Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, CIBC is the first bank to show that, on 20% of its mortgages, the monthly payment does not cover interest and increases what the borrowers owe on top of their original mortgages. Does the Minister of Finance agree that, inevitably, these higher debts must be paid down? That is something that borrowers cannot afford now, let alone at a higher cost later. If she believes that is true, w…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not buying the house of debt that the minister is selling. Kelowna is now recognized as one of Canada's top-five highest rents, and it shows. The Minister of Housing has failed to house the homeless on the streets of Kelowna. With rentals and home prices doubling, there is no way that his policies can help them, let alone the middle class and those working to join it. Do…
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Madam Speaker, governments are made of people, and people make mistakes. After talking to many of our allies and seeing what our other Five Eyes partners in the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia have done, the government probably heard the feedback that it was a black eye that it took so long for Huawei to be banned from Canada's 5G infrastructure. This is now perhaps an over…
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Madam Speaker, I do not have a precise answer to the member's question, but I do know that this is not it. The government has basically thrown everything to a one-sided argument. Industry has raised concerns with the government that there is no two-way communication. Industry can report to government, but there is no way to have any kind of forward guidance from the government in this legislation.…
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives have been calling for the government to deal with the very real threat of foreign interference for years. This is not only a threat on the government side but also something that takes on other forms, such as cyber-espionage. Not everything in this bill is terrible, but it could have been structured better. As the previous member from Winnipeg said, Conservatives on th…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. I welcome this debate because essentially what the government has put forward in the bill is two words: “Trust us”. We should trust the government and give it all these powers for the Telecommunications Act, expanding it drastically. We should trust the government when it comes to designati…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government says it wants to triple the carbon tax up to $170 a tonne. Thanks to British Columbia's recently tabled budget, we know how much economic harm tripling the carbon tax may cause. On April 1, the carbon tax goes up to $65 a tonne and may cost British Columbians an extra $600 million a year. It is estimated that with the Liberal plan to triple the cost, the cost ma…
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Mr. Speaker, in today's QP proceedings I think you will find that the Minister of Transport used the term “ambulance chasers”. I would remind the minister and the government that we are all hon. members and I think you, Mr. Speaker, should rule on whether or not the use of such terms toward another member is parliamentary.
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Mr. Speaker, John in Sarnia and seniors in my riding cannot eat those talking points. Even Liberal wannabe leader Mark Carney, who moonlights as an adviser to the Prime Minister, knows that the Liberal government has it wrong. He knows its runaway deficit spending is inflationary. He said, “it's not all imported inflation. In fact, most of it is now domestically generated inflation.” After eight y…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, the Central Okanagan Food Bank has had 350 more seniors seeking help in the last 60 days. After eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, local animal shelters are so full as people can no longer afford to care for their pets. After eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, many of my residents can no longer afford their mortgage paym…
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Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of hot air coming from that side. After eight years of the Liberal government, local animal shelters are filling up because their owners cannot afford to keep their pets. In the last two months, the Central Okanagan Food Bank has added 350 seniors who need their help. Governor Macklem said, “high inflation is making life more difficult for Canadians, especially those wi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to contracts that were cancelled by the government since January 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity: (a) how many contracts have been cancelled; (b) what is the total amount paid out in cancellation fees or penalties; and (c) what are the details of all such cancellations, including, for each, the (i) date the contract was signed, (…
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With regard to contracts that were cancelled by the government since January 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity: (a) how many contracts have been cancelled; (b) what is the total amount paid out in cancellation fees or penalties; and (c) what are the details of all such cancellations, including, for each, the (i) date the contract was signed, (…
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Madam Speaker, I am here today to present a petition from people across Canada who are growing increasingly concerned with what is happening in Iran with respect to the Government of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp. There is a growing sense that the Government of Canada is not taking action on this issue. We can all think of Mahsa Amini and some of the other people who have lost thei…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, on this day I would sincerely like to thank the members of the Merritt RCMP detachment. The last 12 months have been very challenging for the community of Merritt. Flooding led to evacuations, and evacuations sadly attracted crime, such as looting and vandalism. This all significantly adds to the workload of every officer in this community, not to mention officers and their own fami…
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Mr. Speaker, a successful agri-food business owner in my riding has shown me his freight bills with large surcharges from shipping companies that have been added due to the carbon tax. This entrepreneur takes great pride in using made-in-Canada inputs but wonders how much longer he can continue to absorb these extra costs. Will the Prime Minister stop this made-in-Canada inflation and cancel his p…
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Mr. Speaker, the government does not have a plan for the environment. It has a tax plan that it is going to triple. Even the Governor of the Bank of Canada has said that the carbon tax is inflationary. These surcharges are a textbook example of made-in-Canada inflation. A food processor, like my constituent, has to pass on those surcharges. The carbon tax is driving up the cost of groceries and fo…
