Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I appreciate that, and I apologize. I get passionate as well. However, the reality is that the rebate is taken into consideration. The Governor of the Bank of Canada looked at the entire picture, including the rebate, and said that if we eliminated the carbon tax today, we would reduce inflation by 22%. We have had some fun about the math and stuff like that, but that has real impac…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have appreciated working with the member. I would say that I take a bit of offence to some of the member's comments. My presentation was full of numbers and data. I was not just meandering about, with whatever insult I felt about the Conservative Party. I had statistics and am happy to share them with the member. Winston Churchill once said that taxing oneself into prosperity is l…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, when the government takes money and no one has the ability to say no, it is a tax. That is just the reality. I do not care what the Supreme Court says on that. If the government wants to take money, but people do not pay it and they go to jail, that is a tax. It is simple. I went through the math. The Liberal-appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada, not some Conservative, said that…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will give a brief answer; there will certainly be more to come on this. We believe that ultimately the solution for this, as for most problems, is the Canadian people. We have the most resourceful, most caring people, including farmers who spend every day caring about the land, upgrading their technology so they can protect the soil and limit emissions. We believe in farmers. We b…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I will tell members what Conservatives are going to cut. We are going to cut broken apps and we are going to cut high-priced consultants because Conservatives talk directly to Canadians, so we do not need to spend billions of dollars to find out what Canadians think. Let me tell members what Canadians are thinking. They want to axe the tax. They want to fix the budget. They want to bu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are great at breaking things. They have broken the bank. They have broken the law, and they have broken the budget. It turns out that budgets do not balance themselves. Record government spending leads to record inflation and soaring interest rates. Canadians need the budget fixed. A dollar of new spending must be met with a dollar of savings. It is a simple concept; even…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to start by wishing everyone a merry Christmas on these final strokes of the parliamentary calendar for this year. I want to talk a little bit about the context of Bill C-58. I believe there is 100% agreement among all members, and probably among all Canadians, that we need more great-paying union jobs in this country. I want to talk about how we get there, how we make …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, with respect to those comments, first, if you check Hansard, you will find that the Speaker did rule, in accordance with Standing Order 18, that there would be no false titles in this House. That is clear. Second, the member did directly what you told him not to do. That is grounds for being expelled.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we agree unanimously with respect to our workers' being the best in the world, but the rest of it may be on division. I thank the member for his kind words. I did very much enjoy working with him on the finance committee. What I would say is that I believe that everyone here wants the best for Canada and Canadians. The difference, though, between every other party in the House and C…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, that was part of my speech; unfortunately, I did not make it there. We have a double-edged sword, because Canadians are getting hit twice: once because of low-economic growth, the worst since the Great Depression, and Canadians' wages not increasing; and a second time because of the government's propensity to outspend any reasonable metric. We have inflation, which is driving up cos…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I did actually outline the Conservative position on the bill in the first 30 seconds. I am sorry the member missed it. What I will say is a microcosm of the way Conservatives see the world as opposed to NDP folks. I do have a ton of respect for the member, but that being said, in order to have strong union jobs, jobs that pay the bills, we need a strong economy, and that is what Con…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would respectfully request that we axe the tax and have a recorded division.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we respectfully request that we axe the tax and have a recorded division.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today. I very enjoyed my talks with the member for Vancouver Centre. We have had a number of great conversations about various issues, including seniors issues. I have found her to be an outspoken supporter and critic when it comes to seniors issues. It is an absolute privilege to be standing here on legislation she has no doubt proudly brought forward. This is…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I want people at home to listen carefully, because what we will not hear from that side at all is “per capita”, “per Canadian”. Every Canadian, on average, is getting poorer. In fact, our economy shrank by 1.1%. Our per capita growth is the worst in the OECD. In the U.S., it has gone up by nearly 5%. I am just curious; what would cause the Liberals to reverse direction? Is it longer…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we have billions of dollars going to the Bank of Canada, by the way. Only the Canadian government could lose money selling drugs and running a bank. That is money that could go to health care, to education and to helping the most vulnerable.