Petitions  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of residents of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, I rise to present two petitions today. To end the runaround on abandoned vessels, to fix vessel registration and get the costs off taxpayers, to build a coast-wide strategy in co-operation with local governments, to act b

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, because bees are in peril, because they are facing habitat loss and pesticide deaths, because they are vital pollinators and contribute over $2 billion a year to Canada's agricultural economy, I present to Parliament petitions signed by members of the Nanaimo Beekeep

Indigenous Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the member cites the funding of domestic violence shelters on reserve, but it only funded one building a year for the next five years, with nothing offered for Inuit women in the north. The Native Women's Association of Canada said, “it's not anywhere close to bein

Indigenous Affairs  Mr. Speaker, this week we are thinking of the families of murdered and missing indigenous women as the inquiry finally begins its first week of hearing testimony. I hope it is going as well for them as possible now that they are finally being heard. Getting at the cause of thousa

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, a major employer in the riding that I represent in Nanaimo is a company called Tilray. It is one of 27 licensed under the MMPR federal framework that the Conservatives put in place. It hires 120 professionals: horticulturalists, Ph.D.s, and people who left the silvic

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's views on the disappointment we felt on B.C.'s coast, which is threatened by the seven-fold increase in oil tanker traffic from the Kinder Morgan pipeline. About the failed promises of the Prime Minister during the election campai

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we have had a number of studies done; for example, by the environment commissioner, federally, who said that the federal and provincial governments are not prepared for an oil spill, for the existing oil spill risks that we already have in our marine environment. We

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, that is a breathtakingly ridiculous question. I am standing up for my own riding, a coastal community, for which this project is all downside and no upside. I would argue for workers along the pipeline route that Kinder Morgan's testimony at the National Energy Board

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I question the premise of my colleague's question. Here is a headline from just yesterday, “Forget Any Economic Windfall from Kinder Morgan, Analyst Says”. The article says: In a brief yet damning report David Hughes, a former federal government energy researcher,

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, today we are debating a motion brought forward by the Conservatives asking the government to renew its commitments to the Kinder Morgan pipeline. This is precipitated by what looks like we hope will be a New Democratic Party-Green Party co-operative government in Bri

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am going to talk about the risk of bitumen spills from oil tankers on B.C.'s coast. I am going to talk about the fire risk at the Burnaby tank farm, the broken promises to respect first nations consent, the harm to Orca whales, and a long list of broken promises by

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in September 122 first nations signed a declaration of opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline and many other pipelines. That number is high. I am finding breathtaking the member's revisionist history around the National Energy Board process and his dedication to,

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to discuss with the member opposite one of the promises made in the election campaign, which was to “ensure that decisions are based on science, facts, and evidence, and serve the public’s interest”. The second was, “Use scientific evidence and the precautio

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, is my colleague on the Conservative bench not aware that the Kinder Morgan pipeline is entirely an export pipeline for 100% unrefined raw bitumen, that there is no energy security benefit for Canada whatsoever, that this is not going to be fuelling our vehicles, that

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from many people in Nanaimo, as well as Ladysmith, Parksville, and Whistler, urging the government to recognize that cannabis prohibition was initiated with no scientific basis and seemed to be initiated as an effort to harass, puni