Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the family-run Tyson Downs Association for donating a new AED SaveStation at Harrison Park in Owen Sound. Tyson Downs was an exceptional 18-year-old athlete and lacrosse player who passed away suddenly in 2023 as the result of cardiac arrest. Yesterday, this new SaveStation was officially unveiled just outside the Harrison Park Inn in Owen Sound. It houses an…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for getting to the crux of the challenges with bail reform and the fact that, when this bill went through the House, it was supported completely. The issue around sureties was discussed and an amendment was unanimously agreed to by all parties in this chamber before it went to the Senate. I do find it somewhat hypocritical of the government to not reject thi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the NSICOP Act mandates that it must be reviewed before October 6, 2022. Unlike in his response on January 29, could the House leader please provide the date the government intends to initiate the long-overdue review of the act? Further, will the Liberals support my motion, which would establish a joint committee to ensure that Parliament abides by this law?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, respectfully, we ask for a recorded vote.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded vote.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of the constituents of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound. They are calling upon the Liberal government to stop its cuts to Canada Post rural delivery. In particular, they cite their concerns about the impacts that this is going to have on rural communities, indigenous communities, seniors and disabled communities, and the fact that this decision has not been r…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I want to build on the two questions my hon. colleague was already asked, because in my opinion, when people are breaking the law or they are avoiding taxes, it is all about transparency and accountability. In particular, I want to ask him what he thinks the end result will be. Will this help and potentially enable additional changes to our tax laws and our Criminal Code? As he talked…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I simply wish to give my colleague the opportunity to remind all Canadians who will ultimately foot the bill for the 15% increase if the Liberal government does not reject this streaming tax increase proposed by the CRTC and does not scrap it.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, because of the programming motion and the time allocation on this, I am going to be the last individual to speak in this chamber, unless the bill comes back, and there is a very high probability that it may come back, based on the Minister of National Defence's indication earlier in this chamber. When I spoke to the bill earlier this week, I highlighted the importance that we get it r…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask my hon. colleague just to elaborate a bit more on where the improvements have happened. In fact, ever since that direction to try to move many of the Criminal Code sex offences over to the civilian courts, unfortunately, there have been obstacles that the military police have run into, and lots of these police jurisdictions refuse to accept it because of that higher thre…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to address the amendment that was tabled by my colleague, and even the comments that just came from the member for Winnipeg North, because I agree with my Bloc colleague that this is about choice for the victims. The member for Winnipeg North keeps bringing up this issue of what Justice Arbour recommended. A lot has changed, and I gave a full speech on this earlier this week at…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to address the amendment that was moved by my Conservative colleague earlier today, which is to put this bill back to the committee to, specifically, look at some of the clauses and amendments that were passed by the committee, including Liberal members of that committee, which the government, unfortunately, has removed during report stage. This is important because the ministe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a plea to the government that we need to do better. This week, Veterans Affairs hosted the long-delayed national Afghanistan war memorial groundbreaking. This monument will recognize the commitment and sacrifice of the over 40,000 sailors, soldiers, aviators and special forces operators, along with hundreds of Canadian civilians, who served in Canada's longest combat m…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, does the parliamentary secretary have faith in our current military police and their ability to do justice for victims when a Criminal Code sexual offence occurs outside Canada, yes or no?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, I spent 25 and a half years in uniform serving our great nation. I want to get back to the answer to my previous question. The member stated that if one of the members of the CAF commits a heinous crime, a Criminal Code sexual offence, overseas, he has complete faith in our military police to be able to collect the data, but then it needs to be transferred to the …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Bruce County and Grey County beef farmers have publicly expressed concerns about the ongoing negotiations with Mercosur. They said, “This won't just hurt farmers—it will weaken rural communities and reduce Canada's ability to produce its own food.... In Ontario...where most imported beef enters the market, the impact on local farmers would be severe.” Canadian beef producers are w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I could use a really derogatory term, but I will not. My point is that it is the government that is making a mistake. Ultimately, I think we need to get this right. This is about the victims. The committee did so much hard work. The witnesses testified. I am not taking anything away from what Justice Arbour brought forward. This is a tough position for the CAF and the senior leadershi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise here again. The last time I rose at second reading on this bill, I talked a bit about my military background, but I focused on why it is so important that we get this bill right, especially for the victims