Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of Canadians who are concerned with the limitations in accessing emergency services, such as 911. People in crisis and their family members should be able to access help, regardless of their location or means of communication. Presently, only the province of Nova Scotia and the cities of Ottawa, Waterloo and Calgary have the capabilities to trans…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of residents of Seabird Island First Nation. On June 23, 2022, Bill C-28 received royal assent; it allowed for extreme intoxication to be used as a defence for violent crimes, such as sexual assault, where a reasonable person would not have foreseen the risk of a violent loss of control. Residents are concerned about the impact this will ha…
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of British Columbians who are concerned about human trafficking in Canada. The U.S. State Department's 20th “Trafficking in Persons Report” indicates that Canada meets the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. The report also highlights that the range, quality and timely delivery of trafficking-specif…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. This weekend in Surrey, over 15,000 people attended Ugly Potato Day, an initiative that invites residents to get imperfect produce for free from farmers. Over 250,000 pounds of produce was donated. Food insecurity is so harsh that residents were willing to wait in line, in one of the worst st…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canada lost 9,037 businesses from May to June 2024, and 6,331 declared insolvency year over year. The closures we are witnessing right now have not been this large since the pandemic, when the entire country was shut down. While Canadian entrepreneurs and workers are struggling, business is still booming for Liberal insiders. Why is the Prime Minister hiding behind the green slush fun…
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. The Auditor General reported 186 conflicts of interest and over $400 million in misspent funds that went to Liberal insiders. The Minister of Environment's former employer, Cycle Capital, received $250 million from the green slush fund, all while over half of Canadian small businesses were losing…
Read full speech →Concurrence in Committee Reports
Madam Speaker, in the member's earlier comments, he talked about some of the federal programs that rich and wealthy developers were able to benefit from. I do not completely disagree with him, but I am wondering why the New Democratic caucus, along with its Liberal friends, voted for the rental construction financing initiative. This program accounted for over a third of all funds allocated under …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, sitting here and reflecting on the privilege motion before the House of Commons today reminds me of the 40th Parliament from 2008 to 2011. I was privileged to be in the chamber as a graduate student when the former governor general, Michaëlle Jean, gave her Speech from the Throne; and as an observer when papers were thrown in the air. Papers were thrown in the air because the former l…
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Mr. Speaker, what is disgraceful is that the Liberal Party of Canada does not understand that Parliament, with its power to investigate any matter whatsoever, however embarrassing an inquiry may be to individuals or the government of the day, is the ruling authority of this country. Parliament rules supreme, and it is not for the government to predetermine how documents should be used when Parliam…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Windsor for his question related to appointments. Indeed, irrespective of government, I think there can be more transparency in the way we appoint individuals to boards that are funded by the Government of Canada. That is a very fair question. The New Democratic Party has a very serious decision to make today. Will it stand with the government and support its o…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that the NDP-Liberal coalition, which just fell apart, has made Parliament very dysfunctional. That is a fact. The Auditor General report clearly outlined the immensity of the corruption we are dealing with here today. It is not every day that the Auditor General finds a prima facie case where the ethics laws of Canada were violated, up to $173 million. That is what we have be…
Read full speech →Concurrence in Committee Reports
Madam Speaker, with respect to the future objectives of a Conservative government, we can do a lot more to see housing starts improve drastically in Canada without actually spending any additional dollars. That would take leadership, and it would take a federal government that is willing to incent municipalities to improve processing times to get more homes built quickly and then tie housing start…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for those kind words. I think he is raising a very important question. If Parliament cannot fulfill its constitutional obligation to demand papers and receive such papers, Canadians will lose trust in the House of Commons. A lot of Canadians across the country are feeling disillusioned by our institutions. That is because this institution is bei…
Read full speech →Concurrence in Committee Reports
Madam Speaker, I will push back and say that the government allocated approximately $100 billion to make housing more affordable, but despite these record investments, we did not see the homes built that Canadians need. Government does indeed have a role to play. The leading reasons why homes are not being built are, number one, red tape and permitting processes; number two, access to workers to b…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I would refer back to the original motion from June, which called for the unredacted documents to be provided to the House of Commons. Those documents have yet to be provided. That is why, at the beginning of my speech, I referenced the gravity of what we are dealing with here today. I was very disturbed by the government House leader, who used the Charter of Rights to move us away fr…
Read full speech →Concurrence in Committee Reports
Madam Speaker, I will reiterate the point I made to the member for Edmonton Griesbach. Under a Conservative government, we would have put in place effective due diligence measures established by the Treasury Board to ensure that those purchasing federal lands would do so in a way that would serve the broader public interests. In respect to the difference between a Conservative government and New D…
Read full speech →Concurrence in Committee Reports
Madam Speaker, we are into our fourth week here in Ottawa since the summer recess of this chamber. Over the summer, like many people here, I spent a large amount of my time door knocking. I reconnected with my constituents and, indeed, British Columbians across the province. Irrespective of where I went in British Columbia over the summer, two issues came up every single time: First, people cannot…
