Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise to table the Conservatives' dissenting report to the flood damage report. Canadians do not need another report telling them that floods, fires, droughts and storms are costly. They see it when basements flood, roads wash out and communities are forced to evacuate. What they need are flood maps and, when they are finished, warnings that arrive on time, infrastructure that holds …
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Mr. Speaker, the minister avoided the answer. Veterinarians and animal health technicians play a critical role in the Canadian agriculture system, and they are in short supply. Neither vets nor animal health techs are covered under the Canada student loan forgiveness program, unlike other professionals. Can the minister explain why these vital professions are not being treated the same?
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Mr. Speaker, talk about avoiding the answer. Veterinarians and animal health technicians play a critical role in —
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are less safe today than they were a decade ago. Violent crime has risen by 55% since 2015. Liberal weak-on-crime policies have left Canadians feeling less secure. Police need effective tools to stop dangerous criminals. With proper judicial authorization, lawful access is key to investigating serious crimes. That is why Conservatives are prepared to support part 1 of Bill C…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a fantastic analogy that I wish I would have included in my material. We were absolutely clear on what we expected this legislation to do. We need to revert to that.
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely and unreservedly will join this member in calling for this legislation to be passed in the original form without the amendment as proposed.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the accommodation by the member down the way in giving me time to make sure I clearly understood her question. It goes, I guess, to the root of the problem, in that there is a concern about the public trust in the judiciary, the judgment of our judges. It is a separate arm of government. We have to have an independent judiciary, but it is equally incumbent on the Parliame…
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Mr. Speaker, I take a directly opposed view of the circumstance. I spoke with numerous members across the riding, and unanimously they wanted tougher bail conditions without fail. The RCMP's sworn members, in every detachment that I visited in my riding, universally wanted tougher bail conditions without loopholes and without judicial discretion because they know that the bad people need to be dea…
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Mr. Speaker, it goes again to the same thing, which is the confidence the Canadian public demands of Canada's justice system. If there are loopholes in the system, then the bad guys will learn how to use them. They will figure out how to convince unreasonable leniency from the courts. To the Bloc member's point, I have numerous cases of events here in Bow River and around southern Alberta where th…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the almost conciliatory tone of the member across the way. He was being nice, which is refreshing.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the great honour to rise today to represent the people of Bow River, and the river keeps flowing. I rise to speak to Bill C‑14 and to the Senate amendments that have been returned to the House. Before addressing those amendments themselves, I want to return to my maiden speech, which was not much more than a year ago. I came to Ottawa because I was tired of watching common‑sens…
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Mr. Speaker, I know the provisions of Bill C-14 have great utility for the people of Canada right now. They have suffered for a decade or more under Liberal rule and a system that allows repeat offenders out on bail to wreak havoc in communities. What I do not think is acceptable is the lack of transparency and the use of routine, normal negotiations to get this bill through the House expeditiousl…
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Mr. Speaker, at some point, I will answer the question far better than a Liberal government will answer a question. I have spoken with members across my riding, and they are so concerned about the repeat offenders who are going to get out. If they are unsupervised or supervised by someone who has not earned the trust of society, then the problems are not being solved. The root cause and the root p…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it so rich that the Liberals now find some urgency to do this. The Conservatives have offered multiple times at committee to advance this legislation, bring it forward faster, get things done, include common-sense amendments and deal with the loopholes that could have been presented. Now we have loopholes that have again been put into the bill through the amendments from the Se…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to express that this is my first full year in the House, and I find it a bit disappointing, in fact a lot disappointing, that the government had all year to get this work done, yet it is imposing closure. A bill such as this, which arguably does not have a lot of controversy attached to it, would have been very easy to pass with the process that we had allowed, yet we hav…
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Mr. Speaker, under the Prime Minister, Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. Canadians are being told to tighten their belts while the Prime Minister cannot stop spending. On a single trip, taxpayers were billed more than $17,000 for salmon, which is more than many Canadian families spend on food for an entire year. Meanwhile, the environment minister said it was reasonable to spend half …
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Mr. Speaker, my constituents in Bow River always appreciate when I have an opportunity to speak in the House or ask questions. More than a decade of having Liberal-appointed, soft-on-crime judges who follow the tone and tenor set by the government has really eroded the confidence of people on the disposition or the delivery of justice. I wonder if the member can speak to how bills passed need to b…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives support free trade, and ranchers do not need another Liberal press release about trade diversification. They need real market access and a government willing to defend their industry here at home. This is not a game, but the Liberals are acting like the beef industry is a convenient bargaining chip. Would the Mercosur deal actually benefit farmers and ranchers in Can…
