Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Calgary Shepard opened by saying that he was, perhaps, a bit too curmudgeonly, and that he was not around in 1971, so I do not know where that puts me, because I was around in 1971, so I may be on the other side of that. What we do share is that we are not burdened with a legal education, although one of my four daughters reminds me that perhaps I would benefi…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, in the earlier debate, the hon. member referenced questions that colleagues from this side of the House were asking as to the status of the consultations and the actual number of asks from provinces. I come much more from an ag background, where there is a long-standing tradition where ag is a shared jurisdiction. We have a long-standing tradition of a 60-40 cost share on much of th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, when asked, farmers have stated that their number one worry is not the market, it is not the weather, it is not international trade; it is the policies of the federal government. The delivery of seeds and plants to the farm incurs the carbon tax. The manufacture and delivery of fertilizer incurs the carbon tax. The delivery of farm products to market incurs the carbon tax. The governm…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I heard the hon. member say that he hopes that inflation does not continue. What is this government's plan? It is proposing a one-off payment in response to high inflation. I am glad that the government is now acknowledging high inflation. If this continues, is the plan a continued series of one-off payments? What is the government's plan to address core inflation? I, too, agree and…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, with reference to my hon. colleague across the way who was questioning as to whether this inflation was being driven more by supply-side economics, I wonder if the member could comment as to whether it is the supply side from economic goods or the supply of cash, in his opinion, that is driving this inflation.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated my hon. colleague's speech, and I appreciated that I heard, twice, his use of the phrase “rein in spending”. Earlier in this debate, I asked our colleague, the member for Ottawa Centre what the government's plan was going forward and whether it was more of a series of one-off payments in response to inflation. I am encouraged to hear the beginnings of a plan through the …

Madam Speaker, it is always an honour and a privilege to rise in this chamber and represent the voices of those in Chatham-Kent—Leamington, particularly in this solemn hour and on this day of tribute. I have only known one sovereign. In fact, over 90% of Canadians have only known one sovereign: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Last night, before boarding the plane to come to Ottawa, I stopped and v…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, every Canadian and every human being should have access to food. On June 8, I attended the retirement of Jim Cornelius, the accomplished executive director of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank for over 24 years, five of which overlapped my time with that organization. Established in 1983, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank has a footprint that can be seen all across Canada in growing projects in…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and the Hydro One Conduit Project: (a) did WDBA sole source a contract with AMICO for the WDBA Hydro One Conduit Project with an entirely different design criteria that involved the conduit fill specifications changing from 200 metres to 70 metres, and, if so, why; (b) how many days in April of 2022 was the project at a standstill, and why…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague from Banff—Airdrie for his opinion of the direction the government has given to the CRTC to implement Bill C-11. What does he think of the direction? I have not seen it.

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and the Hydro One Conduit Project: (a) on what date did the current WDBA CEO, Bryce Phillips, become aware of the Kinectrics report on the Hydro One Conduit Project; (b) what was the project's injection failure; (c) did WDBA grant CIMA+ full authority over the role of designer and of contract administrator on the WDBA Hydro One Conduit Pro…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and the Hydro One Conduit Project: (a) did the WDBA consider Farhad Ganji to be in a conflict of interest by managing the CIMA+ review of the WDBA Hydro One Conduit Project as a WDBA employee and former CIMA+ employee; (b) who made the determination to have Farhad Ganji be a lead in the review; (c) to whom did Farhad Ganji report, and to w…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and the design failure related to the Hydro One Conduit Project: (a) does the WDBA accept the independent engineering and geotechnical evidence that the failure was a design-related one, and, if not, why; (b) did the WDBA refuse the industry standard of accessing the professional performance insurance they were required to have, and, if so…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, next week I will give a member's statement acknowledging Jim Cornelius and his role. Yes, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, with a footprint across Canada in the agricultural community, grows food here, sells it into the market and then uses those funds to acquire food. In my remarks, I just touched on how Canada delinked our food aid to the rest of the parts of the world, so we are not des…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, some things we, in primary agriculture in Canada, take for granted are actually not very well known in other parts of the world. What we consider as second nature for conservation and agriculture, such as crop rotation and keeping the ground covered with residue, are not well known in places such as Ethiopia. It was the first to plow the land, and has been for 7,000 years, so there is a…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, yes, I absolutely will. I enjoy the work my hon. colleague and I do together at the agriculture committee. We need both short-term and long-term responses. There is a call for an immediate cash injection, and I support those efforts. From a longer-term perspective, Canada has expertise. In my time at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, I often spoke, and it was referenced earlier by the membe…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, would my colleague agree with the statement that world hunger is being induced by two causes? The one we think of right now is the lack of availability of food and the situation in Ukraine causing or exacerbating that, but the second thing that is causing hunger around the world, particularly in the global south, is simply the cost of food. It is becoming unaffordable in so many places.…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Regina—Lewvan. I wish I were speaking more about Canadian food security this evening than speaking about global food insecurity. Prior to being elected, I farmed for most of my life. I have spent a lot of time in agricultural organizations and I also worked with an internationally focused NGO. It has been mentioned here tonight, the C…

