Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, during the last exchange with my colleague, I believe I heard the member for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas accuse my hon. colleague of being a Russian asset. If I was mistaken, I apologize, but if I am correct, I would invite him to withdraw that comment or say it outside.
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Madam Speaker, in private, the minister told us the truth. In public, he said his words were misunderstood and mis-characterized. Well, let me translate for him. “[I]f I were to redo this...from scratch, I would have a very different approach”. Translation: The minister does not believe in his plan. “This is the mandate I was given.... Just put an end to this and move on”. Translation: It is about…
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Madam Speaker, I want to reflect on something the member said about the last Parliament, which is that we engaged in some sort of frivolous activities. I hope he will reflect on that, because I do not think any hon. member would suggest that it is frivolous for the House to defend its historic privileges to demand any information it requires to make its decisions. I hope he will reflect on that. T…
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Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary said the Liberals are trying to make it easier for Canadians to enter the housing market. I think she should walk down any street in Ontario. It is harder than ever to buy a home. At no point in history has it been harder to buy a home in this country. That is not getting better; that is only getting worse. In fact, the president of the Residential Construc…
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Mr. Speaker, in June I stood in the House and asked the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure about the housing market and the housing market's stall in the GTA. I noted at that time to the minister that housing sales in the GTA were 89% below their 10-year average. In response, the minister agreed with me in part; in fact he said, “We are seeing a stall in the market as people wait for that cut.…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister says he is taking this seriously, but his own response to the House tells a very different story. Not only has he failed to hire a single new border officer, but he does not even have a plan to hire any. He has failed to keep the government's promise, failed to hire new border officers, failed to stem the flow of illegal guns across the border and failed to keep Canadians…
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Mr. Speaker, in the last election, the Prime Minister promised to hire 1,000 new border officers. Now, the Minister of Public Safety, in his response today, suggested they just do not understand the hiring process. Let me suggest to him that he does not understand how promises work; one actually has to keep them. Internal documents from the CBSA last week disclosed to the House that the Minister o…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was in Mexico this week, and when Mexico decided to get serious about its border, it deployed 10,000 new personnel in a matter of days. At the same time, the Prime Minister promised Canadians he would hire 1,000 new border officers. I have a very simple question for the Minister of Public Safety: How many officers have been hired and are deployed today?
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Mr. Speaker, in all that, I did not hear a number, but let me give him the number. The information disclosed to the House by the Canada Border Services Agency says the Liberals have hired zero new officers. It gets worse. Not only have they not hired any officers; they do not even have a plan to hire any officers. My question again is, when will they hire border officers?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of rising today to present a petition from my riding and the residents of York—Durham, specifically the residents in the town of Georgina along Young's Harbour, about a new invasive aquatic species in Lake Simcoe called water soldier. Water soldier was discovered in Cook's Bay last year and has been confirmed by the water soldier working group, which is a group of …
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister proclaimed himself a fiscal and policy expert and promised Canadians that Canada would have a “declining level of debt.” However, another expert, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, instead warned Canadians that “the deficit will absolutely” increase because of “additional spending.” Now one does not have to be an expert, let alone a self-proclaimed expert,…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on the charitable status of religious organizations and those that are pro-life, and on the Liberal and NDP proposal to revoke that charitable status. Petitioners lament that some members opposite are so blinded by their animus towards charitable organizations that they would seek to undermine the good works that these groups do for the most vulnerable Can…
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With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency's Courier Low Value Shipment Program and the implementation of the E-commerce Low Value Inspection System: (a) what is the status of the E-commerce Low Value Inspection System platform, including whether it is still operating in a pilot phase; (b) what is the original planned implementation date for full E-commerce Low Value Inspection System deploy…
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With regard to Canada's imposition of countermeasures (e.g., surtaxes, tariffs, etc.) on certain U.S. origin goods pursuant to the United States Surtax Order (Motor Vehicles 2025), the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) and the United States Surtax Order (2025-1), each as amended: (a) what is the total amount of revenue collected since March 1, 2025, reported by calendar week, ac…
