Todd Doherty
Cariboo—Prince George, British Columbia · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition signed by the residents of Prince George and hand delivered by members of city council, who are all deeply concerned about repeat offending, court delays and the growing impact of property crime in our community.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my thanks to the hon. member, as my colleagues have done. I was elected with my friend in 2015. As many know, we go through highs and lows in this job. She has always been resolute in her faith. She is a strong supporter of her colleagues.”
“Mr. Speaker, $38 million spent, 1,000 deliberately set fires in just four years and businesses closing and leaving town are the true devastating costs of Liberal catch-and-release and mental health policies in the city of Prince George. Prolific offenders are arrested and released the very same day.”
“Many times I do not know whether a person is alive. It is unbelievable. What does it say when a food bank has become a permanent part of household budgeting? This is not the Canada that previous generations built. Housing tells a similar story. For generations, home ownership represented the Canadian dream.”
“Whose fault is it when committees are given insufficient time to hear witnesses and review evidence? Whose fault is it when Canadians are not heard? The answer is obvious. Governments control their legislative agenda and control the timing of legislation. Governments determine when bills are introduced.”
“The larger the bill, the greater the need for committee review. The more spending involved, the more questions are needed. The more power that is granted to the government or the ministers to make decisions without scrutiny, the more oversight should occur. Instead, the government is proposing exactly the opposite.”
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“Mr. Speaker, this morning Canadians received deeply troubling news. According to the latest StatsCan data, Canada is now in a recession, with two consecutive quarters of negative growth. That makes Canada the only G7 country in a recession. In a global environment where all G7 nations are facing similar challenges, tariffs, war and global uncertainty, Canada alone has fallen into a recession. How did we get here? It is because of the 11 years of Liberal policy choices that continue to stifle investment, block productivity and undermine confidence in our economy, choices like hiking the industrial carbon tax, maintaining antidevelopment legislation that discourages major projects and having a deficit that is double the size of Justin Trudeau's. Canada deserves better than a Liberal recession.”
“Mr. Speaker, the victim was run over, dragged down a road and left for dead, and the perpetrators are off scot-free. The victim now lives in fear that they are going to finish the job. He suffered broken ribs, flail chest and brain damage. He needed facial reconstruction surgery, and the perpetrators are free to do this again. Under the Liberals, criminals face zero accountability. Canadians are fed up, and that is the government's legacy. Will the Prime Minister stand up today to commit to calling this senior, who is afraid for his life, and explain to him and his family why the perpetrators are off scot-free?”
“Mr. Speaker, in the fall of 2024, a senior in Prince George returned home to find his house being ransacked and robbed. When he tried to stop the perpetrators, they ran over him, dragged him down the road and left him for dead. They were caught later that day and released just hours later. The victim's family has just been informed that the charges against the perpetrators have been dropped. They left him for dead, and they got off scot-free. When will the Liberal Prime Minister finally put victims before criminals?”
“The Liberals' policies have hurt Canadians, especially people such as those in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, over 90,000 square kilometres where we do not have the benefit of O-Trains, the SkyTrain or other rapid transit. We actually have to drive for critical services. The Liberals have targeted rural and remote areas. They have actually forced rural and remote against urban in their policies, and that is unfair. They should support our motion, and I hope they will.”
“Speaker, it would benefit so many Canadians. I would stand up, and I think other colleagues would stand up, if the Liberals voted in favour of our motion, and applaud them. In the spirit of good faith and good nature, why does the government not do that? I know what the Liberals are going to say: “We cannot trust the Conservatives, those dirty Conservatives." This is what they are going to say, but it is not true. There is one side that has been fighting for Canadians, and it is us on this side. It is frustrating that the Liberals stand up time and again and spew these talking points that somebody, short pants in the back room, has come up with. The colleagues across the way stand up and bring forth this stuff, and it is just maddening. It is just untrue.”
