Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise with a petition from Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are deeply worried about the condition of Canada's small craft harbours throughout the province. This is vital infrastructure for our fish harvesters and coastal communities. The petitioners point out that most harbours rely on volunteers, and that only about 700 of the 950 harbours across the country can be properly sup…
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Mr. Speaker, this summer, wildfires swept across my district and our province. Families lost their homes, their businesses and the places that shaped their lives. Through it all, our firefighters, first responders and volunteers worked courageously day and night, and we thank them for their tireless efforts. However, what defines us in Newfoundland and Labrador is how we show up for others. Commun…
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Mr. Speaker, I would love for the Liberals to give us an actual number for how much money is fleeing to other countries. I saw a video this morning on Instagram talking about how the Prime Minister was in another country saying that there would be trillions of dollars going to Europe. That just blows our minds. We have seen trillions of dollars going to Donald Trump in the United States. I do not …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Quebec raised some good points. Newfoundland and Labrador is doing the right thing. Newfoundland Labrador Hydro has a subsidy called Newfoundland OilCo. It has equity, sometimes up to 8% or 10%, in our offshore oil and gas industry so we can make sure Newfoundlanders and Canadians are getting a good cut and a good, fair percentage of that. It keeps our Newfoundlander…
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Mr. Speaker, there is an age-old question in business classes: How much does a bottle of water cost? In a grocery store, it is about 25¢. At a restaurant, it is about $2.50. In an airport, it is $5. If someone was at a salmon festival in Newfoundland, it was 30°C and they ran out of water, they would have to pay $10 for a bottle of water passed through the fence. If someone was in the desert, in t…
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I apologize, Mr. Speaker. I know you would never cut spending to Veterans Affairs. I want to bring up this question: Why make the cuts to Veterans Affairs? Why not use the money to support veterans, rather than asking them if they would rather die when they are on the phone asking for help?
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You are cutting money to Veterans Affairs—
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Mr. Speaker, I will tell the country what was not happening when Stephen Harper was in government. Veterans were not calling Veterans Affairs begging for assistance and being asked if they would rather die with our MAID program. That was not happening under Stephen Harper's government. That would not happen under a Conservative government.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, every dollar the Prime Minister spends is either taxed from the pockets of Canadians or comes from printed and borrowed money, driving up inflation and the cost of everything in Canada. In P.E.I., university food bank usage is up 60%. It is the same old story right across Atlantic Canada, yet the Prime Minister is refusing to scrap his costly regulations, which only make it more expen…
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Mr. Speaker, I am curious. The Liberal Party seems to be very excited about giving tax cuts and making things more affordable for Canadians. I wonder why it took the luxury tax off luxury vehicles but continues to keep the HST and GST on health care services such as massage therapy.
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Mr. Speaker, as Canadians, we pride ourselves on having free health care, but that is not entirely true. Dental care, physiotherapy, chiropractor services and massage therapy are all forms of health care that Canadians have to pay for, but to add insult to injury, thousands of Canadians are actually paying GST and HST on their health care. Even with a doctor's referral, Canadians are paying GST an…
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moved that Bill C-237, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (Atlantic groundfish fisheries), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, the collapse of our cod fishery was over 30 years ago. Stocks are up and even commercial fishing has begun, yet my family and I cannot go out and fish on a Thursday afternoon. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are fed up and unfed. Other parts o…
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Mr. Speaker, this is an imaginary tax. There are no fees on catching codfish right now, nor do I want there to be. In my speech, which I am sure the member across the way just heard, I said that we should pay for the monitoring system, if it would cost anything, through stricter penalties, more fines and catching the bad apples who are making it bad for the bunch. Perhaps it would not cost anythin…
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Mr. Speaker, to my understanding, Quebec has the same rules as most of Atlantic Canada right now and people are able to fish seven days a week with a five-fish limit. That is what Newfoundland is asking for, to have the same rules as Quebec and the rest of Atlantic Canada. I am very happy to hear the Bloc is going to be supporting this bill. I really appreciate the member's support.
