Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. Sustainable Technology Development Canada was launched in 2001 to support businesses to innovate and create new sustainable technologies. For more than a decade, and under both Liberal and Conservative governments, SDTC had a few problems, but nothing major, until the current Prime Min…
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Madam Speaker, in terms of the first part of the member's question, the big scandal here is that the government has let down small businesses and the innovative sector in Canada. The government has discredited start-ups in this country that legitimately rely on SDTC to bring their technologies to market and commercialize new and innovative technologies that will protect the government. Today we se…
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Madam Speaker, what does a powerful paycheque mean? It means that more of the money one earns stays in one's pocket and not in the hands of Ottawa. There is not a single Canadian who does not agree with that. That is what the Conservatives are set on doing by winning the next federal election.
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Madam Speaker, after nine years of the Prime Minister, life is unaffordable. With energy bills through the roof, Canadians are struggling to afford to heat their homes and keep the lights on. Not only has the carbon tax driven up the cost of energy, but the government has launched a war on Canada's natural resources and energy sectors. Bill C-69, which was deemed largely unconstitutional by the Su…
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Madam Speaker, my ears are burning with nonsense. Let me recount a story from British Columbia. One of the first decisions of the NDP-Liberal government was to approve LNG in Canada. Why did the government rush to approve LNG off the coast of British Columbia? It was because it would not be subject to the constitutional discrepancies in the bill before us today. Bill C-69 effectively shut down res…
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Madam Speaker, when Bill C-69 was in the House a few Parliaments ago, the Mining Association of Canada came out very strongly in favour of the bill. I questioned the Mining Association of Canada in advance of the 2019 election as to why it would support this legislation. It has since rescinded its support for the approach taken by the NDP-Liberal government. It did that primarily because what the …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada granted an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize the personal possession of illicit drugs in the province of British Columbia for three years. After one year of decriminalization, B.C. has experienced a record-breaking 2,511 unregulated drug deaths, which is higher than all other causes of death combined. Under this exempti…
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Madam Speaker, nine years of the same failed policies from this government have resulted in small businesses getting pushed to the brink of collapse and many are shutting their doors altogether. According to the superintendent of bankruptcy, business insolvencies in the year ending March 31 increased 56.7% year over year. The Business Development Bank of Canada reported last year that we now have …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to correct the member for Kingston and the Islands. The target from the Bank of Canada is in fact 2%.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my Bloc Québécois colleague. The federal government must do a better job of protecting our Constitution. Our party, the Conservative Party, wants a policy of open federalism.
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Madam Speaker, the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie failed to mention the broken promise of the NDP-Liberal government, and that was to provide a national pharmacare program. It did not provide a national pharmacare program, even though it said it was going to do it in the last election platform for the NDP. With respect to dental care, I will note representatives from the B.C. Dental Associat…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, last November, many people in the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford and Surrey were disturbed by stories on the front pages of our local newspapers. We recounted letters sent to local businesses, extortion letters. The letters read: Read carefully do not think this is a fake letter!! We are Indian gang members, we want our share from your businesses like protection money. As you seen on new…
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Madam Speaker, to respond quickly to the last speech, the member for Windsor—Tecumseh made many comparisons between the Conservatives and the Liberals. One key thing the Conservatives want to do is fix the budget. That is because the Liberals love to take. They love to increase taxes. They say, “Work hard. We're going to take more of your money and then we're going to mismanage it and not tell you…
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Madam Speaker, two weeks ago, I was on a Mission BC & Neighbours Facebook site in the community of Mission, with about 25,000 community members. There was a mother on there who asked if it was just her who could not get by with $350 a week for groceries any more. All we have to do to see the impacts of inflation is to look at the cost of food, specifically beef, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Unf…
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Madam Speaker, as a member of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, I was dismayed by the lack of transparency by the government. In the last number of months, over $50 billion has been announced in different EV subsidy contracts. As a member of that committee, I was given only two hours, along with the other committee members, to really scrutinize what the government was committing C…
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Mr. Speaker, during my speech, I referenced Dr. Reyes-Smith and her attempt to provide the wraparound services that she felt her patients needed. I will note that she was one of the authors of the 2009 report I referenced as well. Dr. Reyes-Smith is a small business corporation, like every other doctor in the province of B.C. When doctors face their ability to operate, they have to work within a f…
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Madam Speaker, Abbotsford, British Columbia, suffered devastating floods in 2021. I was informed by the Minister of Emergency Preparedness that some of the money from the disaster financial assistance program would be used to help reconstruct our community. The City of Abbotsford has also applied to a climate adaptation fund to help rebuild the waterways, Highway No. 1 and the train routes through…
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Madam Speaker, the member from Coquitlam failed to mention, in her speech, that what brought us here today was the 180° from the Premier of British Columbia, who realized that he was going to lose the next election because of the crime, chaos and complete anger in British Columbia over what has happened to our downtown cores and people who are, indeed, suffering from drug addiction. Will the membe…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois member did not listen to my speech today. I said it was a problem. The 2009 report that I mentioned states that the government has to start treating drug addiction like other chronic diseases.
