Ruby Sahota

[An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages, May 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded division.

[Heart Lake Wildlife Protection, May 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Leo O'Brien, a resident of Brampton North, for his tireless efforts to protect the environment and the turtles that call Heart Lake home.

Heart Lake Road divides a conservation area from a marshy wetland. With an increase in traffic, the community noticed a spike in deaths of wildlife on the road. This, of course, prompted Leo into action. He recruited a team of volunteers to do the arduous task of gathering data by tracking how many and what type of amphibians and other animals were being killed by vehicles. This involved even having to scrape dead turtles off the road and meticulously catalogue them. This sad and often gruesome task played a vital role in understanding the impact on the local ecology, which led to the approval of the installation of an eco fence, a huge victory for Leo and the team of turtle troopers, but also for Bramptonians.

As a community, we are fortunate to have someone like Leo. I want to commend him for his hard work, his passion and his unwavering commitment to the environment. I hope his example will inspire others to take action to protect our planet.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I quite enjoyed the member's speech. I know the member works very hard in his riding to work with different ethnic groups and work on case work when it comes to immigration. Immigration is so important to so many of our communities and to Canada as a whole. It is important to our economy.

The other day, I met with the Metropolitan Plumbing and Heating Contractors Association. It was startling and surprising to hear how many of our current tradespeople will be retiring in the next few years. There will be a huge gap we will need to fill in order to keep up with housing and infrastructure in our country. I would love to hear the member's views on that.

[Petitions, May 10th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of the staff and students of Notre Dame Secondary School, a Catholic school in my riding of Brampton North.

Although the oil and gas sector is only 5% of the economy, it is responsible for 26% of Canada's emissions. The petitioners call for a hard cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector to address the climate crisis.

They give a five-point plan on how to do so, by restricting pollution, reducing emissions, addressing extraction methods and the burning of fossil fuels, and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. They lay out a groundwork for a just transition to a net-zero economy by 2050.

[Red Dress Day, May 2nd, 2023]

Madam Chair, some of the questions that have arisen today have been touching. They are about the cross-partisan work that has been done on the issue.

In terms of the work that the member has done at committee and since being a member of Parliament, what does she think has had the most impact? What else would she like to achieve in her role as a member of Parliament here?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I listened attentively to the member's speech. There are many things in this budget that are very good for Canadians. I wanted to ask about her opinion on the dental plan, which is now free for children under 12. By the end of this year, we will be expanding it to those with disabilities, seniors and those under 18.

What does the member think about providing this plan for Canadians?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the member referenced the health accord quite a bit and the Canada health transfer, and mentioned that the government should demonstrate in some way that this funding will be enough. Well, it is $198 billion in new funding over 10 years, and it includes $46.2 billion in new funding for the provinces and territories.

One of the ways something like this can be demonstrated is by the Province of Quebec signing agreements. The Province of Quebec entered into negotiations with the federal government and agreed to this transfer of funds. The Premier of Quebec has come out in statements commending the government on providing these transfers, just like with the new funding for official languages and many other investments that have been made in the province of Quebec.

What would the member say about the province's support?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, at a time where Canadians are struggling with the cost of living, Conservatives provide no solutions. That speech was a prime example of that. There were no ideas or concrete things that could be done. Instead, they have just been calling for cuts to pensions and employment insurance, which Canadians rely on, and they are urging for pollution to be free again.

It is reckless to suggest the ideas they have been suggesting, such as crypto, but one thing I was really happy to see was that the Conservatives were able to give unanimous consent to have the grocery rebate passed so Canadians could receive it. I know the member just mentioned the grocery rebate was not a good idea, so I am wondering why she provided unanimous consent to provide Canadians the grocery rebate. I would like to know why she thought it was a good idea that day.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand that women's shelters and other organizations that received funding from our government during the pandemic were able to get through the pandemic because our government stepped in at that time, when no one else was there to help them. Just like all Canadians, they were going through a very problematic period. Our government invested $300 million to help support them.

This funding is not being cut. It was a program created for the pandemic, and we have a lot of money in the pot right now to figure out a way to continue to support these organizations. The talks are continuing. The work is going to continue. There will be consultations in the months to come to figure out how we can continue supporting, with the support of the provinces as well, of course, and their operational funding responsibilities for women's shelters.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a good day for languages in our country. Many stakeholder groups gave statements that they were incredibly thrilled that this government has put forward funding to protect our two official languages throughout Canada. It is more than any government has ever given before. It is double what used to be put in.

It was a good day for Canada. It was a good day for French in Quebec and a good day for English in Quebec, too. That is the beauty of Canada. We respect both languages equally. We want to protect French, and that is why the government is making investments. Bill C-13 is another example of our government modernizing things to make sure that French is protected in our country.