Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I will first address the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands. I challenge him to find one case where the maximum was imposed, if that was the case. If we are going to discuss mandatory minimum sentences, I note there are a lot of mandatory minimum sentences in the Criminal Code. There are mandat…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. My hon. colleague and I do agree on a number of points, one of which is that there is a necessity to keep and to lower incarceration rates for marginalized people. Now, where he and I part company is when he frames the discussion as one around retribution. The courts in this country have consiste…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, this petition is in support of Bill S-223, seeking to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking, making it a criminal offence to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. This bill has passed the Senate unanimously three times and passed unanimously in the House of Commons in 2019 in the same form. The petitioners hope that this Parliament will act on this petition.
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a 100-year-old World War II veteran: James Francis Edwards, also known as “Stocky” Edwards. A Saskatchewan native, Mr. Edwards joined the Royal Canadian Air Force out of college in 1942. Over the next three years, he became Canada's highest-scoring ace in the Western Desert campaign, attributed with 19 confirmed kills and many more unconfirmed. He served in …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the health minister has been asked about 15 questions today, but he has not answered a single one, so I hope he can answer this one from a young woman named Nancy from my riding. Nancy is an indigenous single mother. She works for the federal government, 100% from home. She is vaccine hesitant for personal reasons. Like members of our armed forces, she is now being told that she canno…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be joined today by my family here in Ottawa. Juno Beach is one of the most sacred places in Canadian military history. The bravery of 14.000 Canadians who landed there on D-Day continues to inspire generations of Canadians and led directly to the liberation of Europe from tyranny and fascism. A condo development threatens not only the beach but the operations of the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I agree with some of what the member talked about with respect to principles, but where we part company is when we discuss the principles underlying libertarianism and individuality. I am going to put the question that I put to the health minister today to him. He talked about the efficacy of mandate…
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Mr. Speaker, thank you for the clarification. With the greatest of respect to the member for Hamilton Centre, I represent real working people as well. My riding has seen a record number of sawmills shut down. My riding is even complaining about not being able to find workers when we do have industries there. With all due respect, I am not sure that simply capitalism is the problem here. The proble…
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Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned about inflation. My friend and colleague for Vaughan—Woodbridge just mentioned that he was prepared to fight for the middle-class Canadian. I found that really interesting as I was listening to and reflecting on his comments, because Canadians are concerned about inflation. When we ask about this in the House, especially on this side of the House, we hear that in…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I recently spoke with a veteran named Nicole. Day after day for many years, she was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Nicole was medically discharged from the military after developing PTSD after being sexually assaulted. Caseworkers at Veterans Affairs Canada are overworked, and so much so that calls often cannot be returned, like Nicole's. Nicole's story is a sad one, but it …
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Mr. Speaker, I am certainly sympathetic to the people of Conception Bay South with gas at $1.91. I still remember when the gas stations were making room for the one in front of the zero, in Vancouver when I was an undergraduate university student. That was not that long ago, and here we are. I am certainly sympathetic. With respect to fewer goods or the same amount of goods, we have goods. Those g…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have learned a lot from the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, as I have learned from members on all sides of the aisle, so I thank him for that. I am not sure why the Prime Minister would have voted against this. This is a pretty clear-cut right thing to do. When we have foreign money coming in, it will increase costs. Not only that, when we talk about money laundering…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver a statement on behalf of a member of my staff, Mr. Michael Friesen: In the 1940’s, my grandparents were Ukrainian Mennonites, pacifist farmers caught in a war between two world powers. As the Soviet Red Army swept through Ukraine, they ruthlessly attacked these peaceful people. My grandparents fled with their families as refugees, through Holland, into Paraguay…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Twice I referenced the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, and I referenced a specific provision that was in a schedule while the act is in force. I came to learn from a very sharp-eyed person that the schedule is not in force, so I withdraw my comments that were made with respect to section 21 in that schedule.