Karim Bardeesy
Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park, Ontario · Liberal · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the continuing work of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, the leader of the Green Party, on issues related to contaminants and leakage. I also want to thank her for the interventions regarding the work of the late Dr.”
“Mr. Speaker, treaty rights are sacrosanct to this government, as are the regimes that we have in place, including the regimes for non-compliance and the environmental damages penalties that we have under the legislation. Incidents such as the recent spill at Cold Lake are taken very seriously.”
“That work continues, with Environment and Climate Change Canada and indigenous groups working together through that working group to develop long-term, science-based solutions that will form recommendations to the minister . I think the hon.”
“It is a core responsibility of the current government, and, I would say, of government, both now and for future generations. We need to address risks associated with tailings management in a way that gives sustained attention and brings solutions grounded in sound science.”
“Mr. Speaker, we know that small businesses do well when consumer spending is up, and that is why we have made investments like the Canada groceries and essentials benefit. Wages are increasing faster than inflation, and we have cut taxes through measures like the superproductivity deduction to make it easier for businesses to invest.”
“I would add that, with some of the investments we have been making in science and research and some of the advances in technology, we hope this work can continue to accelerate and to inform policy-makers, government and hon. members in an even more timely fashion.”
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“Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to speak to this bill put forward by my colleague the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells . I can definitely understand the inspiration behind this bill. In his speech, he referred to the COVID-era activities that were happening in his community and in communities coast to coast, whereby people were experiencing the different impacts of food shortages in certain areas, and some of the responses that grocers were devising. I think this bill is really about two of the strongest emotional connections we have, the connections with our food and with our wallet. It is where those two things intersect that this bill speaks to. There is a special emotional reaction that we have at the cash register at the grocery store when we see the price of what we have actually put in the trolley.”
“After his retirement, Jesse served as chair of Copernicus Lodge on Roncesvalles Avenue, serving seniors, especially of Polish background, with their health care needs. Jesse did all things in our riding and in this place with a strong spirit of mutual respect and a love of Canada. He leaves his wife, Sophie, and a large family, including his eight great-grandchildren. With them, we share our condolences and our thanks for sharing Jesse Flis with us.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour a long-time member of this House, Jesse Flis, who died earlier this month at the age of 92. Jesse lived to serve. Born in Saskatchewan to Polish immigrant parents, for more than two decades he served our community as an educator, including as principal of Argentina Public School, now Garden Avenue Junior Public School, in our riding. In 1979, Jesse heard the call to public service. He was elected four times to serve the people of Parkdale—High Park. In his almost 15 years as our Liberal member of Parliament, Jesse was a champion of human rights, in particular, for the emancipation of Polish people during their struggle against communism. He was a driving force for the recognition of National Flag of Canada Day, for a flag whose 61st birthday we will celebrate on February 15.”
“Mr. Speaker, instead of repeating Stellantis talking points and talking points from south of the border, perhaps the party on the other side should be joining with us to agree that the company is in default, and it should be joining us in encouraging the company to come to the table and either return those jobs or give our money back, period.”
“Mr. Speaker, we signed that deal on behalf of the government for every worker, every employee and every member of that community. Stellantis broke that deal. In our opinion, it is in default. We are going to get that money back, or the jobs are coming back, period.”
“However, they too need to be lifted up and given affirmation that their culture, whatever they feel is their culture, is a strong one that deserves recognition. They need to be told that they are seen as Arab Canadian and that we see the rich history that, again, goes back to the 19th century and the passion with which they bring their culture to life in this country. That is why I am here to speak in favour of the legislation. I want to thank my friend from York South—Weston—Etobicoke , who has his own very interesting family history of Arab connection, in his case to Yemen. I really want to thank him and thank all members for speaking to the issue in the House today.”
“We do not have to be too far away from the present to remember some of the especially damaging cultural portrayals of who an Arab was and was not that we saw in Hollywood movies in the 1980s, 1990s and especially in the 2000s after the grotesque September 11th attacks. When I find another Arab or Arab Canadian, it takes a bit of an act of interpretation. I have to learn a bit more about the person, and then I eventually land on the fact that the person is an Arab or an Arab Canadian. There is that real finding of commonality. I know that in some communities in Canada it does not take much, because people are present in large enough numbers, whether it is Lebanese Canadians, Egyptian Canadians, Iraqis, Syrians or other Arab groups that have been able to come together and settle in sufficient numbers.”
