Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, the people of my riding of Langley—Aldergrove are pleased to have a commitment from all levels of government now to extend the Metro Vancouver SkyTrain from downtown Surrey into downtown Langley. It is exactly what is needed by Langley, one of Canada's fastest-growing urban centres, but it is not enough. Every day, thousands of commuters are stuck in traffic on Highway 1, westbound …
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Madam Speaker, Canada's economy needs to improve productivity, and for that we need to grow our workforce, with more highly skilled immigrants and more people with the skills, training and knowledge that employers require. However, here is the problem. People cannot afford to live in some of our economic-generating cities because of out-of-control housing inflation. When will the government take c…
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Mr. Speaker, the recent flooding in British Columbia brought out the best in Canadians: neighbours helping neighbours, charity springing into action and farmers working together for the common good. I want to highlight the work of an exemplary corporate citizen in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove, a whole industry actually. Mutual Fire Insurance of British Columbia was started about 100 years ago b…
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Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned that young families across Canada are giving up the dream of ever owning a home. Nowhere is this more true than metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the epicentre of Canada's housing affordability crisis. People like Alison in my riding, who just in the last year saw house prices increase by more than the amount of money she and her partner were able to save up…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Order in Council SOR/2020-96 published on May 1, 2020 whereas it states that “the newly prescribed firearms are primarily designed for military or paramilitary purposes” and as the former Minister of Public Safety has re-stated this in the House of Commons of the over 1,500 newly prohibited firearms on numerous occasions: (a) which specific models that were prohibited on May 1, …
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With regard to federal government statistics on labour shortages in British Columbia: (a) what are the government's estimates on the percentage and number of businesses in British Columbia that encountered a labour shortage in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by sector and industry; (c) what is the projected labour shortage in British Columbia for (i) 2022, (ii) 20…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me today to rise in response to the Speech from the Throne that was presented by the Governor General in the other House on November 23, 2021. In her opening comments, the Governor General made reference to the recent flooding in the Fraser Valley and in southern British Columbia. The memories were very fresh at that time and they are still very fresh today. I wa…
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Madam Speaker, I agree completely that Canadians do step up and help fellow Canadians. There are so many great charitable organizations that are doing really good work. They should have the support of the government. The government cannot solve every problem; the government is not the best at solving every problem. We need to allow free enterprise, people with charitable intent and the many well-r…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I know the member opposite's riding was also impacted by the recent flooding, so he would have first-hand experience with how significant that has been. Yes, absolutely, the government has to step up with very serious dialogue about climate adaptation. It is glaringly obvious that it needs to be done. It should have been done 10 years ago. It should have been done 20 years ago. Now …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, clearly the government is not doing enough. I just gave two suggestions that the government could do. It could increase the housing supply. I know there is lots of talk of that, but there is very little action. Alison is a perfect example: She is waiting for results that are just not happening. There should also be restrictions on foreign ownership. Those would be two really good th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by a number of citizens from my home province of British Columbia who are deeply concerned about the abhorrent practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking. They are encouraging this Parliament to pass Bill S-223, which has been presented here before. It is time to get the job done.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, by now the Minister of Emergency Preparedness is well aware that part of the flooding in the Fraser Valley last month was caused by a breach in the Nooksack River diking system in Washington state, yet he should have known about this a long time ago. There are certainly enough reports and studies to that effect, but the government failed to act in a timely fashion to avoid the floodin…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it starts with having enough people in the workforce. Right now, there is a shortage of health care workers. We are focusing particularly on nurses. We need to solve that problem. We need to get enough people in the workforce working in hospitals and in the many other fields where nurses serve their patients and keep Canadians safe. That is where we need to start. I would certainly …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, spending $1.4 million on a study is important of course, but we are talking about $1 billion. If the minister did not bring the chequebook today, will it be in the budget? It is absolutely essential. It is existential to the Fraser Valley. The minister did not make any reference to negotiating a treaty with the United States regarding the Nooksack River and the Columbia River, throu…
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Madam Speaker, as other speakers have said, this needs to go to committee to be studied. We do not have a lot of detail about the government's plans in that regard. I do know that many unionized workers working in federally regulated industries have paid sick leave in their contracts, and I believe in the sanctity of contracts. I would certainly be willing to look at gaps where further assistance …
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Madam Speaker, the member's question gives me an opportunity to talk about jurisdiction and Canadian constitutional law. I am not talking about the federal government taking over jurisdiction. Of course, we are going to work with the provinces. Health care is a provincial matter. The federal government needs to work with the provinces to find the best way to increase health care resources.
