Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, small business owners are the unsung heroes of the Canadian economy. These entrepreneurs make up almost 98% of all employer businesses, employing nearly two-thirds of the private labour force, and they provide meaningful paycheques to millions of Canadians. However, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, I doubt that small business owners feel like unsung heroes. Higher infl…
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Madam Speaker, today I will be speaking to Bill C-56, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act. This bill is divided into two parts to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act. I will be sharing a few points in respect of why the bill is being tabled at this moment and how it relates to small businesses. I have one point before I begin. On a per-person basis, real GDP gro…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal minister knows as well as I do that many of the problems facing small businesses in our country are a direct result of that party's governance and negligence: higher inflation, higher payroll taxes, higher carbon taxes, higher commercial rents, a labour crisis, more red tape and a botched CEBA repayment plan that confused thousands of entrepreneurs across our country. All …
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. Statistics Canada reports that the number of businesses closing shop in Canada is greater than the number of businesses opening. In August, there was a 37% increase in business insolvencies year over year. This is the highest it has been in recent history. Canadians are losing confidence at an alarming rate in their …
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Madam Speaker, in Quebec, voting Bloc means voting to raise taxes. The Bloc Québécois is costing Quebeckers more. Quebeckers will consider voting Conservative because we will lower taxes. We will support families and lower the cost of living. The Bloc Québécois wants to raise the cost of living for Quebeckers. We will put a stop to that. It is just common sense.
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Madam Speaker, I am in no way opposed to further increases in co-operative housing across Canada. It has played an important role in providing a safe and affordable place for many of my constituents to live. However, in order to reduce the overall cost of housing in Canada, we not only need to be taking the measure in this bill of reducing GST payments on purpose-built rental construction. We also…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North raises an important point about the Competition Act. The efficiencies clause, which was likely used, but I cannot confirm that, in the context of the merger he referenced, was the same one used in the Rogers-Shaw merger. I am not disputing that this is a positive change. In fact, my colleague from Bay of Quinte tabled very similar legislation in this…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, my office is right beside Haven in the Hollow, and I see every day the impacts of the approach taken by the government. At the end of the day, I believe that all of us in the House have one thing in common, and that is that we do not want to see people die. I firmly believe that, but the actions taken by the government were irresponsible because none of the four pillars that my coll…
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Madam Speaker, before I begin, I hope you will not mind indulging me for one quick moment. On Monday, my oma, at 96 years of age, passed away. She left an amazing legacy: 14 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. She was a constant in my life and just an absolutely wonderful human being. In May, I highlighted how the NDP-Liberal government has failed to uphold its duty to protect children in th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise on behalf of residents of Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who are frustrated with Canada's handling of plastic waste. In 2020, the member for York—Simcoe tabled Bill C-204, which was passed by the House but died on the Order Paper when the last Parliament was dissolved. The bill would have banned the export of plastic waste for final disposal, but the Liberals prevented it…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to table a petition on behalf of British Columbians who are calling for more support and better governance in the village of Lytton. On June 30, 2021, wildfires engulfed the village of Lytton and surrounding areas, destroying the town and displacing hundreds of residents. With rebuilding yet to begin, two years later, the business owners in Lytton who accepted CEBA loans …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, I was honoured to attend the Agassiz Fall Fair and Corn Festival. Congratulations go to Mr. Vander Wyk on being crowned this year's Corn King. As many farmers shared, the NDP-Liberal government is attacking one of the primary tools to produce quality food in Canada: fertilizer. The NDP-Liberal government recently outlined an unscientific plan to drastically fertilize…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see you in the chair this evening. After the last election, the Prime Minister said in this House on numerous occasions that “the Conservatives' plan on housing...was to give tax breaks to wealthy landlords”. He typecast all landlords as wealthy crooks, while ignoring key barriers to building new and affordable rental units. When the current government was elected in 201…
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Mr. Speaker, all I can say is that it is too little and too late. We can ask any member of the Liberal caucus who was elected in the 2015 general election if they could have imagined the Canada we have today. We can look at a home in Abbotsford that could have been bought for a price of under $400,000 in 2015 and fast-forward eight years to see that very house on the market today for $1.3 million …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of residents in Lillooet, British Columbia. More and more small business owners are being forced to significantly reduce their services or shut down entirely due to labour shortages. Last year, Statistics Canada reported that there were an overwhelming one million job vacancies across the country. Residents are calling for more action to ad…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. Petitioners are calling for a change to the way CRA recognizes partner separations. As it stands, former partners who continue to reside at the same residence are still recognized as couples, which can affect benefit eligibility, especially in cases where children may be involved. With housing costs continu…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are seeing record inflation as grocery prices skyrocket, thanks to the carbon tax. Tiff Macklem, the Bank of Canada governor, agrees that Trudeau's tax on gas and groceries increases inflation. In the case of onions, the cost is up 69%. We do not have to wonder why food bank usage at the University of Ottawa is up over 258%. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I have not seen the amendments of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands yet, but I hope in good spirit, if they are there to improve the flow of goods in Canada, they may be something I could support if I were on the transportation committee. I will note, representing the Ashcroft Terminal, that they had three specific concerns that they wanted to see addressed in the legislation, as fo…
