Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is incorrect. Let me repeat: Pacific salmon will remain a shared resource managed by the federal government. There have been extensive public consultations on the policy, and working group tables continue that include representations from the sport and recreational group, first nations and the commercial sector. A revised salmon allocation policy will not take away…
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Mr. Speaker, clearly the opposition member did not hear me, so let me repeat that Pacific salmon will remain a shared public resource managed by the federal government. There have been extensive public consultations on the policy and working group tables continue. That includes representation from sport and recreational groups, first nations and the commercial sector. A revised salmon allocation p…
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Mr. Speaker, Pacific salmon will remain a shared public resource managed by the federal government. There have been extensive public consultations on the policy, and working group tables continue and include representatives from sport and recreation, commercial harvesters and first nations. A revised salmon allocation policy will not take away any sector's access to the resource. To suggest otherw…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not need lessons from the other side on standing up for harvesters. I will remind the member of the opposition that I spoke to this yesterday. We had a one-year consultation on a policy that was not reviewed since 1999. With one year open, we will be working through what we heard. We will have a decision in due course, and I will let the member know. No decision has been made.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador is completely right. Our province was made for this moment. That is why I was proud last week to announce a federal investment of $16 million in Newfoundland and Labrador companies to build a stronger industrial base for defence manufacturing in our province. That means good jobs for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to build more of what Can…
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Mr. Speaker, the policy the member referenced was put in place in 1999, so of course we took six years, starting in 2018, to review the terms. There has been one year of consultations, which finished at the end of January. No decision has been made.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, it was an extensive review. The policy was established in 1999. In due course, obviously, we needed to look at this. There were six years when the terms were reviewed. There was a full year of consultation, which closed in the middle of January. We are now reviewing the work, and when we are ready, I will be pleased to bring our findings forward.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that member to speak with the CEO of Equinor to know who made that project possible, and then I am going to say to her that I will never politicize the challenges that people have in our province and in this country in food security. That is why the programs that we have in place are so important: actual supports for families and seniors. I am happy to bring this member up to sp…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to follow my colleague next to me and talk about good news on a Monday. The Bay du Nord project, for example, in Newfoundland and Labrador is getting workers on the job in our province, building our economy and building our infrastructure. This is a good news project, and I invite my colleague in the opposition from Newfoundland and Labrador to get on board.
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Mr. Speaker, the member likes to stand in the House and talk about what she feels her constituents need, but she actually needs to talk to them and ask whether building houses matters in her riding, whether supports for rural communities matter in her riding, as well as $10-a-day child care and the school food program. I know these things matter too for the constituents in her riding, because they…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to remind the member from Newfoundland and Labrador that she needs to read budget 2025, because in that budget, she will notice that there are strong supports for youth across this country and within our province, opportunities for them to further their education. There are programs that build houses, affordable houses in communities, and that build this country through maj…
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the member. In budget 2025, we are growing this country. We are growing rural Newfoundland and Labrador and the rest of Canada. We are working to invest in our apprenticeship programs. We are building schools. The challenge is that this member, part of the opposition, is obstructing at every step. Let us grow Canada. We need to work together.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to remind the member opposite from Newfoundland and Labrador that voting against the bills that support Canadian workers, Canadian communities and the building of our country and our province of Newfoundland and Labrador is obstruction. If the member wants to see our province of Newfoundland and Labrador grow, I can tell her that we are ready, but that side of the House nee…
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Mr. Speaker, let me remind the opposition member from Newfoundland and Labrador that the people in his riding reach out to me on a regular basis. They reach out to say, “Enough with the fear and enough with the obstruction. Let's work together.” Let me remind the member that there will be $50,000 in savings or direct payments to a family of four in affordability measures. This matters. I ask the C…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an absolute example of political rhetoric. What will help families is when we support workers, when we build this country, and when we support rural communities and infrastructure. These are real supports. The $10-a-day child care allows women to get into the workforce. The child family benefit puts dollars in the pockets of parents. Let us stop the nonsense. People, Canadians…
