Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am presenting today comes from the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, and it relates to the needle exchange program the government is about to implement in federal institutions. Drugs and drug paraphernalia are considered contraband in prison, yet the government is forcing our correctional officers to simply turn a blind eye…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, last week a dairy farmer in my riding called me. He was calling in reference to one of these federal government grants, and he said that it is almost as if the government is forcing him to spend money on something. He said that what the Liberal government does not seem to understand is that he wants to lower his input costs and make his barn as efficient as possible, but he does not w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in December, the Atlantic caucus of the Liberal Party came together with the Prime Minister to make an announcement on heat pumps. It just so happened that the announcement was taking place at the same time as the carbon price was about to go up. For all the rhetoric we are hearing from the member from Kingston today, when push came to shove, when the government was faced with a price…
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With regard to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program: (a) how are communities chosen for the program; (b) which communities are participating in the program, broken down by province or territory; (c) for each community in (b), how many workers have participated in the program; (d) how does the government quantity the program's level of success; and (e) does the government have any evide…
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Mr. Speaker, in good faith, I just want to clarify that he had 2122.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I was a little concerned about some of the comments the member was making. We all know that one of the reasons wealth has increased in Canada is in relationship to the increase in assets that many Canadians have through home ownership. One of the reasons those assets increased in value so much over the last number of years is because we did not build enough homes to keep up with the…
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With regard to the $5 billion in funding through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements to British Columbia, committed in the 2021 Fall Economic Statement, in response to extreme weather events: (a) how much of this commitment has been delivered to British Columbia to date, in total, and broken down by specific project funded; (b) when will the outstanding amount be delivered; and (c) what…
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Madam Speaker, we all know that Liberal Party members do not like to participate in debate. They defer to the member for Winnipeg North to do their dirty work—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I continue to rise on points of order because the language we are hearing from the member from Winnipeg is contrary to Standing Order 18. It is implying that the Conservative Party of Canada is breaking laws related to treason in Canada. As a member of Parliament, I find that offensive to assume that we are influenced by a foreign government—
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Madam Speaker, indulge me for a moment: Joy to the world, the Lord is come Let Earth receive her King... In places of worship across this country, Canadians come together to sing Joy to the World and other Christmas carols during Advent and the Christmas season. Unfortunately, the Canadian Human Rights Commission recently stated that this holiday is discriminatory, colonialist and intolerant to Ca…
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With regard to the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA): (a) as of October 25, 2023, in total, how many businesses that received CEBA funding have repaid their loan in full; and (b) what is the total dollar amount owing on the principal balance of outstanding loans?
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With regard to the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative: (a) how much of the $647 million pledged for the initiative has been spent since the announcement in budget 2021; (b) what are the objectives and deliverables of the fund; (c) how are the objectives and deliverables measured; and (d) what are the details of each project funded through the initiative, including, for each, the (i) date of the an…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, on that point of order, not only do I take great offence to the fact that he referred to the Conservative Party as far right, but I would also note that according to the Standing Orders, that is not the subject of the debate at hand today.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is not the Conservative members or the official opposition. It is Standing Order 18, which states, “No member may reflect upon any vote of the House, except”—
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Madam Speaker, under Standing Order 18, I would consider that to be disrespectful and offensive language. I am not MAGA. I do not refer to myself—
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No. Madam Speaker, when the member brings into question whether Canada is being influenced by a foreign government on certain policies—
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, it goes without saying that Canada is a sovereign nation. For a member to suggest that we are influenced by certain—
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Madam Speaker, Standing Order 11(b) says, “In the event of a member disregarding an order of the Chair made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the Speaker shall order the removal of the member.” Not only did the member for Winnipeg North disregard your order, but he then went on to state that the Standing Orders were not relevant. The Standing Orders under the Parliament of Canada Act are …
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Mr. Chair, near the end of his remarks, the member for Kenora outlined possible steps that the Government of Canada could take to reduce red tape and empower first nations. Perhaps the member could just expand on what he believes are tangible, concrete actions we can take to ensure better accountability and better use of money to support indigenous communities?