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. The hon. member took a very analytical approach in his speech and I do appreciate all that he said. Earlier in question period, the hon. Minister of Justice was asked about releasing any legal opinions in his capacity as Minister of Justice and Attorney General that were provided to him as minister…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I have noticed a trend as a sit here in the House of Commons on behalf of my constituents, and it is as though the speeches coming from the government benches are pretty much exactly the same. They cite the exact same rationale in just about the exact same order. In fact, section 21 of the Comprehe…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I respectfully depart from my colleague's analysis where he says that Canada has never been more united. Frankly, it has been divided, and it has been mostly divided by our Prime Minister and his rhetoric. I want to zero in on one thing the hon. member said. He mentioned two comments that were re…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I take this member's remarks to be that in his view, the temperature really has to be dialed down and that we have to really watch that things do not become normalized. I wonder if he can comment, when it comes to normalizing things, on the Prime Minister's lack of apology to the member for Thornhill…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I find it rather disheartening that we have an ode to hope here, but partisan rhetoric really couches it. One thing the hon. member said in his speech is that public opinion is on his side. I would like to ask him when the rule of law became subordinate to public opinion. He cited those two principle…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I would like to ask my hon. colleague something that really builds on the question that was asked of the member for Kingston and the Islands. The member for Kingston and the Islands asked this hon. colleague's colleague about the Emergencies Act. I really hope that this gets through. That is this. …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. My hon. colleague, the hon. parliamentary secretary, spoke about many lawyers in this House who have scrutinized this bill and have felt that the threshold is met. Well, I can tell him that after scrutinizing the bill, this lawyer does not feel that the threshold has been met. The member spoke about …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time for remarks with the hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock. It is an honour to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, not only in this House generally but in such important times. Sometimes we do forget what a tremendous honour it is. I am sad, though, to be here discussing emergency measures today. This has been a time, with respe…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the Criminal Code actually deals with all of those issues. When the hon. member speaks about the invocation of a state of emergency, I did not see a single thing change. He is right. I did not see a single thing change. I did not see any enforcement change. What was step one? What was step two? We cannot simply do this because we do not like how something is being enforced. It shoul…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister declared “Canada is back” when he was first elected. The problem is this: One can say anything they want, but at the end of the day it is their actions that people will judge. People look at actions and they look at integrity. We have a Prime Minister that, with respect, has not displayed a great deal of integrity, whether it comes to ethical breaches or it comes …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I will be very clear. When we talk about the legislation, has the threshold been met? Simply saying, “Do you view it this way colloquially?” is not the question that is before the House. The question that is before the House is whether the threshold has been met. With respect, I do not believe it has been because I do not view this as the act of last resort.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member spoke at length about the negative aspects of what is occurring in Ottawa. Unfortunately, the act we are debating today is not based only on the negative aspects. It has a critical threshold. He talked about what people and businesses have experienced. We need to put all that aside and focus on what can be done about this. People can be arrested and vehicles can be sei…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. It is interesting that the hon. leader of the NDP has spoken about the division of the government, yet he has consistently propped up the government that has chosen to divide. He spoke about the fact that the Emergencies Act should not touch on Quebec, yet he is supporting legislation that theoretica…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I would be remiss if I did not wish my wife Odette, my better half, a very happy Valentine's Day. To get to the more germane issue and the minister's speech, about five weeks ago, I took the minister to have stated that vaccinations should be considered mandatory by some provinces. I want to ask wh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would agree with my hon. colleague. It certainly strains credulity when one considers that it was known for so long that this was an issue. Moreover, we had a Prime Minister who called nothing but a vanity election and then waited for months to reconvene Parliament. I echo the member's sentiments, and understand her sentiments questioning the need to ram this through. She spoke ab…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Veterans Affairs Canada is set to cut hundreds of disability benefits adjudicators in March. These adjudicators were hired to deal with the massive backlog at Veterans Affairs. I asked the hon. minister what would happen when these people were cut, with respect to the backlog. His answer was that the backlog would increase 50% in just nine months. Will the minister commit to rescindin…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, with respect, I do not believe my question had anything to do with unspent funds. I did not ask the hon. parliamentary secretary anything about unspent funds. I asked about backlog numbers. I am not sure why we are getting a prepared answer, when I did not ask that question.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the member may say I asked for it previously. I am talking about right here and right now. It is incumbent on the parliamentary secretary, with respect, to answer the question I actually put forward to the government. I am going to ask very specific questions, and I would invite the hon. parliamentary secretary to deviate from the prepared remarks, because we saw where that got us t…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. Veterans and their families are being left behind by the Liberal government. When they rise in the House on this issue, representatives of the government are quick to state that they have made historic investments and done more than any government has done to invest in veterans. With the greatest o…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I am not sure what particular legislation she is referring to, so it is very difficult for me to answer a question about general legislation. As Conservatives, and like all people in this House, we want what is best for Canadians, and I am prepared to fight for that, as are all Conservatives.