Government Orders
Madam Speaker, that is just factually incorrect. If we look at Venezuela, the Soviet Union and Cuba, we can see what that creates. Those types of socialist policies create scarcity and poverty. I am for abundance and freedom and for the Canadian—
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Madam Speaker, I serve on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, so I hear the Auditor General repeat again and again that governments must be prepared for the unexpected. We must plan. It is not exciting to invest those monies, but unless we have the resources to respond we will be in a difficult situation. Increasingly under the Liberal government, both in good times and bad, we have spent a…
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Madam Speaker, the reality is there is only so much capital, so much money, out there. If we direct those monies to the private sector, we get jobs, we get taxes and then we can sustain our important social safety net. If debt starts to take off, and starts to syphon more of that income away from the private sector, we get into a negative spiral where we will have higher taxes and lower government…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada is facing the worst health and economic crisis in a generation. While the government has announced record spending in its budget, what it did not introduce was a responsible recovery plan. Many of my constituents are rightfully concerned that the debt introduced by the government will be felt for generations. Canadians deserve a government with a plan to secure jobs, accountabi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I will take that as a “no”. This tax season our government has locked nearly one million taxpayers out of their CRA My Account because of its lacklustre cybersecurity. Many people are struggling to regain access to their accounts, which they need to file their taxes. Will the government please consider giving a couple of extra months for Canadians to file their taxes? It took the go…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, as Canadians are now facing the third wave of the global pandemic, the tax filing deadline is quickly approaching. Filing taxes is a stressful time for everyone, but in a global pandemic, it can be downright harrowing. Conservatives believe that the tax filing deadline should be extended to provide relief for those who are struggling. Will the minister consider extending the individ…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her advocacy on behalf of workers. The best possible way to help workers is to make sure that we get vaccines here in Canada, get jabs into arms and get Canadians safely back to work.
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Madam Speaker, the arts are incredibly important. The Capitol Theatre is in my riding, as are many other great arts institutions, and they have been hit so hard. We would agree that the pandemic has been very difficult on them. As to the second part, I would like to use an analogy about individuals. If I took out a line of credit for half a million dollars, it would be an important household decis…
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Madam Speaker, I will start with the second part of the question. I certainly believe in supporting the arts. The Capitol Theatre and the many other arts institutions in Northumberland—Peterborough South certainly require support. The pandemic has been very difficult for them. On the second part, I liken the member's point to the individual—
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Madam Speaker, the fact is that when we look at completely vaccinated individuals, Canada actually ranks quite low. Obviously no one is fully vaccinated, inoculated or protected, to the extent that vaccines can do this, until they have received both doses, and Canada is well behind. When we look at other countries, such as the U.K. and the U.S., they are fully opening, as has been reported in the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, what we cannot see in the insolvency data is how things will changes as the taps are turned off, which brings about a very important point. The government's programs have created a bridge, but it needs to be a bridge to a better day. At the end of the day, the programs are a Band-Aid and they are not a substitute for prolonged, strong economic activities and economic opportunities. …
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Madam Speaker, it is my privilege today to rise virtually in the House of Commons to speak to Bill C-14, which enacts certain fiscal components of the fall fiscal update. I want to begin by speaking about some of the advantages of the bill. Steps like raising the Canada child benefit are essential to maintaining gender equality during this pandemic. When lockdowns happened, it has been very diffic…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to online accounts being locked out by the Canada Revenue Agency after individuals’ information was obtained or accessed by unauthorized individuals outside of the organization since January 1, 2021: (a) how many online accounts were locked; (b) during what time periods were the accounts locked; (c) if the accounts are still locked, when will they be unlocked; (d) what specific measure…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, recently it was announced that 800,000 taxpayers had been locked out of their CRA My Account because their account information had been obtained by unauthorized third parties. That is close to one million Canadians who have been locked out of their accounts, many of whom rely on it to apply for their emergency benefits or file their taxes. While the CRA has suggested this is just prec…
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Madam Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food released a statement earlier this week that deliberately misled Canadians to believe that Bill C-206 does not provide relief for the fuel costs of grain drying. Does the minister honestly believe that a grain dryer is not an industrial machine used in farming, as prescribed in the legislation? Is she this out of touch with farmers or is she …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the COVID pandemic has been a difficult time across the country, including in my riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South. However, today I want to take a moment to recognize local communities, often the guiding light in these very dark times. Castleton, a local community in my riding, has built three beautiful outdoor ice rinks. Volunteers work from morning to evening to ensure th…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking all the members who studied Bill C-206 and spoke about it. I would like to thank all the members who have spoken for their tremendous support with respect to the legislation, particularly the member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, who has been a terrific partner working in the public accounts committee. I thank everybody for their tim…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am very excited to request a recorded vote.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I too would like to compliment the member on her excellent speech. The member was talking a little about the long-term care crisis in Quebec and other provinces, and the fact that it has a lot to do with resources. Could the member expand upon whether she believes it is better for a few Ottawa bureaucrats to fix the Quebec long-term care health system or whether it would be better d…
