Government Orders
Madam Chair, back in the summer, we learned of a veteran who had reached out to Veterans Affairs in a time of need who was counselled by a Veterans Affairs employee to perhaps consider medical assistance in dying. We know that recovery is always possible, and we have to manage through recovery, whether it is addictions or mental illness. I do not agree with our colleague from the Bloc. I believe t…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the brave men and women who serve and protect our country and community do so knowing that, when they kiss their loved ones goodbye as they leave for their shift, in service to our country and our community they may have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Yesterday, RCMP Constable Shaelyn Yang was tragically killed in the line duty. Constable Yang was a loving wife, mother and friend who…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let us talk facts. Hard-working families in my riding are already struggling to fill their tanks, put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads, all because of this government's overspending. The Liberal government has tripled down on the carbon tax. The reality is that Canadians, on January 1, will wake up to smaller paycheques. The last thing my constituents need is anot…
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Madam Speaker, I do not know whether to thank our hon. colleague for her speech or to laugh at it. It is frustrating because I hear from Canadians and constituents almost every day in my riding who are saying loud and clear that they cannot afford this government any longer, whether it is a farmer who has been hit by the Liberal fertilizer policies, a fisher who has been hit by Liberal fisheries p…
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Madam Speaker, our leader just finished a whirlwind tour. He did 80 town halls across Canada and spoke with 93,000 Canadians. Can our hon. colleague tell us some of the stories that he heard first-hand from Canadians about how the Liberals' mismanagement and monetary policies are hurting hard-working Canadians?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is also from our home province of British Columbia. British Columbia has some of the highest gas and fuel prices. We know that Canadians who are living in rural and remote areas are disproportionately impacted by higher food prices and higher gas prices. We now know, from a recent report, that Canadians are paying higher prices in taxes than they do on food, gas an…
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Madam Speaker, this is interesting, because when NDP members stand up, they like to point fingers at our new Conservative leader, when they only need to look within. I ask if the hon. member has priced out the bespoke suits or the Rolex watches the NDP leader wears. Perhaps they should be introspective and not throw stones when they live in glass houses.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to tell you your job, but I believe that our hon. colleague in his opening statement just called our colleague from Red Deer—Lacombe a liar, and you and I know, as our hon. colleague knows, we should not do that, whether indirectly or directly.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the cost of the government continues to drive up the cost of living for my constituents. Canadians living in rural and remote communities are already disproportionately impacted by higher gas prices and higher food prices. Now the government is hitting them again with a tax increase on their paycheques. From Vanderhoof to Prince George and Quesnel to Williams Lake, my constituents hav…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend our hon. colleague for reading that speech. It is not a plan; it is a stimulus cheque. It will help Canadians for one month. That is great, but what do they do for the other 11 months? What do they do for each and every day? Canadians are paying more in taxes than they do for the necessities of life, and the government is now planning to tax their paycheques further. What th…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in support of the motion on Hindu heritage month. Like my colleague from St. Albert—Edmonton, I want to also congratulate and thank our hon. colleague from Nepean. He has worked tirelessly in pursuit of cultural recognition and I want to publicly thank him. Understanding, tolerance and acceptance are what this motion is all about. Before I get into the crux of…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative leader will put people first. He will put their retirement first, their paycheques first, their homes first and their country first. We will bring hope to doctors, nurses and engineers, and hope to others who are immigrants to this country but are blocked from working in their profession for no other reason than that they come from another country. We will team up…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I want to provide a quick warning before I speak. My testimony today contains a lot of graphic facts, and I may struggle getting through it. I ask my colleagues, my friends and Canadians who are listening to stop for a moment and close their eyes. We can imagine we are a new RCMP constable in northern British Columbia. We are in our car on a dark isolated highway. It is late Novembe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to commend my hon. colleague. When she speaks, I listen. The concern I have is that this would become just another Liberal-appointed or government-appointed board, and then we would have the same inaction that we are faced with today. I wonder if the member has concerns about the appointment process in terms of who would be there, and whether perhaps she has some guidelines a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, this bill and debate allow me to bring up a couple of people within my riding. One is my own daughter, who lives with a high-functioning disability, and another is Jenna Wuthrich, an indigenous mouth artist who is confined to a wheelchair and needs to crowdfund to try to get her only way of transportation because, as many know who have adult children who live with disabilities, one ag…
Read full speech →Private Members’ Business