“Like so many other immigrant groups, the Arab diaspora is a group whose members often are here because of the experience of war or the apprehension of war. That was definitely the case with my parents. They and my two older brothers left at an early age and were very fortunate to be able to settle in St. John's, Newfoundland, and eventually in Bathurst, New Brunswick. The Arab identity and culture are strong, but they need to be lifted up, shown and showcased. We know that there are some historic prejudices and that popular media can help lift up the prejudices, especially against Arabs and Arab Canadians.”
“My father's brothers ended up in pharmacy, and my father became a physician. He went to a country that had a close association with Egypt in that era of the 1950s: Sudan. He served as a family doctor and was the only doctor in the community in Sudan where he was serving when Egypt and Sudan had a connection. Circumstances around immigration and the political situation in Egypt at the time led my father to eventually go to Britain for further education, where he met my mother. After a series of moves they ended up in Egypt, where they remained until soon after the Yom Kippur War, the October War, of 1973, when, hopefully for the last time, happily, Egypt and Israel found themselves in armed conflict.”
“Again, just to the complexity of whether Arabs are an ethnic identity, a racial category, a state of mind or a nationality, we believe that his ancestors were some of the original peoples who were there in the Nile delta. In fact Egypt, in part, had an experience of colonization from people from the geographical area known as Arabia. (1745) My father was one of four children. His father was a civil servant, and his mother was a housewife. They practised a Christian faith. Although Arabs are a majority in the Muslim world, there are of course Arab Christians, Jews of Arab background, and others. My father's family moved to Cairo, and as in so many immigrant stories and so many stories of the progress of economic wealth and societies after the Second World War, family members were able to get an education.”
“It is often the case, as it was in my family, that Arabic was not something that was going to be passed down from my father to his children. I want to take a bit of a personal tour through this. As with so many immigrant groups, and there are so many immigrant groups represented here, whether it is more recently or more distantly, our relationship to our identity is complex and we only learn things in the telling or the retelling of that history. In our family's case, my father, Makram Wissa Henein El-Bardeesy, was born in 1928. His family was from a region known as upper Egypt, which is the southern part of Egypt, the higher land mass along the Nile River.”
“If someone dug a bit deeper, they would learn more of the very fascinating history of Arabs and Arab Canadians, not only in Saint John but in Nova Scotia, in particular in Cape Breton. There are very fascinating connections that happened decades past between Arabs, Jews and Christians in what might be considered unlikely corners of interfaith harmony in places like Sydney, Nova Scotia. This history was not available to those of us who had some sort of connection to an Arab identity. It was even less available to someone if they had Arabic language in front of them. As we know, many new immigrant communities and many frontier immigrant groups who come to Canada do not have language instruction available to them.”
“With all this context, I think it is important to lift up Arabs and Arab Canadians with whatever self-conception they have of themselves. That is why this month is so important. It is important for people who have some background or connection to the Arab world to say, and to have Canadians say back to them, that we see them. I remember growing up in northern New Brunswick in the 1970s and 1980s. I had a sense that I was maybe a bit different and I had some idea that there were other Arabs or Arab Canadians around. Anyone who was a Maritimer in the 1970s and in the 1980s would have had some awareness of Joe Ghiz, the former premier of Prince Edward Island. Later on, they was a connection to the Zed family in Saint John.”
“As we know, in its classical form, it is the language of the holy Quran for Muslim and Islamic adherents, so we have people from around the world who have some capacity to speak Arabic, even if they are not Arabs themselves. The Arab world is sometimes seen as a geographical construct. My family is originally from Egypt, which was actually in a political union with Syria for a period of time, a confederation that created something called the United Arab Republic. We are a geographical group. We are in part a linguistic group. We are in part an ethnic group, and we are a state of mind, Arabs and Arab Canadians. In the more modern sense, especially since the Second World War, it has been difficult for us not to think of Arabs and Arab Canadians in relation to geopolitical issues, especially in the Middle East.”
