Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce petition 451‑00919. More than 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt payments than they do on health or education. The petitioners are calling on the government to initiate a review of all bilateral debts held by Canada, to advocate in multilateral fora, such as the G7, the G20, the IMF and the World Bank, and to increase the grants portion of…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an awfully heavy day in the House today, when we are supposed to collectively be trying to bring peace and unity not only to Canada, but to the world. Hearing the heckling toward my hon. colleague is pretty darn embarrassing. Equally, though, I am darn proud of the member for standing up for what is right. What is not in the bill, or what is totally missing? What needs to be put…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague gave an impassioned and compassionate speech, and I understand the sacrifice that the gentleman has made as well. I was honoured to be with Corporal Bruce Moncur at a celebration of life at the Royal Canadian Legion earlier this year, and this past Saturday, I was honoured to be with Windsor's air force squadron for the cadets. Trying to look forward and trying to be wh…
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Madam Speaker, I will be very brief. I had the opportunity, I believe it was late last year or early this year, to celebrate Mr. Bruce Moncur with his family. How important is it that this motion go through today, to ensure that future generations will also support and protect Canada?
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the hon. member. I do have to smile a little, because at the end of the day, I cannot go back in good faith to the residents of Essex, look them in the eye and say that we are actually putting more taxes on them because it is the right thing to do. I cannot do that. None of us can do that. What we need to do is come up with common-sense solutions, such as t…
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Mr. Speaker, I have spoken at length, almost ad nauseam, with young adults in Essex. Basically, it has come to a point now where they are saying it is not even worth trying to save for a home. What I really found interesting was when the member talked about what we would say to the person at the gas pump. That really resonated with me. What is the message? What is the proper message? What do I sen…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member gets it. He really understands exactly what people are facing. I would suggest that the $20 he is speaking about should be $40, because the price of food at the grocery store has been affected because there is so much tax on fuel. People need the extra $20 to maybe buy some food that would not cost the same as the food we bought perhaps three, four or five years ago. Y…
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is just such an honour to serve the amazing, hard-working residents of Essex who have put their trust in me to be their voice in this very uncertain time. As I always say, I will continue to give all praise to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Without Him, nothing is possible. I want to say thanks so much to the amazing member for Prince Albert for his passion and his c…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question was very respectful. I believe all 343 members of Parliament can probably point to local stories in their own ridings about the cost of everything these days. One of my favourite things I love to do is spend time with my sons and, when their buddies come over after a day of fishing or perhaps a day of hunting, listen to their stories. They are not talking ab…
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Madam Speaker, I rise again to share what a resident in Essex wrote to me: “Just want to express my deep concerns with...the direction that Canada is heading. I did not think it could get worse than Trudeau”. My response is this. This costly credit card budget means more debt. The Liberal Prime Minister doubled Trudeau's deficit. There is more spending and there are more taxes. He is just another …
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Mr. Speaker, Saturday was a special day of celebration of an amazing woman, mentor and friend. Mrs. Pauline Robinet was my grade 5 teacher at St. John de Brebeuf school in Kingsville. She has been instrumental in my life journey. Stern but fair, passionate and compassionate, she strived to create best outcomes for her students. After I got a perfect report card, I wrote Mrs. Robinet a letter stati…
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Mr. Speaker, I received an email from a resident of Essex who said, “...the Prime Minister stated that life is becoming more affordable.... For many [Essex] residents, it does not feel like affordability has improved.” Instead, this Prime Minister has added $90 billion in new spending, driving up debt, costs and taxes for Canadians. He is just another Liberal. When will the Prime Minister rein in …
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is such an honour to be in the House to serve the amazing residents of Essex, and quite frankly, the region and the country. I have a couple of quick notes before I get into this very important conversation. I just want to thank the people who put on the National Prayer Breakfast today. In my speeches, I always thank my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This morning, every…
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Mr. Speaker, what I have seen is the escalation of 49,000 Chinese vehicles being brought onto Canadian soil, 49,000 more vehicles that are not being built in Windsor. We can bring $3 billion in for sure, but at the end of the day, why do we have 49,000 Chinese vehicles on our soil when we have the capacity, the know-how, the knowledge and the greatest skilled trades in the world to build them righ…
