Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on the other hand, the minister is not a new member, so she should know her own record, which is 86,000 job losses under the Prime Minister alone, and Canada has the worst youth employment rate in over 25 years. Job numbers come out again this Friday, and the situation continues to get grimmer. Witnesses at our parliamentary public hearings on youth unemployment were very clear yester…
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to have this opportunity to present a number of petitions to the House today. The first petition is on a subject that is very important to my constituents, on the issue of pipelines. The petitioners are no doubt sick of the incessant teasing but failure to deliver from the members opposite. They say that the government continues to import foreign oil even though oil and …
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition highlights a private member's bill that I tabled in the last Parliament. It is Bill C-257 from the previous Parliament. This petition is in support of that bill, a bill that would add political belief or activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The petitioners note that being free from political discrimination is a fundamenta…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with the issue of euthanasia. I have tabled petitions on this topic before, but this is a different petition that highlights, in particular, concerns about recommendation 21 from the 2023 report by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. Recommendation 21 deals with the issue of so-called advance requests. The petitioners note t…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the human rights abuses in Eritrea and calls for a stronger response from the government and the House. The petitioners note that Eritrea has been ruled by a brutal authoritarian dictator under a totalitarian system for 30 years, with no constitution, no elections, no parliament, no freedom of the press, and no freedom of movement and associat…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition also deals with the issue of euthanasia. In particular, it highlights concerns from the disability community that proposals for the expansion of euthanasia and the existing track 2 system really undermine the experience of people with disabilities when they access the health care system and that offering medical assistance in dying as a solution for disability or chr…
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Mr. Speaker, the last petition I will table highlights the severe challenges faced by the Hazara people in Afghanistan. The Hazaras have faces multiple genocides and waves of persecution as an often religious and certainly ethnic minority in Afghanistan. Their condition is very threatened under the Taliban at present. The petitioners draw the attention of the House to the sacrifice and investment …
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to address the House this afternoon and join the debate on Bill C-10. I thank the member for Abbotsford—South Langley, who is covering for me at committee at the moment, for assisting me so that I could be here to address the House on this important legislation. I want to acknowledge that today, October 7, is the sombre anniversary of the worst instance of anti-Semiti…
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Mr. Speaker, a member is asking that I name the individual involved. There were at least two individuals involved, and it is fair to say both of them were named Randy. The tragic and disgraceful case of the former Liberal minister from Edmonton Centre is notable, but it is also not the only case. The AFN told the government operations committee that, in its view, a majority of companies benefiting…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for, perhaps unintentionally, recognizing the good work done by the previous government, that of former prime minister Stephen Harper. The member said he believes that modern treaties are important and provide value. He will then appreciate the fact that five modern treaties were negotiated under former prime minister Stephen Harper. I wonder if members coul…
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Zero. Wow. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize that the member was willing, in his comments, to highlight the importance of modern treaties, even though recognizing their importance is probably not in his partisan interest. We have five negotiated by the Conservatives and zero negotiated by the Liberal government. The point is that we did not need a commissioner to get it done. We did not need an ext…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that there are problems with Bill C-5. We are a responsible opposition. We tried to improve this situation. However, the fundamental problem is that we need to improve the system for assessing projects. The Liberals created major obstacles that prevented projects from moving forward. Then they said that they wanted to introduce a bill to create special and unique circumstances…
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Mr. Speaker, those are great points from my colleague. What happened with the former member for Edmonton Centre, the Liberal minister who pretended to be indigenous and was not, is part of a pattern of elite people in positions of privilege who say they are trying to help those who are disadvantaged. They then seek to fraudulently appropriate for themselves benefits that were supposed to be set as…
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Mr. Speaker, it was about a year ago now that I was on a road trip across the country, mainly focused on meeting with people in different places on this indigenous procurement issue. I had a chance to meet with the folks he mentioned in his riding, as well as with Winnipeg's Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and a number of educational institutions in western Canada. This was a great opportunity to t…
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Mr. Speaker, as we have seen for the last 10 years, the approach of the Liberals is to not address the issues. Conservatives have a plan and a vision that support strong indigenous nations that are developing economically, that control their own resources and that control their own futures. That is why our party is proud to have a growing presence among and representation from indigenous leaders w…
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Mr. Speaker, the member spoke about many things related to international peace and security that were different from the bill, so my question will focus on those issues as opposed to the substance of Bill C-11. The member spoke about the threat to international peace and security associated with Russia's genocidal invasion of Ukraine, and about the Canadian response. I am very concerned that the g…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her excellent speech and for her important work in Parliament. A former member of the House, who was, as it happens, from the same province, former defence minister Sajjan, was given an opportunity to receive some information about very serious issues of this nature from the ombudsman and tragically chose not to deal with that information at the time. …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent work. It is almost 10 years that we have been together in Parliament, and I think she has been involved in the work of the status of women committee for all or most of that time. One observation I would have about this debate is that the Liberals are speaking a lot about the changes they are making to military justice, in particular, bringing thi…
