Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the appeal process in British Columbia is going to take years. In the meantime, homeowners in Richmond, British Columbia, and throughout the province are feeling insecure. Here is the reality in the subject territory in Richmond. Realtors are not taking listings, appraisers are devaluing property values and bankers are not lending money on title that they see as in…
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Mr. Speaker, in Cowichan Tribes v. the Attorney General of Canada, the B.C. Supreme Court declared aboriginal title over private lands, and the private landowners, 150 of them, are worried. It has been well documented that the Liberals directed their federal lawyers to drop arguments protecting private property rights, to pull their punches and allow aboriginal title to take precedence. Where are …
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Madam Speaker, earlier in debate tonight, we heard from the Liberal side of the House suggesting that anybody who was opposed to Bill C‑22 was fearmongering and spreading misinformation. However, the very rational debate coming from the member for Vancouver East would suggest otherwise. Also, I am reading a Global News story that says that social media platforms, satellite companies and telecommun…
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Mr. Speaker, while the high-flying Prime Minister is racking up a $1-million debt for luxury inflight catering, many Canadians are struggling just to put food on the table. There were 2.2 million Canadians who went to a food bank in one month last year alone, but the Prime Minister is living the high life, even though he is leading the only G20 country into a recession. Will the Prime Minister rev…
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Mr. Speaker, earlier in the debate today, we heard the minister say that this agreement is a model to inform future treaties, yet the most recent treaty, the K'ómoks Treaty, which my colleague also mentioned, introduces the concept of UNDRIP, a foreign document. This is not made in Canada. Could my colleague comment on how important it is for Canada to stick to made-in-Canada solutions when we are…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her speech on this self-government agreement, which she says could inform future agreements. There is the Musqueam recognition rights agreement in Vancouver, which has become very controversial. It says that it is not a land agreement, and it goes on to add some comfort that nothing in this agreement is going to impact any aboriginal rights. What is missing is…
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Madam Speaker, the Liberal government is going to be adding somewhere between $70 billion and $80 billion in additional debt to its already sky-high deficit with accumulated debt of over $1 trillion. If I take the middle point and apply 4% interest to it, that is $3 billion every year just in additional interest payments on an already very high number. How does the Liberal government justify addin…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. Again, it was a short speech, and I did not have time to work everything into it. I have spoken to a number of the landowners, including a commercial landowner in the region who has a project under way. He had financing in place. He had tenants for the new warehouse complex he was going to build. All of it is on hold. The company is now making an application …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Quebec for her enlightening speech and for explaining the difference between “fee simple”, coming from British feudal law, and “absolute title”, coming from civil law. That was very enlightening. However, the same question still applies. Does the member think that absolute title and aboriginal title can coexist on the same piece of land at the s…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for her very interesting speech and recap of some of British Columbia's history. I am also a history fan, so I have read the whole case and would confirm some of the things she said. The member is saying that Cowichan does not stand for the proposition that aboriginal title threatens fee simple title. The problem with that, of course…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting comment coming from a member who did not consult with the first nation communities in her riding when she asked to drop the indigenous name from the riding name. Yes, the Liberals today are saying that they will defend private property rights. However, they failed to do it before, and they have now worked themselves into a corner where they are not able to advan…
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Mr. Speaker, if I had a half-hour or an hour, I would have talked about all the interesting cases, but I had only 10 minutes. The Haida case is obviously a very important case. It talks about and expands on the principle of the duty to consult. I will not argue with that. There is a duty to consult. We agree with that. We agree that reconciliation is important, but to undermine the private propert…
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Mr. Speaker, I am speaking to the Conservative motion that is on the agenda today, which is calling on the Liberal government to put private property first in the Cowichan case, arguing that private property has priority over all other forms of title. We are saying this because the Cowichan Tribes v. Canada decision created massive uncertainty around fee simple property, the legal basis on which C…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals keep talking about misinformation as though the Conservatives, when we raise issues with or weaknesses in the Liberal Party, are spreading misinformation. All we are doing is shedding light on their incompetence. We have a real-life example in the Montrose application, which the minister has already mentioned. We talked to them. They had a project that was ready to go. It…
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Mr. Speaker, normally we would try to argue it in committee, but it got shut down. We have put forward a motion, a proposal, that the House form a committee to look at this issue. In the meantime, we need to argue it in the House. This is very important to Canadians. It is important to people in my riding and to people in metro Vancouver, because they are deeply concerned about the uncertainty bei…
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard on a number of occasions that the Liberals appealed the decision as soon as they could. That is just not true. They waited until literally the last minute to appeal it. More importantly, the Liberals say they stand for private property rights. However, they did not use all the tools in their tool box to do that. Even though private property owners have not been named as …
