Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, last week was a devastating one for forestry workers and their families on Vancouver Island. Just outside Port McNeill, the Atli Chip plant announced it would be permanently closed, and curtailments were announced at the Ladysmith and Saltair locations of the iconic Chemainus sawmill, where my grandfather worked for 30 years. These were good-paying jobs, the type of jobs that built co…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a suggestion, and it is to drop the ideological 30 by 30, which stops forestry workers from doing their jobs. I appreciate my colleague's comments on this issue, and I appreciate the government's promises of support, but forestry workers in my riding and across B.C. cannot eat Liberal promises and they cannot pay their mortgages with a Liberal speech. They need action. They nee…
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Mr. Speaker, what constitutes a free society? What are the identifying characteristics that separate nations whose people live in freedom from those whose subjects live under tyranny and fear? I can think of no guiding principle more fundamental to this question than the existence, or lack thereof, of free speech and free expression: the legal ability to express oneself without fear of government …
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Madam Speaker, I cannot predict the future, but I will tell the House one thing: It needs to be built. It needs to be built for the national interest of this country. We cannot continue to be an economic dependant of the United States, an economic colony of the United States. We need to take control of our own future and start building things again. Whether it is mines in Saskatchewan, pipelines i…
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Madam Speaker, look, the point the Liberals do not understand is that we should not even need an MOU in this country to build things. A private proponent proposed a pipeline and got the project approved by the National Energy Board. The project met all the requisite requirements but was killed for political reasons by the Liberal government. One should not need to go on bended knee to the Prime Mi…
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Madam Speaker, I was 21 at the time, if I am doing the math correctly, so I am not familiar with all the ins and outs of what was or was not in the platform back in 2011. What I can tell the member is that we support a pipeline. We support getting top dollar for Canada's number one export, expanding our trade markets, becoming less dependent on the United States, actually getting things done, foll…
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Madam Speaker, on July 20, 1871, British Columbia became the sixth province to sign on to the audacious vision that was Canada as laid out by the fathers of Confederation, a vision that was as bold as it was courageous, which was to create a new nation, one that would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Rockies, across the Prairies and over the Canadian Shield to unite these smal…
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Madam Speaker, what it comes down to is that we should be getting the top price for Canadian oil that is possible. We are going to get that top price only if we have access to world markets. If we allow ourselves to be backed into a corner for the Americans to have ultimate leverage over our number one export, we are not going to be able to get the top price. This is why we need to get pipelines b…
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Mr. Speaker, devastated, gutted and heartbroken are just three of the emotions I felt after learning that 375 Canadians would be losing their jobs with the closing of the Crofton mill. These are Canadians with mortgage payments and with young families, Canadians who were already struggling with the rising cost of living before receiving this terrible news. The government promised to support our wo…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada used to be a country that built things and got things done. It built the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Rockies and across the Canadian Shield. Today, we are governed by Liberals who spend more time building fake backdrops for press conferences than on nation-building projects to secure our sovereignty from the United States. A new pipeline to the Pacific was already appr…
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister promised to build Canada strong, yet when it comes to a pipeline to the coast of B.C., a pipeline that could end the U.S. monopoly on Canadian oil and bring billions of dollars into Canada, he transforms into a helpless bystander, hiding behind the NDP premier in B.C., ceding responsibility and abdicating leadership. The Constitution is clear: National pipelines ar…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe if Brookfield proposed a pipeline we could actually get one backed by this Prime Minister. Let us be clear: a majority of Canadians support this pipeline. A majority of British Columbians support this pipeline. As long as the world needs these resources, as long as the world needs oil and gas, until that last barrel comes out of the ground, as much of those resources as possible…
