Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines the word “wacko” as “crazy; not sensible”. To many people in British Columbia, what is happening in our beaches, neighbourhoods, parks, playgrounds, coffee shops and even in our hospitals is truly wacko, because the Prime Minister and NDP Premier David Eby have surrendered our most precious public spaces to illegal drug dealers. This is…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as a member from British Columbia, I want to let you know that I support you in your role and believe you can run the House as Speaker and do not need multiple reminders from other members from British Columbia.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to point out that military-style weapons are only used by the military. I have no idea what the member is talking about when it comes to that. One thing we absolutely do not support is the budget provisions around safe supply in British Columbia. The Government of British Columbia came to Ottawa to ask for changes to that particular agreement. Conservative…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. The member mentioned the importance of maintaining our democratic institutions. We have a choice in this place, and I am happy to see co-operation across both sides of the House when someone is seeking to not give the information that was asked for and, in some cases, has fabricated …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, before I get into my question of privilege today, I just wanted to pass my condolences on to the family of the honourable John Fraser, a former Speaker of the House and B.C. member of Parliament who served honourably for both the Clark and Mulroney governments. I send my best to his family and friends. I rise on a question of privilege to address what I believe is a matter of fundamen…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the member acknowledged that he is not to use names, but there was no apology, and he simply carried on. It had the same effect. By naming a member's full name and not their title, he essentially got to do indirectly what he could not do directly.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Federal Land Initiative, broken down by year, by province or territory, and by type of end user (market housing developer, non-profit housing developer, municipality), between fiscal years 2017-18 and 2027-28: (a) how much funding has been allocated to the program; (b) how much funding has been committed; (c) how much funding has been transferred to the recipients; (d) how many …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Housing Accelerator Fund, broken down by year, by province or territory, and by type of end user (market housing developer, non-profit housing developer, municipality), between fiscal years 2017-18 and 2027-28: (a) how much funding has been allocated to the program; (b) how much funding has been committed; (c) how much funding has been transferred to the recipients; (d) how many…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on the topic of Bill C-38, the department estimates that around 3,500 individuals would be enfranchised. That ultimately means that any financial costs of integrating them would be put onto Indian bands. Section 10 bands have the autonomy to determine membership. Therefore, an individual would be able to obtain status from the Indian register after Bill C-38's passage. However, that l…
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Mr. Speaker, I totally disagree with the categorization the member opposite made of when we had the president of PHAC here. I was here, as were other members, and it is untrue that it was not done in a proper format. Parliament is a place that needs to be respected as an institution. I believe we should be able to get answers. Does the member believe firmly we should get answers in the most direct…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the member's intervention on this important debate on Bill C-38. Obviously, a number of inequities existed after various governments brought forward legislation. That has, unfortunately, hit upon many of the individuals that this legislation tries to target. I know this particular member has worked very hard with indigenous leaders, community members and indiv…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, during debate today, there were multiple references to my great province of British Columbia. I would ask for unanimous consent to table this letter from the—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to March Madness expenditures where government managers make extra purchases in an attempt to spend their entire budget allotment before the end of the fiscal year: what specific measures, if any, are in place to prevent or discourage such spending ahead of the end of the 2023-2024 fiscal year, broken down by the measure that each department or agency is taking?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, more and more British Columbians are lining up at food banks. That is not baloney. The fact that many cannot afford to drive with $1.99-a-litre gas is not baloney either. What is also not baloney is on page 75 of B.C.'s 2024 budget, where the provincial government blames the Prime Minister for forcing a 23% carbon tax hike on April 1. W…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, broken down by year since 2020: (a) how many newcomers came to Canada; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by status (i.e. permanent or temporary); (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by industry and occupation; and (d) what is the breakdown of (c) by how many newcomers are currently working in that industry and occupation versus how m…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the member's intervention on this issue. This is from a B.C. CTV news story that reads, “Our initial study intended to only interview low-income women who were single moms accessing those $10-per-day spots,” said Dr. Lea Caragata, director of the school of social work at UBC and co-author of the study. “After six months of intensive recruitment, we could only fi…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all Canadians who have helped take in Ukrainian families fleeing the illegal invasion of their homeland. This support comes from so many individuals, families, churches, community groups and local businesses that have put aside their own challenges in order to help out. The generosity we have seen has been amazing, with donations, housing and offers of work. People hav…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for sharing his experiences. I am a big fan of the Yiddish proverbs that he says, so maybe he has one he can share in addition to the one he shared already. Getting back to the subject at hand, I worry most that there was an amendment put to the legislation that would basically allow for an expansion of medical assistance in dying to persons with mental diso…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member in his speech today questioned the government's judgment on a lot of