Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I wonder what my colleague tells her community when she is asked why the health measures at Canada's airports are different from those in other countries. Is she aware of specific government health advice suggesting that the health measures are still effective?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is another day, and there are more horror stories from Canada's airports. While the Minister of Transport blamed out-of-practice travellers for the bottlenecks at those airports, the parliamentary secretary now says that it is a global phenomenon. It is not. The government has not acknowledged any responsibility. It still has not shared any specific advice it claims to have for the…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the answer is nobody, except for the spin doctors in the Liberal cabinet. Instead of telling Canadians they are out of practice, he could bring back the workers they fired; he could stop the 4,000 tests for incoming travellers each day, and he could do what most other countries have done and end the restrictions. Why is the Prime Minister doing nothing?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, international arrivals at Canadian airports are so backed up that people are being kept on planes for hours after they land because there is not enough space for the long lineups. The Prime Minister's minister blames travellers, and the world has embraced restriction-free travel. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Airports Council and now health experts are telling the government t…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last night, Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner became the latest victim of violent crime in the GTA. According to reports, Marner was the victim of a carjacking near Queensway and Islington in Etobicoke. At almost the exact location, just two days ago, a woman was a victim of an attempted carjacking, so we know this is not an isolated incident. Instead of preventing these violent a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, another day, another petition, and this time on behalf of 27,000 Canadians. Employees in the civil aviation sector have been on leave since last year, 2021. They were once hailed as heroes, and the government's interim order has put them out of a job. The world has moved on, so should Canada. Drop the interim order.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we have massive lineups at airport security. Passengers are being held on the tarmac, and there are missed connections, costly delays and outdated COVID testing. Many Canadians still cannot even travel. Canada's airports are getting a reputation, and it is not a good one. The reason, according to the minister, is that Canadians have forgotten how to travel and that they are out of pra…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we absolutely are talking about affordability, and I will tell the member that the average home price in the GTA reached $1.25 million last month. That means an average homebuyer needs to have an income of $223,000 just to afford one of those houses. Families do not make that kind of money. Is the minister proud of creating a class of permanent renters because of the government’s lack…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the minister is living in fantasyland. I will repeat this. An average house in the GTA is $1.25 million. The minimum required down payment for that house is $250,000. What is the average income for an average family in the GTA? It was almost $94,000 the last time we checked. When will the minister join us in the real world instead of fantasyland and admit that under the government's l…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I will invite the minister to table the secret public health advice that is different in this country than it is in any other country. The Jays and the Leafs are both busing to the Buffalo airport to join the rest of the league without delays, and that is because of the ineffective redundancy at our own airports. Most Canadians do not have that luxury. Lineups and wait times at Pearso…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, 50,000 fans watched the Jays play live, with no masks and no mandates. Over 20,000, with standing room only, will see the Leafs in the playoffs, with no masks and no mandates. Thank goodness the government is not in charge of sports. The secret public health advice that it is getting seems exclusively focused on punishing Canadians who want to fly to see their families or get back to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, millennials were told that if they got a bunch of degrees, a skilled trade and a good job, they would have no problem owning a home, yet they still live in their parents' basements. The government’s signature housing promise to solve this is a new savings account, but people need $8,000 a year in savings to use it. To add insult to injury, the government said that it will put $500 tow…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am glad the hon. member mentioned Rouge national park. I happen to be sitting in the seat of a former member of this House, Peter Kent, who was a big proponent for it and a big reason that the park exists today. The member talked about equity, the need for more workers and the pay gap between men and women still being very real. I am wondering if he can point to anything in the bu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, our airports are becoming famous for long lines, for continuous flight delays and for changing departure times. That is because the government is still imposing out-of-date, unscientific restrictions on travellers. Yesterday, Toronto's airports called for their elimination so that staffing actually goes where it is needed. Other countries have dropped these restrictions, while ours …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am glad you mentioned Rouge national park, and I am happy—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, regarding the decision to cling to restrictions and mandates, why is it such a secret? Will the minister tell the House, finally, what specific advice he is getting to keep them, when he got it last, and when he is going to get it next? Will he table that advice in the House for all Canadians, or will he continue to hide it from Canadians while they are stuck in line at Pearson?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, divide and stigmatize, rinse and repeat. Which experts is the Prime Minister listening to, what is the specific advice, what year is the advice from and why is the advice different in Canada than in the rest of the world? It is all secrets. Canadians want to know this: When will the government end the outdated, ineffective and vindictive mandates?