Parliamentary Speeches

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, Commissioner Lucki told Parliament that she, “was not directed to publicly release information about weapons used...to help advance pending gun control legislation.” We now have audio recordings where the Commissioner states, “Does anybody realize what's going on in the world of...guns”. She then continues, “they're...trying to get a legislation going.” The commissioner pressured he…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, last year, the Liberal member for Edmonton Centre stood next to Chief Billy Morin of Enoch Cree Nation and promised funding to bring high-speed Internet to indigenous communities. I just got off the phone with the chief. They applied for the funding, and the Liberal government denied their application. It told them that their Internet was good enough. Well, the fact is, Enoch Cree N…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadians have been devastated by the effects of hurricane Fiona this past weekend. They were then shocked to learn from Nova Scotia Power and Premier Tim Houston that emergency crews from our American neighbours were unable to cross the border due to the ArriveCAN app. The Prime Minister stated twice in the House today that no delays happened, but I want to hear it from the …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I think you can understand that we would be confused when the Minister of Emergency Preparedness acknowledged there were delays at the border. Now the Prime Minister is saying that there were no delays, and the Minister of Public Safety is backing him up. We are not sure what the message is coming out of the government, but I think we can all agree that given the government has agreed…

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative leader will put people first: their retirements, their paycheques, their homes and their country. We need to restore the hope of home ownership in this country. Right now, young people and newcomers cannot get a home because local government gatekeepers block housing with heavy fees and long delays for building permits, leaving us with the fewest houses per capita…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, we know that the government's revenues have been inflated by this inflationary environment and now the government is saying it will be returning some of the excess government revenues to taxpayers through these measures. However, I am very concerned that the underlying problem is not being dealt with here, the underlying problem being high inflation rates. Can the member tell this Hou…

Madam Speaker, before I begin I would like to give my deepest condolences on behalf of the constituents of Sturgeon River—Parkland for those lost at James Smith Cree Nation. Sturgeon River—Parkland is home to many first nations and Métis people, including the Enoch Cree Nation and the Alexander First Nation. I know that the events that took place in Saskatchewan have hit all of my constituents, pa…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, during the April 28 meeting with the RCMP commissioner and Superintendent Campbell, there were notes handwritten that stated that the commissioner promised to release information about an active criminal investigation to support a pending announcement on gun control. The Minister of Emergency Preparedness has been standing in the House saying that there was no interference, but the Pr…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly clear why the government wanted to have a secret inquiry on this. In a statement yesterday, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki did not deny that she promised the Minister of Emergency Preparedness that she would release information surrounding the Nova Scotia mass shooting. People are not in the habit of making promises unless they are asked to do so. Did the M…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I read a number of days ago with great interest a story about an Ottawa-area lifelong hunter who had his firearms taken away because of a tip from a local community mental health area that said the man was not taking his medication. Police moved immediately and seized this man's firearms. It was only after petitioning a judge and demonstrating to a judge that he did not have any men…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, in a shocking display of hypocrisy this past weekend in Montreal, German Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel had the audacity to call the production of Alberta’s oil sands a “crime”. The Aston Martin driver is also sponsored by Saudi Aramco, the largest oil producer on the planet. Clearly, he does not have a problem taking money from oil companies. Meanwhile, millions of barrels of Ru…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has repeatedly claimed, “At the recommendation of police, we invoked the Emergencies Act”. I know he likes to quote RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, so I will try this one on for size. She said, “No, there was never a question of requesting the Emergencies Act”. Clearly, it was not an option considered by police. Now the minister is saying what he really m…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, without parliamentary accountability, Canadians would never know the truth about how the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act. We were led to believe that protesters tried to burn down a building, which was false. We were led to believe that they were being funded with dark money, which was false. We were led to believe that they were planning to violently overthrow the gove…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the minister's story keeps changing. Invoking the Emergencies Act set a precedent in our country's history. There is no room for the government to mislead, equivocate or to be misunderstood. Parliament was led to believe by the Minister of Public Safety that police asked the government to invoke the Emergencies Act, but now we know that is false. Will the minister show some humility a…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is disturbing that Conservatives needed to ask the police to find out that the minister's statement claiming that police recommended the government invoke the Emergencies Act was in fact false. No such recommendations were made by police. The deputy minister tried to explain the minister's claims, saying he was misunderstood. Why did the minister repeatedly fail to give Parliament …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 19, at the public safety committee, the Minister of Public Safety confirmed that he stood by his statement in Parliament on May 2 when he said, “At the recommendation of [law enforcement], we invoked the Emergencies Act”. We now know that police did not make this recommendation and his own deputy minister said yesterday that he was misunderstood. When did it become ac…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the fact of the matter is that even before the government brought forward this tax credit, oil and gas companies in this country were already investing in carbon capture. Companies