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Mr. Speaker, we are looking at a situation right now where the Liberal government is proposing to take 30% of our ocean by 2030 to turn it into a marine protected area. By 2050, they are planning to turn 50% of our ocean into a marine protected area. That is a lot of ocean. I want to take a stand and ask that we have a recreational food fishery in all marine protected areas. I am not sure the Libe…
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Mr. Speaker, when someone is in Newfoundland and Labrador, they do not have to go very far to cross paths with a fisherman or fisherwoman, and they do not have to go far to find people who participate in the recreational food fishery. Almost everyone in my riding, in my province and in the riding of the member across the way participates, and if they do not, their close family and relatives do. I …
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Mr. Speaker, A 19-year-old from Atlantic Canada has said that food insecurity is not good and that finding a job is even harder. Youth unemployment is skyrocketing, at nearly 15%, and the Prime Minister told Canadians that they needed to make more sacrifices; however, they have already sacrificed enough. Young people are having to sacrifice working in their hometown; they have to go away for work.…
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Mr. Speaker, whether we talk about the farmers struggling with the canola trade, the steel companies facing tariffs or the auto workers losing 3,000 jobs to the U.S.A., it seems as though all the Liberals are doing is helping Trump build a wall on trade barriers. They never mentioned the trade barriers on our sealing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. The seal overpopulation in Atlantic Canada…
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Mr. Speaker, food bank usage has doubled in the past six years, now with over two million users per month. One in five of those people is actually employed. Even more alarming is that one in four food bank users is from a two-parent household. Young people in this country are doing everything right, and they still cannot live because of Liberal inflation. Instead of asking young Canadians to make …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told a room full of students that they are going to have to make sacrifices. This is the kind of silver spoon attitude young people are sick of. The only reason this country is in this mess is because the Liberal government shut down our industries and spent more than it could afford. It robbed us. It spent all its money and then borrowed billions of dollars, expect…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, there was a lot there, and I thank the parliamentary secretary for that. I thank him for his commitment to Newfoundland and Labrador. What I am surprised about, and perhaps I misunderstood, is that the plan for this refinery going forward is continued government subsidies rather than just trying to find a business plan, investments that make sense and investments that actually bring i…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Liberal government creates deficits by spending more than it receives in taxes, it creates inflation, costing Canadians more at the grocery store, more at the gas station and more everywhere else. New inflation data confirms that Canadians are being crushed by these Liberal deficits. All three core inflation measures are alarming. In just the last year, grocery inflation is u…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to talk about the oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador with regard to our production and specifically our refining. Newfoundland and Labrador had an oil refinery meeting our province's consumption demands since 1976. There is no doubt it had its ups and downs, but over the years it employed thousands of people including myself, my father, my mother and many f…
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Mr. Speaker, my apologies. My colleague mentioned Donald Trump's tariffs, which is affecting our country right now, but it should not affect our ability to build our own country and export our stuff everywhere else. I am not sure why we do not have pipelines going from Alberta to the east coast, so that if we are going to continue this refinery the way it is, we can at least get Canadian oil and g…
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Mr. Speaker, we have an interconnected economy. We want to thank Fort McMurray for all the work it has done for Newfoundland and Labrador, and we look forward to working with Alberta to build the best country that we can for change.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-237, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (Atlantic groundfish fisheries). Mr. Speaker, whether I am in Trinity Bay, Bonavista Bay or any other bay in Newfoundland and Labrador, the number one topic of concern is our food fishery. The collapse of our cod fishery was over 30 years ago. Stocks are up, and even commercial fishing has begun, yet my family and I cannot …
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Mr. Speaker, I serve a big riding. I have knocked on thousands of doors. The consensus is clear: Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do not want these emissions caps choking our economy. These emissions caps do not just affect my riding. They affect the whole world. We have allies throughout the world who are starving for more energy. Our energy is some of the most socially inclusive oil and gas in t…
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Mr. Speaker, I will acknowledge a few things. If it is not one thing on one side of the country, it is another thing on the other. The Liberals say that we cannot sell our oil and gas because we cannot get it to market from Alberta. However, for Newfoundland, there is no excuse. We are at tidewater, yet the emissions caps keeps us choked. If it is not one thing, it is another. I am tired of excuse…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is saying that Conservatives and Liberals are trying to see who is the most pro oil and gas. Every province in Canada is happy to take oil money, but they are not all that happy to play the oil game. We cannot have oil money without playing the oil game.
