Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, you are doing good work in the chair today. Thanks again. Here we go again. I honestly do not know what to say after hearing the parliamentary secretary to the leader of the government in this chamber. As I said in my question to him, what I heard was a lot of justification with little accountability on why the Liberals are introducing what I would deem a draconian motion, Motion No. …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I grew up in a space where people are either accountable or they justify. I heard very little in the way of accountability with the member's speech, and a lot of justification. I want to make a couple of points. He spoke specifically about Bill C-8. The bill was first introduced on December 15, 2021. It got approval at second reading on February 10, went to committee and got committee…

Government Orders

I'm glad you mentioned that.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for this opportunity. I am rising on a point of order related to government Motion No. 11, which is scheduled for debate later this morning. By rising today, I am asking that you divide the motion for debating and voting purposes. Recognizing that you will require time to consider the matter, I am rising now, as soon as the House opened today. The procedure that I am seeking…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, April is Parkinson's Awareness Month. Parkinson's is the fastest-growing neurological disease in the world. There are more than 100,000 people in Canada living with Parkinson's, and more than 30 Canadians are diagnosed with Parkinson's every day. This number is expected to increase to 50 new diagnoses per day in the next decade. There is no diagnostic test for this disease, no treatme…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is an absolutely absurd assertion. Banks pay their fair share. Businesses pay their fair share. Individuals pay their fair share. I just did my taxes, and believe me, I am paying my fair share. The problem is the banks are simply going to pass that cost on to consumers. Let us be realistic about this. If the hon. member actually thinks the banks are going to pay any additional ta…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues' passionate discourse on this and the fact that they were more or less agreeing with what I was saying. When the Liberals were out selling the budget and travelling around Canada contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, the Parliamentary Budget Officer issued a report on Friday that was quite troubling with respect to the budget. He flags several downside…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am really pleased to get up this afternoon, on the first day back after a couple of weeks back in our ridings, to speak about the budget. It reminds me of that old adage that people of integrity expect to be believed, and when they are not, time will prove them right. Time is certainly proving us right on predictions that were made a year and a half to two years ago, when the mone…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, this is the problem with passing that on to the farms and the legislation that started years ago under the Liberal government. There are many challenges within the agriculture sector that farmers are facing. I happen to come from a large agricultural area. The carbon tax is causing problems, especially for grain heaters. On fertilizer costs, I just spoke with one of our local farmer…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, in the latest report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which I know my colleague would have read, it calls into question the ability, and it is a fair question and I say this respectfully, of the CRA to actually go after these tax dodgers, as the NDP calls them. There is still a problem that exists there that needs to be addressed.

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the confirmation of the declaration of emergency pursuant to the Emergencies Act: did the Prime Minister consider the recorded division in the House of Commons on February 21, 2022, to confirm the declaration of a public order emergency proclaimed on February 14, 2022, to be a matter of confidence?

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to call Motion No. P-1. That an order of the House do issue for a copy of all documents, signed or unsigned, related to the negotiation of the coalition agreement between the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party, or what the Prime Minister refers to as a "supply and confidence agreement", including any documents which record or demonstrate an understanding betwee…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, it may be April Fool's Day, but the tax hikes that went into effect less than 12 hours ago are no joke. This morning, Canadians woke up to higher taxes on everything from gas to groceries to home heating because of the 25% increase in the carbon tax. Everything moved by a truck will go up as producers and wholesales inevitably pass those costs on to the families and seniors who can …

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, no one ever imagined a time when a family or seniors would be punished financially for simply driving their car to earn a living or to visit their grandchildren, yet gas prices are up again today because of the 25% hike in the carbon tax. The Liberals have a choice in the budget next week. They can be fiscally responsible like the Chrétien–Martin Liberals were or they can continue t…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, that is not according to the PBO. A new Ipsos poll confirms how out of touch the NDP-Liberal government is with hard-working Canadians, and they applaud. We have an affordability crisis and, according to Ipsos, Canadians want a budget that addresses the cost-of-living crisis, not a radical, ideologically driven, activist, Leap Manifesto NDP-type budget that punishes families and sen…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, that is a great question and the answer lies in the report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. While the Liberals say that 60% of Canadians will get more back in the carbon tax, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says that 80% will receive less than what they pay in carbon tax. This is a fallacy that is spread by members of the Liberal government. They stand up here in the House and …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Calgary Centre. Far too often, it is easy for us to sit in this symbol of democracy and lose perspective on what is happening within our constituencies. The affordability factor is real right now. What many people were saying was a transitory inflation period has actually become a state of permanent inflation, and it is affecting ev…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very judicious in my language so as not to offend the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona and refer to it as a neo-liberal government. There has been thunderous applause this week every time we mention the NDP-Liberal government, so I would like to ask the NDP-Liberal government House leader what the plan is next week for the agenda in the House of Commons.