these issues. As a long-standing member of this place, I was hoping he would comment a bit further, because it seems to me that the Liberal government in particular somehow believes that if we create a law that changes the way institutions such as our health care system work, and there are not sufficient…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to our critic for justice. He has done yeoman service on committee and in this place on this subject, and I know it is very dear to him—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Kelowna is in housing hell. Rents have doubled and mortgage payments have tripled. Tent cities and long lineups at food banks are now commonplace. The housing minister touts investing millions in Kelowna through his housing accelerator fund, or HAF. Can the minister please share specifically how many homes in Kelowna, funded by last Oct…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, they cannot give a number because they did not require it. Kelowna's HAF action plan only refers to “investments in affordable housing such as land acquisition, investments in housing-related infrastructure such as sewer and water, and investments in community-related infrastructure that supports housing such as sidewalks, bridges and bike lanes”. Does the parliamentary secretary unde…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, so many of my residents struggle to pay for gas and groceries, particularly seniors on fixed incomes, single parents and persons with disabilities. We can fight this made-in-Canada inflation by supporting the Conservative leader's motion to cancel the April 1 carbon tax increase. Will the Liberal and NDP caucus members vote to stop t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, the only ones who are not acting here are us on this side, being responsible and saying what our constituents are feeling. The Prime Minister recognized the pain that his carbon tax caused and exempted home heating oil from it last fall, but this did not occur in my home province. The B.C. government said that it wanted an exemption for home heating oil from the NDP-Liberal governme…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance's involvement in the World Economic Forum (WEF): (a) is the minister still a member of the WEF's board of trustees, and, if not, why is she no longer a board member and on what date did the minister cease to be a board member; and (b) if the minister resigned from the board, what was the reason for the resignation?
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With regard to the amounts listed on page 143 of the Public Accounts of Canada 2023, Volume 3, related to fraudulent claims under Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion: (a) of the 100 cases listed as a fraudulent claims for the Canada Student Loan, how many were, and what dollar amount represented, fraudulent cases involving payments made to (i) non-Canadians or payments being…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the awarding of the $8.9 million ArriveCAN sole-sourced contract to GC Strategies: who (i) signed, (ii) authorized, the contract?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle's interventions because this is an area he knows well, having served both as the House leader for the opposition and as a Speaker. When I heard of these unfortunate instances with respect to the fundraising and appearances at a provincial Liberal convention, I phoned someone who used to work for a Speaker at the provincial leve…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, when I start talking about the very real concerns of federally regulated, provincially regulated and average, non-unionized workers, the member somehow tries to make it some sort of conspiracy theory. When the member starts spouting what seem to be conspiracy theories about how this is connected to this group and this group is connected to this group in the south, it sounds a little…
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Madam Speaker, I like how you think. I would simply say to my fellow member from British Columbia, first of all, I understand he is not going to be running for re-election. I have always respected his contributions to this place, and I just want to put that on the record and wish him a merry Christmas when we go. On the inflationary deficits, the carbon tax, the addition of things where we have pl…
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to the mushroom farm, we know that the bill simply gets handed down to customers and makes those Ontario-grown mushrooms that much more expensive, which is causing the issue that we see today in Canada's labour market where, right now, when there are open negotiations, unions are rightfully saying that the cost of living has gone up. Of course, there is pressure for th…
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Madam Speaker, it is certainly a great honour to join in this debate in the chamber. Before I get into the meat of the issue with Bill C-58, I would like to extend, to all the people who work in this chamber and also those who will be working in the other place after, a very merry Christmas. It is that time of year. While there does not seem to be a lot of charity in this room right now towards on…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my command of the French language is not the best, but I will try to answer the Bloc Québécois member's question. With regard to Bill C-58, what is important for me, as a western MP, is to fully understand how this works in Quebec. That is a question I will be asking Conservative Party members from Quebec. I hope I will have a clear answer for the member.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, back in 2015, it was the Liberal Prime Minister who told Canadians that better was always possible. However, after eight years, when it comes to housing, literally everything is worse. Many cannot find homes they can afford. Worse, there are now many in homes they can no longer afford. It is small wonder that millions of Canadians have tuned in to watch the Conservative leader's “hous…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would ask the member to talk a little more about inflation and how it is affecting people, particularly working men and women right across this country, unionized or not. Maybe there is a message that he would like to share, especially in relation to the message from the member for Carleton, to let working people know there is some hope around the corner.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, asking to make sure we have interpretation is the right of every member of Parliament. I take offence to what that member said.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is well known in this place that we do not refer to hon. members as snake oil salesmen or other negative things. All members here, if they are going to debate, should debate and use either a member's title or the name of their riding. I just do not think it is parliamentary language, and the member should maybe dwell upon our rules a bit more.
