Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as Conservatives, we did move an amendment at committee. It was to amend the function of the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care, which would include supporting the recruitment and the retention of a well-qualified workforce, conduct regular engagement and specific mandate to call out to maintaining and understanding the available child care spaces, the number…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to get up twice. I really appreciate that. I want to follow up again on the labour discussion we were having. Conservatives moved an amendment at committee regarding the reporting clause of the bill to include the Minister of Labour in the annual reporting, and to say that the annual reporting must include a national labour strategy to recruit and retain a qualified…
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Madam Speaker, at committee, and even in the House, we have heard the minister and the parliamentary secretary bragging about the pillars of this legislation: equality, affordability, availability, accessibility and inclusiveness. I think we would all agree in the House that those are very important measures that should be taken into consideration, especially when this is a piece of legislation th…
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Madam Speaker, I just want to note I will be splitting my time this evening with the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London. We know, and there is no doubt, that child care is an important conversation to be had. We know it is a conversation that parents are also having on a regular basis across this country. Child care needs can look different, not just from one region to another, but also from family…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues for respecting me on this side. This whole process has been very frustrating for me. I am the mother of four children. I have a 10-year-old, a seven-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old. I have had two of those children while elected to office. I know the real struggles of trying to find child care. My husband and I have really had to balance, …
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Madam Speaker, there is a five-year limit with the agreements, so this is not forever. That is one thing to make note of. Bill C-35 does not create new spaces. Sure, there are parents who already have their kids in a child care centre or use whatever model is accepted by their province and works for them. However, if they are not already in there, too bad, so sad; they are still on a wait-list. Th…
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Madam Speaker, it is funny that the member asked me that question. I got involved in politics because the current Prime Minister's 2015 platform negatively harmed my family in how we wanted to raise our children. Absolutely the Conservatives care about families. We care about children and we care about parental choice.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the consequences of eight years of a Liberal government are painfully evident. The costs of food, housing and fuel have hit historic highs. Canadians are visiting food banks at record levels. Household debt in Canada has reached an all-time high, and now, amongst advanced economies, Canadians are the most at risk of missing mortgage payments. Last week's Bank of Canada rate hike will …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to government interactions and expenditures related to Canada 2020, since October 1, 2022, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what are the details of all expenditures, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) description of goods or services, including the volume, (iv) related events, if applicable, including the dates, lo…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that child care is a principal concern for moms and dads across the country. Bill C-35 would establish an aspirational vision for a national child care program in Canada. Unfortunately, that vision is narrow. Child care solutions are not universal for all families. We know that parents rely on diverse forms of care to meet their own family's unique needs, just as all families …
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Mr. Speaker, I definitely believe that provincial jurisdiction is something that should be respected. I am on record saying in this place that the government does not have a good track record when we look at carbon tax 1.0, and now carbon tax 2.0 coming in. Government members do not care what jurisdiction it is; it is their way or the highway, and if we do not agree with them, we hate everything a…
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Mr. Speaker, I guess the parliamentary secretary missed the point that these agreements are already signed and in place. They are already being used. The importance of parents needing to have choice was reinforced at committee with our NDP member, with free, prior and informed consent, when we passed this. I will mention that only one Liberal voted for it and the rest voted against it, but it woul…
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Mr. Speaker, I also enjoyed working with the member on that committee. I thought we worked well together, especially as opposition. There was an amendment brought forward that would have directed the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care to support the recruitment and retention of a well-qualified workforce. Again, that was struck down. The NDP voted against it.
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Madam Chair, how high do living costs have to go before the Liberal government will take this affordability crisis seriously?
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Madam Chair, the government collects GST on carbon taxes. It taxes on a tax. How does the minister justify taxing the taxes that Canadians are paying?
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Madam Chair, does the minister apply a rural lens to the development of their failed policies?
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Again, Madam Chair, why is the current government condoning taxing taxes? We are in an affordability crisis. How does the government justify taxing taxes?
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Madam Chair, again, I am asking: Does the minister apply a rural lens to the development of her failed policies?
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Madam Chair, again, one more time: Does the minister apply a rural lens to her failed policies that she is implementing on Canadians?
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Madam Chair, how much will the government's new spending cost the average household?
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Madam Chair, it is a mischaracterization of what I did do. I did not do that. So I would ask—
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Madam Chair, we know there is carbon tax 1.0, and carbon tax 2.0 will be coming into effect. Has the minister calculated how much the Liberals' second carbon tax will cost rural Canadians?
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Madam Chair, why has the minister put forward a plan that, by her own account, is unsustainable?
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Madam Chair, in the 2015 Liberal Party platform, there was a commitment to balance budgets. Why has the minister abandoned that party platform promise?
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Madam Chair, again, I asked a question about housing. We are in a housing crisis. Why is the removal of gatekeepers and red tape not a priority for the current Liberal government and this Liberal minister?
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Madam Chair, I was elected on fighting for provincial jurisdiction and respecting that, so I would ask that the minister not put words in my mouth for what I have done. We are in a housing crisis, and that has been noted by officials, not by this minister or the housing minister, unfortunately. Why is the removal of gatekeepers and red tape not a priority for the current Liberal government?
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Madam Chair, how much will the government's new spending cost the average household?