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the hard-working auto workers of Essex-Windsor, who build vehicles that keep North America moving. Living on Canada's busiest border crossing, I understand first-hand how deeply connected Canada and the U.S. are and how vital it is to strengthen the auto sector on both sides of the border. After 10 years of the Liberals in power, Canadian auto production has fa…
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Mr. Speaker, when the official opposition leader came to Windsor and made the announcement, I guess a week ago on Sunday, on the shop floor of a plant that actually produces the parts and the moulds for the auto industry, members of Unifor proudly stood behind him. We are going to continue to do the talks with the union reps and with the workers themselves on the shop floor. The conversation is no…
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Mr. Speaker, how do we support it? What we do not do is send $5,000 subsidies for electric vehicles to other countries, only to turn around and sell them back to Canadians who, quite frankly, cannot afford those vehicles. I was pretty black and white in my speech. We have to stop moving the goalposts on Canadian companies and start making sure they have the appropriate backstops to keep Canadian a…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague brings up some really good points in regard to all the subsidies for infrastructure that have been put in place. I believe they are around $53 billion. At the Stellantis plant in Windsor, there are great jobs, but it was designed to build electric vehicle batteries for vehicles, and today, it is not building them for vehicles. The government needs to really understan…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a fantastic question. At the end of the day, it is because Liberals do not get it. They are not on the shop floors. They are not seeing it for what it is. They are not suffering with the folks who are trying to figure out how they are going to pay their bills or put their kids into soccer this year. They do not understand. They are not in the middle of it. However, they can re…
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Mr. Speaker, the Essex-Windsor auto sector is not just assembly lines; it is mould-makers, tool shops, parts suppliers and automation firms. The Liberals promised to protect jobs, yet they are handing out money to America EV companies, importing Chinese EVs and costing thousands of families their livelihoods. EV policy was meant to protect workers. Will the Liberals stop forcing Canadian workers t…
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Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to stand in this place to represent the amazing folks of Essex. As always, I want to thank my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, without whom this is not possible. On behalf of the folks of Essex, yesterday was a really touching day here in the House, a moment of solidarity and thoughts and prayers for the Tumbler Ridge families, victims, survivors and the ones t…
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Mr. Speaker, 24,000 auto workers in Essex—Windsor are once again being asked to pay for the Liberals' failed patchwork EV policy. These are workers who did everything right. They built the strongest automotive ecosystems in North America, yet the government continues to ship Canadian dollars out of the country, sending a clear message to our workers that they are not good enough. The 49,000 Chines…
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Mr. Speaker, Essex has recently lost three amazing individuals. Sandy Repko was known and decorated for her tireless commitment to her community and her willingness to serve others. At the hockey rink or the basketball court, the council chambers or a fundraiser, Sandy was there with a smile, helping anyone who asked. Tomi Hulkkonen embodied what many of us strive to become. He was a loving husban…
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Mr. Speaker, as the holiday season quickly approaches, I reflect on so many amazing people and organizations in Essex that make Christmas a little easier, special, brighter and joyous for so many people in need. Essex is compassionate. Essex is generous. Essex truly cares. I am extremely thankful to represent a community committed to leaving the world a better place than we found it. Finally, I wa…
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to say quickly that I do substitute in at the transportation committee, and I have had many hours of listening to the Liberals filibuster this committee. One thing that really stood out to me was that my hon. colleague had mentioned that this is about life and death. All Conservatives have been trying to do, where we are studying Driver Inc., is to call witnesses to tell t…
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Mr. Chair, that was a great intervention. I give my hon. colleague a lot of credit. He works incredibly hard with our local union, and with all unions quite frankly, as the shadow minister for labour. My colleague spoke about 3,000 lost jobs in Brampton and 1,000 lost jobs in BrightDrop production. That is 4,000 jobs. What is he hearing on the ground, on the shop floor, from our unions?
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Mr. Chair, during my hon. colleague's intervention, he mentioned that he went to law school. He mentioned the importance of contracts and of actually reading contracts, and then he also mentioned the incompetence of the Liberals. I did not go to law school, but obviously my hon. colleague did. How important is it to read the contracts so we know exactly what is in them and so we can secure our wor…
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Mr. Chair, I know how hard my colleague has worked. He has met with people from numerous businesses in our area, and I know because I have been with him. Of course, I am equally passionate about our labour force, for sure, but without business, we have no labour force. How are the lack of certainty and the tariff threats affecting our tier two and tier three distributors in our auto sector?