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With regard to enforcement actions and associated federal funding by the Canada Border Services Agency aimed at intercepting stolen vehicles at Canadian ports and railyards since January 1, 2022: (a) how many stolen vehicles were intercepted and detained by the Canada Border Services Agency in each calendar quarter, broken down by Canada Border Services Agency region; (b) for each quarter, how man…
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With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency's Release Prior to Payment Privilege program: (a) as at the Release Prior to Payment Privilege program's transition period end date of May 20, 2025, at 3:00:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, how many importer program accounts were enrolled in the Release Prior to Payment Privilege program, including as part of the program's transition plan or after Oct…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's honest assessment of the crisis that we are in. It is important. We cannot get to a solution unless we accept the fact that there is a problem, so I thank her for that. I disagree that certain types of housing solutions are from 15 years ago. We can go across the river and see the shipping container village in Gatineau that was opened in December 2024, so t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would hope that as a former attorney general, the member would choose his words more carefully. This court decision did not compel the Liberals to bring forward a bill of mass chain migration. It addressed a simple issue that there was a Conservative proposal to ameliorate. My colleague criticized us for scaremongering and suggesting that millions of people will come to Canada. Coul…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about housing. I have given notice that the responses the Liberal housing minister provided are unsatisfactory. They are unsatisfactory not just to me but to an entire generation of would-be and prospective homebuyers. I have asked several questions in the House of the minister on housing. I know the Liberals like to say it is a new government, but they have been …
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Mr. Speaker, over this session of Parliament, I have repeatedly asked the Liberals how they will fix the housing crisis that they themselves have created, and the response has been typical of Liberals. They say that the government will save us and that not one, not two, but three government housing agencies will build homes for people, and they should be thankful about it. The next generation of h…
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend in Jackson's Point in the town of Georgina, I attended the 10th anniversary of the charity Men Ending Trafficking, which was founded 10 years ago on the simple understanding that the vast majority of demand for sex trafficking in Canada is sadly driven by men, and we need more men working to end that in Canada. I heard heartbreaking stories of daughters stolen, lost …
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's story of the company in her riding, but the great irony of her speech is that this bill would do nothing for that company because she described a provincial barrier, not a federal one. We have heard a lot about that $200 billion. That is all trade barriers, not just federal ones. Will she give us a real, correct number for what this bill would do?
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to the parliamentary secretary's speech. The issue I want to raise here is his characterization of the Auditor General's lack of any further recommendations. I heard the parliamentary secretary say that, as well as other Liberal members. They seem to be suggesting that because there are no further recommendations, everything is fine. I think that is a non sequitur. It does …
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Mr. Speaker, is the minister a member of cabinet?
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Mr. Speaker, I am assuming this is in the minister's bailiwick, though he is not exactly sure what he is responsible for. Last year, his predecessor told the House of Commons that ending the softwood lumber dispute was “a top priority” for her. Does the minister believe the same?
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Mr. Speaker, was GC Strategies awarded any contracts respecting the CBSA's new e-commerce platform, the e-commerce low value inspection system?
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the new Minister of International Trade on his appointment. I know he is a former trade professional, so I look forward to his work on this. Did the Minister of International Trade read the Auditor General's report, released today, on GC Strategies?
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Mr. Speaker, just to clarify, did the minister not read the report?
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Mr. Speaker, is the minister aware of all contracts that are related to his portfolio in international trade, yes or no?
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister know what colour tie he is wearing? We are not getting a yes or no on anything. Can the minister confirm, yes or no, was GC Strategies awarded any contracts with respect to the CBSA's new e-commerce platform?
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister believe that e-commerce is a matter of international trade when goods cross the border?
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Mr. Speaker, is it a top priority for the minister to solve this dispute, yes or no?
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Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of International Trade know how much Canadian softwood lumber producers are currently paying in duties?
