Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Surely the hon. member for Winnipeg North would at least give the country the courtesy to rise in his place right now and to tell the rest of the country why he continues to shut down this debate.
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2025, with 29% of the vote.
Points of Order December 16th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Surely the hon. member for Winnipeg North would at least give the country the courtesy to rise in his place right now and to tell the rest of the country why he continues to shut down this debate.
Points of Order December 16th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, and it is not often that I get a chance to do this, but I feel it is important to rise to concur with the opposition MPs who have stood in the House to call on you to bring the government to order and present to the country what its vision of the future is so that we can have an adequate debate. I find it rather gormless that they came into the House, dropped the document and then left without an opportunity for us to debate here today.
I am prepared to listen to the member for Vancouver Kingsway present the NDP's vision for the future of this country, and I know that the other opposition parties also have their vision. That is what a Westminster system is designed for. There has been disorder in the House, but certainly nothing more chaotic than what we have witnessed over the last hour here.
I call on the Speaker, in concordance with members of the Bloc, the Conservative Party and, indeed, the Green Party, to bring the government to order to allow us to have a full debate on the fall economic statement.
Petitions December 16th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We know full well that, when presenting petitions, petitions are not to be political. On the language he is using, I ask him to withdraw the referencing of other members of the House. If it is not in his petition, he does not have the ability to reference that.
Committees of the House December 12th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby raised the important point that in 2006, it was a New Democrat, Peter Stoffer, who first introduced this. In fact, we have introduced it seven times in private members' bills, most recently with Bill C-221, which was introduced in the 44th Parliament by the hon. member for North Island—Powell River. Here we are. We are still here today. Unfortunately, this is a government that likes to lament, send its thoughts and prayers, and say, “Oh, if only there was somebody in power who could actually do something.” It could do it. The government could do it right now.
The NDP has fought for veterans for so long because we consider it to be clear that every single person who has served, including all the members in the Conservative caucus who have served, are workers who deserve the utmost respect and not government overreach. This is not just about justice delayed; this is about justice denied. Will the hon. member please expand on the fact that this has been a decades-long struggle for the NDP fighting for workers, fighting for our veterans?
Committees of the House December 12th, 2024
Madam Speaker, I was quite shocked by the member for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan's intervention. I want to give the hon. member the opportunity to reflect on what was asked and, hopefully, with integrity, he will honestly answer the question.
Between 2006 and 2012, the government rejected more than 20,000 applications to veterans' funeral and burial expenses, more than two-thirds of all requests, forcing veterans to file a costly $34-million class action lawsuit that took them six years to get the benefits they were owed. Would the member not acknowledge that was inappropriate and certainly not supportive of veterans in their most dire time of need?
Committees of the House December 12th, 2024
Madam Speaker, as members of the New Democratic Party, we stand by the recommendations in the main report, but we believe that further reflection is essential. This will help us address the broader implications of this moment and ensure that we chart a future that protects the rights of Canadians.
New Democrats stress the urgent need to rebuild public confidence in our institutions; achieving this will require a much deeper democratic commitment to parliamentary transparency and accountability, not just in the specific context of the Emergencies Act but also in our ongoing governance efforts. The failures of local police services during the “freedom convoy”, with officers appearing compromised or even sympathetic to the occupiers, exposed the systemic issues that must be addressed. Many Canadians felt abandoned during this crisis, and the resulting loss of public trust underscores the urgent need for structural reform.
It is troubling that the last royal commission on policing in Canada occurred in 1962. As the challenges of public safety have evolved significantly since then, we call on the Minister of Public Safety to establish a new national commission on policing. This body should examine police mandates, budgets and their alignment with public safety goals.
In addition, we urge the government to create a dedicated office to investigate radicalization within public security forces and the misuse of resources for undemocratic purposes. The invocation of the Emergencies Act has revealed a deep and systemic challenge in Canada's governance and policing, as well as the protection of democratic rights. The issues exposed during the crisis, those of transparency, accountability and public trust, must be addressed with urgency and purpose.
As New Democrats, we believe that the recommendations in this report are a vital step forward, but they must be accompanied by broader reforms. Canada must seize on this moment to rebuild its institutions in alignment with democratic values, whether by modernizing the Emergencies Act, investigating extremism within our public institutions or rethinking the role and structure of policing. Only through sustained effort and genuine accountability can we restore public confidence and ensure that our democracy remains resilient against future challenges.
We would also like to thank all the incredible staff, the clerks and everybody who participated, including each of our party staff, for the last close to two years.
Committees of the House December 12th, 2024
Madam Speaker, I rise to request unanimous consent to provide the NDP's supplementary report to the Emergencies Act.
Committees of the House December 12th, 2024
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third and final report of the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency, entitled “Review of the Exercise of Powers and the Performance of Duties and Functions Pursuant to the Declaration of Emergency that was in Effect from February 14, 2022, to February 23, 2022”.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
Committees of the House December 9th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about housing in general today, but, specifically, there was an emphasis on for indigenous, by indigenous, in this report. Of course, we talked a lot about the urban indigenous experience.
We know that there is a disproportionate number of first nations, Métis and Inuit who have to rent. In fact, in 2021, the Liberal campaign promised to support people who rent their homes. Instead of doing that, the Liberals have allowed housing investors, such as real estate income trusts, to completely capture the market. There has been corporate capture of the housing market, and, I would argue, regulatory capture of the different levels of government.
What does the member have to say to those families, including first nations, Métis and Inuit, who are being renovicted from their homes every single day so that landlords and real estate income trusts can make a profit on their investments?
Committees of the House December 9th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, there is not a single time that the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre rises in the House and does not impart to us what she has learned, with lessons, teachings and things we should be taking away. In her remarks, she talked about the genocidal settler colonial project that is really about the displacement of first nations, Métis, indigenous and Inuit peoples from their lands.
When no levels of government provide adequate funding, the result is that people have to leave their home territories to go to cities to seek services, health care and education. They not only lose their connection to their original homelands, but they also end up living in precarity and in what I will call the social murder of homelessness.
Can the member comment on how the settler colonial project and genocidal logics are not an event that happens but a process of land displacement? Can she reflect on purposeful government underfunding of nations in a nation-to-nation relationship that results in people leaving their home territories?