Karim Bardeesy

In response to a question from Leah Gazan

“Our government believes in Indigenous rights and working with Indigenous peoples on the economy. Recent deals show this, and I want to keep working on it with others.”

“Mr. Speaker, UNDRIP and indigenous rights, as well as doing economic development with indigenous peoples, I think, are foundational principles of this government. We have seen it reflected through some of the recent deals that have been announced. I hope to continue to work on it from this side, along with colleagues who are interested.”

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In response to a question from Alexis Deschênes

“I understand the problems in the forestry industry, especially with American tariffs. Our government has supported this industry with funding, and I am happy to keep working with the member on it.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat familiar with the challenges my colleague is talking about. I am from Bathurst, New Brunswick, which is right across Chaleur Bay. I am therefore very familiar with the challenges and issues facing the forestry industry. We have been hit hard by U.S. tariffs for decades. We are working very hard. We are in close contact. As for my colleague’s suggestions, I know that, on our side, we have supported the industry through the strategic fund and other support measures, but we are always happy to continue the conversation with him.”

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In response to a question from Warren Steinley

“I visited the research facilities and labs at the University of Saskatchewan earlier this year. They do world-class work, attract scientists from everywhere, and work well with colleges like SAIT.”

“Mr. Speaker, I had the chance to visit Saskatoon in January or February of this year, and I had the pleasure to visit the facilities and the labs that are being funded at the University of Saskatchewan, in particular the VIDO vaccine facility, a world-leading facility, as well as the cyclotron facility. They are world-leading major research facilities that are, again, attracting scientists from around the world, as well as SAIT. SAIT and the University of Saskatchewan have a really strong collaboration that brings research together, at both the college and university levels.”

