Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, this is great. I enjoy being here. I love engaging with my Conservative colleagues. What I just heard from the hon. member on the question I asked was that he essentially talked about biofuel policy, and I have not heard the Conservatives talk about that. We obviously have a biofuel policy. It is around the clean fuel regulations. In fact, when I go to Calgary or Saskatchewan and talk…
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Mr. Speaker, in my time in this place, being almost seven years now, I love opposition day motions. It is always a great privilege to rise in this place to bring the perspective of my constituents in Kings—Hants and engage on the opportunity that the opposition has, whether that be the Conservatives, the NDP or the Bloc, or I guess the Conservatives and the Bloc in this Parliament, to put forward …
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Mr. Speaker, as a government, we are proud of the work that the Prime Minister has done to announce today the removal of the federal excise tax, as the member, I hope, acknowledged in his remarks. I was sitting down today with farmers from Ontario, farmers in the corn industry and individuals who play in through ethanol markets to reduce emissions on fuel. It is also a really important element aro…
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Mr. Speaker, there is a lot there, and I hope I will be given room. First of all, oil and gas production went up 34% in the last 10 years. I take notice from the last government. I would have liked to see a more competitive lens in terms of how we drive the energy sector. We have that now in the Prime Minister. We have that now in the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. They are working with…
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Mr. Speaker, it was the member for Brandon—Souris, but there was nothing in the Conservative platform. He is but one member. It is the leader of the official opposition who controls that caucus with an iron grip. I remember a time when there were more independent Conservative members of Parliament. We have seen the ones who have actually been independent. They have crossed the floor to join our te…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should tell his constituents that his own party's opposition day motion makes no recognition of what we are dealing with in the Middle East. He should tell his constituents back home in London—Fanshawe that the government has instituted a four-month excise tax freeze of about 10¢, which we know will be an important economic measure. He should tell his constituents in L…
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Mr. Speaker, the clean fuel standard is not unlike what the Mulroney government did in the 1980s, which was actually mandating companies to remove lead from fuel that Canadians were using. In fact, the clean fuel standard is one of the best policies to actually reinvest into rural communities, because for Canadian farmers, including canola farmers and corn farmers who provide ethanol, this is an i…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the member for Nunavut for her work in the House. We are very pleased to welcome her to the government side of the House. I have already witnessed her contribution in caucus. We are going to really rely upon her voice to be a very key contributor and champion, particularly around Arctic security and Arctic sovereignty. To be fair to her question, I do not have en…
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Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister announced a four-month suspension of the federal fuel excise tax. This is, of course, related to the circumstances in Iran and the situation in the Middle East. I am very proud of our plan for farmers across the country. With all due respect, when I reviewed the Conservative Party's election platform during the last election, I noticed that it contained no mea…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment my colleague for his remarks. We both come from wine regions. Consistently, in my time in this place, he has been a champion for the Canadian wine sector. We have collaborated on a few pieces, so I do want to recognize him for that. Around the clean fuel standard, I have equated it to the fact of the Conservatives wanting to put lead back into gas tanks or the ind…
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Mr. Speaker, I know the constituents of Courtenay—Alberni will certainly appreciate what the government is doing today in removing the federal excise of 10¢ a litre for the next four months. We recognize what is happening in the Middle East. We know that has an impact. We are proud of the work we have done to drive affordability, some of which that member was involved in during last Parliament. Th…
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Mr. Speaker, I look forward to taking the member's question. Maybe the hon. member can rise in his place and tell me if he thinks that London, Europe and our other allies have no measures to be able to do it. We actually have a solution. It is QNX in this country. We have an ability to manage this as it relates to the 49,000 EVs from China on the import. Having been on the front lines of that nego…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly recognize the hon. member's private sector experience before joining this place, and that is an attribute for the House. There is a pathway to be able to encourage investment in this country. There is a focus on being able to build out electric vehicles in the country to support workers. Again, respectfully, that is something I did not see in the Conservative position. The…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to rise today to debate the opposition day motion in relation a really important subject, the Canadian auto industry. I will be sharing my time this afternoon with the hon. member for Mississauga—Lakeshore. As I was saying, I think it is important that we have this conversation. I welcome it, and the government certainly welcomes it, because we have been deeply focused on …
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with some of my hon. colleague's comments. However, with all due respect, I disagree with the assertion that, with the exception of the Bloc Québécois, no other members are fighting for Quebec. We have 44 Liberal members from Quebec who are always fighting for the interests of the province of Quebec within the federation, every day, every week and every month. I agree on the i…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague represents a very urban riding in Spadina, in the Toronto area, and I represent a rural constituency. The lived realities for Canadians are going to be different. The good news is that the government is putting forward $1.5 billion to help support additional charging infrastructure across the country. In my constituency, that is probably going to be more focused on p…
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Mr. Speaker, I will remind the member that the issue of British pensions extends back to far before the time of this government. The Harper government was not able to resolve it. We agree with what she is saying, and we are continuing to push. The member is the deputy leader of the Conservative Party. She is certainly a fair dealer, and I am going to ask this question with the desire of getting an…
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Mr. Speaker, this is a critical moment for Canada. We need to create different free trade ties with our partners and other countries. We need to build new relationships. More specifically, this bill seeks to expand the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership by adding another reliable partner. This is good news for exporters in Quebec and across the country, as well a…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that it is now important for Canada to have conversations around the world, particularly with governments whose systems and values may differ from ours when it comes to society in general. However, it is now very important to have very strong partners, and China is the world's second-largest economy and largest consumer market. It is important for Quebec exports, for connectin…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the government is doing a lot of the work externally. The Prime Minister is seeking to build market access and trading relationships around the world. Is there a country that Canada is seeking to deepen its relationship with and the member opposite disagrees with the direction of that?