Madam Speaker, it truly is an honour to participate in the debate on Bill C-224. I thank the member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne for bringing this important legislation to the House. We may disagree on a lot of things, but I know that she is equally passionate about serving and fighting for those brave men and women who serve our communities and our country. If members will indulge me for just a …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, the cost of food has risen 15%, gas is over $2 a litre, and what the government has done to our seniors is shameful. Public transit is non-existent. For many people, the hospital is over a two-hour drive away. My constituent Dave Kendall wrote and said, “I am slowly going broke, and my savings are disappearing.” He had one question for the government, so I will ask it for him. “How …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, after two long years of restrictions and lockdowns, it is great to see our country finally getting back to normal. In Cariboo—Prince George, our communities, friends and families have been through a lot, but despite the adversity, our Cariboo spirit is stronger than ever. Summer is just around the corner and we are looking forward to welcoming back visitors from across Canada and ar…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the minister needs to look up from her talking points. These are people, men and women, who we have asked to serve our country, at home and abroad, and unbelievably they are being asked to go to Habitat for Humanity for accommodations. The Liberals have failed to provide our troops with equipment that they need. They have failed to protect our troops from sexual misconduct, and now th…
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I do apologize for saying the comments, but I do not apologize for the feelings that this side of the House has, when the government has essentially given itself a majority with its colleagues from the NDP. I want to ask what happened to the “sunny ways” of 2015, when the Liberals were not going to start with dilatory motions; they were going be the most open a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is interesting to hear the government House leader ask for Conservative MPs to come and actually tell him what they are hearing from their constituents, when all the Liberals have done is shut down debate once again. The Liberals do not really want to hear how rural and remote Canadians feel about their policies. Also interesting is that the lapdog from New Westminster—Burnaby co…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I apologize if perhaps my comments struck a nerve with our colleagues. With all due respect, I know our colleagues to be honourable. I do, but it is frustrating—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I was just getting to it.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 500 days ago, I stood in the House and asked for the support of all colleagues to bring 988, a simple, easy-to-remember three-digit national suicide prevention hotline, to Canada. That date was December 11, 2020. On that day, parliamentarians of all stripes stood together and supported bringing 988 to Canada. Collectively, we gave Canadians struggling with mental health issues hope. F…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the events on February 17, 2022, near Houston, British Columbia, described by the Royal Canada Mounted Police as "a violent confrontation with employees of Coastal Gaslink", which also included a road blockade: (a) does the Marten Forest Service Road and the Coastal GasLink location near it meet the meaning of "infrastructure for the supply of utilities such as ... gas", for the pur…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-269, An Act to amend the Telecommunications Act (suicide prevention). Mr. Speaker, suicide impacts us all. There is probably not a member in this House who has not been touched by suicide. I know that suicide and mental health have negatively impacted my life. Just three weeks ago, I received a call saying that I had lost yet another friend to suicide. When some…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it has been 500 days since our Conservative motion to bring 988 to Canada unanimously passed in the House. In those 500 days, an estimated 5,500 Canadians have died by suicide. A further 137,000 have attempted suicide. The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions does not know the existing national suicide prevention hotline number, but she knows 988. She knows that 988 will save live…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Calgary Shepard for the incredible work he has done. It is not a surprise, as he is somebody who dives right into whatever file he has. I have a question for him, and I apologize if it was already brought up, as I am doing my House duty from the beautiful riding of Cariboo—Prince George. Does this bill respect the constitutional right to repres…
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Madam Speaker, there are a few points on which I actually completely agree with my colleague from across the way, one being that we very often wonder what the motivation is for our sovereignist colleagues in the House, although we know what their motivation is. However, I also want to mention that the House of Commons truly is the people's chamber, and it should be representative of the population…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, how do I sum up my support in two minutes? This bill has to pass. We need to do more for our firefighters, for those who stand as our silent sentinels, for those who run into burning buildings and who run towards danger each and every day, for those who put their lives in jeopardy so that our families can sleep safely, be safe and be sound. I will save the rest of my time for the ne…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the isolation, the financial pressures and the extraordinary measures that Canadians have endured have all taken a toll on our mental health. Pre-COVID statistics tell us that every day an average of 11 Canadians die by suicide. For every person lost by suicide, over 275 Canadians attempt suicide each and every day. Unnecessary vaccine mandates are further exacerbating our mental heal…