Read full speech →Concurrence in Committee Reports
Madam Speaker, indeed, I am baffled that the Liberal-NDP government did not vote in favour of some of the measures in here because, now, after our leader tabled the bill, it is trying to steal some of his policy measures and take credit for them, namely that cities must increase the number of houses built by 15% each year and have that compounded. In addition to the comments by my colleague from S…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, after nine years of NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. Two years ago, the sellout leader of the NDP sold out workers and signed on to a costly coalition with the Liberal Prime Minister, who hiked taxes, ballooned food costs, doubled housing costs and unleashed record crime and chaos on our once-safe streets. On top of all that, he voted in favour of …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, would my colleague from South Okanagan—West Kootenay outline for us here in the House whether the federal NDP would adopt the same policy as the provincial NDP, axe the tax and give Canadians some relief by eliminating the federal carbon tax?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, every time I hear the member for Winnipeg North speak, I feel a little worse about the state of Canadian democracy and how the Liberals no longer stand up for their constituents on a regular basis. The records clearly indicate that the member accounts for more than half of the debate on government orders. Therefore the fact that the Liberals do not speak to anything happening in the…
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to present a petition in respect to the Lets'emot Regional Recreation and Aquatic Centre. Lets'emot means one heart, one mind in the Halq’eme’ylem language. Local first nations, the District of Kent and the village of Harrison Hot Springs are looking for more support from the federal government. Indigenous Services Canada has told local first nations that when it wa…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, in June I asked the Minister of Small Business how she can support a tax hike on capital gains that will kill jobs and destroy our entrepreneurs. Instead of our hearing from the Minister of Small Business on how she was standing up for entrepreneurs in the face of the massive tax hike, the Minister of Finance rose and did not let her answer the question. In defending the hike, the f…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I could not think of a more out-of-touch answer to the very real concerns that I raised, which were backed by Statistics Canada data. In fact, talking about middle-class Canadians, as I outlined in my remarks, the capital gains tax will often only be paid by 63% of Canadians once in their lifetime. Why is that significant? It is because of the 80-year-old farmer in Hatzik Valley, wh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the fact of the matter is that I believe that our citizenship is sacred. It is something all of us, especially in this room, have a responsibility to uphold and to dignify, and I believe that a question of such importance, namely who is able to be granted Canadian citizenship, should not be determined by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge. I believe it would have been in the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, petitioners in my riding are calling on the Government of Canada to provide additional funds to support the construction of the Lets'emot Regional Recreation and Aquatic Centre in Agassiz, B.C., which has seen its projected costs skyrocket. The name “Lets'emot” means “one heart, one mind” in the Halq’eme’ylem language. Residents of the District of Kent, Harrison Hot Springs, Seabird I…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the bill before us today, Bill C-71, seeks to amend the Citizenship Act to do three things. First, for children not born in Canada but adopted by Canadian parents, it would ensure that they are treated as Canadian-born citizens for the purposes of passing on citizenship if they have children abroad in the future. This is something I support. Second, it would restore citizenship for …
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With regard to the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program: (a) what is the number of businesses which have applied, as of May 23, 2024, broken down by province or territory, to the (i) Access to Business Opportunities stream, (ii) Access to Capital stream; (b) what is the total number of businesses which have received funding or assistance, broken down by province or territory, through the (i) Access…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This is not debate. The citizenship law, as the member is referring to, does not apply to Canadian Forces members.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, right now the Bloc Québécois members have a serious determination to make: Do they stand with the Liberals in centralizing more power in Ottawa and removing the powers of citizenship under Quebec's rules? I do not believe that the 1,095 cumulative days is a good test for determining citizenship.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will admit I am not an expert on constitutional law like my colleague from Kamloops is, but I do know, like every other Canadian, that intuitively our citizenship is something that is sacred. It is something that needs to be upheld, and a lower court decision should not be the determining factor on a matter of such importance as determining our citizenship. I will note again that …
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Mr. Speaker, petitioners in my riding want to remind the government that it pledged $5 billion in the 2021 fall economic statement to help British Columbia recover from unprecedented disasters. To date, only 40% of that funding has been delivered. On behalf of petitioners, I will remind the House that the port of Vancouver was cut off from the rest of Canada. Every major road connecting British Co…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, a key problem with Bill C-65 is that clauses 40 and 41 would amend sections 269 and 279 of the Elections Canada Act to allow voters to write in the name of a political party rather than a candidate. Does the member opposite agree that this is a dereliction of our historical practice of electing individual members to the House of Commons and not political parties?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, congratulations for all the wrong reasons. Canada is now a world leader in high taxes. Ranked behind only Chile and Denmark, we now have the third highest capital gains tax rate in the world. In the midst of a productivity crisis, how can the Minister of Small Business support a tax hike that will kill jobs and decimate our entrepreneurs?