and the accused. This bill would do a number of things, and in fact parts of Bill C-11 are actually very good, a step in the right direction and needed. I do…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in response to the parliamentary secretary with respect to Justice Arbour, things have changed. In previous speeches we have outlined this. The victims' bill of rights is no longer there. We have a sexual misconduct resource centre available. The independence has gone forward. The military police have actually fixed and addressed the key things that allowed for the situations upon whi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. I do not know if anybody is going to be held to account. That is going to be the problem with this, because ultimately it is an abdication of responsibility and accountability within the CAF, which is what I highlighted in my speech. It is about handing this off and saying that police officers are able to deal with this. As the member noted, they are already …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my question to the hon. Leader of the Opposition is about the fact that this fund is, basically, being funded on the taxpayers' credit cards. We are already paying to service our national debt, and this will just add to it. Going forward, it is going to have an impact on the hon. leader's children, my daughter and the youth in this country being able to live a prosperous life in the f…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Montreal Economic Institute said, “We don't need a Canada Infrastructure Bank 2.0”. The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities recommended “[t]hat the Government of Canada abolish the Canada Infrastructure Bank.” With this in mind, does the member agree that Canadians do not need this sovereign wealth fund?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will ask my hon. colleague a follow-up on the question asked by the member for Winnipeg North, who is sort of making the allegation that somehow Conservatives are holding up this important legislation. In fact, the reason we are in this position in the first place is that the Liberals introduced Bill C-2, which had so many poison pills in it. It was an omnibus bill that did not addr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will ask the chamber's indulgence, before I get into the crux of my speech, to just acknowledge the passing of a long-time family friend back in my riding, Marie Christie, who passed away on the 13th of this month in her 97th year. Her family settled in my neck of the woods, just a few kilometres from my home farm, back in 1856. She was part of the Arran Tara Fall Fair board as a di…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, absolutely. Actually, the member can just read the report that I quoted extensively. This is something we absolutely need to address. The point, though, is that everybody ultimately, as I mentioned during my speech, thinks this should not be rushed. It needs to be done properly. As I have said countless times in response to this member, everybody in this chamber should have the exact …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is so important we do this right. I mentioned this earlier, and countless other members have highlighted it, but this has been attempted at least three times or four times over the last 25 or 30 years. Unfortunately, because balancing public safety and privacy rights is such a controversial issue, we need to get this right. This can only be done through deliberate, careful and very…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I actually cannot share my party's perspective writ large. That is a great question for the shadow minister for public safety or the shadow minister for justice on my side. I can share my own personal take on it, which is that we do have to balance it correctly. We talked about it. I quoted about it extensively in my speech. This is something I think absolutely needs to get fleshed ou…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on January 29, I asked the government House leader to let the House and Canadians know when we could expect the long-overdue, three and a half years overdue, review of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian Act to be initiated. He stated at that time that he would “consider the matter and report to the House at the appropriate time.” Unfortunately, over tw…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge that I do take the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice at her word. She is somebody I really enjoyed working with while we were on NSICOP. I know she firmly believes in the importance of the committee. I am not trying to take away from the incredible work that NSICOP has done over the last seven or eight years of its existence. My point is that we …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have four points that I am looking for reassurance on from the minister. Number one, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians did a whole report on lawful access. Of its findings, finding one found that the security and intelligence organizations in Canada do not systematically track the challenges they have with lawful access. Is there anything in this b…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask my hon. colleague to build upon what he mentioned in his speech about his own experience as a public prosecutor, specifically around this data bit. On the NSICOP committee, we found that without a general requirement for these CSPs to retain metadata, i.e., the address book, for a specific time, when a warrant is then sought, there is a possibility that that data is no l…
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Mr. Speaker, when NSICOP studied this bill, one of the recommendations the committee discovered was that there should be a national authority established and identified for lawful access and intercept initiatives across Canada because obviously, we have multiple police jurisdictions, CSIS and different organizations. Is the member aware of anywhere in the legislation where that requirement is iden…
