Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Conservatives have been asking for bail reform since I came to the House, which is almost five years now, and the member consistently told us, like the Liberals, that there was no problem. The justice committee meeting was cancelled last week. Last week we voted on Bailey's law, Bill C-225. Should we …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I want to recognize someone who has worked in my office since I was elected, Stephanie Rennick. This is her 32nd anniversary of working on Parliament Hill. I am profoundly indebted to people like her. We all are. Most of us are nothing without our staff. I want to thank Stephanie for e…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I would like to recognize George Marchese for 40 years with Western Roofing, a Kamloops institution. George is a huge fan of the Kamloops Blazers. He helps out with the Scouts and the Kamloops Rugby Club. I thank him for his devotion. I listened intently to my colleague's speech. He spoke about the …
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Mr. Speaker, I actually wrapped up my colleague from Mission's answer very quickly, because I wanted to hear from my colleague for whom I have a great deal of time. I am by no means an expert on fisheries, but I do have 29 first nations in my riding. I understand the importance of fishing, particularly when it comes to economies on the island, and first nations economies at that. From what I have …
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Mr. Speaker, there is a really quick reason for this. This government is all talk, no rock.
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Mr. Speaker, I see so many Liberal backbenchers who are not allowed to speak because this member wants to make baseless accusations. Why is another member not standing up right now? The community of Merritt was promised money for the flooding. All these Liberals talk about is how they are going to have our backs. The Prime Minister and cabinet ministers went to British Columbia and said they would…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree wholeheartedly. We do not always agree with the Bloc, but I agree wholeheartedly. This is not a generational budget. This is generational spending, where $5,400 is being added for every single family. That is how much our deficit is. This is why people are getting rich. Certain people are getting rich: consultants, Brookfield shareholders and probably a few others. There are p…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to again rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Where I parted ways with my speech was when I was talking about things that people in my riding and communities in my riding had asked for. For instance, one of the things I wrote to the finance minister about, which I do not believe was addressed, as none of these things were addressed, was the Villag…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister said that our leader lives in an ivory tower.
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Mr. Speaker, if we ever had to have an example of someone in an ivory tower, it is the minister from northern Saskatchewan here, who will not even listen to what my constituents are telling me. The Liberals say that Canadians have never had it so good. I would say that young people have never had it be so challenging. We have people who do not have a house. My parents came to Canada without two pe…
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I am striking a chord now, Mr. Speaker. This is good—
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Mr. Speaker, the member from northern Saskatchewan said, “Hear, hear!” I wonder if that member will stand up, give a speech and talk about the provincial debt, the federal debt and whether the provincial debt and the federal debt, if combined—
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Mr. Speaker, we hear about debt to GDP, and we have a debt-to-GDP ratio, but we have two levels of government in this country. When the government says that we have the lowest debt to GDP, is it actually counting the provincial debt in there? What about Crown debt? Is it counting that? I will be honest with members. I have not done the calculations, so maybe I am completely out to lunch on this. I…
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Mr. Speaker, I was having such a good day until you told me I would be interrupted for question period, but democracy cannot wait. It is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Being in the House, I see many people in the gallery. I am not allowed to point out the firefighters and fire chiefs who may be present, so I just thank them for being present in Ottaw…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. This is a profound moment for me. This is the first time I have been able to rise on my own private member's bill, as in within both the first and second hours. In the last Parliament, we had Bill C-291, which changed the name from “child pornography” to “child sexual abuse and exploitation material”.…
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Mr. Speaker, I would seek a recorded division, please.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I want to recognize the life of Ray Hebert. Ray was a 45-year-old corporal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He recently died of brain cancer. I offer my condolences to him and to his children. He was the son of Karen and Martin, the husband of Kate, brother of Adrian and fathe…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I was recently approached by a member of the community who informed me that his mom had passed away. I would like to express my condolences and respects to the family of Kamaljit Cheema. I know that Kamaljit will be very much missed. I extend my deepest condolences. May perpetual lig…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I want to recognize the life of Ziya Gul Zalmai, mother to Alex. Alex came to Canada from Afghanistan and settled in Kamloops because it reminded him of Afghanistan. He witnessed so much in Afghanistan. I was really saddened to learn that his mother recently passed away. Therefore in r…
