Government Orders
Mr. Chair, for everybody out there, that was 14,000. Total spending for Fisheries and Oceans Canada increased by 42.3% between 2016-17 and 2020-21, yet we have heard across the board that service levels are at all-time lows. Why?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the minister has had ample opportunity to address this issue. The Cohen commission has been around for 10 years, yet the government is still planning to delay the process, putting many of our anglers at risk. How many full-time equivalent positions are there at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, we hear that mass marking trailers have been purchased and are currently in use in B.C., but only to apply coded wire tags, not doing their intended purpose. Will the minister's department in 2023 begin the critical process of mass marking all hatchery chinook production that is designed to contribute to fisheries in southern B.C. in order to provide increased opportunity for mark selec…
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Mr. Chair, for more than one and a half decades the public fishing community, especially in B.C. and especially in the lower Fraser, has been advocating selective sport fishing regulations that would allow recreational fishing that was selective for certain types of salmon while avoiding endangered salmon and sturgeon. The technique is known as bar rigs, which has been known to be highly selective…
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Mr. Chair, what specific actions is the minister's department taking right now to implement the Cohen commission recommendation number 30 for a mark selective fishery?
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Mr. Chair, with respect, that is exactly the minister's job. It is to manage the fishery, and she simply is not doing that. In July 2020, the minister's predecessor, Minister Jordan, committed Canada to the United Kingdom's global ocean alliance agenda to zone 30% of Canada's coastal waters as “protected” by 2030. This is in addition to the existing government commitment to zone 25% of Canada's wa…
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Mr. Chair, it seems as though the minister's staff are the ones who are running the show at DFO. At the same time that the minister told me personally that she was considering proposals, the DFO salmon team openly stated they would not discuss any proposals from the sport fishing advisory board related to chinook retention in April and May of 2022. Again, who is in charge of DFO, the minister or R…
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Mr. Chair, for years I have heard from our public fishery experts in British Columbia, who say their efforts to consult with DFO and provide reasonable solutions for the fishery are being stonewalled by Pacific regional director Rebecca Reid and senior staff. Who ultimately makes the decisions for the Pacific region, the minister or Rebecca Reid?
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Mr. Chair, I would ask the member to get to the relevance of whether he is from a coastal community or an inland community in his time tonight. I would ask him to clarify.
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Mr. Chair, through the Chair, why did the minister reject the sport fishing advisory board's two very modest chinook salmon retention proposals for portions of PFMA 17, 18, 19, southeast Vancouver Island and 28, Howe Sound, for the months of April and May? Why?
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Mr. Chair, let me get this straight. You were actually given scientific advice that you could manage—
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Mr. Chair, the minister's recent decision to reject the sport fishing advisory board's chinook salmon retention proposals is again a broken promise. Why is the minister refusing to work with our public fishery community to ensure science-based decisions are made?
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Madam Chair, if the minister had actually met with the fishing community, one would think it would be first-hand. It is easy to remember the fishing community. Believe me, I know a lot of them in B.C., and they are certainly unforgettable. A study funded by the minister's own department recently found that the numbers of chinook salmon in the Salish Sea during the summertime are four to six times …
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Madam Chair, who specifically in the fishing community did the minister meet with?
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Madam Chair, B.C.'s public fishery represents $1.1 billion in revenue and supports 9,000 direct jobs. When I asked the minister in committee if the minister would work with our angling community, she said that she would. She has since broken her promise. Why is she determined to shut our province's fishing communities down with continued unnecessary closures?
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Madam Chair, when will the contracts for the two Arctic and offshore patrol ships for the Coast Guard be signed?
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Madam Chair, I said specifically, “What is taking so long?”
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Madam Chair, what is taking so long?
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Madam Chair, the question for the minister was specific. Irving just testified that the amount would be considerably less than the $750 million, so again, who is telling the truth?
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Madam Chair, the minister's colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, said that $750 million would be an estimate. Who is telling the truth?
