Peter Fragiskatos · TranslatePolitics.ca

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-17

“I'm not going to reply to your real points. I will just list nice things my party wants and say they're good.”

Statements by Members

ALS Awareness Month

2026-06-15

“Many Canadians live with ALS. That makes me sad. ALS is a terrible disease. ALS attacks human functions like walking, speaking, and breathing. But researchers are working to bring awareness and hope. I want to thank those researchers and two advocacy organizations. We will continue this fight together.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, more than 4,000 Canadians live with ALS, and June is ALS Awareness Month. ALS has been called a rare disease, but that does not take away from the very real impacts it has on people who are living with it. ALS attacks the nerve cells that are responsible for movement; therefore, basic human functions such as walking, speaking, breathing and much more are impacted. While the effects are gradual, they are absolutely devastating. For the month of June, when we reflect on ALS and what it means for those living with it, we also celebrate the resilience of those who have this terrible disease. We also think of their family, their friends, their health care workers and of course the researchers. The researchers are doing so much, not only to bring awareness to ALS but also to provide hope. “Research”, of course, is another word for hope. I thank them. I thank the ALS Society of Canada and ALS Action Canada, two incredible advocacy organizations doing so much as well. We will continue this fight together.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Oral Questions

Public Safety

2026-06-12

“I'm talking in circles to dodge your point. We recognized a foreign group as bad. We trust a department to handle it. Don't worry, safety is our focus.”

“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-05

“Thanks for the nice words about me. Now let me give you nice words about my friend here. He's great. We all say the benefit is great. The government must spend more money on people. That means we care.”

Oral Questions

Justice

2026-06-04

“I'm changing the subject to say the other party opposes all justice reform. Police chiefs support our justice reforms. I'm bringing up a Supreme Court ruling to avoid the deportation question.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-04

“I don't like the Conservative plan for seniors' pensions. We will make more housing by working with provinces and cities. Our government is serious. Conservatives aren't.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will say what we will not do for seniors. We will not propose, as our central seniors policy, cutting pensions, for which the Leader of the Opposition fought for 20‑plus years. Housing is a very legitimate issue to talk about. We need more housing. That is why the government is seized with exactly that objective, working with provincial and municipal governments toward that end. If we look at the headwinds facing the Canadian economy and the trade war that has been put upon us, we see that of course there are challenges. The hardships created will absolutely be there for Canadians day in and day out. Conservatives can propose ideas that will not work and will not be serious. We are a serious government. We are going to stand up for Canadians.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Oral Questions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

2026-05-29

“I won't directly answer your point about deporting failed claimants. Instead I'll talk about the history of the health program. We're spending so little, what do you care? I think these people should get it anyway.”

“The member's complaint is outdated. We aren't using hotels for refugees right now. But I'm not going to deny it completely, because our government will keep helping in other ways. And I'll compliment and anticipate the upcoming report too.”

“You always talk about asylum seekers and refugees. I'll call that right-wing populism. I won't address your hotel question directly. Instead, I'll just say we're working on long-term housing solutions.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-05-29

“I want you to ignore the Conservative arguments and work with the government. Even Stephen Harper agrees with me. The Prime Minister is diversifying the economy and building the country. More government spending is always the answer.”

Statements by Members

Arbour Glen Day Nursery

2026-05-29

“I want to cheer for a program that spends money in my riding. It's been around a long time! My family likes it.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the remarkable legacy and contributions of Arbour Glen Day Nursery, a child care centre in our community of London, Ontario, that will soon mark its 60th anniversary. I say it is remarkable because I speak from experience. Our daughter Ava took her first few steps there, formed her first friendships there and learned her first words there. What is true of Ava and our experience is true of so many other families and kids in London. This is a great place. It has been around for 60 years and for very good reason. It is because of the leadership, and it is because of the board, but it is especially because of the early childhood educators. I use those words very deliberately, as they are the teachers who help these kids day in and day out. With that, I wish the nursery another 60 years of incredible contributions and thank it for all the work that it has done. It matters. It has made a difference.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-28

