Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to bring down the price of groceries. In Haldimand—Norfolk, where I live, a family reached out to me in desperation. Despite a decent income, they said that they could barely afford groceries for their family and their household. When the Liberals took office in 2015, the average weekly grocery bill was $159. A decade later, it has more than doubled, to ove…
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Mr. Speaker, there is nothing imaginary about the hunger pangs that many Canadians are feeling. Many families are also financially squeezed with mortgage payments and utility bills that are rising faster than they can keep up with. These pressures have worsened under the Liberals with the rise in the industrial carbon tax, the packaging tax and the new fuel tax. All of these hidden taxes are drivi…
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Mr. Speaker, this morning at a multi-party parliamentary prayer breakfast, I shared from Mark 4:35 and the moment when the disciples, caught in a violent storm, cried out to Jesus, “don't you care”. These were experienced fishermen, but even they were overwhelmed by the winds and the waves. Today, many Canadians feel the same. They see economic uncertainty, rising unemployment, social tensions, im…
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Madam Speaker, I would remind the member opposite that Bill C-8 purports to be able to shut down people's Internet without a court warrant. In an era in which the government is moving toward digitization and AI controls, people could end up in digital jails. That is why it is so important to have safeguards and accountability and ensure that with the government collecting this data, we know how it…
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the member for Edmonton Northwest. The budget speaks of a generational shift, but few Canadians would realize how deep this shift runs. For the first time, our nation's infrastructure is not just about steel, concrete and asphalt; it is about code, computation and data. Beneath that shiny language of innovation lies a quiet transformation, one …
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Madam Speaker, when I look at my portfolio as the critic for infrastructure, I see that the Canada Infrastructure Bank is actually receiving $10 billion more than it received before. We know of the recent scandal with respect to the $1 billion sent abroad to fund the building of ships for BC Ferries, leaving our employees in Canada without jobs. The real issue with the budget is accountability. We…
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My concern, Madam Speaker, is with respect not only to the debt but also to how it is calculated. The fact is that the accounting system is changing, so Canadians have no real way of measuring the progress in this country. We will need some sort of independent auditing to assess whether the government is repackaging debt or whether we are actually seeing real progress in this country. Therefore, I…
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Mr. Speaker, the sexual exploitation of children is one of the clearest and most horrific crimes imaginable. Recently the Supreme Court struck down the one-year mandatory sentence for possessing child sexual abuse material, yet the government refuses to use section 33 of the charter, the notwithstanding clause, to restore the minimal penalties for pedophiles. Why is the government choosing to prot…
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Mr. Speaker, in a democracy, everything can be debated, but some moral lines should never be blurred; protecting vulnerable children must remain one of them. The Supreme Court recently struck down a one-year mandatory prison sentence for two men who possessed hundreds of sexual images of children, some as young as three years old. These are real victims of abuse and trauma. Why is the government m…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for that response, but the Liberal government has been in power now for 10 years. Why is it now putting forward half measures to address the mess that Bill C-75 has caused? The government rejected Conservative proposals to strengthen bail laws and to protect our communities, yet it is now repackaging some of those same ideas as its own, showing that…
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Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise today on behalf of the good people of Haldimand—Norfolk to speak to a serious crisis in our country. Ten years of irresponsible Liberal crime and justice policies have led to the need for communities across Ontario and across Canada to grapple with growing violence and brazen crime in their neighbourhoods. The consequences of these policies are real. Since 2015…
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Mr. Speaker, this kind of reckless spending is just breaking the backs of our children and grandchildren. For 10 years, the Liberal government promised that billions in deficit spending would lead to more growth and investment. Now the results are in. Canada has the worst per capita growth in all the G7. Billions in investments are fleeing this country every single month the Prime Minister remains…
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Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are tightening their belts to make ends meet, the government keeps running up record deficits. The Prime Minister's reckless spending and record-breaking deficits delivered the worst per capita growth in the G7, and investments in workers are down by 10%. Now the Prime Minister is set to double the deficits even beyond what Trudeau planned. Will the Prime Minister assu…