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Madam Chair, the minister is actually announcing the previous Conservative strategy around shipbuilding, so I thank her for that plug. An Order Paper answer delivered by the government stated that the cost of the Coast Guard Arctic and offshore patrol ships would be $750 million per ship. Your colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement said—
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Madam Chair, icebreaker and offshore patrol ship delays are causing massive increases in costs and threaten our Arctic sovereignty and security, putting all Canadians at risk. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that the polar icebreakers announced by the government would cost $7.25 billion, or over $3.6 billion each. In 2013, the estimated cost for one heavy icebreaker was only $1.3 billio…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, this member should know that this place is the federal Parliament for the country and not the provincial parliament for Ontario, so I think—
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Mr. Chair, in a letter to the minister dated May 10, the Public Fishery Alliance stated, “We have never before experienced this level of Departmental inertia and unwillingness to resolve fundamentally basic fisheries management issues.” What is the minister doing to address this?
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Mr. Chair, on a point of order, I do not think it is becoming of this House to have the members making a joke out of this member's comments. I would just ask that respect be given across the way from the members in the Liberal Party to the person asking the questions.
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Mr. Chair, further, we have seen full-time staff in the department in the Pacific region balloon, according to estimates, from 617 since 2016 to 1,949 individuals, yet we saw recently that DFO did nothing with respect to the floods in British Columbia. It was the volunteers who did the work while the executives of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans sat on their hands. With all the additional s…
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Mr. Chair, this is supposed the time that we question the minister about her portfolio. I have not heard a question yet. I wonder when we are going to actually hear some questions from the member.
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Mr. Chair, the hon. member referred to threatened stocks. I just wonder if he could actually specify what the threatened stocks actually are.
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Mr. Chair, again, with respect, the member was speaking once again as though only coastal communities have relevance in this conversation. I would like him to recognize that there are many non-coastal communities that appreciate the fisheries and what they provide to Canada. Maybe he could clarify what he is talking about.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today we will see the implementation of the new Liberal long gun registry. A former Liberal Party leadership candidate said, “The long gun registry, as it was, was a failure and I’m not going to resuscitate that”. The same member said that “there are better ways of keeping us safe than that registry which is, has been removed” and “We will not be bringing back a long-gun registry—it's…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today we will see the implementation of the new Liberal long gun registry. A former Liberal Party leadership candidate—
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Madam Speaker, any Canadians I know from my riding who have been watching the debate over the last couple of years have seen the government run roughshod over the democratic process, and then it hears them lecture us about how bad the Conservative Party is, calling us all kinds of names. We have a Prime Minister and a Liberal Party that think they are a majority government. Then we hear from the N…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's targeting of law-abiding firearms owners is actually making our country less safe. Since becoming Prime Minister, we have seen an increase in gang-related homicides committed with firearms and a decrease in penalties for those convicted of gun crimes. Instead of going after the bad guys, he is going to spend limited taxpayer dollars to rebuild the Liberal long-gun…
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Madam Speaker, I respect the member, but it is always interesting to me when I see members of the NDP get on plane rides with me back to Vancouver regularly and then talk about how we need to phase out fossil fuels in their entirety. My question tonight is around Arctic sovereignty and energy security for us in Canada and the world. Canada has a huge role to play geopolitically in supplying energy…
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about Canada's role not ending anytime soon when it comes to fossil fuels and what we provide the world. I want him to perhaps speak to the geopolitical role Canada plays with energy production and supplying energy to our allies. It was at a meeting in Prince George where I heard the Japanese ambassador imploring Canada to supply natural gas to Japan. Certainly we …
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Madam Speaker, one thing we have fought for on this side is algorithmic accountability and looking through the dark curtain of big tech to see how it is throttling up and down certain social media accounts. Again, what this member fails to mention, and I have not heard him refer to it yet tonight, is proposed section 4.2. He may want to check it out, because it is the exemption that would allow a …
