Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we proposed amendments to ensure that the child care opportunities were available for everyone. The Liberal-NDP coalition turned them down. I do not normally talk about this, but I was a foster child, and I babysat so I could save money to go back to school. I was not registered, but I was a damn good caregiver for children.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague in the back is speaking over the conversation. Could we keep it down, please?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, we are requesting a recorded vote, please.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, our national holiday, Canada Day, will be observed by Canadians in less than one month. This is a day when we all gather to celebrate our nation. However, most Canadians are more concerned with the high cost of living. If the first carbon tax was not harsh enough, the Liberals' birthday gift to Canadians is a second carbon tax, which will intend to destroy Canada Day festivities. Wi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to share an experience. I was a child of immigrants, and I had the pleasure of being raised by my grandparents. They taught me values that I still live with today. I have seniors in my community who have had to go back to work because they cannot afford to live on their pension. For whatever reason, they are now looking for work, which they cannot find because of their age, as …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we are here because we are parents. We are mothers, and we care. We need to make sure that the bill works for every mother and child in this country.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise this evening to speak to Bill C-35, labelled as an act respecting early learning and child care in Canada. The Minister of Families, Children and Social Development was reported as saying that the bill would enshrine the “principles that provinces and territories agreed to in the funding agreement [with Ottawa], including [the pledge] to cut parent f…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my Conservative colleague also put forward an amendment to the reporting clause of the bill to include the Minister of Labour in the annual reporting, and the annual reporting must include a national labour strategy to recruit and retain a qualified early childhood education workforce. This supports witnesses' testimony on the importance of a strong national labour strategy dictating …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is a provincial jurisdiction. I also believe that parents have the right to choose what child care fits their child. As a young widow, I had no choice but to find child care outside of the licensed child care because I did not have a nine-to-five job. My job related to different hours and different shifts, and I needed to find support for my children. Yes, it is a pr…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim they have lifted 1.3 million Canadians out of poverty, but this is not supported by the data. According to a national food rescue organization, 60% more Canadians per month are expected to use the food banks than last year. They are anticipating serving over eight million Canadians this year. Over 732,000 of those will be seniors. The ability of seniors to feed them…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government tried to sell Canadians a bill of goods, stating that they would get back more than they pay in carbon tax. However, Liberals' own study proved them wrong. Now, the Liberals want to impose a second carbon tax. These two taxes combined would create approximately $2,000 in net new costs, above and beyond any rebates. This is at a time when many seniors are having …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, according to Stats Canada, over 115,000 widowed seniors are living below the poverty line. These are men and women who have worked their entire lives building this country, but they are no longer able to put food on the table. Instead, they are waiting in long lineups at their local food banks. In fact, according to Global News, over 3,200 people are being served weekly at a Toronto f…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the government's response to the recent increase in violent stabbings in the Greater Toronto Area: what specific measures will the government be implementing before the summer to protect people from the criminals committing these stabbings, and, for each, on what date will the measure come into effect?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to reference a remark that the member made about my comment. Could he please explain to me why Sheila has to live from overdraft to overdraft, paying 21% just to heat her house and to buy groceries? The dental care plan is not going to help someone who cannot eat. That was my reference, not that it is not a good idea. I am saying that we need to allow people to have more …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, budget 2023 continues the Prime Minister's record of high taxes and inflationary deficits. The Prime Minister has added more debt than all other Canadian prime ministers combined and has no plan to balance the budget and control his inflationary deficits, which are driving up the costs of the goods we buy and the interest we pay. Canada's federal debt for the 2023-24 fiscal year is pr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask what good the dental plan is when my seniors cannot even afford to pay for gasoline to go to the grocery store to buy groceries. They cannot afford groceries. The rebate does not offset the cost of the carbon tax, heating or medical expenses. The member is talking about dental, which is great, but seniors cannot afford to eat, so they are not going to have dental p…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, time and again, we have said that we need to build more affordable homes. The hon. member is absolutely correct. We cannot allow 500,000 new immigrants to come to this country and provide them with the false promise that they will be able to have homes for their families, when we are not building them. We need to turn that around. We need to make sure we get rid of the gatekeepers and…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we need to understand that Canadians are working to ensure they provide for their families. However, as long as the Liberal government continues to recklessly and foolishly spend money, scandal after scandal and trip after trip, those tax dollars are going to increase, which means Canadians will have less money in their pockets to support their families. When are the Liberals going to…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I volunteer at some food banks, and this is what I have been hearing: They are desperate, because they have to turn people away. There are people going from food bank to food bank so that they can get enough food to feed their families. We need to stop this foolishness. We need to start having more money for hard-working Canadians so they can support their families.