Routine Proceedings
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?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I was also very shocked to see the Speaker address Ontario Liberal Party supporters. For most Canadians watching this debate and listening to the motion just moved in the House, I think it might seem a little like baseball. Could the member talk a little about the confidence that the House places in the Speaker? Can he talk about the effect of the Speaker's ruling? More than 120 mem…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I can tell by the sombreness of the hon. member's tone that he is taking this issue as seriously as it needs to be taken. When, or if, this goes to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the matter would need to be dealt with in an expedited manner. It would need to be dealt with within the next week, in my opinion and in the opinion of many members of the House, for…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the issue at hand is one of great urgency. It speaks to the confidence the House has in the Speaker to perform his abilities in an independent and non-partisan manner. The amendment is completely appropriate given the circumstance we find ourselves in. The procedure and house affairs committee should deal with this matter expeditiously and then come back to the House with a recommen…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I know the issue of sponsored travel is coming up frequently in this place. I brought this up before, and I am interested in the hon. member's take on this. The member for Timmins—James Bay, in 2022, took a sponsored travel trip to Berlin, Germany, which was an expensive $10,489. The trip was paid for by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung foundation. In 2007, NGO Monitor found that FES part…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, talking about striking a nerve, my question to the hon. member who just gave his speech is this: Would he agree that having a press conference with Hezbollah is ill-advised?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his recognition of veterans as we approach Remembrance Day. I want to express my sympathy to the family of Norm Zimmerman, a local resident and World War II veteran. In 1943, he joined the RCAF. I want to express my condolences on behalf of a grateful nation to his son Bruce and to his family.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I chuckled when the hon. member mentioned middle-class Canadians, or those aspiring to be. It is funny how, after eight years, middle-class Canadians are now just trying to stay in the middle class as a result of all the policies of the government, with the affordability and inflation crisis caused by overspending and the debt that has accumulated. I want to speak specifically about B…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am glad the hon. member for York—Simcoe rose on that, because I was in the House when the member for Kings—Hants said that. I know the hon. member for York—Simcoe, and I know how he feels about this carbon tax and that he wants to see it scrapped across the country. I sat in the House, as I said, for the debate this morning. I listened to the NDP and the Liberals. For lack of a be…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, if the hon. member was one of the 50 species of fish that swim in the Red River, he would certainly be swimming upstream on this issue. In late September, there was a Postmedia-Leger poll that found a clear majority of 55% of Canadians want the carbon tax reduced or eliminated entirely and that everyone thinks the federal plan to get to net zero is unrealistic. Of the respondents, 1…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is not a luxury for seniors, families and single-parent families to heat their homes, regardless of what type of fuel they use or what region of the country they are from. After eight years of the Prime Minister and a year and a half of the NDP-Liberal coalition, Canadians realize they are not worth the cost. On Monday, NDP members will have a choice to make: support their constitu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to stand in this place and speak to legislation and, in this particular case, it is an honour to speak to the report stage of Bill C-34. Before I begin, having just spent the weekend back in my riding and arriving this morning back in Ottawa, at different events and in lots of interaction with my constituents, since we are speaking about competition, I cannot …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, an obvious, desperate Prime Minister admitted his carbon tax is punishing Canadians and making life unaffordable. After eight years he finally proved to himself last Thursday that he is not worth the cost. His only strategy at this point is not about climate. It is about protecting his Liberal MPs. In Sudbury, in Nickel Belt, 55% of homes are heated by natural gas, yet for these strug…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is strategically important that we look at this bill, because we have seen strategic investment drop by almost 20% in this country. We have to ask ourselves why. We have also seen, for example, that in the United States, the investment increases have been the reverse of that. There is no doubt that we have to look at the strategic investments. We have to look at the impact of wha…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am a Quebecker; I was born in Montreal. It should come as no surprise to the hon. member that my interests lie in the economic levers of the country, and that would include Quebec. It would also include northern areas of our country and offshore resources, those that are critical to the sustainability of our country. I am interested in all of Canada, not just one part of it.