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Mr. Speaker, back in August, the Prime Minister made a speech in which he talked about the complex challenges facing Canada. The Prime Minister was clear that strong institutions are among those things that guarantee our freedom. Let us pause for a moment and reflect on the current state of our institutions. There is an immigration backlog of over a million people. Many Canadians still cannot obta…
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Madam Speaker, I too share concerns with Bill C-27, particularly around the artificial intelligence and data act. Specifically, I agree with her. Having one minister solely delegated the responsibility for a wide variety of different regulations that might affect private as well as public data is too much. As Parliament, we should be looking into this and setting out the parameters. The government…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned that justice delayed is justice denied. One observation I have, and I am not pointing the finger at anyone within the organization, is that the current review process the RCMP has for complaints, whether because of vexatious complaints or faulty processes, seems to be quite long. It can take over a year before someone even has their file updated so that the…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate hearing from my fellow Okanagan member of Parliament. It is always good that we can talk about issues that we agree on. I really do hope he will support any future legislation that the Conservatives would bring to eliminate the excise tax on our small and medium-sized wineries, distillers and breweries. The member mentioned student loans and the charging of interest. Th…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here, or least to be with the House virtually. It is always an honour to rise on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. I would like to thank the member for Sarnia—Lambton for her leadership in this Parliament on this issue. God knows we need these issues brought up because, in some cases, the issue around pension reform and the need…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a good day to join my colleagues in the House of Commons for an important debate on Bill S-5, which was known in the last Parliament as Bill C-28. In the last Parliament, I served as opposition critic for the environment and had the chance to work with many members in the chamber who are quite concerned about the environment. Since the Canadian Environmental Protection …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate hearing my colleague speak today about some very important points to his constituents, particularly wishing Hayden the best. This bill would take up what was a temporary trial experiment in regard to chemical management, put forward by the Hon. Rona Ambrose under Mr. Harper. There were a number of amendments made by the Senate without having any practical knowledge of i…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from British Columbia for raising this. It almost seems like the government believes that if all parties agree, there is no process or no point in having members of Parliament go through the legislation. This is complex legislation; it touches upon criminal law, and there are going to be different parts of the country that are going to be affected differ…
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Madam Speaker, I have many questions and comments about the member, but I will start with this. First, I am not sensitive to the member; I am just tired of him. Second, I have been on the committee and understand how this works. There is a very small number of MPs on committee and the rest of us in this chamber, who are not on the environment committee, will not be able to raise those questions. I…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, it is important to me that the process be enriched by discussions in the House. I think that is also important to members from across the country, especially those from Quebec. As I said, the Senate put forward many amendments. We will have to discuss whether those amendments are good for the bill. I do not think they all are, but I would like to hear from other members. …
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Madam Speaker, we know that member is feeling the heat from the new Conservative leader, who has been putting out a message, particularly if we look at how the last election went in his neck of the woods. People are starting to abandon the New Democrats because they do not champion the regular working person and, instead, champion certain issues without necessarily having any balance whatsoever. W…
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Mr. Speaker, I remember being a city councillor in Penticton, where the Department of Fisheries and Oceans told the Penticton planning department that there was a fish habitat area in a chunk of land where we wanted to put in some stairs and it was prohibited. It turned out it was just a golf course's water hazard. There are issues when Ottawa says something falls under a particular definition tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I find the hon. member for Dufferin—Caledon refreshing when he speaks on these issues. Liberal hypocrisy seems to be front and centre on Bill S-5. This is from the same government that starts talking about the need to fast-track certain projects, like LNG. It is talking about lithium without actually talking about the fact that our regulatory system is broken and without talking about…
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Madam Speaker, the member mentioned the right to a healthy environment. I know she talked about some of the changes that the Senate made. However, I find it really important. The member mentioned that it should be clear what the rules are. When we use the term “right” in this place, we could open up the Constitution Act, 1982, and see the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, where they are very clear a…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the minister's presence today. I am disappointed the government is moving forward with such a large expansion without necessarily having debate. Every province, with the exception of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, has a program to help seniors, as well as low-income children, to get dental care. In my own home province, John Horgan, the premier, has said on beh…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the speech from the member for Kingston and the Islands, and I want to reiterate that we do have a point of agreement. I believe all provinces would have the incentive here to simply claw back or even draw down what they would usually give to someone who is in particularly dire need, particularly persons with disabilities. However, the issue here is that this bill shoul…