“As we know from the history of immigration in this country, there were certain groups in the pre-1960s era who were more welcome in Canada than others. The case of Arab Canadians and Arabs in Canada is a special case. I self-identify as Arab and I know some members of the House on both sides of the aisle also do. Thinking of the Arab world requires a bit of a feat of imagination. The Arab world is a geographical area, but it is quite a sprawling geographical area that starts in the west part of north Africa and goes all the way through the Levant and the holy lands and a bit further east into what we sometimes call west Asia. Arab Canadians and Arabs are often identified with the Arabic language, a very beautiful language that is spoken in a rich array of dialects. Some parts of the language are not necessarily mutually intelligible.”
“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the bill before us today, and to speak to the proud history of Arabs and Arab Canadians in Canada. I will try to contextualize how we can come to a moment at this time in 2025 when we have the prospect of an Arab heritage month but not yet an Arab heritage month for Canada. My colleague for York South—Weston—Etobicoke described in some detail the history of the community in Canada, or more properly perhaps, the history of the communities in Canada. To our knowledge, the Arabs, or more specifically Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, began to arrive in Canada in small numbers beginning in the 1880s, but the real waves of immigration began in the 1950s and 1960s.”
“Mr. Speaker, I think we are quite blessed in this House to have, in our parliamentary secretary colleague, someone who has experience in first nations' governance, in provincial government and in federal government now. I wonder if he could just share the perspectives that he has gained over the years in relation to the motion before us.”
“Mr. Speaker, our history is filled with examples of projects that connect our two largest provinces. Today, we have another opportunity to continue this proud tradition. One of our major national projects is the Toronto-Quebec City high-speed rail project. The next step to get there is to pass Bill C‑15 , which enacts the high-speed rail network act. What is the holdup? It is the opposition, which is playing games to delay the passage of this bill. [ English ] This is why we cannot have nice things. [ Translation ] Quebeckers and Ontarians have waited long enough. Every major country in the world except Canada has high-speed rail connecting their two biggest cities. It is time to stop playing games. It is time to move Canada forward.”
“Mr. Chair, I know that my colleague is working very hard in her riding of Guelph and is hearing from folks about the government's response to the unjustified tariffs. I am wondering if she could share more perspectives from her constituents about how they are responding to our government's position with respect to the United States.”
“Mr. Chair, I appreciated the speech by my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe. I would like to ask him if he agrees that, in the future, electrification of the auto industry will contribute to the growth of and gains for Quebec's economy.”
“Mr. Chair, my colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge gave a number of examples of the current pressures on a number of current plants and companies in Canada, and every example seemed to be about the trade dispute we are in with the Americans. Would the member not agree with me that in fact it is the unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs that are the cause of the current situation we are in, and that we all need to be aligned on that fight?”
“Mr. Chair, I always appreciate the interventions of my colleague from Kildonan—St. Paul . I am a bit bewildered by the strong focus on the electric vehicle sector because the evidence we have is this is a growing sector and, in fact, it is increasing the manufacturing footprint in southern Ontario. Which of the investments and which of the projects going toward our electric vehicle future is she opposed to?”
“Mr. Chair, my colleague from Guelph, who is the head of the auto caucus, knows from where she sits how much innovation and expertise come in to the sector out of Guelph. That is the kind of thing in which we want and are continuing to invest in this budget, whether it is some of the investments in research, innovation and talent or in the trade corridors, so that the manufacturers of autos or auto parts have other markets they can reach out to. Obviously, there are some key supports for workers in the budget. The broader context, I think, of this budget is one that stresses affordability and the next generation of economic growth. There is a whole set of policies that undergird and support this with really strong trade infrastructure. I think it is one of the main reasons we on this side are so excited about the budget.”
“Mr. Chair, in our opinion, it is better to have no agreement than a bad agreement. I think that workers, unions and union members agree. We are working every day to get the best possible agreement for this sector, which is so important. We are not going to sacrifice jobs by signing just any old agreement.”
“We know there is a lot of private sector investment in some of these things that she is looking for, and I think we can expect to see a lot more of that.”
