Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I would next like to present a petition regarding human rights in Hong Kong, especially as they relate to immigration. Petitioners note that there has been a severe decline in the freedoms in Hong Kong. Further, people charged in Hong Kong for political offences, through a justice system that is clearly now severely broken, people who have done nothing wrong and have advocated for f…
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Madam Speaker, the final petition raises concerns about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the PRC and calls on the government to do more to combat this.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, Conservative priorities are to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. When it comes to our plan to axe the tax, let us be clear that increasing the cost of transportation is not a bug associated with the carbon tax, but a designed feature of it. The purpose of a carbon tax policy is to increase the cost of transporting people and goods, supposedly to deter …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates has been gripped by the arrive scam scandal: the way the government spent $54 million on a glitchy app that did not work and the fact that it chose GC Strategies, a two-person company that did no actual IT work and simply subcontracted all the work. How did this happen? Who was responsible? Who had the relationships with …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, in the midst of this gross corruption scandal, we continue to get bureaucratic non-answers from the NDP-Liberal government. I had a very simple question that was not answered, so I will ask that simple question again. Why were two senior public servants suspended without pay in the middle of an investigation only after they had offered testimony critical of more senior public servan…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, it is clear that well-connected insiders have never had it as good as they do under the NDP-Liberal government. The arrive scam watchdog report found a made-for-insiders process for this $54-million spend, where qualified companies were cut from contracts if they did not have the right connections and experience. High-priced insiders were paid every time. This was n…
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Mr. Speaker, that response had absolutely nothing to do with the question. There was a sham investigation. The government's investigator admitted that he is not independent; his job depends on the government's pleasure. We have with the arrive scam that, when whistle-blowers criticize the government, they are suspended without pay. When witnesses defend the government, they are protected. It is a …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today. The first petition calls on the government to butt out of decisions that should be made by provinces and parents. The petition is in support of the rights of parents to have a role in their children's lives without the interference of the state. It notes that in the vast majority of cases, parents care about the well-being of their children and…
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Mr. Speaker, my second petition is in support of a private member's bill, Bill C-257, that would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act. There are prohibitions on discrimination of various kinds in federal jurisdiction, but no such prohibition on discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity. The petitioners note tha…
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Mr. Speaker, my final petition denounces the government's cuts to women's shelters. It notes that at a time when the government is wasting so much money in other areas, it has made a terrible cut to women's shelters. The petitioners ask the government to restore the funding.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, sometimes when I rise in the House I say I have a tough act to follow. However, that is not the case today. I am speaking to Bill C-57, which would implement the agreement that the government negotiated with Ukraine. As has been the case throughout this debate, I will make some general reflections on Conservative support for Ukraine, but it is important to underline that these are t…
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Madam Speaker, let us be clear: What the member opposite is doing is quite malicious. What he is trying to do is to exploit situations where people may not understand details of our parliamentary procedure to create a false impression about where Conservatives stand on the issue.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would have expected a thicker skin from that member, especially given what he says about other members. Here is the point: He is, through this line of argumentation, trying to exploit what may be a gap in some people's understanding of the mechanics of the parliamentary process. The way the process works is that when we are voting non-confidence in the government, we are voting no…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member is asking how a Conservative government would possibly carry out international relations if it does not sign agreements that include a carbon tax. It is very simple: We will not sign agreements that include a carbon tax. We will negotiate to ensure that agreements we sign do not include a carbon tax. In this particular case, I think it would be very simple. I have no proo…
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Madam Speaker, that is an interesting question. If the member is serious about supporting Ukraine and all of its needs, I wish it were her and not her NDP colleague who had been on the committee at the time we considered my amendments. When I put forward my amendments, which would have facilitated more weapons going to Ukraine, the NDP joined with the Liberals in order to block those amendments fr…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right, of course, that Canada produces commodities that Russia also produces, so we are in a unique position to displace those commodities. We are in a relatively unique position to reduce the world's dependence on Russian oil and gas. It is not just Russia. We could give many examples of dictator oil around the world. We could talk about the Burmese regime and how the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Parm Gill on becoming a Conservative. I know he will ask very good questions in the House. This is a matter of looking at the details of the agreement, which the member clearly is not even familiar with. I read out details that he claimed did not exist. I think it is the responsibility of legislators to know what is in legislation they a…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government has built the worst imaginable system for government contracting. The arrive scam watchdog report found that the government built a system where companies that charge the least are penalized. They actually built a system in which people are rewarded for charging a high price and punished for charging a lower price. “Please sir, we want to pay even more.” It …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I wanted to raise a point of order at the earliest possible opportunity regarding the response I received to Question No. 2155, if you would allow me to briefly explain my concern about its accuracy and completeness. My question was respecting development assistance projects in Israel and Palestinian territories and projects aimed at supporting Palestinian refugees in other countrie…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, what a striking piece of legislation we have in front of us from a Liberal member of Parliament. In the same period here that the government has had its hand slapped by the court for the way it acted during the pandemic, we have a Liberal member who wants us to be aware and have an awareness day for the pandemic. By the way, it is sort of a running joke here that the Liberals' solut…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today on behalf of my constituents, people from Skeena—Bulkley Valley and various other places across the country. The first petition is in regard to the Liberal government's decision to cut funding for women's shelters. The petitioners note that women's shelters are sadly seeing increased demand, that the high cost of living and th…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in favour of an excellent private member's bill put forward by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. This is a bill that would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act, and it would protect the ability of people with diverse political opinions to be able to express those opini…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is calling for the release of an important democracy and human rights activist in Hong Kong. Ms. Chow Hang-tung, vice-chairwoman of Hong Kong Alliance, has been involved for many years in advocacy on human rights issues in China and Hong Kong. She has fought diligently for democracy and has encouraged Hong Kongers to participate in the pro-democracy soci…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with another human rights issue in the same region. It deals with the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Petitioners identify the history of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including, but not limited to, the horrific practice of organ harvesting. The petitioners want to see the House take additional action to raise the p…
