Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague in the House and I sit in committee with the member as well. I often think he is reading off a page because so much of what he says is dissonant with reality. He is now talking about a Canada growth fund on top of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. The financial incentive systems, which are built throughout the government to foster investment in Canada, throw m…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Construction Financing Initiative announced as part of budget 2016, as of September 16, 2022: (a) how much has been spent, by fiscal year, on (i) administering the program, (ii) promoting the program, (iii) investments in individual projects, broken down by federal electoral district; (b) what are the specific locations, by street…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the discussion document entitled "Options to cap and cut oil and gas sector greenhouse gas emissions to achieve 2030 goals and net-zero by 2050", released in July 2022, as of September 26, 2022: (a) what recommendations have been received from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, as referred to under section 8 (Guiding principles) of the document; and (b) wh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I do not recall criticizing the government for moving this agenda through the Senate. First, I said that this time we in the House of Commons are the body of sober second thought. I know that, for my colleague on that side, it might be second thought. We are trying to be sober here and to make sure we actually put some analysis into this, and not just ram it through like my colleagu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it has been interesting to hear the debate here so far today. Part of that is addressing an important new bill before Parliament, Bill S-5, an act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, to make related amendments to the Food and Drugs Act and to repeal the Perfluorooctane Sulfonate Virtual Elimination Act. These are important environmental considerations for Parli…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the question from my colleague with whom I sat on committee in the last Parliament. He always has some excellent input into the manner in which we need to move legislation forward. Let me say that this whole issue around a clean and healthy environment is a great concept, and I fully subscribe to it. At the same time, I look at this nonsense that I hear in the Ho…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I share my colleague's concerns about how we get things done in the House and about making sure we address legislation quickly. One of the issues in this bill of course is that the Canadian Environmental Protection Act is a criminal act, so we are moving a lot of redresses here toward a criminal approach to things, with a lower bar, a more civil law bar, for how those are approached…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in August, Germany's leaders came to Canada, begging us to help offset their dependence on Russian gas. Our Prime Minister replied that there is no business case for Canadian LNG. “Au contraire,” refuted Canada's actual business leaders. The opportunity for tens of thousands of Canadian jobs is quite clear. With the world demanding Canadian energy, why is the Prime Minister berating C…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, that is not quite true. Coal exports from Russia have reached peak levels. China has also reached peak levels and gone up 300 million tonnes of coal production this year. Europe is cranking up coal plants. Why is this? It is because the LNG that Canada could have supplied has been held up by the government's policies. Canadian LNG has a carbon footprint that is half that of the coal t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank all my colleagues for coming here today to listen to my speech, my colleagues on this side of the House in particular. It is an honour to stand in front of the House and talk about a bill that is going to affect Canadians for a long time going forward, another trinket. Let me start, because it is a big bill, by focusing my comments on the dental care benefit that is part of th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I watched my colleague listen to my speech intently, but he seems to have missed much of what I said. There is definitely dental coverage in every province. However, there is a better way of delivering increased dental coverage if the federal government wants to contribute to the provinces that are actually delivering health care services across this country. These are different modes…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I am not aware of the 35% that he mentioned in his question. I do know premiers across the country have been asking the federal government to give the provinces $26 billion a year for Canada's health care system. I am not sure if that $26 billion is equivalent to 35%. I am sorry I am not aware of these figures, but I support the provinces' reques…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I called it a trinket in my speech, because it is a little thing for the Liberals to put in the window to show NDP members that they are relevant and should continue to be supported by those members over the short term, until it is actually done. Giving dental care to Canadians is easy. As I said in my speech, and I hope the member was listening, there is a far more effective way to i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague's speech just now in the House and heard her speak earlier today. I think it was much the same speech, but we are at third reading now so I appreciate that we had to hear the speech twice. I heard the member paraphrase what my colleagues and I, as I spoke to the bill today too, had to say about the bill, and it was a stretched paraphrase of what we put on the page…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed my friend's speech on this side of the House. I do have some questions for him on the applicability of an actual dental care system. This is a dental payout system. Dental care systems exist in all 10 provinces right now, including in my province of Alberta, where we did some extensive research. All poor people below a certain threshold are covered 100% for dental expenses i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am concerned because the member seems to be really out of touch with reality. It is estimated that the oil and gas industry in Canada has invested $48 billion in public services in Canada. The members seems to not want to talk about one fact related to inflation. The two main causes of inflation are labour and energy. In my opinion, the member seems to agree that the cost of livin…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I