“Mr. Chair, as my colleague knows, there is currently a pause on the availability standard for next year, and I know the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature is working hard on that with her colleagues. I think one of the important things to note is what the direction of investment is and what the direction of sales and consumer interest in this sector are. In fact, electric vehicle sales are up 50% since 2023. That is a pretty significant growth at a time when several governments have been withdrawing some of their subsidies for the purchase of such vehicles. I think the other thing to note, and I think it may be embedded a bit in my colleague's question, is that this is a tremendously exciting opportunity for investment in the very things that the member is citing as impediments.”
“Thomas, a town that used to have a Ford manufacturing facility and now has a promise of not one but two major new manufacturing facilities to support the electric vehicle future. (1915) To conclude, with sustained commitment, with policy alignment, and with real dedication and attention to the workers, to the quality, to the innovation and to the need to anchor this manufacturing footprint in Canada, this industry can stay very strong.”
“It has been recalled in this House a few times that the era of the financial crisis of 2007-08 created a real rupture and a need for governments to go in, in an urgent fashion. We have already expressed our concern on this side of the House about how delayed the government of the day was in participating in that. Luckily, in the end, those investments were made, and we were able to sustain, retain and continue to grow some of those plants, jobs and sectors. We are now in this new era, where there is perhaps the most existential trade challenge to the sector, yet we continue to grow and we continue to invest. That model of partnering is paying off. It is paying off with the NextStar plant in Windsor. It is paying off with the gigafactory in St.”
“They were building these global champions that not only served the Canadian auto sector and created jobs in Canada but also exported jobs and investment around the world and brought those benefits, those returns and that profit back to Canada. We then had the era that began in the early 2000s. I was associated with a government that was a key participant when there were concerns about whether the auto footprint in Ontario could be sustained. It was not just Canada or the Ontario government but governments around the world that started to play an important role in partnering with companies and unions to attract new investment. We have been in that era for quite some time now.”
“In the 1980s, we had some perceived trade threats from east Asia, but we responded and were able to attract Asian investment in the form of Japanese automakers from Honda and Toyota. There were the free trade negotiations and the NAFTA agreement, and the pretty significant recession that was experienced at that time, yet workers continued to adapt and investment continued to flow in. It was also in that period that the Canadian Auto Workers split away from the United Auto Workers, creating a proud Canadian-based union that became a founding partner of Unifor. The global auto parts footprint, so much of which is based in Canada, was founded by people who in many cases were immigrants, tool and die makers, and people coming to this country from a variety of places in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s.”
“It is really a history of adaptation and change, responding to either economic pressures or policy pressures, but constantly building the industrial base, the talent base and the innovation that purchasers of vehicles expect, that the market expects and that Canada and Canadians have been able to deliver. There have been different eras, as my colleague mentioned. There was the key role of the auto pact and how that really set the pace for the kind of trading relationship we have in this country with the United States, allowing us to manufacture and sell into the American market while also having a good market here that was growing at a time of great prosperity for our country.”
“That manufacturing and the related sectors that are involved result in approximately 125,000 direct jobs, 80% of which are located in Ontario, comprising approximately 8% of manufacturing GDP and 0.7% of overall GDP. Those are the overall numbers, but in each of those jobs there is a family that is sustained or helped to be sustained. There are also downstream benefits from that within communities all across the country, in particular in southern Ontario. As well, I will reference the fact that the EV future we are experiencing and growing has an even broader distribution of jobs across Canada, which is something we should appreciate as we look to the future success of this sector. On the history of this sector, we have been building cars in some way in Canada for over 100 years.”
“Mr. Chair, I appreciate the interventions from my colleague from Winnipeg North , my colleague from Kildonan—St. Paul and my colleague from Guelph . I want to pick up on where my colleague from Winnipeg North left off in terms of what has sustained and made this sector resilient over so many years. We are all probably aware of the general ballpark of the current state of the sector. In 2024, we produced, as a country, about 1.3 million light-duty vehicles, of which about 1.1 million vehicles were exported to the U.S., and we know that there is a specific interest for my colleague from Joliette—Manawan in the heavy vehicle sector as well, which is an important sector, in particular in Quebec.”
