Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of any political games. As I highlighted clearly in my speech, I am speaking to the motion for the first time. The member who just asked me a question has already spent over an hour and a half speaking. He has given two speeches on the privilege motion. If anybody is playing games, it is him. He speaks 10 times more in the chamber than I do. I do not understand how it i…
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Mr. Speaker, I sat on a committee with the other member briefly in the past. I actually think lots of work is getting done in the committees. I get lots of work done every day in Ottawa when I am here. The reason we are not getting any further debate or issues dealt with in government business is wholeheartedly that the government refuses to comply with the Speaker's order. This could all be over …
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Mr. Speaker, I do not support or stand for corruption, ever. I was not part of a former Conservative government. I will not speak to and cannot speak to any corruption. I do not have the background knowledge to speak to every single case. The Afghan detainee file is one, though, that I will speak to. That was not a case of corruption. There were allegations. There was parliamentary debate. An ad h…
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Mr. Speaker, my kudos back to the member and the other four members; we all work together to help these former Afghan women MPs. It is an important cause we all believe in, and there is power when we can come to a consensus on things going forward. To get to the crux of her question, I am not aware of any other way to get this resolved quickly, unless the government turns over those documents. The…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to stand in debate to speak for the first time to the very important motion and question of parliamentary privilege before us. Just as a bit of background, why are we here today? What are we debating? Basically, due to whistle-blower testimony from public servants, the Auditor General found that there were irregularities in the awarding of government grants with Sust…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first petition, signed by a number of my constituents, supports my private member's bill, Bill C-377, which would allow parliamentarians to apply for a secret security clearance. They call upon the House to swiftly pass my bill to allow parliamentarians the ability to apply for a secret security clearance.
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Mr. Speaker, in the second petition I have, the constituents of my riding point out that after nine years of the Liberal government, the economy is in terrible shape and there is crime, chaos and drugs in the street. They are calling upon the government to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime and immediately have a vote of non-confidence.
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Madam Speaker, it was kind of rich, I thought, that the parliamentary secretary talked about filibustering, when he has been up speaking on the very same motion and taking up time in the debate. I talk to my father and to so many other Canadians who are so worried about the lack of transparency and the waste of taxpayers' dollars. They just want to know where their money is. They are so tired of t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for highlighting the importance of this question of privilege in this case of conflict of interest. I would simply like him to explain why transparency is so important to restoring public confidence in the use of limited taxpayer dollars.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to note some of the testimony from one of the SDTC employees, who said at committee: ...I think the current government is more interested in protecting themselves and protecting the situation from being a public nightmare. They would rather protect wrongdoers and financial mismanagement than have to deal with a situation like SDTC in the public sphere. Could my colleague e…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for laying out just how deep this corruption is and how implicated the current minister is. Because I think he understands more of the historical context of how far back this goes, to even the former minister of industry Navdeep Bains, and how the PCO and PMO were warned about these potential conflicts, I wonder if he could explain to Canadians just h…
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Mr. Speaker, my riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound is facing a chronic homelessness situation. I had the privilege of sitting on the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities committee when we were debating the introduction of the housing accelerator fund. I asked the minister and those testifying how much of this money would be g…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, I am proud to represent a rural riding that includes many in the Amish community. The Amish do not use electricity, phones or the Internet. They are pacifists, they do not vote and many are dual Canadian-U.S. citizens. In April 2021, I first asked the Liberal government how it was communicating border restrictions and requirements to Canadians like the Amish. I followed this up in F…
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With regard to the Privy Council Office's response to the question on the Order Paper Q-2571, namely, that “Members of Parliament being considered for Cabinet position undergo a pre-appointment Governor-in-Council background check conducted by the Privy Council Office. Once appointed to Cabinet, the background check, coupled with the oath they take and the Ministerial Security Briefing they receiv…
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With regard to consultations for budget 2024: (a) were measures to assist individuals living with Celiac disease presented, and, if so, (i) by what organization, (ii) when; (b) why were no supports for those living with Celiac disease included in budget 2024; and (c) what initiatives are the federal government exploring to help with the high cost of gluten-free foods for those living with Celiac d…
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded vote.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the member knows that as a member of NSICOP, I have to be very careful and judicious about what I talk about. I congratulate all the members, including the NDP member, the four Liberal members, the Bloc Québécois member and the senators who are part of that committee. It is a very important report that was just tabled. I know there are lots of questions being raised by …
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Mr. Speaker, I was cut off during my last speech on Bill C-20, which was my first time debating the bill. It now, unfortunately, has been time-allocated. I am a big believer that all members of Parliament should at least have the opportunity to debate one stage of a bill, as it goes through the parliamentary process, to represent our constituents and express any concerns or support for said bill. …
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Mr. Speaker, I will just push back and counter the parliamentary secretary's comments, because, as I mentioned at the start of my speech and as I have brought up in debate previously, I am a big believer that every member in this House should have the opportunity to speak to every piece of legislation, if it is something that their constituents want them to speak to. That member is a member who sp…
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Mr. Speaker, it is very important. Transparency is not only something that we see with different ombudsmen and different roles, but ultimately it is important. Again, we just need to look at anything that has been tabled in the House recently on some of the reports that have been coming out. We can look at foreign interference and the importance of transparency there to get to the crux of what we …
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With regard to government security clearances as of April 1, 2024: (a) how many personnel have an active or currently valid security clearance from the Government of Canada, broken down by (i) institution, (ii) status of employment (e.g. employee, contractor, potential contractor, former employee, etc.), (iii) level of security clearance; (b) how long do Cabinet ministers and other individuals app…
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Mr. Speaker, I actually want him to follow up a little more on that because maybe it has potential. I know we have heard an amendment from the NDP to potentially move the election date back to the normal date. Maybe another amendment would be just to move it a full month or a month and a half further into the future, or maybe even to next week. What does my colleague think about that?
