Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, no, I do not think so.

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the measures in Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms), to increase the maximum penalties from 10 to 14 years imprisonment for certain firearms related offences: (a) how many people have been convicted of each of the related offences since January 1, 2016, broken down by year and offence; and (b) of those convicted in (a), how…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to income tax and the Canada Revenue Agency, broken down by year since 2016: (a) what is the total number of people who filed income tax returns, broken down by income tax bracket; and (b) what was the total amount of revenue collected, from personal income tax, broken down by tax bracket and tax return filed?

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): what is the total number of employees or full-time equivalents in each (i) division, (ii) enforcement area of the CRA, broken down by year since 2016?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General stated that the process the government relied on to distribute COVID benefits led to $4.6 billion in overpayments to ineligible individuals, and at least another $27 billion that needs to be investigated. How much of this $32 billion can taxpayers expect to recover? How much money is the government going to spend in administrative costs to recover money for taxpaye…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Auditor General said very clearly the postpayment verification process is anything but rigorous. The problem is that taxpayers are now on the hook for these billions of dollars they may never receive back. This is the same failed process the government is relying upon when distributing its new dental and rental benefits. Will the government admit it had no cont…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the government's key piece it likes to talk about in the economic statement is the interest relief for students going to school. The question is fairly simple. How many more students will get to access post-secondary education from this government change than otherwise would be the case? The government does not have an answer. It is giving a windfall to the students who are already …

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Shared Equity Mortgage Providers (SEMP) Fund: (a) how much of the $100 million fund has been distributed to date; (b) how many applications for the SEMP Fund have been (i) received, (ii) approved, (iii) denied, (iv) received, but a decision is still pending; (c) how many new home units receiving SEMP funding (i) have been completed, (ii) are currently under construction; and (d)…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Canadians should judge a government by what it does, not what it says. What the government does is spend, spend, spend. Spending is up 30% versus pre-COVID levels and Canadians are paying the price. Inflation is at a 40-year high level. Next year, we are going to spend almost as much on servicing the debt as we do on health care transfers to the provinces. Canadians cannot afford much…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, we do not have a student debt problem in this country. About 65% of the working-age population have post-secondary education. It is wrong to ask 100% of the working-age population to subsidize that 65%. The government should have taken the same amount of money or half the amount of money and put it toward grants for low-income students who are not otherwise able to attend post-seconda…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I am seeking unanimous consent to split my time.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I have only been here for a year, but I have been driving all over the city and I still cannot find the money tree. I do not know where it is, but the government spent $100 billion of added debt before COVID and spent $500 billion of debt during COVID. Forty per cent of the money spent during COVID was not even related to the pandemic. That is not from us. That is from the independent…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, yes, sometimes inflationary readings indicate economic uncertainty. The government's own numbers were projecting 3.1% growth next year, and now it is projecting only 0.7% growth. There are economic challenges on the horizon. The government wants to talk about making the EI system better. We abandoned the EI system during COVID because it was inadequate. I would ask the government wher…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that growing the size of the government is going to fix the inflation problem. I support the NDP opposition day motion, which called for a study on greedflation with respect to grocery stores. I hope we do not prejudge the end of that study. I am looking forward to that study being done, as well as the one by the Competition Bureau. It is very important work. Any comp…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is Halloween and Canadians are spooked. They are spooked by having to pay 28% more for costumes and candy and spooked by the government's indifference about the inflation crisis, which the Liberals just wave away as being globally brought into this country. The central bank governor has said inflation is now more of a homegrown problem and Mark Carney, the former central bank gover…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, interest rates are up again, and the Bank of Canada says more raises are coming. Now the bank says that inflation reflects Canadian domestic factors, not the global factors the government keeps blaming. The government said interest rates will remain low, and then it went on a spending spree. It said it was irresponsible not to spend. It said there would be no inflation and then it sai…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, for seven years the government's mantra has been spend, spend, spend. It added $100 billion in debt before COVID and $500 billion of debt during COVID. It told us not to worry. The Deputy Prime Minister said just over one year ago, “In today's low interest rate environment, not only can we afford these investments, it would be short-sighted of us not to make them.” However, now, in a …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, even the Parliamentary Budget Officer said half of the COVID spending was not even spent on COVID. The government said interest rates would remain low. It said there would be no inflation and then it said inflation would be temporary. Now inflation is out of control and the government is going to spend more on interest on the debt than we do on national defence. The government's plan …

