Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I wish to recognize four outstanding individuals from my beautiful riding of Niagara Falls who have made significant contributions in our communities and in this country. They are as follows. David Mostoway, better known as Duff Roman from his broadcasting days, from Niagara-on-the-Lake, was appointed to the Order of Canada by the Governor General for his significant contributions to …
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Mr. Speaker, two small vessel CBSA reporting sites in my riding have been closed since the start of the pandemic: one at Smugglers Cove in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the other at the Greater Niagara Boating Club in Chippawa. Their continued closure is causing all kinds of issues for Canadian and American boaters who use the Niagara River to cross between Canada and the U.S. While there is one reporti…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of concerned citizens and residents of Canada who have called upon the House of Commons to adopt human rights and environmental due diligence legislation when dealing with foreign countries. I would like to thank and acknowledge all signatories, including those within my riding who have signed the petition. I look forward to the government'…
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With regard to hospitality events hosted by Canadian embassies, consulates or missions abroad, since January 1, 2019: (a) how many events were hosted by each embassy, consulate, or mission, broken down by location, and by month; (b) what was the total amount spent on hospitality each month, broken down by location; and (c) what are the details of all events which were attended by more than 20 peop…
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Mr. Speaker, recently I received a very concerning email from the general manager of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority. He warned that the continued use of the ArriveCAN app would result in much longer processing times and lengthy border wait times as we approach the summer tourism season. Further, these border delays will discourage cross-border travel, and will continue to advers…
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Mr. Speaker, this year's budget raises more questions for Canada's wine industry than it answers. Last year's budget dedicated $101 million over two years in support of a trade legal excise exemption replacement program, an amount the industry says falls way short of what it needs. This year's budget now forecasts the government generating $135 million over that same two-year period. Where is that…
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Madam Speaker, what I was alluding to in my remarks with regard to the 1% underused housing tax was the impact it would have on specific local residents in my community, such as those American visitors and local residents who live there during the summer months. We have yet to get further clarification on how this tax may or may not impact their residences. That is what I was alluding to in my rem…
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Madam Speaker, to the hon. member's point, the government has spent the most to achieve the least when it comes to the housing issue here in Canada. It is simply a fact that the average price of a home has now doubled from when the Liberals were elected in 2015, making it more unaffordable for Canadians and people in my riding of Niagara Falls to find a place to live. The Liberals talk about retur…
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Madam Speaker, just recently or several weeks ago, Dr. Tam, in one of her public news conferences, talked about the whole notion of moving from requirements to recommendations. Therefore, the government is looking at this; is it not? From the standpoint of stimulus spending, we all in the House supported measures that were required for the pandemic. Of the January report, the PBO says, “Our report…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to speak once again to Bill C-8, an act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update from December, which is now before us at report stage in the House of Commons. In February, during second reading debate, I questioned the previous Liberal minority government on its leadership in governing our country during these times of crisis. It turn…
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Mr. Speaker, on July 1, wineries in my riding producing 100% Canadian-grown wines will now be hit with the excise tax. This is the result of the government's failure to protect the sector and the 2006 excise exemption the Conservatives provided to allow the industry to flourish. To help mitigate uncertainty, the wine industry is asking the federal government to confirm it will not apply the excise…
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With regard to polling data obtained by the Privy Council Office since January 1, 2016, concerning Canada Post: what are the details of all such polling including, for each poll, (i) who conducted the poll, (ii) the start and end dates of when the poll was conducted, (iii) the number of participants, (iv) the complete results of the poll, including the questions asked and the responses received, (…
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Madam Speaker, my riding of Niagara is the number one leisure tourism destination in the country, yet since April 2020 there has been zero representation from Niagara on Destination Canada's board of directors. This means that, through the whole pandemic, which has hit our national tourism sector the hardest, Niagara has been without a voice at the table, despite there being two vacancies right no…
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Madam Speaker, I will just reiterate the comments of Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Tam. On February 18, she said, “We should be able to manage the pandemic going into the future without, I think, some of the more stringent or restrictive public health measures.”
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise in this place to speak to our Conservative opposition day motion, introduced by my colleague from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. The motion reads: That, given that Canada has one of the world's highest vaccination rates and every province across Canada has lifted or has a plan to lift vaccine mandates, the House call on the governme…
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Madam Speaker, what should be disturbing to this new NDP-Liberal coalition government is the funding that is required through the COVAX program. The federal government should be ashamed that it actually took money and vaccines from that program that should be going to those countries that need it most, so that they can get vaccinated, so that we can provide assistance to them and so that we can av…
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Madam Speaker, we have asked consistently. Last year, we had a motion before the House asking for a plan to be put forward to end the restrictions and the mandates. We have done so again, and we continue to be told no by the government and its supporters in its coalition. We need a plan to get out of COVID. The people of Niagara Falls, those tourism workers, simply want to go back to work. They wa…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to say the member's riding is just as wonderful and beautiful as mine from a tourism perspective, but mine is the number one tourism destination in all of Canada. Let us not forget that. I would like to reiterate that the government has taken vaccines from that COVAX program, and that is something that is abhorrent. What we need to be doing is supporting those countries…
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Mr. Speaker, the 2022 summer tourism season is quickly approaching and international travellers are starting to make their vacation plans now, yet mandatory predeparture testing requirements continue to serve as a disincentive to visit our country. In my riding of Niagara Falls, communities, businesses and workers depend on tourism. In Niagara alone, we have four international border crossings, wh…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present an important petition, e-petition 3573, calling upon the Government of Canada to support freedom, democracy and human rights in Cuba. This petition was initiated by a local constituent in my riding of Niagara Falls, and it is an honour for me, as its sponsor, to present it here today.