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Madam Speaker, the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated by the hour. NATO's refusal to provide a safe humanitarian no-fly zone has weighed heavily on me and my constituents. The news is inundated with images of young women and children at border crossings in Poland as they flee the tyranny of Herr Putin. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has issued a class-based national inter…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, last fall, terror struck my community of Vanderhoof. A lone gunman hunted and opened fire on the RCMP. He unloaded over 20 rounds into our detachment. The mental and emotional trauma of that day still remains. These are men and women from across all backgrounds who believe in our country and our laws so much that they put their lives in jeopardy each and every day, and yet, unbelievab…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on November 25, 2021, at 12 noon, a white Ford F-350 pulled up to a small RCMP detachment in my community of Vanderhoof, British Columbia. Seconds later, the driver started shooting, narrowly missing the officers and civilians inside. He circled the building and continued shooting. Minutes felt like hours. Leaving behind rounds and bullet-ridden vehicles, the suspect fled into the com…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, we are at a historic moment in our nation's history. The sun will come up tomorrow, and the eyes of our nation, indeed of the world, will be looking at how we comport ourselves over the next couple of hours and how that vote goes at eight o'clock tonight. If I am being completely truthful with those who are in the House, the last two years of my political life have been among the ha…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it will be no surprise that I disagree with the member 100%. Where I will agree is that we have had thousands of protests here in our nation's capital since I was elected. I get that the 10 days of honking and all manner of noise were not appropriate, but all Canadians wanted was to be heard—
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I can only speak to the thousands of other protests that we have seen on the Hill over the time I have been a member of Parliament. I can only speak to the people I have spoken to, the law enforcement professionals, the experts who were there, as I am not expert in this, who said this was a ham-fisted overreach in power. This could have been accomplished with the very same laws that…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, my colleague has a very good question. That speaks loudly to me and says that the Prime Minister continues to be afraid that his leadership is threatened. He knows he overstepped his boundaries and his grounds, and he knows his leadership is fragile, so much so that he has to put that veiled threat out there so that his colleagues and his MPs, whether here or in his coalition with t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, in 2006, the CRTC shamelessly said no to the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention's request to bring a simple three-digit suicide hotline to Canada. It has been 427 days since my motion to bring 988 to Canada passed unanimously in the House. In that time, 4,600 Canadians lost their lives to suicide and over 117,000 Canadians attempted suicide. What is the Liberals' plan if th…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last August, I was honoured to attend the start of the ground sonar search at the former residential school St. Joseph's Mission in my hometown of Williams Lake. Last week I, along with Canadians across the country, were heartbroken to hear the news out of my hometown that, after completing phase one of the ground sonar search and searching only four of 400 hectares, the burial sites …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the government’s timeline for establishing the 988 telephone line for emergency mental health services: (a) what is the government’s target for when the 988 telephone line will become operational in Canada; and (b) what is the government’s funding commitment towards the line for each of the next five years?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to stand in this House, as always, and add to the debate. I first want to send my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to my community of Vanderhoof, because literally 20 minutes ago a warning came across that there was an active shooter in the community. I meant to stand up and say to please stay safe and stay inside, but my understanding is that the shooter has been caug…
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Madam Speaker, following up on the question from my hon. colleague, the member for Timmins—James Bay, if it is deemed relevant, I would like to ask my hon. colleague from the Liberal Party why his leader did not denounce the activist David Suzuki for threatening to blow up pipelines in regard to the protests.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, this is my first time standing in the House. Yesterday I was so concerned with sending my condolences to the town of Vanderhoof that I forgot to thank the residents of Cariboo—Prince George for once again electing me. I also forgot to thank my rock, my wife, and our family for all their support. Without them, we cannot do what we do. First off, in answer to my colleague's question, …
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly what I said when I said that this House does not belong to us, it belongs to the electors. They elected the 338 members of Parliament to stand, be counted and bring their voices to Ottawa, not the other way around, to represent them, do that work and make sure that, at least on the opposition side, we are holding the government accountable. On the government side, th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, first, let me send my heartfelt condolences to my colleague for the loss of her loved one. My son lost one of his best friends to COVID, a young gentleman just in his twenties. To the best of my knowledge, it sounds like this is about a member's privilege. The reality is that it is not about a member's privilege. It is about the jobs that we were all elected to do. We can all find w…
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