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, surely the Prime Minister knows that vaccinated Canadians are on planes with unvaccinated international travellers here. Surely he knows that Italy, Greece, the U.K., Denmark and many other countries have no more travel restrictions and no more mandates. There, families have been reunited, workers are back to work and everyone can travel. In Canada, the government does not trust Canad…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the world has witnessed an abhorrent new low from Russia's foreign minister, whose ignorant comments about Adolf Hitler perpetuate a hateful and bigoted narrative to distract us from his war crimes. Russia has frequently invoked Nazism and World War II to justify its brazen aggression in Ukraine, while attacking Holocaust memorials as well as survivors of Russia's deliberate murder of…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are two years in and the testing of incoming international travellers is creating significant bottlenecks at Canadian airports. Many Canadians still cannot travel. The public servants who could be working from home to clear the current government's backlog on just about every single service it offers have been cast aside. The ideological crusade of the government is having an impac…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, aggressive rate hikes are coming and that is because the government continues to spend recklessly. Here is what that means for an average Canadian. If they are lucky enough to buy a house for the $800,000 that it costs, with a 2% mortgage they are paying about $3,400 a month for mortgage payments. The potential of a 3% rate hike means $3,400 turns into $5,200. Why is the government …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for introducing this bill. I want to thank her for her efforts to right a wrong in our court system with her bill that will ensure that we educate judges on domestic violence and coercive control and, most importantly, I want to tell her that she has the support of the member of Parliament for Thornhill and members on this side o…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for bringing this important legislation to the House. I look forward to sharing my comments with the House and to telling her formally that she has my full support. She said in her comments that more needs to be done. I am wondering if she could comment on how that can happen, whether it is by imposing tougher sentences on those who assault th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let me get this straight. Despite the police clearing the blockades without needing the Emergencies Act, yesterday the public safety minister stated the reasons were economic. He said the impacts were devastating. He said the Windsor crossing lost $390 million a day, and Stats Canada says that is not true. What should Canadians think when the government tells them it cannot explain wh…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, despite the blockades at the Ambassador Bridge and Coutts being cleared before the invocation of the Emergencies Act, cross-border trade was up 16%. These figures raise obvious questions about the government's use of the act, a decision the government justified by threats to economic security. The Liberals did not do anything in 2020 during the rail blockades when economic activities …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-250, presented in this House by my colleague from Saskatoon—Grasswood. I thank him for that, and I thank other colleagues for their speeches today. I rise to speak to this bill on the eve of Yom HaShoah, a day that commemorates the six million innocent Jewish men, women and children who were systematically murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. O…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadian housing prices have surged over the last two years. The average cost of a home in the GTA rose more than 50%. The government blames the lack of supply for the price hike and pledged to double the pace of home building over the next decade, but that plan seems to be missing from the budget. We will not see a single additional house built this year, not one. Canadians are not g…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, over the past six weeks, we have learned that the Canadian Transportation Agency determined that Flair Airlines does not meet Canadian ownership requirements. Despite that, the government has doled out not one but two grants to Flair, totalling $11.3 million. If Flair is not Canadian, the airline’s operating licence would be suspended and consumers would be left with the tab. Does the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to rise and add the voice of the people of Thornhill to today's debate. I am deeply concerned on their behalf by the latest NDP-Liberal budget. Every single day, we ask the government what it is doing to make life more affordable for Canadians, and every day it tells us how much it is spending. I was hopeful today that we could see some results for the money spent rather…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, if the member is explaining to someone in his riding who is telling him that the cost of groceries is going up, that the cost of gas is going up, that the cost of rent is unaffordable or that their kids cannot move out of their basement, I am wondering if he states the debt-to-GDP ratio as a statistic for his support.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I know that he is yelling about it now, but I am wondering if that is the answer he gives to constituents when they talk about an affordability crisis that has happened under his government's watch.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right on the issue of supply, when it comes to the government's housing plan. I think the government has lacked any creation of supply or any significant creation of supply within our housing market, which is why we are seeing unaffordable 50% rises in places like the GTA, where I am from. I think the government needs to get on an aggressive track to build m…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the government does neither in this budget. The government promised to increase defence spending to the 2% NATO target, and it fell short of that. If the member wants to come to my riding, he can run in a provincial election that is happening in Ontario on June 2 to provide dental care for the residents of Ontario. That is an incursion into provincial jurisdiction. The m…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on April 12, thousands will visit the Ohel: the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, for the 120th anniversary of his birth. The Rebbe’s teaching has imparted to the Jewish people a sense of responsibility to God and to one another. He