Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised he would negotiate a grand security and economic deal with the Americans, and then went on to make concession after concession, with little to show for it. He cancelled the DST. He cancelled reciprocal tariffs. He withdrew complaints on softwood lumber. Now, he is gushing over the President of the U.S., calling him a “transformative” leader once again. What…
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Mr. Speaker, he said a “disciplined budget”. The deficit has doubled. Almost 100,000 Canadians are now out of work. The government still does not have a deal with the Americans. Auto plants are being mothballed, manufacturing is slowing, $54 billion in investments have left this country and tariffs are higher today than when the Prime Minister took office. When will he deliver on his promise to se…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-230, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (debt forgiveness registry). Mr. Speaker, in 2023-24, the government wrote off record amounts owed to it by corporations. In fact, the top 100 corporations had amounts written off totalling $1.8 billion. That is an average of $18 million per corporation write…
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Mr. Speaker, the government's plan is to pile on debt, but to obscure that picture with accounting changes. Now the Parliamentary Budget Officer is warning against making these changes, saying that, if the government obscures its own books, it will, in the PBO's words, “bet your boots...paying more for debt”. Will the finance minister agree that doubling the size of the deficit not only puts Canad…
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With regard to the education of government officials: how many government officials, broken down by department, have post-secondary education from an institution other than a university, such as a college or technical school?
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With regard to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, since 2016 and broken down by year: (a) how many awards were provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to individuals and organizations located outside of Canada and what was their total value; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by country; and (c) what are the details of each award in (…
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With regard to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program: (a) what is the total amount of outstanding student loans; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by academic discipline and level (undergraduate, doctoral, etc.)?
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With regard to the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program funding, since January 1, 2016: (a) how many firms in the program's database have left Canada; (b) how many different firms received financial support, broken down by year; (c) of the recipients in (b), how many have since either left Canada or been acquired by foreign owners; and (d) for each National …
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Mr. Speaker, to read the press release, which would only become more clear after the election. Will the minister answer whether he believes Canadians who voted for reciprocal tariffs and elbows up did so with full knowledge that the government, quietly and secretly, under the cloak of a vague press release, removed tariffs during the election?
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Mr. Speaker, is the finance minister aware that despite the Bank of Canada not lowering interest rates, both the 10-year yield and the five-year bond rate for Canada have increased?
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Mr. Speaker, one of the gentlemen at Fitch recently said that the lack of a budget “raises questions about transparency and contributes to [Canada's] greater economic...uncertainty”. Does the minister agree with that statement?
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Mr. Speaker, can either minister answer whether they were aware of the remission order that was signed prior to the election that would provide relief to Canadian companies that are facing tariffs?
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister believe that how much money the Government of Canada borrows impacts the borrowing rate Canadians pay for their mortgages?
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Mr. Speaker, this is for the Minister of Finance. It has been reported that the government needs to issue or borrow over $600 billion of debt this year. Is that true?
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Mr. Speaker, is the finance minister saying that Canada's AAA credit rating is safe?
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Mr. Speaker, is the government's AAA credit rating safe?
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Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Canada has warned that 40% of the amount of government debt issuance is purchased by non-bank financial actors, including hedge funds. If we are issuing record amounts of debt, does the minister agree that this represents a risk to Canada's financial stability, our credit rating and the rate at which Canadians have to borrow to pay for their mortgages?
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister believe it is reckless to issue record amounts of debt when the Bank of Canada is warning that the market may not be able to absorb that amount of debt, or if there is fiscal uncertainty in the world, that our interest rates will increase when we have record amounts of Canadians renewing their mortgages? Do they need to pay more, yes or no?
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Mr. Speaker, it is getting late, so I will circle back one last time. Does the minister believe Canada's AAA credit rating is safe?
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Mr. Speaker, we have confirmed discussions are ongoing with the Americans. We have confirmed the digital services tax and electric vehicle mandate are, in fact, trade irritants that the government imposed. Will either minister admit that the Liberal government's previously imposed digital services tax and electric vehicle mandate are the reason we have challenges with the American relationship?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like just a confirmation: Does either minister support both the digital services tax and the electric vehicle mandate that the government imposed last term?