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Mr. Chair, I am a proud Canadian. I was born in Canada, and I acknowledge the Canadian state. The Crown had signed contracts with many of the first nations that I represent, and the Government of Canada has a duty to uphold the agreements it signed with the first peoples of this land on their traditional territory. This is why I am pleased that our leader, the member for Carleton, has put forward …
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Mr. Chair, I voted no confidence in all the government measures, because I do not believe the NDP-Liberal coalition is capable of running this country in an effective way that can be accountable to indigenous people today. Indeed, there were certain aspects of that fall economic statement, such as emergency management, that are worthy. However, overall, I cannot give confidence anymore to the gove…
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Mr. Chair, all government departments are required to make public departmental reports, and they have to outline to all people in Canada where they stand on their own metrics. For Indigenous Services Canada, only 17% of the metrics that it outlined to measure its success were met, which is an absolute failure. This department needs to do better, and it needs to get out of the way. One comment I he…
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Mr. Chair, as the member of Parliament of a riding with 31 bands of Stellat’en, Stó:lo, Nlaka’pamux and Secwépemc peoples, I hear first-hand how the quality of service from Indigenous Services Canada impacts my constituents. Too often I hear from first nations that ISC is slow-moving and uninformed of their policies, and that government officials lack accountability to the people they are supposed…
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Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we have a responsibility to respect taxpayer money, which is why we request a recorded vote.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we have a responsibility to protect taxpayers. That is why we are requesting a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we would request a recorded division. In British Columbia, we get far less money from the National Film Board than other parts of Canada, and we want to have a recorded vote.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, small businesses are struggling to survive and entrepreneurship has fallen off a cliff. The minister and the government love to claim that they have the backs of small businesses, yet they have ignored their concerns and the issues they face time after time. According to the most recent data from the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, tota…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we are now past the pandemic, and I am getting tired of hearing the government raise the pandemic-related responses for small businesses time and time again, when it fails to acknowledge that the extension it provided for small business owners, to January 18, was woefully insufficient. Every single member of Parliament in the House has heard from those restaurants and small business…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party understands that a home is the centre of everything we do in our lives. A home is a place where we are secure. A home is where we raise our families. Everyone but the Liberal-NDP coalition understands that this dream is being ripped from hundreds of thousands of Canadians. When the government stands in the way of someone getting a home, it stands in the way of t…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand and to speak to Bill C-295, an act to amend the Criminal Code with respect to neglect of vulnerable adults. The reason I want to speak to the bill is that my grandmother passed away in September. In fact, December 9, this Saturday, would have been her 96th birthday. I call my grandmother “Oma” because we are of Dutch heritage. In 2020, at the beginning of the pa…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government is just not worth the cost. Last week, we learned that Stellantis and LG are bringing in foreign workers to their manufacturing facility in Windsor. This is the same facility that is receiving $15 billion in taxpayer subsidies after it threatened to close up shop unless the government paid up. That is about $1,000 in additional debt for ev…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the third petition I would like to present today is regarding the Lets'emot Regional Aquatic Centre. Petitioners in Agassiz, British Columbia and surrounding first nations of the Stó:lō people are calling upon the government to do away with outdated funding models that pit first nations against non-indigenous Canadians when seeking to provide infrastructure that relates to both comm…
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Madam Speaker, the fourth petition is raising the plight of Lytton, British Columbia. The CEBA deadline is fast approaching. As we know, businesses in Lytton have not been able to rebuild. Therefore, it would be wrong for the Government of Canada to subject those businesses to the same conditions that apply to other businesses that are also struggling to pay their CEBA loans. The Government of Can…
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Madam Speaker, the second petition I would like to bring forward today is a unique one regarding section 43 of the Criminal Code. The petitioners are calling on this outdated Criminal Code provision to align with modern standards, specifically as it relates to the ability of teachers to use corrective force against children in their care. Section 43 of the Criminal Code exempts every schoolteacher…
