Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question. The hon. member has pointed out one of the really difficult issues that we are grappling with, with this government, which is that the Liberals talk, saying things that people want to hear. They talk about making changes that need to be made, but somewhere behind the scenes resources are not following the matter and Canadians are no…
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Mr. Speaker, there is an old story about a traveller in the desert. Night had fallen and the air had turned bitterly cold. The traveller had just enough space and warmth in the tent to get through the night, but then a camel approached and asked if it could put its nose inside just to stay warm. The traveller agreed. It seemed harmless. However, then the camel asked to bring in its head and then i…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for this excellent question. It is a difficult thing to see someone we have spoken to and shared lots of good conversations and ideas with decide they are no longer on our team. That said, it is one of the fundamental issues in our democracy today. We are living in a world where people are trying to create a distance that does not always exist. We ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for that question, because it highlights where we are heading and what we still need to do. Bill C-25 addresses the issue of the longest ballot in a number of ways. However, the truth is that it does not matter how many spots are on a ballot or how short it is if the people who are casting their vote do not have confidence that the House will respect their…
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Mr. Speaker, when I knock on doors and I talk to people in my community, there is a sentiment that generally gets all the heads nodding. It is the idea that Ottawa feels very far away right now from those out on the west coast on Vancouver Island. We feel disconnected in a lot of ways from the black box that happens in Ottawa. There was a point made in committee this morning, which was the idea th…
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Mr. Speaker, the sorcerer's apprentice scene from Fantasia is my mother's favourite. The apprentice arrives, gains access to powerful tools and tries to harness them to make his work easier. He enchants a broom to carry water. At first, it works. The buckets fill and the work is done for him. Then it does not stop. The water keeps pouring. He tries to fix it, but he cannot undo the spell. In panic…
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Mr. Speaker, today's announcement amounts to approximately four cents on the price of diesel. Diesel runs the trucks that deliver food everywhere. Diesel runs just about everything on Canadian farms and helps get food and other goods to communities like mine. Given the magnitude of the windfall that the government is experiencing as a result of the increase in revenues that come from gas taxes und…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things I appreciate about my colleague's speeches is that she always brings things back down to basics in a way that is very relatable. Certainly, the things she spoke about are very relatable to my own riding. The government opposite keeps trying to look to external factors. I wonder if the hon. member would speak to the difference between the impact these higher prices ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I am from British Columbia, where homeowners are anxious and builders are hesitating to invest. People are wondering if they are going to be able to renew their mortgages. They are asking about the value of their homes. Liberals and New Democrats told their lawyers not to defend our fee simple property rights. They unleashed uncertainty and chaos when we are already struggling with hi…
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Mr. Speaker, on the west coast we do not just live near the ocean. We live on it. Time on the water is how we connect with friends, clear our heads and put food on the table. It is practically therapy, and we might even catch dinner, but now the Liberals are putting 9,100 jobs and a $1.76-billion industry at risk with proposed changes to the salmon allocation policy. Will this east coast minister …
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Mr. Speaker, 153,000 student visa cases were flagged for fraud, with less than 3% probed, and 92% of fraudsters were waved through for shots at work permits, residency and asylum. The Auditor General has exposed an immigration system so broken it cannot enforce its own rules. However, instead of fixing it, the Liberals are going to issue even more permits. Even Liberals say the immigration ministe…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, there have always been conflicts abroad. The government's job is to make sure they stay there, because when they do not, Canadians pay the price. We fear a missing Iranian man may have been murdered by Tehran. Three more synagogues were shot at this week and another was vandalized. Meanwhile, IRGC agents continue to live in Canada, hanging out in cafes and going to the gym. Liberals m…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition on behalf of Canadians who are opposed to Bill C-9. They are concerned that this broad and overreaching piece of legislation would restrict freedom of expression and freedom of religion. They call upon the government to not restrict debate on it and to withdraw the bill.
