Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is basically democracy that translates from the House to committee. The Conservatives, the Bloc and the NDP all agree with part 1 of this bill. There is no question about that. It is 9:30 at night, and after this, the committee will sit again. It will be one more attempt for MPs in the House to protect civil liberties and privacy. Does the member think the Liberal government will l…
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Madam Speaker, the member gave a knowledgeable speech in terms of democracy and the way this place is supposed to work. In fact, when I came here, the Liberal government had a minority government, and things were working. It was getting comments from all the MPs in this place, and there was compromise and amendments in committee. Now that the Liberals have a majority, they stacked their majority a…
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Mr. Speaker, when Canadians think of Skeena—Bulkley Valley, they think of LNG and the port of Prince Rupert. These projects are important, but they are only part of the story. Our region is home to tremendous economic potential, from the port of Stewart to the industrial lands being developed around Kitselas and Terrace and emerging opportunities in mineral processing and refining in communities l…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for that very passionate speech. As opposition members, we propose to improve these types of bills with amendments. The Liberals characterize these amendments at committee stage as obstructions, yet all we are trying to do is make the bills better. Could the member tell us if there are amendments that can be implemented to achieve the objectives while still protec…
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Mr. Speaker, the member was knowledgeable in his comments and his speech on Bill C-9. I spoke to this bill. As an indigenous person, coming from the Indian Act and knowing that natives did not have rights until the last 50 years, I was shocked at this. The issue is the potential attack not only against faith leaders but also against the fundamental principle of freedom of all manners. I cannot und…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, there are important life-saving drugs that Canadians might not be able to access in a timely manner. Some Canadians are suffering from serious conditions and cannot access proven life-saving drugs. We know the risks, and we know the science behind these drugs is sound. Those are not the problems. The problems facing Canadians trying to access life-saving drugs are too much paperwork a…
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Mr. Speaker, the gun buyback or confiscation plan is actually going after law-abiding citizens who have PALS and get training. For those who have restricted firearms, the bar is even higher. They are not going to get safety valves. They are going to get a mandatory sentencing. Anything under this is going to get reduced sentences, and that is including firearms offences. The Conservatives have bee…
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Mr. Speaker, the member's speech was passionate, and I agree. Coming from where I do, the north coast of British Columbia, I have experienced that most of my life. The government wants to portray this side of the House as not being supportive of this type of bill or protecting vulnerable people. The Conservative member for York Centre moved an amendment, CPC-13, that was defeated by the Liberal go…
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Madam Speaker, it is a political decision. That is what it is.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to get up on behalf of Skeena—Bulkley Valley to talk about Bill C-16, the protecting victims act. Before I get into the substance of the bill itself, I want to explain the term “safety valve”, because just about every speaker has spoken to this term. It is a mechanism that allows judges to give lesser sentences, as opposed to a strict mandatory minimum sentence. If we …
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Madam Speaker, that was not the point. The point is that we should actually impose a mandatory sentencing for these offenders. That is it. That is the starting point. We could have made the legislation so much stronger if we had actually taken more of the amendments that were proposed by my colleagues. Instead, we have watered it down.
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Madam Speaker, it could have been stronger. There were even amendments talking about crimes committed with firearms. The Liberal government, through committee majority, voted them down as well. All I am saying is the amendments that were rejected could have made this bill so much stronger, including the amendments that dealt with firearms.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the secretary of state for the description of the bill. I agree fully, and I have agreed fully for 20 years as an aboriginal leader, as an MLA and now as an MP. However, I do have a specific question about the Gladue principle. Would that principle survive, or would it get struck down with this bill?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of Skeena—Bulkley Valley, and more of an honour to go back over the 20 years of experience I have in project development. In 2003, we really did not know what environmental assessment, permitting or aboriginal rights and title were. The Haida court case of 2004 still had not come out yet. By 2004-05, we had to piece it all together and try to understa…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government calls concerns about private property rights fearmongering, yet the Liberals, as the number one defendant, are appealing the Cowichan decision. The Liberal government is depending entirely on Montrose Properties, a private business, to defend private property on behalf of Canadians. On top of this, the Liberals voted against a Conservative motion that would prot…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government directed its lawyers not to argue for property rights in the Cowichan case. The judge then ruled that private property was defective and invalid. Canada must pursue reconciliation with indigenous peoples, but these decisions are moving in the wrong direction. Canadians need the certainty that comes with knowing that their homes and property are theirs. With appe…
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Mr. Speaker, despite the illusions and speeches, it is more cost, more carbon taxes and more of the same. In Skeena—Bulkley Valley, gas prices are up to two dollars a litre. The Liberals claim that gas prices are due to world oil prices being $100 a barrel, but in 2014, under the Conservative government, gas prices were around 45¢ cheaper, and the price of oil at the time was $100 a barrel. It is …