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Madam Speaker, I want to quickly raise that students will actually be paying higher interest rates under the government. That is something that has recently been revealed. The member may want to consider his caucus talking about that. The member talked about fiscal discipline. Conservatives are supporting this bill because it has targeted tax relief to help Canadians who are struggling right now. …
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Guelph raised the Bank of Canada multiple times, as he also raised the ideas of helping struggling Canadians and the need to fight inflation. On March 11 of this year, Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, wrote to the finance committee, and I am just going to take an excerpt from that: According to the Bank's calculations, if the charge were to be removed f…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Banff—Airdrie for keeping the focus on Canadians in his speech. The Liberal member across the way was talking about Bill C-31, not Bill C-30. The Parliamentary Budget Officer will be doing an update next week on the cost of that, so I think it is important that we all wait and get that costing before we have a fair analysis of Bill C-31. I want t…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives support the tax relief found in Bill C-30 and have been doing our part to be helpful to those Canadians. Our leader has gone throughout this great country and has heard the personal stories from so many people who are suffering right now under incredible taxation and inflation under the current government. I would hope the member would recognize that the same famil…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Foothills. I always learn so much when he is on his feet. I appreciate the opportunity to rise and debate today. Make no mistake: Inflation is a very serious concern. Inflation, as we all know, leads to the Bank of Canada raising interest rates, and that creates a whole new number of very serious concerns. Yesterday, before I began …
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Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the hon. member raises the Quebec cap-and-trade system. It is a really good thing to focus on. As the carbon tax increases in other parts of the country, tripling, and causing all sorts of economic hardships for families, as well as for industries I should add, if the Quebec cap-and-trade system does not increase, then it will be out of sync with the governm…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly listened to this member. When she stands up to speak on behalf of her constituents, I find her to be a very strong member with firm things to say, but to trivialize other legitimate points of view in a democracy and to say that one person is the adult in the room trivializes everyone else. I think it is actually unbecoming of her as a member and of this place. She can disa…
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Mr. Speaker, I would certainly say that the hon. member raised the fact that there was a price jump in British Columbia in the Lower Mainland by 25¢. That was because of a shortage of ethanol, as more governments start to pull in and draw on that limited resource for ethanol requirements. British Columbia is also short 90,000 barrels a day. That, structurally, makes us more dependent on the Americ…
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Mr. Speaker, regarding the inflation we are currently facing and this particular bill, Bill C-30, “We’re not going to deny that there are households seriously in need of help right now in this inflationary environment. But, from a policy perspective, we all know that sending out money as an inflation-support measure is inherently...inflationary.” That is from a senior economist at the Bank of Mont…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to participate in the debate today on Bill C-30, an act to amend the Income Tax Act. Before I go any further, let us all recognize that this bill ultimately proposes, for six months on a temporary basis, to increase the GST credit for those earning up to $49,200, or to $58,500 if it happens to be a household with children. That is when the benefit will be fully phased o…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the minister to reflect on a quote and answer a question. Avery Shenfeld, the chief economist at CIBC, said, “In a period of high inflation and excess demand, cutting taxes or handing out cheques can add fuel to the inflationary fire, and make the job of a central bank that’s raising rates to cool demand all that more troublesome.” The government spent this whole…
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Madam Speaker, I will start with the last question the member opposite had and see if I have time for the other ones. First of all, in a question earlier to the Minister of Tourism during his speech, I asked specifically why the government did not do the hard work within the budget that was announced this year. The Liberals said that they would have billions of dollars from a policy review to look…
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Madam Speaker, that is a great question. I thank my colleague for his work, standing up for his constituents. First, I hope that the Prime Minister can avoid wanting to act as Santa Claus and handing out these kinds of cheques himself during that time. That is just a bit of a joke. Getting to the issue, this one-time help, which Conservatives support, is welcome tax relief for families, which woul…
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Madam Speaker, this government definitely lacks respect for Parliament and parliamentarians. That is true. The problem is that the government believes that the other parties are not important. It uses the media for its own purposes. It is important for all parliamentarians that the government treat all members with a modicum of respect. I would encourage the government to think about that.
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Madam Speaker, I think my fellow British Columbian answered his own question. The New Democrats tend to want too many things connected to too many other things. They are ideologically against the oil and gas sector, despite its being one of the chief sources of green technologies and despite its helping pay for hospitals and other important social services. They are ideologically opposed to that. …
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With regard to the government’s divestiture of the Summerland Research and Development Centre: (a) what is the purpose for the divestiture; (b) what are the lot numbers; (c) what is the estimated date for divestiture; (d) is there a map outlining the boundaries of those lots, and, if so, what is the map and outline description; and (e) has an entity been indemnified to divest the lots to, and, if …
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With regard to the statement, in June 2022, at the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) is currently operating with approximately 600 fewer screening agents compared to pre-pandemic staffing levels: (a) why is CATSA operating with fewer screeners; (b) when will CATSA meet or exceed its pre-pandemic staffing levels; (c) what action…
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