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I have a quick question here for you. More than 30 years ago, the Conservatives—
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I apologize, Madam Speaker. My question is for the member. It was observed 30 years or so ago that Liberals defined compassion as how many people the government could help. The Conservatives define compassion as how many people the government does not have to help. Would the member say that this debate is really framed in those terms? The Conservatives keep talking about how we reduce the unemploy…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I would ask the member what he has heard from some of the assessments and interviews he has done. If we do not have a recovery plan, what could be the worst-case scenario until the tourism industry recovers? How many years or months would it take to recover?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, earlier this week, the CRA suspended 100,000 taxpayer accounts after learning that their log-in credentials were found on the dark web. Individuals were informed that in order to unlock their accounts, they would have to contact the CRA. However, as many Canadians have found during this pandemic, it is very difficult to get hold of the CRA. This is a challenging problem for many peo…
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Madam Speaker, with respect, that is not good enough, as 100,000 Canadians have had their information put onto the dark web. Yes, it was not through the CRA but through others; however, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The CRA has been breached twice now within the last year. What will the minister do to keep Canadians' information safe?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, many Canadians who are out of work turned to the government for help. Unfortunately, the government is letting them down. People who have been denied employment insurance have been directed to apply for the CRB. However, due to a technical issue with the CRA’s pay system, they were automatically being denied. Can the minister please confirm on what day this ridiculous issue will be …
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Madam Speaker, I have been very impressed with the minister's openness to listen, his demeanour and his tone. A more partisan person than I might say that he could share that message with the member for Kingston and the Islands, but I would never say that. I am honoured to speak on a subject I am very passionate about: the update to the Broadcasting Act. Before I get into my content, I will tell t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, last week at the public accounts committee, the government stated that the GST was not a tax on the carbon tax. That is patently false. There is GST charged to every dollar of federal carbon tax. If anyone has any doubt, just ask a farmer. Why did the government mislead Canadians about its tax on tax?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to each contract signed by the government since March 1, 2020, with a value greater than $10 million: (a) what specific measures, if any, were taken by the government to ensure that taxpayers were getting value for money, broken down by each contract; and (b) what are the details of each contract, including (i) vendor, (ii) amount, (iii) description of goods or services, (iv) whether o…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, Conservatives have been clear that we have supported programs like the wage subsidy and CERB. In fact, if the hon. member checks the voting records he will see that. The reality is that the Liberal government has bungled some of these plans, such as the wage subsidy. Because the Liberals bungled them and miscommunicated them, they were slow out of the gate, such as with the rent sub…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise virtually in the House today to talk about an issue that is so important to many of my friends in Quebec. It is absolutely my pleasure to rise today on Bill C-224, an act to amend an act to authorize the making of certain fiscal payments to provinces, and to authorize the entry into tax collection agreements with provinces. Before I get into the substance of my re…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his great question and his long history of intervening on behalf of small business owners. I am sure the small business owners in my community also appreciate his great work and interventions. The miscommunication that occurred with respect to gross versus net income is nothing short of extremely disappointing. I too have constituents in my ridin…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with Canada's favourite grandfather: the member for Cariboo—Prince George. I would remind him of the Speaker's stern warnings not to show any pictures or props of grandchildren. That would be completely inappropriate. It is my honour to rise again virtually to speak to Bill C-14. The Liberal government's failure to protect Canadians and the Canadian economy…
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Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to rise virtually on Bill C-14, which would enact certain components of the fall fiscal update. At the outset, I would like to inform the Speaker that I will be sharing my time with a member to be disclosed the next time I get up to speak. The legislation has a number of great steps that could help Canadians during these difficult times. Enhancing the c…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the section on page 116 of the Fall Economic Statement 2020, which reads, "CRA will allow employees working from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 with modest expenses to claim up to $400, based on the amount of time working from home": (a) how many Canadians does the government project will be eligible for the deduction; (b) what is the required amount of time working from home to be el…
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With regard to the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay project: (a) what is the total projected budget for the project; (b) what are the project’s anticipated (i) start-up and implementation costs, broken down by type of expense, (ii) ongoing or yearly operating costs; and (c) what is the projected date of when the system will be implemented for each department, agency or other government enti…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to each contract signed by the government since March 1, 2020, with a value greater than $10 million: (a) what specific measures, if any, were taken by the government to ensure that taxpayers were getting value for money, broken down by each contract; and (b) what are the details of each contract, including (i) vendor, (ii) amount, (iii) description of goods or services, (iv) whether o…
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