Government Orders
Madam Speaker, today I rise on a topic of great concern to people in my community and to many Canadians from coast to coast. Perhaps no piece of legislation in this place has drawn as much public interest as Bill C-9. Combined, our offices have received tens of thousands of emails from concerned citizens opposed to the bill. The bill is about trust: who we trust with our beliefs, who we trust with…
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Madam Speaker, Canada's hate speech laws currently provide a defence against prosecutions for the wilful promotion of hatred where a person, in good faith, expresses an argument or opinion on a religious subject based on a belief found in a religious text. The defence applies only to that specific offence. It does not apply to advocating genocide or counselling violence or threats. It does not app…
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Madam Speaker, the member across the way is the one who has been fighting against mandatory minimums, so I do not see how he is going to want to be strengthening the laws. The Liberals created this problem, and the Conservatives have the solution. Removing the religious defence will not make Canadians safer. It will not stop repeat offenders. It will not stop violent criminals, and it will not sto…
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Mr. Speaker, that answer was so empty it echoed. Five members of the Women Veterans Council have resigned, citing red tape and zero action. Among them are survivors of military sexual trauma, women who stood for Canada and now feel dismissed. Why has the minister broken her promises, refused to act and completely abandoned these female veterans?
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is absolutely correct. Anti-Semitism is real, and Jewish communities deserve protection, but the Criminal Code already provides that. A lawyer the Liberals themselves brought to committee said Bill C-9 would not criminalize anything that is not already illegal. The real conversation is about why existing hate crime laws are not being enforced consistently. We agree on t…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs unanimously tabled a pivotal report, “Invisible No More. The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans”. That title means something only because more than 50 women made it true. They sat before committee and relived military sexual trauma, wounds inflicted, at times by the very people who were supposed to stand beside them. They k…
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Mr. Speaker, September has always felt like a month of beginnings. The quiet of summer gives way to something busier and more purposeful. In Cambridge and North Dumfries, where I am from, we feel a shift. There is a particular energy to September that other months do not quite carry, a sense that something is being picked up and continued. Therefore, when I look at Bill S‑210, a Senate bill now at…
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Mr. Speaker, the government thinks it can fix the chaos it created by rushing legislation and shutting down debate. I am hearing directly from survivors, women who have faced repeat violent offenders, and they are asking for stronger protections, not weaker laws. Organized crime has taken over, as criminals know there are no real consequences. There are real amendments that need to be made to bett…
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Mr. Speaker, they did not treat being Ukrainian and being Canadian as separate identities. They recognize that being one deepened what it meant to be the other. They held on to their language, their faith and their traditions, while also becoming some of the most committed Canadians this country has ever seen. They knew that they could love where they came from and love where they were. Canadians …
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Madam Speaker, to restore housing affordability in Canada, we will have to double housing construction across the country, adding more than 200,000 units each year for the next decade. Build Canada Homes will hardly scratch the surface, building only a few thousand units a year at best. Since the inception of Build Canada Homes last September, demand for shelter space has risen dramatically, and t…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are not living in the past. They are living through a housing crisis that has worsened dramatically over the past 10 years. Under the government, Canada has experienced rising costs, declining affordability and the most severe housing pressures we have seen in a generation. What once was a challenge has now become a full-blown housing catastrophe. The consequences are very…
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Madam Speaker, I do not disagree with the member. Seniors should be able to live out the rest of their life with dignity. After 10 years of the Liberal government, housing has become less, not more, affordable. What once was a crisis is now a catastrophe. We see the consequences every day. Shelters are at capacity. There are long wait-lists. Shelters are no place for anyone, families, children or …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask for unanimous consent to split my time with the member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge.
