Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, one of the first issues I raised in Parliament six and a half years ago was about the outdated technology system for the employment insurance, CPP and EI model through Employment and Social Development Canada. Unfortunately, the Government of Canada continues to face these horrible situations because the Treasury Board guidelines for technology employees specifically have not been m…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, since 2009, Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa and armed Fulani militia have carried out sustained attacks against Christian communities in Nigeria, causing mass killings and widespread destruction of churches and villages. Despite the scale and duration of this violence, there have been no meaningful prosecutions, and international rights organizations report persistent failures by Nigeria…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of the residents of Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, who are highly vulnerable to flooding due to low-lying geography adjacent to the Fraser River and tributaries. Recent severe flood events have caused widespread damage to homes, businesses, agricultural lands and critical infrastructure in the region. Flooding disrupts critical supply chains and tr…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I do not think the gravity of the situation is hitting the government appropriately. In the last two decades, Canada has lost 100,000 entrepreneurs, but our population has gone up by 10 million people. Since 2019, there has been a 19% increase in business exits, with only a 5% increase in new businesses. Nothing the government is doing is helping our entrepreneurs, our job creators. W…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians the strongest economy in the G7. Instead, Canada now has the only shrinking economy and the second-highest unemployment. We have lost over 100,000 jobs since January of this year, and many of our small businesses are going to the United States. Other countries are dealing with the same problems and the same global pressures. Will the Prime Ministe…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford who are deeply concerned about proposed changes to the salmon allocation policy that would decimate regular recreational fishing opportunities for coho and chinook in British Columbia. Recreational fishers fully recognize conservation in first nations' constitutionally protected food, social, ceremonial an…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last week we had another serious flood warning in the Fraser Valley. Today I plead with the government to listen to the concerns of our region, a key national economic corridor. On November 24, 2021, in the House, I was promised that the Liberal government would be a partner in rebuilding Abbotsford for a stronger future. We are still waiting for action. The government has signalled t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford to table several petitions, for the very last time, on the Liberal-Bloc amendment to Bill C-9, which would remove the good-faith religious exemption from the Criminal Code of Canada. This could criminalize clergy, educators or individuals for expressing sincerely held religious beliefs or for quoting sacred texts. Th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member has used that example in good faith, and that is one single interpretation. The justice committee has heard from hundreds, if not thousands, of people and organizations that feel that the government is going down the wrong path and that it has steered away from what it intended to do in the legislation originally to get it passed in a way that they wanted and in the time fr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think it is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are concerned right now. The script reads like a movie. The Minister of Canadian Identity makes these comments before he is in cabinet. He erupts, people get angry all across Canada, and then the Prime Minister appoints him to cabinet. Then the Liberals make an agreement to amend Bill C-9. Canadians are right to be …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will say it has been great getting to know the member from Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, and playing hockey and building bridges amongst the political parties. In good faith, I really have enjoyed getting to know him. However, we do fundamentally disagree on approaches to secularism in Canada. I will note as well that my constituents are very concerned about the contex…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, before I begin my formal remarks, just over a week ago, an old folks' home in my riding, the Chartwell residence on 7th Avenue in Mission that is located right beside the church, burned to the ground. It was my church, St. Joseph's, that organized help for all of those displaced seniors. It was community members, the Mission Gurdwara and other faith groups that came forward and helped…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I listened intently to the member for Winnipeg North speak about the Canadian pork industry. I think he raises some valid points, but unfortunately he left out the real and pressing issues that Canada has with the United Kingdom as they relate to non-tariff and trade irritants specifically for the exportation of pork. The Library of Parliament outlines that Britain exported 5.6 mill…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, one of the great honours I have in being a member of Parliament is that I get to meet with incredible entrepreneurs across Canada. They have heard the words of the Prime Minister and have been hopeful, but that hope is running thin. It is time to act. It is time to see shovels in the ground. It is time to use the advantages that we have been gifted in this country to our economic su…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to build on my colleague's excellent speech. The Prime Minister has spent a great deal of time travelling abroad, signing memorandums of understanding and participating in high-profile international events. While international engagement certainly plays an important role in advancing Canada's interests, it cannot come at the expense of the pressing priorities we face here at …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member from the Bloc asked an excellent question about Taiwan. Indeed, Canada has a long history and a growing economic relationship with Taiwan. I think that is where we need a strategic partnership by recognizing its sovereignty in standing up to Chinese ambition, which may lead to a global conflict in the next 20 years. We need to be on the side of Taiwan, not on the side of …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member for Québec Centre's question was a great one. In fact, I think he is a great member of Parliament. I wish he were still in cabinet, because I believe he could make