Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I really enjoy the banter back and forth with the hon. member. Every time I make a speech in the House, he has something interesting to say. It is not always on point or relevant, but it is generally good for comedy. In all seriousness, we have had a lot of members stand up today to talk about the auto industry in their riding. I am probably the only one in the House who has two EV pl…
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Mr. Speaker, the heart of our policy is to recognize that with respect to the cars that we manufacture in Canada and that are going to be purchased by Canadians, there is a two-way street with the United States. We need to be able to ensure that with the cars that are built here, that are purchased by Canadians and that have access to the American market, it is done the same way. We would not enga…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member is getting her information, because this side of the House has been meeting with auto workers and unions for several years. They understand our plan and support our plan. I do not know what the plan of the government is. I wish the Liberals would explain it beyond just criticizing our plan, which is based on a historic and successful tradition of tr…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to bring the temperature down just a touch, get a little decorum and speak a little more calmly, but I am happy to participate in this debate today on the auto sector. I am also happy to let the House know that I will be splitting my time with my friend and colleague, the great member for Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake. As my friend from Niagara Falls knows all too well,…
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Mr. Speaker, I had a lot of ground to cover today on the immigration question, but I think I am going to focus on a couple of health care issues that I need to get on the record with respect to my riding. Canada's health care system is under some serious pressure. The wait times are long, access to primary care is in crisis and hospital systems are in debt. In my riding of Niagara South, we are in…
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded vote.
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Mr. Speaker, too many people in Niagara cannot find a family doctor. Right now, taxpayers are being charged up to five times the provincial rates to provide health care to rejected asylum claimants. Families have waited long enough and our failed asylum system is making them wait even longer. Conservatives have proposed common-sense solutions to address this horrible situation. It is time for the …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, American protectionism is hammering our auto sector, yet the Liberal government has announced a $2.3-billion EV subsidy for vehicles built in the United States. That is not leadership; it is economic capitulation. Donald Trump has been clear: He wants every Canadian auto job moved south. Under the Liberals, 5,000 Canadian auto workers have already lost their jobs. Plants are idle, and…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a strange sense of déjà vu, because the last time I stood up in the House, the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader asked me the same question. He is effectively saying he wants us to just roll over and pass all this legislation without adequate debate. I have a right to stand up in the House and represent the interests of my constituents, and those interests …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today because Canadians are asking simple but deeply troubling questions. They ask why our justice system seems to work harder for criminals than for victims, and why law-abiding Canadians feel increasingly vulnerable while repeat offenders appear increasingly confident. Nowhere is that question more urgent than in the alarming rise of extortion across this country, including i…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about the contents of Bill C-9 and its assault on religious freedom. Their fear is that Christians and other religious individuals who believe in the Bible will be told they are engaging in criminal activity. On behalf of these citizens, I urge the government to withdraw Bill C-9 and protect religious freedom …
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in the debate on Bill C-16 today. It is timely for me and relevant to my constituency, which has recently been hit with more than our share of sexual assaults and child sexual assaults. I meet regularly with survivors of these crimes, and their stories are heartbreaking. They have informed me, educated me and inspired me. They have shared not just thei…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is saying we are filibustering and not co-operating.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague raises an interesting point, but I would again point out that one of the issues in this legislation, the wiggle room in Bill C-16 with respect to judicial discretion on changing sentences on mandatory minimums, creates a greater imbalance. Someone can have a very talented lawyer who knows the system better than others but may be less fortunate and not able to have adequat…
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Mr. Speaker, I could have anticipated that question before I stood up. We are not filibustering anything. I am a new member of Parliament. I have a right to stand in this House. I am not on the justice committee, which this bill would be referred to. We are only putting up four speakers today on this bill. As a new member of Parliament, and with these crimes committed in my riding, I have a right …
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Mr. Speaker, tell that to the little girl's family, that when Daniel Senecal was released after serving one year for raping a 12-year-old boy, that one-year sentence was adequate. Tell that to the community that is hurting. We have to have mandatory minimums for serious repeat offenders. There is just no question about it. I do not care what the stats say. When we get down to repeat child sex offe…
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That is ridiculous. Mr. Speaker, splitting a bill so that we can get important pieces of a bill through, so it becomes law, is not an unreasonable suggestion. We have already done it in this session. We are not filibustering or delaying. We are here to co-operate on good pieces of legislation. As my colleague said, there are good parts of this legislation, but I am hoping the committee will bring …
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Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition about Bill C-9. Canadians are concerned about the erosion of religious freedoms, as contained in the legislation. They are also concerned that governments are intruding on faith. These petitioners are calling for the withdrawal of Bill C-9, and I am pleased to present these views on behalf of the many proud Canadians who signed.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, if the government is really serious about building faster, it should start with opportunities already in front of it. I have one that is truly shovel-ready: restoring wharves 17 and 18 on the Welland Canal in Port Colborne. For more than 20 years this critical infrastructure has sat broken. During that time the City of Port Colborne, shipping companies, port authorities and private in…
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Mr. Speaker, I have come to know my colleague from Windsor West over the last several months, and I want to thank him for his years of service as a police officer, protecting Canadians and our borders. I appreciate his service to our country. My riding is at the opposite end of Lake Erie, and we share similar border issues. We just learned, for example, that the CBSA has eliminated 40% of its capa…
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Mr. Chair, after billions of taxpayer dollars and countless promises, 3,000 jobs at Stellantis were lost, leaving workers out of work. The Prime Minister said he was the man with the plan. I wonder if my hon. colleague would comment on what he thinks that plan actually might be.