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Madam Speaker, it is true that we need to have greater dignity expectations. The examples I raised of seniors and women who tried to leave dangerous situations are not isolated cases. They are clear indicators of a system that is under serious strain. When housing supply is this tight, the people who feel it first are often the most vulnerable, and—
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Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill C‑20 with deep concern for the families in my community who are watching this housing crisis unfold before their eyes. In Cambridge, I have witnessed what the government struggles to acknowledge. What we are navigating is no longer a housing crisis; it is a housing catastrophe. Rebranding existing projects does not build homes. Let me tell the House about an …
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Mr. Speaker, that minister's cherry-picking skills would put even the best fruit farmer to shame. Over 100,000 jobs have been lost since the beginning of the year, and business investment has declined for five straight quarters, but the Liberal government pretends that everything is fine. Families in my community have real questions about how they are going to make ends meet, put food on the table…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is now the only G7 economy in a recession. It might be big news to the bankers and bureaucrats in Ottawa, but in my community, the warning lights have been flashing for months. The Cambridge Food Bank reports that hundreds of people with full-time jobs are using their services every month. These Liberals lecture hungry people about so-called global factors, but France, Germany,…
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Mr. Speaker, the bill would allow ministers to hand out sole-source contracts to insider friends without competition. I am wondering if the member agrees that if there is no clear mechanism to hold ministers accountable when decisions go wrong, this is effectively granting immunity from consequences.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, there are moments in this place when we speak about policy and there are moments when we speak about people. Today, as I rise to address Bill C-222, also known as Evan's law, I am speaking about both. I am mostly speaking about love, about loss and about what happens when the two collide in ways that change a family forever. With love, the heart is full. With grief, the heart is heavy…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal minister just told Canadians to feel safer because they proposed a band-aid for a system they broke. Canadians do not need another paper promise. They need to be safe in their own homes. The Liberal government's soft-on-crime laws let repeat offenders walk free and come right back through Canadians' front doors. Police are forced to arrest the same offenders again and agai…
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Mr. Speaker, one year ago, Canadians did not feel safe on their own streets. After a year of the same old Liberal government, they are now afraid in their own homes. In Cambridge, people are being attacked where they sleep. A 60-year-old senior was assaulted in his own home. A homeowner had his wallet taken while the offenders also tried to steal his car. In the middle of the night, a woman was se…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's remarks on this issue and the broader concern around private property rights. Could my colleague speak further to how government delay and unclear action on property rights risks setting a precedent nationwide and what that does to public trust when Canadians want certainty that their homes truly belong to them?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my colleague, the member for Kildonan—St. Paul, for bringing forward this exceptionally important bill. She has done meaningful work on this issue, including sponsoring a petition that garnered over 7,300 signatures. This legislation represents another step forward in responding to a very real and growing concern facing Canadians. Bill C-263, the silver ale…
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Mr. Speaker, today Parliament opened with the words “freedom, opportunity and peace”, something we all get to enjoy. We are enjoying that because of the veterans and those who continue to fight for us and for all Canadians, and now they are asking us to help them, protect them and speak on behalf of their voices. Why is the government shutting down their voices and closing debate with its manufact…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question is an important one. What I keep coming back to, and what should matter to all of us, is what veterans and survivors have been telling us. Some had the courage to appear before committee, which is hard enough to do on its own. Others have shared their experiences in different ways. In every case, they did so because they believed their voices would matter here.…
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Mr. Speaker, choice is putting the empowerment back in the hands of the victims. At the heart of the bill is a very simple issue, choice for victims. Survivors who appeared before the committee were clear: They want the ability to decide whether their case proceeds to the military justice system or to the civilian justice system, based on where they feel safest, best supported and most likely to b…
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Mr. Speaker, the amendments that were proposed at committee reflected what the survivors were saying. We need to respect their voices and ensure that those who serve are protected, the same way we expect them to protect us during wars. Conservatives will always stand up in support of this choice. It is the victims who can decide where they would like their case to be heard, not the government.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really hard to determine what is going on here, since the government now has its manufactured majority. The Arbour report has been an important part of this discussion, but it should not be treated as the final word. Madam Justice Arbour was invited to appear before committee so members could ask questions and examine her recommendations in light of today's reality, but that did…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today, on behalf of the people of Cambridge, with a deep sense of responsibility to those who have served and those who continue to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. These are men and women who have committed their lives to protecting our freedom and preserving peace, often at great personal cost. When they raise their right hand to serve our country, they deserve to know tha…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians were promised restraint. Instead, they got more Liberal overspending, more debt, higher costs and more of the same. The Prime Minister did not change course from Justin Trudeau. He doubled down, doubling the deficit and, according to the independent budget watchdog, sending nearly two-thirds of new spending into day-to-day operations and a growing bureaucracy, not real inves…
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Mr. Speaker, as a new member here, I came to realize very quickly that committees are the workhorse for Parliament. I fear that the government is using majority to shut down debate on controversial legislation, something where Canadians might lose their voice. As well, committees are a place for transparency and accountability. I am just wondering if speed is now more important than scrutiny when …
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Mr. Speaker, I will begin by thanking my colleague, the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Bringing forward legislation like this requires a willingness to engage directly with painful realities and to carry the weight of a story that no family should ever have to live through. The care and seriousness with which this bill has been developed shows a genuine commitment to protecting women and ens…
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Mr. Speaker, in my community, the one question I get from people is this: How are we going to keep accountability and transparency alive in government? The election has happened, and a lot of members ran their election campaigns on accountability and transparency. If there is a change of this order to committees, adding two more members of the government to committees, I wonder how that would not …
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Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Galt Legion, a milestone that reminds us that remembrance does not happen on its own. It endures because individuals choose to carry it forward. In my community of Cambridge, Bill Albers is one of those individuals. Bill has devoted his time and energy to ensuring that important but often overlooked aspects of our wartime history are not lo…
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Mr. Speaker, just one year ago, the Prime Minister was telling everybody who would listen that he would get a trade deal with the Americans by last July. He set the deadline. He made that commitment. Now, the Prime Minister has surrendered as tariffs on steel have doubled, tariffs on lumber have tripled, and the tariffs on manufacturers got bigger. The workers and job creators in my community now …
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Mr. Speaker, this bill has a lot in it to support, but how can Canadians have confidence in the assurances within this bill when the government is actively using committee procedures to block the finance minister from appearing for transparency and accountability?