“Right now, my staff are probably pulling their hair out because they created a beautiful speech for me, but as members can see, I have not opened even one page, because I am so infuriated by what the Liberals are saying and doing. The reality is this: After 11 years, a decade, of Liberal mismanagement, the Liberals say they are going to do one thing, but then they do another thing. They apologize and say they will do better. Today their hon. colleague stood up and said, “Oops, we made a mistake in rushing”, and they probably forced closure on it. In rushing the bill through, they made a mistake and want to amend the bill. Here is a simple amendment: When they are opening the bill back up, just eliminate the tax for the rest of the year. An hon. member: Get 'er done. Todd Doherty: Get 'er done. Mr.”
“They have the benefit of rapid transit, such as the O-Train or SkyTrain or other rapid transit, but this is not true for those of us in rural and remote areas, where the Liberals' policies are absolutely punishing us. Do not even get me started on their “jail, not bail” and their catch-and-release policies. That is coming a bit later. In rural and remote areas, we are facing the wrath of Liberal policies, and the Liberals just do not get it. It is so frustrating. I believe there are good people on all sides of the House, even though I am getting scorned and mean-mugged right now by somebody on the other side who is staring at me. I do not care. He can laugh all he wants. He is laughing at the hardship of Canadians, and that is disgusting. Canadians should be angry and frustrated at this.”
“They say that Conservatives are bad and that the government has done a lot for Canadians already. Man, the government is so out of touch. This is my first time back in a number of weeks, due to a surgery, and I cannot say how maddening this is. In my recovery, I sat screaming at the TV because we hear the Liberal gobbledygook every day. They spew it. What is funny is the hypocrisy of it all. When they had Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, they were all for the carbon tax, but now they have seen the error of their ways. Now all the people on the other side have found a new messiah whom they are following. It is just maddening. The Liberals are so out of touch. Many of them, not all, have constituencies they can drive across in literally minutes.”
“The motion says: That, given that, (i) gas prices are 13% higher in Canada than in the United States, equating to 22 cents more on average per litre, (ii) gas now costs 50 cents more per litre today than when global oil prices were at the same level in 2014, (iii) the Minister of Finance and National Revenue told Canadians on May 19, “We have already acted”, (iv) Canadian families are still paying more to live due to a decade of Liberal credit card budgets, waste and mismanagement, the House call on the government to offer Canadians immediate relief by ending all federal taxes on gas and diesel for the rest of the year, including the GST, and permanently scrap the Clean Fuel Standard. (1350) If they were really for Canadians, they would just scrap it. It is a common-sense motion. However, they will not.”
“My riding is resource-based and agriculture-based. Everything we produce in our riding is dependent on fuel and the cost of it. Who pays that price ultimately? It is my constituents. It is the consumer. The government wants to stand up and say that it is giving a rebate and that, guess what, in June there is going to be a little bit more money in Canadians' pockets. However, while they are giving that money with one hand, they are taking it away with the other hand. The Liberals have made life so unaffordable. The chief government whip said that he did not say this, but everybody heard him say it, or something like it: He will not vote for a motion that benefits the unbelievably rich. Here is the reality of what we are asking for in this motion. Let me remind the people who are in the gallery and others who are listening.”
“We do not have the benefit of jumping on an O-Train or other rapid transit to get groceries or go to medical services. In my riding, the one thing my constituents know is distance. We have to drive if we want to get groceries, sometimes for long hours. In my riding, it sometimes takes 12 hours for me to drive to a single meeting. Can members imagine someone trying to get medical services for their pregnant wife or a sick child? They have to make painful and hard decisions as to what they are going to do. I remember when we had this debate in the last Parliament. When I was fighting for forestry and asking what I should tell the forestry worker who is now out of work, there was the audacity of the other side, saying to tell them to move and find another job. We do not have that luxury in rural and remote areas.”
