Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 100 years is a century of memories, service and stories. In Newmarket—Aurora, we are preparing to celebrate a very special milestone as our friend and local Second World War veteran Mr. Jeffrey Reynolds turns 100 years old on June 29. At just 18 years old, he enlisted in the North Staffordshire Regiment, joining a generation that answered the call when freedom itself was under threat.…
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Mr. Speaker, there are no savings. In fact, if we look at the projections going forward, there are even more costs. Even when we look at the spring economic statement or the budget itself, there are hundreds of announcements that they have made that have not been included in those projections.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only G20 country in a recession, and the state of the economy is dire. The economy has shrunk three out of the last four quarters, per capita GDP shows annualized growth of only 0.2% per year over the last seven years, capital investment has declined for five quarters in a row and bankruptcies have hit rates not seen since 2009. At what point do the Liberals stop calling…
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of this motion because it tells the truth about what the Liberals have done to this country. The reality is that Canada is in a recession. This is not a slowdown. This is not a rough patch. It is a recession. In fact, it is the only country in a recession in the G20. Canadians in Newmarket—Aurora are living it every day. They are paying more for gro…
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Mr. Speaker, I brought up youth because I have been hearing these concerns for quite some time. Of course, for youth, it is about that first job opportunity. It is an opportunity to build a career and have a future here in our country. Most of the concerns are with unemployment that is highly concentrated in youth. It is a concern for them because they tell me it is not a situation where they can …
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Mr. Speaker, one of my priorities is to be the voice of the youth who are struggling today. As I mentioned before, it is quite concerning for them because of how critical that first job is. They are looking for these jobs in all sorts of industries, but we are seeing that business investment has fallen for five consecutive quarters and that more businesses are shutting down than opening up. Retail…
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Mr. Speaker, if denial could grow the economy, we would certainly be leading in the G20. Canada is in a recession. Scotiabank has forecast growth of just 0.8% and BMO 0.5% for this year. The Bank of Canada warns that one in 10 homeowners in Toronto might not be able to renew their mortgage. While the Liberals may try to dismiss this recession, Canadians cannot ignore losing their jobs and business…
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Mr. Speaker, $94,000 was spent on a single flight. Only a member of the Liberal insider class cannot see a problem with that. It is more than five families spend in an entire year on groceries. Canada is the only G20 country in a recession, and Canadians are struggling. If one is in the Prime Minister's entourage, well, one can expect $200,000 in catering. Federal executives get tens of millions o…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only G20 country to fall into a recession. Canadians are struggling with food affordability. One in four is now food insecure, yet the Prime Minister racks up $200,000 in airplane catering in three trips. He spent $17,000 on salmon alone, which is more than most families spend on food in an entire year. If the Prime Minister cannot control his own reckless spending, how …
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Mr. Speaker, the member can spin, deflect and dress up this issue however he likes, but why should Canadians believe that the Liberal government's promises about the future are true, when the numbers today prove that the Liberals cannot manage the present? Canada is the only G7 country in a recession. The Prime Minister told Canadians that we have the best deal in the world with the U.S. Oil price…
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Mr. Speaker, there are moments in the life of a country when people stop asking for promises and start asking for honesty, and this is one of those moments. Canadians are not confused about what is happening around them. They see it every day, with their bills, when they put groceries back on the shelf or when their adult children move back home because even full-time work no longer guarantees ind…
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Mr. Speaker, it is inconvenient for the Prime Minister to acknowledge the reality and it goes completely against what he campaigned for and what he says every single day. He talks about moving at speeds not seen in generations. He delivers grand speeches, but the reality is these indicators we are looking at in terms of the economy are confirming the stories we have heard from the people in our ri…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants Canadians to believe that this recession is the fault of the world. Tariffs, energy prices and global uncertainty are all convenient Liberal excuses. However, every nation in the G7 face those same conditions, yet Canada alone has fallen into a recession. Twenty billion dollars in net investment has fled this country under his watch. That is a failure of Liber…
