Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is important to know whether the Bloc Québécois plans to vote for or against the government and the bill. The Bloc Québécois member has a choice. She must decide whether the budget and the Prime Minister are acceptable and balanced for Canadians. It is important to note that the Conservative Party is voting against the government. We do not trust the Prime Minister or the Ministe…
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Madam Speaker, I have been around this place long enough to see a clear pattern of what a Liberal budget is, as well as the Liberals' omnibus budget implementation acts, which, of course, they promised not to use. One might ask what exactly is the pattern of a Liberal budget. We have to go back to 2015 for a moment. What happened in 2015 is that the Prime Minister promised three years of so-called…
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Madam Speaker, I will let Canadians judge the content and the conduct of that member. He cannot even get the parties' correct names in this room, so I do not know if they will trust him with details. When it comes to a prime minister's security detail, it is the RCMP that makes the decision on what security is appropriate. I believe that it is important for a prime minister to remain safe and secu…
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Madam Speaker, I am happy the member from the NDP raised the subject of choices and what is worthy of support. I spoke to a constituent who could not believe that the NDP supported the budget implementation act last year, because it made big changes to natural health products and their regulations. They cannot understand why the NDP would support the Minister of Health to put in place a regime tha…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite says that there is the fanning of flames, or whatnot, or disinformation, but I think this is a chamber where we hold each other in some esteem. If he wants to note a particular subject and to make an allegation against the leader of the official opposition, we are all here to debate the actual bill and not to cast aspersions on each other's character. If he wants…
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With regard to the granting of government security clearances between January 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024: (a) how many individuals (i) applied for, (ii) were denied (not as a result of retirement or resignation), security clearances; (b) of the denials in (a), how many were due to the individual spying or otherwise acting on behalf of a foreign government; and (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and …
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With regard to the First Home Savings Account (FHSA): (a) how many accounts are currently active; (b) what is the total cumulative amount held in all accounts; (c) what is the average and median account balance; (d) how many accounts have a balance of over (i) $1,000, (ii) $5,000, (iii) $10,000, (iv) $20,000, in them; and (e) what is the breakdown of the number of FHSA accounts by the owner's inco…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to this legislation, I believe there should be more debate on it because it is a wider bill. Right now, it takes about seven years for an oncology drug to be approved in Canada. That is partly because of the many processes it has to go through at Health Canada and through a provincial group that discusses drugs, etc. This would add to that, so we need to have more conver…
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With regard to expenditures made under object code 3252 (Interest, administration or service charges, and other penalty charges), broken down by department, agency, or other government entity for each of the last five years: (a) how many expenditures were made; (b) what was the total value of the expenditures; and (c) what are the details of each such expenditure over $500, including, for each, th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our jet-setting Prime Minister has begun his summer luxury tour early, blowing through Philadelphia with his usual all-expenses-paid five-star hotels and all the food and alcohol his entourage can take. After nine years of an NDP-Liberal government, most Canadians can hardly afford a summer road trip. Will the Prime Minister adopt our common-sense plan to put $682 in the pockets of Br…
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Mr. Speaker, that rhetoric will not put money in the back pockets of British Columbians, and while the cost of the jet-setting Prime Minister's summer luxury tours and vacation soars, his carbon taxes and gas taxes are driving Canadians nose first into the ground. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Canadians are struggling to afford a simple road trip. Our Conservative common-sense plan is …
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Madam Speaker, a lot of that spending does not kick in until after the next election, so I do not think that promise is worth the paper the minister has written on. This week, the Bank of Canada warned, “Higher debt-servicing costs reduce a household’s financial flexibility, making them more financially vulnerable if their income declines or they face an unexpected material expense.” Considering t…
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Madam Speaker, after nine years of this speNDP-Liberal government, finding an affordable rental is only getting harder. Despite its record spending, a new report says that rents in Canada increased 9.3% annually in April. It has gotten so bad that people's only choice when seeking an affordable rental is to laugh or cry. Given the dire situation of these renters, could the Minister of Housing plea…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Canada put this out yesterday: “Higher debt-servicing costs reduce a household’s financial flexibility, making them more financially vulnerable if their income declines or they face an unexpected material expense.” I have talked about all the billions of dollars that the government does not have and that it has been borrowing and spending. Could the member opposite please …
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Mr. Speaker, I have to say it seems a bit surreal to be here tonight debating Bill C-59. In a way, it reminds me of the movie Back to the Future, because we are going back to the Liberals' fall mini-budget of last year with the hindsight of knowing what we know today because of the Liberals' recently introduced and massively failed budget 2024 document. What did they call that budget again? Was it…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly commend that member for continually getting up on the issue of affordability. In fact, when I was on the finance committee, we had a former premier of Nunavut come and discuss concerns around the carbon tax, specifically how, in Nunavut, the Nunavut government was essentially subsidizing much of the diesel that supplied power for people to keep themselves warm during the w…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the member's contribution tonight. Barrie—Innisfil is very lucky to have him. What I would say is that we had the member from Calgary Skyview specifically talk about two areas. Number one was the tax-free savings program for young people. When I speak to young people, they have no savings. They do not have $8,000 to tuck away for a home some day. When they hear …
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. I will inform the House that I will be splitting my time with the incredible member of Parliament for Prince Albert. I have been around this place long enough to see a clear pattern of what a Liberal budget is. What exactly is the pattern of a Liberal budget? We have to go back to 2015 for a m…