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Mr. Speaker, it is another week of the same tired notes and the same rhetoric that is intended to be nothing but obstruction. I can tell the opposition member from Newfoundland and Labrador that I hear from her constituents regularly. They want us to continue to work on the supports that are important not just to my province of Newfoundland and Labrador but to the entire country, the true affordab…
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Mr. Speaker, here we go again with another round of canned notes that do not address what the government is actually doing. It is another example of obstruction. I have heard from the member's constituents. They support what the government is doing: building this country, investing in provinces and investing in rural communities, such as those the member represents. Let us stop the nonsense. Let u…
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Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to stand and address their misinformation, their imaginary taxes and their general disengagement from what matters in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Budget 2025 is about investment. It is about building this country. It is about investment in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, like the rest of the country: roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. It is about su…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to deal in facts. Supports for seniors are indexed to inflation. Housing supports help seniors find affordable places to live. There are supports for families and communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The school food program, which another member from Newfoundland and Labrador called “garbage”, feeds children. There is $800 a year for a family of two in savings. I can g…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague across the aisle that the conversations are still happening. No decision has been made, and I encourage their participation as we move forward toward making a decision.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the member that the program funding continues through to March 2026. I am actively engaging with members across the country to talk about the effects of the program in their communities, what was very strong and what we need to look at in the future. The climate changes and the stock of salmon and other seafood changes. We need to be able to align our programs to the …
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Mr. Speaker, I would say to the mom in the member's riding to please ask her member to vote for child care, dental care and the school nutrition program, where a family of two can save $800 a year, and to support the inflation-indexed Canada child benefit, as 46,000 families need that support, along with housing supports. I could go on and on. These are tangible affordability measures. I will neve…
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Mr. Speaker, instead of repeating the same canned lines, I would ask the member from Newfoundland and Labrador, a Conservative member, to think about what she voted against: $10-a-day child care; food for kids in schools, something that her colleague called garbage; dental care; and the family benefit, which 46,000 families in my riding take advantage of. I ask her to start to work for Newfoundlan…
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important for me to point out that my colleague in the opposition from Newfoundland and Labrador has voted against every opportunity to help Canadians: housing, the school food program, $10-a-day child care, dental care, and on and on. This is nothing but a circle of tired notes. We need to work together. Canadians want us to work together. I will tell my colleague …
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Mr. Speaker, I was in my riding last weekend, and I spent time at a school in the riding. I served food—
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Mr. Speaker, I was in my riding last weekend. I served food in a school. In my riding, the educators and the administrators all spoke about how important that program is to the 400 children in that school. I also want to remind the member opposite that I had many meetings in the riding with constituents, with Progressive Conservative business owners. They are thanking me for the budget that is inv…
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Mr. Speaker, instead of playing partisan politics, let us focus on Canadians. The member opposite from Newfoundland and Labrador voted against a budget that invests in Canada; invests in our province in rural communities, roads, bridges, schools and hospitals; and invests in families with the school nutrition program's $800 savings a year for a family with two children. There is the family benefit…
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Mr. Speaker, apart from partisan politics, this member, who is from my province of Newfoundland and Labrador, voted against a budget that invests in Canada and invests in our province. She voted against 46,000 families who will see an increase in the Canada child benefit, families who rely on the food—
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Mr. Speaker, unauthorized fishing is unacceptable, full stop. Fisheries officers have many tools they use in the management of unauthorized fishing, from education to charges to fines. Often, their work happens in remote areas and at times of the day when people are not aware of the work they are doing. I want to thank fisheries officers for their outstanding work in keeping our fisheries safe and…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that the work is happening. He needs to look at what has happened in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and other parts of the country. Fisheries officers are on the water. We support their work. They are making a difference. We accept nothing but authorized fishing.