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Mr. Speaker, next, I am tabling a petition regarding parental rights regarding the role of parents in the lives of their children. Petitioners highlight the fact that the Prime Minister has tried to interfere with New Brunswick's decisions with respect to parents' rights. Whereas the Leader of the Opposition has told the Prime Minister to butt out of those decisions, petitioners note that, in the …
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Next, Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition about changes the government has made to natural health product regulations. The petitioners note that the government is threatening access to natural health products through rules that would mean higher costs and fewer products available on store shelves. The petitioners note that so-called cost-recovery provisions could impose massive costs on all consu…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition that I will table highlights the issue of euthanasia, or medical assistance in dying, and a particular proposal to extend this to children. In a context where we see continuous radical proposals for the expansion of an already deeply troubled system, petitioners are concerned about a proposal from one witness before a committee to expand euthanasia to include babies …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to draw the attention of the House to an incident on December 15, 2023. The member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques presented a petition in the House. At the end of the petition, he said, “I hope that as a result of petition e‑4604, the Liberal government will finally understand that it needs to meet the expectations and needs of our students and researchers.” I no…
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Mr. Speaker, the Chair needs to clarify whether the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot will be able to speak prior to your further ruling. I appreciate you would like to take the time to—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, respectfully, your description of the events is distinct from what happened. The Speaker has said that a member of this House, prior to him making his final ruling, will be prevented from speaking. The problem with the Speaker is that he is continually inventing new rules and applying ideas that are completely outside of the precedents of the House. If he is coming back to the House…
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Madam Speaker, the member across the way just claimed that members were challenging the Speaker's authority. We were trying to inform the Speaker, prior to what he said—
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Madam Speaker, members have been told they cannot participate in the House.
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He is also going to come back—
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Madam Speaker, there was no squirming whatsoever. The member needs to understand that when the Speaker ignores the rules and when the Speaker invents new norms, it undermines the ability of the House to function. The Speaker—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member opposite, in her speech, spoke a little about following rules, the rule of law and so forth. I think that it has been interesting over the last few months. We have seen the incredible disregard that this government has for our institutions and for adherence to rules. We had the court rule, for example, that the government's imposition of the Emergencies Act was unlawful. …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I wonder if you could clarify the cases in which an individual is expected to apologize for a violation of the rules and when an individual is not expected to apologize for a violation of the rules. During question period, a member used unparliamentary language and was not expected to apologize. Meanwhile, earlier today, a member of the Conservative caucus was for…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if you could clarify the rules with respect to the cases in which members are expected to apologize for a violation of the rules and the cases in which members are not required to apologize. I note the difference between the treatment of a member of the NDP caucus during question period and that of a member of the Conservative caucus this morning, even though the violation by…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, senior public servants have spoken out about lies and abuse of process in the arrive scam scandal. We have now learned that shortly after their critical whistle-blowing testimony, these senior public servants were put on leave without pay. They were told they were under investigation less than three weeks after their testimony and they were suspended before the inve…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is good to see my friend from Edmonton Griesbach here. I enjoy debating with him. I also enjoyed door knocking in his riding, which I think is very enthusiastic about the Conservative message. It is a riding that did not think it was voting to keep the Prime Minister as the Prime Minister. When New Democrats campaign in Alberta, they rarely admit how close they are to the current…
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With regard to the government awarding a contract to GC Strategies to develop the ArriveCAN application: what was the name and title of the person who decided to award the contract to GC Strategies?
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With regard to the government’s expedited assessment process for arms exports: why is Ukraine not considered eligible for the same expedited assessment processes for arms exports that is used for other allies?
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With regard to visas and study permits for international students in Canada: (a) what are the names of all the institutions at which international students are studying; and (b) how many international students are studying at each institution?
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With regard to government development assistance projects delivered in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and projects aimed at supporting Palestinian refugees in other countries, since 2016: what are the details of each project, including the (i) name, (ii) amount, (iii) all of the organizations involved in delivering the project, (iv) project description?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the irony of these points of order interruptions, by the way, from a procedural perspective, is that there is limited time for this debate. The more points of order we have, the less time will be available for questions and comments. I welcome the opportunity for debate. If members do not interrupt on points of order, there will be more time after my speech for us to have an actual …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address the House today. Before I get to the subject at hand, I want to acknowledge a tragic anniversary. Today is the seven-year anniversary of the Quebec mosque shooting, a horrible act of Islamophobic violence in our country. I want to extend my condolences to the families and the members of that community who are still dealing with the pain of tha…
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Madam Speaker, I invite the member across the way to heckle a little louder, and I will respond. I cannot quite—
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Madam Speaker, it is good to hear from the member—
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Madam Speaker, the NDP member says this is just a “gotcha”. The NDP is really “got” here, I have to say, and that is why they are objecting. What I have been talking about for some time is how this issue with the Speaker, the issue with ArriveCAN and the investigation we wanted to do on the Prime Minister's vacation are all examples of the NDP choosing to cover for their coalition partners in the …
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Madam Speaker, I know members have been missing me over the Christmas break. It is good to see everyone back and to be restored to my friends here in the Chamber. It is sad in a way, because many of them will not be here after the next election. We should spend as much time together in fruitful, substantial debate as possible. The point is that we have a concurrence report regarding the actions of…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is driving inflation. The carbon tax hits the farmer who grows the food, the trucker who transports the food, the grocer who sells the food and the family who buys the food. The member across the way gets it, because he has heard it so many times. He is chuckling and throwing it across the floor, but if the member for Kingston and the Islands knows so well that the carb…
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