House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 47% of the vote.
Housing November 8th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the past two budgets saw the government make unprecedented investments in housing. We know this is of the utmost importance and has a great impact on the lives of many Canadians.
Would the minister responsible for housing provide us with an update as to what those investments have achieved so far?
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act October 23rd, 2017
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their extensive analysis of and support for this bill. It is clear that Bill C-344 would strengthen federal community investments delivered to constituents from coast to coast to coast. Community benefit agreements, CBAs, are a new approach to empowering local communities to partner with developers to address local challenges. They have already been used successfully at the provincial and municipal levels to address economic development and growth issues and environmental sustainability in neighbourhoods across Canada.
Bill C-344 would encourage consultations with communities across Canada, thus strengthening federal infrastructure investments by showing how federal contracts would have knock-on effects in the communities where they are executed. Moreover, the idea of community benefit agreements is supported by numerous business groups and organizations across Canada. These groups see in practical terms how CBAs would speed up the work of implementing infrastructure investment by ensuring that there is community buy-in. By implementing community benefit agreements in the federal jurisdiction, the Government of Canada would exercise leadership in improving communities across Canada.
This leadership would be measured by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement having to table a report on the community effects of government investments. This process would allow Public Services and Procurement Canada to ensure that the Canadian public is getting the best value for their infrastructure dollars. Ultimately, CBAs would ensure that communities have consistent growth and meaningful employment while fostering a healthier environment.
Further, CBAs would provide the communities with a sense of motivation, ownership, accomplishment, and a quest for dignity and pride. With consultations in the communities and reporting by the minister in the House, CBAs would make clear to everyone how future federal projects involving construction, maintenance, or repair would result in community benefits for millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Bill C-344 would ensure that communities across Canada can benefit from enhanced infrastructure developments, setting the stage for local economies and communities to continue to prosper. Therefore, I urge members of all parties to support Bill C-344 so that communities across Canada would get their fair share of benefits.
Navratri September 27th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, during the month of September, Hindus from all over the world are celebrating Navratri, a nine day festival. This is considered to be a cleansing period for the body and soul.
The ultimate goal of this festival is to attain virtues over vices, and become victorious in the battle of good over evil. This festival is now very visible in Canada as it has been all across India and the rest of the word. This is another example of cultural diversity that makes our country strong.
On behalf of my family and my constituents of Brampton Centre, I wish all of those who are celebrating a happy Navratri.
Let us continue to make the world a place of one family.
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act June 19th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, today there is a need for communities to be involved in the function of government and into infrastructure. They know that some infrastructure is going to be built in their communities, so they want to be involved.
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act June 19th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-344 just addresses community benefits. Federal infrastructure spending investments would be invested into the local community. From that investment, local communities will get further benefit for the community itself.
The bill will involve government representatives and the local community at large, so this bill will give power to the community to collaborate with a partnership and have their own say about infrastructure. Surely they will feel that they are getting their fair share of the federal infrastructure spending, and they will get it.
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act June 19th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, this bill is with regard to communities, involvement of the communities, benefit for the communities, so that the communities get the benefit from the bill. There is no possibility of any delays or red tape, which my friend seems to be apprehensive about.
The communities will be involved. The communities themselves are willing to take these responsibilities. They will come forward to help developers, to help the government, to quicken the process of the bill, so there is no possibility of red tape. Rather it is a win-win situation, and the communities will have the best benefits out of the bill.
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act June 19th, 2017
moved that Bill C-344, An Act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act (community benefit), be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House with the support of the hon. member for Don Valley North to introduce my private member's bill, Bill C-344, an act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act to introduce community benefits.
I would like to take this moment to thank the residents of my riding of Brampton Centre for giving me the opportunity to introduce the bill and for electing me as the first member of Parliament for Brampton Centre.
Bill C-344 would further strengthen the federal infrastructure investment in communities, such as in my riding, and throughout Canada.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the member for York South—Weston for his extensive work on his previous private member's bill. At the committee hearing, two amendments to Bill C-227 were suggested by the committee. Hence my bill, Bill C-344, is before the house today.
Community benefit agreements, referred to as CBAs, create socio-economic opportunities for local communities and neighbourhoods as well as environmental benefits as a result of federal development projects across Canada. These benefits include local job creation, apprenticeships, affordable housing, education, support for seniors, health care, and other key benefits for communities.
Bill C-344 would amend section 20 of the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act. This would include a provision that would enable the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to require successful bidders on federal projects to report information on community benefits. This provision would ultimately create a platform to minimize possible delays and promote flexibility for community infrastructure development.
CBAs would enable the ministry of public services and procurement to formulate agreements with federal infrastructure developers with added input from community groups. These agreements would lay the foundation to encourage local communities to build partnerships with developers. Ultimately, CBAs would strengthen the socio-economic influence of publicly funded development projects.