“I also want to salute the work of Ukrainian Canadian heroes such as Oleksandr Romanko of the UCC's technology and innovation committee, and Ann Szyptur from Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park, the first vice-president of the Canadian Ukrainian Congress. On Holodomor Memorial Day, we were fortunate to hear from Mykola Latyshko, who shared his first-hand experience of survival during a Russia-forced famine carried out nearly 100 years ago. Then, as today, we know that Ukraine will never bow to Russian aggression. Slava Ukraini .”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the resilience of Ukrainian nationals and Ukrainian Canadians in west Toronto and across Canada as Ukraine enters another winter defending itself from the illegal Russian invasion. Organizations such as Ukrainian Canadian Social Services and the Toronto chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress have added their voices to making the essential case for this Commons to authorize unprecedented investments in Ukrainian defence, security and aid, including yesterday's announcement of an additional $200 million in military assistance. I am proud to be associated with a government that has invested more per capita in Ukraine's defence than any other nation.”
“Mr. Speaker, I know that my colleague, in his work in Scarborough—Woburn and previously in provincial government, has been a long-time champion of public workers and workers who have a lower income but who do the most essential work of caregiving. The tax credit will return over $1,000 annually to the pockets of personal support workers and those who qualify. I think that is a really important affordability measure, but it is also really important recognition, as the workers it applies to are typically working multiple jobs in provincially regulated settings or in private ones. We did it in a fiscally responsible way, for those who are looking at the budget tables. It was really quite unfortunate that the—”
“Mr. Speaker, I get these questions from time to time. I understand that my colleague has public service workers in her riding. I have them in my riding as well. Toronto may be the capital of Ontario, but there are also federal public servants in my riding. I also want to commend the work of the public service employees who prepared and published this budget. The bill presented here for our consideration and the work that is being done rests on the shoulders of public service workers. To answer my colleague's question, our plan is laid out in the budget. In my view, this was done with a lot of planning and it took many years to create and implement this plan.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have heard the hon. member speak in the House about people in emergency services and health care workers, and I appreciate learning more about that specific bill. When it comes to unanimous consent, I know there will be many voices that will be involved. I also know we have in front of us Bill C-14 , which is a really important bill before the House that we were working hard to pass. I believe it incorporates many of the things the hon. member is talking about.”
“I was at the Canadian Science Policy Conference last year, and the academic community from coast to coast in Canada has been raving about how well supported it feels. Its members are feeling more patriotic than ever, and they know that when we invest in science and research and in open-ended inquiry in the hard sciences, the life sciences and the social sciences and humanities, it is not just about the research; it is actually about sovereignty and freedom for Canada. They depend on a certain level of sovereignty and freedom to do their work, and in turn they generate sovereignty, freedom and economic benefit for all of us. These are just some of the benefits of the budget that I am proud to point out today, and I look forward to questions and comments.”
“In the current budget, there is a major new commitment around attracting international talent and identifying the best minds, the people who are looking to do science and are being told frankly in their country that it may not be the place for them to do science, that it is going to cut funding, that it does not like their political views or that what they are doing is political. On our side of the aisle and in the budget, we very clearly recognize that work done in teams in pursuit of excellence and scientific inquiry is the kind of work we want to do in Canada. The budget makes a major investment in this, and we are looking for Canadians in Canada and people all around the world to be looking forward to this international talent attraction strategy. I am so proud to be associated with it.”
“The current budget is the second of two historic budgets for science and research work and its community and therefore for the economic benefit that will come from that. In our 2024 budget, we brought forward major investments in the three major granting councils. Those are the agencies that fund the research done by our professors, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, which in turn generates the life-saving and economic innovations we are all so lucky to benefit from.”
“As parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Industry, I cannot help but point out that there are some very important investments in science and research in the budget. Other countries are pulling back on science, and even in the general public there is a growing concern or fear that science is not something we should be trusting, that discovery-based research is something for someone else, and that the really important work of diversity, equity and inclusion in science and research is something to be rejected. When this is happening, I am really proud to be associated with a government that stands wholeheartedly in support of inquiry in the hard sciences, the life sciences and the social sciences and humanities.”