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Madam Speaker, the NDP-Liberal coalition has been speaking a lot about the four pillars today, but its members have said nothing about enforcement. We have asked numerous times how many arrests have been made to stop the illegal flow of fentanyl and how the Criminal Code has been used to stop illegal drugs from killing people. They cannot say a single thing about it. Why is that?
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Mr. Speaker, when I was 10 years old, I had a similar experience in Gastown, British Columbia, in the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver. I remember driving in with my mom for the very first time and being shocked about the chaos and despair I saw, even as a young boy. Anyone who goes to that neighbourhood in Vancouver sees that chaos. Unfortunately, now, that addictions crisis has spread right across…
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Mr. Speaker, as I outlined in my speech, the crisis we are facing is not limited just to British Columbia. I think the real question the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith needs to consider is why her ideologically extreme premier, Mr. Eby, has done a 180 on the policy. That goes to the very point I made in my speech, which is that parents do not want drug addiction normalized in our communities. Parent…
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Mr. Speaker, the basis of that question is completely false. Under former prime minister Stephen Harper, health care funding to the provinces increased on an incremental basis. We never reduced funding for health care. We provided for the demands of the provinces and territories at that time.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, could my hon. colleague from Alberta outline, in very clear terms, the threat that foreign governments are posing to Canadian members of Parliament who simply want to stand up for human rights and justice, as well as peace, order and good government in Canada?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today on behalf of small business owners who work in the natural health supply, food or products industry. The petitioners are calling upon the government to decrease red tape to eliminate the regulatory changes that will increase their costs in respect to labelling and licensing for products as simple as vitamin C and fluoride-free toothpaste. The p…
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the member for Kitchener Centre would follow my social media a little more closely. I have met with dozens of parents who have lost their kids to the overdose crisis. In fact in the last year I met with a mother whose son had overdosed while at a treatment home because open drug use was allowed there. That mother lost her child. Afterwards, on the one-year anniversary of his de…
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Madam Speaker, I am increasingly concerned that the Bloc Québécois is continuing to work hand in hand with the government. We are increasingly seeing the Bloc Québécois become more centralized and more willing to prop up the federal government. My question is this. Will the Bloc Québécois, which is working with the government, respect British Columbia's provincial areas of jurisdiction?
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois recently supported the major federal subsidies to build electric battery plants. Why is the Bloc Québécois supporting the federal government's expansion in the province of Quebec?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of correctional officers in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and across Canada. Correctional officers are calling for the end of the prison needle exchange pilot program. Correctional officers want the federal government to focus on correctional officer safety as much as it focuses on inmate safety. Right now, they do not fee…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of constituents of Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who are concerned about natural gas bans being enacted by several municipalities across Canada. Natural gas produces far fewer emissions and is a lower cost alternative to heating oil, yet some municipalities are stopping families from using it to heat their homes. My constituents are calling…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology for his question. If a Conservative government is elected, I would like Quebec to keep its jurisdictions, just as I would like British Columbia to keep its jurisdictions. The Conservative Party wants open federalism that respects the jurisdictions of Quebec and British Columbia.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe Hansard will show that I did not say that my constituents do not want the legislation. However, what my constituents do want is access to drugs in a timely way. If we were to adopt universal drug coverage in Canada, it would lower the standard and accessibility of drugs for private insurance programs. This includes the program that all public servants are on right now; it wo…
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Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would just like to give a shout-out to the Abbotsford Rugby Football Club, which won the provincial championships over the weekend. The division 1 side has faced a lot of adversity. Our fields were flooded during the big flood in Abbotsford a few years ago. This team has really built back. Big congratulations go to Coach Chambers and all members of the squad on the g…
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Mr. Speaker, I take that comment, and I take the comment from the member for Winnipeg Centre. I will say “to save their epidermis”. There we go. The bill could have negative consequences for the 27 million Canadians who rely on private insurance. The non-profit insurance sector has serious concerns about its future should Canada pursue a single-payer pharmacare system. Providers like Blue Cross co…
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Mr. Speaker, I would just like the record to state I never said “communist.” I only came into the debate—
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Mr. Speaker, I, of course, come from the province of British Columbia, where contraceptives are already provided by the provincial government. To ensure equality for women, how much money would the Province of British Columbia receive from this NDP bill because we already have contraceptives? For equality's sake, what is the number B.C. would get?
