Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and painful history of forced and coerced sterilization, particularly affecting indigenous peoples. For decades, individuals were subjected to permanent procedures without their informed consent, including in residential schools and in northern and remote communities. While many believe this practice belongs to the past, it does not. Survivors continue to come forwar…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and painful history of forced and coerced sterilization, particularly affecting indigenous peoples. For decades, individuals were subjected to permanent procedures without their informed consent, including in residential schools and in northern and remote communities. While many believe this practice belongs to the past, it does not. Survivors continue to come forwar…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my friend from Saskatoon West highlighted quite well our position on this bill. We agree that the government has been failing for decades to live up to the words of treaties, modern or otherwise. We appreciate the frustration the partners have had with this. The problem we have with this legislation is that there would be no enforcement. What would the consequences be? I think the m…
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Madam Speaker, our deputy leader outlined quite well our concerns with this piece of legislation. She hit on the key point that we agree with the diagnosis that Ottawa, the government itself, has not been living up to its word in treaties, whether modern or otherwise, for decades. I think we all agree on that. We do understand the frustration that the co-drafters of this legislation have with the …
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Mr. Speaker, three years ago the finance minister promised Canadians he would stabilize food prices. Since then, lettuce is up nearly 40%, coffee 33%, beef 27%, baby formula 13% and canned vegetables almost 12%. Canada is leading the G7 in food inflation. It is now twice as high as when the Prime Minister took office and twice as high as it is in the United States. Canadians are making 2.2 million…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand and present petition e-6777, created by Ms. Outwater, a resident in my neighbouring riding of Peterborough. All 1,767 of these signatories are concerned about the current system the Liberal government has created when it comes to how safe they feel on the streets of their community. People are concerned that there are repeat offenders continuing to get out on bai…
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Mr. Speaker, the Cowichan court ruling in the British Columbia Supreme Court is causing real damage in Richmond. Banks are pulling back, buyers are walking away, investment is on hold and families and businesses are being left in limbo. On October 23, the Richmond council urgently asked the Attorney General to protect private property rights. The Liberal government did not even bother to respond. …
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately I think that the member's view of what is actually happening on the ground in Canada is the exact opposite. Food bank usage is at its highest it has ever been. Millions of people are lining up for the food bank, many of whom are going for the first time. Unfortunately the government seems to be taking pride in the fact that it is creating programs that supply food. I am …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to formally request, following adjournment of the House, a debate on an important matter requiring urgent consideration, pursuant to Standing Order 52, regarding the national implications of the recent Cowichan Tribes v. Canada court decision, the subsequent notices issued to homeowners in British Columbia and the profound uncertainty now surrounding Canada's land title s…
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moved that Bill S-228, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sterilization procedures), be read the first time. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce Bill S-228, seconded by the member for Lethbridge. This legislation is identical to amended Bill S-250, which the Senate unanimously endorsed and sent to the House of Commons in October 2024. Bill S-228 directly confronts the abhorrent and ongoing real…
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Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, the Liberals have promised their massive deficit will lead to more jobs and investment in Canada; it has not. Tomorrow, we will see another budget packed with more inflationary spending. The result is that Holsag Canada announced the closure of its Lindsay plant, putting 130 people out of work. After 10 years of the Liberal government, manufacturers are closing, costs ar…
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Mr. Speaker, we have 130 people out of work in Lindsay, Ontario. That combined with the latest HungerCount report shows that Canadians are struggling as they never have before. Food bank visits hit 2.2 million in March, nearly double prepandemic levels. One-third of clients are children. Almost one in five has a job but cannot make ends meet. The government continues to impose hidden taxes, includ…
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Mr. Speaker, auditors report that 130 valuable indigenous artworks have vanished from a federal collection overseen by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. Security was so weak that the theft went undetected. The department has no plan to recover the missing art, yet it continues to buy new pieces. The entire collection is worth over $14 million and includes cultural treasures. Could the mi…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to address the faux outrage and pearl-clutching on the other side. For 10 years, we have listened to the government chew on the RCMP. Here is a headline quoting the public safety minister: “RCMP racism is ‘intolerable’”. The former prime minister called the RCMP a racist organization—
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to table e-petition 6605, which was created by a constituent in my riding, Ms. Jo-Anne Green from Haliburton County. The 1,100 signatories would like to bring attention to the issue of indigenous identity fraud. They would like the government to take action to ensure that there is legislation addressing first nations, Métis and Inuit identity fraud with clear definitions,…
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Mr. Speaker, I also share the view my friend just mentioned. We are still not at the point that we are absolutely certain this would actually change anything. We would be creating a bureaucracy starting at about $2 million and change every single year for the next five years. When we compare it to other offices like it, we are in the tens of millions, so I do not accept that the cost would stay th…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we support modern treaties, the path to self-government and the path to economic reconciliation, and we wish to work with communities that want to see that happen. We support those initiatives. However, the fact that the minister has to table a piece of legislation dealing with the modern treaty shows the failure of the government. In six years, Stephen Harp…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with what the member just said. It is about implementation, and his colleague from Jonquière brought up the exact same point I was trying to make. The Auditor General has a whole library of reports on where the government is failing on a whole range of points, whether it is related to weather, clean water or something else. It is already there. This goes back decades, for 150-…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the work with my Bloc colleague on the indigenous and northern affairs committee. I understand why indigenous leaders are calling for the office of a modern treaty commissioner, because the government has been failing to implement existing treaties for decades. The government fails to implement its word on modern treaties. However, I will say again that the Auditor Genera…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, the bill will get to committee. We will study it, and I am pretty sure there will be amendments proposed. We will see what gets passed and what does not. We look forward to that process. At the same time, however, we are in the chamber to debate, and the bill has been tabled. This is the first day it has been debated, so there are Conservatives members who want to speak to it.