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Madam Speaker, I am here to talk about the government's proposal to amend the Criminal Code to criminalize certain behaviour, which I believe most Canadians thought was already against the law. Before speaking to Bill C-3, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fine people of Langley—Aldergrove for endorsing me for a second term. It is a great honour to be re-elected. I have promised m…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, last week I had a question for the Minister of Emergency Preparedness about the recent flooding in the Fraser Valley and in particular in Abbotsford, which touches on my riding. I pointed out in my question that the Sumas Prairie diking system needs repair. We have known that for a long time. That is not news, and we knew that the price tag would be roughly $500 million, which seems…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, about a month ago Mayor Braun invited the members of Parliament whose ridings touch his city of Abbotsford to a meeting to talk about the aging Sumas Prairie diking system. He explained that the cost to repair would be about $500 million, but the economic impact of a breach of those dikes would be devastating, measured in the billions. About two weeks ago, the nightmare came to pass. …
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Is that all you have?
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, about a month ago I, together with the members for Abbotsford and Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, met with the mayor of Abbotsford. My riding of Langley—Aldergrove touches the western part of Abbotsford. The mayor summoned us to this meeting to explain some of the weaknesses in the diking system around the Sumas Prairie, for which a request for federal funding of about $500 million had…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your appointment. I want to thank the member for Surrey Centre particularly for highlighting the work being done to enhance the diking system around the Nicomekl River and the Serpentine River running through Surrey and also through my riding of Langley—Aldergrove. However, we heard earlier in debate today that a significant cause of the flooding on the Canadian sid…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Abbotsford for his comments on this year's budget. He mentioned that inflationary pressures are already embedded in the economy. We know that the best way to tackle inflation is to grow the economy to make sure that it is producing all the goods and services that people need. Does the member have comments about what this budget does to grow the economy?
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Madam Speaker, the Green Party is representing its constituents very well and effectively in Canada's Parliament. Bill C-10 was better before, because it was more effectively protecting individual users and their content. With the amendment that removed section 4.1, it took a lot of that freedom away. A lot of the benefits of this act have been destroyed because of that, and we would be better if …
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Madam Speaker, I guess it should not have come as a complete surprise that the Liberal government would make strategic procedural moves to limit my freedom of speech as a member of Parliament wishing to speak up on exactly that topic: freedom of speech. I have heard from so many of my constituents that they were shocked at the government's attempt to limit their freedom by regulating the Internet,…
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Madam Speaker, the Internet has been a powerful tool for up-and-coming artists. I was talking to a high school class just the other day in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove. The students were talking about some of their friends who are budding musicians and have found success on the Internet. That is the democratization of the Internet. It is such a powerful tool. We do not need to regulate it. I wo…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, Michael Geist is indeed a champion for free speech, particularly on the Internet. Being a law professor, he is an expert in that field and deals exactly with that area of the law. I have a great deal of respect for him and for the work he has done. He is a champion to whom we should be listening. He is a promoter of allowing the Internet to develop in a way that enhances people's ab…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I have heard from so many constituents who tell me that the mandatory hotel quarantine program of the government makes no sense. It is expensive and, given the lack of supporting data, people are not convinced that it is better than a stay-at-home order. I recently heard from a constituent who is doing humanitarian work overseas as a volunteer. She has not been able to be fully vaccin…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago, I had the honour of visiting some schools in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove, all via video conference, of course, including Brookswood Secondary School. There, I met with Ms. Glover and her grade 11 and 12 political studies students, who challenged me with very thoughtful questions. Notable was a question from a young man who wanted to know what he could do to …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, last week, I met with Marilyn Gabriel, chief of the Kwantlen First Nation community in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove, together with elders and other community members. It was a very difficult meeting, as we listened to heartbreaking stories from residential school survivors who are grieving anew with news coming out of Kamloops recently. The pain is real. The memories are fresh and …
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Mr. Speaker, if a young family in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove had decided a year ago to save up a little longer for a down payment on their first home purchase, today they would be $150,000 further behind. In the words of one of my constituents, “It is so hard to be hopeful anymore.” B.C.'s Lower Mainland is ground zero for Canada's housing affordability crisis, and people want to know what th…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the hon. member. He is saying that Canada is catching up to America on vaccinating their citizens. That is a good-news story. However, it just goes to support my position that maybe there is room for a more creative solution than just an outright ban for another year. Why is the minister not talking to his American counterparts to see what they are doi…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, last month I put a question to the Minister of Transport about his unilateral decision to extend the cruise ship ban for another year, until February of 2022. The effect of that ban is that no passenger vessels can come into a Canadian port until at least February of 2022. That ban started with the pandemic, of course, and killed the cruising industry in Canada, particularly in my h…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, people in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove like to celebrate Canadian Environment Week by planting trees. They are just mere seedlings for now, but as they mature, they will add real beauty to our neighbourhoods and contribute to the greening of the planet and, in a very modest way, the fight against global climate change. Next week, on Saturday, June 5, in front of the Home Depot, I…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from the next-door riding of South Surrey—White Rock for mentioning a very important infrastructure project, the SkyTrain extension into my riding of Langley. I wonder if the member would comment on the important interplay between transit, particularly transit-oriented residential development, and tackling the housing affordability crisis in the Lower Ma…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for alerting us to inflation and the risks there too. I wonder if he has any comments about interest rates rising to combat inflation and what that will do to the debt-servicing costs for the federal government.
