whole years to reverse his story and come clean to Canadians that he was involved in a bribe offer from the former mayor of Laval. He has an interesting standard of ethics. First, he keeps it a secret. Then he misleads Canadians saying he was not presented with a bribe. Then he reverses his story when the police come knocking.

He claims to be “proud” to have helped the police. It baffles me that the leader of the NDP is proud of hiding a secret for years and reversing his story when law enforcement gets involved amidst the biggest corruption inquiry in our history. I am certain law enforcement officers are not proud of his actions, or should I say inaction.

The standard he has set for his party when it comes to dealing with bribery and corruption is appalling. It makes one wonder who else on the other side of the House was involved in such schemes.

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member to expand on his entrepreneurial comments and the fact that he headed up an organization and what he has seen over the years. He described what is happening in southern Ontario. When we look at what the budget is providing in trying to match the skill sets to the jobs available, could he expand on what entrepreneurial small and medium-sized businesses' needs are?

Persons with Disabilities May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, we were told over and over again by the experts from across the country in the different groups that represented the whole spectrum of persons with disabilities that probably the most significant thing we could do would be to assist young people who were in that high school age to do volunteer work, to get involved in the community and be part of some volunteer part-time work and to learn about the opportunities out there.

Once they graduate and become young adults and those opportunities do not happen, they will have far less chance of entering the workforce than young people who are engaged.

It is a hugely significant feature of this motion. It is one that we want to be sure educators understand.

Persons with Disabilities May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it is a very good question.

During the time we have spent putting this together, a great momentum has been building in Canada in the private sector. There are individuals such as Mark Wafer who owns numerous Tim Hortons franchises and employs over 70 persons with disabilities in the Toronto area. There is the head of HR for Loblaws. Loblaws has a mandate now within its company policies that it shall, at every opportunity, put priorities on interviewing people when jobs become available and looking at persons with disabilities. There is this wonderful momentum. Often it is peer to peer. It is one businessperson telling another businessperson. That is what Mark Wafer has done, at the level of Rotary. He is a Rotarian. He has a wonderful message that he delivers across the country. He matches businessperson to businessperson to talk about the wonderful experiences. We intend to build on that momentum.

The report from the panel is the real starting point, the real platform. We can make a difference with that.

Persons with Disabilities May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, as I said at the end of my speech, this is not the answer to all the issues. As she well knows, and as I well know in my life experiences having worked for 24 years in volunteer work with many families, there are multiple issues that persons with disabilities have to deal with. Obviously, she has mentioned a couple.

The motion is intended to give hope, to give people who are currently sitting at home waiting for an opportunity to experience the self-worth of having a job. I mentioned in my introductory remarks some of the individuals who are truly inspirational in Canada and who are wonderful role models; this motion is intended to give them the chance to have that wonderful sense of worth that happens to people when they are employed. That is what the motion is all about.

Persons with Disabilities May 2nd, 2013

moved:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should endorse the report of the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities entitled “Rethinking disAbility in the Private Sector”, and its findings, and commit to furthering public-private cooperation by: (a) building on existing government initiatives, such as the Opportunities Fund, the Registered Disability Savings Plan, the ratification of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities; (b) issuing a call to action for Canadian employers to examine the expert panel's findings and encouraging employers to take advantage of private sector-led initiatives to increase employment levels for persons with disabilities in Canada; (c) pursuing greater accountability and coordination of its labour market funding for persons with disabilities and ensuring that funding is demand driven and focussed on suitable performance indicators with strong demonstrable results; (d) establishing an increased focus on young people with disabilities to include support mechanisms specifically targeted at increasing employment levels among youth with disabilities, through programs such as the Youth Employment Strategy; and (e) strengthening efforts to identify existing innovative approaches to increasing the employment of persons with disabilities occurring in communities across Canada and ensuring that programs have the flexibility to help replicate such approaches.

Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to rise today to speak to this private member's motion, which takes aim at an issue that is of tremendous importance: creating economic opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Let me set a frame of reference for this bill.

Many of us come from different backgrounds and different experiences in life, and it is the intersections of life that create opportunities for individuals. Many who live with disabilities have to face enormous challenges and barriers. My motion seeks to address some of these barriers by creating an environment where business people would see the business case to hire persons with disabilities. The motivation for this bill comes from individuals who I have had the life experience of meeting and knowing and who have been hugely inspirational.

In my community, there is a young man, Jesse Robitaille, who greets people at a company called SC Johnson. It is a very large employer. He is at the reception counter. Jesse can take people anywhere in the plant, and it is a large plant. He can introduce people to anyone in that facility and he inspires everyone he meets.

Driving through downtown Brantford to Rawdon Street, we will meet Lisa Hooper, as we knock on her front door of her home. In the front three rooms of her home are her offices, where we will meet three persons with disabilities, including her. She is an entrepreneur, and she coaches and teaches the skill sets of how to become employed to people who have disabilities. She connects employers to persons with disabilities. She is an amazing individual, a true entrepreneur.

There is also Norman Hurren, who works at Brantford Volkswagen. As we go into Brantford Volkswagen, we meet the employees and the owners of the business. They are the first to tell us how important Norman is to their operation.