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Mr. Speaker, Alberta beef is the best in the world, produced by ranchers and farmers who are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a fair shot. While the Liberals talk about buying Canadian, they are negotiating a Mercosur deal that could flood our market with imported beef produced under conditions that Canadians would never accept at home. Canadian cattle producers are held to wo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is just another costly Liberal. Canadians are out of money. The latest data from Dalhousie University shows a heartbreaking reality. Affordability is now the only thing driving food choices. For it, nutrition is being sacrificed and quality is being killed. One in three Canadians is now borrowing money just to afford groceries. Families are scaling back, yet they ar…
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Mr. Speaker, I am standing here today because the people of Alberta expect me to stand up when something is wrong. They expect us to fix it. As members of this House, we are guardians of the Canada Elections Act. This law is one of the foundations of our democracy. It is the contract that ensures power stays where it belongs, in the hands of the Canadian people. Our duty is to ensure that when a c…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from my hon. colleague across the way. I think he touches on an important part. I had, in my words earlier, alluded to some solutions. I think it is close. I think that sort of notion of “once”, but limited perhaps outside of the constituency, because there is a limited pool of people with experience who know how to run things well. Because of the financial a…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' recently manufactured majority is starting to settle in. All of a sudden, they can move fast when it comes to grabbing control of committees to prevent scrutiny of their behaviour. The ethics, public accounts, and operations and estimates committees are important to ensure the public can trust that power is not being abused, and they are at risk of being taken over by th…
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Mr. Speaker, this is exactly why it needs to be studied at committee. The sharing of data and the unintended consequences of that, and the impacts of privacy of the individual have to be fully vetted out and compared. It deserves sunlight, the discussion of open debate and thorough study. Our democracy is not necessarily supposed to work fast, but it is supposed to be thorough so it can be effecti…
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Mr. Speaker, this is important, and it may be one of the most important aspects of this legislation. We need to look at how the finances are treated and get it right. The power rests with the people and is enabled by the money. The adage is to always follow the money. We need to have people knowledgeable about how to audit, conduct, measure, tabulate and ledger the expenses, and to do it with hono…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate two outstanding hockey stories from Bow River. First, I congratulate the community of Taber on being named the 2026 Kraft Hockeyville national champions. Through adversity, and with remarkable fortitude, the people of Taber came together and earned this well-deserved victory. It stands as the latest chapter in the proud culture of hockey excellence that the p…
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Mr. Speaker, this week I introduced Bill C-273, the FARM act, to cut red tape and get farmers faster access to proven tools already deemed safe and approved by trusted jurisdictions. The bill reflects recommendations made by the ag committee on regulatory reform in response to industry concerns about costly delays and lack of access that leave our farmers at a disadvantage. It is a practical, no-c…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-273, an act to amend the Feeds Act, the Fertilizers Act, the Seeds Act, the Pest Control Products Act, and the Food and Drugs Act. Mr. Speaker, the people of Alberta did not send me here to sit quietly while farms are run out of business by bureaucrats in Ottawa. Farmers sent me here to fix what is broken. Today, I am introducing the FARM act, a simple and pract…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate the community of Taber in my riding for being named a finalist in this year's Kraft Hockeyville competition and for being selected as Alberta's provincial winner, earning $50,000 for arena upgrades, along with a chance to compete for the $250,000 grand prize and the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game. This recognition comes at a critical time for T…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's question. It attempts to drive at some clarity as to motivation, but the Bloc is the sponsor of that amendment. It would have, and would continue to have, a chilling effect on these faith groups across the country. The government does not have a good record with respect to restraining itself from overreach as its ideologues and ideologies evolve through tim…
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Mr. Speaker, I suppose I appreciate the question from the member opposite, but such as it is, I do not know of any organizations that I affiliate with that are advocating for hate speech and trying hate speech. The religious organizations I have spoken to, including the United Church, the Catholic bishops and many other pastors and congregations in my riding are absolutely chilled. They are absolu…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the member from across the way, the Liberal heritage minister, that the Liberals would feel restrained in any way at all. This would simply embolden them to silence dissent, silence opinions that are opposed to theirs and further divide Canadian society. I appreciate the question from my colleague.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the contribution to this discussion from the hon. member, my colleague. I wonder if he could comment a bit on the lack of consultation with agents like those from the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada, and with Orthodox rabbis. There has been no serious consultation on this particular contentious part of the bill, and that feedback would be most in…
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Mr. Speaker, since I took office, my office has not received more letters, emails, phone calls or petitions on any single issue than on Bill C-9. Every day, dozens of residents in my riding call my office about the bill, and if the Liberals were honest, they would admit they are hearing the same. These families, religious leaders and ordinary Canadians are not confused. They are not misinformed. T…