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“I am voting against this motion. The government already has a strong economic plan that is working. We are investing in clean electricity, critical minerals, electric cars, science, child care, and housing.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be sharing my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands. I will be opposing the motion. We have a comprehensive plan. I am seeing in my travels across the country and in my riding that the plan is starting to deliver results. If we take an honest look at the full set of strategies the government has announced, the measures as early as June, with the income tax cut and the delivery of the Major Projects Office, forward to the budget in the fall, with major measures to prime our economy, through to the spring economic update and the strategies we have announced during and since then, we see a plan that is starting to work and to have impacts on the ground. I want to refer to a couple of these strategies because they provide important context when the official opposition is calling for a plan. The plans have been presented and are starting to land, I think, quite positively with Canadians. I will give the example of the national electricity strategy, which we announced just recently, with an intent to double our capacity by 2050. We know that electricity is a key competitive advantage for Canada and that we have abundant and relatively clean electricity. This is an area where Canadian ingenuity, workers and opportunities coast to coast are available to develop the kinds of technologies that help lower costs and emissions, and help to prime and benefit industries at home, but also lead in some cases to an exportable technology. I know there are a lot of innovators in Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park who are working on businesses and innovations that are delivering, whether that is a more efficient grid, solutions that are putting power back into the grid or, indeed, solutions that are using previous internal combustion engine-based or fossil fuel technologies and converting them into cleaner technologies. The national electricity strategy is a very prominent example of one of the plans that exist in our broader plan to deliver economic well-being to Canadians. I would also refer to the critical minerals strategy, which is, again, a key competitive advantage for Canada. We need to have the processing capacity and to identify the specific minerals that are available to us. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and other ministers have taken a leadership role in creating buyers’ clubs by bringing companies, countries and investment funds together to identify real opportunities and then using the Major Projects Office to deliver opportunities to get those projects under way more quickly. A critical minerals strategy is key to our economic plan. I would also refer to our auto strategy, which I, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, have some considerable involvement with, as it is the Minister of Industry’s strategy. She is working very hard to protect access to the American marketplace and to protect the investments that exist in Canada but also to attract not only new investments around electrification and electric vehicles but also related investments in software and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. I am very proud to see that some of these sectors, which previously were confined to southern Ontario, are now spreading across the country. I had the pleasure of going to the electric vehicle and charging expo recently in Toronto. It was such a pleasure to see companies from coast to coast to coast delivering innovations, including electricity charging for vehicles at apartment buildings in Vancouver, all-in software solutions out of Quebec and even the first green hydrogen heavy truck vehicle, developed by Elemental Trucks out of Rexdale. There are so many innovations coming out of Canada, from Canadians, out of this opportunity and this excitement around the kind of economy we are building. We are seeing it in the numbers. My colleagues the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance and the chief government whip have already referred to some of these statistics and some real benefits that are coming from these strategies. I will also refer to an area that I spend a bit more time on, the research and science portfolio, where we are seeing people coming by the hundreds from around the world, some of the most talented scientists, who are attracted by our impact+ research chairs program and our impact+ scholars program, to say that Canada is the place to do science. We just recently announced 658 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. The best and brightest in the world are choosing Canada in part because, first, this is the place to do science and research, a place that is not going to be corrupted by politics, and second, there is economic opportunity and the hope that comes from the ability to do this work and deliver these innovations in Canada, for Canada and for Canadians. I see the benefits of our economic strategy starting to take root in places like the University of Calgary, where I recently had the chance to visit a Genome Canada‑funded project. This is one of the great stories, and I am seeing so many of these stories coast to coast now, where we have eastern and western Canada coming together to deliver the kinds of innovations that are going to grow our economy. The specific project I saw was a project to make underground energy storage safer by using tiny underground microbes. This is a set of University of Calgary researchers collaborating with a Newfoundland and Labrador start-up, Triple Point resources. Again, there is confidence. This is a Canadian start-up out of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is investing its precious capital in innovation toward a carbon-reducing solution, collaborating with scientists out of the University of Calgary. This is the kind of national economic spirit that we are seeing more and more of, that this Prime Minister, with this government, is delivering. We know that this has been the year for space in Canada. I was recently in Longueuil, Quebec, at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters, as part of the Horizons conference co-developed by the Canadian Space Agency and Space Canada, a government agency and an industry association working very closely together to ensure that the future space economy is one that Canada can depend on and benefit from. It is in this year of science, when we have not one but three Canadian Space Agency astronauts intimately involved in some of the key missions that have captured the globe’s attention: Jeremy Hansen, Jenni Gibbons and, soon to go to the International Space Station, Joshua Kutryk. The Canadian inspiration around that has resulted in more interest and more investment. I meet a number of young people now who are starting rocket clubs, who are excited about participating in this sector and who often can get support through our research funds to then develop that kind of science and innovation. This is part of our economic strategy as well. I see this locally as well, with companies like TransPod, out of my riding, which is developing a high-speed transportation solution between Calgary and Edmonton. Again, this is a Canadian company in eastern Canada working collaboratively with those in western Canada. I see it with a company like Beachman industries, again, in my riding of Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park, which is one of the first companies in decades to get certified by Transport Canada for motorcycle manufacturing. It is Canada’s only electric motorcycle manufacturer. The co-founders have big ambitions to take this innovative technology and to grow it into the transportation space, delivering transportation solutions. They are Canadian innovators in auto manufacturing, and in this case, it is happening right in the heart of downtown Toronto. What I also appreciate about our economic strategy, though, and I do not hear much about it from the other side, is that the economy is not just the GDP. It is the GDP per capita, so I do want to compliment my colleague the parliamentary secretary, but it is about much more than any one statistic. It is about the kind of community we create that makes it possible to have economic activity. It is about the kind of community we create that gives people the confidence, the support and the resources to participate productively in the economy, like national child care and the PSW tax credit. I had the pleasure of speaking at the SEIU excellence awards, the first-ever awards event that the Service Employees International Union put on for its health care workers, Local 1. I saw those PSWs, mostly women, mostly educated in other countries, say that, yes, because of the work done together and because of the government recognition of that work, there is going to be a tax credit that is going to recognize their specific efforts during the pandemic and beyond. That is going to put aroun $1,100 in those workers’, mostly women’s, pockets. Members can bet that is going to help the economy in those households because those families, those women, are going to be spending that money out in the economy. I even see it in places like the many business improvement areas that we are blessed to have in Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park, which is the home of the original business improvement area, in Bloor West Village. We are hearing from them that, yes, public safety is really important, and there is some appreciation for the new provisions around bail legislation, and that public safety and the public realm as well as supporting people at different levels of the economic scale and different income levels are key to having a strong economy. In Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park, we are very appreciative of the opportunity to see that. Finally, in my riding, I see it in the housing we are building, whether it is social housing, supportive housing or some of the co-operative or private sector housing that I will be happy to talk about in future months in the riding. The kinds of housing opportunities we are creating in the riding create an opportunity to participate economically in a much more productive way. It is a kind of investment in housing that, unfortunately, I hear regularly criticized by the other side. We have an economic plan that is starting to land with Canadians, and I look forward to questions on it from my colleagues.”

In response to a question from Alexis Deschênes

“We are protecting Canadian culture and independence. We do this by protecting our culture in trade deals and giving historic amounts of money to the CBC.”

