Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, U.S. trade representative Tai has been waiting since May to start negotiations on softwood lumber. Yesterday, the Minister of International Trade stated in the House that the softwood lumber industry will provide her with a mandate on negotiating with the United States. U.S. tariffs on softwood have been in place since 2015. It has been six years. Please do not tell me the minister do…
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Mr. Speaker, during question period last week, the hon. Minister of International Trade told the House that she raised the issue of softwood lumber with the U.S. trade representative. As we have heard previously in questions, the response from the USTR is quite different. Regardless, it sounds like Ambassador Tai is ready to negotiate. Therefore, could the minister tell us how many actual negotiat…
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Mr. Speaker, this government has a history of making promises to Canadians and not following through. An example of this behaviour happened last week when the Prime Minister travelled to Washington. If the Prime Minister did mention softwood lumber in his meeting with President Biden, it is obvious the President does not care what the Prime Minister has to say. Following the Prime Minister's trip …
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Mr. Speaker, these actions by the United States are a serious threat to Canadian jobs and the Canadian economic recovery after the pandemic. These unfair duties hurt Canadian businesses and workers. The government must take a clear and strong stand with the Biden administration to defend Canadian workers and the Canadian industry. Softwood workers want to know what the Prime Minister's plan is to …
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With regard to the deal reached between the government and Pfizer Inc. for COVID-19 vaccine doses through 2024: (a) what COVID-19 modelling was used to develop the procurement agreement; and (b) what specific delivery timetables were agreed to?
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With regard to the testimony of the CEO of BioPharma Services at the House of Commons' Standing Committee on International Trade on Friday, April 23, 2021, pertaining to potential future waves of COVID-19 and the need for trading blocs: (a) have the Minister of Finance and her department been directed to plan supports for Canadians affected by subsequent waves of the virus through 2026; (b) what i…
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Madam Speaker, I would request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank all members of Parliament for considering this bill, Bill C-234. To provide the House some background, this came from town hall meetings we held back in my riding, where 300 or 400 people would show up, all talking about the seriousness of rural crime and crime in general. They talked about being broken into, not just once, but twice or three times. They talked…
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Madam Speaker, many seniors in my riding have called to ask why they have not received their census forms. They are concerned that they will not be counted. The City of Prince Albert is concerned because our municipal financing depends on an accurate count. Seniors who have called the census hotline have been unable to receive any help. Could the minister explain to those in my riding why the form…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the minister. We want to make sure we get this right. This Parliament wants to make sure it goes through the process in an appropriate fashion, and it will be passed today. However, what we are seeing over and over again from the Liberal government is this ramming through of bills, creating a crisis and not reacting until it is a crisis. For example, the CUSMA, we rammed …
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Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the debate this afternoon, and I am very concerned. We are ramming through something that is very important to the workers who work in this industry. One of the questions I have for the member is this. Did the committee do any pre-studies? Did it have any pre-warning? Was there some work done a year ago or two years before to set the stage so we could actually…
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Mr. Speaker, I know the member has been working tirelessly on Line 5 and the jobs in Sarnia. Did she see anything in this budget that would actually be there for the people of Sarnia in those jobs if Line 5 was to close?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last week, a Cloverdale wildfire devastated over 5,000 hectares, or less than 14,000 acres, of my riding and it took three days to contain. Without the swift response of our fire departments and the bravery of our firefighters in the face of very dry and windy conditions, the damage could have been much worse. Their excellent work undoubtedly saved lives and homes. On behalf of the pe…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, what should the government do? First of all, get your talking points straight. The ambassador should be saying the exact same thing as the minister and the Prime Minister. If he is not there is a—
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Mr. Speaker, through you, the Liberal government should at least make sure that its diplomacy is in such a consistent manner that everybody is talking the same language, selling the same issues, discussing it and making sure they have a game plan on the ground, like we did with the USMCA, where they were actually addressing it to the appropriate key people, the decision-makers, but when the govern…