some real reforms for the public service that are not taking place under the Treasury Board Secretariat right now. I will address the member's point. What I was outlining in my speech is that we are not focusin…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of the streamkeepers on the Miami River in Harrison Hot Springs. Streamkeepers throughout the province of British Columbia are committed volunteers who deserve certainty for funding and support from the salmon enhancement program beyond the current budget end of March 31, 2026. The salmon enhancement program collaborates w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition today on behalf of the Mission Self Advocacy Group. Its members state that Canadians with disabilities face disproportionately high rates of poverty, and existing federal income supports, including the Canada disability benefit at $200 per month, are insufficient to meet basic living costs. Individuals with permanent and lifelong disabilities such as …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal government misled Canadians when it made the promise that interprovincial trade barriers would actually be eliminated in Canada by 2025. The CBC reported in January that interprovincial trade is still like a 9% tariff on the Canadian economy, accounting for $210 billion of lost goods. I will ask the question again. Can the Prime Minister provide a speci…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, petitioners in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford are concerned about Bill C-9, which would amend the Criminal Code to address hate propaganda and hate crimes. The Liberals are proposing an amendment to remove the religious exemption from the Criminal Code that protects good faith expressions of beliefs based on religious texts. Therefore, the petitioners and permanent residents of Canada cal…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like the minister to acknowledge today that by including the removal of the religious defence clause, his actions have actually sown more fear and division in Canadian society. This was a bill on which there was broad consensus when it was first brought forward. With the inclusion of the removal of the religious defence clause, he has diminished public support for the position…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, despite the Prime Minister's promising to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade by Canada Day 2025, that promise has proven to be an illusion. In many cases, it is still easier for British Columbian distilleries to sell their products to Washington state than to Nova Scotia. Can the Prime Minister provide a specific date when it will be easier for British Columbian d…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, petitioners in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford are concerned about the recreational fishery, specifically related to coho and chinook. They are imploring the Minister of Fisheries to listen to both Conservatives and Liberals, scrap her policy proposal and maintain recreational access for all British Columbians.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have created an immigration crisis that is straining housing, health care and jobs. As of January, non-permanent residents outnumbered unemployed Canadians, and the Liberals are expanding immigration streams that push our young people further away from employment. Six million Canadians cannot find a family doctor, but taxpayers are now spending $1 billion per year to cove…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford who are deeply concerned about proposed changes to the salmon allocation policy, which would decimate recreational fishing opportunities for coho and chinook in British Columbia. Recreational fishers fully recognize conservation and first nations' constitutionally protected food, social, ceremonial and com…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a petition on behalf of constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford who are deeply concerned about the proposed expansion of medical assistance in dying to individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. My constituents fear that expanding MAID in this way risks normalizing suicide as a response to mental illness. They believe instead that Canada should…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my question is very simple. Why would the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure think it responsible to develop a new government agency, with the use of taxpayer dollars, without set targets and timelines to outline to Canadians how many homes would actually be built?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is always amusing listening to the speeches by the member for St. Catharines. In 2015, in the Niagara Region, the average cost of a home was about $270,000. Today, it is about $600,000. The same experts that the member referenced, and I will acknowledge they are experts and do a lot of great work in our community, also endorsed the plan in 2015 that was supposed to make housing aff…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada is facing a surge in violent extortion that is shaking communities across the country. Families and small business owners in my own community are living with a level of fear they have never known before. Extortion has risen by 330% since the Liberals were elected. In British Columbia it has climbed more than 480%. In B.C., 14 accused extortionists have paused removal by claimin…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf of the residents of Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford regarding the gun confiscation program, which will cost Canadian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. They feel it unfairly targets law-abiding, responsible and licensed gun owners, while doing nothing to address public safety and rising crime rates. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that the cost to …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in response to the member for Richmond East—Steveston, who spoke earlier, I would just like to clarify some comments on Bill C-16 that I heard in the House. Bill C-16 would not change the offence of extortion itself and would not create any new mandatory minimum sentences for extortion. It would add extortion as an explicit aggravating factor. It would not redefine extortion. It would…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, obviously the member for St. Catharines is very disturbed. Maybe he needs a cup of coffee. I am surprised the Liberals let him speak today. Normally, it is only the member for Winnipeg North. I feel bad for him. In respect—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when our institutions work as they should, people feel safer, victims know where to turn, investigations can move forward, and communities can stand strong in the face of intimidation and violence. Unfortunately, due to the changes Liberals have made over the