Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, let me be clear that invoking this act is an attack the Prime Minister is using on his political opponents. This is not about public safety, and the Prime Minister has changed his story many times. The blockades at the borders were resolved before this act was involved, and the protest in Ottawa is now over. Why does the government need to use these unprecedented powers? Why does th…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question, but this is just more inflammatory rhetoric from the NDP. Why would the NDP support this? The party was founded on the principle of civil liberties, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is actually suing the government right now. It is unprecedented. I did spend time talking with my own constituents, whom I met up here on the first week…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talked about how this piece of legislation does not take away freedom of speech or freedom of assembly, but we have come to a point where people from all over the country felt that they did not have a voice. We are at a point where we have used the biggest thing that the government can do to silence the voices of Canadians who are here to be heard. What are the first…
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about peaceful protests, and I want to commend the law enforcement we have had over the last number of weeks here in Ottawa. They have been keeping the peace and doing a wonderful job of ending the blockade here this week. Conservatives have been calling for an end to it for a while. Ottawa knew for days that this protest, the “freedom convoy”, was coming into Ottawa. T…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, traffic over the Blue Water Bridge, which is a direct link to my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, is backed up because the Liberal government will not lift the mandates. Our Prime Minister's divisive words only add fuel to the fire and encourage the blockades. There are tractors parked on the 402 right now. The Prime Minister is doing nothing to stop the division he has created and g…
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex and I want to share my appreciation for the good deeds being done across our communities. I thank the public libraries for organizing winter clothing drives. I thank the many churches, large and small, for the hard work they do preparing meals and sharing food. I thank the volunteers at our local shelters and food banks. I t…
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Mr. Speaker, the price of chicken is up 6.2%. Bacon is up 19.1%, and gas is up 33%. In Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, seniors, people with disabilities and families are telling me that they can no longer afford the basic necessities, and rural Canadians have no choice but to drive everywhere. With the government so disinterested in Canada's inflation crisis, people are feeling frustrated and losing hope.…
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Mr. Speaker, forcing people's backs against a wall by imposing unreasonable mandates and demonizing those who seek to create a dialogue and ask to be heard by their government is wrong. We need to safely and responsibly learn to live with the virus, and the government needs to accept that there are many ways forward to give people hope. Hope is the message we have been hearing, and many are spread…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the claim that “[s]ince 2015, the Government of Canada has made available over $7.2 billion to close this unacceptable gap in service” contained in the document entitled "Canada’s Rural Economic Development Strategy: Progress Report", August 2021 related to connectivity for rural Canadians: (a) what is the breakdown of the $7.2 billion by initiative or program; and (b) what are the …
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With regard to the government payments made to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): has the government done a value-for-money analysis on its payments to the AIIB, and, if so, what are the details of the analysis, including (i) the date the analysis was completed, (ii) who conducted the analysis, (iii) the findings?
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With regard to the government's investments in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): does the government know how many Canadians are employed on projects funded by the AIIB, and, if so, what is the breakdown by project?
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With regard to federal funding in the constituency of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, between January and November 2021: (a) what applications for funding have been received, including for each the (i) name of the applicant, (ii) department, (iii) program and sub-program under which they applied for funding, (iv) date of the application, (v) amount applied for, (vi) whether the funding has been approved o…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as this is my first time rising to give a speech as a member of the 44th Parliament, I want to take a moment to thank the people of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex for re-electing me to this place on their behalf. It is a responsibility, honour and privilege that I do not take lightly. I am really grateful to them for sending me back here. My re-election was made possible by everyone who suppo…
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Mr. Speaker, I have faith in judges and the judicial system, but sometimes the judges need to have something in front of them in the form of a mandatory minimum sentence so that people who are committing these crimes can get the help they need from the institutions they would go to so that they are not out on the streets.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been stated here before, and I will state it again: I am an RPAL holder myself. I have to go through rigorous background checks. I have to submit documents every day my background is checked. I do not own a firearm personally. The law-abiding citizens who have a possession and acquisition licence, who are trained, who are hunting and who are farmers like me, who have been out i…
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Mr. Speaker, I talked about victims and needing to protect them. A lot of victims are exactly what the member said; they are also racialized Canadians. I believe that people who commit a crime should be punished for their crime. On mandatory minimums, when I talk to people who are working in corrections and who see these people coming in every day, they feel that if these criminals had actually do…
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Mr. Speaker, the Walpole Island First Nation ferry in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex is a critical connection between the island and Algonac, Michigan. The ferry plays a significant role in the daily life of this community, and it is essential to the local economy. The ferry has been shut down since the beginning of the pandemic. The land borders have been reopened, but the ferry still cannot…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his response. However, I must emphasize the importance of these concerns. Something the Liberal government needs to understand is that we are all Canadians regardless of geography and where we live, and we are all deserving of equal representation. Here are a few concerns directly from my riding. A professor at Western University has written in …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on November 30, I asked the minister why the Liberal government was always leaving rural Canadians behind, and I did not receive an answer to that question. In fact, what I did receive was a bunch of talking points on what the government hopes to accomplish with broadband by 2030. While I certainly will not downplay the importance of a well-formulated plan for rural broadband, what th…
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Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex and many rural Canadians are unable to access fibre Internet because large ISPs will lay down the backbone but fail to finish the important last mile. Although the universal broadband fund supports the last mile, many of the ISPs are not taking advantage of it and are simply leaving Canadians not connected. What will the government d…
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague for his great speech. I just want to take an opportunity to thank all the health care workers who are in my riding and our frontline workers who have been working so diligently through the pandemic over almost two years now. On Friday, I actually had the opportunity to be in Wallaceburg where the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance has announced that we …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, Please allow me this delineation. I have heard it said that this crisis throughout our great nation is nothing more than just inflation. I remember prorogation and attempts to hinder accountability beneath our station. We should take it as humiliation to see Canada's economy suffer from such stagnation. The people demand compensation from a government that does not show trepidation to…
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Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne left rural Canadians hungry and out in the cold. It ignored their concerns, like labour shortages, rising inflation and the skyrocketing costs of basic necessities, like gas, groceries and heat for their homes and their barns. Rural Canadians, like those in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, deserve to be a priority. Why is the Liberal government always ig…
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