Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I agree. In fact, if we want to be the best-performing country in the G7, we have to be functioning at all levels. Infrastructure is a key point. We cannot be the best-performing country if we do not take the people along with us, and that includes the economy, social issues and health. I totally agree with the member.
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Mr. Speaker, I totally agree with my colleague. Ottawa does have a role to play. In fact, if that were not the case, why did it impose this drug experiment in B.C., decriminalizing heroin, cocaine and up to 2.5 grams of fentanyl? We know that 2.5 grams of fentanyl could kill a normal person. Ottawa does have a role to play in the drug crisis we are facing.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Premier Eby says the court decided not to provide Richmond homeowners with notice of the Cowichan court litigation, but the Cowichan lawyers said the judge in the case said the parties were free to provide notice of this litigation to private landowners years ago. This includes Canada as represented by the Attorney General. Canada has been and still is missing in action. Why is the Pr…
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Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, there is chaos and panic in B.C. Everybody is complaining, and everybody is blaming each other. The public is blaming Richmond's counsel. Premier Eby is blaming the court. The government continues to stay quiet. This was only the second time I have heard the government say anything about this case. The first time, it was a staffer. It has always been the Crown's duty …
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to get up and make my first budget speech on behalf of Skeena—Bulkley Valley. It is quite the auspicious event because this is everything that the Prime Minister promised not to deliver. The Prime Minister promised less spending and more fiscal responsibility but reversed that once elected. Budget 2025 has brought Canadian debt up to $1.35 trillion. That number is pret…
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Mr. Speaker, this is parallel to what we did in my small native village, which was in worse shape than what Canada is facing right now in terms of the social issues. We would not have cut the social programs. We would have fixed the root causes. We would not have added to it, as the Liberal government has done. In fact, what the Liberals are saying is, “Hold my beer. We are actually going to doubl…
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Mr. Speaker, coming from a small first nations reserve, I understand mental health and drug addiction, as well as substance abuse issues. We tried to battle that as much as we could without government support. There was an experiment in B.C. to decriminalize drugs, between Ottawa and B.C. It was a disaster. By the way, as an MLA in the B.C. legislature, I tried to fight as hard as I could to get t…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member across the floor for this bill, Bill C-244, an act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act. I come from Kitamaat Village, which is at the head of the Douglas Channel on the west coast of British Columbia. I grew up around marine activities, hunting and fishing, but there was no recreation. We have…
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2025 actually highlighted two projects that made the budget a lot less gloomy: the Trans Mountain expansion and LNG Canada in Kitimat, my hometown. The Haisla Nation backed that. The member talked about building and building, to build, baby, build, but today the Premier of B.C. said no to a pipeline being built. If Alberta proposes a project, is the project dead based on Premie…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's speech was incredible, very insightful and very heartfelt. When I was an MLA in B.C., starting in 2017, we were arguing the same points to the B.C. government. The B.C. government was blaming the federal government, and now we hear the federal government saying that we need more co-operation. It is a back-and-forth blame game. Could we have gotten ahead of this if,…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is an incredible honour to present a petition for the first time on behalf of the residents of Skeena—Bulkley Valley. Before I get into the petition, I would like to thank all my Conservative colleagues for, over the last year or two, presenting similar petitions on behalf of Skeena—Bulkley Valley. I am here to say that I will take it from here, but I thank them for presenting thos…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would like to open by saying what an honour it is to be back where I started, on the environment file. I was the environment critic for the Liberal Party back in British Columbia as an MLA. Back in 2003, my main goal was to remediate the environmental damage done to my territory by industrial development. That led me down different pathways. It led me to aboriginal rights and title,…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my colleague could share her thoughts on how a national strategy might be developed and what key components or structures she envisions for it.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for an incredible speech regarding deficits. I think the Liberals missed the point of what he said. I was in the situation of remedial management and third party management, and it was very humiliating. It was for one year of unmanageable deficits. It was very humiliating, and that is why I went after an economic base. What is third party management, and what would …
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Mr. Speaker, I referenced the approval of LNG Canada, but we have met with the departments, and it is clear that there are no outstanding permits or authorizations needed for LNG Canada. I am assuming that phase 2 needs an approval in terms of emissions. Is this why LNG Canada phase 2 has been added to the major projects list? Is there going to be a decision on the emissions from phase 2, from pha…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the fastest-shrinking economy and the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7. B.C. forestry workers have already been hard hit, but it is going to get worse. The Prime Minister promised to negotiate a win with the U.S.A, but softwood lumber tariffs have doubled since he took office. Instead of keeping his promise to Canadians, he is promising to invest $1 trillion in th…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government cannot make up its mind. On one hand, it says it is unjust, and then it says it is the greatest deal in the world. It needs to make up its mind. There are mills closing all across B.C., including Skeena Sawmills in Terrace and Canfor in Houston. West Fraser's shutdown left hundreds of my constituents out of work in an already weak economy. Our communities are hu…
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Mr. Speaker, basically, yes, we supported it, but we wanted to put protections in, which we debated and we got in. By the way, I do not blame the first nations for their distrust of this, because one day, the government said first nations do not have a veto. I suspect it got that out of the case law, specifically, the Haida court case of 2004. However, the very next day, when it got political push…
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Mr. Speaker, treaties have evolved. Foundationally, defining aboriginal rights and title is a main part of treaty negotiation, versus extinguishing them. Given that the Liberal government is going to appeal the Cowichan court ruling, is there a reason aboriginal rights and title are not mentioned in Bill C-10?
