Parliamentary Speeches

Routine Proceedings

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives unequivocally condemn Russia and Putin for their invasion. We put the blame on Russia, and we believe 100% in supporting Ukraine.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister downplays a 9% increase in the employment insurance tax. She says it is no big deal, even though the Liberal government collects billions more in EI premiums than it pays out to workers, just when inflation is at a 40-year high and gas is $2.40 a litre in Vancouver. Hard-working Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. Do Liberals just not care or are they just…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my Bloc colleague for her comments. She talked about populism, but I would like to give her another definition of that term. I believe that populism also means being sensitive to people's needs and anxieties. The government and even experts should be very careful about taking the attitude that they know more than the average person. It is an important consideration. She talk…

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, over 150,000 first nations, Inuit and Métis children were placed in residential schools. The experience was devastating and has left generational scars on so many. The children were removed from their families and their cultural traditions, and forbidden to speak their languages. The purpose was supposedly education, but assimilation was top of mind. It was a “government knows best” a…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the member discussed how the carbon tax comes back in the form of rebates. I am a member from British Columbia, and the price of gas as I was leaving was $2.33 a litre. There is no federal rebate. Provincially, only a very small minority of people get a rebate. People are struggling. They are struggling to fill their tanks. There is less disposable income. The costs are only going t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives think there is a better way to reduce climate change than tripling the price on carbon. As the member said, that better way is technology. Here is a little example. In Vancouver, where I live, we had the AirCare program for about 20 years for people to test their vehicle emissions. Because of technological advances, we no longer need to do that. Clearly, technology…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate Bill C-22, an act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act. The government is attempting to create a Canada disability benefit to supplement existing provincial benefits for low-income persons with disabilities, mod…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I know we are happy to move things forward, but we really see an empty shell with this bill. With respect to regulations, there are subparagraphs (a) through (t), but we do not know what the regulations are. We need to see those regulations to help move the bill forward so we can ensure those with disabilities would best profit from it.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not wish my granddaughter a happy birthday. It is her third birthday. Our new leader has proposed that, for every dollar of increased expenditure, we would be looking for savings, and there is a lot of room for savings. My apartment overlooks buildings where I have not seen anybody for two and a half years. I have since found out they are empty government bu…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in power in 2015, we brought about the Employment Equity Act, the purpose of which was to achieve equity in the workplace so no one would be denied opportunities for reasons unrelated to ability, and to address workplace disadvantages faced by four designated groups: people with disabilities, women, aboriginal peoples and members of visible minorities. The …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is not just with the CPP. It is also with the carbon tax, EI, and these automatic increases. Although I am not a member from Alberta, I know it has put a hold on provincial taxes on gasoline, which has made a big difference. I have noticed that people, even from my riding, have been moving there because taxes make a difference. People can afford to live. The government is making li…

Madam Speaker, it is with sorrow that I rise to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of my constituents in Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge. I offer condolences to His Majesty King Charles III and the entire royal family. Queen Elizabeth II was probably the most well-known woman in the entire world. She was an inspiration to hundreds of millions of people for her grace, service, kindnes…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, my staff tell me that the passport backlog is an absolute horror show. People are crying and freaking out when they call us, distressed that they are about to lose thousands of dollars of money spent on upcoming trips. At committee, the minister responsible for Passport Canada said, “Have thou no fear, MPs have a direct hotline to passport services.” Well, the hotline is cold. My as…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the government claims to care about refugees, but again it is just lip service. Comlux Aviation has offered a commercial airline to provide humanitarian flights to Ukraine for free. There is just one problem: It keeps running into red tape from the Liberal government. Ukrainians are desperate both for aid and for safe haven here in Canada. Will the minister commit right now to provide…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks. He is passionate about his riding and invited us to go there to learn French. I am actually learning French myself. I look forward to seeing his region. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to ask the Liberal member for Whitby a question. I talked about the rising cost of living and of gas, and I told him how hard this is for people. He replied…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the member seems like quite a decent fellow, but I will just say that his comments and the Liberals are just out of touch. His comment was that we would have to shift our lifestyle and that it is going to be painful. Right now in the Vancouver area, gas is $2.35 a litre. It is 40% to 50% higher than it is right across the line in the United States. People are struggling. They are st…

Routine Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for his very insightful and interesting remarks. I have a great deal of respect for him. I was born in Germany. My dad was in the air force. It was during the missile crisis. We were very close to nuclear war. It was during the time that the Berlin Wall was built. Then in 1989, the wall came down. People thought there was no more need for NATO. People cut …