listened to the member across the way. It was a bit of a vitriol on my colleagues here and our stance on climate and the environment, which I think is much more progressive than what I have seen on that side of the House, because we are actually trying to come to solutions. However, solutions are one thing and talking about pretending to be serious is something else. I am going to…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, some months ago, back in the spring, I asked the government about carbon capture, utilization and storage and its position on this. Sixteen months ago I introduced a bill into the House of Commons that was proposing a carbon capture, utilization and storage system for Canada that matched what happens in the U.S. Our trade partner in CUSMA actually has a 45Q regime that incents carbo…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am not sure that addressed anything I talked about in my points here today. We are talking about moving forward with a regime that matters to the world and that actually matters to our economy and environment more than anything else, yet the government stalled on it. It has been stalled, for as long as I have been in Parliament, on moving forward with decarbonization mechanisms. T…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, economists agree that payroll taxes like the increase that the government is pushing on Canadians are the most regressive form of taxation, because they lead to lower productivity and jobs leaving Canada. That is not stopping the government from jamming these taxes onto Canadian workers. Inflation is eroding Canadians' ability to buy the basics, and the government is gouging more of t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in the last decade, payroll contributions under the government have risen by 13% for employment insurance and over 60% for CPP. The last year has seen the effects of massive government overspending, showing up in inflation numbers Canadians have not seen in 40 years. Workers' paycheques are not going as far, and now there will be even less in those paycheques. Given the harsh rise in …
Read full speech →Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise in the Canadian House of Commons today to pay tribute to our departed and long-serving sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. It is not unusual to hear of the passing of someone who has reached the age of 96 years. We should all be so fortunate to have such a long life, without the ailments of age that slow so many down. This Queen, one for the ages, seemed active and …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the government is failing on so many basic matters. It is failing to provide passports to Canadians. It is failing Afghan refugees, who assisted our brave men and women in a war zone. It is failing to process immigration applications. There are now millions of files that are behind. Frontline government employees are now simply resorting to telling their frustrated clients to call the…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, inflation has risen almost a full point month over month to 7.7%, which is near record levels. Europe has reduced fuel taxes, and the U.S. president is now calling for a gas tax holiday. What is the Canadian government doing? It is increasing fuel taxes. The last time world oil prices were this high was 2014, when the price of gas in Canada was $1.40, which is 70¢ less than today. The…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a question of privilege concerning last night's crash of the hybrid Parliament system. I was working in my Confederation Building office here in the precinct for the House of Commons, but could not log into the Zoom portion of the House's proceedings last night. We were discussing Bill C-21, the government's cynical approach to gun control, which was to be followed by B…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member on the opposite side gave a good speech. I would like to ask him a question, and he would know me to be somewhat analytical in my approach to Canada's problems and how the government needs to look at solving those problems. I am looking at the data that shows what crimes are actually being committed in Canada and what weapons are being used in those crimes. Does the member …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my colleague's comments. It is the first time I have heard him speak in the House. I really appreciated the tenor he brought to this debate. Let me ask this question. He brought up the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and its role in this legislation. Right now, that body has had less and less to do and it is becoming somewhat irrelevant.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have some questions on some of the last points the member raised in his speech, which piqued my attention. He talked about the inclusiveness of the bill for allowing members of certain communities more access. Maybe this is where the disconnect is happening on the bill, because the whole thing about net neutrality is that all of those groups, especially my friends in the LGBTQ commu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I heard her mention some figures. She mentioned something about $70 billion a year for the arts sector in Quebec. Where is that number coming from? Does that amount make sense for the Quebec economy?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talked about the cultural juggernaut of the United States and how this bill is meant to forestall that cultural juggernaut. However, over the last several months, we have been in the House debating bills that pertain to issues that primarily arise in the United States. In as much as we are culturally juggernauted by the United States, we seem to be responding to it i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I sometimes like listening to the member when he gives a speech. I thank him for his speech here, but it was really about criticizing Her Majesty's loyal opposition for its role in trying to point out what might be deficiencies in this bill. Some of those deficiencies are fairly obvious. I can tell the member that I have received more requests from constituents of mine, who have rea…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, when my colleague asked a question, you ruled her out of order and then there was no follow-up question. Now you have ruled the member opposite out of order for responding in the manner he did, yet he is still answering the question. I suggest, if you are treating the two sides equally, that he should stand down and we should get to the next question, please.