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Mr. Speaker, in a democracy, we elect leaders based on the promises they make and hold them accountable based on the promises they keep. The Prime Minister was elected on the promise to get the cost of living under control. Instead, prices at the grocery store keep going up. He was elected on a promise to “build, baby, build”, to double the pace of new home construction. Instead, CMHC says homebui…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to submit a petition to the House on behalf of the people of Powell River, who wish to express their strong opposition to Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, a well-known and politically well-connected foreign-based corporation, from being granted a 30-year export permit to send electricity from the local hydroelectric dam out of the country to the United States, with almos…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just told a room full of young Canadians that they are going to have to make sacrifices. After 10 years of the Liberal government, they have already had to sacrifice the dream of owning a home. They have already had to sacrifice their modest expectations of living in a safe community, and they have already had to sacrifice an economy where the cost of living is mana…
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Mr. Speaker, I guess one of the things we also have to sacrifice are answers in question period. After 10 years of Liberal government, we have had a cost of living crisis. We have had an addictions crisis that has left 50,000 Canadians, mainly young Canadians, dead from drug overdoses. Now we have a growing youth jobs crisis, with youth unemployment surging to 14.7%, the highest level in 15 years.…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a quote: “We are one pulp mill closure away from the total collapse of coastal forestry.” That is from Kermit Dahl, the mayor of Campbell River, articulating just how dire the situation has become. On Vancouver Island, every single mill is running at reduced capacity due to lack of fibre and crippling tariffs, tariffs that the Prime Minister promised to have removed by July 21.…
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Mr. Speaker, the coastal forest industry is in crisis. Harvest volumes have been cut in half. Nine mills have closed, and thousands of hard-working Canadians have lost their jobs. What the people want to know is where the federal government is. The PM promised to negotiate a win with the United States. Instead, lumber tariffs have doubled since he became Prime Minister. Meanwhile, permitting and l…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to negotiate a win with President Trump. He promised a deal by July 21. Well, it is October, and still no deal and still no win. Instead, tariffs on Canada have doubled. Now we hear the PMO is reportedly telling media that tomorrow, all steel and aluminum tariffs will be lifted, but what about lumber? U.S. lumber tariffs on Canada have increased by more tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I guess that is a no. The Prime Minister promised elbows up during the last election. So far, on Vancouver Island, all we have are job losses, mill closures and higher prices for virtually every good in our society. Around $54 billion has fled the country, 86,000 people have lost their jobs and right now, the entire coastal forest industry is on the brink of total collapse. Will the P…
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Mr. Speaker, last week it was revealed that Canada's budget deficit under the Liberal government is expected to increase to more than $68 billion, a result of billions more in inflationary spending with no plan whatsoever to pay it back. On top of this, the Prime Minister is now planning to borrow another quarter of a trillion dollars over the next four years, almost double what Justin Trudeau was…
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Mr. Speaker, $1 billion every single week is how much taxpayer money this government is wasting paying interest on the debt. We are now spending more in interest payments than we are on our entire health care system, the result of Liberal governments borrowing more money over the past 10 years than every other government in the history of this country combined. Now they want to borrow billions mor…
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Madam Speaker, prices are still increasing, and I wonder why. Inflationary deficits, money printing and taxes on businesses and fuel are all Liberal policies that have turbocharged inflation over the past decade and that remain in place to this day. The Prime Minister likes to pretend that this is a brand new government, but so far it is just the same old Liberal policies. If the Liberals really w…
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Madam Speaker, since 2015, food inflation has soared to 40%. It is part of a cost of living crisis that has left millions of Canadians struggling to afford housing, transportation and groceries for their families. In fact, many Canadians have become so desperate, they are forced to rely on food banks each and every week just to be able to afford their rent and continue to survive. The Prime Minist…
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Mr. Speaker, it looks like the Minister of Public Safety accidentally told the truth. Yesterday we learned, through leaked audio, that the minister privately acknowledged what Conservatives have been saying publicly for years, which is that the Liberals' attack on law-abiding firearm owners with their gun confiscation scheme is politically motivated and will do nothing for public safety. It is com…
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Mr. Speaker, I am definitely not confident that the government is going to change its ways. As the member pointed out, it seems that under the Liberals, previously supported by the NDP, the only ones who ever get punished are those who actually work for a living, pay their taxes and follow the law. As the member pointed out, law-abiding firearm owners are the perfect example of that. The governmen…