Routine Proceedings

Madam Speaker, the member just made reference to the threat that Lithuania and other countries bordering Russia feel. I wonder what her thoughts might be on the fact that Canada borders Russia, and that with regard to Arctic sovereignty, we have almost no naval capacity or icebreakers to defend our north, as well as the fact that we are not meeting our NATO obligations of 2%. I wonder if she would…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, Pitt Meadows is one of the prettiest spots on our planet and is a wonderful place to raise a family. It is on the traditional land of the Katzie, and is nestled between the coast mountains and the Pitt River and Fraser River. It has a small-town feel even though it is in metro Vancouver. Residents enjoy chatting or strolling along the dikes, perhaps after grabbing a coffee at the Stom…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, what is pretty clear is that the NDP is parroting the Liberals. They are hand in hand. The member is talking about science, but the health authority where he is from, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, has publicly provided documentation that vaccines do not make any difference as far as a person being able to transmit COVID, and they do not make any difference as far as protec…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I am also presenting a petition on conscience protection for medical professionals, which is necessary for patients to access their right to a second opinion. The Canadian Medical Association said that 24,000 physicians would be willing to do it, so they should have the opportunity to use their conscience rights.

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I have just a couple of petitions to present right now from Canadian citizens. They are immediately calling for the end of all COVID-19 vaccine mandates implemented by the federal government that regulate federal employees, truckers and travellers. They also call for an end to all COVID-19 mandates and restrictions by any entity.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, $2 a litre: for the first time ever in Vancouver, that is the price of regular gas. We know what happens when gas goes up. The price of everything goes up. It is what happens any time the government rolls out its policies. Whether it is its anti-energy obsession or its reckless fiscal plans, the result is the same. Canadians pay more. Will the government admit that it is the problem, …

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, it has now been two years since the first set of COVID restrictions came into effect. Since then, we have seen an inconsistent patchwork of requirements, bans and restrictions that many Canadians feel have done more harm than good. For example, a trucker in my riding who provided free services to assist during last year's floods now finds himself unemployed. Other constituents have be…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, those were interesting comments. I would like to compare and contrast for a second. New Zealand just announced, per today's Ottawa Citizen, that it “ruled out forcefully clearing vehicles blocking roads outside parliament in a protest against coronavirus vaccine mandates, saying that would risk ‘wider harm’”. Representatives said, “negotiations and de-escalation were the only safe w…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I am finding it a little hard to listen to this member and the Liberal Party talk about the safety of the population. I just looked at the Twitter account of the Prime Minister and there is nothing there about Houston, B.C., nothing about eco-terrorists attacking with axes and the millions of dollars in damages. I am hearing nothing about that. I am hearing only about this. When I l…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, this is a precedent-setting, first time ever invocation of the Emergencies Act. They did not seem to be so quick to impose it recently when there were blockades. I disagree with blockades or violence anywhere. I have spoken out against it as an MLA in British Columbia and as a Conservative MP. They pick and choose, and go way over. The blockades were actually gone before this imposi…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I do not happen to be the Prime Minister. I am not. The Prime Minister is the person right in the front, supported by the cabinet, supported by the Liberals. Here is the thing. I used direct quotes from our Prime Minister. He said them. I am not just making things up right here. These are the words. He called them misogynists, racists, extremists, Nazis. These are the words. It is a…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I happen to be indigenous. My family went to residential schools. I understand that, but that is not what this is about. This is about the Emergencies Act being imposed as it has never been before. It is disgraceful.

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, these are examples of the tolerance and intolerance of our Prime Minister and the Liberal Party primarily. I just gave a variety of examples, including the Unabomber. There are all sorts of different examples. There are so many. There is a constant approach, and we oppose this imposition of the Emergencies Act as extreme.

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, the Liberals are obsessed with polls. A number of times today, the member for Kingston and the Islands used polls to taunt the Bloc Québécois. He said that Quebeckers would no longer vote for the Bloc. Thank God the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party have a very different approach to that of the Liberals, who are being propped up by the NDP. We do not agree with the Bloc on m…

Orders of the Day

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments. Some people are claiming that there are terrorists. However, if that is true, why did the police let them come to Parliament Hill? My wife walked here. When I walk here, most of the people say hello to me. If the danger is imminent, where are the police? How come we can still walk around? Those are good questions.