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Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador has some of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Next to Newfoundland and Labrador, not far behind is Alberta. That is because the Liberal government has brought in emissions caps and has been choking our economy. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have been travelling back and forth to Alberta and other provinces for years. The member for Fort McMurr…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government promised nation-building projects, including building the green energy corridor. It has all the tools required, yet nothing has been built in the past six months, and the only projects announced are the ones already under way. The people of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador want to see action from the Liberal government. An energy corridor would connect Labra…
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Mr. Speaker, when I was knocking on doors in Newfoundland and Labrador, it was very common for Canadians to say they were not voting because all politicians are corrupt. I heard my fellow colleague mention corruption. I wonder if she may see the bill, Bill C-5, as perhaps leading to more corruption.
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Mr. Speaker, recently in my riding, friends and family of Lucas Lethbridge came together in memory of his tragic death due to overdose. I, for one, have lost more friends from addiction than from any other cause. My question today comes directly from Lucas' father: Why does a fentanyl dealer selling cocaine secretly laced with fentanyl get to continue killing vulnerable Canadians in our communitie…
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Mr. Speaker, we have one transport company from mainland Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador for passengers. It is Marine Atlantic. We do have cargo ships and other companies as well, but we have one for passengers and tourists. That is the one I am speaking of today. There are a lot of things we can do locally, but Marine Atlantic is a national, Crown corporation, and it starts right here in the …
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Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador relies heavily on the tourism industry. In fact, it is one of the biggest employers in rural Newfoundland, since the collapse of the fishery. Even this industry has a massive trade barrier: the Marine Atlantic ferry. This ferry acts as a bottleneck, holding back growth despite demand. Bill C-5 talks about nation-building projects, yet our current infrastructu…
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Mr. Speaker, I have not heard directly on Bill C-5, but throughout the campaign, when I talked to aboriginal people in our province, everyone had the same concern. They want to be consulted before things go through. They do not want the federal government to have a veto card to push anything through.
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with my colleague. We are in a crisis right now. We are in a tariff war with multiple countries across the world. However, we may have a stockpile of unused steel, and this would be a great opportunity to put our workforce to work, whether they were to be built in B.C., Newfoundland or anywhere in Canada. It is a great opportunity, but it does not seem like the gove…
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Mr. Speaker, desperate times call for desperate measures. Conservatives knocked on the doors of Canadians, and we understand, with the cost of living, they are really worried if they are going to make the next rent. We understand that some projects in this country are better than no projects. We have stated over and over that these are baby steps in the right direction, but we need to repeal Bill …
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Mr. Speaker, because of the government's economic failures, Newfoundland and Labrador is once again dependent on equalization payments from the west. Newfoundland's employment has been entangled with the west for decades. We understand that when the west does better, all Canada does better, but in order for the west to succeed, it needs to get its resources to market. Will the current Liberal gove…
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Mr. Chair, how does the minister plan to attract these long-term investments, with a 25-year cap on licenses in Bill C-49?
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Mr. Chair, it has been announced that by 2030, it will be 30%, with expectations by 2050 of 50%. Is it true that if an area is becoming a marine protected area, even in the future, the federal government has the power to terminate the lease?
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Mr. Chair, I think the hon. minister should refer to clause 28 of that which does make reference to the 2050 powers. I think this is a very powerful veto card and that the government does not foresee this sort of power will risk politicians—
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Mr. Chair, my hon. colleague on the other side mentioned the future. Is it true that by 2050, 50% of our offshore will be a marine protected area?
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Mr. Chair, why did the government allow the top sides of the West White Rose extension project to be built in the U.S.A. rather than in Newfoundland, more specifically the Burin Peninsula and the Bull Arm fabrication site?
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Mr. Chair, can the minister guess which province has the highest GDP dependence on oil and gas?
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Mr. Chair, I am glad to hear that. Will the minister commit that the next offshore project will be constructed in Newfoundland?
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Mr. Chair, I do not expect many jobs. Is it true that there were no bids placed on offshore exploration in over two years?
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Mr. Chair, is it true that there were numerous companies considering exploration, but once Bill C-49 was tabled, they pulled up their anchors and pulled out?
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Mr. Chair, how does the minister plan to entice investors when even the Liberal government of Newfoundland has major concerns with sections 19, 61 and 62, which triple the timeline and add the Impact Assessment Act to an already lengthy review?
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Mr. Chair, there should be over 5,000 jobs per oil rig, sometimes up to 7,500, depending on how big it is. Will this—
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