Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from the Bloc about the different issues and some of them being untested. Yes, we had tested them during the pandemic when we were not able to travel and were unable to get around our communities and do the work that we needed to do. Now that we are in the time frame we are in, I think there are some areas we could have found agreement on, but in this situati…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, as I begin this debate tonight, I will state that this is not an easy job to do. I will be the first to acknowledge that. I love what I do, and I think every member in this place loves what they do. They have a passion, energy and desire to build a better country. I have been here three and a half years, and like many members, a few who have spoken tonight, I am from the class of 20…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I would actually elaborate on what my colleagues on the PROC committee said in our dissenting report about separating the voting aspect. I have heard more. Again, I wish there was a better opportunity to discuss the amendments. There is a more narrow path on that, but I will go back to electronic voting. Personally in my case, I and many colleagues in our dissenting report on PROC all…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I will just repeat what I started my speech with. I am the first to admit that this is not an easy job. It is at a high pace, it is busy; it is multi-tasking and it is a heck of a balance between work, life and family, community and all the different balls that we are trying to juggle up in the air. What I will say is that there are many opportunities and that there have been advances…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, Canadians learned yesterday of the devastating news to their household budgets. The Bank of Canada has hiked interest rates once again, which are now 19 times higher than they were just one year ago. Plain and simple, Canadians are at the most risk of any advanced economy for mortgage defaults, according to the IMF. Let us make no mistake about it. These rate hikes are caused by Liber…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I have a great solution to start: Let us tie performance bonusing to actual performance results. Call me crazy, but at the federal, provincial or municipal level, whatever the level is, far too often we have groups and organizations, like the CMHC, and the federal housing minister making a great big announcement promising more money and more results and the opposite happens. It is l…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, we are in a housing crisis in this country, plain and simple, and the key figures demonstrate exactly that. Housing prices in this country have doubled to over $700,000; mortgages have doubled to over $3,000 a month; rent has doubled to over $2,000 a month; and the amount needed for a down payment has doubled to over $40,000. The problem is that, because rent has gone up so much, pe…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would be happy to. I want to add, in the name of personalization, one of my best friends, Emily Strader, a childhood friend is actually an ECE, working in Ottawa, in child care, and enjoys what she does. I had many conversations with her and her colleagues at work about the day to day, trying to do what they can to address the massive wait-lists that they have and the frustration …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the choice is to do the right thing and provide the flexibility for parents to do what it is best in their family situation. That would mean expanding the opportunity and the eligibility for assistance beyond not-for-profit and public centres, offering home care as an option that is in people's homes, a couple of blocks away, in their neighbourhood. It means providing the choice and…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, Teddy is an example of where somebody is tapping into the program. If they have access to it, if they already have a space, they are able and they are eligible for it, but for every one Teddy, there are probably two or three more, right in Milton, who are not able to go into that program, who are not realizing those savings, who are not seeing those spaces, who are not seeing that i…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is 11:30 at night, and it has been a long week here so far, but I am proud to join the discussion and debate tonight on child care affordability in our country. One of the most difficult things we do at times is humanize ourselves and, more importantly, humanize the debates we are having here about improvements, and helping Canadians and families. I do not have any children. Toni…

Madam Speaker, I would request a quorum call again, please.

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, if I could, I am looking for unanimous consent, following question period today, to table in the House the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report detailing the impacts of the second carbon tax coming by province. One will find in the—

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, the Liberals do not have an environmental plan, they have a tax plan, because the fact is they have never met a target on climate change they have ever set. All it is doing is skyrocketing food prices in this country. They are taxing farmers who grow food, they are taxing truckers who ship it and they are taxing the businesses and restaurants that sell it. Ontario families are going…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, if the Liberals' first carbon tax was not driving up gas and grocery bills enough, they have now decided that Canadians need a second carbon tax on the price of fuel. The independent Parliamentary Budget Officer laid out these new tax hikes clearly. The first carbon tax added 41¢ a litre. Now, the second carbon tax is going to add 17¢ a litre. Then, of course, the Liberals are going…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, as we begin to celebrate Pride Month, I want to say I am thankful. I am proud to live my life as an openly gay member of Parliament. As a then-29-year-old mayor in small town rural Ontario, my public coming-out story could not have gone any better. My family, friends and colleagues to this date have been absolutely wonderful and I am truly blessed. I know that was often not the case f…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, he signs off on the estimates, and the CEO is right in front of him here tonight. However, with $27 million in performance bonuses at a time when our housing is in a crisis, is that $27 million in bonuses for good performance good money spent, yes or no?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, what is the criteria for good performance at the CMHC under this minister?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, the minister is responsible for the performance of his or her department. The average bonus for performance at the CMHC was over $12,000 last year; 2,100 employees received over $12,000, not in salary but as a performance bonus. That is 100% of executives and 96% of employees. Canadians are looking at our housing crisis, and seeing how things are getting worse not better, and wondering …