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Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with my hon. colleague about the frustration, which I know I am feeling, and people in my riding are feeling it too, about this increase in bureaucracy and it not resulting in more houses being built. I would ask my neighbour, because my colleague is my neighbour to the north, if he is seeing the same real-world consequences, especially for our youth. This lack …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, the best of the best cribbage players from across Ontario descended upon the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 614, Scarborough Centennial, to duel it out for the Ontario championship and a spot at nationals. I am proud, although not surprised, to inform the House that the winning team and provincial cribbage champions are from my home branch, Branch 383, Tara. I give a …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am here to offer my intervention on Bill C-244, an act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act. The bill proposes to strengthen Canada's ability to address abandoned, derelict and hazardous vessels; close the gaps in the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act by expanding liability for owners who cause or allo…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, first off, I want to acknowledge my hon. colleague's concerns and frustrations over the way the bill has gotten here. The fact is that the Liberal government refused to make this a priority last fall. The position Parliament is now facing with the lack of debate is because of the partisan factors in place, which I acknowledge. However, I want to ask the member more about why the bill …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, this is my third Parliament. I know the member for Wellington—Halton Hills North has been here for many more and has spoken to many of these reforms countless times, but there has been no action taken by Parliament. Does he think we should put something into the Standing Orders beyond just debating this at the start of each Parliament within a certain number of days? Should we creat…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of Canadians who are calling on the Government of Canada to, first, publicly call on the Chinese regime to end its persecution of the Falun Gong in China and transnational repression abroad; second, continue to impose sanctions on and pursue accountability for the Communist officials and proxies responsible for these human rights violations…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to build on a theme that just came out of the last question from the Liberal side. My colleague spoke about it in her speech. The fact is, this was not part of the federal budget. The budget was just tabled a few months ago, and now all of a sudden the Liberals are finding another $12 billion to give this sort of short-term relief, or band-aid solution, to an underlying issue a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I ask for a little indulgence first. I want to inform the House and all Canadians that Canada's most famous weather prognosticator for 70 years, Wiarton Willie, predicted an early spring this morning. I want to thank my colleague for sharing the personal stories of victims across Canada, but also in his riding, who have been victimized as a result of the Liberal soft-on-bail regime ov…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister and cabinet are responsible for the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, in accordance with the NSICOP act, could the government House leader please provide the date the Prime Minister intends to initiate this long overdue review of the act? I would note that the law states the act and the review were to commence no later than October…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I commend my hon. colleague for identifying some of the strengths and weaknesses of the bill. In particular, our hon. colleague, the shadow minister on this file, proposed a solution, which was for the government to split the bill in two: take the part where we have consensus across all parties to actually get public safety as a priority for victims here in Canada, and move those aspe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that was a phenomenally informative speech. I learned a ton just listening to it, especially on the good parts of the bill about needed reforms within our justice system to ensure that victims have public safety. Our shadow minister has made a recommendation to split the bill into two. Let us take the good parts that we have consensus on across all parties so the bill can get to the j…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to the victims of a tragic vehicle accident. On November 11, three high school students, Tyson Varley, Damon Davis and Haley Keffer, from John Diefenbaker Senior School in Hanover, aged 16 to 17, lost their lives in a devastating crash on the rural road between Hanover and Durham. A fourth student, Landon Preiss-Hillier, was critically injured and airlifted to th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like my hon. colleague to elaborate on the benefits of getting more Canadian liquefied natural gas and oil to foreign markets, not only to help combat climate change but also to give economic benefits to Canadians by growing our economy and getting these natural resources to market.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of petitioners who are concerned about the persecution of the Falun Gong in China. Specifically, they are calling upon the Government of Canada to proactively deploy all possible avenues to publicly call on the Chinese regime to end its persecution of the Falun Gong in China and end transnational repression abroad; to continue to impose sanctions on and pursue a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I was talking to a financial adviser, and he pointed out to me two of the best-performing stocks in the last year, especially since the Prime Minister took office. Number one is Dollarama. I think that speaks to the challenges Canadians are having. It had a 55% return. Number two is Brookfield, with a 54% return in the last year alone. Could the member expand on the struggles Canadian…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, would my hon. colleague weigh in on what he is hearing from his constituents with respect to the size of this year's deficit of more than $78 billion? I believe the debt is now at over $1.3 trillion. We are paying $55 billion a year in interest on the national debt alone, more money than we are giving to the provinces and territories for health care transfers. I am hearing this from m…
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