Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate that my colleague put an emphasis on the reason why the member for Wellington—Halton Hills was threatened. He was threatened because of his leadership in standing with victims of genocide. Through the motion that he put forward, the motion that was adopted unanimously, though with cabinet abstaining, Canada's legislature was the first in the world, but it star…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and his work. It is a pleasure to work with him on the matter of Uyghurs' rights and other important human rights issues. It is important to underline how the threats that were made against the member for Wellington—Halton Hills followed the leadership he showed in recognizing the Uyghur genocide issue. The fact is that Canada's Parliament was the…
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Madam Speaker, that may be the only time my friend from Lac-Saint-Jean is ever on the government's side, but I know there was a lot of space over there he was doing his best to fill. I want to ask about the Hong Kong national security law, because this is an important aspect of the issue of foreign interference. Many flights transit through Hong Kong, of course, and Hong Kong's national security l…
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Madam Speaker, it was a pleasure to work with the member on the special committee on Canada-China relations in the last Parliament. We got a lot of important work done. In particular, we began a study, which was interrupted by the election, highlighting the national security threats that were associated with Canada's relationship with the PRC. What struck me about some of the work we did at the ti…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the issue of responding to interference by foreign diplomats. Of course, foreign interference does not always involve diplomats, but it often can and the government has been way behind on disciplining or expelling any diplomats, none up until today. This is in a context where the member pointed out some of the anomalies, in terms of the numbers of diplomats here…
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Mr. Speaker, it is actually a different point of order. The Speaker, prior to question period, made it clear that doing indirectly what we cannot do directly, which is accusing someone of lying or calling someone a liar, is a violation of the rules. The member just got up and said that what had been said by the member was not true. I think he should be forced to apologize and withdraw that comment…
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Mr. Speaker, a critical point for me in the development of this discussion was when we had the foreign affairs minister before committee on Thursday last week. The member for Wellington—Halton Hills was asking her about the expulsion of diplomats. What she said back is that we have to weigh the possibility of countermeasures, retaliation, economic measures and other things. To me, that just underl…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, there were four specific issues in the opposition motion that was voted on today. Those measures involved the expulsion of diplomats and the creation of a foreign registry. These are common-sense measures that all members should support, like having a national public inquiry. The government voted against that motion. It did not really provide any explanation for what it is not prepare…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this gravely serious issue today, the threats to our beloved country’s sovereignty and security presented by foreign, state-backed interference, especially such interference originating in Beijing. This is the primary defining security threat of our country in this time. Foreign state-backed interference seeks to undermine our sovereignty by co…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the critical tools we have in the fight against foreign interference is sunlight. When we expose the efforts of foreign powers to influence this country, not in every case but in many cases, it undermines the ability of those efforts and that interference to be effective. This is well established. In fact, many other countries intentionally choose to declassify swaths of inform…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. Clearly, in areas of national security, not everything can be shared publicly, but that should not be a carte blanche for the government to be able to call anything “national security” when it might not actually pose a risk, or to keep secret whatever information it, for its political interests, wants to keep secret. Again, we clearly have a problem here of f…
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Mr. Speaker, it will not surprise the member that I do not agree with her characterization of the Conservatives' role in this. We have been putting forward constructive solutions from the beginning. We have been proposing policy ideas that the government could take. Our motion is very clear in putting forward policy solutions. It does not contain any shots at the government in terms of the policy …
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Madam Speaker, that is a great point from my colleague. With the way government members talk about government spending, we would think it was their own money. They say they are going to give people this for dental care and give people this for groceries. There is no appreciation that this money comes from the people we are giving it back to. In every case that the government promises new spending,…
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Madam Speaker, I will start with the example I know best, which is the previous Conservative government. The previous Conservative government brought in targeted tax relief for the lowest-income taxpayers. We lowered the GST, which was a regressive tax. We brought in universal child care supports, which went directly to parents, that emphasized choice in child care. Imagine letting parents decide …
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to address the House this evening, as well as the various people who are watching at home. I know my kids are watching. They wanted to watch the hockey game, but I told them no, as it was important for them to be watching their dad on CPAC instead. Given the score, though, they will be glad of the choice that has been made for them. I want to assure members I…
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Madam Speaker, the member for Kingston and the Islands enjoyed the pause, so I will take another drink and let him reflect on the things being said. I would never suggest there are very few Liberals here in the House to hear my speech, but I know many will be watching at home and some might be online as well.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member suggests my kids might be asleep. If my kids have trouble sleeping, we usually find clips of the member for Kingston and the Islands and play them. It is true. Actually, that is the punishment. When the kids are misbehaving, we tell them, “If you don't stop fighting, you have to watch Mark Gerretsen's speech.”