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Madam Speaker, I pointed out in my earlier talking points that the Conservative Party agrees that a federal government needs to step in during a time of crisis with deficit spending, quantitative easing and pumping liquidity into the marketplace to keep the economy going and to support families, workers and businesses. We voted in favour of those programs when they were presented by the Liberal go…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-30, the budget implementation act. The problem with budget 2021 is that it is focused more on the political fortunes of the Liberal Party than on rebuilding the economy post-pandemic. That is not just me, the Conservative member for Langley—Aldergrove, speaking. The former clerk of the Privy Council Kevin Lynch is quoted as saying that b…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party agrees that the federal government has a very important role to play in helping Canadian citizens who are most in need, such as seniors and people who are not benefiting from the wealth of the nation. We recognize and appreciate that. I would stand with her in criticizing the current government for not having done a sufficient job in that during this pandemic.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, $1 million is how much money gets pumped into the Victoria or Vancouver economies every time a cruise ship stops by on its way up to Alaska, but the government's outright ban is going to kill all of that. Our American neighbours got tired of waiting for our reopening plan, so they made their own plan, which is to just avoid Canadian ports altogether. The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague that what we should be looking at now at this stage of the economic recovery post-pandemic is sector-specific aid. I talked about small businesses in my riding that were having trouble finding employees. These are generally construction companies, landscaping companies and agricultural businesses where it is safe to go back to work. They are having trouble …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it does not answer the question of the source of gun crimes in Canada. We need that information. With that information lacking, we will not be able to develop good policy. Therefore, I will restate the question. How many guns? What percentage of guns used in homicides or attempted homicides in Canada come from these three sources: smuggled, stolen or diverted? Is the Toronto chief o…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, on April 26, I posed a question to the Minister of Public Safety about gun safety and the answer I received missed the mark, so I am very grateful to have the opportunity for this follow-up question. I was prompted to ask that question last month in response to a gangland-style shooting in broad daylight in my community of Langley, B.C. A man was shot and killed in front of the Lang…
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Madam Speaker, the premise of the member's question ignores the fact that a lot of money is being invested in the oil and gas sector by oil and gas companies into cleaner, better and more responsible ways to produce oil and gas. There have been drastic improvements and we should be encouraging that industry to keep on doing that, to keep on becoming cleaner and greener. We should not be talking ab…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives trust Canadians to do the right things, but we have heard from members of the Liberal side of the House that under a Conservative plan, Canadians would actually be incentivized to drive more, burn more to earn more. That is so cynical. That is not the way Conservatives think of our fellow citizens. We are confident that given the right incentives, Canadians will do…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to speak to the draft legislation of Bill C-12, with regard to net-zero emissions. I am also very pleased to highlight some of our party's positions, which are set out in our position paper, entitled “Secure the Environment”. With a Conservative government, Canada will meet its Paris Agreement targets, importantly, without killing jobs or taxing an already over-ta…
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Madam Speaker, I would reiterate that Bill C-12 purports to set targets and to be aggressive, but it is not really that at all. It misses the target in many ways. The accountability section is almost meaningless; it is without teeth. A Conservative government would take meeting our targets very seriously and we would do so without killing jobs and without phasing out of our energy resource industr…
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Madam Speaker, I am going to ask a non-hypothetical question. I have constituents in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove who are being negatively impacted by the labour disruption in the Port of Montreal. I have constituents who have perishable goods tied up in the port strike. What would the member say to them? What answer would he have for them? My constituents have a right to make a living too.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, people in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove are tired of the pandemic, now more than a year old, which is too old, and they are ready to get life back to normal. They are ready to get back to work, back to school, back to family gatherings and back to church. Hopefully, after a summer vacation, they will be back to university on campus in September. As we look to turning the corner on C…
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Madam Speaker, businesses in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove, almost as far away as we can get from the Port of Montreal, are being negatively impacted by labour disruptions at the Port of Montreal. I was talking to Mr. Van Noort of Van Noort Bulb Co. Ltd. the other day. He imports bulbs from the Netherlands for sale across North America. This is, of course, a very seasonal product. His business h…
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