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Mr. Chair, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I would like to thank my learned colleague for an excellent speech. In fact, if anyone wants to know the Liberal attitude toward this, I was sitting in the House during question period, and the President of the Treasury Board laughed when we were speaking about mill closures in B.C. He essentially said …
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Mr. Chair, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. My colleague has been in Parliament for only a short time, but I believe he has really distinguished himself in that short time as being a very competent, capable and conscientious member of Parliament. We have been without a softwood lumber deal for literally thousands of days. When Conservatives were …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, next Monday, December 1, we will have the second hour of debate on my private member's bill, Bill C-225. The bill would address the scourge that is intimate partner violence. Thus far I have been very disappointed with the Liberals' response to such a bill, which is needed right here, right now. In attendance, I anticipate and hope, will be some of Bailey McCourt's family members, who…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I want to recognize a very special birthday for a resident of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, and that is the 40th birthday of my friend and a wonderful lawyer, Greg Thompson. I wish him and his family all the best on his 40th. I listened to my colleague's speech, and I do not believe we hav…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. That minister needs to look in the mirror. That member voted against a Conservative bill to put extortionists in jail. That member voted for house arrest for people who do extortion with a firearm. That member voted to repeal mandatory jail time for extortion with a firearm. Talk about being out of touch. Talk about missing the boat on j…
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Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took power, extortion is up 330% in Canada. There have been 100 reported extortions already in Surrey, Abbotsford and Delta. The Prime Minister recently visited British Columbia, and he said nothing about this pressing problem. The question is this: Why are these Liberals allowing extortions to run rampant, whether it be in Calgary, Windsor, Surrey or Brampton? Why?
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-14 has nothing to do with mandatory minimum sentences for people who possess and produce child sexual abuse and exploitation material. I have looked far too many victims in the eye to feel comfortable giving the answer that the secretary of state just gave. Victims do not want excuses; they want action. We often hear about charter rights for accused individuals, including pedop…
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Mr. Speaker, I spent much of my legal career prosecuting Internet offences against children. This included possession of child sexual abuse material. Let us be clear: Victims often serve a psychological life sentence. Last week the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the mandatory one year in jail for possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The minister said today that he will …
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Mr. Speaker, my friend's question about the Jordan principle is an incredibly critical question. The Jordan principle will delay charges. We are waiting far too long to institute charges because the clock starts ticking. A sexual offender who offends against a woman may not be charged until day 365 so that the clock does not start ticking. What happens on that day? That delay is critical to protec…
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Mr. Speaker, when somebody is convicted, the presumption of innocence is gone. I have no problem talking about the Conservative position on bail, which is generally that bail has become too loose, and I believe this bill could actually go much further. I also believe that, when the presumption of innocence has been displaced, as my colleague just mentioned, we need to act in a different manner. Th…
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Mr. Speaker, I just saw two Liberals stand up. It appears they want to take up time here. Actually, one of them was the member for Winnipeg North. I really enjoy his interventions on the law. We are talking about the law today. One of my favourite aspects of our banter in the House with the member for Winnipeg North is Bill C-2. It was really interesting to hear him talk. He will often get up and,…
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Mr. Speaker, I see the Liberals are clapping. I wonder where that type of urgency was when we had our jail not bail act. That bill was endorsed by many of the same organizations that are endorsing this bill. The Liberals are content to say that we need to pass the bill right away because these law enforcement bodies are telling us that they need it. Where was that urgency from the Liberals when th…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals tell us all they are doing in Bill C-14. They could be doing more by passing Bill C-225. I spoke with Flo Bellman and Paul Henderson. Their daughter Darian was killed by her intimate partner. They support this bill. Trish and Debbie support this bill. An NDP premier, David Eby, supports this bill. I see that the minister is wearing a button. Why does she not swap that but…
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Mr. Speaker, I drafted a Conservative private member's bill, Bill C-225. This is known as Bailey's law and is the most dramatic bill to address intimate partner violence in Canadian history. Bailey's family, Trish and Debbie, are present in Ottawa, and they are watching. They want to know, and victims want to know, will the Liberals back Bill C-225, yes or no?