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, seniors are struggling. This Saturday, the Liberals' plan to increase taxes will make things worse. The cost of gas, heating and groceries is going up. Carmela, a senior, struggles to put food on her table each week and often skips a meal to make ends meet. That costly coalition is increasing the carbon tax and it will make the problem worse. Carmela wishes that this was just an April…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with my colleague on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. She always has a great sense of purpose and always defends the rights of women. January 8 was the third anniversary of the downing of flight 752. On that day, and every year on that day, Shahin, husband to Shakiba and father to Rosstin, remembered that they last spoke as his wife and son were departing…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we have a shortage of affordable housing across Canada for which seniors are unable to qualify. After eight years of this Prime Minister, housing has become unaffordable and rent has skyrocketed. Shirley is already struggling to pay for the 11% increase in grocery prices and cannot afford to pay for her rent. Will the Prime Minister listen to our seniors, show some compassion and comm…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians can no longer afford to eat, heat or house themselves. When the Liberals triple the carbon tax, the folks I know, having to choose between heating and eating, seniors like Sheila, Neil and Marshall, worry that surviving the next carbon increase on April 1 will be impossible for them to manage. Seniors are currently forced to use their…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians are struggling. Seniors are being pulled out of retirement and forced to re-enter the workforce to pay for food and housing costs. Grocery prices are out of control. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment across Canadian cities is $2,000 per month, compared to $1,200 per month in 2015. Will the Prime Minister step aside …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, February 22 is Pink Shirt Day, also known as antibullying day. Bullying is a major problem in schools, in workplaces, in homes and online. Pink Shirt Day aims to raise awareness of these issues, as well as supporting programs that foster children's healthy self-esteem. Bullying has no place in our community and is something that no one should ever have to experience. Strong people sta…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current Prime Minister, Canadians can no longer afford to eat, heat or house themselves. The situation is about to get worse. With the tripling of the carbon tax, seniors must choose between eating and heating. Conservatives will fight to turn the tax off, so seniors can keep the heat on. I ask the Prime Minister this: Will he show compassion and remove the ca…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if the member had listened to the entire question, he would have answered it properly. They cut out the part where I asked how much CERB impacted that figure. That is what Stats Canada asked. Sheila, a senior from Midland, would like to know why the government refuses to answer questions. Seniors demand accountability from the Liberal government. It is all talk and no action. Will the…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, according to Statistics Canada, 58% of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 24 are highly anxious about their capacity to pay rent or even to have the ability to own a home. After eight years under the Liberal Prime Minister, the average monthly mortgage payment in Canada has more than doubled, to nearly $3,000. After eight years under the Liberal Prime Minister, 45% of variable-rate …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my concern is that I have many constituents in my riding with disabilities, and some of them have no voice. The people who are caring for the individuals with disabilities also have mental health issues, but they also have POAs for the individuals. How is that going to impact their decisions if they are not in their right minds to make those decisions for their disabled children?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, after years of the Liberal Prime Minister, seniors must choose between heating and eating. Sonia from Winnipeg called me in tears because she can no longer afford to keep the heat at room temperature. She tells me she sleeps under five blankets to keep warm. She can no longer afford the Liberal plan to triple the carbon tax. When will the Liberal government turn off the tax so that …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, since my colleague is being so transparent, I would like to ask this question. Is it a conflict of interest that McKinsey was receiving millions while Dominic Barton was on the economic advisory council? Could he answer that for me?