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Results: 1 - 15 of 39
View David Lametti Profile
Lib. (QC)
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-36, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act and to make related amendments to another Act (hate propaganda, hate crimes and hate speech) .
View Gary Anandasangaree Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to members from Scarborough—Rouge Park, the traditional lands of many indigenous nations, most recently of the Mississaugas of the Credit. I will be speaking in support of Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021.
Before I go deeper into the budget, I want to reflect on the past few weeks. It has been a difficult few weeks for many in our country, and I think it is safe to say that our hearts ache on a number of different fronts.
First and foremost, learning of the graves of 215 children in Kamloops has really opened existing wounds and has shaken us up in a way things have rarely shaken us. This is a moment in time when all of us need to come together and ensure that there is justice, accountability and reflection. There is also a real commitment to ensure that all of the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report are implemented.
There are sadly going to be other findings along the way, and I think in order for us to have closure, in order for us to truly live up to the past and move forward, we need to support indigenous-led initiatives that will commemorate and remember, and that will ensure that the children are brought home. I send my heartfelt condolences to the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc people and I want to assure them that I, along with my colleagues in the House, will continue to work to support them and others in these efforts.
Just last week, I sadly attended another memorial, in London, Ontario, to pay respects to the Afzaal family. I was joined by members from all parties and leaders from across different levels of government, but most importantly the members of the Muslim community in London.
The Afzaal family were walking, like most of us have relearned to do over the past 18 months or so. They were going on an evening walk and they were sadly mowed down by a terrorist, by someone who espoused so much hate. I do not even know if I could fathom the level of hate this individual had to do this to this family, but more broadly, to attack us as Canadians. When we see an attack on one individual community or family, it really is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the values that we espouse.
Sadly, it did not stop there. We know that incidents of Islamophobia have been on the rise exponentially over the past several days. We have seen incidents in Edmonton, as my friend from Edmonton Riverbend just referenced. We have seen daily microaggressions toward many friends, colleagues and others we may have worked with. This is a real moment for us to reflect on the level of hate speech, the level of hate propaganda on social media. We know that incidents of anti-Semitism are on the rise.
This is a moment for us to reflect and make sure that we do better and we collectively work together, that we do not use race and these differences as wedge issues, but rather as issues that we can all come together to fight against as a common good. I sincerely hope that we have turned the page in our Parliament where we can do that. I hope to work across the aisle with my friends opposite to do that.
On a very personal note, I must thank all those colleagues who are not going to be running again in the next election. Most importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank my good friend from Mississauga—Malton, the former minister of innovation, for his extraordinary guidance for me personally and the doors that he opened for me to ensure my success. I want to pay particular respect and thank him and his extraordinary family, Bram, Kirpa, Nanki, Poppa Bains and Momma Bains, for all they have done.
In his speech, he reflected on the issue of identity, on the issue of being Sikh and being able to practise his faith and live day to day as a Sikh with enormous and extraordinary challenges, and yet he has overcome so many and has led us in ways that I do not have time to describe here.
I do want to get to the budget, and I want to talk about something that has been very important for the people of Scarborough. Scarborough region used to be its own municipality prior to amalgamation with the broader city of Toronto. We have a population of roughly 630,000 people. We are represented by six parliamentarians; we call them the Scarborough caucus. We have set out since 2015 to prioritize one singular ask, which is additional support for transit.
The Scarborough region has not had any higher levels of transit built in a generation. The last project, the rapid transit, the LRT, is coming to an end in 2023. It is broken down. It is far past its best-before date, and it is fair to say that it is not serving the people of Scarborough.
In 2015, Scarborough Agincourt was represented by Arnold Chan. We got together and said we absolutely needed to make sure that we built higher orders of transit. At that time, the singular project that was in the pipeline, with almost a 10-year debate behind it, was the Scarborough subway extension. It was initially a three-stop subway. It became a four-stop subway, then a two-stop subway, and finally here we are today and we were recently able to announce a federal investment of $2.25 billion into a three-stop line, which will start construction before the end of the year, and we are hopeful that it will be constructed by 2030. That is the timeline that has been provided.
This is a game-changer. This is very important, and this is an important investment in the people of Scarborough, all the hard-working people. Scarborough had one of the most affected populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have had so many issues of riders, essential workers, going downtown in crammed buses and being affected disproportionately to the population. I believe this is a very important investment.