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Madam Speaker, I am disappointed to hear partisan rhetoric coming from the member across the way. The member for Cumberland—Colchester, who gave his remarks this morning, actually has experience specializing in chronic pain. He is a doctor. He talked about the people struggling with addictions as real people who need community, who need connectedness and who need hope. I did not hear the member ta…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her very real, human speech. It is unfortunate, what this is turning into. I am hearing words like “rigidness” and “judgment”, and that is not at all the case. I know, here on this side, we heard one of our colleagues talk about the importance of community, connectedness and hope. We believe in the value of every single person. Dignity is so important,…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, they want to triple the carbon tax to prevent forest fires and hurricanes. How much does this carbon tax 2.0 have to go up?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, these Liberals have missed every single environmental target that they have created; let alone these Liberals have increased the carbon tax. We know there is carbon tax 2.0. How high does the carbon tax have to go so that the current government can stop blaming—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the important work that we do as members of Parliament is only made possible with the support of dedicated staff. Today, it is an honour for me to pay tribute to Sonja Hansen ahead of her upcoming retirement. Starting her career on the Hill in 1979, she has remained a constant in these halls, outlasting MPs, leaders, prime ministers and even some political parties. Since I was first e…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, absolutely I think that is imperative, especially in 2023. Families all look different. Cultures are different. Canada has been a very welcoming country that has people from different cultures and different ethnic backgrounds, and sometimes families look different from our own families. I think this is very important, and it would do very well for the children of those families.
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moved that Bill C-318, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code (adoptive and intended parents), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, the arrival of a new child into one's family is a precious and exciting time for parents. As a mom of four, I know first-hand how important, demanding and wonderful that time truly is. For adoptive and in…
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Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what I was referring to. If we rewind the tapes to earlier today, that specific member said that the member for Wellington—Halton Hills had known for two years and he has done nothing about the issue. That is not true. That is misleading Canadians, and it is misleading this House. It is unconscionable that he is doing that.
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Mr. Speaker, on this point of order, the double standard is so frustrating. As members of Parliament, we are being told to stop being partisan and that we are hyperpartisan. What is happening on the other side? They are accusing the member for Wellington—Halton Hills for knowing about this for two years when that is not true. Can we all put the partisanship aside, actually work together and stand …
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Madam Speaker, I would ask that you remind all members to be judicious in their language. Using the word “catcall” in something so serious is offensive. As a woman, I am offended that this language is being used in this form of debate.
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Madam Speaker, it would be great to see if the member could talk to the minister and urge her to provide the royal recommendation so that the Liberals can follow through with their campaign promises from 2019 and 2021. As I said, this is a non-partisan issue. I really think this is something that can be discussed, especially when the bill gets to committee and when it comes back to the House. I pl…
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Madam Speaker, attachment is so important any time a child is placed, and it is more and more common, actually, for children to be placed with families when they are older, especially with adoption. That time is so critical. Some people may think that 15 weeks does not matter, but it does matter. These children are sometimes coming from trauma and, as I said, from some form of disrupted attachment…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my speech, the benefits are countless. We cannot measure what children would gain by having the time to attach with their parents. I really hope the parliamentary secretary across the way is encouraging his minister to provide a royal recommendation for this bill so that the Liberals can follow through on their 2019 and 2021 campaign promise.
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Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in government, nine out of 10 young Canadians did not give up on the dream of home ownership. CMHC has come plenty of times to the committee on which I sit. The data is not being collected. If the member listened to my speech, I asked who was in charge. Is it ESDC or CMHC? There is no federal leadership from the government.
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Mr. Speaker, off the top, I want to note that I will be splitting my time with the member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington. We have heard today that adequate, suitable and affordable housing provides stability and security, and contributes to the well-being of a person, yet that sense of security that comes with appropriate and stable housing is becoming further out of reach for many Canadians. T…
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Mr. Speaker, frankly, the NDP could have some principle and a backbone, withdraw from its confidence-and-supply agreement and stand up for the Canadians who elected those members as opposition to the House.
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Mr. Speaker, there is something fundamentally different between me and my colleague: I do not believe that government has all the answers. I do not want Canadians to feel that they have to knock on the door of whatever elected official at whatever government level to answer, help and give them what they need. Canadians are resilient and they are strong. We need to cut the bureaucratic red tape tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been listening throughout today's debate and it seems like the Bloc wants to be dependent on Ottawa. What the Conservatives have proposed is to empower municipalities and the provinces. This would give them the opportunity to just get it done. The Conservatives will stop the privileged gatekeepers who are preventing houses from being built and empower municipalities and provinc…
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Madam Speaker, I am someone in this place who is on the record about respecting provincial jurisdiction. I believe provinces actually know better than the federal government does when it comes to their own jurisdiction and what works. Again, I respect provincial jurisdiction and provinces know what is best for the people who live in them.
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Madam Speaker, I think this particular Liberal government has a problem with railroading provinces and provincial jurisdiction, and respecting that. I really believe that if we had a different mindset coming to the table working with municipalities and working with the provinces, we would see a more collaborative approach and things would get done, as opposed to the federal government always waggi…
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Madam Speaker, one thing that we have noticed with the government is it does not have any fiscal restraint. When there is defence of the Prime Minister going on lavish holidays or even going to a state funeral and spending $6,000 a night, which is Canadian taxpayers' money, there is a problem. There is so much wasteful spending from the government, which could be going to help Canadians.
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