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Mr. Chair, I would just like to follow up quickly with the hon. member. It seems we are in this sort of economic purgatory right now with the government. I wonder what his thoughts are on the lack of a national industrial strategy. We have seen so much stuff in this budget, so much money being wasted, so much money being spent. I wonder what the member sees as the core issues facing Canada today i…
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Mr. Chair, I am honoured to wrap this debate up tonight. Coming from the Niagara region, which was literally built on the auto sector, I am grateful that my friend from Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake is here tonight to contribute to this debate. As I mentioned earlier, he worked at GM while he was going to university, as did many of my friends and many of my colleagues. I grew up in the small t…
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Mr. Chair, I found it fascinating to listen to the member and her Liberal talking points because she really did not touch much on the crisis we are having in the auto sector today. In my region of Niagara, the auto sector has played a pivotal role over history. It is literally responsible for the creation of our industrial core in Niagara. I wonder if the hon. member might tell me, given the billi…
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Mr. Chair, once again, I am listening to a member opposite rifle through all the Liberal talking points. We are here to talk about the auto sector, not about other issues to deflect from the main topic. My region of Niagara, in the 20th century, was the hub for manufacturing. In 1969, 47% of all jobs in the Niagara area were in the auto sector. In 2008, there were 4,000 direct jobs. In 2014, that …
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Mr. Chair, the hon. member said, as the Prime Minister said, we can only control what we control, but what that is actually saying is that they control nothing. There is nothing in this economic situation today, particularly in the auto sector, where they have any control. We have seen thousands of jobs leave for the south to the U.S. Contracts are being broken. Auto sector jobs are disappearing d…
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Mr. Chair, I have many friends who, growing up in Niagara, worked at GM at the engine plant or worked at Ford at the glass plant. My colleague from Niagara Falls will remember that, as he worked in one of the plants when he was a teenager. All of that has disappeared. I am just wondering, as all of these companies and all of these jobs have—
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Mr. Chair, a few minutes ago, one of the members opposite asked my colleague here if he had mentioned to the auto workers who have lost their jobs that the government has set aside some money for them and if he had mentioned to them that the government has extended EI in response to the 3,000 lost jobs. It seems to me that the Liberal government's response to everything is to spend more money, thr…
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Madam Speaker, if the question is how many Conservative members voted for the budget, the answer is zero. We all voted against the budget. I voted against the budget. This is a generational disaster of debt for Canadians. When I said the amount of deficit we are going to accrue this year would make Justin Trudeau blush, I meant that this is a generational catastrophe that my grandchildren are goin…
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to participate in the debate today, and it will come as no surprise that I will say up front that I will vote against the bill. The Minister of Finance loves to yell in the House that this is a generational budget. What is clearly and unequivocally true is that this is a budget imposing massive, crushing and unforgivable generational debt. I cannot help but point out that…
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Madam Speaker, that was the most delusional question I have heard since I was elected. The Prime Minister has been on 28 trips around the world for photo ops, handshakes and MOUs that are non-binding. Not a dollar has set foot in Canada yet. I would like the hon. member to give me the name of a specific company that has moved capital into Canada. Right now, capital is leaving Canada at record rate…
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Madam Speaker, I want to take that a step further. Not only are we over-regulated, overtaxed and disincentivized regarding investment coming into Canada, but the upfront costs of getting access to capital in this country are enormous. Companies are fleeing to the U.S. because there are incentive programs there, especially in California in the technology sector. They can get funding in innovation c…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has circled the globe four times, meeting with world leaders for photo ops, meaningless letters of intent and zero investments. He has returned with nothing, and after 28 trips, Canadians are fed up. After meeting with China, China imposed more tariffs. After meeting with India, India imposed more tariffs. When he went to the U.K., there were crickets. He went to Wa…
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Mr. Speaker, this legislation is urgently needed to fix the problems of the individual I spoke about being released early. The urgency is to ensure that repeat offenders do not get the opportunity to reoffend and that violent offenders, particularly with offences against children, do not see the light of day. Under the current legislation, my guess is that Daniel Senecal will be released in about …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's comment. I agree that without permanent membership on committees, there is limited access, at least for me as a member of the committee, to hear the perspectives of people who are in a non-party situation. However, we worked through so many amendments, which took a long time and a lot of work, only to come back here and have them all wiped out with one vote. …
