Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, in 2006, our Conservative government negotiated an end to the longest softwood lumber war. We negotiated a 10-year agreement with a one-year grace period, which the government squandered. The Liberals have failed to do this in 10 years. This is thousands of jobs. Over 30 mills have closed in the province of British Columbia. The Prime Minister ran an entire election on the false pre…
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Madam Speaker, if they want a flipping idea of what to do, the could get a flipping deal done. It has been 10 years. It is another week, and there has been another mill closure in my riding. That is 100 direct and indirect jobs lost. That is hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes for our municipalities. That is $1 million of taxes from our community of 100 Mile House. Do the Liberals want to kn…
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Madam Speaker, I am going to be blunt. The relationship between the Crown and indigenous peoples is not built on fancy titles or shiny new offices. It is built on honour and keeping our word, and the Liberal government has a real problem with that. Bill C-10 is just another level of bureaucracy that is not needed. We do not need another office in Ottawa to tell us again that the government is not …
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Madam Speaker, I think we heard very clearly the attitude the Prime Minister has toward Canadians, when this past weekend, when asked about the ongoing trade discussions with the U.S., he said, “Who cares?” He said it is not a burning issue and that it does not matter. I have been very clear that it matters in my riding, where yet another mill announced a closure yesterday, with the loss of 100 mo…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke a lot about indigenous youth and other Canadian youth. I believe that if he really wanted to help, he would know that Canadian youth are experiencing record-high, 30%, unemployment. He would know that almost everything he has voted for in the government has made things worse for Canadian youth and that Canadian youth, both indigenous and non-indigenous, do not …
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague mentioned health care workers and our frontline workers, who, as he has said, seem to have been forgotten since COVID. He is new to the House and to Parliament, so perhaps he does not know the work I have done over the last 10 years in standing up for the people who stand up for us, save us and are there to heal us. There is a bill before us, Bill S-233, that is the exac…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for our colleague across the way. We have done a lot of work together on mental health. He spoke about mental health in his intervention. What a garbage question from a Liberal colleague. It just shows they are afraid of actually asking tough questions, because they know what is going to come back to them. Over 50,000 Canadians have died in the opioid crisis si…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague broke out “check yourself before you wreck yourself.” I want to say how rich that was coming from our colleague from Winnipeg North, who never misses a chance to gaslight anybody who opposes any Liberal policy. He is a good Liberal soldier. Make no bones about it. Although we may differ on policy and suggestions, I respect that he is always here, every day, fightin…
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Madam Chair, it is typical of a Liberal to deflect, put the blame on everybody else and ask, “What would you do?” The Liberals have been in government for 10 years. They have done nothing for 10 years. In 10 years, we would have gotten a deal done. We did in our previous Conservative government. In 79 days, we got a deal done. Not only did we get a 10-year deal, but we negotiated a one-year grace …
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Madam Chair, the reality is that the government cannot say it is standing with the forestry workers. Our hon. colleague mentioned something very appropriate: When one job is lost, the multiplier is that three to five jobs are affected. In my riding, it does not impact just Quesnel or 100 Mile if a mill goes down. It impacts our whole region. It impacts the car dealerships. It impacts the food and …
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Madam Chair, I have been a member of the House for 10 years, and I think this might be the first time I have heard our hon. colleague actually mention the word “softwood”, although he gets up time and time again every day. It is interesting that the Liberals put up a member of Parliament from downtown Winnipeg, when really it is the smaller communities that are impacted, but he did have some facts…
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Madam Chair, because of the Liberals' 10 years of failure to get a softwood lumber deal, the U.S. has collected over $10 billion in anti-dumping duties. The Canadian government abandoned the court cases to get that money back. Why did it?