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Mr. Speaker, if you could give me seven minutes' notice, I will at least have three minutes left for some questions and answers. I am sure the member for Kingston and the Islands has all sorts of burning questions relevant to Line 5 and nothing else. Last Thursday, Canada's ambassador to the U.S. made the following statement on CBC's Power and Politics regarding the potential shutdown of Enbridge'…
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Madam Speaker, the member touched on many things that I thought were very important, things that the government should take to heart as it goes through the implementation of this budget. I have looked at this budget and have talked to my constituents. When they hear about a $354 billion deficit, they say “wow”. I can see it on their faces. They cannot understand how that kind of money can be spent…
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Madam Speaker, that is a great question. Safety has to be front and centre. There is no question about that. I understand Alberta is going through some tough times right now that we are not necessarily experiencing in Saskatchewan, but if people do not have a job, that is a problem. We have to make sure these businesses are operating so that people have a place to go to work. We need to have that …
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Madam Speaker, I have heard much the same concerns. The government could consult to Canadians. It could sit down with the sector and ask what it needs to do to revitalize the sector. One of the things I said right off the bat was that by using science, and basing it off science, it could give this sector an idea of when the borders will reopen so Americans or people from other parts of the world c…
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Madam Speaker, the census is very important, but to put it on the ground during spring seeding in Saskatchewan is very insensitive. To ask these people to come down off their tractors when they are going 18 hours or 20 hours a day is not the right thing to do. The government should have some compassion and at least give them a little extension on time, perhaps until June, or something like that. R…
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Madam Speaker, I will go back to what my constituents were telling me with regard to this budget. When they look at the dollar values, the $354 billion or $509 billion that have been spent over the last two years, they think that is a lot of money. However, in the same breath, they look at it and say that if we have to support each other and this is what it takes to get them through the crisis, th…
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Mr. Speaker, vaccine centres across Saskatchewan are closing due to lack of supply. Regina is closed until May, Saskatoon is closed right now and pharmacies that are supposed to start delivering vaccines this week are now unable to do so. Saskatchewanians are holding up their end of the bargain by lining up to get vaccinated because their lives and livelihoods are at stake. When will the Liberal g…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, as we arrive at a sad milestone this week, the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians are looking to the government for leadership and metrics for reopening our economy. The world has had the tools to combat this virus for some time, with rapid testing and effective vaccines, but the government has been slow to implement both and has increased the suffering of Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, our largest ally and trading partner, the United States, is now fully vaccinating its citizens at a rate 10 times faster than that of Canada. Many of those vaccinated are essential workers, such as truck drivers. During the Prime Minister’s bilateral visit with President Biden, was Canada given any assurances that our unvaccinated truck drivers would continue to be granted entry into …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, again, this is just one part. There are many parts to the solution to rural crime and dealing with the issues in rural Canada, including rural Quebec. This, for example, would allow people to make it more affordable to put in the appropriate cameras. Yes, maybe it will not be an alarm going off or buzzing. In fact they would actually be videotaping the person in the act. I think once …
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Mr. Speaker, that is a comment I have heard coming out of Saskatoon. I have heard it coming out of Regina and other areas across Canada. Yes, this would actually go to individuals' businesses, so they could put in the appropriate tools to cover their facilities. It would include garages and barns on the farm, but it could include a garage at somebody's house or a storage area for a business. I thi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, those are valid questions. Those are things that we thought about. Where this came from was not necessarily my idea. This actually came out of the rural task force out of Alberta. This is from constituents getting together and asking what the possible solutions are to address these issues. This is one of many solutions they thought would be a start. This would allow people to afford a…
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moved that Bill C-234, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (home security measures), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, this is something my constituents have been talking about. It is an issue that is near and dear to their hearts, one they have been dealing with over the past few years. They are glad to see that something is finally being done. I am proposing Bill C…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for showing some passion. I had the opportunity to tour New Flyer Industries in Winnipeg. It is a great organization. However, it has always had little problems dealing with the U.S., including with buy America and American content rules. This committee could deal with those problems and progressively or aggressively seek solutions. Listening to t…