For example, in my riding of Brampton Centre, federal investments into infrastructure have greatly contributed to social development in the community. The Züm bus rapid transit fund has revolutionized transit infrastructure across the City of Brampton and has attracted approximately $95 million of federal investment. Further, a federal investment of $69 million in a stormwater management project in Peel region has greatly contributed to improving the quality of life in the community. However, had CBAs been tied to these investments, the overall impact could have been much greater. Communities across Canada rely on federal investments to fund development projects, so if CBAs are tied to these federal investments, communities would thrive.
This was evident in the city of Vancouver, where the 2010 Olympic Village was built under a CBA. This initiative allowed communities to have a direct input on the project.
Bill C-344 would allow for comprehensive consultations with communities across Canada, consequently strengthening local infrastructure investments. It would also reduce red tape for small and medium-sized businesses and further accelerate the approval process for federal repair and construction projects.
Moreover, various business groups and organizations support the concept of CBAs. The boards of trade for Brampton, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, and various unions, have endorsed CBAs as strong economic policy and an optimal way to promote youth employment.
As a member of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, referred to as HUMA, I have first-hand experience of the harsh realities of poverty in Canada. This committee has conducted a study with recommendations on a national poverty reduction strategy that was submitted to this Parliament. It is quite evident that CBAs will promote increased prosperity and drastically reduce poverty in communities across Canada.
Further, a joint report from the Mowat Centre and the Atkinson Foundation found that CBAs have the ability to promote a better environment for unique areas. In Ontario alone, the provincial government will invest $130 billion into public infrastructure over the next 10 years. The federal government has committed more than $180 billion into transit, green, and social infrastructures. As such, this is the time to collaborate with communities so they can also benefit from such lucrative federal investments.
CBAs will ultimately enhance the socio-economic development of cities across Canada. CBAs have already been implemented in Ontario with the enactment of the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act. This act aims to remove any red tape so that the approval process for provincial infrastructure investment projects can be more efficient.
Furthermore, a number of organizations, including Metrolinx and the Toronto Community Benefits Network, have signed a community benefits framework, the first in Ontario.
The U.S.A. and the U.K. have already adopted the CBA concept into their respective infrastructure investments. In the U.S.A., CBA success stories include the Atlanta Beltline project, the Los Angeles airport expansion, and the Los Angeles Grand Avenue project. One stipulation on these projects was the requirement to submit reports on the benefits derived for communities. Provinces such as Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Manitoba are also in the process of adopting the CBA concept.
Bill C-344 would authorize the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to require bidders to provide a detailed explanation of how government-funded projects will benefit the community. It would also require the minister to report to Parliament on an annual basis on what community benefits have been implemented.
Bill C-344 is about implementing CBAs in the federal jurisdiction. This will give added responsibility to the Government of Canada to exercise leadership in implementing CBAs across Canada. Ultimately, CBAs will create the foundation for communities to earn their fair share of federal infrastructure investment. This will ensure that communities have reliable growth and meaningful employment while fostering a healthier environment.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to have CBAs preserved in law. This can serve as a model for other jurisdictions to follow. It is about ensuring that future federal infrastructure projects would generate community benefits for all Canadians coast to coast to coast.
I therefore humbly invite all my colleagues in this House to support Bill C-344, an act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act (community benefit) so that communities across Canada can have access to enhanced infrastructure developments.
Besides the tangible benefits offered by CBAs, they will also serve as a vehicle for the pursuit of dignity and rebuild the core infrastructure of Canadian communities that are eagerly awaiting them.
Science and Technology June 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, with the new changing economy and moving toward the knowledge-based digital economy, we need to make sure we have the talent needed to compete in the global economy. We need to focus on our young people and make sure they have the necessary knowledge and skills to compete and succeed in the new economy.
Can the parliamentary secretary please explain what steps the government is taking to ensure that young people are ready for the economy of today and tomorrow?
Teeyan May 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, every year at the onset of the monsoon, the Teeyan festival is celebrated by women with their maternal kith and kin.
On this Mother's Day, Punjabi media tycoon Sukhi Nijjar of Watno Dur organized a thriving Teeyan event at the Powerade Centre in my riding. At the Powerade Centre, more than 7,000 women of all different ages, in traditional costumes, came out to demonstrate that mothers are the pillar of strength in the family. I congratulate Sukhi Nijjar on his vision and success.
“Be content and have a smile on your face, even if you are having a bad day”, says 106-year-old supercentenarian mother for all seasons Dorothy Gardner. I am lucky to have Dorothy in my riding. Keep on walking.
Gujarati Heritage Month May 12th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, on May 5th, Gujarati Heritage Month was celebrated at Brampton City Hall.
The Garvi Garvi Gujarati flag was hoisted in a symbolic fashion. The Gujarati community demonstrated why they are known as global economic re-energizers. This was positively evident when I visited, with a CPA delegation, the booming Canadian McCain Foods in Gujarat.
I am optimistic and confident that this vibrant community will be playing a major role in the reshaping of a stronger Canadian economy.
Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat. Elation filled the air with energetic chants; enthusiasm and loyalty ignited in me to lead in. Jay Canada. Jay Canada. Jay Canada.
Welcome to all Bramptonians who are here today.