Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to bring the voices of Chatham-Kent—Leamington to this chamber. I am pleased to add my support to Bill C-222. I want to add some context. This issue has been around the chamber for some time, and I want to add my acknowledgement to the work put into this by my former colleague, the member for Banff—Airdrie, who put forward Motion No. 110 in a previous Parliamen…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Calgary Nose Hill for the passion and knowledge she brings to this debate. My question is, why? There is so much value to Canadian citizenship that is recognized around the world. Why does the government want to cheapen it?
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for making that speech and for bringing the bill forward. It is going to allow me to raise my son's name: Brenton. I spent 31 days in the NICU, 37 years ago. He did not make it.
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Mr. Speaker, the member across the way stated that this side of the House supported a moratorium on immigration, which is patently misleading. What we have stated is that the non-partisan consensus on immigration has been broken by the government. For 30-plus years, between 300,000 and 500,000 people came to Canada and valued this country, and that number bounced around because of economic circums…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by many Ukrainian Canadians who support fellow community members who fled Ukraine following Russia's brutal aggression in their journey to become permanent residents. Since 2023, under the watch of the Liberal government, the family reunification pathway for Ukrainians has seen an abysmal approval rate of just 1.6%. Fewer than 400 of the more than 2…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians with mental illness should be provided with treatment and support. Mental illness is a complex that can include suicidal thoughts as a symptom. The lives of many Canadians with mental illness are at risk when they are eligible for medical assistance in dying. Therefore, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada call upon the House to support Bill C-218, which would re…
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Mr. Speaker, finally, I present, on behalf of the citizens of Canada, a petition on religious charities. They play a significant role in the charitable sector and in the life of our country. More than 30,000 charities fall under the purpose “advancement of religion”, roughly 42% of the charitable sector. These religious communities foster vibrant social networks, mobilize outreach, spark local vol…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech, but I take no joy in it. I take no joy in us, as the opposition, having to bring this motion before this chamber. My question is, why? Why is the Prime Minister taking this country to the precipice? He comes from the private sector. He has personal wealth. Is he not hurting himself by bringing these disastrous policies to ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I will discount the first option, because that is another unneeded layer when the mechanisms exist. As I outlined in my first response to my colleague across the way, the ministers have this authority. The Auditor General has already done the job, and I can list the six audits that have been provided. Why can the minister not empower and direct the departments to implement? That accou…
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Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my speech, we are not opposed to oversight. We are not opposed to the effective functioning of government. We will see, on October 35, what exactly the state of our nation's finances are in. Additional spending that does not lead to meaningful outcomes for the benefit of Canadians in both indigenous and non-indigenous communities does not perform anything other than add…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege to bring the voices of Chatham-Kent—Leamington to this place. I rise today to speak to Bill C-10, an act respecting the commissioner for modern treaty implementation. While the Liberal government claims this bill would improve accountability and help with reconciliation, my Conservative colleagues and I must oppose it. Let me very clear from the outset. Conser…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member. I know that his heart is in first nations communities and indeed all of Canada. The Conservatives support accountability. They support oversight. In fact, we go through an exercise here on a daily basis at two o'clock where we hold the government to account. That is part of our democratic process. The process of implementation and holding the government to …
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Mr. Speaker, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, let us reflect on some of the costs of the staples of the season: Apples are up 13%, sweet potatoes are up 8%, and chicken is up 10%. These increases are a direct result of the government's hidden food taxes: the industrial carbon tax, fuel standards regulations, the plastics ban and, especially, inflationary deficits. Given these costs, what …
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Madam Speaker, let me explain taxes to the people across the way. The consumer carbon tax was designed to raise the price and discourage use. Why do the Liberals not understand that, when they applied four more taxes to food, the prices would rise? They have applied the inflation tax from deficit-inducing margins and the industrial buried carbon tax. What else have they done? They have added a cle…
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Madam Speaker, what grade should we apply to the following statements? The average family of four is expected to spend over $800 more on food this year. Some 61% of Canadians fear that they will not be able to afford groceries in six months. Poverty and food insecurity have risen 40% in the past two years. Saddest of all, there were two million visits to food banks in 2023, with four million visit…