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Madam Speaker, this is such great debate following the CUSMA deal that was just finished. There are a lot of things we could learn from our negotiations and handling of that process. I think back when we first heard that the Trump administration wanted to renegotiate NAFTA, and the fear that was in the eyes of Liberals, Canadian businesses and everybody else. I remember the first few times we went…
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Madam Speaker, there will be lots of changes. That is one thing we were doing previously at the trade committee. We were talking to people all summer about the post-COVID period. What would that look like? What new alliances are being formed? What will other countries' reactions be as they try to get their economies back and going? Will we be setting non-trade tariff barriers, and those types of t…
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Madam Speaker, I am not 100% sure how to comment on the Bloc's suggestion other than to say that I think of the great recommendations that came out post-CUSMA as that trade deal was announced. One of the things suggested by the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord was the green, environmentally friendly aluminum made in Quebec, which has had such a better impact on the environment than any other aluminu…
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Madam Speaker, when we look at the previous trade agreements and how they have evolved, when they were originally done, that is exactly what they were doing. They were looking at the best macroeconomic situation for the country of Canada as a whole. That always involves some economic transfers. Where we have failed is that when we have seen those economic transfers happen, when we have seen people…
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Madam Speaker, my point is that nothing is protected. This is just a continuity agreement that is not even in place yet. Let us see what the final agreement has in it and whether you take care of supply management then. The reality is that you have not done a good job taking care of your commitments with respect to supply management.
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Madam Speaker, the reality is that this is not a strategy. I see this as a crisis reaction. That is quite common with the current government: It is not until there is a crisis that it reacts. Sometimes it creates a crisis so that it actually can act. If it had been proactive and respected Parliament like it claimed to do, we would have been dealing with this last September. We would have put this …
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy working with this member of Parliament on the trade committee. He is a good member of Parliament, for sure. The question I have for him is in regard to the timeline that he says is wrong. It is not wrong. The reality is that the way I portrayed it is exactly the way it happened. Another reality is that there was no consultation. In fact, if one talks to the bureaucracy, they…
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Madam Speaker, it is interesting that supply management always comes up in every trade negotiation. The trick is to provide the market access for the commodities that are not supply managed, such as grains, oilseeds and beef, while still maintaining the pillars of supply management here in Canada. Sometimes that is done through compensation or other mechanisms that allow supply management to thriv…
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Madam Speaker, Saskatchewan is a trading province. We sell potash, forestry goods, grains and oilseeds all around the world. Trade is very important to us. What is frustrating for us is the instability. What is also frustrating for us is when we see a problem coming on the horizon and no action is taken to deal with that problem. I will go through the timelines to show what was going on. In Septem…
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Madam Speaker, it is great to be here in 2021 in my office here in Prince Albert. It is nice to see everybody online. I am glad we are able to participate and speak to this important piece of legislation. I will be sharing my time with the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. She is a wonderful member of Parliament, and I look forward to listening to her speak after me. She will do a wonder…
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Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely correct. I want people in both English and French to hear what I have to say, because they need to understand the bad job done on this agreement. As I said, coming from Saskatchewan, we are a trading province. We sell and export, whether it is potash, grain and oilseeds, forestry products—
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy working with the parliamentary secretary on the trade committee. She is doing her best to defend the government, which is hard to defend, so I compliment her on how hard she tries to do that. With respect to the strategy around this, there is no strategy. There have been no consultations. There has been no work done with people outside of government to ask what is needed in …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the decision by the government to have Nuctech security equipment installed in Canadian embassies and consulates and the subsequent contract awarded to Deloitte to review purchasing practices for security equipment: (a) what is the complete list of Canadian embassies, consulates, or other missions abroad that have installed the X-ray scanners from Nuctech; (b) what is the total valu…
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