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Mr. Speaker, sometimes I find the members' words very violent, but I will—
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Mr. Speaker, I would disagree with respect to the blue seal program being a double standard. In Canada, immigration is a shared jurisdiction. Right now, many of the doctors who come to Canada, through our federal points system, do not have access to the professions that allowed them to enter Canada in the first place. The basis behind our plan is to make sure that, when we accept someone into Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, farm a vote; I agree. I would like to thank the member from the Ottawa Valley for her question. The bill is solely to ensure that the NDP and Liberal government can maintain their working relationship. Unfortunately, the NDP members did not stand up for what they believe in and what they promised their voters in the last general election, which was universal pharmacare. They are selli…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the crime, chaos, drugs and disorder. Since the request 10 days ago to end deadly legalization, 60 British Columbians have died, and the impacts are felt in every community. The Abbotsford Soccer Association has to sweep its fields for dirty needles and deal with open drug use at our community parks. Patrons of the SkyTrain…
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With regard to the carbon tax revenues collected from small businesses since 2019 and the over $2.5 billion in fuel charge rebates owed to small businesses: (a) when will the new system referenced by the Minister of Finance on January 22, 2024 to distribute funds owed to small businesses through the fuel charge return programs be implemented; and (b) what is the rebate schedule for when small busi…
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Madam Speaker, it is a simple question of relevancy. He is talking about another bill processed through the House of Commons, and not about Bill C-49.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the government is supposed to be in the business of protecting children, not killing them with exposure and access to hard drugs. The RCMP has confirmed that legal hard drugs are being sold on the black market. In Abbotsford, the soccer association has to regularly sweep the pitch for needles. The legion and many businesses in Mission have to deal with crack smoke every day. When will…
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Madam Speaker, I do not know whether I am ever going to get that time back in my life, but that was pretty bad, even for the member for Winnipeg North. I will ask a question regarding something that has been on my mind and has been talked about in conjunction with the debate about energy renewables and the need to have critical minerals. The government has spent over $50 billion recently on subsid…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Sunday, May 5 is Dutch Heritage Day in Canada, and Liberation Day in the Netherlands. It is a time for Canada to honour the sacrifices made by our veterans who played an integral role in the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi Germany in 1945. Battle of the Scheldt and the liberation of Arnhem were instrumental in freeing the Dutch from occupation. After World War II, hundreds of …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal minister responsible for legal hard drugs is misleading Canadians. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 18 in British Columbia. Just yesterday she said she was waiting on more information from the B.C. NDP government, which the province said it delivered within hours. How much more information does she need to end the radical and extremi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from constituents in Abbotsford and also in the broader Fraser Valley region of Surrey. Constituents in British Columbia are seeking a direct flight to Amritsar in India. Canada has a large diaspora population from the Punjab region. The petitioners are calling for a direct flight so that they can pursue business and see their family much more quickl…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to present petition e-4662, which is signed by 18,362 Canadians who want the GST/HST removed from massage therapy services. As it stands, massage therapy is not recognized in the list of professional services rendered by practitioners under the Excise Tax Act, meaning that Canadians must pay GST/HST on massage therapy. These Canadians are calling on the Minister of Fina…
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Mr. Speaker, last spring, the Government of Canada made legislative changes to allow Health Canada to regulate natural health supplements the same as therapeutic synthetic drugs, which will mean substantial new fees on the import, manufacturing and sale of things like vitamins, protein powders and other health supplements. Constituents in my riding who rely on natural health products daily are con…
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Mr. Speaker, on a more serious matter, the member for Cambridge, in responding to a question from the Bloc Québécois on the status of small businesses, failed to note that business insolvencies are up 41%. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent—
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