“I don't want to answer anything specific. I will just repeat some nice things about immigration and the economy instead.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Chair, it is always an honour to address the House of Commons, particularly on the matter of immigration as parliamentary secretary responsible for immigration. We have a discussion tonight that has unfolded, and unfolded sometimes in unfortunate ways. The issue has been politicized over the past few years. Regardless, we have an opportunity now to seize the moment and be serious about a fundamental pillar of Canadian society and the Canadian economy. What is true for Canada, of course, is true for democracies around the world. We are engaged in a global competition for talent. How could we not be? I used the term “pillar” before. The immigration system has always served as a pillar of our country. When we look at those fundamental aspects that Canadians care about in the present and in the future, we look to the health care system first and foremost. Mr. Chair, you and I come from southwestern Ontario. We know the importance of nursing in our area. We know the importance of doctors in our area. You are from Stratford, and the surrounding communities have often lacked family doctors. The immigration system can help with that. The immigration system can help to secure nurses as well. In fact, 25% of nurses in Canada are immigrants, 37% of doctors are immigrants and 25% of overall health care workers in this country are immigrants. When we hear the minister tonight talk about pathways that have been made available to immigrants to settle in Canada to engage and work in the health care system, particularly doctors, she focuses on the right things. This government will stay seized with that. What about the trades? This country is seeing playing out, on a global level, a rupture. The Prime Minister rightly described it as such at Davos in that landmark speech. This is a rupture that is happening across the world. We need to build this country up to address that and to ensure that we export our resources with a focus on oil, a focus on critical minerals and the list goes on. We have to ensure, beyond sourcing domestic apprentices, which are so tremendously important, of course, that skilled tradespeople can come, and the immigration system has always served to benefit this country in that regard. We can think about Portuguese immigrants, Italian immigrants, and I will not let down my ancestors here, Greek immigrants as well, working in the skilled trades. I could cite many other examples of celebrated heritage communities in our country that have made such an important contribution, and the future is bright in that regard. We have a Prime Minister and a government that is absolutely focused on the economy and recognizing fundamentally the natural tie that exists between the immigration system and the economic system. Immigration policy is economic policy. We cannot divorce ourselves from that reality. What about clean energy? What I just said about skilled trades aligns with that as well. We have seen the government pursue a number of initiatives. Just this week, we see the deal that has been set with the German government in terms of LNG. We will see much more work done on this in a variety of ways to advance that important priority. We are going to need skilled tradespeople in that area as well, and the immigration system provides an answer to that. On advanced manufacturing, our region, and Mr. Chair, we come from southwestern Ontario, is going through a very troubling time right now. We should not hide from that fact. The trade war that we never asked for, but has been put upon us, is a very real one, and so advanced manufacturing needs to continue to be a focus. Once we see, hopefully, the page turn, and the American government and the Canadian government come to an agreement that serves this country's interests, we can see a better future for advanced manufacturing. The immigration system can help in that regard as well. My question to the minister is on how the main estimates and how her overall approach, and this government's approach, help to serve the immigration system and the economy. If she could talk specifically about the inextricable link between the two, I would appreciate it.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Oral Questions

Taxation

2026-05-26

“My party is good. I want us to spend tax money on many programs. Conservatives are bad. They wouldn't spend tax money like we do.”

Oral Questions

Youth

2026-05-07

“The IMF says our spending is good. Rating agencies say our spending is good. You want people to not get child benefit money. You want people to not get daycare money. You want people to not get school food money. You want people to pay for those. Government should make sure Canadians can have those things. Our programs do that.”

Oral Questions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

2026-05-06

“The other party is just attacking us personally. We won an election. Since then we've made a bunch of changes we said we would make. Fewer temporary residents. Fewer asylum seekers. Fewer student permits. We're working with the CBSA to track people leaving. The Conservatives aren't serious. We're the serious ones.”

Oral Questions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

2026-04-24

“Fewer people are using the refugee health program lately. There are also fewer refugee claimants overall. I don't buy that refugees, who are only 1% of Canada, could really be causing our healthcare system's problems. Conservatives just want to blame them and play right-wing politics.”

“My party spends money on this program. We want to look compassionate. Yes, it costs more now. We made the program bigger. I hope a rule change will save us money.”

Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-04-24

“You're out of touch. You'd cut benefits, cut programs, cut support. You got nothing.”