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With regard to the export of Canada’s plastic waste under the Basel Convention: (a) what measures are in place to ensure that plastic waste exported without a permit is clean, sorted, and intended for recycling; (b) how many times since January 1, 2021, has the government imposed punitive measures on companies for failing to comply with these requirements; (c) does the government monitor the final…
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With regard to the Rental Construction Financing Initiative: (a) how much funding has been provided under the initiative since the creation of the program; (b) what are the details of all projects approved to date, including, for each, the (i) location, (ii) number of units, (iii) value of the project, (iv) amount of financing, (v) type of financing, (vi) financing recipient, if known, (vii) date …
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With regard to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA): (a) what is the current backlog of air traffic complaints, including the number of complaints and the length of time before new complaints are adjudicated; (b) what is the government’s plan to reduce the backlog; (c) does the government have a target date for when the backlog will be reduced to less than six months, and, if so, what is the t…
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With regard to government expenditures related to the Prime Minister’s trip to New York in September 2023, to attend the United Nations General Assembly: (a) what are the expenditures incurred to date, in total and broken down by type of expense; (b) how many members were part of the Canadian delegation; (c) what are the names and titles of the delegation members; (d) what was the total amount spe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, by rejecting Conservative amendments to create bright-line rules, such as those regarding investments from companies headquartered in hostile states being immediately referred to a review, and by not exempting our Five Eyes partners, which all clearly show not just democratic values but also market values, we are competing on taxes, environmental processes and investment rules for tim…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the words of the member of Parliament for North Okanagan—Shuswap, as well as his leadership, particularly when it comes to the fight against aquatic invasive species. Conservatives know that, if Canada is going to compete for foreign direct investment, we need to have three things right: We need proper investment rules, a competitive tax environment and environm…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I know that the parliamentary secretary is so full of criticism of us because she cannot point to any real results of her own government. However, I have not heard her even talk about what we are here to do, which is on the concurrence—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am glad that speech is finally over. That particular member made reference to a Homer Simpson award. Homer Simpson would at least admit he has made a mistake by saying “D'oh!” This particular Prime Minister and that member who supports him go rake-walking almost every day, whether it be on foreign policy or on the economy. They smack into a rake and instead of saying “D'oh!” and a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Highway 97 between Peachland and Summerland has become four lanes, and the Hope-Princeton Highway has been widened. These investments were not made by a federal government for 30 years but were done by the Harper government. There were changes in the 2014 gas tax agreement that allowed gas taxes to be used for a whole range of things, and we saw advanced waste-water treatment all thro…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canadian radio lost a good one this month. Ted Farr began his radio career 54 years ago, in 1969. Many remember “Tall Ted” on CKLG's Doc Harris Show. Ted's colleagues have remembered him for being an outstanding coach and mentor. I met Ted at Kelowna's AM 1150, where he led the news team. Ted was dedicated in all that he did. Ted Farr's interviews always got to the heart of the issue;…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I too am concerned about many of the panels, committees, subcommittees, working groups, expert groups and other bodies, because here in Canada we have a bureaucracy of highly technical issues that sometimes can be an irritant for another country, such as Ukraine. We also know that the government has been terrible in its record on the Canada-Europe free trade agreement, the CETA, for…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I asked this question of a member who spoke earlier. I would like to ask this member specifically, given the Liberal government's track record on trade when it comes to setting up panels and committees for technical working groups. As we have seen on CETA, the Canada-European free trade agreement, many of those industry panels have not even met. That means Canadians have not been ab…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, to my fellow British Columbian across the way, congratulations for making it this far. I wanted to ask the hon. member about one thing. There is a missing component to his right to repair, and that is not the member's fault. The Copyright Act can be changed to allow for someone to move around a technology protection measure. That is something we can clearly do in this place. However, …
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