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Mr. Speaker, all morning, we on this side of the House have been raising some of the issues, some of the complexities, that have arisen from the Cowichan decision of the B.C. Supreme Court. It has been suggested by the Liberal side of the House that we are fearmongering or being misleading. I am very happy that the member opposite raised the issue of the Montrose application. He will be aware that…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 81 years ago today, on May 5, 1945, Canadian Forces finally secured the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. It marked the end of a hard-fought campaign that began on D-Day in northern France, continued through a bitterly cold winter and brutal fighting along the Scheldt River, and concluded with the liberation of Arnhem and surrounding towns and cities. Victory came at…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims that the Liberal government protects private property rights and that it will appeal the Cowichan decision. Here is the problem: At trial, the Liberals dropped the argument that private property rights come first, making it easier for the trial judge to conclude that aboriginal title is a “prior and senior right to land.” How can the Prime Minister now say th…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Edmonton Northwest talked quite a bit about the ambiguity in the treaty and how that ambiguity might lead to confusion between various Métis groups. I am wondering about the Métis Nation British Columbia. Yes, there is one, and it has jurisdiction over 30,000-plus Métis people. What assurances are there that this will not impact the very important work that they are …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, British Columbians are living with uncertainty about whether the homes they worked their whole lives to buy are truly theirs. Businesses are hearing from their commercial lenders that they cannot just assume that they can take their fee simple security to the bank. Between the Cowichan Tribes decision and the Musqueam agreements, Liberal and NDP governments have cast doubt on fee simp…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, last week I raised an issue of deep concern to the people of British Columbia, namely the impact of the B. C. Supreme Court decision in Cowichan Tribes v. Canada and the impact that the decision has on private property rights. It is a significant ruling, because it is the first time in Canada's history that a court declared aboriginal title over non-Crown lands, privately owned lands.…
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Mr. Speaker, the concern is that the federal lawyers have dropped the extinguishment argument, which was their first and best line of defence, under the misguided concept or idea that reconciliation requires the federal government not to be too aggressive in defending private property rights. That is the concern here, and nothing that the hon. secretary has just mentioned adds any comfort. Of cour…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech on Bill C-25, the strong and free elections act. He mentioned our former colleague, Kenny Chiu, who was elected at the same time as the two of us in 2019. He introduced a foreign influence registry private member's bill, something that the Liberal government should have done but failed to do. Madam Justice Hogue noted in her report that this…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are debating the strong and free elections act, Bill C-25, the government's response to several recent developments, both local and international, that have challenged the integrity of and public confidence in one of our most important democratic institutions, our elections. After the 2021 election, the federal government appointed the Hon. Marie-Josée Hogue as commissioner f…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my next-door neighbour, the member for Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford for a very thoughtful question. Indeed, there have been delays. The member asked me why the Liberal government has delayed that. I do not know. He would probably have to ask someone in of the Liberal government. I know he did not expect me to actually have an answer to that. However, this is the good new…
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Mr. Speaker, a couple of the amendments relate to actions of the longest ballot committee, and the bill is proposing to restrict the ability of pranksters, which I am going to call them, on the longest ballot committee to interfere with our election processes. One of the steps Conservatives are suggesting is prohibiting a person from signing nominations of more than one prospective candidate. Anot…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Ponoka—Didsbury's speech was inspiring. It is a pleasure serving with him on the committee that studied the bill. We know that a foreign influence registry is going to be set up. We have appointed a commissioner for that now. I wonder if my colleague could comment on how viable that commission will be now that we have a Prime Minister who is willing to enter into a s…
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Mr. Speaker, the recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling in Cowichan Tribes calls into question whether private property rights in Canada are secure, creating unnecessary economic risk in our economy. Clearly the Liberals have dropped the ball on this one, and right at a time when Canadians are facing pressure from higher costs and economic uncertainty. Will the Liberal Prime Minister direct the lawyers …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-13 is about bringing the United Kingdom into the comprehensive trade agreement with the Pacific. The member for Courtenay—Alberni mentioned frozen pensions for U.K. pensioners who decide to retire here in Canada. It seems deeply unfair, particularly since the U.K. does not do that for other countries like the United States. As a matter of fact, it seems to be picking on Commonw…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago, I had a round of questions in question period about Canada's housing affordability crisis hitting young people particularly hard. Normally, supply meets demand, which is just economics 101, but the current real estate market is in such a state of imbalance that the new homes that buyers want and can afford are just not being built. That was the basis of my quest…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech on Canada accepting the U.K. into the CPTPP. It is my understanding that Canada trades freely with the other countries in that agreement with respect to beef and pork. Do Canadians have a legitimate concern that the government has failed to come to that agreement with the United Kingdom?