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Madam Speaker, that is a great question. In many rural parts of my riding, from places such as Merritt, B.C., which we all know is still trying to rebuild from some of the floods that happened a few years ago, to places like Hedley, I continue to get reports about the so-called drug legalization program, where people are allowed to consume hard drugs, crack, heroin, etc. on the streets. There are …
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Mr. Speaker, I do not support any initiative of the Liberal government, because the government will do whatever it takes to stay in power. If the member is so confident that particular deal is going to be so great for every Canadian, why has the government not brought up the business case? Why has it not shown us the contracts? The latest Liberal budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year proposes to spen…
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Mr. Speaker, there is a synergy between the Liberal Party and the NDP, where they are constantly trying to outbid each other for who can be more relevant. The problem is that they are constantly asking for a new national priority, when the federal government has zero experience in doing something. In my area of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, when I was the United Way chair, there was a great…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines the word “wacko” as “crazy; not sensible”. To many people in British Columbia, what is happening in our beaches, neighbourhoods, parks, playgrounds, coffee shops and even in our hospitals is truly wacko, because the Prime Minister and NDP Premier David Eby have surrendered our most precious public spaces to illegal drug dealers. This is…
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Madam Speaker, I want to ask my fellow British Columbian about the Canadian disability benefit he talked about. First of all, Bill C-22, which was the enabling legislation, simply delegated to the minister responsible, so the minister could introduce regulations that would define who was considered disabled, who would be eligible and for what amounts. Here we are, and the government is now saying …
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Madam Speaker, as a member from British Columbia, I want to let you know that I support you in your role and believe you can run the House as Speaker and do not need multiple reminders from other members from British Columbia.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to point out that military-style weapons are only used by the military. I have no idea what the member is talking about when it comes to that. One thing we absolutely do not support is the budget provisions around safe supply in British Columbia. The Government of British Columbia came to Ottawa to ask for changes to that particular agreement. Conservative…
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Madam Speaker, in my province of British Columbia, we are sending cancer patients for therapy to the United States. Does the member have concerns about provinces sending people to the American system? The Minister of Health has said that we do not want to go to the United States' system, yet our public health care system in British Columbia is sending patients to the United States. Here we are, ta…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, we know that the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government are not worth the cost. His recent spending spree is inflationary and makes everything worse, adding billions to the debt. This year alone, the Liberals will throw $52 billion towards debt servicing. That is more than is allocated to the provinces for health care. Does the Prime Minister not see that his…
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These are spendy ways, Mr. Speaker. David Dodge said that this was likely to be the worst budget since 1982. Who was prime minister then? How out of control was that budget? How broke did Canada and Canadians become before Pierre Elliott Trudeau finally took his walk in the snow? The more things change— With two million visits to food banks in a single month, is it not clear that Canadians are des…
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Madam Speaker, the government always talks about supporting union jobs and supporting a transition. I would like to ask the member opposite about this. The oil sands and the potential for LNG could create the capital necessary to give opportunities not only to first nations but also to unions and workers to be able to grow a stronger economy, export, bring dollars from outside of Canada and suppor…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's contribution. Often when people come to this place, they try to either build up the government or build up Parliament. The proposed bill, obviously, would be building up Parliament. He talked about education, and I know there is a lot of confusion around oversight and review. To me, the bill really would create a floor, not a ceiling, as to how much. It is us…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. The member mentioned the importance of maintaining our democratic institutions. We have a choice in this place, and I am happy to see co-operation across both sides of the House when someone is seeking to not give the information that was asked for and, in some cases, has fabricated …
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Mr. Speaker, before I get into my question of privilege today, I just wanted to pass my condolences on to the family of the honourable John Fraser, a former Speaker of the House and B.C. member of Parliament who served honourably for both the Clark and Mulroney governments. I send my best to his family and friends. I rise on a question of privilege to address what I believe is a matter of fundamen…
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Madam Speaker, the member acknowledged that he is not to use names, but there was no apology, and he simply carried on. It had the same effect. By naming a member's full name and not their title, he essentially got to do indirectly what he could not do directly.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Housing Accelerator Fund, broken down by year, by province or territory, and by type of end user (market housing developer, non-profit housing developer, municipality), between fiscal years 2017-18 and 2027-28: (a) how much funding has been allocated to the program; (b) how much funding has been committed; (c) how much funding has been transferred to the recipients; (d) how many…
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With regard to the Federal Land Initiative, broken down by year, by province or territory, and by type of end user (market housing developer, non-profit housing developer, municipality), between fiscal years 2017-18 and 2027-28: (a) how much funding has been allocated to the program; (b) how much funding has been committed; (c) how much funding has been transferred to the recipients; (d) how many …
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Mr. Speaker, during debate today, there were multiple references to my great province of British Columbia. I would ask for unanimous consent to table this letter from the—
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With regard to March Madness expenditures where government managers make extra purchases in an attempt to spend their entire budget allotment before the end of the fiscal year: what specific measures, if any, are in place to prevent or discourage such spending ahead of the end of the 2023-2024 fiscal year, broken down by the measure that each department or agency is taking?