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Mr. Speaker, after a decade of Liberal policy, Canadians are not just stretched; they are falling behind. New data shows that 61% of Canadians feel financial whiplash from economic instability, 74% say rising costs for essentials are straining their finances, and 43% are just $200 away from insolvency each month. One senior told me she needs just $100 more a month to avoid the food bank, but even …
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Mr. Speaker, I will keep it short and quick. There have been a lot of concerns about government interfering with personal information and data, and it is losing a lot of confidence. My colleague highlighted the heightened impact on rural communities. I am wondering what the member believes is needed to ensure that Canadians in those communities have confidence in how these powers of government are…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's auto industry is in crisis. Since the Liberal government took office, production is down 50%, exports are down 50%, and thousands of jobs are gone. The Liberal Prime Minister thinks we should surrender, but Conservatives say we should act. We put forward a new auto pact, with real solutions to make it easier to build and buy Canadian, restore free trade and protect blue-colla…
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Mr. Speaker, every G7 country faces global headwinds, yet only one is choosing to make inflation worse through domestic policy. Canada now leads the G7 in food price inflation, carries the only shrinking G7 economy and faces fuel costs nearly 20% higher than the United States, because the Liberal government is adding an industrial carbon tax and a fuel standard tax that will reach 17¢ per litre. I…
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Mr. Speaker, Unifor has been approaching a lot of members of Parliament, and its theme has been, “Buy Canadian, sell here and build here.” That is our policy. Why does my colleague think the Liberals are fighting it?
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Mr. Speaker, copper theft is not an innocent crime. When vandals target essential infrastructure such as cell towers and power transformers, they are not just breaking the law; they are also putting human lives at risk. Copper theft literally leaves people in the dark and stranded when they need help the most. Last year in the Cambridge area alone, there were at least 15 cell service outages linke…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the response from the member opposite, but there is more we can be doing. With Bell Canada designating Cambridge as a hot spot for copper theft, it is a real and ongoing risk for people in my community who depend on reliable power and cell service, especially during emergencies. The experts are clear: We need tougher penalties for thieves and vandals, deterrence for repea…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the citizens of Cambridge. I am still getting numerous calls and emails from hundreds of people. They are calling on the Government of Canada to withdraw Bill C-9 and to protect religious freedoms, uphold the right to read and share sacred texts, and prevent government intrusion into their faith.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-271, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (scrap metal trafficking and essential infrastructure protection). Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to introduce my private member's bill, the protecting Canada's essential infrastructure metals act. This legislation would take concrete steps to crack down on out-of-control metal theft and vandalism in communities across the c…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of Bill C-246, the ending sentence reductions for sexual predators act, which is legislation rooted in dignity, accountability and respect for people who have survived sexual violence. Sexual crimes are among the most serious violations a person can experience. The harm reaches far beyond the moment of the offence. The effect goes beyond the physical. …
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Mr. Speaker, a community member wrote to me about what they are seeing every day. They are seeing frail seniors standing outside grocery stores begging for help and Canadians lining up at food banks after a lifetime of work. The National Institute on Ageing states that one in five Canadians over 50 is now living at the poverty line. Many cannot afford groceries, heating their homes, essential good…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today on behalf of the citizens of Cambridge, who are asking that Bill C-9 be withdrawn to protect religious freedoms, uphold the right to read and share sacred texts and prevent government intrusion into their faith.
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Mr. Speaker, I have received petitions from thousands of people in my community of Cambridge who are deeply concerned about Bill C-9. It is not misinformation when Canadians took the time to write, call and sign petitions because they want their voices heard in this place, yet today the government is not only advancing legislation that many believe threatens freedom of expression and religious fre…
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Mr. Speaker, in recognition of International Women's Day, I rise to speak not only as a member of Parliament but as a mother to two daughters and a grandmother to five granddaughters. Watching the women in my family grow has taught me that strength does not look the same in every season of life. Sometimes it is bold and confident. At other times, it is quiet, steady and carried through long days a…
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