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I completely agree. We do need to focus on local farming. In my riding, there are some great farmers' markets in Port Hope and Cobourg. People driving from Toronto to Ottawa, or maybe people from Quebec who want to go to Toronto, though Quebec is beautiful and I do not know why anybody would want to leave Quebec, should come to my riding and stop at the Port Hope market or the Cobourg…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we absolutely understand. That is why we want to send fuel, energy and arms, not the carbon tax, to Ukraine. The carbon tax and food insecurity are important in my riding. There are people lining up at food banks because the cost of food is so high, so I resent the member's saying that it is not important. Food insecurity is important. If he does not believe it, he should come to Cobo…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, unlike in Putin's Russia, this is not a dictatorship. We still get to vote and to have the ability to work in Parliament. Liberals do not get to decide everything. Conservatives support Ukraine. That is why we are going to send them arms and not a carbon tax.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I continue to try to speak French. In the future, I hope to do an entire speech in French. For today I will continue in English. In 2019, we started a journey to remove the carbon tax on farmers. Our farmers said that it did not make sense to them that diesel and dirtier fuels were exempt for farmers but natural gas and propane were not. Propane's carbon footprint is considerably less…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I move that the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, presented on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, be concurred in. It is always a pleasure to be here, and I will say, if I am allowed to make this observation to the Chair, that question period was well run. It kept people on time. Today I am going to talk about something incredibly important to the people of Northumberlan…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, it is always difficult to follow the member's large impression. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canada is facing challenges not seen since the Great Depression. Two million Canadians are visiting food banks a month. There has been a doubling of rents and mortgages. Perhaps worst of all, there are heartbreaking reports of children asking Santa for something to eat th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the NDP's support on our motion. Will the NDP join us in delivering more than just words and, in fact, deliver action in voting non-confidence if the government allow this merger?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we would request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the financial gap between Americans and Canadians has never been larger. The average GDP per capita in the United States is over $80,000. In Canada, it is merely $50,000. Unbelievably, the situation is getting worse. The growth in the United States was over 5% this year. In Canada, it is shrinking by more than 1%. When will the governme…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the reality is this. The more the government spends, the poorer Canadians get. Over the last eight years, the government has imposed a record tax burden on Canadians, levels of debt and deficit never seen before in our country. The result is the worst per capita growth rate since the Great Depression. There is record food bank usage, with two million Canadians going to a food bank eve…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, in my town of Cobourg, we recently had an incident where an individual assaulted a person who had their child there, and the individual was out on bail the same day and committed another crime. It was because of the bail reform that the NDP supported earlier, and now this is going halfway back. Is the member at all regretful for his voting record?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, eight years of the NDP-Liberal government have given Canada the worst economic growth since the Great Depression. The OECD predicts that GDP per capita growth will be a paltry 0.7% per annum over the next 10 years, putting us dead last among advanced economies. We are facing declines in investment, innovation and productivity. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. This countr…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the corrective action announced by the government against Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) on October 3, 2023: (a) how was SDTC not in full compliance of its contribution agreement made with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; (b) how many businesses received funding from SDTC in a manner or through a process that was not in full compliance; (c) what…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, millions of Canadians can never afford to buy a home, and millions of Canadians cannot afford to keep their home. According to a recent Scotiabank report, the cost of the average mortgage is going to go up by more than $700 because of the Liberal's profligate spending. When will these Liberals stop blaming everyone else and finally tak…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC): (a) what are the details of all funding which SDTC provided to businesses since January 1, 2020, including, for each, the (i) recipient, (ii) date, (iii) amount, (iv) type of funding (loan, grant, etc.), (v) purpose of the funding; and (b) for each loan in (a), how much has been repaid?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to ask questions of this member, whom I know well. He is a great human being. The member can put that in his campaign commercial. I am sure, or at least I am hopeful, that the member will be a member of cabinet. Does he not think that some of these national security decisions, opposed to just being decided by the minister, as per the bill, should go in front of…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the chief whip of our party should be given the appropriate time to give full merit to the situation, as is customary—
Read full speech →Royal Assent