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate you reminding me of that. I will be splitting my time three ways. It has also been reported that the digital services tax and Canadian imposition of the electric vehicle mandate are trade irritants for the Americans. Can the minister confirm whether or not that is the case?
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here tonight. I want to congratulate the new Minister of International Trade on his appointment. It is a pleasure to be here with everyone today. It has been reported that Canada and the U.S. are in trade negotiations and these are nearing completion. Can the minister confirm that these discussions are, in fact, occurring?
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Mr. Speaker, does either minister over there currently support the electric vehicle mandate and the digital services tax that the government imposed last Parliament?
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is asking Parliament to approve almost half a trillion dollars in spending, up 8% from last year. Nothing says spend less and invest more like spending more money on high-priced consultants and contractors. That is going up to $26 billion a year, which is more than a 35% increase. Is the kind of change the government is trying to deliver to push civil servants out t…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am just curious. Is it parliamentary language to claim that someone is a “traitor?” I am just looking for clarification on the rules and bounds.
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Mr. Speaker, what is the point of making promises that the Liberals do not intend or try to even keep? In 2020, the finance minister said that when the need for stimulus was over, it would be withdrawn. The Liberals did not withdraw it. Then it was that the debt-to-GDP ratio would continue to go down, except one year later, it went up. Then she said the deficit would be less than $40.1 billion, an…
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Mr. Speaker, last year the finance minister said the deficit would be less than $40.1 billion, and now Parliament is still waiting for the public accounts to confirm whether the minister kept that promise. Can the minister spare us the suspense and tell us what the deficit was for last year?
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Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's report card is in. Canadians have the highest consumer debt in the G7, per capita GDP has fallen for six consecutive quarters and Canadians now make $30,000 less than their American counterparts. This is a made-in-Canada per capita GDP recession, and in the face of global trade and economic uncertainty, the finance minister's plan is to increase taxes on energy,…
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Mr. Speaker, every day I turn around and there is another scandal coming from the government. We are proud to be Canadian, and we are going to fix it after the next election. Since the finance minister does not like answering the complex question, let us start with an easy one. Last year, she made a commitment that the deficit would be no greater than $40.1 billion. This goes exactly to the financ…
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Madam Speaker, why do they not just take the GST off everything and reduce government expenditures to pay for it? There is a problem. We do not have enough money. I have been around this town for three years, and I still cannot find the money tree that these parties think exists in this town. Why do they think we have to keep spending with deficits? Not only that, the NDP asked for taxes off heati…
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Madam Speaker, it is really wonderful to see you again. I thought the last time I would see you before the holidays was my last speech a couple of days ago, but it is a delight to see you in the chair again this evening. It is a pleasure to rise on behalf of the constituents and residents of Simcoe North to talk about a very important issue. We are talking about tax relief for Canadians. If govern…
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Madam Speaker, what an excellent question and astute observation from my friend from Perth—Wellington. He absolutely nailed it. People are going to spend so much time trying to figure out what is in and what is out, and retooling their machines, when the government could have easily just said that for the whole month or the whole two months, it is going to take the GST off everything. It would hav…
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Madam Speaker, this is the member whose party created two tiers of seniors in this country, those who are below 75 and those who are above 75. For the record, maybe that member needs to get some facts straight. Conservatives on this side of the House decided to vote in favour of doubling the GST credit that went to the poorest households in this country. I have no idea what that member has been th…
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Madam Speaker, it is an interesting question, but if the member just swapped what he was talking about for food, the exact same thing applies to what the government is doing. If someone was to take their friends out for a nice dinner and spends $10,000 on food, which a number of well-meaning people might actually be deciding to do after this, they would get a huge tax break. However, as I said bef…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's economic report card is in: Canadians have the highest consumer debt in the G7. House prices have doubled. Per capita income is lower today than it was 10 years ago, and the average Canadian makes $30,000 less than their American counterpart. All of this is as a result of the Prime Minister's economic vandalism. In the face of economic uncertainty and global trade…