“Do not worry; we are here to help.” Then, of course, the real world sets in for those of us who live in rural and remote areas and know that everything the government has done, well, maybe not everything but most things it has tried to do, in the last 11 years has made life more difficult, especially for people who live in rural and remote areas. Today in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, a family pulls up to a pump to get gas. When they see the numbers ticking away, they start doing the math in their head. They wonder what they are going to forego. They cannot go to the grocery store anymore and buy just 100 dollars' worth of groceries. How far will that go? A hundred dollars does not buy even one bag of groceries, especially in rural and remote areas. My riding is over 90,000 square kilometres.”
“Mr. Speaker, on that point of order, Conservatives would support, maybe, during that amendment, the government's changing it for the rest of the year. This is a novel idea. That is why we are here today. While the government is amending the proposal, why does it not just waive the taxes for the rest of the year and support this motion? I have sat here and listened to the debate, and I apologize to all the people who are struggling to stay awake, not only here in the gallery but also at home watching, the 12 or 13 people who are watching on TV. This is so frustrating because the government says, “Surprise.”
“That is what we owe to the hundreds of thousands of first responders. I will just end with this. I carry a coin with me. It says that heroes are human, service before self and to never give up. I firmly believe and hope that when this comes to a vote in two days, all members will support the bill.”
“It was studied in the last Parliament at both levels, the Senate and the House. Amendments were made that are reflected in the bill that we have today, Bill S-233 . It is so frustrating for me that we are here at this point. Last fall, the gallery was full of firefighters and health care workers. We thought that we had support from the House to pass this. Before I stood to ask for it, I was told it was not going to happen. I literally stood in front of the House leader, who is in the House right now and I begged and said that I do not care who asks. It could be from their side, our side or anybody's side. I do not care who asks for unanimous consent. All I care about is that the bill passes and that we can tell the firefighters, the first responders and the nurses that we have their backs.”
“We had a bill that passed unanimously in the House and that passed in the other House but, because of the dissolution of Parliament, it did not become law. I want to thank Senator Housakos and Senator Yussuff. Senators from both sides came together last fall, saw the importance of the bill and passed it on all sides in the Senate. I want to thank my friend Paul Hills, from the Saskatoon Paramedics Association and the IAFF, who has tirelessly worked to get a piece of legislation through, a piece of legislation that would protect his colleagues in the hospitals and on the front lines as first responders. They face unbelievable acts of violence. The bill has already been studied twice. It is born of the 2019 HESA report, entitled “Violence Facing Health Care Workers in Canada”.”
“We are here for the 500,000 nurses in our country, the 40,000 paramedics, the 100,000 firefighters, the 25,000 correctional officers and the hundreds of thousands of first responders who put on their uniforms every day, not knowing what they are going to endure in their service to our country, to members' families or to mine. They are all asking for one thing, to pass Bill S-233 , to put protections in place so that they know that if they face violence when they respond to an incident, we have their backs. For 10 years, the IAFF has been asking for this. It has been their number one lobby ask. For seven years, we have been fighting to get a piece of legislation through. I am embarrassed that we are here at this point.”
“Mr. Speaker, I started off by saying I wanted to thank our colleagues who have all spoken on the bill, specifically the member for Barrie South—Innisfil , for his service, and the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies . Through a tremendously hard time in our nation, his leadership on the ground within his community of Tumbler Ridge has been really remarkable. He has been there for the families. He has been there for the community. He has been there for the nation. I thank him. Why are we here? Why are we here if we cannot stand up for those who actually stand up for us and fight for us?”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank our colleagues from all sides who spoke to Bill S-233 . I specifically want to thank two members. I thank the member for Barrie South—Innisfil for his service. What many people may not know is that he served as a firefighter for, I believe, 22 years. He served our communities. He knows first-hand the challenges firefighters face. I also want to thank our colleague for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies — Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Todd Doherty: Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should wait until government members can settle down and listen.”