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Madam Speaker, today I will be presenting four petitions on behalf of residents of Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. The first petition relates to B.C. passenger rail service. Constituents in my riding are calling upon the federal Minister of Transport to work accordingly with his B.C. counterparts to address the passenger rail shortage in British Columbia. We want more passenger rail, which I think …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question regarding the Competition Act, which has been debated very recently in the House of Commons. However, the Investment Canada Act is a bit different than the Competition Act. What we are focused on here today is ensuring, irrespective of political party, that the Government of Canada has the necessary tools and framework to protect Canadian sovereignty to ensur…
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Mr. Speaker, during the clause-by-clause study at the industry committee, the government members voted against a Conservative amendment that would subject state-owned enterprises in countries like China to a mandatory national security review. I would like to know what the member's thoughts are as to why the government would vote against such a common-sense amendment that would protect Canadian as…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-34, otherwise known as the national security review of investments modernization act, seeks to update and strengthen the Investment Canada Act with the aim of protecting Canada's national security when it comes to foreign investments in our country. As tensions rise around the world, Canadians, our businesses, our intellectual property, our private data and our natural resource…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify two specific amendments that were actually rejected by the government. Regarding subsection 15(a) of the act, we wanted to list specific sectors necessary to preserve Canada's national security rather than the systematic approach that was recommended by the public servants. We wanted to do that specifically in relation to the testimony given by the member for W…
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Mr. Speaker, I missed the first part of that question, but I will note that the member for Nepean actually stood alongside Conservative members in the House during second reading when he called for some of the changes to the national security review. More broadly to his point, I think when we look at the Investment Canada Act, the Government of Canada needs to be looking very closely at protecting…
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Mr. Speaker, the question in the House today is whether the Bloc Québécois will protect Quebec sovereignty and support the Conservative amendment, which will keep regional representation in cabinet rather than leaving it all in the hands of a single minister. Imagine if a minister from British Columbia could make a decision for the Quebec nation without cabinet members from Quebec having any say i…
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Mr. Speaker, it was so important to reduce the threshold to zero to account for intangible assets, for small mines in the natural resource sector and for businesses that could fall below the threshold, but would ensure a strategic asset for a state-owned enterprise or a foreign government that does not necessarily have the best interests of Canada at heart. What we are doing with this amendment is…
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Madam Speaker, right by Bourquin Crescent in Abbotsford, there is a townhouse complex. I believe it is called Lakeside Terrace. MCC has coordinated for many of the refugees to live at Lakeside Terrace. On Sunday afternoons, when I am taking my kids for a walk at Mill Lake Park, which is adjacent to Lakeside Terrace, I hear many children speaking Ukrainian. A great way to integrate new refugees is …
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Madam Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North, during this debate, has spoken often about all the trade agreements the Liberal Party of Canada has signed. I would be remiss if I did not mention the challenges caused by the government's policies on trade when it took the CPTPP and tried to put those different clauses at the end—
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It's Canada's number one riding.
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Madam Speaker, to my colleague from Winnipeg's first point, I remember fondly when I was still a political staffer a historic moment in the House of Commons when the Deputy Prime Minister walked across the aisle and the member for Abbotsford walked across the aisle and they embraced each other in love and friendship over Canada's long-standing policy, supported by our two major political parties' …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, small businesses are struggling to survive. Increased payroll taxes, a punishing carbon tax, red tape, and labour shortages are crushing them. It is no wonder that Restaurants Canada reports that one-third of restaurants are operating at a loss. Will the government stop its attack on restaurants…
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Madam Speaker, the relationship between Canada and Ukraine is special. Our country is home to more than 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent. The size of the Ukrainian diaspora is matched by few others in Canada, and it only continues to grow. As was mentioned by my colleague, the member for Abbotsford, our city is now home to a Ukrainian village. In the spring of 2022, I had the opportunity…
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Madam Speaker, thanks to this agreement with Ukraine, Canada can improve its ability to export not only agricultural products, but also agricultural equipment. This agreement with Ukraine can help us meet this challenge.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the most traumatic experience a parent can experience is the sudden loss of their child. Unfortunately, the Government of Canada has made this experience even more challenging for many families, by continuing to pay out child benefits and then seeking to claw them back. This puts undue stress and financial burden upon families that are grieving. Today, I present a petition on behalf o…
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