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Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to stand today and support a budget that is not only growing this country but also paying attention to rural communities. I can tell members that in Newfoundland and Labrador, investments in roads, bridges, hospitals, houses and communities matter. I ask my Conservative Newfoundland and Labrador colleagues, are they are going to vote for the things that matter to all of …
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Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to stand today, in reference to the question from the opposition member from Newfoundland and Labrador, and talk about the measures we are putting in place for young workers to train in construction, welding and the other work we need in order to build Canada strong. This is happening in my province, and I was so proud to make that announcement last week. That is just on…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say this to the opposition colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador: There is no fuel tax. It is an imaginary tax on food. What I want to say clearly is that the measures we have in place in our province, including $10-a-day child care, are allowing moms and dads to stay in the workforce. I was in my riding this weekend and spoke about the importance of the new program in th…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to remind my opposition colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador that Newfoundland and Labrador was the first province in Canada to sign on to the school food program. The Conservative Party was the first party in Canada to not vote for that program. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians value this program. Moms, parents and school educators know what this program means. This is aff…
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Mr. Speaker, while my colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador and the opposition want to talk down programs and humiliate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and all Canadians, I will reassure Canadians that the school food program is feeding children. It is saving families up to $800 a year. This is a policy that works. I will always stand for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, illegal fishing is unlawful. It threatens conservation and has an impact on the livelihood of people in coastal communities. That is why we have strengthened enforcement and added more patrols on the water and at wharfs. We are also working with enforcement partners. This summer, in southwest Nova Scotia, fisheries officers seized vessels and traps. They returned thousands of lobsters…
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to share with the member across the way from Newfoundland and Labrador that a single mom in her riding who earns $15,000 a year can now access up to $25,000 because she will automatically get the benefits for her and her children. This is good news, this is affordability and this is not a slogan.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to again remind my colleague of the benefit of the school food program. I have spoken with moms who are absolutely grateful. Their children now have food in their belly and are not separated from all the other children who can expect the basic right to have food in the morning. I also want to remind my colleague of the importance of the dental program, the child benefit a…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague in the opposition from Newfoundland and Labrador for the opportunity to celebrate a very successful fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador: northern cod with increased quotas. I visited communities, spoke with harvesters, visited processors and spoke with plant workers. This is an economic boost for rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I would invite the colleag…
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Mr. Speaker, I will echo what so many of my colleagues have said today: We are focused on building the economy in Canada, working with premiers in provinces and territories and building a strong Canada so that provinces like mine and the member opposite's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which is rich in natural resources, will be part of the projects that we will get built in record time and that will…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to my colleague across the aisle a repeat of what was said in the last answer: The fact is that Canada is working to protect workers. Rather than slogans, misinformation and negativity, the Liberals are actually doing the work of opening dialogue actively on the ground, to ensure that the workers in Canada are protected. We will have Canadians' backs.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to say that I was in Nova Scotia for the last couple of weeks. I met with harvesters and lobster fishers, and I want to assure the member opposite that I will continue to do this work. We need to ensure that we have balanced fisheries, and we need to ensure that we support authorised fishing.
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Madam Speaker, I will repeat what I said earlier, because I do not know if my colleague heard me. It is imperative that we balance the future of stocks. We need to have a fishery to pass on to the next generation. At the same time, we need to understand that this is people's livelihood. We can do both, but we also need to ensure that we have a stock going forward.
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Madam Speaker, I well know the historical importance of cod to the province, as well as the cultural importance. I also remember the moratorium 30 years ago and remember the absolute devastation to so many communities and individuals. As we begin to move forward and see the stock return to a more healthy zone, it is imperative to ensure that we balance the future generations of fishers in the prov…
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Madam Speaker, I think it is really important for the member opposite, whom I welcome to the House, to remember that there is a bill that will be tabled later today that is about growing this country, and I am so proud of the work that the new government is doing to ensure that Canada meets this moment. That includes Canada's becoming a world superpower, and I truly hope that the member opposite i…
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Mr. Speaker, it is very important in St. John's, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, that we protect children. The school food program was such an important initiative, and I found it so disappointing that the opposition voted against it. I hope that, when there is an opportunity to vote to support this program, which puts food in children's bellies, the opposition and the member across will vote to…
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Mr. Speaker, illegal fishing is appalling, and that is why Canada has taken a key role in the fight through Operation North Pacific Guard. Our expertly trained fisheries officers and Canadian Coast Guard crew are currently working to ensure that we disrupt the activities that lead to illegal fishing. I am also pleased to say that the crew of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier is currently engaged in this mis…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the people of St. John's East for continuing to put their trust in me. I also want to congratulate my colleague from across the aisle. This government continues to understand the cultural and economic importance of the fisheries. I can tell members that I am very humbled and proud to be responsible for this file. I can assure the people of Canada, and certainly my coll…
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Mr. Speaker, last week the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Quebec announced a historic agreement on Churchill Falls, as well as an agreement to develop the Gull Island project and upgrade other hydroelectric assets. This deal has the potential to transform Newfoundland and Labrador and create tens of thousands of jobs and sweeping economic spinoffs. Can the Minister o…
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Mr. Speaker, I can tell us what every Newfoundland and Labrador family talked about at the dinner table last week, because on December 12, the future of our province changed and a new course was charted. The 1969 Churchill Falls deal was infamous, unfair and forever contentious. It has now been ripped up with the announcement of a new deal between Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Innu Na…
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