“There are some really specific and concrete measures in the budget bill that would bring forward the work, along with the commitment to reduce the timelines around the assessment of the project from eight years to four years. This is something that people throughout southern Ontario and Quebec have been looking for. They have been saying that it is a really key part of our growth and connectivity as a country. My hon. friend from Peterborough knows how important this is. We talk about it as a Toronto to Quebec City corridor, but there are major places along the way that could also stand to really benefit from it. In this moment when it is so easy to be divided and for Canadians to be pitted against each other, it is a very important measure that in the budget bill we have some investments that are intentionally about connecting Canadians.”
“We therefore made the proposed change in the budget bill to move to pre-approval so investors have the certainty of knowing that there would be a recognition of their investment with a tax credit. We also proposed compressing the timeline so people would be able to find out about and receive the money in a more timely fashion. It is an important tax measure in the budget to support Canadians. There is another part of the budget bill I want to highlight that I think is important to many members in southern Ontario and Quebec. It has been much talked about, and now we have some government action that is starting to move the needle. I am talking about the measures in the budget bill around high-speed rail. We know that the Alto project is a very exciting project that Canadians have been talking about for decades.”
“Some of the tax measures to build Canada, as my friend, the parliamentary secretary mentioned, are for our job creators. I am thinking in particular of the refinements to the SR and ED tax credit. This is of major interest and major use to so many small and medium-sized businesses in our communities. (1215) Recently I met a constituent, Brad McCabe, who told me that the tax credit, while good policy, was not working as well as it could be. It was taking too long for people to find out about this tax credit and whether they would be eligible. As a result, the investments Mr. McCabe was making in his business were not being recognized by the government.”
“On this side, we heard the call. I am so pleased to see that in this budget bill, we honour the commitment to the health care heroes tax credit. I just met a couple of days ago with a couple of personal support workers, Vegeta and Ellen, who shared with us the back-breaking work they do and their desire and their need for support. The tax measures are also for the job creators that bring economic growth to our nation. The good news about some of these tax measures and investments is that when the money goes directly to the people, we know they are spending the money, so when we make an investment in our military and the lowest-paid members of our services, we know they are going to use that money to buy goods and services in their community.”
“In my riding of Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park, the Tibetan Canadian community, often trained in health care professions, works as personal support workers for Copernicus Lodge at the different health care sites. Some are in the riding and some very far from the riding. These are people who put everything on the line for the people they care about, their clients and their patients, who are the most vulnerable in our society, but they are vulnerable too. They often have to work two jobs and go between different places of work. It was especially important that we recognize them. I think everyone in this House would have recognized that work during the pandemic. After the pandemic, it was too easy for too many to forget about the role of these health care heroes and the representation they got from their union.”
“They need to be the people who are trusted to continue to defend Canada, whether at home or abroad, with some real recognition and some real investment. This budget makes a really significant and important commitment to those people. It was unfortunate to see our friends on the other side, who have often spoken about the value of the Canadian military and military service, vote against that, but it was very important that we put that in the budget. There are also tax measures to support the people who have needed it the most. I want to refer to a couple of them. The personal support worker health care heroes tax credit is a really important commitment that was made by our party in our manifesto. We hear every day about the back-breaking physical labour, often done by women, immigrants and newcomers.”
“As my friend and fellow parliamentary secretary mentioned, this budget does a really good job of making the key investments that would help us with this transition and help us respond to this hinge moment and this rupture we are experiencing today. There are some concrete investments in the long term. Some of those investments are in the people who have been asking for support for some time. They are the people who put themselves on the line for our sovereignty and our freedom. I am thinking in particular of one of the single biggest major investments in this budget, which is the salary increase for the women and men who serve in our armed forces. Past governments were not as attentive to this as they needed to be. Canadians and the armed forces have said they need to be invested in.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take part in today's debate on the bill before us, the budget implementation bill. This budget aims to build, empower and protect Canada, as my friend the parliamentary secretary so aptly described. [ English ] It is really important to have the context of this budget bill in front of us clear. We have a hinge moment of rupture in our trading relationship with our major trading partner. We go to our different constituencies on weekends to talk to our constituents and business owners. I was in touch just last night with the business owners of the Baby Point Gates Business Improvement Area. What is on their mind is this rupture moment and how Canada will respond. They are looking for leadership, frankly, from all parties to respond to this moment.”