As much as this is important, this is not the end for us. Scarborough as a region will require additional supports in terms of infrastructure, and that is why this budget is so important, as it outlines a mechanism through the permanent public transit funding that would enable places like Scarborough to build. I am looking forward to supporting the construction of the Eglinton East LRT as the next project.
I look forward to the questions and answers today.
View Adam Vaughan Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Adam Vaughan Profile
2021-06-18 10:54 [p.8762]
Madam Speaker, I also heard the good words from our colleague from Alberta in response to a change of position regarding Motion No. 103. The very aggressive and quite frankly dangerous words that were shared around the time of that debate put a number of members of this Parliament in a very precarious place in their private life.
Right now I represent the oldest Chinatown in Toronto. The member represents some of the newer communities of the Chinese Canadian settlement, but the language around China has taken on a very similar tone to the language around Muslims in this Parliament. I know from talking to community leaders and individuals in my riding that anti-Asian hate crime is rising as China is singled out for a whole series of challenges. I wonder if my colleague could talk about the impact some of that rhetoric around China is having on Chinese Canadians in our communities.
View Gary Anandasangaree Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, when we were developing the anti-racism strategy in 2019, we realized that racism has a different impact on different communities, and anti-Asian racism is one that has historically, whether through the head tax or other forms of indentured labour to bring people of Chinese origin into Canada to work, had a disparate impact on the Asian community. I know language is important and as we continuously and rightfully criticize China on a number of issues, we have to differentiate between the state and the people. I think that is sometimes lost here and I hope members will be much more careful with the language that is used.
View Ya'ara Saks Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Ya'ara Saks Profile
2021-06-14 14:51 [p.8338]
Mr. Speaker, in recent weeks, I have been deeply disturbed by the rise of anti-Semitic acts in my community of York Centre and across Canada. We have seen Jewish businesses, synagogues and memorials vandalized, and Jewish Canadians have faced acts of violence and intimidation in our communities. These acts of hate have no place in Canada.
Could the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth please tell the House how our government is combatting anti-Semitism here in Canada today?
View Bardish Chagger Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Bardish Chagger Profile
2021-06-14 14:51 [p.8338]
Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to combatting anti-Semitism and all forms of hate, prejudice and discrimination through measures such as Canada's anti-racism strategy, in which we adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism.
Last week, our government announced that we will work alongside the Hon. Irwin Cotler, Canada's special envoy to preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism, on an emergency national summit on anti-Semitism, which was advocated for by many hard-working colleagues, including the member for York Centre and partners such as CIJA.
View Brian Masse Profile
NDP (ON)
View Brian Masse Profile
2021-06-01 16:54
Madam Speaker, one of the things that is a concern here is Asian hate crimes, and the discussion of this creates a sensitivity that is very important. What do the Conservatives propose to do during this to ensure we do not have that continuation? We have seen this across North America, and we have witnessed this across our ridings.
This issue is really about non-democratic governments and their involvement, as opposed to individuals in Canada. What do they suggest to actually augment these arguments against this, as a tool?
View Shannon Stubbs Profile
CPC (AB)
View Shannon Stubbs Profile
2021-06-01 16:54
Madam Speaker, Conservatives wholeheartedly believe that, for criminal activities and hate crimes, the full force of the law and consequences for perpetrators must be meted out. On the other hand, I think it does a disservice to all people, particularly people who are Chinese citizens or from China, when, for example, government ministers allege that asking questions about this information can be equated to bigotry.
Doing so actually empowers and enables an autocratic, hostile state regime, which makes its own citizens and people around the world vulnerable.
View Judy A. Sgro Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the help.
This would increase women's participation in the workforce and is a plan to offer each child in Canada the best start in life. It will aim to reduce fees for parents with children in regulated child care by 50% on average by 2022, with a goal of reaching $10 per day, on average, by 2026, everywhere outside of Quebec. Budget 2021 will invest almost $30 billion over the next five years and provide permanent, ongoing funding.
There has been a lot of discussion over whether this budget is fiscally responsible. Canada entered the pandemic in a strong fiscal position. This allowed our government to take quick and decisive action supporting people and businesses, and to make today's historic investments in the recovery.