last 10 years, that is not the case in Canada right now. We know what we need to do. The motion before us today is a step in th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we have already had the debate in this chamber between Bill C-2 and Bill C-12 in good faith. The Liberals' attempt to bring up another issue that was not related to their election platform in the amendments they made in Bill C-9 disrupted a lot of good work that we could have done collaboratively on behalf of Canadians. Instead, when it was right before Christmas, in December, the Lib…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, all I have to say in response to the member for Winnipeg North is that it is time for the Liberals to stop playing politics with the lives and security of Canadians. I will offer him the opportunity to clarify his earlier statements on Bill C-16 and how he misled Canadians with his false statements on what is included in that legislation. I will take no lessons from the member. Again,…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of hot air in the chamber this afternoon. We have not heard the member for St. Catharines lose his mind for quite some time. I am actually quite disturbed by what I heard and how much anger and confusion he seems to have as an individual member. I can see why the Liberals have not let him speak for quite a while. That was just an egregious example of what a member of Pa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will note, as I did in my speech, that there are many reports from the Auditor General outlining the issues we have had with implementing treaty rights for indigenous peoples of Canada. They have never been followed through on. The argument I was making throughout my speech is that we do not actually enforce the mandate of the executive of the Crown to fulfill treaty obligations. I …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what lies behind my opposition to this is that we, as individual members of Parliament, have so much more power than I think almost any of us even attempt to exercise. If this bill is successful, all the powers outlined in Bill C-10 for the actions of the commissioner, the officer of Parliament, would be for what we as members of Parliament already can do. If we care about seeing trea…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I oppose the establishment of another officer of Parliament because it would degrade the work we should be doing as members of Parliament and would not take concrete action to hold the minister accountable for their responsibilities to sign treaties. There is no consequence for not signing treaties in this bill.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, small businesses are paying the price for the Prime Minister's economic inaction. In January, 52,000 private sector jobs were lost and $39 billion in investment fled to the United States. Canadian businesses are delaying expansion and workers are losing their livelihoods. The Prime Minister promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7, but growth is flat and not a single anti-develo…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition on behalf of constituents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford who are seeking certainty for funding for the salmon enhancement program beyond the current budget end of March 31. The salmon enhancement program is a great educational tool in the province of B.C. that teaches biology and the salmon cycle to many youth. This program is administered by the Pacifi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what can Parliament not do that is contained in Bill C-10? My concern with the bill is that it is simply an admonishment that Parliament has not been doing its job holding the executive accountable already. What is to stop the existing standing committee from issuing a report or conducting an audit? Parliament already has these powers. Why do we need another officer of Parliament to d…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I wish I were standing here today and the Minister of Indigenous Services was before Parliament saying that they had signed multiple treaties that were going to empower young indigenous Canadians to start businesses, have access to their resources and have better certainty for home ownership. However, we are not there, and we have not seen any of that in the last decade. That is unfor…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise today in good faith and in the spirit of collaboration to get things done, to move Canada forward, and I believe that Bill C-230 can help us do that. Bill C-230 is an act to amend the Financial Administration Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts by establishing a public registry of large debts and obligations that have been waived, written off or forgiven. A…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in reference to the debate that just took place, I do not believe the Liberal government has passed very many treaties in the last decade. It is almost as though the Liberals are slapping themselves on the wrist for not doing their job. Today, I rise to oppose Bill C-10, an act respecting the commissioner for modern treaty implementation. The stated aim of the bill is better accountab…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, on behalf of Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, I would like to present a petition about Bill C-9. The Liberal-Bloc amendment to Bill C-9, passed at the justice committee, would remove the good-faith religious defence clause from the Criminal Code of Canada. Bill C-9 would allow the state to prosecute people who express deeply held religious beliefs the government finds offensive. Therefor…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of residents of Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford who are deeply concerned about the proposed expansion of medical assistance in dying to individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. My constituents fear that expanding MAID in this way risks normalizing suicide as a response to mental illness. They believe t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the third petition I would like to present today is about GST and HST in the context of physical education, specifically dance education, which provides significant physical, mental and emotional health benefits, including improved fitness, self-confidence and resilience, contributing to the overall well-being of Canadians. The petitioning Canadians are calling on the Government of …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the last petition I would like to present today is on behalf of citizens of Abbotsford, in honour of Darshan Sahsi, who lost his life a few months ago. These residents are calling upon the Government of Canada to reinforce the process of public reporting so Canadians can clearly see how federal, provincial and local governments are working together to prevent further increases in vi…
Read full speech →