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Mr. Speaker, the member says that we appear to be gleeful, when the only ones in the House who stand up question period after question period to say, “We have good news” are on that side of the aisle. The reality is we are talking about statistics. Our economy has shrunk in three out of the last four quarters. Canada is the only country in the G7 to be in a recession, with the worst household debt…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is right. Part of drafting a solution is actually acknowledging the problem, which is what the Liberal government is failing to do. The Conservatives put forward practical ideas more than a year ago, and I provided a list, which I will repeat: the Canadian sovereignty act, the removal of the industrial carbon tax, the removal of the HST on all new homes worth up to $1.3 mil…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada has entered a recession, the only country in the G7 to do so. Our economy has shrunk three out of the past four quarters, but what does this mean? This means jobs are at risk, paycheques do not go as far, housing is out of reach and one in four Canadians are now food-insecure. We have neighbours who are saying that they are leaving our country in search of better opportunities …
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Mr. Speaker, I have one clear example. I talk a lot to entrepreneurs on the ground, one of whom in particular said they had been trying to open up markets in Europe. They had competed with respect to quality and price, yet they still lost the contract. A good company and smart entrepreneur would seek feedback once they had lost a contract, so they contacted the buyer to ask why they lost out. In t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure the member that this is not about American companies. It is disappointing to hear the question framed as if a Canadian would put the interests of an American company ahead of the people we represent. That is unacceptable. The principle we are talking about here is chasing away investment and opportunity for Canadians and Canadian content. That is what this is …
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Mr. Speaker, the question reflects how disconnected the member is from the film industry. I used to finance many of these projects and have spoken to people on the ground. What they are saying is that they want opportunity. They want investment. They want the opportunity to showcase their work and their talent. Allowing for this levy, which will chase away investment and shrink the industry, is no…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of Canadians who feel that every month brings yet another bill. However, they cannot afford it. Canadians are tired of opening their bills and finding them higher than the last month. Families are tightening their belts, reducing subscriptions, delaying purchases and working overtime, yet somehow their bills keep growing and they cannot get ahead. What frustrate…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians were billed $195,000 for inflight catering for the Prime Minister for three trips: Scottish salmon fillet, sautéed beef with world-famous creamy sauce and, for dessert, luxury Normandy butter cups. Every dollar the Prime Minister spends on his elite palate was first taken from a hard-working Canadian. This Prime Minister means more costs, more taxes, more debt and more on th…
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Mr. Speaker, is the member saying that $195,000 for steak and fine wine is necessary for the Prime Minister to do his job? That is shameful. In April alone in Canada, Canadians saw gas rise 28%, food rise 3% and hydro rise 20%. At a time like this, Canadians expect fiscal restraint because, for them, the cost of food and shelter is more than 125% of their income. If the Prime Minister really wants…
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Mr. Chair, there are incredibly successful sovereign wealth funds around the world. The minister is choosing not to follow the example and is, in fact, doing the opposite. That is basic research. Why is the minister choosing to do that?
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Mr. Chair, we actually have an example. The Liberals established the Canada Infrastructure Bank. It was supposed to support infrastructure projects that are in the public interest, and it cannot even deploy the $35 billion it was given because of regulatory roadblocks that the government creates. How can the minister pretend that this fund will be able to deploy the funds it will be given?
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Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Calgary East. Norway's sovereign wealth fund is considered the gold standard, and its success is driven by reinvested budget surpluses and oil and gas revenue. Where is the $25-billion seed money coming from for Canada's fund?
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Mr. Chair, the minister assures Canadians that it will be independent. Who will appoint these independent board members?
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Mr. Chair, the minister did not answer the question. They will be borrowed funds, $25 billion in borrowed funds, whereas Norway funds it by surpluses. My next question is this: Norway also ensures diversified global investments, so how is this fund expecting the best-in-class returns without global diversification?
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Mr. Chair, how much will Canadians pay in interest on the $25 billion of debt that this fund will use? I want just the number.
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Mr. Chair, my question was about diversifying investments. I did not receive an answer. Norway does not, in fact, invest the funds domestically. The minister is proposing exactly the opposite, to invest only in Canada. My next question is this: Norway, which is the best-in-class example, ensures that the fund is free from political interference, so how can the fund be independent if it is prioriti…
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Mr. Chair, the reality is that the Liberal government will appoint a Liberal board. This fund will have borrowed money, no diversification and full political interference. Those are the characteristics of a political slush fund, so how can the minister call this a sovereign wealth fund?
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Mr. Chair, how much will the bureaucracy cost? I want just the number. The minister must know the numbers. I would like just the number for how much it will cost in terms of the bureaucracy.