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Mr. Speaker, I want all Canadians to know that cybersecurity is an extremely important thing in this digital era. It is very important for the government to take this seriously. This bill is a very important bill, but that does not mean there are not elements it that, as a legislator and a trained lawyer, I must bring to the public's attention. There are some concerns about how individual users ar…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today with heavy concerns about Bill C-8, a proposed law presented as a measure to secure Canada's telecommunications and critical infrastructure. I think we can all agree that cybersecurity is very important. Our information networks are the lifeblood of our economy, education, health systems and daily lives. Protecting this critical infrastructure is essential, but without li…
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Mr. Speaker, my question was about a police officer who was killed in the line of duty, and it was not answered. The Prime Minister promised to fix the justice system and the bail system, and every day, victims continue to die. Gun crimes are up 130% under Liberal bail laws. Lives are at stake and Canadians cannot wait another day. If Liberals are serious about bail reform, why will they not suppo…
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that there are times when our telecommunication infrastructure is threatened. In those instances, the government must act expeditiously to minimize and curtail that threat. However, these provisions can seep over into the realm of ordinary citizens. In the example I gave of Sarah, her entire life was unravelled because of this legislation. I do not believe this should be …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-75, the Liberal soft-on-crime bill, allows violent offenders to be released on bail. These offenders are not being punished; the good people of Canada are. My community of Haldimand—Norfolk is still heartbroken by the murder of 28-year-old Greg Pierzchala, a constable at work who was killed by a violent offender released on bail. The Prime Minister promised to reverse Liberal b…
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Mr. Speaker, security is always an advantage to private citizens, but security cannot come at the expense of liberty. We have the Charter of Rights in place and it must be respected. There are a number of provisions in proposed sections 11 and 12 of Bill C-8 that would infringe upon section 7 of the charter, because there is a deprivation of our essential services without procedural fairness. Prop…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, across Canada, freedom of expression and freedom of religion are under attack. Since 2021, more than 100 churches have been burned or vandalized. True democracy cannot survive without free expression, and Canada cannot flourish if Christians or other religious groups live in fear because of their faith. I stand here not just as a member of Parliament for the good people of Haldimand—N…
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Mr. Speaker, I stand with members of all communities that are subject to hate. We know the current Criminal Code has, already contained within it, sections that deal with hate. The proposed law is not about that. The law is about the concentration of government power so that it can be weaponized against dissenters. We have section 319(2), which protects against hate symbols; section 423 is about i…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Oshawa. I rise today to address Bill C-9, the combatting hate act, specifically the changes to subsection 319(6) and the introduction of proposed subsection 319(7) to the Criminal Code. I strongly support protecting religious freedom and ensuring that all Canadians are safe from hate and violence, but Bill C-9 would not do that effec…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important, when dealing with religious freedoms, that every issue should be on the table and that we should have the capacity to sit down and have meaningful discussions about things that we disagree on. That is the essence of freedom of expression, that we should be able to have discussions from all over the country. That is why the Attorney General's consent for charges of hat…
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Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, we listened to an impassioned speech by the member for Toronto Centre, who is a person of Jewish heritage and faith. It became very clear that the bill was not designed to protect that community. Right now, people of the Jewish faith cannot even shop in grocery stores in a kosher aisle without being assaulted, yet we have crimes on the book that are not being enforced.…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians want a government that will deal with this affordability crisis. This crisis happened on the Liberals' watch. The Prime Minister promised Canadians that they could judge him by the price of groceries. Well, the numbers are in. Apples are up 14%. Potatoes are up 16%. Canned food is up 26%. When will the Prime Minister stop obstructing Parliament and introduce a budget that wi…
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Mr. Speaker, 10 years of Liberal rule, and what do Canadians have to show for it? Soaring food prices, food insecurity, four million visits to food banks in Toronto alone last year. A quarter of Canadian households cannot afford to put food on the table. That is 40% higher than the year before. When will the Prime Minister stop obstructing Parliament and introduce a budget that lowers food prices?