Systemic racism is a painful reality for too many people. In particular, Black Canadian communities have suffered immensely during COVID-19, and the events of the past year have highlighted the inequities and racism targeted at racialized communities. Our government is taking action to tackle racism, support racialized communities and respond to the uneven impact of COVID-19. As we build back better and recover from the pandemic, we will continue to address systemic racism and empower communities by bridging the gaps that hold Canada back from reaching its potential.
Budget 2021 outlines the government's plan to build a healthier, more inclusive and more equitable Canada for everyone. The budget proposes $200 million toward a Black-led philanthropic endowment fund to support Black-led charities and organizations serving youth and social initiatives, as well as $100 million for supporting Black Canadian community initiatives. Both will be administered through Employment and Social Development Canada for 2021-22. There will also be a new anti-racism grant program to combat rising hate and racism during COVID-19 and a national coalition to support Asian-Canadian groups.
We will be enhancing the communities at risk with empowering and enforcing security infrastructure programs to protect communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes. We will expand access to community-led mental health programs for indigenous peoples, and racialized and Black Canadians. This is a historical first of its kind, groundbreaking, and an investment that we are speaking about. These ventures will have a direct positive impact on the communities I represent for years to come.
My apologies to my colleagues and the translators for the difficulties with my microphone. I thank them for their help.
View Jenny Kwan Profile
NDP (BC)
View Jenny Kwan Profile
2021-05-11 18:49 [p.7095]
Madam Speaker, racism and structural inequity existed even before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has shone a light for many on the serious inequality in our country.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been public actions and calls against anti-Asian violence and racism; mass public protest movements against police violence, and to say that Black lives matter; rallies to call for justice for migrant workers; and people gathering in the streets to protest the resource extraction and development taking place on unceded indigenous land without free, prior and informed consent, and calling for a true reconciliation that dismantles colonial institutions and laws.
Transformative changes are needed in our laws, governments and institutions to reconcile and make reparations for Canada's colonial history, to root out systemic discrimination and to eliminate the root causes of poverty and inequality. Equality of rights is supposed to be at the core of Canadian law, as enshrined in our charter, yet this is not the reality for far too many people.
People do not have equal access to housing. There is no national rights-based approach to housing. There is no national urban indigenous housing plan that is by indigenous, for indigenous. Law enforcement disproportionately affects Black and indigenous people. People living with addictions cannot access the health care that they need, and instead they are criminalized. People do not enjoy equitable access to supports for early intervention, mental health and addiction. The chronic underfunding and defunding of these services is a sample of the systemic racism that exists within government.
Canada must take bold action to tackle systemic racism and recognize that racial disparities in education, learning, employment, food and water security, health and child welfare, housing and homelessness, income and social assistance, immigration and newcomer settlement, justice and policing, and poverty are persistent and real.
To improve safety for members of our community, we must invest in people. Canada can afford to have a guaranteed livable income so that everyone will have access to income, food security, safe housing and safe transportation. The Atlanta incident is a reminder of the intersections and the deadly effects of not only racism, but also misogyny. We must also address policy issues that increase people's vulnerability to violence, including fighting against the stigma that sex workers face.
While we are often tempted to think that racism is a problem confined to the United States, the truth is that racist verbal and physical attacks on Asian Canadians are on a sharp rise. According to Bloomberg, Vancouver is the Asian hate capital of North America. In Vancouver, anti-Asian hate crimes have gone up 717%. Every attack is aimed at stripping us of our sense of safety and dignity. It is a clear message to say that we are not wanted and that we do not belong.
I am glad that the House of Commons unanimously adopted my motion that calls on the government to include anti-Asian racism in Canada's anti-racism strategy and in all anti-racism policies and programs. However, we need to ensure that NGOs are provided the resources they need to help fight against Asian hate and provide support to victims. NGOs have the trust of, and relationships with, the people on the ground. They can break down cultural and language barriers, but they cannot do this from the side of their desks. Dedicated stable and predictable core funding, not just project funding, is needed to tackle this essential work.
I call on the government to take action to support the community.
View Adam van Koeverden Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Adam van Koeverden Profile
2021-05-11 18:53 [p.7096]
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague across the way for her advocacy on behalf of her own communities and other Asian communities.
Like millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast, our government is very concerned by the proliferation of anti-Asian hatred and racism in Canada and in other parts of the world. Anti-Asian racism, discrimination and stigma have no place in Canada, and we condemn all forms of them.
By taking a stand, it reminds us that contrary to what many believe, anti-Asian racism is not new to Canada. Anti-Asian racism has a long history in Canada.
