43rd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION House of Commons Debates Official Report (Hansard) VOLUME 149 NUMBER 008 Monday, January 27, 2020 Speaker: The Honourable Anthony Rota CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 427 HOUSE OF COMMONS Monday, January 27, 2020 The House met at 11 a.m. At the time, Canada was a young country without the robust so‐ cial safety net we see today. Faith, family and community were all they could rely on to get them through the tough times of financial hardship. They had no choice but to persevere and do the best they Prayer could to provide for the next generation. ● (1105) [English] My call to public service came when I was about nine years old. It was a hot summer day at my grandparents' farm. The adults in WAYS AND MEANS my family were sitting around the kitchen table passionately ex‐ NOTICE OF MOTION pressing their views of yet another damaging policy the Liberals in Ottawa had put on farmers. Even at that young age, I could feel the Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minis‐ injustice of the harmful government intrusion in our lives. There ter of Intergovernmental Affairs, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to was a disconnect between my humble hard-working family and the Standing Order 83(1), I wish to table a notice of a ways and means decision-makers here in Ottawa. motion respecting an act to implement the agreement between Canada, the United States of America and the United Mexican States. I decided in that moment that when I grew up, I would go to Ot‐ Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I ask that an order of the day tawa to fight for my family. It has been a long journey from small- be designated for consideration of this motion. town country roots to being the first in my family to attend univer‐ sity and the first to enter federal politics. As a woman in her 20s, I stand before you today, Mr. Speaker, as part of a demographic that has rarely been represented in this House. SPEECH FROM THE THRONE [English] I attribute much of my success to the resilience I inherited from RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY my pioneer ancestors and that burning motivation to fight for ev‐ The House resumed from December 13, 2019, consideration of eryday Canadians against government agendas that are so often out the motion for an address to Her Excellency the Governor General of touch with the struggles facing everyday people. That is why I in reply to her speech at the opening of the session. am truly honoured to represent my constituents of Kildonan—St. Paul. Ms. Raquel Dancho (Kildonan—St. Paul, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to split my time with the member for Kenora today. It would have been difficult to predict, over 150 years ago, that My riding has a rich heritage and holds a place of significance in the shared vision of Canada's founding fathers who gathered to cre‐ our national history. That history is tied to the mighty Red River, ate a dominion from sea to sea would have led to a 29-year-old which cuts straight through the middle of Kildonan—St. Paul. The woman delivering the first speech of the new year and the new river has been the lifeblood of the community for thousands of decade in our House of Commons. years, beginning with Treaty 1 first nations and later the Red River Métis and the Selkirk Settlers, and later the Polish, Ukrainian, Ger‐ As a first-time elected representative, it was a special moment man and Mennonite homesteaders of the early 20th century. for me to hear Canada's Governor General deliver the Speech from the Throne. Amid all the pomp and circumstance, I could not help but think back to my humble roots and how far I have come. I was More recently our community has welcomed many newcomers born to four generations of Canadian farmers in a small town in from India and the Philippines. Today Kildonan—St. Paul is a di‐ eastern Manitoba. My family were prairie pioneers, and their lives verse constituency made strong by the contributions of young fami‐ were built on sacrifice, on struggle and on principles of personal re‐ lies, new Canadians, seniors, small business owners, tradesmen and sponsibility and resilience. women, and dozens of cultural and faith groups. 428 COMMONS DEBATES January 27, 2020 The Address However, what troubles me is how the throne speech and the pri‐ and I very much hope the Minister of Indigenous Services will de‐ orities of the Liberal government therein are not reflective of the liver on this commitment made by his predecessor. priorities of the Winnipeggers and the Manitobans I represent. What I heard at the doorstep over the better part of the last two years was a desire for a representative who would fight for every‐ day hard-working Canadians in my community, an MP who would In addition to serving my constituents, I have also been given by make clear to the Liberal government that higher taxes, mountains my leader the responsibility of serving Canadians as the shadow of debt and endless deficits do not create economic prosperity but minister for the new Department of Diversity and Inclusion and in fact put our country's social programs and the future financial se‐ Youth. I am honoured to have earned this opportunity and I am curity of Canadians at risk. committed to using this platform to advocate the inclusion of ethni‐ cally and racially diverse Canadians, freedom and equality of Residents also expressed concerns for their environment, and top LGBTQ Canadians and a free, prosperous and healthy future for of mind is the North End Water Pollution Control Centre, which is Canada's youth. at the very centre of my riding and processes 70% of Winnipeg sewage. It needs over $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades and is currently incapable of removing phosphorus to an acceptable de‐ The youth in Canada are facing challenges. Affordability was the gree from the treated sewage before it flows back into the Red Riv‐ number one concern I heard on the doorstep, and it is impacting er. As a result, there are impacts on the health of Lake Winnipeg, young people in many alarming ways. My generation has the which, as all Manitobans know, has been choked with large algae largest student loan debt in the history of Canada. We are well into blooms in the most recent years. Lake Winnipeg, the Red River and our thirties when buying our first homes, if we do so at all, and we the Assiniboine River have shaped the history of Manitoba for are working without reliable retirement plans in the gig economy. thousands of years, and all three levels of government must come Our wages are largely frozen while the cost of living has increased together to support this critical project. dramatically, so it is no surprise that we are drowning in household debt and having fewer children, if any. Also top of mind was the extension of Chief Peguis Trail from Main Street to Route 90, which would substantially increase the livability of northwest Winnipeg by reducing traffic on residential streets to accommodate walking, cycling and public transit, and in‐ Meanwhile, the baby boomers are aging into their retirement crease traffic mobility by supporting the completion of the strategic pensions and beginning to rely heavily on our health care and social inner ring road of Winnipeg. Unfortunately, despite running billions services, which are already under tremendous strain. However, we in deficits and collecting millions more in additional tax revenue, have heard very little acknowledgement of these critical financial the Prime Minister and the government have largely ignored critical issues in the Liberal government's throne speech. Its multi-year, infrastructure projects in Manitoba. multi-billion-dollar deficit investments completely lack a strategic plan to secure my generation's financial future in the event of soar‐ Winnipeggers are also looking at the federal government to take ing interest rates or an economic downturn. The government is meaningful action to combat the meth crisis, which has wreaked leaving us ill-equipped to deal with an uncertain and changing havoc on Winnipeg in recent years, contributed to the dramatic in‐ world, and every person in my generation will live with the conse‐ crease in violent crime and contributed to its 44 murders in 2019, quences if we do not get it right. more than doubling from the year prior. ● (1110) I will embrace my critic role by holding the government to ac‐ Our first responders and front-line community organizations are count on behalf of my generation and young Conservatives across under tremendous stress as they deal with the heartbreaking and this country, and as my party and our country navigate the issues of traumatic consequences of this crisis. I saw the dire need for action the 2020s, I will fight for everyday Canadians. I will fight for free‐ in our community first-hand when I went to an evening patrol with dom; for safety; for security; for health, peace and prosperity; and the Bear Clan, an indigenous-led grassroots community group that for a government that respects the rich fabric of beliefs of our coun‐ supports vulnerable people across our inner-city neighbourhoods in try. I will as well fight for the priorities of my constituents in Kildo‐ Winnipeg. That evening, a large bag of needles was found buried in nan—St. Paul. I will ensure their voices and priorities are heard a snowbank.