“Mr. Speaker, I know that my hon. colleague has done incredible work on the health committee. In our province of British Columbia, and I know our colleague is experiencing this in her region as well, we are seeing maternity wards that are closed down. We are seeing emergency rooms that are closed down because we do not have enough doctors. The assertions from the other side are that we are anti-immigrant on this side, which is completely egregious to even say. What we are against are known fraudulent immigrant cases, applicants who are jumping in front of veterans, jumping in front of everyday Canadians, jumping in front of approved asylum seekers and getting the health care treatment that the rest of those groups cannot get. I want to ask my hon.”
“Mr. Speaker, we are here today because over six million Canadians are without a doctor. Our health care system is broken, and I will add that the Liberals broke the system. It is those in our rural and remote and indigenous communities who are facing this. Do they know that between indigenous women and non-indigenous women in Canada, indigenous women are twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related deaths? Communities in British Columbia are missing OB/GYNs. They do not have access to them. Rural and remote communities are facing this. Our motion today is saying that the government needs to give it sober second thought and to rethink health care in our country. Will the member not agree that this needs to be done?”
“Mr. Speaker, an incredible point was just made, and for the first time today in all this debate. Those who are suffering are the immigrant communities, whether it is the six million Canadians who are without doctors or the incredible crime rates and extortion rates being perpetuated in our immigrant communities. I would like to ask our hon. colleague for the stories he has heard and why it is so important that we stand up for some of the most vulnerable communities.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have known our colleague for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for him. I expect him to do better. I expect him to not participate in the dog whistle politics that we are seeing from others down the way here. To sum it up, the motion simply says our health care system is broken. A considerable amount of money is being spent, yet we have Canadians who are without doctors. The hon. colleague and I live in the same province, and I know there are British Columbians who cannot get in to see a doctor in his own riding. What we are saying through this motion is that a sober second thought has to be given to our health care system. Would the hon. member not agree with that sentiment?”
“We have pregnant women who are having to travel up to four to eight hours to see specialists because we do not have doctors who are available for them in rural, remote communities. Our health care system is broken. I think we can all agree on that. What we are asking is that the House call on the government to review federal health benefits provided to asylum claimants in order to find savings for taxpayers. The Liberals like to bring up the guy to the south whenever they want to strike fear into and divide Canadians. All we are saying through this motion is that a calmer, measured approach needs to be taken to fix our health care system, and our motion clearly states that.”
“Madam Speaker, there is a lot to unpack there. We can feel the passion from our colleague across the way. I do not think anyone is dreaming in la-la land, as our colleague across the way projected this morning. Let us look at what the motion of the text says. It merely states that the cost of the interim federal health program has more than quadrupled, from $211 million to $896 million, in the last four years. It is projected to rise to $1.5 billion. We currently have non-Canadians who are receiving treatment when Canadians who have paid into it all their lives are not receiving it. In my province, there are wait times up to 18 months. As I mentioned earlier on, we have emergency room closures.”
“Madam Speaker, our hon. colleague knows that he is to address his comments not to the gallery but through the Speaker. He continues to answer questions, and it goes back and forth. I am just saying that he should get back on track and direct his comments through the Speaker, not directly to the gallery.”
“Madam Speaker, nowhere is this felt more impactfully than in our rural and remote communities. Over six million Canadians are without doctors. In our province of British Columbia, we have emergency room closures. We have OB/GYN teams that are absolutely abandoning our communities, and pregnant women are forced to go great distances to get help. Almost $1 billion has been spent on illegal immigrants and such. That money could be spent to do incredible work in our rural and remote communities, as well as on my file of recovery centres for those facing mental health issues and addictions. Could our colleague comment on that?”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a petition signed by the residents of my riding and many British Columbians. Salmon is a critical resource for not only our province of British Columbia and our region, but also our first nations and non-first nations. The petition is signed by citizens and permanent residents of Canada who are calling upon the Government of Canada to keep the common property resource principle in the revised salmon allocation policy so that salmon remain a publicly managed resource, federal stewardship stays transparent and conservation-focused, and no single group is given exclusive control over access. It is important to note that we must have fish for today, fish for tomorrow and fish for the future.”