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, the minister is responsible for results in his portfolio. Last year, the CMHC, under his watch, gave $27 million in performance bonuses. One hundred per cent, which is every single executive who has overseen the doubling of housing prices, the doubling of mortgage payments and, frankly, did the debate prep for the minister tonight, got a good performance bonus. After tonight, I am start…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I ought to know that the minister is responsible for the performance in his department; he is failing miserably at it. What percentage of CMHC executives got a bonus last year?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I know that the minister is responsible for the CMHC budget. The CEO is sitting right in front of him. I am going to ask him again: How much last year in performance bonuses was paid out by the CMHC?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, under this minister's watch, the CMHC's use of performance bonuses is out of control, and this in the midst of a housing crisis. How much in performance bonuses did the CMHC pay out last year?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberals, this is where housing is at in Canada: Housing prices, rent and mortgage payments have all doubled. At a time when we need more housing built, the Liberals' own statistics show they are down 32% in housing starts. The Liberal response has been that they are spending record amounts of money, and now we know where that money is going. The housing minis…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to surplus government buildings being converted to affordable housing: (a) what are the details of all buildings which have been sold by the government since November 4, 2015, including, for each, the (i) location, (ii) address, (iii) description of the building, including the square footage, (iv) buyer, (v) price, (vi) number of affordable housing units expected; (b) what are the deta…

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are out of money and the Prime Minister is out of touch. After eight years, the cost of living is at an all-time high. Paycheques are wearing thin. Housing, rent and mortgages have all doubled. The carbon tax will add 41¢ a litre to the price of gas. After eight years of the government's soft-on-crime policies and a broken bail system, violent crime has gone up a staggering …

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are out of money and the Prime Minister is out of touch. After eight years—

Routine Proceedings

With regard to bonuses paid out at Crown corporations in the 2020-21 and the 2021-22 fiscal years, broken down by year and by Crown corporation: (a) what was the total amount paid out in bonuses; and (b) how many and what percentage of officials (i) at or above the executive (EX) level (or equivalent), (ii) below the EX level (or equivalent), received bonuses?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday afternoon after question period, and as part of the routine aspects of things, the Conservatives are looking forward to the rest of the week, which is actually just this afternoon as the House is adjourned tomorrow. We are anxious to know what legislation and what details will be brought forward by the government so we can be ready to hold it to account.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, if I were to give any advice to a Canadian who wanted to understand where our country is financially right now, and perhaps understand the credibility of the performance of the current Liberal government, I would tell them to not read the most recent budget. Instead, what I would encourage them to do, would be to just read the one from last year and perhaps some of the independent aud…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, it is clear it is running out of steam. As Canadians struggle with the cost of living crisis, the Prime Minister is struggling to explain his latest $81,000 free stay at a Liberal insider's villa in Jamaica and struggling to justify why he needed a $6000-a-night room in London with a butler. On this side of the House, though, Conservatives …