in Saskatchewan and Alberta have been sequestering carbon for enhanced oil recovery purposes and non-enhanced oil recovery purposes. We have Whitecap Resources' Weyburn project, the Shell Quest project, t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member. We know that in the constitutional order of this country, it is not the federal government but the provincial governments that are primarily responsible for the delivery of health care, and I was very disappointed to see yet another broken Liberal promise from the last election. The Liberals promised a special Canada mental health transfer that would be imme…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to say that I have been receiving complaints from day care centres across this country about the red tape in the government's early learning and child care plan. I watched this very closely because I want an early learning and child care program to succeed in this country, but the government is not creating a program that will succeed. Even The Globe and Mail recognized that …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, today we debating Bill C-19, the budget implementation act, and I will be coming at this debate from the perspective of somebody who is a member of a young family, a father of a young child and an Albertan. For the past seven budgets, we have seen a Liberal government that has always blown through its self-imposed fiscal guardrails. It has always spent far more than what its members…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I get two questions in a row. My second question for the member is about the first home savings account, we know that young, working families simply cannot afford to put away $40,000 into a savings account. What we are going to see with this program is the children of very wealthy people whose parents are giving them the money to put into the first home savings account will be the o…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I noticed that the member was talking about the government's early learning and child care promise to create a $10-a-day day care system in this country. What we are seeing on the ground is a very different story. It looks like the government is creating a two-tier day care system in this country. I am getting messages from day cares across the country saying they cannot even apply …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, our memories are very clear on this side of the House. The minister repeatedly stated that police recommended that the government invoke the Emergencies Act. However, now we know that not a single police force in this country made that recommendation. The minister has had multiple opportunities to clarify, but he stood by his statement. Now his deputy minister is saying that the minis…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to pay tribute to Canada's senior army reserve infantry regiment, the Governor General's Foot Guards, as it celebrates its 150th anniversary of its founding on June 7, 1872. The foot guards have a proud history as old as Canada itself. The regiment has fought in every war Canada has been a part of, and its members have received the highest decorations, including two Vict…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows full well that Bill C-21 does nothing to tackle gangs and organized crime. It is no surprise, because the Liberal government always fails to get tough on hardened criminals. Under Bill C-5, they are removing mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes committed with firearms. In a recent access to information response, it was revealed that the Liberal government …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I believe it is so important that we protect and promote francophone language and culture in our country. I am proud to represent a very large Franco-Albertan riding with towns like Morinville, Legal and Rivière Qui Barre. We had a tragedy happen last summer, where the iconic St. Jean Baptiste Church burned to the ground. It was about a year ago. This was really an icon for the Fran…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, that still does not answer the question. The RCMP commissioner may have said it was necessary, but she clearly refuted what the minister's claim was, which was that they had recommended it. On May 2, the Minister of Public Safety stated in the House, “At the recommendation of police, we invoked the Emergencies Act”. On April 28, he further stated, “It was on the advice of law enforcem…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has claimed numerous times that he invoked the Emergencies Act after a recommendation to do so by law enforcement. Last week, RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki told committee that, “There was never a question of requesting the Emergencies Act,” and that she could think of no other law enforcement body requesting it, either. Can the minister tell Canadians wh…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this petition in support of Bill S-223. Bill S-223 seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. It would make it a criminal offence for a person in Canada to go abroad and receive an organ that has been taken without the consent of the person who is donating the organ. Bill S-223 has passed the Senate unanimously three times and it passed the House …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government likes to brag about its investments to combat gun violence, but an access-to-information disclosure reveals a different story. This Liberal government failed to spend $325 million budgeted to combat gun and gang violence. In fact, only $140 million of the promised funding since 2017 has been spent. Meanwhile, gun violence explodes across the country, and now th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order arising out of question period. In response to my questions about what appears to be contradictory testimony from the RCMP commissioner and the Minister of Public Safety, the Minister of Public Safety accused me of being reckless and misleading the House. It gets hot in here, and I know I am guilty of that, but I would ask that the minister apologize for the…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in further shocking testimony, the RCMP commissioner admitted at committee that border protests were cleared without using any powers under the Emergencies Act. On May 3, the minister said that the government needed to invoke the act to clear the border. Clearly, the minister and the commissioner cannot both be right. Will the minister tell Canadians: Is the RCMP commissioner misleadi…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner for the RCMP, Brenda Lucki, just gave shocking testimony at committee, which contradicts a key claim of the Liberal government. For weeks, the Minister of Public Safety has claimed that law enforcement asked the government to invoke the Emergencies Act. In fact, on May 3, the minister said he acted on the recommendations of law enforcement. Commissioner Lucki testifie…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are rightly concerned about the Liberal government's political