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin my question, I want to recognize that 20 years ago my wife decided to date me and how blessed and fortunate I have been for those 20 years. I thank my wife for that. I did not forget. I wonder if my colleague is aware that at the Vancouver airport, for instance, up to 20% of people who …
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Mr. Speaker, the public safety minister’s job is to keep Canadians safe, yet just today we learned that 32,000 foreign nationals have warrants pending their deportation. This means they are lost. They are wanted. There are 32,000 people, and the minister does not know where they are. We have him on secret recording saying his gun confiscation will not work. We have crime absolutely skyrocketing, a…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. My hon. colleague was just asked a question by the member for Winnipeg North. The member intimated that nobody wants safe injection sites next to schools. I think that we can all agree with that. Where I part company with the Liberal Party is on whether we will permit safe injection sites near schoo…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I am hoping to work together with my colleague on a private member's bill that I put forward with respect to an area of mutual interest. It is interesting that the member spoke about immigration, because my parents, as I have spoken about many times, emigrated from Italy to Canada. Therefore, I owe …
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I appreciate what my colleague just said, and I want to build on the question that was just asked. I recently met with the union for the CBSA. The CBSA can maybe get 700 people per year through training. It loses between 500 and 600 people a year through attrition. Job satisfaction is extremely low,…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I know that my colleague comes to the House with great passion and a very rich sense of a desire to do well by his constituents, and Canadians for that matter. The bill we are debating here today is a rehashing of Bill C-2. I wonder if my colleague could comment on what he saw as the issues of Bill …
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I commend the member for Scarborough—Woburn for getting so many questions in. This is wonderful. We are hearing from somebody other than the member for Winnipeg North. This is just wonderful. Debate is to be encouraged in this place, and I love seeing that. I thank the member for his heckling and inte…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. If we want to talk about relevance, I would remind the member for Winnipeg North that yesterday, when I introduced a bill on intimate partner violence, a bill that has been widely accepted by so many and is about as non-partisan a bill as we can get, he talked about its being “American-style” politics…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I want to pick up on what the member for Winnipeg North said. There is a resounding loyalty to the mess that is Bill C-2. I still do not think he has given up on the warrant issue and on believing that Canada Post should be able to open our mail without a warrant. This is the type of verbiage we are…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I cannot believe the member just referred to partisan politics with respect to the bill. I will look her right in the eye and say that there is absolutely nothing partisan about the bill.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
I would like to continue if the hon. member would give me a chance to speak about this. Madam Speaker, there is nothing partisan about the bill. It is the most significant intervention on the law of intimate partner violence ever, yet the Liberals want to stand up and accuse us of partisanship. Good grief. This is so wrong. I asked if the Liberals would support this. There has not been one word ou…
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moved that Bill C-225, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, but today it is a particular pleasure, a distinct pleasure, because today I believe I rise on behalf of all Canadians to report on an epidemic, something that touches all Canadians, which is …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's thoughtful intervention. I do not see this as a doubling up of efforts. At the end of the day, calling an offence what it is, the assault of an intimate partner, is not the doubling up of effort. Allowing the court more tools to bring somebody before it in order to perform a risk assessment is not the doubling up of effort. I appreciate all that has been do…
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Madam Speaker, the member for Waterloo does not seem to want to give me the chance to speak today. The member spoke about my conduct and what I said as “bogus”. Indirectly or directly, he cannot impugn another's character like that—
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Madam Speaker, I will tell the House that my 10 years as a Crown prosecutor was a substantial base to start with. I spoke with people from women's groups, victims of intimate partner violence, police officers and countless people. I am at a loss right now. This is quite possibly the most non-partisan bill that could have been authored. There is nothing partisan about the bill.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge a few people from Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. I want to acknowledge the life of Dana Evans. I was very saddened to read about Dana's passing. She was mother to one of my friends in high school, Derek Luce, and his brother, Louie Luce. I did not know this, but she …
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Madam Speaker, what I find very despicable is that the Liberals, an hour ago, refused to support my private member's bill, Bill C-225. I hope they reconsider that. On the mail issue, I hope the member reconsiders it. I am going to read the bill one more time in hopes that he will concede. We have had our back-and-forths in this House many times. Perhaps some of them have been draws when it comes t…
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