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Madam Speaker, pardon me. I apologize and withdraw that. What I meant to say—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I meant to say that when my kids misbehave, I play speeches from the member for Kingston and the Islands as a punishment. I did not mean to say his name in this place.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we will see about that. I want to return to one issue that has been in the news lately and is in another area where I would challenge the government to do more when it comes to modernizing processes. This is about how our institutions respond to the issue of foreign state-backed interference. Many Canadians are deeply concerned about foreign state-backed interference, as they should…
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Madam Speaker, respectfully, the hon. member has completely mis-characterized my view. If he would indulge me for a moment, there is an important distinction between neo-liberalism and conservatism. Conservatives do not believe that capitalism is the solution to every problem. We believe there are many social problems that require other kinds of solutions, and that strong families, strong communit…
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Madam Speaker, some of the memorable phrases from the Conservative leader would say it very well. We are interested in removing gatekeepers. We are interested in smaller government and bigger citizens. We are not talking about an individual's size. We are talking about citizens who are resilient and able to work within communities, within families and within local government structures to solve pr…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the petition I am presenting today relates to the carbon tax. The petitioners are concerned about how the government's carbon tax is continuing to drive up the cost of home heating and the cost of living for Canadians. They note that heating one's home in the winter in Canada is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Nevertheless, as the petitioners point out, the government is planning to …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this petition was signed by people in my riding, many of whom have taken significant steps to support newcomers to Canada from Ukraine, people who have come to Canada for the time of the illegal, unprovoked, full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian newcomers are hard-working. They are committed to contributing to Canadian society while they are here, but petitioners are conce…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Trudeau Foundation. The Trudeau Foundation is the talk of the town in many ways, so it is important to review what the foundation actually is because the Trudeau Foundation is a curious beast. As far as its structure and its governance goes, it is kind of a chameleon, conveniently identifying as a charity some of the time and as a government instituti…
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Mr. Speaker, the budget claims that the government plans to reduce spending on outside consultants. This is at a time when we have seen massive increases in government spending inside of government and on outside consultants. In terms of the government's relationship with McKinsey, can the government confirm that it will be joining B.C.'s class action lawsuit against McKinsey for its role in the o…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, very simply, I laid out, in my previous comments, the governance of the foundation and the problems with it, the way the governance of the foundation integrates government with control by the Trudeau family of this public institution. The member opposite asks why we do not take his word for it that the Prime Minister has not been involved and is not involved. Does he know why I do n…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the government has a habit of prioritizing the interests of its well-connected friends by giving money to consultants that could be better spent on helping and supporting Canadians. For a number of months, Conservatives have been highlighting the government's approach to McKinsey, in particular. McKinsey was led by Dominic Barton, someone who at least the Prime Minister and the fina…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, obviously this omnibus budget implementation act contains many different kinds of measures. We are going to find pieces here and there where we say, yes, we agree with that, but we have to vote overall on the direction of the budget. I think there has been a great deal of unity in this House on many issues to do with Ukraine. In fact, where we have been critical of the government wi…
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Madam Speaker, tonight I would like to speak about the idea of freedom in Canadian politics because I think, underneath the debate we are having about this budget, there is a deeper debate about the nature of freedom. What is freedom? Freedom, in the modern context, in common usage, has the sense of describing a reality in which the individual has a broader range of decision-making space. An indiv…
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Madam Speaker, let us answer the question in terms of freedoms. If we look at the many projects that have been proposed for this country, various kinds of development projects in various regions, in various sectors, I think of many examples, in particular in my part of the country, of projects that have been entirely viable based on private sector funding, would have created massive numbers of job…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I do not think my friend across the way really understood the question. Aside from dipping fishing rods in different holes, the question was about McKinsey getting over $100 million in contracts from the government. The member says that I try to make things look as bad as possible. Respectfully, it is not very difficult in this case. This is a company that literally advised on how t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the next petition I will table today raises concerns from a number of my constituents about proposals for the legalization of euthanasia for children. We saw a committee report coming from the other three parties in the House calling for the expansion of euthanasia to include children. The petitioners in this case particularly note a proposal for the legalization of euthanasia for bab…
