Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, just one last time, I want to hear an answer to this question. Does either minister believe that oil coming from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador or Colombia should be subject to the same rigorous emission standards as oil coming from Alberta, Saskatchewan or Newfoundland and Labrador? Please answer the question.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in August 2017, the National Energy Board issued a decision. It said, “the NEB will consider upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions...in determining whether these projects are in the public interest.” That effectively killed energy east or any east-west pipeline. Does the minister agree that upstream and downstream GHG emissions should be considered before oil and gas projec…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, tonight the Liberals have talked a lot about equalization. The minister said, “We are increasing fiscal equalization by nearly $970 million.” I have spent about seven hours this week so far in committee of the whole, and I am wondering whether Liberal ministers or members are allowed to use the word “oil” in these debates.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, according to the Canadian Energy Regulator, in 2023, Canada imported 19.5 billion dollars' worth of crude oil. This included 2.5 billion dollars' worth of oil imported into Canada from Nigeria. How important would that $2.5 billion of revenue be to the Canadian government's efforts to fund things like health care and education in Canada?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that 2.5 billion dollars' worth of oil coming from Nigeria and $2.1 billion coming from Saudi Arabia, $4.6 billion, is not subject to the same rigorous reporting on upstream and downstream emissions as oil coming from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Does the minister think that is fair?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in addition to the oil coming from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, we brought in 403 million dollars' worth of oil from Colombia and 202 million dollars' worth of oil from Ecuador. None of that oil was subject to the same rigorous reporting on upstream and downstream emissions as oil coming from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Does the Minister of International Trade s…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the top producing countries for oil in the world are the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia. Russia is number three, just ahead of Canada. Do either of the ministers, or anybody in the government, realize that when we refuse to sell Canadian oil and gas to the world, countries are forced to buy that oil from Russia? Therefore, the Canadian government's energy policy is a pro-Russia energy …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my home province will be listening very closely to the conversation that we are having tonight. The National Energy Board, in its decision on Energy East, said that the NEB “will consider...upstream and downstream GHG emissions” in determining whether these projects are “in the public interest.” This is effectively the government policy right now. According to the Canada Energy Regula…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, does the minister realize that both of the quotes I just read came from her own Prime Minister? They are from the same person.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when the minister hears such disparate comments, does she realize how hard it is going to be to achieve consensus in this country around pipelines?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that he would take Quebec, as it imports 365,000 barrels a day, all of it coming from abroad, so we have an opportunity to displace there. Does the minister suggest we should use pipelines or rail to displace that oil going to Quebec, which her own boss says we need to displace?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, recently, a commentator in Alberta had this to say: “If you look out east, I'll take Quebec. They import about 365,000 barrels a day of oil. All of it is coming from abroad. Seventy per cent of that is coming from the U.S., so we have an opportunity to displace there.” He went on to say, “we should be using it all the time ourselves because we are going to use what I call conventional…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, one of the minister's cabinet colleagues has strongly expressed a contrary opinion, saying, “Maybe as much as half of oil reserves, proven reserves, need to stay in the ground if we are going to get where we are.” Does the minister agree with her cabinet colleague?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the quote was, “we should be using it all the time ourselves because we are going to use what I call conventional oil and gas for the rest of my life and beyond.” Does the minister agree with those statements?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago this week, ink hardly dry on my University of Alberta business degree, I started selling season tickets for the Edmonton Oilers hockey club. Those were difficult years, post-dynasty in a tough Canadian economy, and our small Edmonton market was in imminent danger of losing our NHL team to a wealthy U.S. buyer, but then something magical happened. Edmontonians stepped up i…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister has a plan, we would sure love to hear it here in Parliament. On the eve of the election in which he was trying to get elected, the Prime Minister went on an Oilers radio show in Edmonton and was asked about oil. He said, “There's a massive opportunity...if you look at out east, [particularly in] Quebec, they import about 365,000 barrels a day.... Seventy per cen…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister went on to say, “we've got this resource. At a minimum, we should be using it all the time ourselves, because we're going to use what I call conventional oil and gas for the rest of my life and beyond.” He said that in Edmonton when he was trying to get elected, but he has a history of saying that we should leave oil and gas in the ground. When will the government f…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, maybe lost in all the noise emanating from down south during the election campaign was a real movement for change, a change back to a common-sense fiscal conservatism that we had in this country from 2006 to 2015, with two million more Canadians voting in our direction and voting for that type of change. In 2015, we had the strongest middle class in the world and a balanced budget. On…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In response to our House leader's point of order, I want to point out that before he even had a chance to say a word—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify what your ruling is going to be moving forward. Are we to expect now that if somebody says no before a word is spoken on a point of order, you are going to stand up and shut down that member from speaking, regardless of which party it is, from now on? Is that the precedent?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded vote, please.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the CRA and the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) for the most recent fiscal year for which data is available: (a) how many initial assessments were completed and reviewed; (b) how many reassessments were completed and reviewed; (c) what is the number of initial DTC applications filed for both (a) and (b) that were approved; (d) what is the number of unsuccessful initial DTC applications …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am having a hard time.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I always appreciate the member for Timmins—James Bay and his dedication to a high level of debate in the House. I will come back to the member for Edmonton Centre, an on-again, off-again member of the House. Of course, he was a member for four years and then was put on a time out and then came back for the last few years, taking a cabinet position as one of two Alberta members of Pa…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, that is one of the first comments I think I have ever heard the hon. member make that I might agree with. We agree that it seems as though the minister in question sees every government program as a personal opportunity. That is what we are talking about today. It sounds like the hon. member was making the same point I am. I was going back to the conversations I have had in year-end…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, before I start my comments today, I have an opportunity, because I am standing up, to recognize Sabrina Larson, who has worked in my constituency office for 16 years. She is here in Ottawa today to get a long service award. I cannot say whether she is in the House but I am very thankful for the work she has done for many, many years, helping my constituents handle their casework. I …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, actually, the quote-unquote comment was “fake news” from the hon. member, so that point of order seems to be fake news in and of itself. I serve in an Edmonton riding. I have served for 19 years in the House. I have had the opportunity to—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. The government's own analysis admits that its cap on production will cost Canadians thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. Meanwhile, a Canadian company that cannot get a pipeline approved in Canada is investing $700 million in a U.S. project, and in 2023, the Liberals increased oil and gas imports to Canada, with…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Federal Lands Initiative, since the program launched in February 2019: how many homes (i) have been built, (ii) are currently under development?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to funding provided through the Housing Accelerator Fund: (a) how much funding has been provided to date, broken down by city or municipality and by province or territory; and (b) what are the key milestones that must be achieved before the federal government provides the next Housing Accelerator Fund payment, broken down by city or municipality?