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely, I am fully committed to ensuring that bail reform is strengthened in this country, but this bill does not do it. We will take it to committee. We will refine it. We will introduce amendments. I would caution the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader that the reason all of the amendments were reversed on the immigration bill was that the Liberals relied on …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to an issue that is fundamental to what Canadians want from their government: security, safety and the conviction that the law will protect innocent people rather than reward violent criminals. Canadians nationwide are dealing with the fallout from a justice system that puts violent repeat offenders ahead of the security of families and small business owners afte…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have the sad and unfortunate duty today to present a petition on behalf of constituents of Niagara South and throughout the region of Niagara with respect to the brutal rape and beating of a three-year-old toddler in my riding. On August 31, 2025, this little girl was violently assaulted by a 25-year-old man who had been let out early from a sentence of a previous sexual assault a…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean would comment on what the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader told us at second reading. He said to bring the legislation to committee and bring forward legislative changes and amendments that will make the bill better. How many weeks did we spend on it? We spent two months debating the bill, refining it and bringing forw…
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Madam Speaker, the answer is, yes, it makes sense. My son is a firefighter, and I am grateful for his contribution to our community every day. Let us get that piece of legislation through the House.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member for Lac-Saint-Jean. We worked well together on the committee, and I always appreciated that we had an opportunity to talk substantially about the amendments we wanted to bring forward to make this piece of legislation better. I said earlier in my speech that my education as a new MP was unfortunate. The parliamentary secretary to the governm…
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Yes, they will. Madam Speaker, we need a substantial connection test, one that does not mean some distant relative three or four generations down the road will automatically be entitled to Canadian citizenship. This is someone who does not speak the language, perhaps has a criminal record and has not gone through a security check. None of that makes sense to me. For that reason, we will vote again…
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Madam Speaker, it is fortuitous, or even perhaps unfortunate, that I may be the last speaker on the Conservative side to speak to the legislation before the House. I am sure the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader will have another question for me, because he always does, and I appreciate his interjections. I am a new member of Parliament. I came from the business community. I a…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comment from the parliamentary secretary because that is exactly the problem with this legislation. We are not talking about the grandchild. We are talking about the grandchild's children and their children, who may have never had a substantial connection to Canada and who will have access to Canadian citizenship.
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Madam Speaker, as members know, I have stood in this place many times over the last couple of months to talk about the brutal sexual assault and rape of a little girl in my riding of Niagara South, “Little E”. Everyone is keenly aware of this case. She was assaulted by a repeat offender, somebody who had just been released and who served one year of a year-and-a-half sentence. He attacked this lit…
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Mr. Speaker, Stellantis announced that Jeep production is moving from Brampton to Illinois, taking 3,000 Canadian jobs with it. The Liberals gave Stellantis up to $10 billion in taxpayer money for an EV plant in Ontario but failed to secure job protection for its workers. They also did this with two EV plants in my riding: one that never opened and one that is still under construction. Will this b…
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House today to speak to this stage of Bill C-3. Canadian citizenship is one of the most valuable possessions on the face of earth. I know, without a doubt, that no one in this chamber would trade, diminish or relinquish their Canadian citizenship for any price, any prize or any thing. We believe, with good reason, that Canadian citizenship is perhaps the most…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member paints the narrative as though Canada is somehow discriminating against Canadians. Every nation puts limits on the number of generations that can apply for citizenship. It is not unreasonable to put in a generational limit. Chain migration immigration is not an option that any country supports. This legislation would provide a pathway in perpetuity for many generations…
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Mr. Speaker, the member raises a valuable point. There is nothing more valuable, in my view, than Canadian citizenship. All four of my grandparents immigrated here with nothing to show when they got here, but they worked hard. They built a family and a life, and they owned a home, which is very difficult for immigrants today. We have to understand that being a Canadian is a special privilege. The …
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Mr. Speaker, the discussions at committee were comprehensive. We spent a lot of time debating various issues with this legislation, and I am very happy that our colleagues in the Bloc and the Conservatives collaborated to understand some of the issues that were affecting this bill, which had gone through several iterations in the previous Parliament. This legislation effectively died in the last P…
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