Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I know it might be hard for my hon. colleague across the way to understand this, but those of us on this side have deeply committed beliefs when it comes to charter rights, free speech and free expression. We are not making a political calculation. This comes down to a simple question: Do we want to live in a country where the government has the right to decide what we can or cannot s…
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Mr. Speaker, what kind of society and what kind of country do we want to be? Is it one where the government has the power to decide what we can or cannot say, to decide what religious texts we can or cannot read and which opinions we can or cannot hear, or do we want to be a country where citizens are allowed to express themselves freely without fear of persecution or intimidation from the state, …
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Mr. Speaker, over the past 10 years, we have seen violent crime on our streets increase dramatically under the Liberal government. That is an issue that needs to be addressed, and it is not a surge in speech crimes that needs to be dealt with. It is the fact that the government keeps releasing repeat violent offenders back onto our streets over and over again, such as those who assault people and …
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Mr. Speaker, it is simply because Conservatives on this side of the House believe in free speech. We believe in free expression, and we believe in freedom of religion. These are the foundational values and principles on which our entire country, the entirety of western civilization, was based upon. Once we start ceding that authority to government, we allow government to control what we can or can…
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Mr. Speaker, further to the point that I just made, the choice is a simple one. As soon as we start placing these restrictions on free speech and free expression, the question becomes who gets to define where the limits are. Where do we draw the line on what we can or cannot say? The bill proposes that it is the government that would have the right to look over its citizenry and decide how we are …
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Mr. Speaker, working together is great, but the question was about jobs. In the real world, Liberal rhetoric and platitudes do not create a single job. GDP was flat in November. Real GDP is projected to decline. The Bank of Canada says that business investment will remain weak. Meanwhile, 5,400 forestry workers in coastal B.C. are already out of a job. The government promised to build nation-build…
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Mr. Speaker, devastated, anxious and fearful of what the future may hold are just some of the emotions, I am sure, that the 25,000 Canadians who lost their jobs last month undoubtedly feel. These are individuals, like all Canadians, who, even when working, were already struggling with the cost of groceries, the cost of rent and the cost of just getting by. Now, not only are they dealing with a cos…
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Mr. Speaker, it was 16 years ago this month when Canadians from coast to coast came together to celebrate the most dominant performance in winter Olympic history, with 26 medals, 14 of them gold, and nothing more iconic, of course, than Sidney Crosby's golden goal, which eliminated the United States and reclaimed Canada's rightful place as the undisputed hockey nation of the world. It was a moment…
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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, 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, 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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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, 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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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. Chair, “Who cares?” is what the Prime Minister said when asked when he had last spoken to the U.S. President about Canada's ongoing trade negotiations. The Prime Minister claimed that he had no “burning issue” to discuss with the United States at the moment and that he would speak to the President again “when it matters”. To the over 200,000 Canadians who earn their living in forestry, who har…
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Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, this industry on the coast of B.C. is one sawmill or pulp mill closure away from total collapse. It is barely hanging on. It is losing money at this moment. It has been struggling for a while. If we do not get a trade deal soon, if we do not get access to fibre soon, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and thousands of additional jobs are at risk.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for the question. I am sure he knows, in talking to forestry companies, especially in British Columbia and right across this country, that other than the trade issues with the United States, access to fibre is the number one issue that these companies face. It is the number one issue facing the industry and preventing it from going forward and bei…
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Mr. Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for the question; that is a great question. The truth is the Prime Minister promised that he would have a deal by July 21, and he did not get one. Instead, the Liberals have gone around poking the U.S. administration in the eye. Their solution to everything seems to be to print and hand out more money. The truth is that this industry in British Columbia, and on…
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Mr. Chair, while it would be great to boost some domestic demand for softwood lumber, that is not the problem. This is an export industry. About 90% of Canada's softwood exports go to the United States. That cannot be replaced with domestic demand. We can build all the homes we want, and we are all in favour of building homes here on the opposition side of the aisle, but if we do not fix the issue…
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Mr. Speaker, in Powell River, one of the local communities I represent, two hydro dams provided a clean, reliable and cost-effective source of electricity for over 100 years. Their electricity powered the local pulp mill, created thousands of jobs and quite literally built this amazing and beautiful city. That was until the mill fell into financial trouble and was forced to sell the dams as distre…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to the Liberal budget, a budget put forward by the government that I believe to be fiscally reckless, utterly immoral and lacking any kind of grand unifying vision that Canada, at this moment in its history, so desperately needs. I speak first and foremost, as always, on behalf of my constituents of North Island—Powell River. However, I also feel duty-bound to …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague raises a very good point, which is the fact that what the government is trying to do, and we have seen it happen in corporate Canada before, is move money around into different pots and try to mask the top figure, which is the massive amount of new debt. What matters is that the government is planning to borrow $321 billion over the next five years and put that money on…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for giving me the opportunity to point out something that needs to be raised in this House, and that is how bad the deterioration of the fiscal situation has become in this country. The truth is, and I believe my hon. colleague will know this, that Canada's federation is structured differently than other countries in the G7. We hold massive amounts of what …
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Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of the Liberal government, young Canadians are struggling. They are struggling to afford homes in one of the least affordable housing markets in the world. They are struggling to find jobs in an economy that is increasingly slowing down, and they are struggling just to afford food after some of the highest food inflation in more than 30 years. The budget was an opportun…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for the Liberal government. Over the past 10 years, it has doubled Canada's national debt. In that same time, unsurprisingly, it has also doubled the amount of taxpayers' money that it has wasted on paying interest on that debt. In fact, today, we now spend $55 billion a year just on interest payments. That is more than we collect from the GST. That is more th…
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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, 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 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, 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 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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, 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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