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Mr. Speaker, that speech covered a lot of area, I must admit. A number of the member's colleagues have gotten up and talked about how the Conservatives should get on board, work with them and just agree with the sovereign wealth fund, because it is good for the country. Actually, that is not how this model is set up. The Westminster model is set up with the official opposition, and normally we wou…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to table our dissenting Conservative report, in both official languages. While the committee's report documents the failed Liberal emissions reduction plan, it then recommends more of the same. It calls for higher industrial carbon taxes or an oil and gas emissions cap that would drive investment, jobs and production out of Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, without a doubt that is exactly what we learned pretty quickly when we purchased KVI. We opened that up to everybody, native and non-native alike, including first nations from other communities because we knew we could not fulfill the workforce for LNG Canada for 50,000 workers. With Chevron coming down, that was going to be another 40,000 workers. We get the grand announcements. We g…
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Mr. Speaker, no, I do not think the Liberal government is sincere. Otherwise, why would we need a treaty commissioner, when it is already laid out in a number of agreements and announcements and the treaty itself says that it has to be partnering up on the clauses in each treaty? There were the games in the B.C. legislature as well. An ex-minister from the House was actually hired by the B.C. NDP …
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Mr. Speaker, I will be dividing my time with the member for Kitchener Centre. I am very proud to get up on behalf of the people of Skeena—Bulkley Valley to speak to the motion, which is on the federal Canada student grant for full-time students. This brings me back to 20 years ago when my small first nation, the Haisla Nation, was trying to integrate our people into the economy, specifically into …
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, you are playing games with aboriginal issues. The Speaker is not, but through the Speaker to the member of the Liberal government, I say that you are playing games. You have 20 years of reports. There is Canada's collaborative modern treaty implementation policy that you have not implemented. Out of that, there is the cabinet directive on the federal approach to …
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moved: That Bill C-10 be amended by deleting the short title. Mr. Speaker, before I get to my comments, I would like to draw members' attention to Cancer Awareness Month in honour of my younger sister, my mother and all those fighting this horrible disease; and the support teams who help out those who are trying to fight cancer. We are talking today about the government trying to create a new posi…
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Mr. Speaker, what is the point of this motion then, if not to restrict federal student grants and exclude for-profit institutions like my band has? Why should we have that? This member got up earlier. I heard him say that somehow we are playing a game. This is not gamesmanship. This is about rebuilding Canada. This is about rebuilding a future for young people. Why have this restriction, especiall…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that there is any amendment that could be proposed that would actually breathe life into the agreements. The announcements are all there in black and white. They are detailed right down to the last letter. Creating another position to implement what the government should have been doing right from day one would just give first nations and the Canadian public a false sens…
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Mr. Speaker, we have a living example of that in my community, Haisla first nation. We could not get government support for our for-profit institution, Kitimat Valley Institute. We fixed it, not through government support, but through the corporations. I believe that this motion we are talking about is going to be discriminatory. Do colleagues know who it is going to affect the most? It will be th…
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Indian Act, I have a special concern when it comes to civil liberties and the freedoms and rights of Canadians. However, when we are talking about protecting civil liberties, the Liberal government says that is based on conspiracies when, really, all we are trying to do is protect the freedom of Canadians. Can my colleague give some examples of the Liberal governme…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member brought up AI in reference to our elections. Canada is so far behind in data centres and AI. It is becoming a bigger issue in the House of Commons. How much more work does the member think we have to do, with the technologies already in place, in places like China, that are interfering with our elections?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this could have been avoided. The Liberal government's secret approach to agreements, such as the Musqueam rights recognition agreement, without transparency or clear protections for private property, has added to the anxiety private property owners are already experiencing. The consequences are uncertainty, stalled sales and the potential to derail previous reconciliation efforts. Wi…
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Mr. Speaker, the Cowichan ruling has created uncertainty for homeowners and first nations in B.C., calling into question whether private property rights are secure. Canadians are already struggling with affordability. They should not have to wonder whether or not they own their own homes. Cowichan themselves said that they did not seek to invalidate private property ownership. Will the Prime Minis…
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Mr. Speaker, I have nothing against affordable electric vehicles. I have nothing against affordable gas and diesel vehicles. I have nothing against them. My opposition has to do with how the rebate is essentially going to fix a dying economy in the United States, Ford and General Motors, while at the same time it will benefit Tesla, an American company that will benefit from more carbon credits.