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Mr. Chair, I do want to get back to the fact that electric vehicles are, quite frankly, not selling in Quebec. The number is 17.3%, but it is being pushed so hard to basically force people to purchase an electric vehicle, when the industry is screaming that it is not going to meet the mandates. Would my hon. colleague agree with me that the mandates will not be met and that they need to be lifted?…
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Mr. Chair, obviously, because I come to the House as the member for Essex, something very near and dear to my heart is the auto manufacturers. Quebec specifically has an EV mandate that requires 85% EVs by 2030 and 100% by 2035, though I did come to understand this afternoon that Quebec has now dropped that to 90% by 2035. However, the percentage of electric vehicles actually sold in Quebec is onl…
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Mr. Chair, first and foremost, I am the co-chair of the Conservative auto caucus, so I do understand a thing or two about auto. I also come from Essex, which is right next door to the busiest international border crossing in the world, where a part for one vehicle can go back and forth across the border seven to nine times before it is actually produced. To my understanding, there is no more autom…
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Madam Speaker, a 26-year-old, a 24-year-old, a 22-year-old and a four-and-a-half-year-old and their better halves make up my family, along with my wife. They all live with me, and by the way, they have very good-paying jobs. They cannot afford a home or to start a family, so they all live under my roof. It is probably my greatest gift, but, at the same time, any loving parent would want their chil…
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Mr. Speaker, food costs are rising 40% faster in Canada than in the United States, and families in Essex are feeling the pressure. My riding is one of Ontario's most productive agriculture regions, but after 10 years of a Liberal government, the Canadians who produce our food are struggling to pay for it. Farmers have been clear: Scrap the industrial carbon tax. Instead, the Liberals continue to d…
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Mr. Speaker, the thing that is probably most disappointing in the budget is the lack of help for our young adults, the adults who cannot afford a home, who are full of fear and anxiety. Quite frankly, they now have a belief system that nine out of 10 young adults will never be able to afford a home. We need to get rid of that belief system. I know my hon. colleague has an up-and-coming family as w…
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Mr. Speaker, the finance minister handed $10 billion to Stellantis to create 2,500 jobs in Windsor, but now it is threatening to ship 3,000 jobs from Brampton to the U.S. The Liberals have abandoned Canadian auto workers, who do not know how they will provide for their families and their futures. What job guarantees did the Liberals actually negotiate? If there is nothing to hide, why will they no…
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Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, it goes like this. I used to be the shadow minister for labour, and I met with many labour organizations for two years. I would suggest to the hon. member that the RCMP and the CBSA need a whole bunch of funding; they need a whole bunch of support and help. They are very upset and confused and need direction, and that has to come from the government.
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Mr. Speaker, I am so darn proud of the Essex and Windsor region and the Chatham-Kent region, but one thing I am not proud about is that we have the busiest corridor, from Windsor through to Montreal, of human trafficking. We need to do a whole lot more at our borders to protect our borders. That is not even talking about handguns, which, quite frankly, are the reason we have so much crime in Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, this is where I am at. I see veterans sitting on the streets of Windsor who do not have a home, do not have any food, have no place to live, have no clothes, quite frankly, but have served this country. We have to finally put Canada first. Regardless of wherever the asylum seekers need to go, what I am really focused on are the folks of southwestern Ontario and, of course, all Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise on behalf of the amazing folks of the riding of Essex. I will be sharing my time this morning with the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. I do not get a lot of opportunities to speak in the House because we have so many more Conservative members, but every time I do get a chance to speak, I always want to give all praise, honour and glory to our…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7 and the highest unemployment rate. There are 150 workers at the Stellantis plant in Essex-Windsor who have lost paycheques, and now we learn that investments of $10 billion are going to a U.S. battery plant. One day after the Prime Minister's trip to Washington, the Trump administration said that no auto deal is coming. Why is the Pri…
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Mr. Speaker, I received an email to my office recently. Part of it said that the person went to Kingsville to buy some apples and picked out six apples of average size. The price was $8.50 for six apples. They left the apples and left the store without making a purchase. The Prime Minister is another bait-and-switch Liberal with more broken promises. After half a year to bring down food prices and…
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Mr. Speaker, Essex is basically right next door to the busiest international border crossing in North America, and soon we are going to have a brand new bridge, called the Gordie Howe International Bridge. My question is this: How much collaboration was done with the CBSA officers? I have heard a lot about police departments, but the CBSA officers are ultimately the front line. The second part to …
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Madam Speaker, in a nutshell, one word is hope. There have been so many promises and such a lack of hope by the Liberals. We are really proud—
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Yes, she is a saint. Madam Speaker, I thank her for being there with me and thank my three amazing children. I thank my father Kim, who has taught me a lot along the way, and my late mom Helen, who I know is looking down. I also thank my amazing election team so much for all their hard work. I have one of the very best teams. Of course, I thank the amazing people of Essex, who have put their trust…
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the fine member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. This being the first substantial time I have spoken in the House, I would like to ask for a few moments to thank a bunch of people who made it happen. Number one, first and foremost, as always, is my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Without Him, I would not have the ability or opportunity to serve the great fol…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question. It puts a bit of a smile on my face, because, again, in the almost six years of representing the great folks of Essex, I saw time and time again the Conservatives stand here while the NDP and the Bloc propped up the Liberal government. Then when the NDP decided not to prop it up anymore and did not have enough folks, the Bloc propped it up. I find it a bit…
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Madam Speaker, I would ask the member to pardon me if I am a bit cautious. I have been around this place for five and a half years, and time and time again, what the Liberals have said has never come to fruition. I am happy to hear the bill is going to committee. I think that is fantastic. It should be debated; it should be discussed because there are great ideas on both sides of the table. Howeve…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for her very impassioned speech. I really loved the end of her speech, because she talked about doing what is right. I am a big believer in asking, "When nobody was looking, did you do the right thing?" We certainly know the right thing was not done. I know that folks back in Essex, in the Windsor region, have almost become accustomed to the government ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague from Windsor West. He is not only a colleague, but a riding neighbour. Much of what my colleague spoke about affects my riding as well. I appreciated that he said it would be really difficult for him to meet his constituents and say that we do not need to fight for $64 million. What kind of money would go toward projects if we continue to fight for thi…
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