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure that the hon. member listened to my speech. I have just engaged in detail with the views of the government. I am not saying the government does not have the right to pass any legislation it can get through the House. What I am saying is that it ought to think twice about what it has heard from Canadians about the legislation. I am suggesting that the government ought t…
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Madam Speaker, the position that law enforcement officers and criminal lawyers have taken is that the existing provisions of the Criminal Code are sufficient to deal with that situation. The government has not put forward any argument to suggest that the changes that would be made by this bill would result in that arrest. In fact, I would be willing to go so far as to predict right now that the da…
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Madam Speaker, within an hour of the Liberal-Bloc amendment to remove the defence of religious freedoms associated with the Criminal Code provisions in section 319, I received a text from a constituent saying how delighted that person was that these changes had passed so that a whole bunch of people could now be thrown in jail. I made this comment at committee. I do not for one second think that e…
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Mr. Speaker, Liberals are allowing foreign conflicts to spill onto our streets, and Canadians are paying the price. An Iranian activist is missing, and it looks more and more like Tehran is involved. Meanwhile, hundreds of IRGC agents live in Canada, hanging out in cafés and going to the gym, yet Canadian officials say they cannot deport these terrorists because they can claim asylum, there are no…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are now very familiar with Václav Havel's greengrocer, who displays a sign in his window not because he believes it but because it is what one does, what is familiar and what is required. In Davos, the Prime Minister talked about taking the sign out of the window. Today, I want to talk about how the sign got there in the first place, because Havel's parable was a warning, …
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Mr. Chair, at the beginning of this operation in Iran, the Prime Minister was in the same place as the hon. member who has just spoken in the House. Since then, the Prime Minister has described the same strikes as a dangerous escalation, has said that Canada supported them “with regret”, has suggested that they reflect a “failure of the international order”, has raised concerns that the strikes ap…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-233, an act to amend the Export and Import Permits Act. In presenting this bill, my hon. colleague from Vancouver East has argued that Canada must ensure that our domestic laws live up to our commitments under the Arms Trade Treaty, or ATT. She has raised serious concerns that are worthy of thoughtful consideration. Indeed, I believe all members of th…
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Mr. Chair, an Iranian member of my local community wrote to me to say that Iranians have tried peaceful protest and civil resistance for years, only to face arrest, torture and deadly crackdowns. They have tried diplomacy, and gotten hangings and executions. She wrote to me that a democratic Iran would significantly improve regional stability and reduce the global threats posed by the IRGC. If the…
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Mr. Speaker, that is not an answer, and this is not isolated. When a non-citizen can sexually assault someone's 18-year-old daughter twice and not be deported, the system is out of control. This offender was found guilty of sexual assault. The judge knew he would be deported, but then they gave him a discharge and probation, so another criminal stays in Canada. The Liberals accuse us of all kinds …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister falsely claims he has our immigration system under control, but when a non-Canadian on a student visa can spy on his female housemates for six months and not get deported, Canadians know the system is out of control. He recorded them in various states of undress. He recorded them using the bathroom, but instead of protecting these women, Liberal sentencing discounts…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for raising the issue of the expropriation of land in Mirabel in 1969 and for reminding us of the long-term effects this has had on local families. Many people felt that they were not being heard at the time. In the hon. member's opinion, what should the government do today to listen to communities more and to treat them more fairly when major projects are…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for talking about the expropriation of land in Mirabel in 1969 and about the impact that decision had on people's lives. That is a painful chapter for many families who lost their homes, their land and their jobs. Looking back, what lessons does the member think we should learn from that? How can these lessons help governments work better with communities in the f…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today is February 3, the first day that 254 forestry workers at the Crofton Mill are out of work. Almost all of them are still without jobs, and another 125 workers will be following them to the unemployment line in the coming weeks. Since the Prime Minister took office, Vancouver Island has seen a steady drumbeat of mill curtailments and closures. Shifts are being cut, mills are bein…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition from Canadians concerned about Bill C-9. Faith, as we know, is a matter of conscience, and the petitioners are worried that the state is interfering with their religious texts and teachings, will impinge on religious freedom and lead to government overreach in matters of faith. They are calling on the House to prevent government interference in faith, re…
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Madam Speaker, last week in Davos, the Prime Minister outlined his vision to restore Canada's position as a leading middle power in the world. In the prequel to that speech last October, he reminded a room full of young Canadians that it will take time and sacrifice to realize that vision. In both speeches, the Prime Minister framed the hardship we will face in Canada to realize that vision as una…
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Madam Speaker, the whole thesis that the Conservatives are putting forward through this sovereignty act is the idea that we should stop the flight of capital outside of this country. We should remove the barriers to investment here, the things that cause Canadians to want to invest in other countries, and help bring that capital and investment back to Canada by removing the barriers to that. That …
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is incredibly rich for the member opposite, who keeps referring to this as a new government, to look into the past to try to assume that Conservatives cannot change and that we cannot put forward new ideas. From a government with which we have offered to co-operate, it is especially distressing that he continues with the insults and the rhetoric and that he is not willing…
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Madam Speaker, near the end of his speech, the hon. member spoke about the MOU with Alberta. We know Alberta has identified some of the very pieces of legislation listed as ones we want to affect through a sovereignty act. These are ones that are impediments to moving projects forward. My question for the hon. member is this: Why can we not have both? Why do we have to choose between what he calls…