“Mr. Speaker, we are here to defend Canadian sovereignty, whether by including cultural exemptions in our free trade agreements or by supporting the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation through historic investments. During the 1990s, I spent several years in Quebec, in Montreal. Back then, I appreciated the measures and the level of commitment with which Quebeckers defended their culture. We are very familiar with these policies, not only in Quebec but across Canada.”

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In response to a question from Natilien Joseph

“We can support Canadian artists and make big American tech companies be good corporate citizens at the same time. This policy gives artists more money and helps Canadians find their work on platforms like Netflix and Spotify.”

“Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. We believe that it is possible to support creators, filmmakers and musicians while at the same time ensuring that the American giants make good corporate citizens. This policy helps creators and artists secure more funding for their creations and ensures that Canadians and Quebeckers can access this information and these programs. They often have access to these creations through American companies like Netflix or Spotify. A policy like this one will help ensure that creators, Canadians and businesses can all do well.”

In response to a question from Alexis Deschênes

“I oppose this motion. Canadian artists and film workers need government support and rules that make big streaming companies invest in our culture. The film and television industry is growing and creates good jobs here. We should protect Canadian stories, not cut the programs that support them.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to this motion today because it gives us an opportunity to really celebrate the cultural productions, the musicians, the directors, the TV producers, the workers and the makeup artists, all the people who participate in this rich cultural economy that we have in Canada. I will also speak to what is happening in Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park. The motion also gives me an opportunity to speak to some trends I have been seeing in the party opposite, over my time in this chamber of just over a year, when it comes to trade issues and to cultural issues. With respect to trade, there really are two kinds of things that we generally see. There is the misread of the trade situation, whereby the party opposite either wants to go back to some historic past that does not exist anymore, as in the encouragement to bring back the auto pact in its complete form in a way that is not resonant with the current state of negotiations, the current state of the auto sector, or wants to capitulate. In this case, I know the party opposite was opposed to the Online Streaming Act, but it is recommending that we simply give up the real gains that we have made through mechanisms like those in the Online Streaming Act and through all the kinds of things that we need to do to build ourselves and our sovereignty up in this moment of real challenge for Canada. I believe there is a misread of the trade situation, but there is also a misread of culture and the way culture is generated in Canada. Artists do not just emerge fully out of whole cloth, ready to take on the world without any support whatsoever. I noted that my colleague from York—Durham made mention of Lucy Maud Montgomery, and I appreciated my colleague from Hamilton’s very spirited embrace of Lucy Maud Montgomery and her work, but it is also important to note that Lucy Maud Montgomery was writing at a very different time, when cultural communications travelled differently, when books travelled differently and when curricula were designed differently. We are now in an era of very rapid digital communications. We need to change with the times, and we need to have the cultural assets that we have built up and convert them for a new generation. I would just add regarding Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s work, that it has continued to prosper in Canada in part because of the mechanisms we use to support digital culture. There is both the 1985 CBC series of the novels and the later Anne with an E series, which ran for three seasons. I know my daughter and my family were very big fans of that. Those cultural products, which came out of a place of strong Canadian culture, were generated from the kinds of supports that have been embraced and furthered on this side of the House, whether it is support for the CBC or, indeed, supports through mechanisms like those, if not in that particular case, in the Online Streaming Act. Artists do not emerge out of whole cloth, ready to take on the world. Artists are nurtured by community, and taxpayer funds are important for that. Also, where we can, the benefit of a policy that has large American multinational companies play their role in supporting this production is very important. Indeed, the mechanisms that we have in place are working. I want to quote from the CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association, Reynolds Mastin, on the release of its recent annual report on the state of media production in Canada. He said, “The Canadian production industry has established itself as a great partner for foreign production, and with the promised investments from the Online Streaming Act, we’ll see a boost in Canadian content production, reversing the downward trend of recent years”. In the report, CMPA also referred to foreign production activity, a set of activities that we are being told by the Conservatives is at constant existential risk, as actually being up 9.8% in 2025. The value of film and production in Canada, from the CMPA report, was $10.2 billion, and the industry is responsible for 181,360 jobs. This is a sign of a growing sector, a sector that is already mature and a sector that has excellence. This is a sector that not only produces original content but also produces a whole set of workers and capacities that producers and investors, including American investors, want to participate in. I was recently at the launch of The Testaments. It is a new Hulu series that is being filmed based on the work of Margaret Atwood, a great Canadian cultural producer and a great Canadian author from Toronto. At that launch, the producers, both American and Canadian, lauded the capacity, expertise and talent that exists in Canada to put on this production, including the makeup artists, the costumers and the builders of the film production sets. I have to add Mrs. Huizenga thrift shop to that list, which is in Toronto’s Junction area of Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park, which was featured in The Testaments tv show. The story that the Conservatives are telling is representative of neither the current state of affairs nor the excitement that Canadians feel about the cultural productions that are being produced here. It is a misread to say that artists emerge whole cloth, ready to take on the world without any of the kinds of supports that we, on this side of the House, know are necessary. We know that different kinds of artists need support, for example, if they come from different identity groups or speak different languages. We know that Canadian companies need to grow and to have the opportunity to play on an equal playing field. We know that Canadian producers want to partner with American companies, but we also need that opportunity to have the resources come in to do that work. In this era of streaming, there is an increasingly complex dynamic between streamers and creators. There is a whole set of intermediaries who have now been displaced from our arts and culture sector, including the A and R people, many independent producers, local television stations and even video stores. The intermediaries, who help create those connections between artists and the very large producers, are starting to be displaced and are starting to adapt. Creators are having to take on more of the work themselves, of managing their careers and building up their resources, so they are playing the role of not only part-time artist but also part-time business person. Creators are ready and willing to do that work, but they do need some help and some support. The Online Streaming Act, like the Online News Act, is a very important part of the mechanism that gives the creators in Canada the opportunities to participate with revenues from very profitable companies that Canadians embrace and that Canadians subscribe to by the millions. This allegation that it is a tax on Canadians is purely fictional. It is an imaginary assertion. The payments that are being made under the Online Streaming Act and have been made under the Online News Act go to real benefits and to real creators who are creating products. Those subscriptions that I talk about have not changed. I want to talk about some of the beneficiaries of the complete set of funding mechanisms that we have in Canada in my riding of Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park, including through vehicles such as Telefilm Canada; the Canada Media Fund; Canada Council for the Arts; CBC, which is constantly denigrated on the other side of the House; and yes, some of the revenues from the Online Streaming Act and the Online News Act. There are the creators like Kunsang Kyirong, who created 100 Sunset, which won the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and was filmed in my riding. There are creators in west Toronto like Matt Johnson, the creator of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie and, of course, the very beloved movie, BlackBerry. On the TV side, we have tons of workers and unions, like IATSE, which is supported by its international vice-president, John Lewis in my riding. I have heard from so many cultural workers in my riding about the real and essential need to support Canadian cultural producers through mechanisms like those in the Online Streaming Act. There are musicians like Charlotte Cornfield, who has launched her recent album to great acclaim, and musicians like Daniel Lanois, who has a studio in my riding. They are all part of an ecosystem where some are internationally renowned. Some came up through America, and some through Europe. Many came up through Canada. They all benefited from the connections and resources we have created through the CBC, through the revenues that we help them get attached to with things like the Online Streaming Act and through resources like Telefilm, the Media Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts. It is part of an entire ecosystem that supports creators. If we are really here to support creators, to say that creators are essential to telling Canadian stories and that those stories are essential to Canadian sovereignty, then we need to have a way of bringing them from where they are to where we know they can shine on the world stage. That is done through mechanisms like this. It is not done by denigrating the real work that comes out of funds like this. For that reason, I will be opposing the motion.”