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Mr. Speaker, as the member mentioned, I also heard the port directors say that their perspective was not included in the bill. I hope that the government will listen to the private sector and the port directors at committee stage so that we can improve the bill and promote our economy.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek. One of the most defining moments since I was elected was when the rail lines in my riding, both the CN and CP rail lines, were washed out. There were over 30 wash-outs in the Fraser Canyon. In fact, one day in November two years ago, I was in a meeting with the minister of emergency preparedness. I walked out o…
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Mr. Speaker, until the major issues are unstuck, as the report from the national task force clearly outlines, I do not think the bill can be supported. The minister had an opportunity when he tabled this legislation to rely upon the expert advice he sought in the first place. It would be irresponsible for me to support this legislation in its current format, because the minister himself did not ta…
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Mr. Speaker, I do believe that we need to hear about the challenges that the Nunavummiut face with respect to port access, and that is a very legitimate concern that I think should be addressed in the legislation. Canada is an Arctic nation, and I hope that we give it the attention it deserves at the committee stage.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, petitioners in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who paid into the U.K. social security regime are asking the Government of Canada, in any negotiations related to a Canada-U.K. free trade agreement, to address the discriminatory practice of freezing U.K. pensions in Canada. These citizens paid into the U.K. pension and are asking the Government of Canada to address this discrepancy on a s…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion from the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. However, I do have a real question related to the bill despite all the rhetoric we heard about the former member of Parliament. It is related to the new licensing regime for exploration, which is capped at 25 years. Part of the bill talks a lot about empowering indigenous Canadians or using the consultative pr…
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Mr. Speaker, over the summer, I heard from a large number of constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who are concerned about the trafficking of individuals, namely of foreign students. Foreign students come to Canada to start a new life, get an education and play a part in Canadian society, yet over the last number of years, we have seen an increasing number of foreign students, namely women…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, everything feels broken in Canada. Under the NDP-Liberal government, Canada is unaffordable, unsafe and more divided. The Liberals have vastly expanded the size of the federal government while driving participation in the entrepreneurial economy to record lows. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost, but we can put the pieces back together by giving Canadians…
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Madam Speaker, across British Columbia this summer, and in other regions of Canada, we experienced a record number of wildfires. Many of those were in the riding of Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. Petitioners in my riding are still suffering from the 2021 fires and subsequent floods that damaged critical infrastructure across our province. The petitioners are calling upon the government to do what …
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With regard to the Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP): (a) how many applicants applied to the BEP Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, since the program was launched; (b) of the $160 million allocated to the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, (i) how much has been delivered to the successful applicants, (ii) what is the average loan amount; and (c) under the $92 million approved funding for the Ecos…
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With regard to the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES): (a) how many applicants applied to the WES Inclusive Women Venture Capital Initiative; (b) of the $15 million allocated to the Inclusive Women Venture Capital Initiative in budget 2021, how much of the funding has been delivered to successful applicants; (c) how many women entrepreneurs have accessed capital under the Women Entrepreneurship…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in the debate yesterday, perfection cannot be the enemy of the good. The Conservative Party will be supporting this bill reluctantly, but my cry tonight, my plea with the government, is to never again during this parliamentary session try to have witnesses the hour before clause-by-clause. In British Columbia, we had the Cullen commission and the Peter German report. …
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We are not here to debate Bill C-18; we are here to debate Bill C-42. The member was asking about Facebook.
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Madam Speaker, I am going to be speaking on Bill C-42, an act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other acts. Before I begin, I seek unanimous consent from the House to split my time with the hon. member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley.