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I believe that all Canadian interests should be protected, including those of indigenous communities. As I said earlier, the national security interests of this country become paramount as we debate bills like this. As Canadians, as stewards of our land, protecting northern resources and northern offshore resources becomes critical. If we are going to be serious about the protection…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be rising on Motion No. 96. As many people know, I spent 30 and a half years as a firefighter. I am actually trained as an aircraft rescue firefighter. I spent a week up at Base Borden trudging through AFFF, which I am now finding out is a cancerous material. Where I worked in Markham, we had Buttonville Airport. There was no active firefighting capabilities on site, a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise with the honour of presenting, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, entitled “Foreign Interference and the Threats to the Integrity of Democratic Institutions, Intellectual Property and the Canadian State”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I cannot begin to tell everyone my profound disappointment in the fact that the NDP-Liberal coalition chose to shut down and adjourn the meeting before it happened. I can assure members that proper notice was given. In fact, I emailed the vice-chairs of the committee, as well as other committee members, 72 hours before the meeting occurred. I took advantage, in my position as chair, t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I certainly will not speak to the NPD leader's ethical violation as it relates to a gift he received. I want to know what the relevance is to the bill we are debating.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I noticed that the hon. member spent a lot of time on sponsored travel, so I would like to ask him a question. In 2022, he took a trip to Berlin, Germany that cost $10,500. The trip was paid for by the FES, partnered with politicized NGOs, to attack Israel, SHAML, a radical anti-Israel NGO, and Mossawa, which is one of the main Israeli Arab NGOs involved in the political demonization …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am certainly not going to speak about the NDP leader's $30,000 trip to Las Vegas, but I would like to know the relevance of this discussion in relation to the bill. I think it is valid point of order.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I again refer to the fake title. If the member is referring to the hon. Leader of the Opposition, then he should refer to him as that, or as the member for Carleton. He should not refer to him as the member for Stornoway. Again I refer to your document, Mr. Speaker.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, in light of the declaration by the Speaker yesterday, I believe that this member is not subscribing to the decorum of the House that the Speaker requested, by accusing an opposition party of disinformation.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it may surprise members that I, too, am looking forward to a just transition. I am looking forward to the Liberal Party's just transition to up by the interpreters after the next election. Here is the problem: Right now, Qatar, the U.S. and other nations are filling in the void of the natural gas requirements of Europe, the Netherlands and France. We have heard that deals have been …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I did take the liberty of pulling out the declaration on order and decorum in the House by the Speaker yesterday. In there, it says: ...the growing tendency to make pointed criticisms in a way that is unnecessarily personal and designed to denigrate, bully, elicit an emotional reaction or attack the integrity of the person introduces a toxicity into our pro…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I would like unanimous consent to table the member's sponsored travel.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are hurting, and as we head into Thanksgiving, food banks are on the front line of the cost of living and food-insecurity crises created by eight years of the NDP-Liberal government. In Barrie, food bank usage is up 94% in one year. Executive director Sharon Palmer told Simcoe.com this week, “With rents where they are, the price of gas and food, we're seeing more families st…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the promise has not been kept. The cost of living and food-insecurity crises created after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government have also hit families hard as they go to buy turkey this weekend. Prices for turkeys have shot up 67% since 2015. On top of that, potatoes are up 77%, while carrots are up 74% in the same time. The legend of the bird's power to induce sleepiness, a sort…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, with Thanksgiving coming, the Liberals have in the past issued what they call “turkey talking points” as a guide to what they want families to discuss at the dinner table. This year, their talking points should sound something like this: after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, groceries, gas and home heating have become unaffordable because of their inflationary spending, th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I have sat here during question period and, like all Canadians, have listened to the Liberals deflect and place blame on the Speaker for a Nazi being allowed in this chamber. Like we have seen with so many others, the Prime Minister, and apparently his House leader, will go to any length to ruin personal and professional reputations to protect himself. After eight years, our nation is…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this is how bad it is. Last week, I met a senior named Don in my Barrie—Innisfil office. He told me that when he renews his mortgage, he will be left with just $600 a month from his pension because of the increases in interest rates caused by this NDP-Liberal government's inflationary spending. In fact, recent CMHC data shows 24% of people with mortgages are struggling to make their m…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to ongoing or planned government IT projects with a budget of over $1 million: what are the details of each project, including the (i) project description and summary, (ii) total budget, (iii) estimated completion date?