Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thought I made a pretty substantive argument as to why, in some cases, the budget was not going to work for Canadians. If the hon. member wants to sit here and hurl insults, it is his prerogative to do so. The fact is that we do not know. In the absence of seeing any of the contracts that have been signed, either through Stellantis or Volkswagen, the only thing we know is that the…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to stand up on behalf of the people of Barrie—Innisfil in the House of Commons and, in this case, in particular, to discuss the budget implementation act. If one listens to the Liberals, and I have been in the House for most of today, one would almost get the sense that Canadians have never had it so good as what they have right now. The member for Ajax stood…
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Madam Speaker, if one were to listen to the hon. member, one could not help but think that Canadians have never had it so good, but what we are seeing, and one just has to scan the headlines to see it, is that Canada's productivity is lagging. It has reached crisis levels. Productivity will take years to remedy. Weak productivity is threatening Canada's postpandemic recovery, and this has a direct…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the hon. member something. Veterans' issues are noticeably absent in this budget. However, the one issue I have been seized with, and I know the member has been seized with it as well, is having the Persian Gulf War veterans deemed as having wartime status. Only two times in our nation's history have we done that, both for the Korean War veterans and the merchant mariner…
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Madam Speaker, I fundamentally believe that here in Ottawa, the federal government has a role to play in assisting the provinces. However, provincial jurisdiction must be respected. Our leader respects provincial jurisdiction and will work with the premiers of every province in order to ensure that we have a confederation that is functioning and united, not divided. The Prime Minister has a tenden…
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Madam Speaker, clearly the country is in desperate need of infrastructure replacement, and not just from a rail standpoint. The difficulty I have with the budget, frankly, is that it does not necessarily focus all of its attention on that. I see a lot of debt and a lot of deficit. I see problems for future generations that are going to be caught up in many of the issues that the budget faces, not …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise on behalf of Canadians to present a petition with respect to this large interventionist government proceeding again to take away consumer rights and health rights of Canadians, which will have a significant impact on the natural health products business in this country that employs literally thousands of people and that represents multi-billions of dollars of bus…
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Mr. Speaker, if the member is so confident in the carbon tax, I dare him to convince the Prime Minister to call an election. The increase caused panic and long lines at gas stations across Barrie—Innisfil last night. Costco was so busy that cars were lined up in live traffic on Mapleview. The NDP-Liberal government plans to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre. The lineups and panic across the …
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Mr. Speaker, people in Ontario went into full panic mode last night, lining up to fill up because gas was going up to $1.80 a litre, the highest it has been in two years. Eighteen cents on every litre of gas are because of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister's carbon tax. By the time the costly coalition is done, the carbon tax will quadruple, rising to 61¢ a litre. After nine years and an extra $10 to…
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Mr. Speaker, for the better part of the afternoon, we have been talking about what has gone on over the last six years, and the fact that the House expressed its view in banning the IRGC as a terrorist organization six years ago. We have not seen any action by the government at all. I am just wondering if my hon. colleague wants to speculate on or perhaps provide the real reason the Liberals are n…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for her speech this afternoon on this very important concurrence motion. I would like her to comment on what the Minister of Foreign Affairs said just before question period when she stood in front of the microphone. She spoke to an Israeli counterpart and said, after the weekend attacks, they should just take the win and de-escalate the situation. …
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for the work she is doing in defending the jobs of energy workers and families and indigenous communities right across the country. She has been a steadfast advocate of the energy sector. One of the things that she understands is the global demand for LNG and the impact and role Canada can play in meeting that demand. We have seen others with less e…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is as if the Prime Minister has forgotten that he has been in power for almost nine years and that he and his policies, all of them, are the direct cause of the housing and mortgage crisis Canadians are facing. The way he has been parading around the country, blaming everyone else but himself for the housing hell reminds me of that old Shaggy song, It Wasn't Me. Well, it was he who…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for bringing this urgent matter to the attention of the House. It has been six years. The House passed the resolution, and yet the government has not acted. We have seen, over the years, the level of threats and intimidation that has gone on within the Iranian community because of the IRGC. Can the hon. member tell the House why he thinks the governme…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadian families and business owners are paying the price with an NDP-Liberal government that is addicted to debt and deficits. Record-high deficits and carbon taxes driving up inflation are increasing the costs on everything, including the necessities of life. Interest rate increases fuelled by NDP-Liberal spending and increased debt are punishing Canadian families and business owne…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, we completely agree with the Bloc Québécois member on this issue. The integrity of parliamentary committees is paramount. We have seen witnesses appear in committee, including the ethics committee, and not answer questions. When we call someone to the bar to testify before a committee, we want to send them the message that parliamentarians are entitled to full and truthful answers e…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would love to hear the member for Brantford—Brant speak for another 20 minutes, so I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House to allow him to do that.