“On behalf of the families in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, many of whom, like mine, have friends and relatives in Tumbler Ridge, I extend our deepest condolences. To the students whose sense of safety has forever been shaken and lives forever changed, we are here for them. To the teachers whose courage and selflessness saved lives, to the first responders who ran towards danger to protect others, and to the nurses and other health care workers who treated the wounded, I say that they are truly heroes and that we owe them a debt of gratitude forever. It is on us as a nation to wrap the community of Tumbler Ridge in our collective arms, to lift it up, to hold it in our hearts and to never forget. I say to my colleagues to hold their loved ones a little tighter today and never miss an opportunity to tell them they love them.”
“Mr. Speaker, this past Tuesday, innocence was lost. Not expecting the unimaginable horrific events that would take place that day, parents packed lunches and sent their children to school. Precious lives were taken, and many other people were injured in an act of devastating, brutal and senseless violence. Long after the political statements are made, the flags are raised and the cameras are gone, this day must forever be etched in our hearts and minds because the families in Tumbler Ridge are forever changed. They are now facing the unimaginable grief of silent classrooms, of empty seats around the dinner table, and of parents replaying the last goodbye and wishing they had held on to their child just a little bit longer or told them they loved them. The sorrow we feel is almost too heavy to bear.”
“Mr. Speaker, on November 25, 2021, a lone gunman circled the Vanderhoof RCMP detachment, spraying dozens of rounds into the particle board walls, narrowly missing the RCMP members working inside. They thought they were going to die that day. It is a miracle no one was killed. The Liberal government promised it would stand with these members. It promised it would partner with the province and the District of Vanderhoof to build a new detachment, but five years later, the memories are still raw. The bullet holes remain, serving as a constant reminder of that horrific day. The province is on board, and the District of Vanderhoof is on board, but the government is missing in action. Why is that?”
“It is about an aggravating circumstance for assault against persons who provide health services and against first responders. The bill needs to be passed now. Every day we delay is another life of a paramedic, a first responder or a nurse in jeopardy. We need to put teeth behind the Criminal Code and be able to stand with them.”
“Madam Speaker, why do we need to do this? It is because each and every day, nurses, doctors, paramedics and firefighters put their uniform on and go to work, but trust me when I say that there will be lives lost. Somebody will lose their life; it could be a nurse, or it could be a paramedic in the back of an ambulance. The challenge we have right now is that there is not enough meat in the Criminal Code to ensure that the attacker gets charged at the highest level and that the full weight of the law is behind the victims. Bill S-233 targets a specific part of the Criminal Code that deals with assaults. It does not talk about 25 duties and functions; it is specific to health care workers and first responders over the course of doing their job.”
“Madam Speaker, as a matter of fact, we worked with the ministers of public safety and justice at that time on Bill C-3 . In their own words, they said that Bill C-321 was complementary to Bill C-3, because Bill C-3 did not go far enough. The two bills, between them, covered exactly what we needed to do. It is not a single line; it is a stand-alone paragraph when it comes to assaults. Bill C-3 did not go far enough, but Bill C-321 took it to the next level, which is why we took amendments from the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc to get Bill C-321 passed. At that time, the minister of justice and the minister of public safety and security were in support of Bill C-321.”
“They get up every morning knowing they are going to experience life-changing events, but no one is there to stand up for them. I urge all members to please take it upon themselves to get Bill S-233 passed at all stages. We can work together on this. Lives depend on it.”
“No paramedics should be assaulted while providing life-saving treatment. No firefighters should be threatened while responding to an emergency. No correctional officers should be injured simply for doing their job, yet that is exactly what is happening each and every day. This is why Bill S-233 is so important and matters. The legislation, if passed, would send a clear and unambiguous message that when someone assaults a person who is providing health care or emergency services, that offence will be treated with the seriousness it deserves. With the last bit of time I have left with the bill, I will remind the House why we are here: our nurses, our paramedics, our firefighters, our first responders. They lay it on the line every day for us.”