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to future legislation. We are going to look at these issues one by one. Obviously, with Bill C-2, we see very serious concerns, as it involves the infringement of the individual freedoms of all Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, first, on the issue of fentanyl, I find it a bit rich that the government is claiming these new infringements on the individual freedoms of Canadians are all about combatting the scourge of fentanyl in society. This is a government that funds the handing out of fentanyl for free. This is a government that decriminalized fentanyl in my home province of British Columbia. This is a gover…
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Mr. Speaker, on Friday, September 5, the RCMP seized over 120 grams of fentanyl, nearly 50 grams of methamphetamine, over 150 grams of crack cocaine and a loaded prohibited handgun in a family neighbourhood in my home of Campbell River. Police executed the search and seizure after a lengthy drug trafficking investigation. Inspector Jeff Preston, the officer in charge, said, “Campbell River is expe…
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize the contributions of the incredible resource sector workers in my riding and, indeed, the country. They are the loggers, the miners, the farmers, the fishermen and the energy sector workers in oil and natural gas. They are the hard-working men and women of this country whose work gives us the lumber with which we build our homes and the fuel with which …
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Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Liberal government, Canadians are facing a cost of living crisis. Now Liberals are proposing to ban all gas-powered vehicles, including pickup trucks and SUVs, in just 10 years, a policy that will cost 38,000 Canadian jobs and drive up the price of new vehicles by $20,000 each. Conservatives believe that Canadians who drive their kids to school or to sports, or thems…
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Mr. Chair, does the minister deny that the federal government helped fund this program?
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Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that the federal government funded this so-called safe supply program that has now ended up in the hands of drug dealers and drug traffickers, resulting in the seizure that I just mentioned. Does the minister regret and apologize for funding these programs?
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Mr. Chair, does the Minister of Public Safety believe the Liberal government's experiment to decriminalize hard drugs, including fentanyl, crack cocaine and crystal meth, has been a success in my home province of British Columbia?
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Mr. Chair, can I just get some clarification from the minister? Is he saying that the government did not decriminalize fentanyl, crystal meth and crack cocaine in my home province of British Columbia?
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Mr. Chair, the minister must know that the policy of decriminalizing these hard drugs still exists. It is set to expire in January 2026. Will the minister commit to ending this failed policy once and for all?
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Mr. Chair, in my home of Campbell River, 3,500 tablets of a deadly and addictive opioid that were being trafficked were seized by the RCMP. Does the minister believe in strong sentences for distributing, funding and profiting off these deadly and addictive drugs?
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Mr. Chair, the minister says to address it to the Minister of Health. Frontline RCMP officers have told me decriminalization ties their hands behind their backs and makes it easier for drug dealers and drug traffickers to push their illegal and addictive substances. Does he not agree with these frontline RCMP officers?
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Mr. Chair, ultimately, does the minister agree that this is a matter of federal jurisdiction? This is the Criminal Code, therefore it is the government's decision and the government's responsibility.
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Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that someone who is high on crystal meth, wandering the streets of downtown Vancouver or Toronto, poses a risk to public safety?
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Mr. Chair, this is the same question: Is someone who is high on crystal meth an issue of public safety, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, under the Liberal drug decriminalization policy, which actually exists right now for fentanyl, crystal meth and crack cocaine, drug dealers are allowed to store more than 1,000 lethal doses of fentanyl in their homes. Does the minister believe that this policy makes Canadians safer?
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That sounded good, Mr. Chair. Unfortunately, these deadly and addictive opioids are actually part of the government's very own so-called safe supply program. The drugs are actually being distributed and funded by the minister's own government. If the minister is claiming that he is going to have stiff sentences, that the Liberals are going to crack down on the sources of these addictive drugs, who…
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