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise on behalf of the residents of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo on this important topic. The hon. parliamentary secretary made two points that I wish to follow up on with him. They are both relatively brief. The first is that he said we should work together. I note that the leader of the official opposition tonight sent a letter to the Prime Minister and all party lea…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the residents of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, especially on a topic as important as this one. I will be direct. I would love to see an end to what is going on outside, a peaceful end, and that end begins with the Prime Minister. COVID has been a difficult situation for everybody. Obviously, everybody in the House denounces any violence and …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I feel that is what I am doing right now. I am discussing all Canadians, not just some Canadians. I implore a peaceful resolution to what is happening right now, but when we talk about democracy and a peaceful resolution, we are about two weeks in now. Where has the Prime Minister been the last two weeks? That is really the big question, but let us not focus just on where he has bee…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his helpful remarks and for his comments. At this point, I feel a lot of what we can do has really been exhausted. If I can put it bluntly, the ball is in the Prime Minister's court. He is the head of state of Canada. I endorse what the Leader of the Opposition has suggested, which is a meeting between the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, veterans benefits should adjust with inflation, yet veterans benefits have increased only 2.7% when inflation has increased by 4.8%. This may not seem like a lot to Laurentian elites, but to veterans who are trying to feed their families, every single penny counts amid ballooning inflation. Will the Minister of Veterans Affairs commit to ending this discriminatory policy so veterans c…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to complaints from veterans that Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) area and regional offices have been closed to in person visits, assistance, and assessments since the COVID-19 pandemic began: (a) which VAC regional offices are currently open to in person visits from veterans; (b) what is the timeline for when each VAC regional office currently not open to in person visits will reopen to …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to caseworkers at Veterans Affairs Canada, since January 1, 2020: (a) how many caseworkers have (i) reported that their job has had a negative impact on their mental health, (ii) taken leave or days off related to stress or mental health concerns; (b) what has been the turnover rate for caseworkers, broken down by month; (c) what specific action has the ministry done to support the men…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I watched with horror on Saturday when a very few protesters disrespected and desecrated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I condemn these actions unequivocally. The people who did this missed a clear point, which is that the unknown soldier, and all of those who served this country, served so we could have the very freedoms we enjoy today, such as the right to peaceful assembly and th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the backlog of cases at Veterans Affairs Canada: (a) what is the number of backlog applications for disability benefits as of December 8, 2021; (b) what is the current backlog in terms of time between when an application for benefits is made and the veteran finally receives the benefits; (c) what specific steps have been taken to address the backlog, and when was each step implement…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the impact of inflation on the Market Basket Measure (MBM) and the poverty line: (a) what is the current, or latest, MBM for the reference family and various poverty lines in each of the MBM geographic areas in British Columbia; (b) what was the 2018-base MBM for the reference family and various poverty lines in each geographic area in (a); (c) what percentage of individuals living …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Veterans Affairs Canada is cutting case workers in March, despite veterans and their families waiting up to two years for the benefits to which they are entitled. Last year alone, the department left over $635 million unspent. This is not helping veterans. When will the government take action and address the veterans' care crisis?
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. Veterans and their families feel left behind by the government, to say the least. The veterans ombudsman, veterans advocacy groups and caseworkers from Veterans Affairs Canada have all come forward ringing alarm bells about the failures of the government when it comes to veterans. What …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, before I commence my remarks, I was informed of some sad news, and that is the passing of Ken Greenall of 100 Mile House in my riding. I wish to pass my condolences on to his family. May eternal light shine upon him. On behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, I rise to recognize the extraordinary career of sportscaster Earl Seitz of Kamloops. Earl began his broadcasting car…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. My question is a narrow one. The mandatory minimum penalties sought to be repealed includes section 95 of the Criminal Code, which is one of the most serious firearms offences, because it is an unlicensed individual possessing a restricted or prohibited firearm. The Nur decision from the Supreme …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I commend and congratulate the hon. parliamentary secretary on his appointment. I had some remarks prepared, but I want to address some of the parliamentary secretary's comments. The parliamentary secretary said that people had been hired. However, the information in my office is that many of the people who have been hired will not be retained past March 2022. Could the hon. parliamen…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I was struck by the hon. parliamentary secretary's comments when he said that sentences are getting stiffer. I would first ask him what empirical evidence he has to back up that proposition. In my experience as somebody who worked in the correctional system in penitentiaries, and in the community…
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