Routine Proceedings

With regard to Health Canada's funding for PrescribeIT and e-Prescribing: (a) how much funding has the government provided to Prescribe IT (i) directly, (ii) indirectly, through the Canada Health lnfoway, broken down by year since November 4, 2015; (b) what are Health Canada's estimates based on the reports it has received as to how many (i) doctors, (ii) pharmacists, used PrescribeIT, broken down…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, one would think I might be bothered by the heckling of the NDP members. They know they are in trouble. They are confirming what I just said, which is that Canadians believe their cover-up of the Liberals is continuing, and it is absolutely unacceptable. We need this motion to pass, because the Liberals, PMO officials and the Prime Minister's chief of staff need to be at committee an…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, there was a time when a future prime minister said, “It's hard not to feel disappointed in your government when every day there is a new scandal.” When the Prime Minister took power, he proclaimed, “Government and its information must be open by default. Simply put, it is time to shine more light on government to make sure it remains focused on the people it was created to serve – y…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, often Liberal members get criticized for not answering questions. I am going to ask the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader the simple question for a third time. NDP members last week supported the idea of having the Prime Minister's chief of staff and key witnesses testify in committee on what they knew and how they knew it when it came to Beijing's election inte…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I do not know if my translation device is broken or not, but am I hearing the Bloc Québécois supporting a bill that gives power for bureaucrats in Ottawa and the federal government to control what the people of Quebec see on a search engine result? I could have bet on a lot of things, but I never would have bet that the Bloc Québécois would be supporting Bill C-11, especially when t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, normally, there would not be much debate in the House when we talk about making updates to the Broadcasting Act, which came into effect in 1991. At face value, most Canadians would say that a lot has changed since then. A little thing called the Internet came along, and most would agree. I have talked about this topic in the House before and I am pretty proud of myself. I am pretty …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my colleague spends a lot of time in the House. I would encourage him to read clause 7 of this piece of legislation. That is the exact reason why Conservatives have major concerns and are calling out this bill as flawed. Liberals have had so many opportunities in the House of Commons, in the Senate and in committee, through amendments, to do this, but the reality of the situation is…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the bill is flawed in so many ways, and I will give an example. We heard at committee that we need to have this to generate more Canadian content. The minister quotes that it would bring $1 billion more. Here is the thing. At committee, various organizations in the industry have said they are already investing $5 billion per year in the industry, but they need this control. My argum…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, in that four-minute response by the government, and after 34 days of going public with the problem of wanting a plan and resources, we got the same answer: It is listening, it is consulting and it is meeting. Having a meeting is not an outcome, but the Liberals could confirm and communicate that they acknowledge their shortcomings and acknowledge that communication was poor. Most impo…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in this House and during question period, a growing number of Canadians believe that everything feels broken in this country. There is correlation and a connection to what they are feeling that brokenness from: the poor management from the current Liberal government. Whether it was when Veterans Affairs Canada officials admitted that their staff offered MAID to multiple…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion a healthy and restful retirement. After eight years, he has sadly become one of the busiest people in all of Ottawa under the Liberals. Just this week, there was another Liberal guilty of ethics violations, and he joins a growing list of ethically challenged Liberals: the former minister of finance, guilty; the Minister of Infrastruc…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, after eight years, everything in this country feels like it is broken, and we need look no further than Cornwall, Ontario, to find another example of Liberal incompetence. Months ago the Liberals signed contracts with local hotels for a major Roxham Road processing centre, but local partners on the ground received zero notice, consultation or resources. The Liberals have broken our …

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, the minister is telling the people of Cornwall that there is absolutely no problem when it comes to his failed, broken system in this processing centre. Do not take my word for it; take the words of the mayor of Cornwall, who said this week, “The IRCC is not on site, they’re not here. They’re in Ottawa managing this file from an arm’s-length distance…to make decisions about it witho…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, everything in this country feels like it is broken. However, do not take my word for it. Let us use the words of the Liberals who are confirming this. The member for Yukon called out his government's attack on hunters in Bill C-21. The member for Avalon called out the Liberals' carbon tax on home heating. A 25-year Liberal MP from Toronto i…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to statistics related to the Canadian Coast Guard's mid-shore patrol vessels, broken down by month since 2019: (a) how many ships were in service; (b) how many days was each ship (i) tied to the dock, (ii) operating out at sea; and (c) for each day that the ships were docked, was the docking due to weather conditions or other factors, specifying what the other factors were?

Government Orders

moved: That Bill C-32 be amended by deleting the short title. Madam Speaker, normally if a Canadian wanted to know what was happening with their federal government and what the federal government was doing for them, one would think it would be natural to look at the fall economic statement or a federal budget. My advice to Canadians is, if they want to know what is really going on in this country,…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I will not apologize, but I will stand up proudly and say that Canadians across the country understand the damage and inefficiency of the carbon tax. Not only do they believe it should not increase, but it should not triple. If we want to talk about broken promises under the Liberal government tabling legislation, former environment minister, Catherine McKenna, who is no longer a me…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my Bloc Québécois colleague for her question and the opportunity to practise my second language this afternoon. I agree with the question in general. On the health file, there is a major crisis in every province and every region of this country. We need leadership from the federal government and the Minister of Health. The government made a commitment to put more money into …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, no, the Conservatives do not believe that the failed carbon tax is working. If we look at the metrics that the Green Party has itself, we have a carbon tax that has been increasing every year since it came into effect. We were told that emissions would drop when the carbon tax came in. Emissions have gone up every year and they will continue to do so. The government still has not ta…