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Mr. Speaker, yes, that is something I outlined in my speech: how Parliament would not have the oversight it should. We will look at that in committee and hopefully get some amendments.
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Mr. Speaker, I do support the fact that the government needs to live up to its modern treaty obligations. As I mentioned, the Harper government signed five in six years. I would also point out to the member opposite that between 2015 and 2017, on top of the Auditor General's reports, which I have mentioned a million times, several new federal offices and initiatives were created to work on land cl…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a matter that goes beyond the very foundation of this country: the relationship between the Crown and indigenous peoples. That relationship is defined not only by our history, but by our honour. It is tested not by words or new offices, but by actions. It is measured not by the number of new bureaucracies we create, but by the commitments we fulfill and the…
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Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out, the Auditor General has done many reports, and I would say the expertise was accepted at the time as an expert dive into the issues Canada is or is not living up to with modern treaty implementation, or with existing treaties and the lack of the implementation of those treaties. I mentioned reports from 2005, 2006, 2013 and 2016, plus 14 more, that talked about where…
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, the new office, as it is written, would report to Parliament. It would report to the Senate and to Parliament, but it would report to the government first, and the minister would then decide when the report would get to the Speaker and then be released to Parliament. Parliament would not have the opportunity to dictate where the audits go and what needs to be studied o…
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Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned the independence of this commissioner, should the agency be created. I wish to point him to subclause 28(2), which examines how the commissioner, should the agency be formed, reports. His or her report would go to the minister first, then to the Speakers of both chambers, the Senate and the House. I question that chain of events. As the Auditor General does, this …
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Mr. Speaker, what I have heard during the speeches is nothing new. The concern we have raised in the House specifically is that this piece of legislation would not give the new commissioner, whoever that person might be, the ability to hold government departments to account. We have a slew of reports from the Auditor General already pointing out the failings of governments over the past decades. W…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what the member from British Columbia had to say. He did an amazing job pointing out some of the concerns we have with the piece of legislation. I do want to take issue with the member opposite, the member for Winnipeg North, who rose on his feet just a few minutes ago to talk about the treaties. He took issue with the number of the modern treaties signed by Stephen Harpe…
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Mr. Speaker, my friend for Skeena—Bulkley Valley raises a good point. It is exactly a fear that I share with the member, which is that if the office is created and there is another report, and another report after that a few years later, about where the government is failing on modern treaty implementation, will the government actually pay attention to that? Will the departments actually fix what …
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Mr. Speaker, the long and short of it is that over six years, the Harper government signed five modern treaties, and over 10 years, the Liberals have signed zero. I can understand why indigenous leaders are calling for this. It is because the government continues to fail. The member opposite talked about programs. The Auditor General addresses them, but nothing has been acted upon. What is differe…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Also known as Orange Shirt Day, we remember the indigenous children who were taken away through the residential school system, and we honour their families and communities that continue to feel the weight of that loss. Orange Shirt Day began with Phyllis Webstad in Williams Lake, British Columbia, which is also the hometow…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to spending on informatics services, in 2022-23, as listed in table 2 of the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report titled "Fiscal cost of task-based IT contracting": (a) what is the total amount spent on contracts for all departments, agencies and Crown corporations; and (b) what are the details of all such contracts, including, for each, (i) the amount, (ii) the vendor, (iii) the date…
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With regard to Sustainable Development Technology Canada: (a) what are the costs incurred by the (i) board of directors, (ii) executive team, since January 1, 2016, broken down by year and month; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by type of expense, including the amount spent on meeting spaces, travel claims, hospitality bills, honorariums, etc.; (c) what are the details of each travel expense incu…
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Madam Speaker, I do agree that interprovincial trade and removing the barriers is a good thing. I do agree that when those barriers are gone, we would be able to create billions of dollars in economic activity right across our country. The issue here now is the fact that the Prime Minister, during the campaign, talked about getting interprovincial free trade done by Canada Day, and the clock is ti…
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Madam Speaker, that is a fantastic question. I think that is the essence of all of this. On the one hand, Liberals say, “Let us get things built”; they say that they will get things moving and shovels in the ground. However, at the same time, they have a regulatory framework that currently exists that stifles any of that from happening, while companies that beg the government, are properly connect…