“Regardless of what is presented before them, they have to respond, yet there is nothing backing them up, nothing that is protecting them in the eyes of the law if they are beat up, kicked, punched and so on. They are told very often that it is part of the job and to just move on. This is not normal, and it should not be accepted as normal, yet there are games that are going on in the House. I think if I can leave the House with any request for members, it is to please work with their party, with their side. I do not care if it has my name on it. I do not care if it has a Conservative name on it. I really do not. My request is for us to stand together and pass the bill. No Canadian should go to work wondering whether they will come home safe at the end of their shift. No nurse should have to fear being attacked while caring for a patient.”
“I think I can handle myself, but I would never want to work in that situation. In many hospitals across the country, nurses will tell us that violence is now considered part of the job. That is shameful. Imagine if we had to deal with that each and every day. Would we come to work if we knew we were going to get punched, spat on or kicked, or have our life threatened? In emergency departments, staff are trained not only in trauma care but also in how to de-escalate physical threats. Paramedics now routinely wait for police backup before responding to calls that once would have been considered routine. Firefighters cannot not respond to dangerous situations.”
“They go to work every day simply trying to help others, yet they are increasingly being met with fists, knives, threats and abuse in return. Last fall a nurse in British Columbia was punched and kicked, knocked unconscious, simply trying to take somebody's blood pressure. In Ontario a nurse was attacked with a knife and a machete. Across Canada the incidents of violence against frontline workers have surged. Nurses report being punched, kicked, spat on and threatened. Paramedics are assaulted while they are trying to save lives. Firefighters are attacked at emergency scenes. Correctional officers face daily threats, and institutions are already stretched beyond capacity. I do not even want to get into the nightmare they work in, because it is staggering. I would never want to do that.”
“Once again, partisan politics takes place. I have begged and I have pleaded. If any members in the House have watched question period before, I am almost down on both knees talking with the government House leader , pleading with him over this. (1815) I understand that there is precedence and so on, but the bill has been agreed upon and has been studied. We are going on six years. Ten years it has been asked for. When we talk about violence against our first responders and health care professionals, we are talking about real people in real communities: our families, my family. My youngest daughter is a psychiatric nurse. I get choked up talking about it because of the stories I hear. There is no protection.”
“However, every step of the way for the last three or four months, I have been disappointed. As a matter of fact, I have had somebody on the other side in leadership tell me that they guess we are just going to have to wait. My friend, Paul Hills, a paramedic from Saskatoon, dedicated the last decade to trying to get something like this bill passed. I cannot tell members how heartbroken and disappointed he was when he worked across party lines to try to get something done, and then was told it was not going to get done. We could have passed Bill S-233 in the waning days just before Christmas break, and it would be law today. The nurses, firefighters and paramedics, those who put their uniforms on every day in protection of all of us, would have that protection and would know that we stand with them, but no.”
“When we got back after the last election, Senator Housakos in the other House and his Liberal colleagues, Liberal senators or the independent senators, the former prime minister Justin Trudeau-appointed senators, got together and out of the ashes, they rose and supported Bill S-233 because they knew how important it was that we as a House send this message, that we as a House stand with those who put their lives on the line every day. I had hope, when it passed unanimously last fall, that we would be able to do something swiftly here in the House. I had hope because I believed in all of us, in the power of the 343 members of Parliament who were here. I believed the Liberals when they said that they wanted to work together to get things done for Canadians.”
“There is always a time for partisanship in the House, but over my tenure, I have proven, I think, that when it comes to mental health, when it comes to standing up for those who stand up for us and who protect us, I will work collegially across party lines to get something done. I did that with Bill C-321 . The NDP brought forth amendments. The Bloc brought forth amendments, and so did the Liberals. We agreed to them. That is why Bill C-321 passed.”