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Mr. Speaker, what I believe is that Canadians were paying 3.4% more for their food this past year. Inflation is rising, that is what we are talking about, and it is because of government policies. That is what our opposition day motion is about. That is what we are trying to hold the government to account on. Not only that, but we are proposing solutions for it, and we are asking for the waste and…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to bring the voices of Chatham-Kent—Leamington to this chamber. On food and food security, governments around the world have the desire and, indeed, the responsibility to ensure that their citizens can afford food. What has an impact on the price of food? There are obviously many things: weather, the cost of inputs, trade wars, government policy and many …
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Mr. Speaker, I will state upfront that I do not know what the government is going to do. I can see what it has done so far, and it is obviously not working. As I said in my comments, what we need to do, what the responsibility of government is, is to create the climate for the market to work, to drive innovation, to drive competition and to drive prices lower while maintaining profitability throug…
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Mr. Speaker, regulation is not a bad word. Regulation is necessary. The point is that we need efficient regulation. We need an economic lens that is applied to regulatory structures so that we balance food safety with a proper response so that markets can function. Specifically, within the agri-food committee right now, we are looking at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. We are looking at the P…
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Mr. Speaker, what gives is that food inflation this past August was 3.4%. What we are talking about today is the price of food and Canadians having access to safe and affordable food. What we are talking about is inflation. That is what Canadians are concerned about, not what is perhaps on or off a website. Canadians are not looking for that every day, but they are going to the grocery store and t…
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Mr. Speaker, as members rose and gave our first speeches in this place, we thanked our families and our volunteers for helping us get here. Now, as we carry out our legislative agenda, we rely on others to help us carry out our work. They do not often get the recognition they deserve. They are our staff. On June 30, Cheri Elliott will retire after nearly 20 years of tireless service to our Conserv…
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Madam Speaker, I want to welcome my colleague to the chamber. I, too, come from the private sector. On the subject of light bulbs, the government of Ontario did not ban incandescent light bulbs. To the member opposite, what it did was put a target out there. We met yesterday, and a year ago actually, with global and domestic automakers, and they said to give them targets. They are not opposed, and…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to say that the new Prime Minister has introduced something new, and I wonder what my colleague thinks of it. He has proclaimed that he is going to account for things differently. He is going to separate spending into two categories, operational and capital. My colleague referenced the deficits that have been announced, the deficits that are projected out for the next three…
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Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time that you have acknowledged me, I want to say you look good in that chair. I want to congratulate the member across the way for his impassioned speech about how the Liberal government knows better than Canadians know about what they should be doing with their futures. Is it the intention of the government to expand this mandate to tractors? I come from the far…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome to the chamber my colleague across the way as a new colleague. The new Prime Minister, as the party wants him to be known, has also introduced the concept of new accounting. With all the measures that the member outlined in her speech, what would be her rationale for the thought that the government should now split the main estimates and the record of debt into two s…
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Mr. Speaker, through questioning Liberal ministers last week, we know they had no clue why $64 million was paid to GC Strategies for work not done. The Auditor General found the following: security requirements were not enforced, contract monitoring policies were ignored, procurement policies were not followed and deliverables were not confirmed before payment. The Liberal ministers responsible fo…
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Mr. Chair, Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio has risen from 2014's 80.5% to 110.8% in 2024, the largest increase in the G7. When does the minister project a balanced budget?
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Mr. Chair, the Prime Minister has stated he is going to report operating expenditures and capital expenditures separately. Why?
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Mr. Chair, that is an excellent answer. I will come back to that. Where would one find in the main estimates how much money flowed to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission?
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Mr. Chair, does the minister want to capture potential differential interest rate savings between capital and operational financing?
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Mr. Chair, that was a very specific question. Is the minister capturing differential interest rate savings?
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Mr. Chair, given what we have witnessed here tonight, where should Canadians get the confidence that Canada will maintain its AAA rating?
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Mr. Chair, public debt-servicing charges are forecast to increase from this year's $46.7 billion to $49.2 billion, then up to $55 billion by 2029. Are these projections based on a stable interest rate?