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Mr. Speaker, if the government does not want to listen to Conservatives, maybe it will listen to economists at National Bank, who found that real GDP has contracted 4% since 2022. This is unprecedented outside a recession. It is a made-in-Canada, per person GDP recession caused by the economic vandalism of the policies of the Prime Minister, whose only plan is to increase taxes on everybody: farme…
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Madam Speaker, it is very cavalier. The hon. member for Abbotsford is a great member. I think it is time for accountability. If the Liberals do not want to get the $400 million back, then maybe they should have some ministerial accountability for this situation. What would that look like? It is true that a former minister was the minister in place when these individuals were appointed to the board…
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Madam Speaker, I am unaware of a 24-hour gag order; I apologize. However, what I would say to my hon. colleague with respect to the RCMP not wanting the documents is that it is up to the RCMP to not receive the documents. The government could provide the unredacted documents to members of Parliament first; we could then decide what to do with those documents. That would be a compromise, but that h…
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Madam Speaker, that was a great question and a pointed quote from my great colleague, friend and neighbour. Yes, the Liberals seem more interested in protecting themselves or their friends who might have been part of some criminal wrongdoing. Let us remind ourselves that they went out of their way to freeze the bank accounts of people they did not agree with. Why do we not freeze the bank accounts…
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Madam Speaker, first, the compromise, as he promotes it to be a compromise, is not much of one. It is not even coming from the government. Why does it not give all the documents to PROC? That might be a compromise, but it is not even offering that. The way we got through this type of impasse in a previous parliament, under a previous administration, was the development of a special committee. Ther…
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Madam Speaker, I think everyone in this place can handle a good-natured ribbing, and I think my friend on the parliamentary secretary's side is a great person. I would just say that we are at a stalemate. We should find a compromise and move on. However, it starts with getting the documents, first and foremost.
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Madam Speaker, I have to remind my colleague that I am not the same vintage as him, but his reference to The Muppet Show I do get and I thought it was right on point. The fact that we have $400 million missing means the RCMP should be investigating. It has confirmed it is looking at documents. If we have an ability to ensure it has all the information it needs to do its job properly, we should all…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague said the government is spending like a drunken sailor, but I wonder if she wants to apologize to sailors, who, of course, spend their own money.
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Madam Speaker, we cannot be in contempt of Parliament when the majority of the Parliament wants access to these documents. It is really nice that the member quotes The Hill Times, but how about thinking about the largest circulated publication, The Globe and Mail, that says that Parliament has an ability to get these documents, that it has a right to get these documents and that it should not stop…
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Madam Speaker, it is such a pleasure to be here yet again to speak about the government's unwillingness to turn over documents. It is a bit like Groundhog Day. What a wonderful movie that was with Bill Murray. There is a good quote in that movie: “You wanna throw up here, or you wanna throw up in the car?” The person answers, “I think...both.” Maybe that is what Canadians are feeling while watchin…
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With regard to transcriptions or transcripts procured by the government since January 1, 2023, and broken down by department or agency: (a) what is the (i) date of the proceeding or event, (ii) location of the proceeding or event, (iii) description or summary of the proceeding or event, (iv) main participants speaking at the proceeding or event, (v) subject matter of the proceeding or event, for e…
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With regard to the CRA's assessment and collection data on vessel registrations, broken down by year since January 1, 2016: how many pleasure crafts, broken down by new and used, were registered in Canada with a total sales price (i) below $250,000, (ii) between $250,000 and $500,000, (iii) above $500,000 and up to $1 million, (iv) above $1 million?
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here today again to speak on behalf of the residents of Simcoe North and to represent their views, as well as to discuss a very important issue with respect to what we believe is potentially anti-competitive behaviour in Canada's e-transfer ecosystem. These revelations became known to us at the industry committee a couple of weeks ago. It is clear that Interac u…
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Mr. Speaker, I always like to find opportunities to identify common ground with my colleagues. What my colleague has just espoused would be one of those circumstances. The free market generally works well, but it sometimes fails. This is an exact example in which we have the operators coming together to stand up an organization that, over the last 40 years now, has used its pricing power to preven…
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