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I am happy to answer questions afterward. I think of something that the Prime Minister once said regarding exclusion and intolerance. He spoke about an event that killed several people and wounded hundreds, many of them losing arms and legs. He said, “But there is no question that this happened because of someone who feels completely excluded.... And our approach has to be, okay, wh…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I am glad to be speaking to this bill. Actually, I would rather not be speaking to this bill and these measures. I do not think it is necessary and is a total overreach of the government for political expediency. It is inappropriate and very selective. That will probably be the nature of my comments tonight. First of all, I want to thank all the staff here this evening: the table of…

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, yes, exclusionary tolerance is what I am speaking about. I am talking about 8%—

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of numerous residents in my riding. For some time, they have been impacted by increased air traffic over their neighbourhoods. These are not people who live next to an airport. Rather, they live between designated training areas many miles away from an airport. Their quality of life has been diminished, and attempts at finding reasonable solution…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I believe this is absolutely relevant. We are talking about $2.5 billion of money. What is $2.5 billion? What is $1.2 trillion of deficit that we have doubled under the Liberals? What does that mean? It is just money. It is just taxpayer money. It just puts it upon our children and their children and their children. Who cares? That is the attitude we are getting from this group. Why a…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, honestly, we are with Canadians. We are concerned about their health. We want to see them wherever they are at. We want them to have their own free choices. It is “my body, my choice” as far as vaccinations go. It is not to treat them like they are idiots or like they are white supremacists. They are not. They are Canadians.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is good to be here this evening in this debate discussing our amendment. The Conservative Party brought forward this amendment because we feel there just needs to be more time to examine the bill. There is no rush to bring it forward. It has to go through the Senate, which is not even sitting until next week. We need to be able to examine it. We need the minister to come here so th…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, MP Frank Baylis got a contract. He definitely had the inside track for ventilators, for a company that had not built them. He had never made ventilators before. It was a sole-purpose contract for $236 million. It had never been tested or used before. They charged twice its value compared to the competition. It is emergency funding. Therefore, let us give it to our buddies. That is wha…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, commercial fishers on B.C.'s coast are at their wits' end. They managed to get through two years of COVID impacts and now, just when things look like they might be getting better, the government is causing more undue hardship by slashing the Pacific herring harvest rate. This decision was made with no scientific explanation, no consultation, no compensation and no concern for the live…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, it is good to be here this evening to share some thoughts. I want to thank the members from all sides for discussing this very important issue, which is something that touches us here and touches Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We probably all know people, loved ones, who have been impacted through drugs or through overdosing and dying. In British Columbia, where I am from, 2,70…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, there could be investments, for sure. However, the member used the word “medication”, and I believe that is code for giving people drugs, whether it be methadone or other drugs. The objective needs to be seeing people actually recover, fully, and to give them help to move on. That takes a tremendous amount of work. It is mental health and all sorts of different things. It is not a simpl…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert. He asked what the alternatives are. I truly believe that recovery centres are essential. As I mentioned earlier, the pandemic has undoubtedly had an impact on the number of people dying. The director of one recovery centre told me that many people living on the streets were receiving money that they were not really supposed to receive. Many…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for her comments and, yes, we are right across the river from each other. I know one of the organizations in my riding that is helping those to recover is Hope for Freedom. I know there are also facilities in her riding that are doing great work. It gives me hope to see people's lives changed and for them to be able to come out of this. It does give me that hope, so I…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, I am having a flashback as I am listening to the member's comments. I was elected in 2015. Shortly thereafter we had protests regarding the Wet'suwet'en. All across Canada, billions of dollars were lost, and here I am hearing words like, “this is enshrined in Parliament” and “rule of law”. I can appreciate that. We do not support radicalism, but it is extremely rich for him to make th…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives and I do not support extremism of any kind, no matter what the source. I certainly do not support that. People have a right to protest and be listened to. They want to speak up. They are being ignored and are being labelled. It was reported in the media that there was an arrest made during a rally in Toronto because a smoke bomb was thrown in. It was done by someon…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, we cannot believe what the Liberals say. During the 2015 election they said there would be a $10-billion deficit. Then what happened? It was $30 billion, and that was pre-COVID. They were out of control prior and now they blame it all on COVID. They were not accurate with what they said then, and they will not be accurate about what they say in the future. That is my position on tha…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am happy to speak to the bill, but I cannot say I am happy with the bill. However, I will start off with a few positive comments about the bill. I am a teacher by profession. I know that one of the items here is a school supplies tax credit, which would increase the credit from 15% to 25% for teachers who spend on supplies out of their own pockets, including for electronic devices…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is really a problem. The impact of inflation on health care also affects seniors on fixed incomes because what they get is not keeping pace with rising prices. Government support is dwindling because it has lost control of the economy and its spending.