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Madam Speaker, I have more of a comment to build on the last question from our NDP colleague, because I want to put it on the record. I have huge belief in our Canadian Armed Forces members to move forward and be there for domestic operations, but that is not their primary role. They will be there to do those tasks that nobody else in the civil service can do, or if municipal or provincial capabil…
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Madam Speaker, six students from Bruce and Grey counties participated in the Canada-Wide Science Fair here in Ottawa this week. They are the following: Chayle Oatt for her project, Plant Growth Spurt; Oscar Weerasinghe for his project, Breakfast on the Brain, which won the gold medal in the junior division, plus a health and nutrition award; Kenna Wilson for her project, Body Temperature, which wo…
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Madam Speaker, I would ask for it to pass unanimously, but I doubt that would work, so I am going to ask for a recorded vote.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank everybody who participated in this important debate because it actually achieved one of my aims, which I talked about in my initial speech when I introduced this bill, and that is education. I will get into the reasons why that is so important. I am not shocked by this, but after listening to members, there seems to still be a level of misunderstanding of what exactl…
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Madam Speaker, I want to give the parliamentary secretary another chance to answer my question. I asked him this: If the Speaker does not resign, when this comes to a vote, how is he going to vote? Is he going to vote for the Speaker to stay in the chair or not? If he is going to vote to keep the Speaker in the chair, how many more mistakes does he think the Speaker should be allowed? Is it one, t…
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Madam Speaker, I have two quick questions for the parliamentary secretary. First, if the Speaker does not do the honourable thing and resign, is the member going to vote to have the Speaker step down? If his answer is no, then I want to know how many strikes, mistakes or errors of judgment he expects the Speaker to be tied to before he would ask him to step down. As for my second question, the par…
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With regard to the mandatory electronic filing requirements for the Goods and services tax (GST) and harmonized sales tax (HST): (a) did the government consult with any religious or cultural communities such as the Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite communities that do not have access or utilize the internet before making paper filing less accessible, and, if so, what are the details, including the (i…
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With regard to the federal government’s implementation of new bare trust filing requirements: (a) what is the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) formal definition of a bare trust; (b) what guidance regarding formal and informal arrangements that qualify as a bare trust that requires filing for tax purposes has the CRA provided; (c) how many complaints or requests for information or clarity has the mini…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-20 is clearly important for building trust and accountability within the RCMP and the CBSA. Unfortunately, the current Liberal government always seems reluctant to prioritize legislation that enhances accountability. Here is another example. The review of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act was supposed to begin in the fall of 2022, but the …
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Mr. Speaker, the member talked a lot about, really, restricting or censoring the ability of members in the House to speak and voice their concerns about legislation. Does the hon. member think that all members of the House should have an equal right to speak to any bill at any stage of the debate, and if he does not, as the House leader for the New Democratic Party, how does he censor or restrict …
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to take the opportunity to correct something from my hon. colleague from the Bloc Québécois. He did use the term “military-style assault rifles” when referring to the legislation. However, there is nothing in the legislation that refers to that, so it does bother me when we hear misleading comments that confuse Canadians. My question to my hon. colleague is specifically ab…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this bill for the first time. I understand I have only two minutes, so I am not going to be able to address all the concerns. However, I just want to start. There has been a lot of commentary so far about how members should not have the opportunity to debate. It is one of my biggest observations, and I find it very frustrating when members acro…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for really focusing on the need for economic growth in this country. I am wondering, considering that the Liberal government has put us in a position where we are paying more money to service the national debt than the government collects from taxpayers in GST, what impact that is having on increasing or supporting economic growth in this country. Even fur…
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Madam Speaker, something that bothers me and a lot of my constituents is just how much interest we are paying on the national debt. My hon. colleague talked about more money going to service the debt than going into health care, but he mentioned the military as well. I would like to ask his opinion on the importance of supporting our military here in Canada, especially considering how volatile the…