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Mr. Chair, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission is binationally funded through your treasury. Are you aware of it?
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Mr. Chair, the Liberals say they want to supercharge our economy, yet they are responsible for continued trade irritants with the Americans. Is the minister aware of the existence for 70 years of the binationally governed and binationally funded Great Lakes Fishery Commission?
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Mr. Chair, will interest rates ever rise again?
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Mr. Chair, is the minister aware of the internationally governed and internationally funded International Joint Commission?
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Mr. Chair, the answer is we cannot find it in the main estimates. We can find, however, on one line, the International Joint Commission because it flows through the Global Affairs budget. Does the minister agree, supported by independent legal opinion, that flowing funds from the Canadian treasury through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the fishery commission and then having the Departme…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as this is my first substantive opportunity to rise in this Parliament, I want to thank the residents of Chatham-Kent—Leamington for the honour once again. By population, it is now the second-largest riding in Canada, and summer in Chatham-Kent—Leamington is a special experience. Whether camping and boating on Lake St. Clair in Mitchell's Bay or frequenting the beaches and birdwatchin…
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Mr. Speaker, with the extended prorogation period and then an election campaign, I found myself missing some things about this place, and other things not so much. Earlier in the day, there was a 20-minute intervention by my friend, the member for Winnipeg North. I did listen to his intervention, and I gathered from those 20 minutes that the Liberal Party supported the consumer-facing carbon tax w…
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Madam Speaker, it is good to see you in the chair. As this is my first time rising in this chamber, I thank the constituents of Chatham-Kent—Leamington for allowing me this opportunity. As someone of Mennonite faith and heritage, I want to thank the member across the way for his references to the New Hamburg sale, the community and the community spirit. In fact, if someone in my community wanted a…
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Mr. Speaker, the issue of why it should retain so much control was actually raised by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, because it claimed it had a lot of influence on exactly the question that my hon. colleague from the Bloc raised. The reality is that the setting of fish quotas and access is a provincial jurisdiction and not done by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have both received that award. While not a sitting member of that committee, I have certainly subbed in because this issue is so very important to me. Have we solved this issue? We have had indications that the government is going to transfer the machinery of government. What we have not seen yet is evidence that the monies are going to flow directly from the Treasury to th…
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Mr. Speaker, the substance of the issue is at the very heart of what we have spent two months doing here. We are talking about accountability. There was not accountability within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in respecting the will of the chamber and transferring the funds from the Treasury to the international commission that was created by treaty. Canada was not living up to its obligat…
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 26th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented on Friday, May 10, be concurred in. I am going to be splitting my time with my colleague and friend, the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap. Before I get into the substance of my remarks, and as we move to the end of this session, I want to extend Christmas greetings to my …
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Mr. Speaker, on the same question of privilege, I want to add first-hand testimony. I too was trying to access my office that morning. I was prevented access to the building by the Parliamentary Protective Service. I was intending to go to my office to meet with stakeholders. I did make my way around to the back, through the basement, and as previous interventions have outlined, a number of stakeh…
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I rise on the same point of order, Madam Speaker. “A promise, not a threat,” is what I just heard in the background as well. It is a pattern of behaviour, a pattern of threats. Again, at the foreign affairs committee yesterday, the leader of the NDP threatened every member for voting and then misrepresented the motion. It is the same pattern of behaviour.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, the collective western history of wealth creation has largely followed the history of energy densification. What do I mean? First, we cooked our food and kept ourselves warm with wood and then charcoal, followed by coal, fossil fuels. We now have today's options of nuclear and there are tomorrow's possibilities of hydrogen, etc. Each progressive fuel is denser and has less of an env…
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With regard to the former chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) Board of Directors, Tim Murphy, leaving his post to become Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at Aecon: (a) was there a conflict-of-interest process put in place by the WDBA, and did it include a ban preventing Tim Murphy from engaging in further dealings with the WDBA; and (b) if so, what were…
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With regard to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority: (a) what was the final contract value paid to CIMA+ for their work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project; and (b) what was the date of each payment made to CIMA+?
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