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are bracing for a difficult period ahead. Winter is coming. Warnings about a slower economy and inflation resulting in higher food and energy prices are enough to increase the anxiety of all Canadian families. On this side of the House, the Leader of the Opposition warned the government how drastically increasing the money supply could lead to inflation. Even a few months ag…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the government increased the debt by over $100 billion before COVID and then increased the debt another $500 billion during COVID, half of which it did not even spend on pandemic measures. Now we are supposed to believe the government has a new-found religion called fiscal restraint. If the government has not shown Canadians any fiscal responsibility in seven years, why should we trus…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, if the government wants to run on its record, it is going to have to own up to its spending having helped drive inflation to 40-year highs. Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table. Even the Bank of Canada says that inflation is a homegrown problem. The Liberals promise to keep spending increases to 2% a year. Has the Deputy Prime Minister told the rest of cabinet ab…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, the hon. member is right. On many things we may disagree, but on this one we agree. It is important that the global community work together to combat money laundering. Unfortunately, in the last number of years, Canada has not kept up pace with other jurisdictions that have enacted more serious penalties and crimes and other regimes. I referenced the U.K. in my speech about unexplai…

Private Members' Business

moved that Bill C-289, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (identity verification), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand here this evening with my fellow colleagues to talk about a very important issue, which is money laundering, and to discuss a simple private member's bill to amend the Criminal Code to make it easier for authorities to prose…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, if I had the benefit of being in government and significant legislative resources to bring forward additional measures, I most certainly would have done so, but the truth is there actually is not an administrative penalty for it right now. The beneficial ownership registry does not exist today, so this is a criminal penalty for those who lie about their identity or the corporate own…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, yes, that is most certainly the case. This bill would not do that, but it is something we must work on together, and it is a simple rule that we could implement. I look forward to working with all members of the House on simple measures like that.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the government is going to use the exact same process to disburse payments to receiving individuals as it did with CERB, using the CRA to disburse the payments. Will the minister say on the record whether he believes in the process that the government has set up? Is it a good process, is it the one it intends to use, and does he stand by that process?

Government Orders

Where are the mental health dollars that have disappeared?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is Small Business Week and businesses are worried. A recent survey shows businesses' confidence in the economy is at the lowest point since the pandemic started. Around 75% of businesses believe inflation will be over 3% and they are worried about the rising costs. This includes payroll taxes and the carbon tax, for which there is no rebate. With the future of the economy uncertain…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to present my first petition in this Parliament as the member for Simcoe North. This petition is from members in my community who are concerned about the ancient water deposits of the Simcoe uplands of Ontario's Tiny, Springwater and Oro-Medonte townships. This is water that sits underneath what is now the territory of Beausoleil First Nation. There is some proposed d…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the enthusiasm of the speech, but I would like her to respond to a couple of things. When corporations pay dividends, those dividends go to Canadian pensioners. We have to remember that a lot of Canadians rely on the income they get from their pensions. We will hear no opposition from this side of the House to corporations paying their fair share. We believe that, befor…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to this bill today but also to follow my friend from Vaughan—Woodbridge. I appreciate the opportunity. First, I would ask for members' indulgence to address what many members already have this morning, and that is what we are seeing happening in geopolitical affairs, in particular in Iran. As I walked home last night, we saw the colours of Iran's flag flashed…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, we have had some strong GDP growth, but we are also coming off of some significant GDP losses. In fact, the economy was quite slow and shrunk over a period of time, so we are actually coming up from a lower base. That is why we have GDP growth. Let us talk about what GDP growth allows us to do. It provides a lot of revenues to the government in the form of taxation. Therefore, I do no…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I follow some of the financial markets, like my fellow colleague. I am not sure that members of the Conservative Party have said that cryptocurrency is going to solve inflation. If we say that Canada should be a destination for fintech revolution, I would welcome that. Let us remember what is happening around the world and why some people use cryptocurrency. We can look at countries l…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, before we increase taxes on companies, why do we not just make the companies in Canada pay the taxes they owe? Why do we not start there? There was just a report from the Canadians for Tax Fairness that said there is upward of $30 billion, which I am sure will make my friends in the NDP happy, that the government is not collecting. Before we talk about increasing taxes on other compan…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Germany, U.K., France, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and more have all cut fuel taxes or duties to help households deal with rising inflation. Instead of lowering taxes like our peers, the government wants to make energy more expensive. The Liberal government must know something the rest of the world does not. What it will not admit is tha…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the tariff on fertilizer originating from Russia: how much revenue money has been collected as a result of the tariff on purchase orders which were made (i) prior to March 2, 2022, (ii) on or since March 2, 2022, (iii) in total?