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for bringing this issue forward. It is an important one for the House to debate. Like all Canadians, I have been watching what has been going on in the proceedings of the government operations committee, and I have been extremely disturbed by the lack of information being provided by this individual. I know the hon. member is involved in several committees, not…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Helen Horodynsky, who passed away March 13 at the age of 100. Helen was born in the Sumy area of eastern Ukraine. She lived through the Holodomor and the Second World War as forced farm labour in Austria. Helen met her husband, Walter, when they were in the Red Cross DP camps near Salzburg, Austria, and immigrated to Canada in 1949 with Walter and a daug…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a tough time justifying in my own mind how anybody lining up at a food bank is better off than they are providing for their own family. In Barrie, in the month of December, there was a 150% increase in food bank usage. We are seeing two million people a year utilizing food banks in this country. The expectation this year is that there is going to be another million, on top of t…
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of living is currently on the rise across the country because the NDP has supported so many of the Liberal government's policies. I do not think he heard what I was saying before, which is that there are families in this country who are paying more in the carbon tax than what they are getting back. According to the data from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in Ontario, the p…
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Mr. Speaker, what an honour it is for me to stand in this place, pay tribute to the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney and express my sincere condolences to his family: his wife, Mila; daughter, Caroline; and sons, Mark, Nicolas and Ben. I had the opportunity to meet with the family today, and I expressed my sincere condolences on behalf of the people of Barrie—Innisfil. On my 18th birthday, I was a kid wo…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a real honour and privilege to rise on behalf of the people that I represent in Barrie—Innisfil. There is a full-blown carbon tax revolt going on in this country right now. Today's motion represents voices across the country. They are saying that, on April 1, when the 23% increase in the carbon tax occurs, it needs to stop. I know the Speaker is from Nova Scotia and that he hear…
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Mr. Speaker, what a tangled web we weave and how cynical the government has become over the years. I recall, in 2015, when the Prime Minister, with hand over heart, said that better was possible and things were going to be different. In the 2015 election, one of the things Liberals talked about was making Parliament more functional and allowing the opposition parties to be the voices of their cons…
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Madam Speaker, I would gladly accept if the hon. member wanted to split his time with me.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, I rise today in tribute to former conflict of interest and ethics commissioner Mary Dawson, who passed away on December 24, 2023. Mary Dawson was not just the former ethics commissioner. Her fingerprints are all over very important parts of our history, including the drafting of the Access to Information…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I know that the member for Kingston and the Islands operates in a way that he accuses other members of heckling him as part of his schtick, but I did not heckle him. He was telling a heartfelt story about his father-in-law who had a brain tumour, and I ask that he retract that accusation.
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Mr. Speaker, I for one cannot wait for the next election. I hope it comes sooner rather than later. On the important subject here, with respect to the postponement of this legislation, postponing medical assistance in dying for mental health-related issues for three years, does the member believe that it should be stopped permanently?
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I say we let him go because the tie does not match the shirt. If he wants to stand in this place like that, then he should go ahead.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is really unfortunate that we are here tonight debating what is effectively a gutted Bill C-234. Just to remind everyone at home, this bill would have provided a billion dollars' worth of relief to farmers in this country by exempting them on the carbon tax. In fact, members may recall that this bill passed through the House with all of the opposition parties voting for it. There w…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the question was a simple one really, but after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, who in this place or across Canada expects a proper response from a Prime Minister who is not worth the cost and not worth the corruption? The AG's report causes a reasonable person to conclude that what happened with the arrive scam app has reached a level of criminality that must be investiga…
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Mr. Speaker, the arrive scam app is just like the Prime Minister, not worth the cost and not worth the corruption. The investigation and damning report issued by the Auditor General on ArriveCAN shocked even her. Really, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, no one should be shocked by the level of incompetence and wasteful spending that Canadians have seen from this Prime Minister. A …
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions—
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Mr. Speaker, I know that the hon. member spoke about humility, and sometimes we do not get things right, but it is important to recognize when we do get things wrong and correct them. In this case, I am wondering if she has any further comments on that.
