Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, I am really glad that the minister has joined us in the chamber today. It is always nice to have a member of the executive branch of the government. The Liberals have a less than exemplary record on employment insurance. When they were last in power, they raided the

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand today in the House to present a petition from voters in my area who want to ensure that Canadians have a fair electoral system. The petitioners recognize that our current system produces false majorities and that the seat count of each party i

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, the arts and culture sector employs 150,000 Canadians and contributes $8 billion to our economy. Conservative cuts damaged the sector and threatened good jobs. After pledging $150 million for the CBC, and $25 million for Telefilm and the National Film Board, the Libe

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question from my colleague, and it goes to the heart of what I am saying. The motion before us is blurring the lines even further. I think it is a bunch of smoke and mirrors. We are simply seeing the old Conservative mission changed somewhat. We

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I alluded to some of that in my speech when I talked about the conditions that led to the rise of ISIS and extremism in Iraq. People do not take up arms for no reason. There is a sufficient reason. If we take a detailed look at the way the Sunni Arab populations ha

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, after 2003, the Americans spent billions of dollars in Iraq trying to train Iraqi security forces. When ISIS came, the forces folded like a cheap tent. These forces are not going to be effective if one-half of the population simply does not trust them. The problem

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, today I will speaking on what I think is a very misguided motion presented by the Liberal government. It is a fairly wordy motion, and I should say that there are some positive aspects, such as “investing significantly in humanitarian assistance”, increasing efforts

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, it was great getting to know my colleague from Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies when we attended a meeting with the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour yesterday morning. In a battle with terrorists, I feel like we are in a battle with

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, my colleague made reference to the fact that parliamentarians owe Canadians an honest conversation. I would submit to the House that it is even more pressing that government members do so as well. My question centres on the two groups that we will be assisting and a

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today on behalf of residents of Vancouver Island who have presented me with a petition to ensure that Canadians have a fair electoral system. The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to immediately undertake public consultations across Can

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my great honour to stand in the House today on behalf of the residents of Shawnigan Lake in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. The people there have given me a petition to help fight against the contaminated soil dump in their area, which they have long

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Jonquière will be introducing a bill for anti-scab legislation. I certainly think she is much more qualified than I am to defend her particular bill. However, when it comes to respecting jurisdiction between the federal realm and the provinci

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, absolutely there was something behind this. There is, any time a single organization is subjected to this kind of onerous paperwork. Obviously, the thing that was behind it all was to tie them up in red tape and make a union an ineffective voice for the workers in th

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand in this House to speak to Bill C-4, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act. This bill would finally repeal the devastating attac

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Calgary Nose Hill for her speech. She is obviously a passionate person standing up for her riding. I would like to let all members of the House know that we all are feeling the pain Alberta is going through. On a personal note,