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the RCMP and the government sharing information about individuals and entities involved in the demonstrations related to the government's use of the Emergencies Act, in February 2022, in order to flag their accounts to financial institutions: (a) how many (i) individuals, (ii) businesses, (iii) other entities, had their information shared; (b) with how many recipients was the inform…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the CCB young child supplement (CCBYCS) payments made between April 2020 and January 2022: (a) how many individuals received (i) CCB, (ii) CCBYCS; (b) of the individuals who received (i) CCB, (ii) CCBYEC, how many also received payments under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the same period; (c) of the individuals who received (i…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for her advocacy and for being an inspiration in this country. My question is more technical in nature. This is the second bill we have seen during this Parliament that would do substantial work in the regulations. There is actually not a lot of detail about what the bill would provide in terms of a benefit. I am curious if the minister is concerne…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's intervention. I hope he took a break over the summer and was not here speaking the whole time. It is not surprising to hear his voice again in this chamber. My question is relatively simple. The member claims, as do many other members of his party, that this would help hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty, which may be true. Has the Department of …

Mr. Speaker, for seven decades, the Queen was our head of state and performed her duties admirably with great care. To many she was the Queen, but to us she was our Queen. An accomplished historian, Joe Martin, said to me just the other day, “Her reign was unprecedented and a sterling example of duty and responsibility.” Indeed, at just 21 years old, in Cape Town she took a vow: “I declare before …

Routine Proceedings

With regard to expenditures on public relations or media training, or similar type of services for ministers or their offices, including the Office of the Prime Minister, since January 1, 2019: what are the details of each such expenditure, including the (i) date of the contract, (ii) amount, (iii) vendor, (iv) individual providing the training, (v) summary of services provided, including the type…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a money-laundering paradise. The Cullen commission, a British Columbia inquiry into money laundering, just released its final report. It details significant gaps and concerns with our money-laundering laws and regimes in Canada. Canadians have heard stories of hockey bags full of $20 bills going into casinos to come out laundered. The Cullen commission even questions whether…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the hon. member believes that there is collusion in the gasoline price market, but that would be a very serious accusation. I get that this government does not want to listen to ideas from this side of the House, but perhaps it might be persuaded by the former Bank of Canada governor, who said that in order to tame inflation, we need to get oil prices down. Various ta…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, today is the day that the government finally releases its secret plan to fight inflation. It is so secret that there are no new measures in the plan, just a re-listing of programs that are already indexed to inflation. Curiously absent is any relief from one of the key drivers of inflation: gasoline and fuel prices. Why does the government continually ignore calls to provide immediate…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, we have a back-row special for members today. The Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia has been an iconic cultural event since its first edition in 1961 and has grown into a cultural highlight of summer in Simcoe North. This year's festival will be a celebration of the return of the festival, of live music and, yes, of the community. In the last 60-plus years, a who's who of folk legends…

Routine Proceedings

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-289, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (identity verification). Madam Speaker, Canada has a money-laundering problem. Experts say it is a $100-billion-a-year industry. This money is fuelling crime across this country and contributing to the increasing cost of real estate by increasing the demand for houses across Canada. International criminals have flocked to C…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for his question. I appreciate the suggestion. I think we would welcome the hon. member's suggestion on the items that the Bloc Québécois and this member do support. Maybe we could find some common ground to advance some initiatives for the next opposition day motion. Let us call this a good first step on putting some ideas forward that we can all perhaps get behin…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I welcome the question from the member across the aisle. I will make two quick points. One is that inflation is measured differently in all of these different countries, so it is very hard to compare them. Yes, inflation is a challenge in all of these other countries, but—

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in this chamber to talk about the Conservative opposition day motion on a very important issue affecting Canadians: affordability and the cost of living. Before I talk about the motion, I would just like to set some context for individuals who are here. Food prices have increased 9.7%; in many cases fuel is up, depending on what time it is measured, almost 6…