Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have an opportunity to speak to Bill C-45, which would bring in a wide-ranging set of changes to our lives. First let me say that the NDP has a proud 45-year history of championing marijuana decriminalization. We have been asking the Liberals to immedia

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I was not implying in my remarks that decriminalization was the answer or the be-all and end-all. What I was saying is that in the next 15 months, while the government proceeds with legalizing it, there will be young Canadians who will be caught by police with very s

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I think that in my remarks I listed some of the top reasons that I felt there needed to be more work done on the bill. The NDP is supporting this bill. We hope that those things will be worked out in committee and that the committee will be allowed to do its work and

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the comments made by my colleague and correct a comment that was just made. We are not just talking about legalizing marijuana. My colleague brought up the point that while we are waiting for the framework and the regulations, people are gettin

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his comments and the sincerity with which he spoke. We have a lot in common about our wanting governments to move forward and get to a time in the world, which I have not lived in, where the threat of nuclear war is absent. I was disappo

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith. I would like to dedicate my remarks today to the late Dr. John Bury and his wife Betsy Bury, both local constituents of mine who have been working for peace for the past 60 years. Their efforts, a li

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for sharing those very timely remarks on the value of being at the table to work toward concrete actions around the ban on nuclear weapons. We heard some Conservative colleagues talk about us being idealistic. On the other hand, I also h

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for bringing up a point that many of us are making. Many of us in the House today are wondering what is going on. We can lead, remain a part of the Paris agreement because it is important, and we know why we are there. This is equall

Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed the minister is not standing up and following-through on the promise made during the election by the Prime Minister that 2015 would be the last election with first past the post. I want to register how disappointed I am that was taken out of her man

Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, I am going to try again to follow up on the question from my colleague from the Conservative Party. What we had hoped this bill would do was to address the cash for access events, for access to government, to ministers, and to the Prime Minister. We are not talking a

Public Services and Procurement  Mr. Speaker, the Phoenix fiasco has been dragging on for over a year and a half, with no end in sight. Now, just as the summer hiring season begins, we hear the Phoenix backlog has surged by 10%. This is when 5,000 students are expected to get summer jobs with the federal govern

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, it has been one year since the Special Committee on Pay Equity tabled its report, unironically entitled, “It's Time to Act”. The government's response? It will kick the can down a couple of years because women have been waiting over 40 years for this fundamental huma

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I would like to say on the record that of course we welcome the changes to protect victims of sexual assault. The rape shield changes that allow a complainant to have a lawyer during the proceedings are very welcome. This will be an option for those who can afford

Filipino–Canadian Week  Mr. Speaker, the City of Saskatoon proclaimed June 10 to 17 as Filipino-Canadian Week. Do not get me wrong, I am glad I am here in Ottawa, but I wish I could have joined the Filipino-Canadian community of Saskatoon at the city hall flag-raising ceremony commemorating the independ

Health  Mr. Speaker, after cutting funding to one-third of all HIV organizations, including AIDS Saskatoon in my riding, the minister told us not to worry. She said there were $30 million of new funding for the federal initiative on HIV. Well, we have the department documents and guess w