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Mr. Speaker, tourists from around the world are now making their travel plans for the fast-approaching summer tourism season, but the federal government's requirements for pre-departure testing at Canadian borders stand in the way of making Canada an attractive destination. Yesterday, the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable said the policy is not grounded in science or evidence. It also called …
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Mr. Speaker, all members can agree that words matter and actions matter. I would like to get the hon. member's opinion on the justice minister's recent appearance on national television, when he spoke about the economic measures to be put in place. He mentioned that if people were part of a pro-Trump organization, they should be worried about their assets being frozen. Because of those words, I ha…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, February is Black History Month, and I want to take this opportunity to recognize the work being undertaken by the Niagara Military Museum, which is located in my riding. In partnership with the Canadian War Museum, the volunteers of the Niagara Military Museum worked to develop an incredible Black military history collection, which was publicly unveiled in Niagara last February. The …
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Madam Speaker, I rise today, and I take no pleasure in having to be in this place this evening to debate the invocation of the Emergencies Act. I will say from the outset that I strongly oppose this measure, and I will be voting against it. In its current version, the Emergencies Act has never been used before. It was invoked this week. It was passed in 1988 to add parliamentary supervision and to…
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Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, we were all elected to this place to help people. I got into this business because I want to help people. The job of government is to bridge the differences that exist on both sides of the House. Instead, what the current government likes to do is revel in the politics of disunity. It likes to play the majority against the minority. They want to play those wedge-i…
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Let me finish. I will say this at this time. I am here to help people. Why are they not?
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Madam Speaker, not only does Quebec have concerns with this legislation, but I believe five provinces altogether have expressed their concerns with the implementation of this act. What we are asking this government is why it had to take that extraordinary step of implementing the Emergencies Act. What data, proof or situation forced the government to do this and not use the existing Criminal Code …
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Madam Speaker, we all believe in the rights of Canadians to peacefully protest, and I think we all agree that some of the images and actions we have seen are not to be tolerated or allowed. We said weeks ago that we believe this blockade should end and that those truckers should go home. It is time for them to go home. It is time for this protest to be over. It is time for Canadians to start worki…
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Mr. Speaker, for too long the Conservatives have been calling on the government to remove the mandatory PCR test requirements for those entering Canada. In my riding of Niagara Falls, this policy has had a devastating impact on the economy. Visits from the U.S. are nowhere near the record levels reached in 2019, and these expensive costs put on our visitors and Canadians travelling prevent them fr…
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Oh, yes. Again, it is more righteous indignation—
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Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity in my first speech of the 44th Parliament to congratulate my Conservative colleague, the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar, on her recent election to be our party's interim leader. I look forward to working with her and with all of my Conservative colleagues in the days, weeks and months ahead as we hold the government to account while growing our …
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his faux righteous indignation, which shows up on the Liberal side. It has been two years now. Why is the government continuing the process of playing catch-up? Last February it took four months. Why is the government four months behind in the acquisition of vaccines? I had to call and write in to ask why the CBSA agents and border workers were unable to …
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Madam Speaker, the member is correct in mentioning the issue of divisiveness. The Liberal government revels in the whole notion of wedge issues to create division, to turn Canadians against one another. I do not know about the members opposite, but I think we are all here because we want to help people, not because we want to turn the majority against the minority. Our job as representatives is to…
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Madam Speaker, I will comment on the member's question by repeating that what we see on the streets of Ottawa today is a manifestation of the divisive nature of the government's politics. It is reaping what it has created by running on wedge issues. It is turning Canadians against each other. We all believe in the right to peaceful protest. Where was the government this weekend? The Prime Minister…
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With regard to the economic impact of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test requirement for fully vaccinated travellers on the tourism industry in the Niagara Region: (a) what was the number of foreign international travellers who arrived at the land border crossings in the Niagara Region, broken down by month since the border opened for non-essential arrivals on August 9, 2021; (b) what is the…
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With regard to vehicles provided for the use of ministers and the federal executive vehicle fleet, as of November 29, 2021: (a) what is the total number of vehicles provided for the use of ministers; (b) what was the total cost of procuring the vehicles currently in use by ministers; (c) for each ministerial vehicle, what was the (i) date purchased, (ii) make and model, including the year, (iii) p…
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Madam Speaker, this petition is also in support of Bill S-223. Bill S-223 seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. The bill would make it a criminal offence for persons to go abroad and receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving the organ. The bill has passed the Senate unanimously three times, and MPs from multiple parties have been putting forward a form of t…
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Mr. Speaker, as an MP with four border crossings in my riding, I can tell members that the ArriveCAN app has been a real mess. Take the example of Bernadette in my riding. She was forced into a 14-day quarantine when she is double vaccinated and had a booster. She is now receiving threatening phone calls harassing her to complete her testing requirements or face jail time and/or a $650,000 fine. S…
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Madam Speaker, Canada’s new PPE manufacturing industry is already in a state of crisis. These patriotic innovators answered the government’s call to help Canadians when PPE supply was short and badly needed at the start of the pandemic. Despite the Prime Minister promising to buy made-in-Canada PPE, all I can find in the Parliamentary precinct are masks that are made in China. When will the Libera…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, it is a tremendous honour for me to rise in the House of Commons today to give my opening remarks in the 44th Parliament as the re-elected representative for the beautiful riding of Niagara Falls. I want to sincerely thank the great people of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie for continuing to place their confidence in me by returning me to this incredible chamber, the …
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