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Madam Speaker, I am not totally sure what the question was, but witnesses appear. One thing I appreciate at the House of Commons and our committees is that we have not only experts with Ph.D.s, but also regular folks who come here to testify. They are just as legitimate as other witnesses, and they are able to speak to some of their concerns around the bill. Again, Bill C-11's threat is real, and …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the time tonight. For those watching, it is 11:32 p.m. here in Ottawa. The bill that we are debating is Bill C-11, in case folks out there have not picked up on that already. I think the question that we are really asking tonight is whether we can trust the Prime Minister and the government. Let us not answer that question quite yet. It seems like the NDP and the Bloc w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Treasury Board's Guide to Delegating and Applying Spending and Financial Authorities: (a) which departments and agencies maintain a log (or similar type of record) of violations or noncompliance related to the requirements set out in the guide; (b) for each department or agency in (a), how many entries have been entered in the log since January 1, 2021; and (c) what are the det…
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With regard to the estimated $1,235.4 millions in overpayments of income benefit payments by the government listed on page 147 of the 2021 Public Accounts of Canada, Volume I: (a) what is the breakdown of the estimated overpayments by income support program, including, for each program, the (i) dollar value of overpayments, (ii) number of Canadians who received overpayments; and (b) what are the c…
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Madam Speaker, it is important that I thank the member for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, and it is also important to read out what the motion is about. It states: That, given that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance has made an immeasurable contribution to peace, security, and prosperity for all its members, the House call on the government to increase spending on national defe…
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Madam Speaker, money does not grow on trees in Quebec, nor does it anywhere else in our country, or anywhere for that matter. We know it is a very expensive endeavour to do this, but it is an accurate response. Indeed, the government is spending a lot of money, but is it spending it in the right direction? That is a huge question mark. We would disagree on how the government is spending money. It …
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Madam Speaker, I have read that report. It is 28 recommendations, and it is a great report and a place to start and really build our defences. I will go back. The NDP premise today has been all about priorities for money and other things that are important. I do agree with the member that things are important, but if we cannot defend our own borders and our own country and our own people and, wher…
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Madam Speaker, it is that whole “fail to plan, plan to fail” analogy. However, I would say, even going back to former president Kennedy, there was not the infrastructure to go to the moon at the time when he made the call to say that they were going to get there, but he made the call to say that they were going to get there. I think we need to have the leadership, from the entire House, say that w…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, over the last year Nunavut has experienced a record high number of water advisories. Iqaluit residents have not known if their water is safe to drink for over six months. The government has long promised to make infrastructure funding for the north a priority, but has failed. Why do moms in Iqaluit still have to bathe their babies in bottled water?
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize for interrupting my colleague in his speech. We actually have Liberals across the way laughing while this speech is going on, laughing at what the member is speaking about. Frankly, it is hardly funny and hardly funny for Canadians. I hope they would respect the House and actually listen to the member.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Putin's invasion of Ukraine has taught us all that we cannot take our Canadian Arctic sovereignty for granted. Russia recently filed a claim that adds 705,000 square kilometres to Russia's current Arctic claims. U of C Professor Robert Huebert said, “We haven’t seen a country before that’s extended over its neighbours. Here’s a situation where they’re claiming the entire Canadian and …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Putin's invasion of Ukraine should be a wake-up call to all of us that we cannot take our Arctic sovereignty for granted. NORAD commander General Glen VanHerck recently warned that delaying the updating of our outdated northern defences leaves us all at risk. Canada, like Ukraine, shares a border with Russia, a border that is poorly defined and today is in dispute. University of Calga…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I just wanted to say, first of all, I appreciate all Canadians' prayers right now. I have been getting messages that they are praying for us in this place to make good decisions. I covet them and we are thankful for them, especially at this very trying time for our country. Today, we are debating the Prime Minister's Emergencies Act. We have already heard about the thresholds and wh…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, that was a great question. This place is often a place of contention, but it needs to be a place of forgiveness too. We have given the Prime Minister that opportunity. I even called on him to just apologize. I think a lot of people feel like that. They would accept a simple apology, but we have not heard that yet. We are calling on him—
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