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the purchase of promotional products since January 1, 2021, broken down by department, agency or Crown corporation: (a) what products were purchased; (b) what quantity of each product was purchased; (c) what was the amount spent; (d) what was the price per unit; (e) if the products were purchased in relation to a specific event, what are the details of the event; (f) in what country…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, entitled “The State of Canada’s Access to Information System”. While I am on my feet, I want to thank the members who participated in this report and the witnesses. I also want to thank Nancy Vohl, the clerk, and the analysts, Sabrina Charl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, a few things come to mind as the government once again drops the hammer on closure. There are three things in particular. We are starting to see a decline in our democracy and the relevance of its institutions, and I take offence to what the Minister of Justice said with respect to debate. It is from debate, from the diverse ideas that come from right across the country, that we are a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, before I begin my comments, I just want to express my concern about the situation that is unfolding in Manitoba. Tragically, by the latest account, 15 people have been killed in a traffic accident on the Trans-Canada Highway. My thoughts are with the families, obviously, with the victims and with the first responders as well. This is going to be a difficult night for people in Manit…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, obviously, I feel profoundly disappointed again that we are here facing time allocation on a profoundly substantive change to the way Parliament functions. We have had just a few hours to discuss this. I am planning to speak to this issue later on. This is an issue that goes back to during the COVID pandemic. The government made its intentions very clear at that time that this is th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think I was pretty clear in what I said, which was that there is no other western democracy. I was referring specifically to national legislatures. There are provincial legislatures in Canada, but not one of them is using a hybrid model or a voting app. They have all returned to some sense of normalcy, and that is specifically where we need to go. We cannot continue down this path…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, there is another example. Last year, the government did the same thing in June, with the NDP's help. They did it right before Canada Day. They said that if we did not vote, we would be staying here. They are using this issue as a hostage-taking exercise. This is why we are ending up at the end. However, on the point of not discussing, we have had consensus around this place on chang…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have heard this argument all day. The government, aided and abetted by the NDP, has set the rules. We are working within the rules. If those rules change and we get rid of the hybrid Parliament, every single Conservative will be in their seat representing their constituents and voting here on behalf of their constituents. However, the government set the rules. There is one thing t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I echo those sentiments and I welcome back the member for Labrador. I am very proud to present petition e-4399 on behalf of the 965 Canadians who signed it. This petition follows up on e-petition 3217, which I presented in May of 2021, but it did not receive a government response because of the election. In the petition, Canadians call on the government to reclassify the Persian Gulf …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague touched on something. We were both elected in 2015. There are partisan games played around this place when good ideas are presented. It should not matter whether they come from the Liberals, the NDP, the Conservatives or the Greens if ideas benefit Canadian families. Some of the amendments that we proposed at committee were rejected by the NDP-Liberal coalition. Sh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, here we go again. This is the 37th time allocation motion that the NDP has supported thus far, showing that it is yet again a willing partner to the Liberals, aiding and abetting them in pushing time allocation. I did a little research comparing this NDP to the more historically principled NDP, from Tommy Douglas to Thomas Mulcair, and over the span of 17 Parliaments, it only supporte…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am rising on the same point of order. I want to thank the hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill for bringing this very important matter to your attention, because I too have a similar situation. I am not going to reference all of the Standing Orders, as I think the hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill has done that, but this is in relation to Question No. 1357. If you will indulge me, I …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the increase in the number of public service employees between 2016 and 2023: (a) what was the total number of public service workers as of (i) January 1, 2016, (ii) January 1, 2023, in total and broken down by department or agency; and (b) what was the total number of positions added to the public service between January 1, 2016, and January 1, 2023, broken down by occupational gro…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think we need to let the members decide. I request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Although I want to hear the member for Peace River—Westlock speak to this issue, I move, seconded by the member for Foothills, that: The member for Battle River—Crowfoot be now heard.
Read full speech →