In a society governed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Multiculturalism Act and the Human Rights Act, hatred and racism have absolutely no place in Canada today. They pose a direct threat to the foundation of our democratic institutions, to the security of our communities and to our nationwide efforts to combat the pandemic that we face today.
Statistics Canada data, the unprecedented work of national pan-Asian organizations and data from law enforcement agencies show unequivocally that anti-Asian hatred is currently a sordid reality for far too many Canadians.
We are determined to take every measure necessary to work with the Asian communities in order to put an end to anti-Asian racism.
We have already made record investments to combat racism, including anti-Asian racism, through Canada's $45-million anti-Asian racism strategy. The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat is working closely with Asian communities to help ensure that the federal government consistently addresses anti-Asian racism in all its programs and policies, not only in its anti-racism policies and programs.
Through budget 2021, we are investing $11 million in the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to facilitate initiatives, like the establishment of a national coalition to support Asian Canadian communities. The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat is also collaborating with Asian organizations to see anti-Asian racism addressed in the upcoming Asian Heritage Month activities. This year's theme is recognition, resilience and resolve, an important theme to urge all Canadians to come together to combat all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination.
Our digital citizen initiative also supported the work of key Asian community organizations to fight anti-Asian racism.
Through budget 2021, we also invested in improving the collection and use of disaggregated data. The anti-racism strategy also provides support to the Department of Public Safety. It seeks to develop a national framework and guidelines to better respond to hate crimes, hate incidents and hate speech.
We recognize that there is much more that we need to do.
That is why our government remains committed to taking concrete action to fight anti-Asian racism. Canada's anti-racism strategy, along with all other related government programs and policies, must be introduced and designed to be effective in combatting anti-Asian racism.
View Jenny Kwan Profile
NDP (BC)
View Jenny Kwan Profile
2021-05-11 18:57 [p.7097]
Madam Speaker, May is Asian Heritage Month. This is the second Asian Heritage Month to take place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and rising anti-Asian hate.
To the Asian community, let this be a month to strengthen our connection to our heritage, history and community to find the strength, resilience and love that we need to fight against racism and hate. Let us hold each other in solidarity and care as our communities grieve the ongoing pandemic tragedies, especially our South Asian community with the devastating crisis in India now.
Inclusion and justice mean that all entities required for dignified living, such as income, health care and housing are accessible, and that essential workers on the front lines, including migrant workers and undocumented workers, are recognized and protected.
There must be a comprehensive and co-ordinated response to rising hate crimes that prioritizes support for NGOs on the ground. Systemic racism at all policy levels must be addressed. The government has an urgent responsibility to act.
View Adam van Koeverden Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Adam van Koeverden Profile
2021-05-11 18:58 [p.7097]
Madam Speaker, anti-Asian racism is unacceptable in Canada today. We all have a role to play in preventing and stopping the spread of stigma and racism, whether online, on our streets, in our homes or in the workplace.
Unfortunately, what we have witnessed over the past year shows us that, right now, the anti-Asian racism that exists in Canada stems from hatred and misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data from Statistics Canada, law enforcement and Asian community organizations across the country shows that anti-Asian racism is bringing fear and violence to far too many of our communities.
That is why our government is committed to doing everything it can through Canada's anti-racism strategy, including the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat, and in partnership with communities of Asian descent, to combat hatred towards people of Asian descent.
View Ya'ara Saks Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Ya'ara Saks Profile
2021-05-05 15:07 [p.6679]
Mr. Speaker, in 2018, this House unanimously passed a bill making the month of May Canadian Jewish Heritage Month.
As a Jewish Canadian, I am proud to join the House today in celebrating the incredible contributions of the Jewish community to our great country. At the same time, though, we are witnessing a distressing rise in hate and anti-Semitism, not only globally, but also here at home in Canada.
Could the Prime Minister update this House on how the government is taking action against anti-Semitism in Canada?
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Justin Trudeau Profile
2021-05-05 15:08 [p.6679]
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from York Centre for her hard work for her constituents and her advocacy.
This month we have the opportunity to celebrate and learn about Jewish communities in Canada, along with their history of courage and resilience. This is also a time to reaffirm our commitment to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
Our government is committed to fighting hatred, prejudice and discrimination in all their forms through important measures such as Canada's anti-racism strategy 2019-22, in which the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism was formally adopted.
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