Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, it is heartbreaking to hear what is happening. I was recently at an Nowruz event with thousands of Afghan women, and the stories we heard about what is happening were beyond belief. One thing I wanted to ask about was the human rights programming aspect. The parli

Forest Stewardship Award  Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate Dr. Isobel Ralston and Dr. Jan Oudenes for receiving the prestigious Forest Stewardship Award from Forests Ontario. This award is presented in recognition of outstanding support for forestry conservation and education. MapleCross, foun

Nowruz  Mr. Speaker, today, March 20, marks Nowruz, the festival of new beginnings and rejuvenation. Observed on this day, the spring equinox, Nowruz is celebrated by numerous cultures around the world, including Persian, Afghan, Bahá'í, Ismaili and Kurdish peoples. This past week, I ha

International Women's Day  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, March 8, marked International Women’s Day. Last week, I had the privilege of hosting York Region women to gather, celebrate and listen to the words of several women. Our York Region Liberal caucus joined together to recognize the importance of Internati

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, my translation was not working, but I believe I understood the question sufficiently. We have made a historic announcement. We are bringing forward almost $200 billion over the next 10 years, including almost $50 billion in new spending. The point here is that it

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague on this, as I do on many things. This is a priority for the government. Foreign credentialing, as we all know, is not the province of the federal government. I believe that during these ongoing bilateral negotiations with provinces and ter

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, once again I was having trouble with translation, but I caught the last part of the question. I appreciate the fact that the member said that I have been saying lovely things. However, I would say that it is more than that. The changes that are being made through t

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, of course we want all health care workers to be working in our system. This government is committed to that. It is up to the provinces and territories to license and ensure that they can work in the system. The system is set up. We have now reduced the Canadian wor

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, before I start, I would like to say that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Kingston and the Islands. I am pleased to rise today to discuss the shortage of health workers in Canada and the actions the government is taking to address the issue. Firs

Human Rights in Iran  Mr. Speaker, I am both honoured and saddened to still be speaking about the tragic situation in Iran. It has been almost six months since Mahsa Amini was killed while in custody of the morality police, and it has been 44 years since an authoritarian government took over the count

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of the residents of my riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, principally Iranian Canadians, who are urging the Government of Canada to expedite the implementation of the sanctions that it placed on the Iranian regime and th

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I do not pretend to know where to draw the line. I trust our court system for this. We have established case law. I believe, in cases like that, the wisdom of the court would see the beneficial effect of that. Why use the notwithstanding clause? Why not put this f

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I do not believe we are suspicious of the intentions of the Bloc Québécois. I believe that the distinct culture and history of Quebec is something that has added greatly to our nation and it is something I value greatly. I believe that having laws that work for Que

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, as my colleague knows, I feel very strongly that, in that particular case, it was not an appropriate use of the notwithstanding clause. Those are basic fundamental rights of Canadians. A premier should, in my mind, need to respect those fundamental rights. When one

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today as the member of Parliament for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill to speak to this very important issue. The Canadian Charter and Rights and Freedoms is such a fundamental part of who we are and Canadian values. I wanted t