Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act  Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. Equality is not something that is achieved and is static. Many Canadians will have grown up blissfully free of any sort of knowledge of what it is like to be persecuted for their beliefs, for who they love, or for their gender, but that is not the

Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure and it is a great privilege and honour to stand in this place and speak on behalf of this legislation. For those who may be watching and are wondering what we are doing on the last day before we rise for the December adjournment, we are de

Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act  Mr. Speaker, I have had some constituents contact me about the process by which expungement will occur. For example, if someone has passed away and does not have a family member who can advocate for the record to be expunged, is there going to be a process by which someone else c

Criminal Code  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-388, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bestiality). Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce an act to amend the Criminal Code, bestiality. On June 9, 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that the Criminal Code provisions around bestiality do not adeq

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, our dissenting report agrees with the finding that change absolutely must occur in relation to the excessive demand provision. However, it outlines that the committee report was issued with many crucial data points not being considered; that the minister was undertak

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, women who have undergone female genital mutilation suffer infections, difficult urination and childbirth, pain during intercourse, and more. Practitioners of FGM are entering Canada, and Canadian girls are being taken abroad to have the procedure performed on them.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, women who have undergone female genital mutilation suffer infections, difficult urination and childbirth, pain during intercourse, and more. Raising awareness of FGM is a core part of the fight against it. This is why it is listed in Canada's citizenship guide as a p

Eda Rojiet Ezi  Mr. Speaker, this week, the Yazidi people will observe Eda Rojiet Ezi, a three-day fast that all Yazidis are expected to observe. Fasting occurs from dawn until sunset, and the nights are given to family time and prayer. This is a time for Yazidis to connect with the divine, ce

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, yesterday was Human Rights Day. Female genital mutilation is a human rights violation. Even though FGM is a crime in many countries, the practice continues because it is allowed to be shrouded in silence and victims can face stigma or much worse if they come forwar

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Actually, Mr. Speaker, it was the former Conservative government that first included LGBTQ rights in Canada's citizenship guide. A leaked copy of Canada's new citizenship guide removed references to female genital mutilation. I do not understand why the minister cannot just cond

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals just posted a tender to outsource the creation of questions for Canada's citizenship test. This contradicts the Liberals' claim that the citizenship study guide is still being developed. On the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against W

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, two more mass graves filled with the bodies of Yazidis have been unearthed in Iraq. Over a year ago, MPs unanimously voted to support a UN recommendation to preserve and document Yazidi mass grave sites. The Prime Minister has told us what he is doing to provide re

Slovakia  Mr. Speaker, on January 1, 2018 the people of Slovakia will celebrate 25 years of being an independent nation. The velvet revolution, which was a non-violent transition of power, marked Slovakia becoming an independent nation. Slovakia has grown as a democratic nation with an ec

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, sometimes I get asked if signing a petition makes a difference, but the 30,984 people who signed e-petition 983, asking the Liberals to reverse their decision to end Friday sittings and have the Prime Minister attend QP only once a week, made a difference by forcing

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, when I asked him about his decision to remove listing female genital mutilation as a crime from Canada's citizenship guide, the Prime Minister said he scolded the Liberian government. However, reports obtained by Global News show that the Canada Border Services Agenc