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to present a number of petitions to the House today. The first petition deals with special immigration measures for people from Hong Kong. The petitioners note that recent Hong Kong graduates can apply for open work permits under a temporary public policy for Hong Kong residents. There are two pathways, stream A and stream B, that have been announced.…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of my private member’s bill, Bill C-257. This bill recognizes the challenges of people facing political discrimination here in Canada for their political beliefs. The petitioners note that it is in the best interests of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the exchange of differing ideas, and that this bill would protect people f…
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition I will table today deals with the situation of religious and ethnic minorities in Afghanistan. I will note that signatures were gathered prior to the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, and even prior to that point there were significant challenges facing Afghanistan's Sikh and Hindu communities, as well as other minorities. The petitioners at the time were calling …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his work on this important subject. I know he previously served in the military and spoke about the responsibility to protect. I wonder if he can share with the House some more thoughts on how we can give life to this idea of responsibility to protect, because it seems to me that, as we develop these doctrines, we make these promises, these bold ideas about inte…
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to present a number of petitions to the House today. The first petition is on an issue that is important in my riding. It is the issue of foreign oil being imported into Canada. The petitioners note that Alberta in particular and Canada in general have the potential to produce more of the world's most environmentally friendly oil using high labour sta…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill C-257, which is a private member's bill that I have put before the House. It responds to the problem of political discrimination, which is about people being discriminated against on the basis of their political views. The petitioners note that Canadians have a right to be protected against discrimination on the basis of their views…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with the situation in Hong Kong and the concerns about free and fair trials, judicial independence and a lack of rule of law in Hong Kong. Those who have been involved in the democracy movement in China have been subject to politicized prosecution aimed at suppressing their legitimate democracy activity. Canada's immigration and refugee law seeks t…
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition that raises significant concerns about proposals to legalize euthanasia for children, that is, to allow the killing of children by our medical system. The petitioners highlight in particular the comments of Louis Roy of the Collège des médecins du Québec, who recommended euthanasia for babies, that children and infants be killed. The petitioners find the p…
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition from citizens concerned about the government's proposals to politicize charitable status determination in Canada. They note a proposal in the Liberal Party election platform to deny charitable status to organizations with convictions that are different from those of the Liberal Party as it relates to the issue of abortion. The petitioners note that the eff…
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition I am tabling is in some respects similar to the last one. It deals with discriminatory proposals made by the Minister of National Defence advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination. Its final report, released in early 2022, effectively called for the exclusion from military chaplaincy of clergy that are part of religious traditions that have a different vi…
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives are deeply concerned about the situation in Sudan. For 30 years, Sudan was led by a genocidal dictator, Omar al-Bashir. In late 2018 and early 2019, the Sudanese people came together in heroic resistance against that regime and succeeded in forcing al-Bashir out of office. At the time, as we continue to do, we saluted the courage of the Sudanese people. Just like in Iran…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, here we go again. It is just a building. To acquaint the government House leader, because maybe he has never been there, the building is called the Prime Minister's office. It is a four-storey building. Everybody who works in that building is either exempt staff of the Prime Minister or a member of the Prime Minister's own department. It is not like an apartment building where they ju…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if you could clarify the application of Standing Order 18, especially during members' statements.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask if the government is considering using the tool of sanctions in the present context to hold accountable those who are involved in this violence and those who are involved in atrocities against civilians. Is the government contemplating the use of that tool at the present time to try to deter further violence against civilians?
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
moved: That this House do now adjourn. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank your office for granting us the opportunity to have this emergency debate on the tragic situation unfolding in Sudan. I also want to thank all the members who are here tonight. I know the hour is late and there are many issues competing for our attention, but I think we all understand how important it is to be engaged with global …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, in a way, the member's question could open many different avenues for me to go down in response. We need to think about what is particular to Sudan and we also need to think about the geopolitical context. We need to think about both of those things at the same time. What is particular to Sudan is, of course, the specific circumstances I outlined. There is the fact that there are two …
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