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Madam Speaker, what was clear during the election was that somehow the administration down south, which had been in place for about two months or so, maybe three months, was the focal point of the Liberal campaign. However, Liberals seem to have done a smoke and mirrors show, where the last 10 years of Liberal misery was forgotten about. Unfortunately, now we see the results: Crime is still throug…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to stand in the House to add my thoughts and the views of our constituents on various pieces of legislation. Today, it will be on Bill C-5, an act to enact the free trade and labour mobility in Canada act and the building Canada act. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Haldimand—Norfolk. Before I get into the meat of the bill, I will say that…
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Yeah, it probably would. Madam Speaker, we would not get the choice; we would not get the innovation. What is good music, right? I bet my taste in music is totally different than that of the member opposite, and that is a good thing. I guarantee that if the government controlled the music industry, we would get what government wants. We would get what the government tells us is music, and that wou…
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Madam Speaker, if I heard the hon. member correctly, I will say that is why market forces demand this kind of thing. Consumption of oil is expected to go up. We have a lot of it; let us get it to market and create jobs, opportunity and wealth right here at home.
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Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with the member opposite on the indigenous and northern affairs committee and hope he is returning there so we can complete that work. In the member opposite's speech, he talked a number of times about interprovincial trade and reducing barriers, and what we have heard pretty much all day and throughout this debate from members opposite is that it just seems new to the…
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal consultants are getting millions in contracts without the required security clearances or experience. Worse, they do not even have to do any work. The Auditor General found evidence that nearly half of government contracts were paid out but not actually completed. While Liberal insiders get rich, Canadian families struggle to pay for food. In true Liberal fashion, of course, t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear the Prime Minister has the backs of Liberal insiders and backroom cronies, not hard-working Canadians. It is business as usual for the Prime Minister, who has no plans to cut the gravy train to Liberal consultants with no intention to actually complete work. While the RCMP investigates fraud on Canadians, those ministers responsible get a pat on the back, and they get prom…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today's Auditor General's report is another damning indictment that the Liberals have lost control of their rampant spending on consultants. GC Strategies, the consulting firm with links to arrive scam, cut 106 service contracts worth $92.7 million. This is the same company that was found in contempt of Parliament for refusing to answer questions and was called to this very House to a…
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Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals, it is the same spending, same ministers and same painful consequences for Canadians, except now, we do not know the government's full plan because it refused to table a budget, something quite new to Canada. Budgets have been presented during wars, economic downturns and, yes, even following elections. We do know the government has increased spending on consultants…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think asking for a budget on behalf of Canadians is a slogan, and, actually, something that Canada has always had is a budget. The government has spent $330,000 just on consultants to rebrand a Crown corporation. The goal of that name change is to get people really excited about high-speed rail from Toronto to Quebec City. People in my area have grown quite tired of waiting d…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control of his spending and his cabinet. The PBO says that this year's budget deficit could be as high as $46 billion, smashing the $40-billion guardrail promised by the finance minister. Like so many ministers before her, the finance minister's time might be limited, simply for standing up to the Prime Minister and his radical agenda. Will the Prime Minist…
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Mr. Speaker, from that answer, it is clear that the Liberals have abandoned all hope of keeping their $40-billion guardrail promise that was made to Canadians. While the unelected, unaccountable and phantom finance minister, carbon tax Carney, pulls the strings from the shadows, the Liberals are following their Prime Minister and the economy of Canada right off the fiscal cliff. Already, interest …
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Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite fairly well and I know he is a very smart individual. I remind him that the inflation that has taken hold in Canada is baked into the prices we are seeing now. It is not as if prices are actually going down. The prices of groceries are still absolutely insane, and we see that at the food banks, in record numbers. I do not think that is a measure of success t…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the words from the member opposite. We did have a good working relationship on Bill C-61. I thought there was a lot of good discussion as we moved through that piece of legislation. It was good to see the member come from a different committee and add a bit of a different perspective. That is always appreciated. In terms of his question, I think, overall, competitiveness …
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Mr. Speaker, as the member for Carleton, our leader, said in July, the Conservative government, if given a chance to serve, would fully fund and implement Jordan's principle because indigenous children should have equal access to care and supports when they need it, where they need it, no matter where they live. That is something I agree with and I fully support our leader.
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