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives are proposing that we amend the motion before the House today, the motion that Bill C-42 be read for a third time, in order to send Bill C-42 back to committee for some important additions, with number one being thresholds. During our study at INDU, the RCMP officials were clear that reducing the threshold for significant control would strengthen the registry and law e…
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Madam Speaker, the only assurances committee members have received regarding provincial participation relate to a letter the minister sent. What is problematic for me, as an opposition MP, and I am learning this the more time I spend going through amendments and clause-by-clause, is that the word of a minister is not enough. I need to see concrete action. The minister did not provide the letter, a…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Nova Scotia is a true historian and parliamentarian in the very best sense of the word. Changing the threshold from 25% to 10% would have done what the RCMP said, in the testimony I shared today from that one hour from witnesses, which is that it would have given law enforcement organizations such as FINTRAC, and the RCMP and its money laundering unit more too…
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Madam Speaker, it has been outlined in the debate thus far that some provinces are further ahead than others. We have learned that the Province of Quebec has moved forward and enacted a registry. This measure will help fight money laundering, which is a good thing. As well, British Columbia has moved forward with implementing a registry. I believe almost all provinces in Canada, save Alberta, have…
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Madam Speaker, the official opposition would like to request a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, we all know very well that we cannot refer to sitting members of this House of Commons by their name. It is the member for Durham.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, June 30 marks the second anniversary of the deadly fire in my riding that decimated Lytton, two years of residents without a home, two years of students unable to reunite with their classmates, two years of entrepreneurs unable to restart their businesses. Lytton entrepreneurs and small businesses are doing everything they can to recover. First hit hard by the pandemic, business owner…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola for his very substantive speech tonight. Can he share with the House how his constituents feel about ending money laundering? What do the great people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola think the government should be doing to provide more transparency and accountability as it relates to money laundering?
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Mr. Speaker, the other day I drove through the hon. member's riding for the very first time in almost a decade. I remembered how wonderful the beaches are where he lives. They are quite amazing on the lakes. The member raises an important question about how much further this bill could have gone had we had enough time at committee and not been rushed with hearing from witnesses and automatically g…
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Mr. Speaker, to my knowledge, I am the only member in this chamber who participated in the amendment stage of Bill C-42. I will point out that we worked in good faith with all members of this House of Commons to put forward common-sense amendments to the legislation. The hour before we had clause-by-clause, we had some of the most critical witnesses appear on this bill. They were from Transparency…
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Madam Speaker, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is Canada's number one riding. I will just note that, during the witness testimony, we heard from Transparency International and the RCMP that the standard practice the government keeps talking about was not actually a standard practice; it was just a norm that became adopted. I fail to see why the government sees such an impediment to decreasing the th…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to understand the rationale behind lowering the significant threshold from 25% to 10%. Indeed, the New Democratic Party supported this amendment after hearing testimony during the debate at committee on why Canada should be a leader in money laundering to adopt a more progressive threshold, which was outlined by the RCMP.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of the people of Agassiz, who are trying to build a regional aquatic centre. This project was inspired by a progressive approach to reconciliation. All of the local first nations have worked with the District of Kent to get the Lets'emot community and aquatic centre built. So far, the federal government has only committed …
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Mr. Speaker, the first petition I would like to present today is on behalf of the village of Lytton, which was decimated by fire on June 30, 2021. We are coming up on the two-year anniversary. When this petition was written, Lytton was still under an evacuation order. That was lifted two days ago. Since the rebuilding has yet to begin, all of the businesses that were destroyed are asking very clea…
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Madam Speaker, if we are to compare the way we take information for someone who donates to a political campaign in Canada versus the United States, I think we can rest assured that in Canada, we have a maximum donation of $1,700 for an individual. No corporations are allowed to donate in Canada, and we have a public registry that is updated on a regular basis by Elections Canada. I think, in Canad…
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Madam Speaker, I actually raised the hon. member for Nepean's testimony from the debate we had at second reading during the amendment process. We should do more to ensure that valid government identification is included in the registry, maybe not on the front end that the public can access, but making sure that our law enforcement agents can in fact review that information in a timely manner. Inde…
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Madam Speaker, indeed, the member raised some important points. I do not believe that any of the security officials who appeared at committee, in their limited time, referenced a correlation between this legislation and the invasion by Russia into Ukraine. I think what is important in this registry, as the lawyers from the Canadian Bar Association outlined in their information to the committee, is…
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moved: That Bill C-42 be amended by deleting the long title. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise on Bill C-42, an act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other acts. I outlined the amendment because we really did not study or work on too many other acts. Earlier last week, when we finally had time to debate this bill and study it exte…
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