Lloyd Longfield

[Innovation, Science and Industry, April 18th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as the chair of the science and research committee and the member for Guelph, I am really excited about the investments in science in the recent budget. Researchers and scientists across Canada have a vital role in developing innovation and knowledge.

Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry highlight the important investments our government is making in our science and research space that would support students and generations of researchers to come?

[Parkinson's Awareness Month, April 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the month of April is dedicated to bringing awareness to Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's is a lifelong, incurable brain disease, and no two journeys with Parkinson's are the same. In Canada, 30 individuals are diagnosed with the disease every day, and more than 100,000 people are living with it, including my wife, Barbara, and now my sister Paula. The reality for people who face a Parkinson's diagnosis is that many aspects of their lives will be disrupted. However, people living with Parkinson's can find new ambitions and joys, even many years after a diagnosis.

I am proud to support organizations such as Parkinson Canada, which are ensuring a better quality of life for those living with Parkinson's. This April, as we mark Parkinson's Awareness Month, I commit to advocating for more research, improved treatments and access to medicines and equitable care for people living with Parkinson's disease.

Together we can ensure that a full and vibrant life with Parkinson's is still possible.

[Committees of the House, April 9th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Science and Research, entitled “Pay Gaps Among Faculty at Canadian Universities”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I thank our witnesses, our clerk and our analysts for the great work on this, and our committee members for some great questions.

[Canada Labour Code, February 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, a few weeks ago I had a meeting with Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, who expressed concerns over the legislation. I spoke to him about how we have developed the legislation. One of his concerns was the consultation process that was used.

Maybe the parliamentary secretary could highlight how the legislation was developed in concert with union and business.

[Canada Labour Code, February 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member from the Green Party for her support of this bill. I wonder if the hon. member could talk a bit more about the maintenance of activities agreement that is proposed in this bill, whereby we would be working with the Canada Industrial Relations Board prior to any strike action to establish what maintenance activities are required for safety or environmental protection. This goal of having prior agreements would also help us to have fewer strikes, and shorter strikes if they do occur.

[Canada Labour Code, February 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, maybe like you, I was so involved in listening to the hon. member that I wanted him to go on.

Could the member mention the recent impacts on the Port of Montreal and the labour disputes, and how this legislation might help to add balance so that we do not have prolonged disputes, as we have seen recently in Montreal at the port?

[Criminal Code, February 7th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I extend my sincere thanks to the member across the way for the details and the compassion with which he made his comments about patient-centred decisions and things around the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that we protect in the House. Right now, I understand the Quebec legislature is debating the Superior Court decision. I was hoping we would have a more fulsome debate tonight, and I was surprised the Bloc did not support having that debate.

I spoke with a nurse practitioner in my area who comes from Ottawa to Guelph to provide service, and she can only do it as a volunteer because she is not paid by the province to work outside of Ottawa. On the ground, we really have problems building capacity. Something that this bill tries to address is building the capacity of our health care system within the provinces to be able to provide MAID effectively in our communities.

Could the member maybe reflect on the need for us to work with provinces and their health care systems to build our capacity and, at the same time, to work with legislatures, both provincially and federally, so that we can get this across the line together, and comment on the amount of time that could take?

[Petitions, February 6th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, a petition that comes from the members of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in Guelph. It states that, whereas Bill C-57 is an important update to the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement that would assist Ukrainians in rebuilding after they defeat the illegal invasion of Vladimir Putin; that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress has called on the Parliament of Canada to swiftly adopt this legislation; and that misinformation regarding Canada's carbon pricing scheme having an effect on this agreement has widely been debunked, the members undersigned have asked for the House of Commons and all parliamentarians to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraine by swiftly adopting the updated Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement.

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, February 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate having the chance to rise and ask the hon. member across the way about this agreement. I know we are generally in agreement in this House, with the exception of the Conservatives, on supporting Ukraine and supporting it through trade deals. What has not been talked about a lot in the House is the benefit to Canada of a deal like this. Canada is importing animal fats and vegetable oils from Ukraine and iron and steel where they have expertise in heavy casting, which is used for our agricultural, rail and electrical equipment. Could the member comment on the benefit to the Canadian economy of having a free trade deal with Ukraine?

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, February 5th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member sits with me on the environment committee. During the committee discussions we have talked about carbon pricing mechanisms around the world. Something we have not talked about explicitly is that Ukraine has had a carbon price mechanism with a net effective carbon rate since 2018 and that the EU is working on carbon border adjustment mechanisms that Ukraine is aligning itself with so that countries that do not have carbon pricing mechanisms will effectively be charged a tariff as they export to countries with carbon pricing.

Could the hon. member comment on how, if we did not have carbon pricing in Canada, we would actually end up hurting our trade with countries that do have carbon pricing, such as Ukraine?