House debate  Mr. Speaker, with respect to the labour dispute at the Port of Montreal, there is now a general strike. Is there any duration of a general strike at the port that the hon. member believes would require the government to intervene with back-to-work legislation? Hypothetically, let

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his always fair and nuanced position on how he approaches issues such as this. I wanted to mention something that he raised, which is the fact that a very significant percentage of work in the port relates to the Midwest of the United

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), a number of ESDC-Labour officials are working on the issue of forced labour. Those officials are part of the international and intergovernmental labour affairs, IILA, directorate. The team working on forced labour includes policy officers, po

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, my colleague for Edmonton Riverbend has been absolutely exemplary in terms of this private member's bill. When people watch question period, they often get a very false sense of what politicians do, who we are and the way law-making works. This bill is a tremendous e

International Mother Language Day  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize International Mother Language Day, an annual observance led by the Bangladeshi diaspora in Canada and across the world, which is held on February 21. The day's goal is to promote respect for linguistic and cultural diversity, and it exists b

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to participate in today's debate on Bill C-220, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code for compassionate care leave. I want to thank the member for Edmonton Riverbend for putting this bill forward to allow caregivers to take additional days off

Women and Gender Equality  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member on pay equity. Pay equity is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. That is why we passed proactive pay equity legislation in 2018. When Canadian women can count on equal pay for work of equal value, our economy grow

Christmas Greetings  Mr. Speaker, I have a slightly less partisan Christmas poem. 'Tis the last sitting week before Christmas For this virtual House Instead of coming to Ottawa MPs are home with their spouse. Using a new cloud platform Never leaving the room House meetings or committee

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I value my friendship with the member, even though we do not agree. We do not have to be adversaries; we can disagree. I urge my colleague to go back and listen to the excellent speech by my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. He gave some real figures on the

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. It is always a pleasure to work with him. I think that all levels of government have a duty to legislate within their own jurisdictions to promote and protect the French language. That is what we will do with the

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, first of all, yes, certain studies have shown that French is in decline in Montreal. There is no doubt about that. Second, I want to say what a pleasure it is to work with my colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis. We are both swimmers and we have a lot in c

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, Jean Chrétien often talked about the Canada he believed in. It was a Canada in which one could be francophone and feel at home in Vancouver or in Halifax. It was a Canada in which one could be anglophone and feel at home in Montreal or Gaspé. I still believe in tha

Foreign Affairs  Madam Speaker, I will refer the hon. member to the minister's comments and the parliamentary secretary's comments in that debate. As we reframe our relationship with China, I can commit to the member that we will continue to stand up for Canadian values and interests. As the Min

Foreign Affairs  Madam Speaker, I am really pleased that I was given the chance to be the substitute for my friend, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, so I can be one of the first, or at least one of the first who has now heard, to congratulate the member for Leeds—Gr

COVID-19 Emergency Response  Madam Speaker, I apologize that I am not answering the question my hon. colleague asked, but I will respond to what she most recently stated. I have had the pleasure of working with the Prime Minister for the last five years, and I can say there is no prime minister in Canadian