“I want to know how these funds and policies can help young Black creators, filmmakers, and musicians in the member's riding.”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to ask my colleague from Terrebonne a question. She did a great job of describing the challenges that francophone creators face. I think these funds and policies can also help young Black creators, filmmakers and musicians in particular. In her opinion, how can these policies help young Black creators in her riding?”

In response to a question from Michael Guglielmin

“Young people are having a hard time because of COVID and the trade war. Our government is helping them build job skills by creating 100,000 apprenticeships and 32,000 summer census jobs.”

“Mr. Speaker, before I came to this place, I taught undergraduate students for 15 years, and I know the number that COVID did and now the trade war is doing on them. What do we do when a number is being done on young people? We build them up and help them with hard skills and soft skills. That is why we have the team Canada strong plan with 100,000 apprenticeships. This summer we have 32,000 jobs with Statistics Canada in the census, a project that the party opposite would be first to cancel. That is how we build up the skills to get the kinds of careers that our students want and need, and that is why we are there for them.”

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In response to a question from Scot Davidson

“Tariffs are hurting the car industry around the world, but our car plant in Alliston is still strong. We are investing in workers and bringing in new business to support the industry.”

“Mr. Speaker, we know that tariffs are affecting the industry globally, but we also know that we have a very strong plant in Alliston, with 4,100 workers. They recently rolled off their 11 millionth car, making the popular CR-V and Civic brands. We also know that we need to be there for our sector, which is why we are investing in workers. We are embracing a sustainable future, and we are attracting new investment, which I will be happy to get into in the supplementary.”

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