“It would signal to first responders and health care workers that their Parliament values them, that we as leaders in our country value them, that we are looking out for them and that the justice system will protect them. Now, as it stands, a high percentage of those incidents go unreported because they know that they will not be followed through on. What would Bill S-233 do? It would amend the Criminal Code concerning assaults against persons who provide health services and first responders. It would amend the Criminal Code to make an offence against a health care professional or a first responder an aggravating factor upon sentencing.”
“(1810) We have nurses who are running a campaign called “Code Black and Blue”. The nurses launched a campaign against violence in the workplace. That was last fall. The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions said that it cannot stand for this any longer. During its lobby days over the last decade, the International Association of Fire Fighters' number one ask was to do something against the rising acts of violence against them. Last Parliament, this bill passed at all stages, but what happened? Parliament was prorogued, so it fell off the Order Paper. This could be law today. When passed, Bill S-233 , or Bill C-321 , would act as a strong deterrent, a powerful deterrent, to those who would seek to commit violence against our frontline heroes.”
“All parliamentarians came together to say, with recommendations, that this bill, which was Bill C-321 in the previous Parliament and is now Bill S-233 , should be passed, that we should be doing something and standing up for those who stand for us. I get frustrated. The message I got, which originally asked me to please refer to this document and put forth a piece of legislation, hangs heavy on my shoulders. It was a message from a paramedic who had responded to a call at a residence. The family of the victim proceeded to throw the paramedic down a set of stairs, break her ankles and beat her to the point where she gave up. If that sounds shocking to members, it is but one of, if not hundreds, thousands of messages and stories that I have heard over the last five years of pushing for this bill.”
“Nowhere in their job description does it say that they should sign on to a life of violence, abuse and harassment. If colleagues can sense the frustration and the emotion in my voice, it is because I have sat with nurses. I have sat with paramedics who have had their lives threatened. I have sat with the families of first responders who have been killed on the job. All they are asking for is a simple thing, that we stand with them. If some of this speech sounds familiar, it is because we have all been here before. My bill, Bill C-321 , passed at all stages in the last Parliament. We studied it again because Bill C-321 was born out of a study from the first session of the 42nd Parliament, “Violence Facing Health Care Workers in Canada”.”
“They heal our broken bones. They hold our hands as we take our final breath. They are our silent sentinels: nurses, health care workers, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs and correctional officers. These are the Canadians who hold our country together. When we dial 911, they pick up. They respond with no questions asked, yet for at least the decade that I have been here on the Hill, they have been asking for a single thing. It is that we protect them, just as they protect us. They put their safety, their comfort and their lives on the line each and every day when they go to work, and they do so knowing and expecting that they are going to face rising incidents of violence, assault and harassment. That is not part of their job description, and it is unacceptable.”
“moved that Bill S-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assault against persons who provide health services and first responders) , be read the second time and referred to a committee. Bill S-233. Second reading He said: Madam Speaker, before we get going, my granddaughter is at home watching as we speak. If you will indulge me, I would love to say hello to my granddaughter, Ren, and to tell her that I love her and will see her soon. I know she is watching. At five years old, she is already watching CPAC. I stand before my colleagues frustrated. I am frustrated that we are here, once again, talking about an issue that is non-partisan. I rise today to speak on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of brave men and women who protect and serve our communities each and every day. They run into burning buildings. They run towards gunfire.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is interesting. The Liberals always stand up and say that Conservatives are obstructing. I will remind our colleagues, as they heckle me, that the House does not belong to them. It belongs to the constituents of the 343 members of Parliament, those who voted us in to be their voices in the House. Regardless of what they want to say, we will ask the questions that we need to. We will do the due diligence. I am hearing on the ground in Cariboo—Prince George that this benefit would essentially be just a coupon. The cost of groceries has gone through the roof. The Liberals are blind to this fact as they live in whatever fairy tale land they live in, but it is impacting our constituents immeasurably. What are some of the things that my hon.”