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to talk about Bill C-13, that seeks to enable the accession of the United Kingdom to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a partnership with 11 other countries. I will try to deliver my speech entirely in French. Some of it may be interspersed with English, but we will see. I have family ties with the United Kingdom. My …
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Mr. Speaker, regarding British pensioners, Canada actually indexed Canadians who are living in the United Kingdom with our requisite social safety and our pensions, so we are not unnecessarily having impacts. It is British pensioners in Canada who are not being indexed. There is, of course, a cost to government in the sense that, if this is something that is not addressed, it could be coming out o…
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Mr. Speaker, I respect my hon. colleague on the other side. I am going to tackle “interim”. Interim is the interim process while someone is going through the asylum process. Once a person registers and seeks an asylum claim, they are entitled to the benefit. The moment they have exhausted any of the administrative processes they are entitled to, the benefit goes away. It is that interim period unt…
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Mr. Speaker, in rural Hants County, sometimes we get a little colloquial and casual. I certainly withdraw it.
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Mr. Speaker, what this government is seeking to do is exactly what I said in my speech, which is to ensure that for vulnerable individuals, Canada continues its compassionate pathway for individuals who want to make their case, but at the same time has measures to ensure that there is an orderly process, that Canadians believe in that process and that there is no abuse in said process. Those provi…
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Mr. Speaker, I would respectfully encourage my colleague opposite, if we want to maintain a place in Parliament to continue to provide compassionate and welcoming places here in Canada, to not put opposition motions on the floor concerning something that is 0.00004% of the entire expenditure of the Government of Canada in any given year, and that is for legitimate asylum claims. They like to stand…
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Mr. Speaker, why does the member stand up in the House of Commons and talk about rejected asylum claimants? I just explained very clearly to the opposition benches what happens once an individual goes through the two processes for making the administrative claim, the IRB process and the ability for an appeal. Once those are exhausted, they are then a rejected asylum claimant and have no access to …
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Mr. Speaker, certainly you can sense my frustration. If there was any unparliamentary word that members heard, I certainly withdraw it and do not mean to offend this House. It is part of the frustration at what I am hearing from the opposition, and I am asking them to be better.
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is a privilege to be here today to discuss and debate a Conservative opposition day motion. I would like to point out that today is the fourth anniversary of Russia's unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine. I would like to add my voice and that of my constituents in Kings—Hants, Nova Scotia, and my colleagues on this subject. Obviously, we are extremely proud of all…
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Mr. Speaker, that is precisely why the government introduced changes to the general process for asylum seekers in Bill C-2 and Bill C-12. We have a system in place to ensure that, in general, the process takes less than 40 months. Most asylum seekers, 80%, are accepted at the end of the process. We have a process. We want to create a faster process for determining status. That is precisely the rea…
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Mr. Speaker, what I tried to express during my remarks is that I have no problem with the Conservatives coming forward and saying, for example, that they would like to have a changed process. I have no problem with the Conservative Party coming forward and talking about how we can make sure that we have programs in place to support individuals and how, if there are additional challenges in that pr…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich to listen to the Conservatives talk about Canadian farmers and agri-food businesses, when they had their chance in April 2025 and had absolutely nothing in their platform for Canadian farmers or agri-food businesses. We know the price of food is a major issue in this country. That is why we have introduced the groceries and essentials rebate; 12.6 million Canadians wi…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the late Dr. Geraldine Browning, a prominent and beloved member of our community in Kings—Hants, who passed away on December 31, 2025. Born and raised in the historic African Nova Scotian community of East Preston, Geraldine began her career in nursing in Montreal before meeting her husband, Orval. Together they raised nine children and lived a military …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her remarks today. She is part of a group within the Liberal caucus that is focused on the questions of immigration, refugee status and the work the government has to do to both create a better system and make sure that Canada continues to have a pathway to compassionate admittance into the country. Obviously, today we are talking about an opp…
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Mr. Speaker, 30 seconds does not give justice to this question. Let me do a quick pivot. The member is right that there are important investments in the budget around agri-food processing, but I would like to compliment her on the work she did with this government to remove Chinese tariffs on Canadian lobster. She represents one of the largest fishing ridings in the country, frankly, but certainly…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to see the Conservatives finally starting to talk about farmers. The member ran on a platform that had absolutely nothing for farmers, notwithstanding he is in southwestern Ontario in the areas around Leamington and Chatham-Kent. I just listened to his 10-minute speech. There was not one, single measure about business risk management, and nothing about controlled environme…