interference with the inquiry into the Emergencies Act. The Prime Minister has refused to turn over key evidence that cabinet used to justify invoking extraordinary powers, and questions remain on how and why it selected Justice Rouleau to head the inquiry. Could the Prime Minister clear the air and confirm to th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, he is avoiding the question again, but I will move on. This past weekend, Ottawa saw the so-called “Rolling Thunder” protest come and go without major incident. During the "freedom convoy” protest, the government claimed that it needed the Emergencies Act because it needed to compel tow truck drivers to remove the protesters. Over this last weekend, we saw many vehicles towed without …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the Minister of Public Safety the same question I asked yesterday, a question that he suspiciously avoided answering. Did any minister or members of their political staff speak with Justice Rouleau before his appointment as commissioner on the inquiry into the Emergencies Act? Did they discuss what kind of evidence the inquiry would or would not seek, including documents co…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I certainly hope this is not the evidence the government is hoping to rely on. During the appointment process for the Emergencies Act inquiry, which led to the selection of Justice Rouleau, can the Minister of Public Safety confirm whether any ministers or members of their political staff spoke with the judge before his appointment? If so, did they discuss what kind of evidence the in…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I guess I will take that as a no. Appointing a commissioner to lead the inquiry into the government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act must be a process that is completely transparent. Parliament was in no way consulted by the Liberal government on the appointment of Justice Rouleau. For an inquiry as important as this, Canadians deserve to know how and why the government dete…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we have asked many times for the government to confirm if it will disclose the evidence that justified the invocation of the Emergencies Act. Every time, it has refused. If the government has the evidence to support its extraordinary actions, it should be pleased to take the opportunity to table it in the House today. Canadians are increasingly wondering whether the Liberal government…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act is crystal clear. The independent public inquiry must look into the circumstances leading up to and the measures used by the government under the Emergencies Act. It is completely inappropriate for the Prime Minister to try to direct the scope of this inquiry by predetermining what the commissioner must investigate. This is political interference. It is up to the c…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, for over 100 years the bells of St. Jean Baptiste church in Morinville, Alberta could be heard for miles around. The church was a place of worship, a place to mourn and a place to celebrate for generations of Catholic, indigenous, Métis and Franco-Albertans. On June 30 of last year, in a disturbing act of hatred, this iconic structure was burned to the ground, and for the first time i…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to know the full truth and nothing but the truth on how the Liberal government came to its decision that the threshold had been met to invoke the Emergencies Act. Key evidence considered by cabinet would include a complete legal and constitutional analysis on the legality of this decision. Without this information, the inquiry will not be able to perform its legislat…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives and Canada’s Civil Liberties Association were disturbed to see that the Liberals are attempting to control the scope of the inquiry into the Emergencies Act by directing the commissioner to focus on the actions of the protesters and not the actions of the government. The purpose of this inquiry is not to hold Canadian protesters accountable, but to hold the government ac…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in response to repeated questions about what documents would be available for the inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness indicated that documents covered by privilege, such as the advice of the justice department to cabinet, would not be disclosed. The measures used by the government represent the most significant infringement on…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to information provided to the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, including through his staff, about the police action taken related to the protests in Ottawa on February 18 and 19, 2022: (a) what are the details of all the information which was provided to the minister related to the rules of engagement for the police forces in Ottawa on those days, including (i) who provided the inf…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to information provided to the Minister of Public Safety, including through his staff, about the police action taken related to the protests in Ottawa on February 18 and 19, 2022: (a) what are the details of all information which was provided to the minister related to the rules of engagement for the police forces in Ottawa on those days, including (i) who provided the information, (ii…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the information provided to the Prime Minister, including through his staff, about the police action taken related to the protests in Ottawa on February 18 and 19, 2022: (a) what are the details of all the information which was provided to the Prime Minister related to the rules of engagement for the police forces in Ottawa on those days, including (i) who provided the information, …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is tax time in Canada and millions of Canadians are filing their tax returns. Last year, many Canadians received their carbon tax rebate in full, but this year they have to wait three more months just to get a quarter of what they received last year. With inflation at generational highs, the Liberals' move to quarterly payments means less money for Canadian families. Canadians want…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member who represents the soup and salad bowl of Canada. I like to think I represent the little potato part of Canada. Maybe the Prime Minister should give it a visit. We know that, with the cost of fertilizer, the input costs are going through the roof. The government's climate policies are really increasing the cost of this, and we know that historically an inc…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely right. We are seeing a labour shortage all across the country. There are a lot of jobs available for people, but we simply do not have people either applying for them or available for those jobs. I think the government must do what it can to encourage people to get off the bench and get back into the workforce, whether they are new retirees or young p…