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
It is interesting, Mr. Speaker, to listen carefully to that question. The assertion the member makes at the start of the question is that I have said something that is incorrect, but nowhere in her question does she actually itemize anything I said that was incorrect. She talks about evidence, but she does not give one piece of evidence that anything I said was incorrect. The fact of the matter is…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, again, the hon. member stands up and asserts that I am incorrect in what I said, but he does not actually reference what I said. Yes, our leader would be restricted. It is very clear. We could say he would be “gagged” or whatever other word we use, but he would be restricted in his ability to say things that he learns in the briefing. People might have different opinions on everything…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I referenced that the election in January 2006 was precipitated by the sponsorship scandal. It was a minority Liberal government at the time that had been supported by the NDP. We saw that it eventually got to a point for the NDP that the scandal and information coming out was bad enough that no one with a conscience serving in opposition could possibly prop up a government in that ci…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, what a privilege it is to stand here, as I am preparing to do a speech in a completely different direction, and have the opportunity to reflect on a colleague with whom I had a chance to serve for many years in the House of Commons, Bob Sopuck. It was such a privilege to listen to my hon. colleague's fantastic speech and reflections. My thoughts are, as everybody else's are, with the …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the member has asked me a lot of questions, but this might be the first relevant question he has asked in many years. The reality is that, when asked about this, the Conservative leader, the future prime minister, said in the House of Commons the other day that he is not going to be gagged by the Liberal government. He has the support of the person who was in charge of holding us to a…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with that. Anything that stops the Liberal-NDP partnership from continuing to destroy the economics of our country is important. I also want to point out the reason we are having this debate, which is that the Liberals continue to do exactly what the hon. member said. They relitigate a debate they already lost a vote on, which was the opposition day motion. That vot…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today is World Polio Day, a day to highlight global efforts to end polio. In 1996, Nelson Mandela said, “our aim is not merely to reduce the numbers afflicted—it is to eliminate the disease completely. No country can be safe from this disease until the whole world is rid of it.” Today, we are so close to that goal, with Canada consistently playing a leading role. Three Canadian prime …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today is World Mental Health Day, and it is my absolute pleasure to highlight the critical work of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, or CAMIMH, a coalition of 18 national mental health organizations representing Canadians with lived experience with mental illness and their care providers. Each year, CAMIMH celebrates the champions of mental health, individuals…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
On that point, Madam Speaker, can you please clarify the language that you are deeming unparliamentary? I think it is critical right now that we get some clarity. The members on the other end who brought this up caused disruption—
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I am not sure we have quorum. And the count having been taken:
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, we need to have some clarity on the language that is allowed or not allowed in the House. The hon. Liberal member—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, when we introduced an amendment to deal with clawbacks, they voted against it. On the other topic, what I said was that we want the same thing. We want to help people. However, I also talked about outcomes; I hope he did not miss that part. The reality is that the outcomes we are achieving are not what our country wants right now. In fact, we are achieving the worst outcomes for vul…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the NDP has brought up the Harper record multiple times today. The Harper government increased health transfers by 6% every single year we were in government. With Jim Flaherty as finance minister, we introduced the registered disability savings plan; Ready, Willing and Able; and Employment Works. We launched a Canadian autism partnership and funded Special Olympics. We got the Abil…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have mentioned this a couple of times. The number one thing we can do for vulnerable Canadians, whatever the vulnerability might be, is to fix the budget and to fix our spending problem in this country. Ultimately, the most vulnerable always pay the price. They pay the price in the present because their incomes do not go up with inflation. They pay the price in the future because …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the subject of Jim Flaherty will probably come up over the next three hours. I want to make sure we are clear on a couple of things because the hon. NDP member did not know who he was, and the Liberal member mocked him and his legacy a little in the House. Of course, Minister Flaherty passed away in 2014. He had a son with a developmental disability and was very public about it. The C…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we heard both NDP members of Parliament reference Conservative approaches to disability. I would point out that during our time in government, our finance minister, Jim Flaherty, known as a champion for the disability community, introduced measures to help Canadians with disabilities in every single budget, including ready, willing and able; the RDSP; the employment works program; and…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it has been very interesting to listen to the debate today. Obviously, folks are passionate about this issue on all sides. As I reflect on this, I think about the university presentations I get a chance to do. I do a lot of presentations talking about, basically, how we define normal. I share stories of my son's life with autism and video clips that we have had a chance to make over…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe misleading the House is against the rules of the House. The hon. member can look at every single budget from the Conservative years—
Read full speech →