Last, if we go about an hour and a half east and north of Brantford, we will come to Bradford. If we go to the nursery in Bradford, we will meet Mathew Daviau. Mathew Daviau is a long-time friend of our family, a young man who has overcome many barriers. Yesterday, as we were approaching the time to speak to this issue in the House of Commons, his mother sent me an article that had been recently written about Mathew and how he is an inspiration to people who patronize that particular nursery.

Canadians with disabilities represent this country's most significant untapped pool of labour force talent. In fact, there are more than 800,000 Canadians living with a disability but whose disability does not prevent them from working, and almost half of these people have a post-secondary education. These are people who are ready, willing and able to contribute more to our country's economic prosperity. They want to be a bigger part of Canada's economy and gain access to the opportunities and benefits that will accompany their economic inclusion.

My motion takes aim at this issue. It calls for the House to endorse the insightful recent report from the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities called “Rethinking disAbility in the Private Sector”, which contains a number of important messages. Perhaps the most striking message from the panel report is that hiring people with disabilities is not just the right thing to do; it is actually great for a business. Studies consistently show that the vast majority of disabled employees perform as well or better than their non-disabled counterparts, and business persons who hire people with disabilities regularly see an increase in productivity and significant declines in tardiness, absenteeism and employee turnover.

It is time to break down the myths and the stigmas of hiring people with disabilities, which have persisted for far too long in the private sector.

This sentiment was echoed in a recent Deloitte report, which found the following:

There is a need to build greater awareness and educate those involved in hiring to eradicate myths and stereotypes and create a culture of workplace opportunity for people with disabilities. There are several organizations in the business community right now trying to make this happen...but more organizations need to commit to making a difference...

My dream is tens of thousands of private business owners recognizing how people with disabilities can enhance their businesses. Therefore, my motion not only calls on the House and the government to endorse the panel report but goes further. It calls on private sector businesses to hear, examine and act on its findings. Moreover, the motion encourages private sector leadership in this area and calls on the government to support new private-sector-driven approaches that address the current employment situation.

Already our government is showing a willingness to take this approach and support initiatives from the private sector enterprises that are at the front line on this issue. Economic action plan 2013 earmarks $2 million for the creation of the Canadian employers disability forum, as recommended by the panel report, which will be spearheaded by major employers, such as Loblaw Companies Limited. The forum will be managed by employers for employers to facilitate education and training and the sharing of resources and best practices to connect Canadians with disabilities to the jobs that are available.

This is the right approach, but certainly, there is much more we can do. My motion calls for an increased focus in government programs such as the youth employment strategy on young people living with disabilities. This comes from hearing loud and clear from organizations, such as the Canadian Association of Community Living, that creating more workplace and volunteer opportunities for young people with disabilities is incredibly important. It can make a huge difference in their lives. If we can help people with disabilities gain work experience at a young age, the likelihood that they will stay in the labour force will increase dramatically.

Motion No. 430 calls for new approaches that will strengthen government programs that can improve the social and economic inclusion of people living with disabilities. We know that community-based organizations are developing innovative strategies across the country to create social and economic opportunities for these individuals. In fact, the panel report was clear in declaring that effective community partnerships are essential for increasing employment for persons with disabilities. That is why my motion calls for government programs to be less rigid and more flexible so that they can capitalize on new, innovative approaches, the best of which tend to be tailored to specific community-level needs.

Motion No. 430 is a motion that responds to the calls of disability advocates and experts from across the country. Take, for example, what Michael Bach, executive director of the Canadian Association of Community Living, had to say. He stated:

We think the key findings and messages of the labour market panel—that the private sector is interested in hiring people with disabilities; that working age people with...disabilities are “ready, willing and able” to work; and that effective community partnerships are now needed to put the pieces together is exactly the formula we need in Canada to ensure an inclusive and efficient labour force. The time is right to move on the directions outlined in the report and in the Motion—building on what we know works, innovation in the private and public sectors, a focus on youth transitions, and getting value for federal investments are key to closing the labour market gap for people with disabilities in this country.

My motion is intended to capture and build on the momentum, which was palpable and was felt across the organizations as we met with them to craft this motion to address the issues they brought to us, that attention to employment issues for persons with disabilities is currently garnering on the national stage.

It is to move the yardsticks further. It does not contain all of the answers but certainly aims, again, to move us forward as much as we possibly can.

Again, the dream is tens of thousands of companies recognizing the value, the business case, for hiring a person with a disability.

I hope I can count on all members of this House to support the motion.

Employment May 2nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon we will be debating my motion in support of persons with disabilities having fuller participation in our economy. This morning, the minister and I were joined by representatives from the private sector and disability organizations to show support for this motion and for greater involvement in the private sector for hiring employees and persons with disabilities.

Can the minister please update the House on the government's position on this motion and our efforts to help all Canadians participate in the workforce?

Business of Supply April 16th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, my apologies if I was not directing my comments through you to the House.

Through you, to answer this question, as was mentioned, there is recognition on the government side that reform is required. That is what is outlined in the budget and was outlined in my speech in terms of the steps that need to be taken. However, as he has articulated in his question, no one can deny the fact that there are both unskilled and skilled needs in this country that are not being met by Canadian workers. Therefore, the temporary foreign worker program has a definite place in Canada and fills a need. It should not be abused, and our government is taking steps to ensure it will not be abused through the reforms we have put in the budget.