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Mr. Speaker, those statistics are alarming, for example, that we continue to see a very low conviction rate. That is discouraging, no doubt, to those who have been victims and might be considering coming forward or in instances in which we have perpetrators who are repeatedly released on bail, even though they are repeat violent offenders. We had an opportunity today to try to take some action on …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the minister is talking verifiable nonsense. She knows or should know that our platform clearly committed to significant increases in support for union-based training. The minister should listen better, because yesterday, business leaders from Toronto came to committee and ripped into the government. They described how 10 years of bad Liberal policies have created worsening structural…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister loves self-congratulations, but I have a simple message for her: It is not working. Canadians are not working because Liberal policies are not working. It is simply in the numbers. We have the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7. We have effectively lost over 100,000 jobs in the last month. Youth unemployment is at its worst level in 25 years. EI claims among worki…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today in support of Bill C-224, put forward by my colleague from Ponoka—Didsbury. This is a bill about natural health products. I tried to submit a notice to jointly second the bill, as I sometimes do with great pieces of legislation, but the bill was so popular among Conservative MPs that all of the seconding slots were quickly filled before I had a…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling raises concern about the government's approach to euthanasia, in particular the dangerous effects the current euthanasia regime has on Canadians living with disabilities. The petitioners observe how the government's policy, which presents facilitated dying as a so-called solution to disability or chronic illness, reduces incentives to improve treatment a…
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Mr. Speaker, finally, following an event that I had the honour of speaking at earlier this week here in Ottawa, I am tabling a petition drawing attention to the horrific human rights situation in North Korea, highlighting the human rights record of the Government of North Korea and calling for action. The petitioners note that North Korea prioritizes food distribution to those considered useful to…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from Winnipeg North points out, this is a long petition. These are important issues, and I appreciate the opportunity to bring them to the House. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to table regular reports in Parliament on the situation of human rights in North Korea, as well as their response to it, including the state of political prison camps, Kwan-li-…
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Mr. Speaker, the first of several petitions that I would like to present to the House highlights the ongoing tragedy of the government's failed euthanasia policy. The petitioners in this petition note ion particular the pernicious effects of the government's approach to Canadians living with disabilities. These Conservative petitioners and all major disability advocacy organizations in the country…
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Mr. Speaker, next I would like to present a petition that references Bill C-257, which was a bill in the previous Parliament, put forward by me, that would have added political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canada Human Rights Act. Petitioners are asking the House to support the bill, or presumably a similar bill in the current Parliament. Petitioners note that…
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Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition about a very serious issue: the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Petitioners would like to see an end to that persecution, the protection of Falun Gong practitioners and an end to these human rights abuses.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, what a pleasure it is to have my son joining me here in Ottawa today. This country is experiencing a serious unemployment crisis. The overall unemployment rate of 7.1% is bad enough, but it is young Canadians who are suffering the most, with a disastrous rate of 15.5%. It is not just the number of unemployed people that is a problem, but also how long they remain unemployed. On averag…
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Mr. Speaker, I join colleagues today in tabling a petition raising concern about a proposal from the Liberal-dominated finance committee to strip charitable status from all houses of worship. This was, in particular, recommendation 430. The removal of charitable status from houses of worship would affect churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, gurdwaras and all houses of worship by removing “promo…
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Mr. Speaker, second, I am tabling a petition that raises significant concern about the existing euthanasia laws in Canada and in particular their pernicious effect on the quality of life of Canadians living with disabilities. The petitioners observe that the existing euthanasia regime in Canada tacitly endorses the notion that life with disability is optional and by extension disposable. They note…
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Mr. Speaker, in his excellent speech, my colleague talked about the problems of enforcement. The government is trying to suggest that there is a problem in terms of a lack of things being classed as offences, but actually there is a problem of enforcement not being effective. There is also a problem of the tone that has been set by the current government when it comes to attacks, particularly agai…
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Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is putting a lot of emphasis on apprenticeships, which is obviously an important discussion. However, in the meantime, the government continues to block important projects. The Prime Minister supports the legislation stemming from Bill C-69, which is blocking major projects. What is more, the government has decided not to take steps to build more homes. Pro…