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Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed being in the member's riding before Christmas. I had the opportunity to visit with a number of stakeholders, including in Gros Morne and with mayors. I know the member will endeavour to make sure that she is engaging with local stakeholders, because they have not had the chance to actually see her in the time since she was elected as a member of Parliament. I will say, thoug…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche this afternoon. I rise today to speak to the opposition day motion on food affordability. I believe that if we were to ask every member of Parliament in this place, they would agree that there is work to be done to address this particular challenge, there are initiatives that have to be introduced to support…
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Mr. Speaker, since the question was substantial, I will respond in English. That way, I can give a complete answer. It is extremely important. I would agree with my hon. colleague that the Conservative proposition before the House eliminates any elements of environmental policy in this country. I think it would accomplish very little in relation to what they are suggesting the results would be. Th…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great idea for the member opposite. This government has put a series of measures in place to help support young Canadians getting into their first home and to be able to build more housing supply in this country, whether it is Build Canada Homes or removing the GST up to $50,000 for new homebuyers buying their first home. The Conservatives obstruct at every single pass. The m…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. A particular piece of legislation was referenced. I just want to ask if there is a piece of legislation called the Canadian sovereignty act.
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Mr. Speaker, the member talked a lot about initiatives that the government has put forward in the budget through the budget implementation act, Bill C-15, which is before members at the moment. One thing the member knows the importance of is international trade, so I was surprised that when I looked through the opposition day motion today there was not a single mention of diversifying trade market…
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Madam Speaker, the good people of Kings—Hants, for about 72 of 78 years, voted for Progressive Conservatives. It was a consistently blue riding, but it was a riding that was a moderate Progressive Conservative riding, and that tradition still continues. I identify as a blue Liberal. I identify as a business Liberal, and my constituents increasingly say that they do not recognize the type of party …
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Madam Speaker, the member represents a riding on Vancouver Island. My question to her and her constituents is whether they would like to see a thoughtful approach to resource development. I can probably assure her that if I went to her riding, her constituents would expect that, yes, we are moving forward on important resource development in this country, but we are being smart about what it means…
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Madam Speaker, I would go back to where I started in my remarks in the speech. It is not an actual piece of legislation. We have heard Conservative members reference the Canada sovereignty act. As far as I know, and I would have to check with the table officers, there has not actually been a piece of legislation tabled before this place. The Conservatives have simply put principles on a piece of p…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech and for speaking English. I congratulate him on that. I have a fairly simple question. If this motion is so important to the Conservatives, and if they believe it is important to Canada, why not introduce a bill? If the Conservatives want to promote certain priorities, they can introduce a bill, not just a motion on an opposition day. Further…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to give my hon. colleague some good news. Some of the things she talked about, in terms of driving the economy forward, actually reside in Bill C-15, which is still before Parliament. I would encourage the member and her Conservative colleagues to work collectively with the government to advance those measures. The question I have for the hon. member is this: She represents a r…
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Mr. Speaker, I know a lot of members are sticking around because they are excited for the speeches after question period. I look forward to engaging in today's opposition day motion, presented by the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot. I would like to recognize that I will splitting my time this afternoon with my hon. colleague from LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. He is an exceptional member, and I look …
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Mr. Speaker, the Hants County Christmas Angels is a long-standing tradition in Kings—Hants, dating back to 1977, that is truly the definition of community and Christmas spirit. Every year, this volunteer organization seeks to raise funds to support local families in need. This year was exceptional. Over the course of a day filled with local musicians and local performances, $93,108 was raised for …
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Madam Speaker, what elements of the MOU that Premier Danielle Smith and the government have committed to does the member not support? It is very clear, as he reads the MOU, that we are willing to support a pipeline to tidewater in the Pacific. We believe it has to be a private proponent, that we have to have indigenous co-operation and, obviously, buy-in and dialogue with British Columbia. What el…
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