Government Orders

Madam Chair, I want to echo the comments of my Bloc colleague. I too enjoy working with the member for Beauce and I want to acknowledge that his mastery of the English language is surpassing my mastery of his mother tongue. This past week, a number of us met with representatives from the Atlantic Grains Council, Quebec grain growers and Ontario grain growers. They supplied us with a lot of informa…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I guess my immediate response goes back to how one backs up a double-wheeled wagon. The fastest way to back up a double-wheeled wagon is to do it very slowly. Those from a farming background will know that, because if it is rammed through, it will have to be done again. That takes more time and more effort, with more acrimony and things like that. I would say we need to take the tim…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, this legislation has not been updated for 31 years. There was an attempted update in the last Parliament, and the very same flaws that we saw in Bill C-10 are being brought again to this chamber and again to this committee. Why were adjustments not made? We have seen time allocation moved at every stage of this bill, rather than the genuine debate that I think my colleague in the ND…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise and bring the voice of Chatham–Kent—Leamington to this chamber. I want to thank my colleague for splitting his time with me. I am pleased to speak to Motion No. 16. Actually, I am not pleased to speak to it, but I am honoured to have this opportunity on Motion No. 16, the programming motion on Bill C-11. Canada is home to some of the best talent in the …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's insights. I want to add to the comment from my hon. colleague across the way that the other option would be that the bill could also be improved. My hon. colleague from the NDP referenced the fact that she was looking for some changes at committee to incorporate some of these indigenous languages. What is her perspective on this very motion that we a…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I find it so ironic that a bill about communication, about streaming, about communicating with each other is not allowed the proper time for communication in this chamber and at committee. Why does my colleague suppose that the government would release a policy directive in the previous iteration, Bill C-10 in the previous Parliament, and refuse to do so at this point?

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I think the direction to update the Broadcasting Act is supported by all organizations and all sides of this House. That need is clearly understood. What I have been hearing is that in the process of updating and attempting to gather support to update the bill, there has been overreach. We have seen that too many times. Those are the concerns I am hearing about. I am hearing about t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I actually articulated the specific areas that needed addressing. Those same areas were articulated and brought forward with Bill C-10, and again there were closure motions rather than serious dialogue around those changes. That is what we experienced. I do not sit on that committee. I cannot speak specifics to that, but I certainly can speak to which motions need to be clarified in…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise and bring the voices of Chatham-Kent—Leamington to this place, even if it is about 10 minutes after midnight. I also appreciate the opportunity to follow up on the question I posed on April 1, with respect to Canada's obligations under the 1956 Great Lakes treaty with the United States. My understanding specifically on the funding shortfall is that Ca…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, in comments earlier, the hon. member across the way made it clear in her comments that the desire is to remove guns from our streets and have fewer guns in circulation. There are parts of Bill C-21 I agree with and my caucus agrees with, and we made the good-faith offer to split this bill, address those areas, get them through committee and get them enacted into law. Why did the gov…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it has come up in several debates this evening that there would be exemptions for the sport shooting community. We have heard the term “expert sport shooters”. One becomes an expert by practising. Will the exemptions be carved out for those who are attempting to represent Canada on the international stage in that community, or is this bill a means to an end?

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, about 17 minutes ago, I entered my seventh decade of life. I turned 60 about 17 minutes ago, so I am going to ask the Government of Canada, through the parliamentary secretary, to consider giving me a 60th birthday gift, which is an answer to the questions I just asked. Why, as the industry has called for, can the fiduciary responsibility not be transferred over to Global Affairs? W…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, a year ago, a constituent Brian married Daniela, a Colombian national. They applied for a visa for her seven-year-old daughter, Sophie. Nine months later, they have had no communication and no updates, just “We are processing your application”. In frustration, they reached out to my office. We were told that on September 9, an IRCC system change delayed applications made before that…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, when did the minister become aware that we were behind on our payments?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, the PBO has estimated that about $600 million will be lost in sales and has estimated about $176 million of taxes might be recouped by 2023. Does the minister feel that this is good value for Canadians?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, what does the minister then say to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which says that the luxury tax does not hurt the rich but rather the employees of this sector?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, was it to ensure that this obligation was met?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, why was Canada behind on our obligation to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, how can you then justify supporting such a tax if you do not know if it will apply to businesses? How will you ensure that this will not apply to rental yachts, aerial tour planes, or limousines, or can you justify that the impact of this tax will be positive for Canadians and the boating sector?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kelowna—Lake Country. Is the minister against people owning cottages to relax as a family and/or for their mental health?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, cottages are outside the affordability of almost everyone. What is the difference between owning a cottage, or going to a cottage, and owning a boat, if that is how families choose to spend their leisure time?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I am going to ask her to repeat that. Did she say that she is not in charge of her ministry and that the Prime Minister makes those decisions?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, does the minister support the transfer of governance of this commission from DFO to Global Affairs, as the industry has called for?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, there are vacant positions on the Great Lakes Commission board of directors where candidates have been put forward by Ontario. Why have these positions not been filled?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, what measures is the minister taking to mitigate the impact of invasive species already in our Great Lakes?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, how does the minister intend to alter ballast regulations to minimize the amount of invasive species now being released through ballast water?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, what is the current status of the Walpole Island and Kettle and Stony Point first nations' interests with respect to indigenous fishing, either for sport or for commercial purposes?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that it is acceptable to delay the passing of the budget for the Great Lakes Commission due to Canada's lack of payment?

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, the payments have been increased to meet our obligations that we agreed to. We were behind for seven years, so when will the $9 million that was just committed in this budget be paid? That same commitment was made in 2017.

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, will the luxury tax apply to vehicles that are just for business purposes?

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the hon. member just concluded by stating that we need to use every tool in our tool box to fight climate change. The previous parliamentary secretary stated that Canada's emissions are counted by all of the fossil fuels burned here in Canada. I assume that includes our imported fossil fuels, as well. Can the hon. member explain then why the price on pollution applies to Canadian-ge…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there was a failure of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority's Hydro One conduit project. Three independent engineering firms have confirmed that the failure was due to the lead engineer, CIMA, which was both the design engineer and the bridge consultant. We are told that CIMA was allowed to continue as the lead consultant on the failure review of which they were the subject. Why were …