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Mr. Speaker, I was a negotiator for my small native band, as well as a chief councillor, so I understand the frustration of the leaders. However, it seems to me that the first nations leaders are saying that the government-to-government relationship is not working because the government is not listening and not implementing a treaty. The government's response is, “Let's create a treaty commissione…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the member talk about economic issues tied in with social issues, because that is what first nations have been talking about for the last 20 years, at least. It is nice to see the Liberals kind of waking up. We are talking about Canada's economy as well, which the member also mentioned. The Nisga'a have had a treaty with the government for 20 years. They opposed Bill…
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Mr. Speaker, we are here talking about the creation of a treaty implementation commissioner. Here is some background. I was the chief councillor of the Haisla Nation Council for six years, and prior to that, I was a councillor for eight years. During that eight-year period, I was treaty chairman under the B.C. treaty process; I was negotiating the treaty, so I read all the announcements over the l…
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Mr. Speaker, the principles are important, but not to the point of ignoring the Haida court case from 2004 or ignoring treaty first nations. The government is using UNDRIP as a cover to say that Bill C-48 is basically needed. It is not needed, especially when first nations are trying to resolve poverty. I put this back to the member: How does the government's UNDRIP legislation resolve poverty?
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Mr. Speaker, development of resources, such as forestry, mining and LNG, has actually brought in a lot of revenue, employment and training. I already mentioned that, to me, the Indian Act has become irrelevant and archaic, except for the funding agreement. We segregated Indian Act programs and funding into Indian Act bureaucracy through departments of my band council. However, we created a new str…
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Mr. Speaker, that was a great question. In fact, it was the Liberals' speeches that actually guided me toward economic development issues, such as forestry, mining, and oil and gas. I agree with my colleague that, over the last 10 years, I have not seen the Liberal government giving respect to first nations members regarding their rights. By the way, I am talking about the rights as defined in the…
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Mr. Speaker, that is basically what the Haida court case of 2004 clearly defines. I will make it clear: It is the community that owns the rights and title; it is not a collective of first nations. It is not even their leadership, unless the community itself decides who the leadership will be. By the way, the Liberals talk about respecting aboriginal rights and title interests. Why did you approve …
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Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, the provisions of a treaty already define what the government is supposed to do, not only in terms of the federal government but also in terms of the provincial government and the first nations as well. It defines what their roles and responsibilities are now. This has always been a one-way street, though. First nations have always gone to governments and asked…
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Madam Speaker, I have been listening to this debate for the last few days now. I hear the other side of the House talk about this when Conservatives talk about the rapes of children and toddlers, the murders and assaults, and women not wanting to walk the streets at night, including members of the Liberal government. The response is always the same. They say we are always sensationalizing or drama…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal promise was to reduce or control grocery prices. That was the promise. The government printing money or producing deficits and, as a consequence, borrowing money to cover those deficits increases inflation. Does the member agree that increasing the government deficit and debt will increase affordability pressures, including grocery costs, which the Liberals promised to con…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals now want to change the story. They want to deflect. They want to talk about grocery prices by looking at what analysts say, what farm yields are and what the weather is doing. That was not what the Prime Minister promised. The Prime Minister did not say he would follow the analysts, the yields or the weather patterns. He said to judge him by the prices at the grocery stor…
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Mr. Speaker, I invite members to Kitimat, and I will show them the benefits that have accrued not only for first nations members in my community, but also along the pipeline route and down channel. One of the concerns we had, and one of the decisions we made when we started getting into real LNG development, was that we wanted to get away from the Indian Act. We wanted our people to build their ow…
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Mr. Speaker, the current regulatory authorities have no idea how projects would get assessed through the Major Projects Office. They have no idea whether or not the standards and regulations that are formed inside the impact assessment authority, for example, are going to get implemented. Is there a plan to implement the current environmental standards through the Major Projects Office, and if not…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to be here on behalf of Skeena—Bulkley Valley. I have not had the chance to do this, so I would like to thank all the people of Skeena—Bulkley Valley, the EDA for all its work and all my supporters and volunteers. I would especially like to thank my family. I have been doing this kind of work for 20 years, as a councillor, chief councillor, an MLA and now an MP, and it…
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Mr. Speaker, I definitely can. We need to stop the politics with LNG because it provides benefits to aboriginals and non-aboriginals alike. It increases GDP. I will say, there are no permits or authorizations needed by the federal government to approve phase two. It is all approved, and we just found that out today in committee. What is Canada fast-tracking? There is nothing else to approve.