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Madam Chair, I am going to pick up where our hon. leader just left off. It always comes down to home for me. It is friends and families and it is the communities in Cariboo—Prince George or across our country that are affected by the tens of thousands of jobs that have been lost. I have some information for my colleagues across the way. I worked in logging. I ran skidder, and I ran chainsaw for a …
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Madam Chair, forgive me. I appreciate that our hon. colleague has some knowledge and that his communities have been impacted by the Liberal government, by his Liberal team's failure over the last 10 years. I appreciate that he understands the importance of forestry in his riding and in his community, but I cannot see how he shows his face on the doorsteps of forestry companies, when it has taken t…
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Madam Chair, it has been 2,900 days since the then trade minister stood up and said that the Liberals would have a framework or a deal within 100 days. It has been 2,900 days. We have had 10 years of failure, of their promising that “the cheque is in the mail”, telling us they can do this and we should just wait and see. They wonder why we are so frustrated.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister mentions more and more supports. People do not want charity; they want their jobs. The Prime Minister clearly said he does not care and that it does not matter. Is he kidding me? Over 30 mills have closed in the province of British Columbia, including 14 in my riding. Does the Prime Minister know who cares and who matters? Little Lucas does. He is 10 years old and is a st…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was asked when he had last spoken with President Trump over the ongoing trade negotiations. He literally looked at the camera and said, “Who cares?” He said that it does not matter and that it is not a burning issue. Let me tell the House who cares: the over 3,000 forestry workers in Cariboo—Prince George who are out of work and the communities that are being crushe…
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Mr. Speaker, British Columbia used to be the largest producer of softwood in our nation. Since 2015, over 30 mills have closed in British Columbia, with 14 in Cariboo—Prince George alone. It has been 10 years without a softwood lumber agreement, and these guys, these Liberals, have done nothing but make it worse. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost. Just last week in Cariboo—Prince George, th…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our hon. colleague from York—Durham for already making an impact here in Parliament. The member spoke of the generational nature of this budget in terms of the generational debt that it is levying against our future and our kids' future. One of the things I want to mention is that we are now spending more on servicing our debt than we are on health care transfers to ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our hon. colleague for bringing the bill forward. As a matter of fact, I have stood in the House, over the last 10 years, dozens of times to speak to this very issue with respect to the high-profile case in my riding of Cody Legebokoff, Canada's youngest serial killer, who murdered Cynthia Maas, Natasha Montgomery, Jill Stuchenko and Loren Leslie. When he was sentenced…
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Mr. Speaker, in 2006, our former Conservative government put to bed the longest trade war with the U.S. government. We negotiated a one-year grace period, which these guys wasted. We are tired of waiting. It has been 10 years, with tens of thousands of jobs lost. Our forestry workers do not need more programs or more handouts. They do not need charity; they need their jobs. When will the Liberals …
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Mr. Speaker, our hon. colleague spoke for, I believe, 15 minutes, talking about a generational budget. There is one thing generational about this budget, and that is the debt they are heaping on the shoulders of my grandchildren, my family, his family and the families of Canadians all across the country. He spoke for 15 minutes, and there was not one word about mental health, not one word about th…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. colleague is my neighbour to the north. We share one of the largest cities as it is in both of our ridings, and I have deep respect for him. He is a true friend. My hon. colleague and I have talked about the generational budget that the government has just introduced. It is generational because of the debt that it is heaping onto the shoulders of our families and future gener…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the wisdom he shares all the time. I have known him for a long time. He is a leader within our region, our province and our country. I deeply respect his comments. My colleague and I have neighbouring ridings, so we face many of the same problems. Just last night I received word of another mill closure in my riding. It is 165 jobs in a small community in my…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I am not very far from the hon. colleague, and I could not hear. Therefore, I am asking for this member to be able to start over in speaking to his private member's bill.
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Mr. Speaker, to my hon. colleague across the way, 500 pages were tabled just the other day. Over 50,000 Canadians have died from overdose since 2016. More Canadians have died from overdose than died in World War II, yet there is no new money for addictions in this budget. Mental health was only mentioned five times. We are now spending more money servicing our debt than we do in health care transf…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for the work he has done on this bill. I want to give him another opportunity to talk about something he mentioned in his intervention. He said that it is too late for the victims' loved ones, but they are not fighting for that. They are fighting for next family. They do not want another family to go through what they have gone through. Perhaps he cou…
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Madam Speaker, we have a bill before us, Bill C-14, that takes into account a number of policies on bail reform. Included in Bill C-14 are parts of Bill S-233, or my private member's bill, Bill C-321, which would have made it an aggravating factor in sentencing if the victim of violence was a firefighter, health care worker or first responder. Would it not send a message to the firefighters on the…
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I know that all members appreciate the sacrifice that firefighters, first responders and nurses have—
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions behind the scenes, and I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent—
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Mr. Speaker, first responders, nurses and health care workers serve and protect our communities every day. They put their uniforms on every day knowing that their lives will be on the line. They run toward danger. They mend our broken bones. They hold our hands as we take our last breaths. What we have just seen from this Liberal government is shameful. Just before QP, I rose and asked for unanimo…
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Madam Speaker, it is great to see you in the chair. It is great that we are having this debate today. I want to thank our hon. colleague from Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations for sharing his time with me. I believe its name has changed, and I hope that is the new name. Today, we rise to talk about Bill C-14. However, if members will pardon me, I am going to talk about those the bill has an impact…