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the 2 Billion Trees program, since the 2019 Speech from the Throne on December 5, 2019: (a) how much has been spent (i) administering the program, (ii) promoting the program, (iii) planting trees; (b) what is the breakdown of (a)(i) by item and type of expenditure; (c) what is the breakdown by location where trees were actually planted as of May 3, 2022; (d) what are the details of …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I heard the minister's comments and I wanted to ask him about the amount of food we are producing in the world and how we are going to continue to produce that amount of food, given that we are cutting back on so many of the food inputs, which includes the fertilizer that we know is being cut off in the Ukrainian conflict with Russia. At the same time, we are actually talking about cu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am sad my colleague did not take up some time to actually explain his position on this bill because that is what the floor of the House of Commons is for. I will ask him about the pettiness he referred to. We are attentive, and we want to hear what he has to say about this bill. That is not petty at all. It is about understanding what the legislation is for. If he is going to rise a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, last year, we spoke with the German ambassador and were told that an energy crisis in Europe was imminent. It has arrived. Now we are seeing that the global south, in particular, will experience a food crisis. What will we do? Does Canada have a solution to improve the situation we will be facing next year?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I want to ask my colleague about the potash mine in Saskatchewan. It is an international company that has already committed $7.5 billion to build, but suddenly there is a $100-million little sweetener at the last minute from the federal government. This is for something that should be progressing along those lines anyway. It is a new way of doing business, according to the Minister of…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I have heard a few things here from the government side of the bench. I just heard the hon. parliamentary secretary say that Canada is a leader. There is a recent organization set up by the United States called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Canada is left out of that. Canada is left out of the Quad. Canada is left out of so many international organizations. Our reputation on the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I know my colleague is very well versed in this field. When the cost of everything is going up, including the cost of fertilizer for farmers, and there is less fertilizer because of the war in Russia and Ukraine, what is going to happen of course is that people and farmers are going to need to start making choices. Those farmers could make the choice to not put fertilizer on their lan…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would say that the member for New Westminster—Burnaby referring to me and my colleagues as radicals in the House of Commons is very unparliamentary. I would like you to rule on that immediately, please.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine, Jaralaine, applied for permanent residence and a work permit under the caregiver category in April 2020, over two years ago, but IRCC stopped all caregiver applications, as they were not urgent. Now six months pregnant and diagnosed with a serious medical condition that may impact her health and that of her child, she has no health care coverage because of the g…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, there are a lot of courts of appeal that strike down laws in Canada, and we have to look at where the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is. Actually, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is expressed in the Ontario Court of Appeal. I apologize to my colleague because I am not sure where this stands in the appeal process from the Ontario Court of Appeal to potentially the Supreme Court of…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. My comments were about crimes related to drug use, but there are also gun crimes that are important in the bill. The other bill she mentioned is a firearms bill. I think people with legal firearms are targeted most of the time. We will see if that is a problem. Unfortunately, gun crimes are committed against women. If those firearms are illegal…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague is right. I remember, decades ago, going to New York City, the city he refers to, which is where people first implemented the broken windows theory. With the crime in the street, the city was unsafe. Walking around, I saw there was crime everywhere. A new mayor came in and said they needed to start taking care of the broken windows, so the theory followed that he basica…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise in this House today to speak to Bill C-5, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. I have listened to voices on all sides of this House, from members whom I have known and worked with, and I hear a conflicting difference in the connection between crime and sentencing, crime and punishment as Fyodor Dostoevsky would say. I hear from some f…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I did not quite follow that, but G7 nations stated that the energy security crisis is a grave concern for households around the world. Canada, as a member of the G7, has the world's third-largest reserves, but our allies are not looking to us for energy solutions. Under the government, Canada has lost credibility with our peers. Could the minister tell Canadians why his government h…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, G7 nations are calling on OPEC for energy solutions instead of turning to one of its own, Canada. I have a simple question: Why?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am surprised my colleague did not hear the cheering from the Liberal bench, and I am surprised he did not hear the heckling from this side of the House, because it was immense. It was a brouhaha. It was mayhem. I am surprised you did not intervene, Madam Speaker. I congratulate the member for actually causing that much dissension in this House, as he always does, because his comme…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, educate me here. If what the minister stated was in fact untrue in putting a motion forward, should it not be corrected?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, there are lots of tools in that box. Carbon capture is widely viewed by all scientific input as the nearest-term solution to decarbonizing our energy needs. There is no path to environmental goals without it. It has been over a year since the government rejected my tax credit on carbon capture because it needed to consult. After all that time, it was announced in this year's budget,…
Read full speech →