Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr.Speaker, something we can always count on is the NDP members standing to oppose any free trade agreement that is brought forward in the House. It is unfortunate because trade opens the way to engaging with other communities and other countries and provides a platform on which

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, the free trade agreement has the support of significant elements of the Colombian private sector and public sector. Specifically the private sector unions, headed by Gerardo Sánchez Zapata, said that this procedure was welcomed by Colombian workers and that they were

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, I am sure you can imagine just how pleased I am to actually be able to stand in the House and speak about youth issues. Far too infrequent are the occasions in this House in which we get to directly invoke and address young Canadians. Mr. Speaker, you can also imagin

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for that very good question. The idea of making it easier to publish the names of young offenders plays into this culture of fear that is being created. As things now stand, it is already possible to publish the name of young offenders, but the ju

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that for their arguments the Conservatives have to go back 40 years. As we look over the past 40 years, the reality is that violent youth crime has decreased. The fact of the matter is that when we talk about victims of crime, yes, we have tremendo

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, the issue is very clear to me. The government is proposing to spend millions of dollars building more prisons and youth detention centres, and investing in prison guards because it has created a culture and climate of fear as opposed to investing in schools, communi

Education for All  Madam Speaker, with the start of the World Cup, I am pleased and proud to acknowledge the great collaborative efforts of the Institut de coopération pour l'éducation des adultes (ICÉA) and the Montreal Impact in developing the campaign “1 Goal: Education for All”. Inspired by UN

Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-469, An Act to establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights. Since the beginning of the 21st century, we have become increasingly aware that we can longer claim to keep the economy and environment separate. We under

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, on what appears to be the last day of the spring session we have the opportunity to look back on what we have learned during this session and look at how we might avoid making the same mistakes next time. This motion here today gives us an opportunity to look back

Business of Supply  The right hon. Prime Minister, although I wonder whether he has really earned that title from time to time.

Business of Supply  But the right part, yes, perhaps very far right. I will leave that there. The challenge becomes that the Prime Minister gets to use every tribune he can use, all the media, all the voices, all the attention, and gets to further marginalize people who disagree with him. That is

Business of Supply  I apologize to you, Madam Speaker, and to members of the House for getting a little carried away. I withdraw those remarks. I was raised better than that, to appreciate and respect the office.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I will just take two seconds, because I could not hear a question there, to respond with the end of my speech. I got to meet with a group of community activists who were interested in getting their young members of this ethnic community more involved in politics.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's remarks. He is absolutely right when he says that young people, who often get a bad rep for being disengaged and not caring about politics, demonstrated their outrage in huge numbers through the tools that they know so well, the social med

Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act  Madam Speaker, it is a real pleasure to rise today in my new capacity as official opposition critic for youth, citizenship and immigration. I have had a number of opportunities already to address youth issues before the House, and to speak today on citizenship and immigration and