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is important, and Canadians probably think it is important, that the Minister of International Trade knows how much in duties Canadian softwood lumber producers are paying. Let me tell him. It is over 46% for Canfor, over 26% for West Fraser and over 34% for all other producers. The Conservative government got a deal done in a matter of months. Why has it taken you nine yea…
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Mr. Speaker, my generation refuses to live in a shipping container. Oxford Economics reported yesterday that Toronto's housing market ranks among the worst in the world for affordability. At the same time, mortgage delinquency rates in Toronto are now higher than at any time during the pandemic. The financial burden is suffocating the next generation of homebuyers, and history has shown us that if…
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Madam Speaker, the numbers are out, and they are bad. We are going to hear that because, frankly, that is the truth. Especially around larger urban centres, there is high unemployment, especially high unemployment amongst youth; I believe the latest numbers show that is over 20%. That is troubling because when people cannot get their first job, they cannot get experience and they cannot build conf…
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to provide clarification to the member opposite. My comment on that was not about new homebuyers; it was about buyers in general. Many homebuyers start in a condo, and of course, they may benefit in the first instance but not as they move throughout different life phases. For example, someone moving from a small condo, which they had when they were first married and did n…
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That could be the case as well. Madam Speaker, I am not sure the new government is really fooling anyone, even its own members. It has the same ministers talking about the same thing. Instead of coming to Canadians with a plan to actually deal with the mess that they themselves created, they have brought half measures, or crumbs. That seems to be the Liberal way, which is that the Liberals are goi…
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Madam Speaker, Liberal experiments in leniency have led to lawlessness on our streets. Ontario court data shows that major assaults have increased 70% since 2015, from 13,000 cases to over 23,000 cases. That is not just a failure of so-called social justice policy; it is a failure of moral responsibility by the government. Will the Prime Minister put victims ahead of violent offenders and cancel h…
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Madam Speaker, it has been ten years and no bail reform. Why? The Liberals think everything is okay. In Durham, they do not. In 2015, there were 68 cases of sexual assault. Last year, there were 128 cases. At the same time, offenders violating bail and other conditions were up 137%. That is not mere coincidence; that is cause and effect. Will the minister please break this cycle of violence and re…
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Madam Speaker, from one new member to another, I would like to welcome my colleague to the chamber. I am sure that, like any good first candidate, he knocked on many doors in his riding. I want to ask him what he was hearing from young people about housing in his riding and how they are trying to make that work.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House to comment on the legislation that we are being asked to vote on and to consider the best interests of our constituents and Canadians. I know this is a bill supposedly dealing with affordability, but if we peel back the onion, it is fairly meagre. There have been a lot of comments asking, “If this was in the Conservatives platform, why wo…
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Madam Speaker, not only are the employment numbers bad; food inflation numbers are bad. Again, do not take my word for it. Look at the "Food Professor", who put the numbers out this week. We saw things like the price of oranges up 26% and beef up 33% or 34% depending on the cut. The costs are spiralling out of control, and the Liberals' approach is this: “Let us give a few breadcrumbs back, and we…
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Mr. Chair, does the minister know the value of lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, caused by the lack of access to cancer treatment because of internal trade barriers?
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Mr. Chair, would the minister provide the House a copy of that list?
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Mr. Chair, if a province does not want to remove a barrier voluntarily, will the Liberal government coerce the province to remove it?
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Mr. Chair, I did not ask what the exemptions were. I asked if you would provide a list that you drew up at the first ministers' meeting.
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Mr. Chair, in the Confederation discussions, George Brown famously said that going from province to province is like “going to a foreign country.” He said that the Confederation proposal is to “throw down all barriers between the provinces—to make a citizen of one, citizen of the whole”. Does the minister agree with our founding fathers that we should throw down all provincial trade barriers?
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Mr. Chair, when would the minister do this?
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Mr. Chair, at your meeting with the first ministers, did you discuss internal trade barriers?
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