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Mr. Speaker, if all that wishful thinking would actually solve the problem, we would not have a problem. I think the member will agree that we actually do face a housing affordability crisis. I just want to give a couple of examples of the government getting in the way. In a British Columbia setting, we have the provincial government chasing away investment dollars that drive the pre-sale market, …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-13 is the bill by which the United Kingdom will be brought into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. All of the other countries, and I believe there are 11 of them besides Canada, accept beef imports and pork imports from Canada, yet the United Kingdom is putting up non-tariff barriers to that. I wonder if the member could comment…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Peace River—Westlock that Alberta grain-fed beef is the best in the world. I love our friends from Great Britain, and I want them to benefit from Alberta grain-fed beef, but here is another thing. I love people from Ontario, and I want them to benefit from the best wine in Canada, British Columbia wine. I know it is not the topic of the day, but can my f…
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Mr. Speaker, despite promising the fastest-growing economy in the G7, the Prime Minister has delivered the weakest. Today, we are the only country in the G7 with a shrinking economy and young people are paying the price. The generation that should be building up wealth for the future is instead falling further behind. Personal debt is at an all-time high. Savings are basically non-existent, and mi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a private member's bill sponsored by my good friend and colleague, the member for Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies. It is a great piece of legislation that will amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act with a focus on victims. It is a simple bill that will have a significant and positive impact on our justice system. Unlike other criminal bills, th…
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Mr. Speaker, the question from my colleague from the Bloc Québécois was a thoughtful one. I live in a community that is highly urbanized, but parts of it are still rural, so I sympathize with the question. I will revert back to what I had said earlier, which is that the market generally sorts things out. If there is a demand in smaller communities, it will be filled if the government gets out of t…
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Mr. Speaker, the question just underlines what I was saying: Governments do not build homes. People build homes. Home builders build homes. Electricians, drywallers, carpenters and land developers are the ones who build homes. The government just needs to get out of the way and create the environment that welcomes investment so people will actually build homes and so the market meets the demand.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that every time the member for Winnipeg North stands up, he is accusing us of filibustering. This is an important topic. It is very important for Canadians, certainly in my home province of British Columbia, where housing affordability really is a crisis for young people. These are important issues. We need to be debating them in the House of Commons, and that is exa…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an important question, but I am really the wrong person to be asking it to. Trying to get into the minds of the Liberals is hard to do, but what I have observed time and again is that the Liberal politics of the Liberal Party of the 2020s is all performative politics. It just wants it to seem that it is doing something. If there is a problem, it has a solution: another organiz…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C-20, a bill from the Liberal government to establish yet another federal Crown corporation, called Build Canada Homes, which would apparently finally find the solution to the economic woes in our housing sector that have stubbornly evaded solutions provided by existing federal bureaucracies. The stated purpose of Build Canada Homes is to “promote, support and …
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Mr. Speaker, that answer is completely unacceptable. The Canadian Home Builders' Association says that, five years ago, new housing starts in the ownership market stood at 69%, the rest being in the rental market. Last year, that number dropped down to 49%. Despite all the nice talk, clearly the Liberal plans are not helpful for prospective new buyers. Again, why do they not just adopt our plans a…
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Mr. Speaker, under the Liberal government, the Canadian dream of home ownership is rapidly fading for young people. CMHC reports that housing construction is actually going to be down over the next three years by up to 18% compared to last year. Why do the Liberals not just adopt the Conservative plan to eliminate GST on all new housing construction of up to $1.3 million and help restore the dream…
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Madam Speaker, we are talking about the creation of a commission for modern treaty implementation, which would replace the very effective work that has been done by the Office of the Auditor General. The Auditor General is responsible for reviewing government operations for accountability, transparency and the effective use of public funds. Does my colleague agree that this new commission would ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley on the work he has done with the Haisla Nation and others in British Columbia for advancing indigenous reconciliation. I thank him very much for that. With respect to accountability, the member pointed out correctly that the Auditor General is the ultimate holder to accountability of the government, and that office is bein…
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Mr. Speaker, indeed it is the government's job to implement these treaties. As the opposition, our job is to hold the government to account, as it is that member's responsibility as well. We need the Conservatives to form government. I am thinking of the Harper days when we actually got the job done. It can be done, and we are waiting for the government to finally take action to get the job done.
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Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about an act respecting the commissioner for modern treaty implementation. What would it do? The enactment would provide for the appointment of a commissioner of modern treaty implementation. The commissioner's job would be to conduct reviews and performance audits of the activities of the government related to the implementation of modern treaties, or rather, the…
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, we already have an agent that is responsible for that. That agent is called the Auditor General. The unfortunate part is that the Liberals have not been taking the reports from the Office of the Auditor General seriously. That applies to many matters, including when reports comment on their lack of action on indigenous rights and settling treaties. That should have been done a…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-19, the proposed Canada groceries and essentials benefit act, is legislation introduced by the Liberals whereby they would give a handout to Canadian citizens to fill the gap they created in the first place. First, they erode Canadians' wealth by economic mismanagement, and then they give a temporary benefit and boast about their generosity. Perhaps the member could expand on h…
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