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Madam Speaker, I have been thinking a lot about topics like this over the past weeks, and what I think this really reflects on is the concept of agency. Agency is one of the real things that divide us on this side of the House from our colleagues in government on the other side of the House. We firmly believe in agency, and we can see it in this concept of the sovereignty act. We firmly believe th…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives worked with the government to pass Bill C-5, giving the Prime Minister extraordinary power to approve major projects quickly. The same spirit of co-operation should bring the House together to support a Canadian sovereignty act, which would cut delays for everyone and put Canadians back in control of our destiny. The Major Projects Office is supposed to be a workaround f…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I want to welcome everyone back to this place, including Canadians who are watching at home. I am pleased to rise on our first day back to contribute to this debate on Bill C-228. I want to start by thanking my hon. Bloc Québécois colleague who introduced this bill. The context for this bill is important, because it concerns how we, as parliamentarians, understand our role in relati…
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Mr. Speaker, these Liberals must be shopping in the fantasy aisle because Canadians are still getting skewered at the checkout. Conservatives voted against policies that make life more expensive. This Parliament, the Liberals voted against our motions that would have saved jobs, kept communities safe and lowered costs. Inflationary Liberal spending is driving students, seniors and now full-time wo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister invited Canadians to judge him by the prices at the grocery store. Seven months later, shoppers are still going home with half the cart for twice the price. The latest food price report says it is going to get 1,000 bucks worse next year. Meanwhile, another mill is closing in my community. As more people lose their jobs, anxiety is the only thing up more than the co…
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Mr. Speaker, I am really glad the hon. member asked me about Bill C-15 and particularly the MOU. One of the really big challenges with it is that no one knows what it means. We have first nations chiefs and B.C. saying there is a veto and that they will not approve it. We have the government saying that it is going to go ahead. When it comes down to it, we do not actually know what is going to hap…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I want to say how proud I am to second this motion and the remarks the hon. member made this morning. Like my colleague, I have received a number of emails from faith leaders in my riding and would like the member to comment on this. One of the things that unite faith leaders across this country is the fact that their congregations are composed of people of all political stripes. On…
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Madam Speaker, I apologize if I do not have this right because I am a new member, but we are having this debate because the Liberals cancelled a meeting, and the member is actually—
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Mr. Speaker, I am willing to accept that the government meant well in bringing the budget forward. The Prime Minister claims that he wants to reshape Canada's economy so that it is more self-reliant, more resilient and less vulnerable to outside shocks. That starts with food security. The Prime Minister has said that Canadians should judge his leadership by their experience at the grocery store. I…
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Mr. Speaker, I am so glad the hon. member asked me about the national school lunch program, because we absolutely believe that children should be fed, but we believe that parents should be able to do it. What is incredible is that if the federal government really wanted to make a difference and wanted its dollars to make the maximum difference, it would recognize that a fabulous local school board…
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Mr. Speaker, believe me, I would like to think the best of my colleagues across the aisle. The challenge is that the programs are so confusingly organized that, while they actually help some people, the litany of complaints and the number of people in my riding and my communities who are having trouble navigating them mean that the programs the Liberals have established are creating immense backlo…
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Madam Speaker, I wish I could answer the hon. member fluently in French. I am working on it. I am a new member of the House, and one of the things that actually astound me about this Parliament is how little the Prime Minister's office and the government actually involve the House in making laws and making decisions. I would have thought that the Liberals' calls for collaboration and requests that…
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Mr. Speaker, 375 workers at our local Crofton mill are losing their jobs 10 days before Christmas: 150 jobs gone in Chemainus and 165 jobs gone in 100 Mile House. Thirty-one B.C. towns have been gutted so far because the Liberals broke their promise to get a deal. What is the Prime Minister's take on stalled talks? "Who cares?”, he said; there is no “burning issue”. Well, the people who lost their…
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Madam Speaker, I want to compliment the hon. member for really connecting his speech to his riding. I want to ask the hon. member about the country of origin quotas, which expired 18 months ago. I am going to provide him with the example of Canada Goose, which I believe he is familiar with. It is a Canadian company that generated $75 million of revenue in the U.K., but paid $10 million in duties l…
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Bow River. I rise today to speak to Bill C-13, an act to implement the protocol on the accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. It may be a technical bill filled with tariff schedules, statutory amendments and trade protocols…
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Madam Speaker, I have no doubt that some of my colleagues will speak more directly about the Liberal failures and the problems with the bill, but I want to focus today on an issue affecting more than 2,800 people in my riding and thousands more people across Canada, which is the frozen pensions of British Canadians. For 75 years, the U.K. has refused to provide annual increases to the state pensio…
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Madam Speaker, on the question of whether or not the Prime Minister is aware of this particular issue, I will say that if he reads his email, he would know that the British pensioners were actually here a couple of weeks ago. They had a Hill day. They had a suite. All MPs, including the Prime Minister, were invited to come by, and they had extensive briefings on the issue. If the Prime Minister ch…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in the House to represent our beautiful riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, a part of our country that is shaped in every way by water. Our sea, our rivers, our swimming holes, our creeks and our wetlands are an intrinsic part of our identity. They are where we fish, farm and play; where our kids swim in the summer; and where many of us first fell in love wit…
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