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the former Speaker of the House of Commons was forced to resign after a scandal that saw an SS soldier recognized in this place last September during President Zelenskyy’s visit. I want to read a few quotes about the former Speaker during the period that led to his resignation. “I can’t see, based on the conversations I have had, how he can continue to have the support of Liberal memb…
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Mr. Speaker, the reality is, as the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan argued before, that there is no other trade deal that Canada has that has implemented a carbon tax in it. I would argue, and it is a very reasonable argument that can be made, that what Ukraine does not need is a carbon tax; what it does need are weapons. When Bill C-57 went to committee, the member Sherwood Park—Fort S…
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Madam Speaker, I have been around this place long enough to recall the carve-out that was implemented in Atlantic Canada, which was as a result of bad polling numbers and the fact that the carbon tax is not well received in Atlantic Canada. That is why the Atlantic caucus forced the Prime Minister to do this carve-out. With a quadrupling of the carbon tax, everything is going to cost his constitue…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for taking away 20 minutes of my life, which I will never get back. I often laugh at this comical narrative the Liberals are trying to build of comparing the Conservative Party to Donald Trump because it wants to stand up for working families across this country by making life less expensive for them. I see my good friend from Saint John—Rothesay, who…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to rise on behalf of the residents and businesses of Barrie—Innisfil to speak to Bill C-59, the fall economic statement. When my four kids were growing up, there was a TV show with Barney, the purple dinosaur, and the lyrics of one of its famous songs went: If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops Oh, what a rain that would be! If we were to listen to the Liberal…
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Madam Speaker, I think Canadians were sold a bill of goods with the Canada Infrastructure Bank. I do not believe it is $10 billion; I believe it is much more than that, $35 billion in fact. If the member wants the answer, I can give him the answer. It is $35 billion, and I would question how many of those projects have actually been built and how much has gone towards executive bonuses. It is no s…
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Madam Speaker, we are going to strongly disagree on this issue. There is no question that there will be strong disagreement between the way the Bloc feels and the ideology of the government. We happen to believe that clean Canadian energy and clean Canadian technology are the answer to reducing climate change, not just here at home but also around the world. I happened to meet with a European Unio…
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Madam Speaker, I think I made it very clear in a previous answer, and Conservatives have made it clear, that we are going to do what every household does: If it looks to spend a dollar, it is going to find a dollar of savings. Think about single moms and families. What about those moms who are going to bed worried every night about keeping a roof over their head? What do people think they are doin…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, here is a question: How many Canadians stayed in a $9,000-a-night resort owned by a friend over Christmas for free? The answer is very likely none, but there was one, and that was the Prime Minister. At a time when two million Canadians are using food banks, the carbon tax is punishing families and businesses, housing is unaffordable for young Canadians while those in their houses can…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, like the hon. member for North Island—Powell River, I also take my earpiece out, not because it is loud, but because I quite frankly do not want to hear what the other side has to say. This is an important issue, because it speaks to the confidence the House has in the Speaker to make objective rulings in a non-partisan manner. My expectation, and I am sure that of my colleague in the…
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Mr. Speaker, one thing I find curious every time the member gets up to speak to this is this almost contemptuous nature with which he speaks about members for bringing these issues up. The Bloc Québécois has a right and an obligation to be an opposition party, which it is doing. We are dealing with a concurrence report from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs that not just invest…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am glad to rise on Motion No. 96. I would not mind ceding my time to the hon. Leader of the Opposition so I could hear him speak more about the fall economic statement, but we are in Private Members' Business, and I do need to speak to this. The last time I spoke to this, I spoke to the goodwill and good nature of what this motion represents. I also mentioned I met with the Intern…
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Mr. Speaker, for the senior in my riding who has $600 left at the end of the month as a result of Liberal fiscal policies, I ask for a recorded vote.
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With regard to international conferences attended by the government, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity, since January 1, 2019: what are the details of all conferences attended by the government, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) name of the conference, (iv) number of government attendees, (v) amount spent on conference fees or ti…
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With regard to international conferences sponsored by the government, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity, since January 1, 2019: what are the details of all conferences sponsored by the government, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) name of the conference, (iv) financial amount of the sponsorship?
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