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Madam Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today. The first petition comes from people in my riding, particularly those connected with Elk Island Catholic Schools, who are raising concern about changes in federal funding around Jordan's principle. They note that first nations children living off-reserve are no longer eligible to receive funding through Jordan's principle a…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is related to the worsening human rights situation in North Korea. The petitioners note many grave violations of human rights in this petition, including prioritization of food distribution to those considered useful to the survival of the current political systems, with those deemed expendable facing deprivation, and a vast security apparatus associat…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition deals with the issue of euthanasia and, in particular, highlights concerns that have been raised by those living with disabilities. The petitioners are very concerned that in the context of a lack of available services and treatments for people in various situations, euthanasia does not present itself as a real choice but is offered in the absence of alternative ki…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill C-257. This is what the petition says, although I will note that it is from the last Parliament. It is a bill I had tabled to add political belief or activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Human Rights Act. The petition notes that Canadians have a right to be protected against discrimination and that it is a funda…
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling draws attention to past and ongoing abuses of human rights targeting the Hazara community in Afghanistan. The petitioners cite some of the history around the various genocides that have affected the Hazara people in Afghanistan and further describe more recent abuses. They also note the close tie between Canada and Afghanistan, shaped by the sacrifice …
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to quickly get in two questions for the member about this legislation. First, has the government engaged with the Hindu community and other communities that use symbols that look like symbols that have an association, in other contexts, with hate but are used in a very different way in their tradition? We want to protect the freedoms of those communities that understand sim…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals are desperate to defend their jobs, my question tonight is about the jobs of the many unemployed Canadians who are desperately looking for jobs and cannot find them. We have a serious unemployment crisis in this country that is particularly affecting young Canadians. The unemployment rate has been continuously going up over the last three years. It has now hit 7.1%,…
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Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate what a difficult job the hon. member for Winnipeg North has. He spent the last 10 years defending every aspect of the Trudeau government, and now he is here as the spokesman for this promise, attesting that his government will fix the problems that his government created. I do not think that the Liberal fixes to Liberal problems are going to work either. They have crea…
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Mr. Speaker, the factum that we are discussing today from the federal government is notable in that it explicitly says that it is not about Bill 21 but rather about section 33. The government chose to intervene solely on the issue of its arguments with respect to section 33. I wonder if the member could explain why the federal government made that choice.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to put something to my hon. friend and get his feedback on it. I think all of us agree in the House that human rights are important. We also agree that ideas about human rights are contestable. They are a matter of public debate, so things the member sees as being the implications of a belief in human rights might be different from what I or other members see as the impli…
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Mr. Speaker, the approach of the Prime Minister on energy issues is much the same as the approach of Justin Trudeau, which was to feign interest in energy development and, at the same time, pile on barriers to make it effectively very difficult, if not impossible, for projects to move forward. The member asked what our plan would be. When Conservatives were in government, we had major pipelines mo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Trudeau Liberals, who were very much the same as these Liberals, passed Bill C-48, which was explicitly designed to block pipelines from going to northern B.C. Would the member have supported Bill C-48 had he been in the House at that time?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, a couple of years ago, an Angus Reid survey for Cardus asked families about the number of children they wanted. The Canadian women surveyed wanted, on average, 2.2 children, coincidentally right around the replacement level. After that survey, the actual fertility rate in Canada hit an all-time low of 1.26 children, which means there is a gap between the desire and the outcome of almo…
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Mr. Speaker, that was truly a striking answer from the minister. My colleague pointed out that EI claims have gone up by 12% among women in that age group in just one month, and the minister's response was, "At least we have jobs. At least the Liberals are still here." They should think less about themselves and their own jobs, and more about women and people of all ages who have been negatively a…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is so busy congratulating herself for I do not know what that she has not actually listened to the numbers we heard from Statistics Canada today. The situation is truly dire when it comes to unemployment: a 12% increase for women aged 25 to 54 in one month alone and a 23% increase year over year. Unemployment has been going up steadily for three years. Youth unemployment …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister promised change. Like Liberals before him, he is breaking his promises. He promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7. He has actually delivered the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7. He promised to “build, baby, build”, but he continues to support Bill C-69, the block, baby, block act. He promised to double the pace of construction, but homebuilding i…
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Madam Speaker, I know members were disappointed that I had to wrap up during the previous rubric, so they can hear another 10 minutes. It is great to be back in the new Parliament. Parliament has not been the most active this year. We had prorogation then an election, and the government briefly came back for a spring session. Our position as Conservatives was that we should be prepared to work at …
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