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Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the member's intervention on this important debate on Bill C-38. Obviously, a number of inequities existed after various governments brought forward legislation. That has, unfortunately, hit upon many of the individuals that this legislation tries to target. I know this particular member has worked very hard with indigenous leaders, community members and indiv…
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Mr. Speaker, on the topic of Bill C-38, the department estimates that around 3,500 individuals would be enfranchised. That ultimately means that any financial costs of integrating them would be put onto Indian bands. Section 10 bands have the autonomy to determine membership. Therefore, an individual would be able to obtain status from the Indian register after Bill C-38's passage. However, that l…
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Mr. Speaker, I totally disagree with the categorization the member opposite made of when we had the president of PHAC here. I was here, as were other members, and it is untrue that it was not done in a proper format. Parliament is a place that needs to be respected as an institution. I believe we should be able to get answers. Does the member believe firmly we should get answers in the most direct…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, more and more British Columbians are lining up at food banks. That is not baloney. The fact that many cannot afford to drive with $1.99-a-litre gas is not baloney either. What is also not baloney is on page 75 of B.C.'s 2024 budget, where the provincial government blames the Prime Minister for forcing a 23% carbon tax hike on April 1. W…
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With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, broken down by year since 2020: (a) how many newcomers came to Canada; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by status (i.e. permanent or temporary); (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by industry and occupation; and (d) what is the breakdown of (c) by how many newcomers are currently working in that industry and occupation versus how m…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the member's intervention on this issue. This is from a B.C. CTV news story that reads, “Our initial study intended to only interview low-income women who were single moms accessing those $10-per-day spots,” said Dr. Lea Caragata, director of the school of social work at UBC and co-author of the study. “After six months of intensive recruitment, we could only fi…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all Canadians who have helped take in Ukrainian families fleeing the illegal invasion of their homeland. This support comes from so many individuals, families, churches, community groups and local businesses that have put aside their own challenges in order to help out. The generosity we have seen has been amazing, with donations, housing and offers of work. People hav…
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Madam Speaker, the member in his speech today questioned the government's judgment on a lot of these issues. As a long-standing member of this place, I was hoping he would comment a bit further, because it seems to me that the Liberal government in particular somehow believes that if we create a law that changes the way institutions such as our health care system work, and there are not sufficient…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for sharing his experiences. I am a big fan of the Yiddish proverbs that he says, so maybe he has one he can share in addition to the one he shared already. Getting back to the subject at hand, I worry most that there was an amendment put to the legislation that would basically allow for an expansion of medical assistance in dying to persons with mental diso…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to our critic for justice. He has done yeoman service on committee and in this place on this subject, and I know it is very dear to him—
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Mr. Speaker, I move that given, after eight years of the Prime Minister, housing costs have doubled, that the CMHC itself admits that housing starts have—
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Kelowna is in housing hell. Rents have doubled and mortgage payments have tripled. Tent cities and long lineups at food banks are now commonplace. The housing minister touts investing millions in Kelowna through his housing accelerator fund, or HAF. Can the minister please share specifically how many homes in Kelowna, funded by last Oct…
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Mr. Speaker, they cannot give a number because they did not require it. Kelowna's HAF action plan only refers to “investments in affordable housing such as land acquisition, investments in housing-related infrastructure such as sewer and water, and investments in community-related infrastructure that supports housing such as sidewalks, bridges and bike lanes”. Does the parliamentary secretary unde…
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