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With regard to the government's decision to decrease the amount of the carbon pricing revenues rebated for small businesses from 7% to 5%: (a) why is the government decreasing the percentages; and (b) on what date will the decrease take effect?
Read full speech →Government Orders
With regard to the trip to Washington, D.C. by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry on April 27 and 28, 2024: (a) what was the minister's detailed itinerary on the trip; and (b) what are the details of each meeting attended by the minister on the trip, including the (i) date, (ii) time, (iii) purpose, (iv) list of attendees?
Read full speech →Government Orders
With regard to government patronage, contracts and funding provided to the individuals who signed the document entitled "An Open Letter from Economists on Canadian Carbon Pricing": (a) which of the individuals who signed the document have received government contracts since November 4, 2015; (b) what are the details of all contracts in (a), including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) amo…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, today I rise on behalf of correctional officers in the Pacific region who are calling for an end to the needle exchange program put in place by the Liberal government. Correctional officers are calling for an effective strategy to stop drones from dropping drugs onto prison grounds. We need a drone dereliction strategy.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am not looking for a clip. I am addressing the incredibly challenging situation that we find in British Columbia today. My question for the member for Sherbrooke is this: If given the chance, would she legalize hard drugs as her government did in British Columbia? Given the chance, would she adopt a policy that has led, statistically, to record overdose deaths of children from har…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, at a time when food insecurity is skyrocketing and millions are lining up at food banks, the government is bringing forward a punishing capital gains tax hike that would disproportionately affect family farms and small business. According to the Grain Growers of Canada, it will amount to a 30% increase on what farmers have to pay Ottawa when they pass on their family business to their…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the Liberal minister responsible for legal hard drugs is misleading Canadians. The government is claiming that the so-called safe supply program is working, but the facts say otherwise. In Abbotsford alone, the number of overdoses between 2013 and 2022 went up by 820%, meaning that Abbotsford has seen a near 1,000% increase in overdoses over the last 10 years. The minister should al…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. Sustainable Technology Development Canada was launched in 2001 to support businesses to innovate and create new sustainable technologies. For more than a decade, and under both Liberal and Conservative governments, SDTC had a few problems, but nothing major, until the current Prime Min…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's remarks on the corruption we are seeing in the Liberal government, which is displayed in the Auditor General's report. I will note, as seen on page 14 of the Auditor General's report, that there were 90 cases where, according to the foundation's own records, conflict of interest policies were not followed. How do we get rid of corruption in Parliament and i…
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Madam Speaker, the debate today is not about pipelines, although I am very pleased to see the Kinder Morgan pipeline completed. That is going to do a lot of good for the Canadian taxpayers. I am glad that project is finished. However, what we are talking about here today is a very serious issue, an Auditor General's report that clearly outlines cases of a conflict of interest. It says the Liberal …
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Madam Speaker, in respect to the workers at play here, it was the former Conservative government that brought in stronger enforcement for whistle-blowers. We need to protect members of the public service who see an injustice and are willing to stand up for Canadian taxpayers. In this case, we really did see that. While we did see a level of incompetence and disregard for public money at Industry C…
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Madam Speaker, in terms of the first part of the member's question, the big scandal here is that the government has let down small businesses and the innovative sector in Canada. The government has discredited start-ups in this country that legitimately rely on SDTC to bring their technologies to market and commercialize new and innovative technologies that will protect the government. Today we se…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, petitioners in my riding are calling on the Government of Canada to provide additional funds to support the construction of the Lets'emot Regional Aquatic Centre in Agassiz. The name “Lets'emot” means “one heart, one mind” in the Halq’eme’ylem language. Residents of the District of Kent, Harrison Hot Springs, Seabird Island, the Cheam, Stó:lo, Sts'ailes, Sq'éwlets, Skawahlook, Popkum …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the debate tonight is on excess profits. Would my colleague from Milton be able to define what exactly would be an excess profit? For example, what would be an appropriate margin of profit for a grocery company that he has referred to this evening?
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I will point out that, with respect to the carbon tax rebate, that money was collected from small business owners and redistributed back to small business owners. It is, in fact, not an investment. It is a wealth distribution scheme put forward by the government. It is not the Conservative Party of Canada, the loyal opposition, but Bank of Canada officials who outlined that we have a …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on May 9, I rose in this chamber to ask the Minister of Finance when the Liberal government would stop sitting on the $2.5 billion in promised carbon tax rebates while business insolvencies skyrocket and small businesses suffer under higher taxes and inflation. Indeed, this promise was originally made in 2019. In the budget, I will admit, the government did announce that carbon tax re…
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