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I listened very intently to my colleague, and I have to say that as a taxpayer and as a shareholder of this country, I think it is our responsibility to explain to taxpayers why and when this money was spent, and how it was spent. After all, there is only one taxpayer in this country. We deserve to give taxpayers that answer. That is why we were sent to this House: to be honest and lo…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Buongiorno, signor Presidente. The Liberals have had eight years to make our streets safer and they have made things worse. The Liberals and their soft-on-crime policies most recently allowed a man previously arrested for assault to reoffend and assault an innocent senior. An 89-year-old elderly woman was attacked, unprovoked, in January while simply walking along the sidewalks in Toronto in broad…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am not doubting that we need to take care of our children. Our children are our future. I have no doubt of that. My question is, do we have enough staff to support these child care centres and do we have enough spaces? I have not personally seen any evidence of that. We need to ensure that all this documentation is provided to all members of this House so that we can also ensure tha…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my concern with this bill is this: As a young widow, I had two young children, and I had no choice but to work to ensure they had a home to live in and food on the table. However, unfortunately I did not have the type of job that was nine to five, so I had difficulties finding a day care that was open as early as six o'clock in the morning, and some nights as late as 10 o'clock at n…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my constituents of King—Vaughan. Bill C-35, an act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, sets a vision for a Canada-wide early learning and child care system committed to ongoing collaboration with provinces and indigenous people to support efforts to “establish and maintain”. Just over 52% of Canadian children younger than six years were in l…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee. We should learn from what Quebec is doing. I have no issues with that at all. However, we also need to ensure that, province by province, we are all different. Each province has different needs, and we need to ensure that each province will at least adhere to the principles that we know will protect our children …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not think the member understood what I was saying. I am not against child care. The Conservatives are not against child care. However, what about the individuals like our grandparents who have to give up their opportunity for retirement to help raise their grandchildren? What about myself, when I was left as a young widow and did not have the choice of $10 day care? My hours were…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think what we have to do is understand that there is a point where seniors require that minimum amount. What is that minimum amount? It is going to depend on the individual and their lifestyle, but what is important is that, when a partner is gone, that pension is lost. It should be retained.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am a little confused. I do not understand the question. I did not speak about cutting at 65. I spoke about the fact that the Liberals have implemented that seniors get that extra bonus at the age of 75. When is the retirement age? Is it 65 or 75?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think what we need to do is go back to understand what our parents raised us with. They always expressed to us that we cannot make a dollar and spend a hundred. It does not work that way. We have to plan for the future. For our seniors, what is important is that they did work. They raised their four or five children. They should not be penalized. They should have the opportunity to …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, heating is important in this country. We live in a country where winter is the predominant season. Whether the increase happens this year or next year, it is going to happen, and the people in Newfoundland and Labrador cannot afford it.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think it is my turn.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what is despicable is the fact that the Liberals decided that being a senior starts at the age of 75. How would he explain to seniors between the ages of 65 and 74 why they are not getting the benefits—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' fall economic statement outlines an agenda on how to support Canadians struggling with the cost of living, where, theoretically, no one is left behind. Guess what. Canadian seniors were left behind. In a document with almost 40,000 words, seniors were only mentioned 16 times. Statistics Canada indicates that the population of seniors is expanding six times faster than th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have an easy response to that. I have no confidence in the government, because as a senior, I see there is no responsibility taken by the government to ensure seniors can live their retirement as they planned.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition about our children. Children are our future and the killing of children is always wrong. Without our children, we have no future. I stand here on behalf of my constituents today to demand that we stop the killing of our children. It is always wrong.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to government statistics on court-imposed sentences for those convicted of crimes which carry a maximum possible sentence of 10 years or more, broken down by type of crime or criminal code violation, and by year in which the sentence was given, since January 1, 2016: (a) how many people were convicted; (b) what is the breakdown by length of sentence, including those sentenced to (i) no…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I volunteer in several long-term care homes. I have a lot of experience volunteering in them. I also had the opportunity to speak recently with the CEO of UniversalCare. One of the most important things he mentioned was the lack of staff. He has applied numerous times to have people come over from other countries who are nurses and PSWs qualified to assist us in these homes. Unfortu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in only one month, 1.5 million individuals used the food bank. The fact is that a lot of seniors now depend on the food bank for survival. Unfortunately, due to the Liberal government's careless spending practices, life for people who founded this country is no longer affordable. For our seniors, who raised us, fed us and cared for us, will the Liberal government show compassion and s…
Read full speech →