Philippine Independence Day  Mr. Speaker, June is an important month in the history of the Philippines. Today, June 12, is the anniversary of Philippine independence from Spain. The Filipino community is an integral part of Canada's multicultural society. In the West Island of Montreal, we are very lucky t

Multiculturalism Act  Mr. Speaker, I have a hard time imagining myself in the Quebec described by my colleague. First off, the Quebec I know welcomes all kinds of cultures. Quebec is home to francophones from the Caribbean, Haiti, Africa and, of course, France. I have always thought of my province,

National Defence Act  Mr. Speaker, the member brought up a couple of points that I fully agree with. Number one, he said it is important to have a debate on victims rights, and I concur with him on that. He also made the point that this bill really builds on a previous bill by the previous government,

National Defence Act  Madam Speaker, I often find when these discussions come up that the argument that we will stand for victims is used as a battering ram against Liberals' points of view. Liberals stand up for victims, and that is why we brought forth this bill. We also believe that we try to work

Scouts Canada  Mr. Speaker, today we welcome scouts from across Canada to Parliament. For more than 100 years, Scouts have helped millions of Canadians go on adventures, make new friends and, most importantly, learn life lessons. As they progress, Scouts become more independent, capable and p

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Madam Speaker, I congratulate my former fellow member of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology on his wonderful speech. The hon. member mentioned fetal alcohol syndrome. I have read and heard that upwards of 70% to 80% of people who are incarcerated have two

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Madam Speaker, I was pleased to hear that my colleague was asked questions about the environment when he visited the prisons. The inmates are interested in what is happening in society, and that is good news. My colleague pointed out parts of the bill that he feels are inadequat

Filipino Heritage Month  Madam Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for me to split my seven minutes with my colleague, the member for Nepean.

Filipino Heritage Month  Madam Speaker, I am very proud to stand and speak to Motion No. 155 to make June Filipino heritage month. Before I start, I would just like to give a great shout-out to the member for Scarborough Centre, who has done a fantastic job in doing all this work to bring this to fruiti

Canadian Multiculturalism Act  Madam Speaker, it is a great pleasure for me to rise today to give my excellent speech. Canada is built on multiculturalism. When people think about our country, they think about French Canadians, English Canadians, and indigenous Canadians, who all have their own languages, rel

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, many amazing Canadian women have helped shape this country's history. It is great that we are recognizing Viola Desmond's contributions by putting her on the new $10 bill. Personally, I was delighted to see the children of the West Island Black Community Association

New Opportunities for Vanni Aid  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the association called New Opportunities for Vanni Aid of Montreal. NOVA, as they are known, does incredible work supporting single mothers of the Vanni region in Sri Lanka. It's an area that was devastated in the civil war. The organization

Étienne-Brûlé High School  Mr. Speaker, I was born in Montreal, and even though I come from an anglophone family my parents wanted me to learn French, so they sent me to a French school. Then, when we moved to Toronto, my parents insisted that I continue my studies in French. I went to the only French-lan

Freedom of Religion  Mr. Speaker, two years ago today, six men who were praying in a Quebec mosque lost their lives. Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane and Azzedine Soufiane were all killed. A father, a son, a brother, a husband, a friend, and

Special Olympics World Games  Mr. Speaker, I have wonderful news to share with the House today. Sara Jane Daigle, who is a long-time resident of the city of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, is an exceptional member of the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped. This March, Sara will be heading to Ab