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Mr. Chair, if the member was following the golden class example of Norway, with budget surpluses, diversification and no political interference, then yes, it would be a good thing, but here, in fact, it is the opposite, which is why I am asking the questions. He is failing to answer them. Here is another question. We have received zero information in terms of the cost of the fund. I asked the PBO.…
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Mr. Chair, on the one hand, the minister is saying it will not have political influence, but then, in the same sentence, he says “we” will ensure that it will be in the national interest, and “we” will decide which projects those will be. The reality is that Norway has zero political influence, and here the fund will have tons. My question to the minister is this. If the fund does not follow any o…
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Mr. Chair, I am not talking down anything. I am actually asking very simple questions, and I am getting zero answers. The transport committee has recommended that the Canada Infrastructure Bank be abolished because it benefited Liberal-appointed insiders and, in fact, failed to fill infrastructure gaps. Why are the Liberals doubling down on a failed policy and refusing to follow the gold standard …
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Mr. Chair, Canadians are struggling to buy groceries, and the CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank is getting paid close to $1 million. It is not delivering. Now the Prime Minister and the minister want to recreate this whole scenario with yet another bureaucracy and another set of executives who will get paid millions of dollars as well. Let us be transparent. How much will the minister pay the …
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Mr. Speaker, we can follow the money and we will know what the Liberal government really cares about. It has wasted $750 million on a failed gun grab, $300 million on the PrescribeIT scandal, $80 billion on interest payments for bankers and bondholders and over half a million dollars on the Prime Minister's catering on flights. What was he having, gold flakes on his cappuccinos? Why will the Liber…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister's $1-trillion debt means more taxes, more costs and more of the same. After 11 years of Liberals, Canadians are now paying more on interest on our national debt than the government collects on GST and spends on health care. Why will the Liberals not follow our Conservative plan to cut all gas taxes for the rest of the year? Is it because they have lost contr…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not rely on theory. I rely on the examples that entrepreneurs tell me about. Here is just one. An entrepreneur in my riding applied for a permit to expand operations. He had a contract in hand. The permit took so long that he was at risk of losing the contract. He decided to fly down to the U.S. Within days, he got permits and grants. He walked across the street and got financing…
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Mr. Speaker, the reality is that we do not have a lot of details on the fund, yet we know that it will resort to borrowed money to fund the seed capital at first. We know that this makes no sense, because sovereign wealth funds function under an environment where they draw on real surpluses, where there is fiscal responsibility and where they are independent of political influence. Here, we would …
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Mr. Speaker, we have seen the statistics. We in Canada now have had six consecutive quarters of more businesses shutting down than opening up. It is an entrepreneurial drought. Of course, these are the Canadians who have been grinding it out, opening early, closing late and making personal sacrifices. They cite regulatory uncertainty, delays in permitting and overtaxation. These are the Canadian d…
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Madam Speaker, the comparison to the Canada Infrastructure Bank is interesting. There was an entire study done on the Canada Infrastructure Bank at a committee, and it was recommended that it be closed down. We see by the statistics that it took seven years to be able to generate sufficient funds to even cover its operating costs—
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Mr. Speaker, we cannot build wealth by going further into debt. A sovereign wealth fund requires one thing above everything else, wealth, and yet, after 11 years, the Liberal government wants to create a sovereign wealth fund using $25 billion of borrowed money on top of the $1.3 trillion of national debt. Let us call it what it is. This is not a sovereign wealth fund. This is a sovereign debt fun…
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Mr. Speaker, we are seeing more debt, more spending, more taxes and more of the same. That is what the Liberals are toasting champagne to today. While Canadians are tightening their belts, the Liberals are celebrating massive deficits. This is the inflationary spending that will force Canadians to take on more debt and make real sacrifices just to get by. Will the Liberal Prime Minister end his co…
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Mr. Speaker, we have quite the contradiction. We have a Liberal government celebrating bigger deficits and an entire country struggling under them. Canada now faces the worst grocery inflation in the G7, the worst household debt and the highest housing costs, and lineups at the food banks are surging. There is nothing to celebrate about that. When will the Liberal Prime Minister commit to capping …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we have a contradiction today. We have a Liberal government that is celebrating bigger deficits while Canadians continue to struggle under them. Canadians are now staring down a $67-billion deficit that, two years ago, would have been unthinkable because, even under Justin Trudeau, the projection was half of that. This, of course, is not even the full picture because it does not inclu…
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Mr. Speaker, the CFIB has sounded the alarm on the entrepreneurial drought in Canada for six consecutive quarters. More businesses have shut down than opened up. The Montreal Economic Institute has said that “the heartbeat of innovation, job creation and economic growth...is in sharp decline”. Small businesses spend about 250 hours per year on red tape that could be eliminated, and it would not ev…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, one month ago I introduced the stand on guard act, and yet today we still have no response from the Liberal government. Not a yes, not a no, just silence. Is silence really the best response that the Liberals can muster for victims of home invasions? Our Conservative bill is simple. If someone knowingly and unlawfully enters a person's home, the force used to defend their family shoul…
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Mr. Speaker, entrepreneurs need a direct and clear answer. The CFIB estimates that the total regulatory cost of government is $52 billion. Businesses are burning through a collective 768 million hours annually on paperwork. Just this week, I met with businesses that have heard Liberal promises for almost a decade. They are asking if the Liberals could just leave the starting line and do something.…
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Mr. Speaker, every dollar that the Liberals hand out to fraudsters was first a dollar earned by and taken from a hard-working Canadian, but the Liberals do not want to answer questions on this matter. Shame on them, because in the past 10 years, $37 million has been paid out in the gold mine scandal, and there has been $40 million in bogus claims in 2023 and another $6 million in 2024. However, if…
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Mr. Speaker, the CRA paid out a $5-million return to a fraudster who typically earns $50,000, despite its having identified clear red flags. Even more concerning is that this happened six months after the finance minister appeared before committee to testify on the CRA's history of issuing millions of dollars of payments to fraudsters. He assured Canadians that the safeguards would be in place. Di…
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