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Mr. Speaker, yes, and I am not the only one who thinks that Canada already has the highest environmental standards in North America, if not the world. As I have said for the last 10 years, we cannot have this conversation in isolation. We are not the biggest polluters in the world. China, Russia, the United States and emerging economies have no environmental standards. They have no emissions cap. …
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Mr. Speaker, I recognize all the work that has been done by first nations all across Canada. It is very progressive, but it all comes down to what the benefit is to the people. My colleague from Alberta knows the benefits as well. There are a lot of first nations in Saskatchewan. If we want to take a look at the real benefits, we can take a look at the status quo of first nations that do not have …
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Mr. Speaker, as an aboriginal, I face the same issues that the member is talking about in my own community and in a lot of different first nations communities all across Canada. Really, what we are talking about is a long-term commitment to doing something better. I presume the hon. member is talking about a stopgap measure in the meantime. “In the meantime” means toddlers getting raped in their b…
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Mr. Speaker, I was an MLA as well. Seven years ago we started to hear about the crime in our communities, and that is when I first started to hear the blame game: B.C. and the provinces blaming Ottawa. Now I come here and the Liberals are blaming the Conservatives. The Liberals have been in government for ten years. I also hear the idea that somehow they need a consultation to relax their soft-on-…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to national data on opioid-related harms, since January 2021, broken down by year and by province or territory: how many opioid-related (i) deaths, (ii) hospitalizations, (iii) emergency department visits, have occurred?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat’s request to the Canada Border Services Agency to be designated as an Airport of Entry: (a) what is the current status of this request; (b) when will the Canada Border Services Agency make a decision regarding the request; (c) has the Canada Border Services Agency, Pacific Economic Development Canada, or Destination Canada conducted any…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to Health Canada's exemption granted to British Columbia under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which allows for adults to possess up to 2.5 grams of certain substances: has the government received a request from British Columbia to extend the exemption past the January 31, 2026 expiration date, and, if so, (i) what are the details of the request, (ii) does the government plan …
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Mr. Speaker, first nations, under the Indian Act, are forced to understand good governance, and that includes transparency and accountability. In fact, under the funding agreements, if there is a deficit in first nations territory, they get punished. If there is a surplus, under the Indian Act they get punished. When we are trying to understand self-governance and trying to understand self-determi…
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Mr. Speaker, this is basically federal Liberal legislation, and we all understand there is a crisis. I will speak on my own behalf. I voted for it because I believe in the economy and I believe in a strong country, but I need to see more details. I have to go back to my riding and explain why there will be exemptions coming to environmental assessments. I have to explain why there will be no envir…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be dividing my time with the member for Saskatoon—University. This is my first speech in the House, and I would like to thank all the supporters from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. This takes me back to how I got started in politics in the first place. It is ironic, because as a first nations member in Kitimat, where I come from, I got my start on the environment file, meaning that we …
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. I know my colleague has already questioned consultation and accommodation duties. In terms of this bill, either the Liberal government understands the case law and ignores it or does not understand the case law to begin with. Consulting on a bill has a specific definition of process for over 600 first nations. It is not simply a matter of sending an email or …
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Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that tariffs actually made Bill C-5 as presented to the floor. None of this really matters until we streamline all the legislation, regulations and jurisdictional issues currently in place. My question is on process. As the government negotiates with the U.S.A. on trade, does the government negotiate provincial resources first, and then consult with provinces, or does …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, diversifying our trade has been the goal of the current Liberal government, but an article posted last night by The Economist states that the United States will be granted first right of refusal on Canadian minerals. Before going to Washington, Mr. Carney asked officials to list the Canadian products that Mr. Trump needs the most. Rare earth elements and critical minerals topped that …
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Mr. Speaker, economists and most bankers know that investments go to countries where they are welcomed. For 10 years, the Liberal government has sent clear messages that investments in oil pipelines are not welcome in Canada unless they are destined for the United States at a discount. What is next, Canada's mineral resources? Surely the Prime Minister knows that no one is building a pipeline in C…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on June 11, 2008, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to indigenous people for Canada's past role in the residential school system. Residential schools were a component of a system that created the issues that we are still trying to resolve today. I spent years reading Haisla archives on how first nations were treated and excluded conditionally from Canada's society …
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Mr. Speaker, decarbonization will be a requirement for oil exports in non-U.S.A. markets. Will this decarbonization requirement be applied to oil exports going to the United States?
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