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Mr. Speaker, that was a great speech, and I think it causes us to have a lot of thought. I wonder if my colleague could comment on the really insidious nature of what we are facing here right now related to the likelihood of self-censorship that would happen if this bill is implemented.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, the chilling impact of self-censoring goes directly to what the problem is with all of this. The entire population could be subject at different times to exactly that, and that is frightening.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot control what happens overseas, but we can control the policies here at home that are making life less affordable. Right now, higher oil prices should be a huge opportunity for Canada. We are blessed with the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world, and our allies are asking for reliable energy. Instead of Canadians' getting resources to market, the Liberals keep putt…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of constituents of the riding of Bow River and, in fact, constituents across the country to present a petition from Canadians who are concerned that the Liberal-Bloc amendments to Bill C-9 could be used to criminalize passages from the Bible, the Koran, the Torah and other sacred texts. The state has no place in the religious texts or teachings of a faith commun…
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Mr. Speaker, head, heart, health and hands is the 4-H pledge. On March 14, I will be attending the 4-H south region's annual communications event in Alberta, which will host approximately 100 young speakers. I joined 4-H when I was nine years old, and it was there that I learned to stand on my own two feet, speak with confidence and work hard for my neighbours. It was there that I first lived the …
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Mr. Speaker, prairie farmers have warned that uncontrolled Richardson's ground squirrel populations have surged since the loss of strychnine, causing millions of dollars in losses. For decades, farmers used strychnine safely and effectively. Today's alternatives are far less effective. On multiple occasions, the Liberals committed to supporting emergency-use approval. That promise has now been bro…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for introducing the bill. I really appreciate it. I have spent a lot of time since I came to Parliament visiting my riding and speaking with constituents about their circumstances. The cost of living is palpable across the country, and not just in my home province. A big part of the cost of living crisis is related to the affordability of homes. I do not he…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's statement and thoughtful words. Could the member comment on the notion that, just like the magic of compound interest, we have what seems to be compound bureaucracy, where we get bureaucracy upon bureaucracy that just gums up the works and makes matters worse? Could the member also comment on how the system could become more efficient to reduce the bureaucr…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know where to start. There are so many elements to what the hon. member across the way has discussed. I would like to just begin with the preamble that he recognizes again that I am right, and in fact probably far right, and more right than him. I would ask the member opposite, if the government is so interested in collaborating and so interested in collaborative results and …
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Mr. Speaker, commerce resuming does not mean tariffs are coming off. Beijing has postponed its decision on whether it will reduce tariffs on Canadian canola just weeks before seeding begins. Decisions need to be made now by farmers. Last year many farmers, including me, chose not to seed canola because of those tariffs and the price collapse. Yet the Prime Minister stood before Canadians and said …
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Mr. Speaker, three years ago, the finance minister met with major grocers, promising to stabilize food prices. Since then, Canada now leads the G7 in food inflation. Now he is rolling out another temporary rebate of about five dollars a week for a $300 grocery bill. We will take it, but it barely makes a dent. Meanwhile, according to Food Banks Canada, almost 20% of food bank clients are employed …
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Mr. Speaker, I find it a bit rich that the member is more than willing to demonize one source as biased yet claim the Canadian Climate Institute as gospel and as a reliable source, since it is funded solely by the government. Could the member comment on the relationship between the cost of energy and poverty, globally? It has been demonstrated by innumerable sources that higher costs of energy in …
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Mr. Speaker, Canada used to be a nation of builders. We used to stand on our own two feet. Instead, Liberals are standing in our way when Canada should be strong, united and ready to build. Conservatives worked with the government to pass Bill C-5, handing it powers to approve major projects faster, but the PM's rhetoric has not matched reality. Not a single new project was approved, and not a sin…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to present today a dissenting report from the environment committee. This report, born amid global and domestic upheavals, threatens to shackle Canadian companies with expensive regulations that shove ideology down the throat of reality. It is another top-down decree from ivory towers, fattening consultants while choking off capital to those who have built this nation's prosper…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to rise to present a petition on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about the Liberal-Bloc amendments to Bill C-9. These amendments are looking to criminalize speaking and teaching texts from the Bible and other sacred texts. This has no place in our society, which is protected by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These are fundamental rights. The freedom …
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite inspiring to see an opposition party or a party in the House that has absolute conviction and no equivocation of its principles. I applaud the member for that, and I really think it is a very important feature. This is unlike our Liberal colleagues, who are trying to play both sides of the fence, and I wonder how good that picket fence is feeling right now. I wonder if the…
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