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Madam Speaker, we have a piece of legislation before us, Bill S-233. It has gone through all levels of committee. My comment to our hon. colleague is to work with me; let us get Bill S-233 passed as soon as tomorrow. It does not have to go through a lengthy process. We can then send that message to the firefighters, paramedics and health care workers who are watching this debate right now. They fe…
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moved that Bill S-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assault against persons who provide health services and first responders), be read the first time. Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to introduce Bill S-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code for assault against persons who provide health services and first responders. I would be remiss if I did not thank my hon. colleague from Oshaw…
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Madam Speaker, I have worked collaboratively across all sides of the House for the last three years in the work on Bill C-321, an act to amend the Criminal Code as it pertains to first responders and health care workers. I worked collaboratively across all sides to get it passed unanimously in the last Parliament at all stages. It did, but the dissolution of Parliament made it fall off the Order P…
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Madam Speaker, I do not have a crystal ball in front of me. I deal in facts. We do not know what next week will bring, but we have Bill S-233 here, which is a complete bill, has gone through all the process and could be passed today. That is a good-news story for this House. Whatever happens next week or in the near future, who knows? However, what we can say is that we came together, we valued ou…
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Madam Speaker, it would have been law. The sad thing is that it would have been law. However, I can say that all sides of the House, both here in Parliament and in the Senate, worked tirelessly to get this done during the last Parliament. Colleagues who are in the House right now worked tirelessly to get this done. It is a plea, because this is weighty stuff, hearing the stories of another firefig…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the only opportunity that our hon. colleague across the way is looking for is to gaslight this side of the House and gaslight Conservatives. He again brings up comments that were made by our leader when, in fact, he himself is on record as calling our national police force racist. Our current Minister of Public Safety commented, “We've seen a continuous issue of racism t…
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Mr. Speaker, first responders, nurses and health care workers serve and protect our communities. They run toward danger, they heal our broken bones and they hold our hand as we take our last breath. However, what we have seen in the last 48 hours by the Liberal government, which is using frontline heroes as political pawns, is shameful. I received a message from a first responder late last night w…
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Mr. Speaker, it has been 10 years, and the Liberals have failed to secure a softwood lumber agreement. In the meantime, over $10 billion in tariffs and duties on Canadian lumber has been collected by the Americans. Thirty mills have been closed in B.C., and tens of thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs, over 2,700 in my riding alone. These are 2,700 families who cannot afford to put food on …
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Mr. Speaker, we are hemorrhaging jobs, and they are offering a band-aid. Canadians do not want handouts; they want jobs. The forestry sector supports over 200,000 direct jobs in 300 forestry communities nationwide. That is more direct employment than Canada's steel, aluminum and automotive sectors combined. The Prime Minister campaigned on negotiating a win with the U.S. Instead, since he took ove…
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Mr. Speaker, I just read the notice that the government has taken up excerpts of our bill, Bill C-321, but I have not had a chance to look at whether they go far enough. We know the Senate just passed Bill S-233 last night. It is back in this House as we speak. My understanding is that Bill S-233 is complementary to the new bail reform bill. We also know that Bill C-321 passed at all levels in the…
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Mr. Speaker, that is the only way to get anything done. We have to have a multi-tiered plan to work on this. Because we have a nation filled with different jurisdictions, like the provincial jurisdictions, regional jurisdictions and others, we have to work with these groups and each province to make sure we are doing something. Moreover, we need leadership at the top. Somebody has to take the rein…
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Mr. Speaker, we are here to talk about Bill C-12. I am going to focus my speech. As many of my colleagues in the House know, I do a lot of work with our first responders and our veterans. I do a lot of work dealing with mental health throughout our country, so I will be spending a majority of my time talking about fentanyl and how it has had just an incredible, devastating impact on our country. I…
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Mr. Speaker, in Canada, we have a black hole when it comes to statistics. We know that those numbers are likely much higher. The numbers we have are only the ones that are reported. Due to the stigma surrounding addiction and suicide, many cases are unreported. I believe those numbers are actually higher.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is new here, so I will forgive him if he is not aware of my record. I am who I am. My stripes have never changed, and he can ask any of his long-standing Liberal colleagues that. My record stands for itself.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, since 2015, 11 mills have closed in my region. That is over 2,700 jobs lost, with 2,700 families that cannot feed their kids, cannot pay their mortgages and cannot pay their hydro bills. Vanderhoof lost 500 jobs. Prince George lost 1,000 jobs. Williams Lake lost 1,070 jobs. Quesnel lost 150 jobs, and 100 Mile House lost 160 jobs. British Columbia used to be the largest producer of sof…
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Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, on World Mental Health Day, let us remember that there is no health without mental health. Every day, 12 Canadians die by suicide and a further 200 attempt suicide. That is 73,000 Canadians per year, and thousands more struggle in silence. Earlier this week, I received a message from the wife of a first responder who died by suicide. She asked me to remind my colleagues that…
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Mr. Speaker, I take this very seriously. I believe the member for Winnipeg North is a veteran, so I understand he has skin in the game, too, and takes it seriously as well. For the last 10 years, I have been here, working respectively across all party lines. We know the government filibustered the defence committee for three months. We know the Prime Minister's Office covered up the investigation …
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Winnipeg North has been here long enough. He knows he needs to be directing his comments through you, the Chair. He continues to answer and go through and say “you” and use those terms. I ask that he show respect to you, Mr. Speaker.
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