Mr. Speaker, on a separate point of order, there was some discussion in the House as to the impact of the carbon tax. The Governor of the Bank of Canada clearly said at finance committee that it was 16%. I would like the unanimous consent of the House to table documents showing that.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member brought up the challenges faced by persons with disabilities. I could not agree more with him. One of the things the government has recently acknowledged is that the carbon tax is a challenge to people in the affordability crisis. No one has been hit harder by the affordability crisis than persons with disabilities. Whether it comes to heating or transportation, they ofte…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will. We are struggling economically. We are struggling productivity-wise. We are facing down the barrel of potential stagnation, and the carbon tax is not helping. It is good that the Prime Minister acknowledged that, but he has got to be desperate now. This is his primary legislation. He is flipping and flopping on the carbon tax. Our leader, the hon. member for Carleton, is holdi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, why is it so important that we brought down the threshold from $512 million to zero?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about Bill C-34 and the final amendments to it. I want to outline briefly, as many others have done, but with my own spin, details on the context of Bill C-34. We have to look at the economy as it is today, both in Canada and around the world. Twenty or 30 years ago, or even a decade ago, the economy was much different than it is today, both in Canada and around t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think it is time for us to have a discussion, both on Main Street and on Bay Street, and also here in Ottawa, about the future of the economy, because things are changing rapidly with the rise of artificial intelligence and other technologies. We need to have those discussions, and there is an opportunity for Canada to be ahead because we do have great critical minerals and natural …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the question is whether we should focus, in general, on economic security. Absolutely we should. I know that no one says the word “COVID” anymore, but I am going to dare, as a politician, to say it. I think COVID really proved to us the challenges that occur, when bad things are happening in the world, if we do not have supply chains that come from our allies, but more importantly fro…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, if the member made it to cabinet, that would be in his riding. In all seriousness, that is a great announcement. It is great that we have electric vehicle battery manufacturing in Canada. That is fantastic. The challenge is that there is not enough of it. Canada's productivity is among the lowest. We are predicted to have the worst economy in the OECD. This is bad.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his good questions and good work. One day, before I retire, I hope to answer completely in French. We agree that we need to balance the budget. If the member is asking us why we are blaming the Liberal government, it is because of eight years of failure. After eight years, it has driven the car in the ditch. I do not know who else to blame.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure to work with my colleague on a number of committees along the way. I heard his comments with respect to our immaturity. However, I would call the Liberals' policies an abject failure. The price of housing has doubled. Rents have doubled. Food bank usage is up three to five times. We have had numerous witnesses before the finance committee come and say that thing…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to start my remarks by saying I will be splitting my time with the spectacular member for South Surrey—White Rock. My comments are in no way related to the fact that she happens to be our whip. That is just a bit of levity. I want to paint a picture here because, as I said in my question for the member for Kings—Hants, we are in serious times. We are in perilous times. When we …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I always enjoy the member's passion, if not the substance, of his remarks. Let us look at history and the facts. Every year prior to the pandemic, the Liberal government had a deficit. The government is now spending $120 billion more than prior to the pandemic. In addition to that, there was $200 billion of non-COVID-related expenditures during the pandemic. These monies were spent on…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will tell the member exactly where that money is going: It is going here, to Ottawa. That is where the money is getting burned. It is not a crisis of capitalism. By the way, I enjoy the debates with the great member as well, and I get passionate about them, so my apologies. The money is being burned in Ottawa. We have far too many resources going to unproductive government, away fro…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, yesterday at the finance committee, the government's own department told the committee that in fact, in 2018, it had warned the Liberal government of an impending housing crisis, yet it did nothing. Incredibly, CMHC officials went on to say that the policies currently employed by the federal government are not sufficient to solve the housing problem. If, in fact, the government's ow…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Canada's problems are real. We have incredible food bank usage. We have housing costs doubling. Millions of Canadians cannot afford their own homes, yet this side decides to play games. When the Leader of the Opposition was the housing minister, housing was affordable in the country. When will the government finally get serious, remove the gatekeepers and balance the budget so Canad…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to wrapping or other advertising expenditures for the exteriors of buildings since April 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what is the total amount spent on wrapping or advertising, broken down by individual building; and (b) what are the details of all wrapping, tarp, or similar type of advertising on government buildings, b…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, two months ago, the finance minister declared victory over inflation. However, just today, inflation went up again: over 43% since that declaration. Even former Liberal finance ministers Bill Morneau and John Manley agree deficits lead to inflation, yet the government keeps piling more and more on the inflationary fire, which is costing more and more Canadians their homes. Does the Pr…
Read full speech →