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Mr. Speaker, what I want to talk about, and what I try to talk about, is a made-in-Canada approach for Canadians. We have asked questions of the Canadian government about funding initiatives in Skeena—Bulkley Valley that would produce jobs and revenues for Canadians. We are talking about Telkwa Coal, which needs infrastructure. Terrace's industrial lands need infrastructure help. We are talking ab…
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Mr. Speaker, it is tough to get back to House business given the events that happened in Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday. Canada is still trying to recover. We send our thoughts and prayers to the community, the people and the families of Tumbler Ridge. They are going to have a long journey of healing. My family is quite upset about this. Today, we are talking about electric vehicles and the rebate initi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, that was an excellent description of this bill. It is not really talking about jurisdictions or provinces per se, but I want the member to talk about jurisdiction in terms of international borders, especially the United States. Some of the platforms the member talked about actually originate in the United States and are being advertised on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Has the govern…
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Mr. Speaker, I do recognize that integration, but it is not only in the auto industry. We are intricately connected in all sorts of trade. That is why the CUSMA negotiations are so important, but the diversification we are talking about does not mean we should spend 2.3 billion of Canadian tax dollars to help a dying industry in the United States. Why are we not investing that into the industry in…
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Mr. Speaker, I said that because the Liberal record already shows what failure looks like. The Liberals gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Stellantis to build a manufacturing plant here. They claimed they were going to get it back. They claimed there was a promise of jobs. What did Stellantis do? It took the money and ran down to the United States to build jobs and cars in the United States. …
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Madam Speaker, back in my day, I was a treaty negotiator for my band. We did not sign a treaty, but I heard the same complaints for 20 years. Members of government and members of the Bloc talk about transparency, which has been alive and well in this place for the last 20 to 30 years. We have seen hundreds of reports go through this chamber on what the first nations are complaining about in terms …
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Madam Speaker, I am listening to the debate. The government and our colleagues down the way want more oversight. Speaking as an aboriginal leader, especially regarding the Indian Act, I think there is already a ton of oversight. There are countless committees. The insult here is that first nations have signed the highest agreement in the Canadian Constitution, yet they are being afforded a differe…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague across the way for her experience with indigenous negotiations, land claims and treaty negotiations. I think the question on this side of the House is not about the purpose of the commissioner but about the reality of the minister's not being held responsible for not implementing a treaty. Everything in a treaty has provisions in terms of what the Crown should b…
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Madam Speaker, in Canada, we already have one of the most senior and most powerful institutions. The Auditor General is already saying that Canada is failing at its treaty obligations. There are half a dozen oversight committees. There are aboriginal groups advocating for government to live up to its commitments under treaties. There are also the treaty provisions themselves that speak to accounta…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of Skeena-Bulkley Valley. The petition calls for the government to scrap the reckless expansion of MAID to those suffering with a mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition. They also state in this petition that this is wrong since the government has already failed to meet its promises to expand mental health supports.
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Mr. Speaker, this debate is centred around accountability in terms of the minister or the government not honouring or respecting treaties, yet it is already written into the provisions. One of the most powerful and most senior institutions the government has is the Auditor General, who says the government should respect treaties, but the government ignores that. There are oversight committees that…
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Mr. Speaker, representatives from that side of the House, the government, claim that the Conservatives have no idea what we are really talking about, when what we are talking about is accountability. I was a chief councillor. I was a chairman of the treaty negotiations. I was actually part of First Nations Summit, an advocacy group based out of Vancouver of all chief negotiators. I know of the six…
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Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, there are a lot of Canadians watching us who will be affected by this high-speed rail network and the right-of-way, which I heard is going to be 10 kilometres wide. For those watching at home who are wondering what is going on, we are talking about consultations and high-speed rail, yet the motion is simply asking for an apology to the people of Mirabel for the expropri…
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Mr. Speaker, we are having two debates here. The government is trying to sell high-speed rail, but nobody I have seen get up today opposes the idea of high-speed rail. I think our Bloc colleagues are suggesting that we do not repeat history. I will take a different approach. In terms of what happened to first nations, a lot of education had to happen before we could start to understand what we are…
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Mr. Speaker, the motion is an apology to the residents of Mirabel for expropriation. I am using this opportunity for educational purposes. I did not know about this happening back in 1969. I get why the Bloc has put this motion on the table, so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The government seems to be reluctant to support the motion. In terms of expropriation, what is the member's…
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Mr. Speaker, in listening to the debate, I heard two different speeches and two prerogatives over the last hour. It seems to me that the Bloc's motion is simply asking for an apology for expropriation that happened in 1969, in a formal manner, coming from the House and coming from the government. However, the government has not acknowledged the motion. All the government members are talking about …
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Mr. Speaker, listening to the debate today, I hear two conversations: One is for an apology for past expropriations, and one is for the fast-tracking of a high-speed rail. To be honest, I did not know about these issues before today, but in doing some research, I am more interested in the process and the mechanics. Can my colleague across the way answer whether the same mechanics, in terms of expr…
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Mr. Speaker, this debate is really the Bloc asking for an apology for an expropriation of land that happened in 1969 and for the past not to be repeated, but I think we are coming across one of the fundamental problems that comes along with fast-tracking. Everybody understands the need to build our economy, build pipelines and build high-speed rail, but we have some fundamental human problems that…
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