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Mr. Speaker, Parliament was misled. New emails show that BC Ferries warned the former minister of transport's officials six weeks before announcing that the ferries would be built in China, yet the minister stood in this House of Commons and claimed that she was blindsided. At the same time, her staff was working with the Prime Minister's Office on how to spin this billion-dollar deal. Canadians j…
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With regard to Canada’s obligations under the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations: (a) since 2016, what work has the government undertaken to create National International Health Regulations Focal Points in order to implement the International Health Regulations within Canada; (b) what are the details of all National Focal Points within Canada, including, for each, the (i)…
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With regard to the government’s road infrastructure plans and policies: (a) what is the government’s current policy with regard to funding new road infrastructure; (b) what are the details of all analyses that have been conducted since 2016 by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities with regard to Canada’s road networks and future road networ…
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With regard to the government’s investments in the Aspire Food Group’s cricket facility in London: (a) how much in federal funding has the government announced for the Aspire facility to date; (b) how much funding has been disbursed to Aspire to date; (c) what is the government’s analysis of the return on investment for the millions invested in the facility, both short-term and long-term; (d) what…
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With regard to the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (the “Action Committee”) co-chaired by Chief Justice Richard Wagner and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti: (a) who were the originators of the idea for the Action Committee; (b) what were the terms of reference and mandate of this Action Committee; (c) given the Action Committee’s membership…
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Madam Speaker, when we look at both of the statements that were made, they were highly contradictory. Out west, it was, “Yes, we are going to build pipelines. We are going to develop. We are going to have shovel-ready projects.” Then when the Liberals went to Quebec, it was, “No, there will be a veto. If you don't want something coming through this province, you can veto it.” There was a double st…
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives would want to see the Liberals absolutely do more and have shovel-ready projects. It is really unfortunate that we had a promise that there would be an elimination of these interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day, yet here we are still debating this issue. We would like to see this done at a much faster pace, and we would like to see greater steps. Yes, we need to…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my hon. friend on her success and victory here also. The fundamental issue is that these are Conservative ideas. We are not opposed to building one economy and ensuring that interprovincial trade barriers are broken down. That is what we have been advocating for. That is why we have advocated for resource—
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Madam Speaker, as this is my first opportunity to speak and to rise on a bill before the House in the 45th Parliament, I would like to take the opportunity to express my deepest appreciation for the people of Haldimand—Norfolk for putting their trust in me as their representative for a second term. I am truly inspired by the people of Haldimand—Norfolk, and I am truly honoured to be their voice in…
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Madam Speaker, I encourage the Liberals to continue stealing our great Conservative ideas. What is contained in this bill is just baby steps. It shows some initiative, but there is so much more that needs to be done in order to truly break down interprovincial trade barriers. Conservatives encourage the Liberals to take those further steps so that we can get on board.
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Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary alluded to the fact that Mr. Firth, in 2010, was also given contracts under Harper. In fact, my understanding is that GC Strategies was incorporated in 2015. The issue at hand could not pertain to any contracts that were awarded in 2010. I would like my friend to clarify that point of fact.
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Mr. Speaker, we also extend condolences to the families. The Liberals should not be dodging accountability. They want to hide their scandals from Canadians, but the Auditor General report is very clear. The Liberal government ignored the rules and allowed insiders to profit to the tune of $64 million. The Liberals have shown a complete disdain for hard-working Canadians by promoting the very same …
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Mr. Speaker, it is a new Parliament, but we are dealing with the same old Liberal scandals. The Auditor General has released a report against the Liberal government on the multi-million dollar ArriveCAN debacle. The Liberals gave $64 million to GC Strategies, a two-person IT firm that did no actual work and is currently under RCMP investigation. Today, this House is considering our Conservative mo…
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Mr. Chair, has the government met its goal of building any of the 1,370 homes in any day the minister has been in charge of housing, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, can the minister tell Canadians how many new roads need to be built in order to accommodate the 500,000 new homes in the government's plan?
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Mr. Chair, to be on target, the government would have to have funded the building of 39,730 homes within the last 29 days. Has it met its target, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, in the main estimates, the government has allocated $9 billion for infrastructure. How much of this is allocated for new roads?
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Mr. Chair, did the Liberal government allocate more than $26 billion to prefab container homes through the new Crown corporation, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, does “build Canada homes” include the government's developing and owning homes for Canadians, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, do young people deserve the right to own a conventional home like their parents did, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, did the government meet its goal of building 1,370 homes today, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, the Liberal government plans to build 500,000 new homes. To meet that plan, the government would have to build 1,370 homes every single day. Did the government build 1,370 homes today?
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Mr. Chair, how many homes have the Liberals built in the last 29 days, since the minister has been in charge of housing?
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The minister voted against all of that. Mr. Speaker, I ask you, would you sign a cheque for $486 billion without knowing where the money was going? That is exactly what the government is asking taxpayers to do: sign a blank cheque for half a trillion dollars that will inevitably lead to inflation. Conservatives and Parliament have voted for the Liberals to produce a budget this spring. When will t…
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