was a leader who exemplified true selflessness, and whose altruism grew in others exponentially and continues through the unparallele…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, more spending does not equal results. It equals more inflation, and Canadians cannot afford a home. Canada's fiscal house is on fire, and the NDP is pushing the Liberals to throw $1.68 gasoline on it. Canadians know one thing about the upcoming budget: It is going to be expensive. Will the Prime Minister have the courage to tell Canadians that he could not get the trust of the majorit…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, housing in the GTA is scarce and expensive, and it is getting worse. Home prices have doubled under this government, and Canada still has the fewest homes per capita of any G7 country. The government will muse about their so-called plans to fund affordable housing just to have their new NDP dance partners at every level of government oppose actual development of this housing. When wil…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, a billboard in Toronto reads, “Can't afford a home? Have you tried finding richer parents?” As sarcastic as it is, it gets our attention on the out-of-control state of our housing market. The cost of housing under the government has doubled since 2015, and Canadians who are lucky enough to own a home pay almost 50% of their income to service their mortgage. Does this minister have a p…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last week I joined the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce and some businesses in my riding for a very frank discussion. With Canadian families facing record-high inflation, a skyrocketing cost of living and a growing housing affordability crisis, businesses in my riding are feeling the squeeze, labour shortages and a supply chain mess. The only thing on the rise for them are costs. They want…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it might not be a marriage of love, but it is certainly one of convenience for the NDP-Liberal government. Here are some demands from the NDP platform. The New Democrats say they will raise the capital gains tax inclusion to 75%. They said they will raise the corporate tax rate to 18%. They said they will tax successful businesses with an excess profit tax. They will make life more un…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of over 13,500 Canadians. There was $342 million spent on testing at our borders, yet the Public Health Agency could not verify 30% of them. Canadians want an end to testing and travel restrictions. I agree with them. It is time to end the COVID theatre and let Canadians travel freely.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, what I am saying is that the government should never regulate what we see online. It should never pick winners and losers, and it certainly should not have the CRTC deciding the ad hoc rules of what Canadians can see online and when. That should be one's choice.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am honoured to have the opportunity to rise in this place on behalf of the good people of Thornhill to speak to issues within Bill C-11, the online streaming act. It is a new name. As many will remember, in the previous Parliament my colleagues in this place spoke to the issues in a different bill: That was Bill C-10, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act. While this new bill has a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member opposite would know that, if he looked at all of the tiles on Netflix, he would see Canadian content. Canadian content is important. The problem is that the bill does not even stipulate what Canadian content is. How does the member opposite regulate something if he cannot define it?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot from the NDP talking about making web giants pay their fair share. This is, again, a party that has spent almost $2.5 million on platforms such as Facebook. To the hon. member's question, I do not see how he can stand in the House and ask that question. I would say to the hon. member that we cannot regulate ourselves to success. That is not going to create more, …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, certainly the gentleman on the radio is in line with public health officials, including Dr. Tam and health officials from across the 10 provinces that have lifted restrictions. At some point, we have to give Canadians their livelihoods back. We have to stop being vindictive about the punishments of mandates, particularly if they are not justified and if there is no scientific purpose …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is good to see you in that chair. I am going to split my time with the member for St. Albert—Edmonton. For two years, Canadians have been living with COVID-19 restrictions. That is two years of lockdowns, of not being able to visit loved ones and of not being able to travel. It is two years of isolation. While Canadians understood the need for various restrictions applied during th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the member that the national immunization task force never called for vaccine mandates. The Public Health Agency of Canada never called for vaccine mandates. The Prime Minister himself, while gallivanting across the country during an election in the midst of this pandemic, said that he would not impose vaccine mandates. Does the member know when vaccine mandates …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is not just Conservatives calling for this. It is public health officials. It is public health officials from across the 10 provinces that have already lifted their mandates. There are countries around the world where somebody who may not be vaccinated can get on an airplane. We are the only place where that does not happen. Absolutely, it should be immediate. In fact, it should ha…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, many Canadians cannot travel. They cannot leave this country. Many have been terminated and have been othered by the current government for long enough. Its top doctor stated that vaccine mandates are not effective anymore, yet the health minister will not discuss any timelines, benchmarks or plans for ending them. He is not taking hints from provinces. He is not taking cues from our …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, things would be better if the minister cared about workers even half as much as he does about optics. Employers in air transportation are experiencing worker shortages. They are terminating experienced workers because of the federal mandates. The very workers who were mandated to work through the pandemic are the same workers who are now on the verge of losing their livelihoods for go…
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