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Mr. Speaker, I highlighted just how many people have security clearance in the country already. Over the last eight years, it is almost a quarter of a million people. The government ministers themselves, and likely some of the parliamentary secretaries, have the privilege of access to a lot of classified, sensitive information. NSICOP gets access to things, although it is prevented from accessing …
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Mr. Speaker, I have looked at some of them, but not specifically on this process, because for a lot of them it is actually a lot simpler to get a security clearance or access to information. In general, the U.K. has a much broader system to allow it. I am not proposing we adopt a U.S. system of congressional or senatorial oversight; I am just suggesting the first step in a process that would just …
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Mr. Speaker, my whole point is to increase the level of education and, I would argue, parliamentary oversight. I talked at length about accountability and transparency. Ultimately, all of us in this place were elected to represent Canadians. There is a huge demand, and I am sure the member has heard from some of his constituents, asking why they cannot know about certain things. In reality, there …
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moved that Bill C-377, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (need to know), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, before I get into my speech, I want to take a moment to recognize the passing of some important people we have lost in the last week and a half. On April 4, we lost Bob Mitchell, father of Corporal Mitchell who was killed in action on October 3, 2006…
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With regard to the processing of requests made under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act (ATIP) by Parks Canada since January 2015: (a) how many requests have been received each year; (b) what is the average response time each year; (c) what was the shortest processing time each year; (d) what is the longest processing time each year; (e) how many hours of work were allocated to proc…
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With regard to the government's response to recommendations 8 and 13 in the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans entitled "Restoring Full Accountability for Resources and Governance of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission": (a) has a decision been made about transferring the responsibilities and governance of the Great Lake Fisheries Commission (GLFC) from Fisheries and Ocea…
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Madam Speaker, it is hard for me to answer a question from somebody who knows even more about this than I do. My point is that Canada is a large, diverse country. Part of the reason I got into politics was that I was tired of seeing decisions coming out of Ottawa that work great for major urban centres but do not work for every part of this great country, like at the provincial level, but mainly b…
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Madam Speaker, I wish I could answer. I really take pride in trying to answer all questions. I have no idea of the logic or the rationale. It is not something I am familiar with. I will follow up with the member to try to get an answer by talking to my colleagues who are part of that committee, but I was not aware. The bottom line is, to highlight what I did bring up in my speech, it was not even …
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives would support all forms of child care, including traditional day care centres; centres with extended, part-time or overnight care; nurseries; flexible and drop-in care; before- and after-school care; preschools and co-op child care; faith-based care; unique programming to support children with disabilities; home-based child care; nannies and shared nannies; stay-at-hom…
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Madam Speaker, I understood the question perfectly. I said that even if I could qualify for it, I would not apply for it. Again, we are talking about something that has nothing to do with the debate today. My question back to the member is, why is there not an income means-testing on this program? Right now, the Liberal government is basically cutting cheques to millionaires.
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I cannot answer a question on a bill that has yet to be fully debated or analyzed, on pharmacare. I did speak to Bill C-35 and the child care program in Quebec, and I complimented Quebec because it was able to implement something. The majority of this does fall within provincial jurisdiction. I made the comment when I spoke to this last year that I do not even underst…
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Madam Speaker, I never said that. I said me personally. I was talking about a question that I received from the Liberal member about the child care benefit, not about the early learning and child care program. I am just saying that it is something that I would not personally partake in. It is the way I was raised, that we take care of things ourselves, but I have 100% indicated the importance of t…
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Madam Speaker, I want to open my speech this afternoon by clarifying a few things, especially for the member for Winnipeg South Centre and the member for Winnipeg North. They seem to be confused about how Conservatives voted on Bill C-35. The bill was voted on at all stages and received unanimous consent from every member in this House. I will make it crystal clear to everybody now that I support …
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I was elected only in 2019, and I know the member was elected more recently, so I cannot really compare. I have not done sufficient data analysis. I am just saying that I support income testing for the program. I know plenty of people would use it, myself included, though I likely would not meet the requirement anyway because I have the privilege of being compensated …
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