Government Orders

Do not clap right now, because we have a deficit of $400 billion, and $400 billion minus $7 billion is $393 billion. Where are they going to get the rest of that money back? Where are they going to get the rest of the money to pay for that deficit? They are going to get it with an economy that is firing on all cylinders, not by picking and choosing winners, and by making sure that every sector in …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I do not happen to believe that earning a profit is a bad thing. I also do not happen to believe nor share the view of the NDP regarding businesses earning a profit. Whether it is a small-town business in Barrie—Innisfil or a large corporation, they pay their fair share of taxes. The NDP talks a lot about a 1% tax on the rich. That is going to generate about $7 billion a year in rev…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is not going to be a surprise to the hon. member that an attack on our natural resource sector is not what I believe in. I think the natural resource sector has clean, Canadian, ethical oil that has the best environmental standards. Natural gas, as well, has the best environmental standards in the world, the best labour standards in the world and the best human rights standards i…

Government Orders

I request a recorded division, Madam Speaker.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, obviously, it is a profound disappointment that the government is now moving time allocation on what is effectively a very substantive justice bill repealing, for example, mandatory minimums. Effectively, what it is doing is giving criminals a get-out-of -jail-free card at a cost to victims. I want to point out, too, that we have dealt with this issue since December of 2021 with only …

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I will believe it when I see it. For the Speaker's reference, in the first paragraph I did refer to the coalition agreement between the Liberal and New Democratic parties. I have not changed a thing.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I am rising to add to my point of order of last week concerning the coalition agreement between the Liberal and New Democratic parties. On Thursday, I asked whether the Chair would indicate whether it would be helpful, in approaching a ruling, to know whether there were any signed versions of the agreement or additional side deals. In this morning's edition of The Hill Times, it was r…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, before I get to the Thursday question, today is my youngest son's 18th birthday, and Liane and I would like to wish Mitch a happy birthday. As you know, Mr. Speaker, it has been a heck of a week around here. I would like to ask the usual Thursday question of the new NDP-Liberal government House leader. What will the business of the House be over the next week?

Oral Questions

I know the House is unanimous in wishing him a complete and speedy recovery, but we cannot wait for his return for a ruling, nor would we wish to stress or tax him with these matters. Subsection 43(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act vests you, Mr. Speaker, with full and adequate authority to address this matter. It states: Whenever the House of Commons is informed of the unavoidable absence of the…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I am rising to add to my point of order of Tuesday afternoon and further to the intervention by the member for La Prairie yesterday concerning the coalition agreement between the Liberal and New Democratic parties. Firstly, a timely ruling is essential and today is the last day of the supply period, which means that a new one starts tomorrow. That mean…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order concerning the status of the New Democratic Party as an opposition party, following the announcement of a confidence and supply agreement with the Liberal government. To paraphrase Shakespeare, this NDP-Liberal government is a coalition by any other name. While many of our parliamentary procedures refer to recognized parties, others specifically refer to gov…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties, and I hope if you ask, you will get unanimous consent for the following motion. I move that the House denounce foreign influence and Hollywood actors who unfairly target and misrepresent Canada's energy sector, including the position of many elected leaders from indigenous communities who support resource devel…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, life under the Liberal government is quickly becoming unaffordable for Canadians. High inflation means that prices are going up twice as fast as wages. Middle-class Canadians are struggling to avoid falling into poverty. Seniors are also hurting. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister's tax hikes on everything from gasoline to home heating are scheduled to take effect on April 1. H…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, that is cold comfort for Barrie—Innisfil residents, who this morning are paying 172.9¢ per litre for gasoline. Instead of helping Canadians, the Liberals are actually going to increase the carbon tax by 25%. Increasing taxes now means that out-of-control grocery prices will go higher. The Liberals claim they are concerned about inflation, but their policies are making the problem much…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of Agnes Macphail, I note that this is an absolutely wondrous place to be part of and to sit in. It is our symbol of democracy. I, for one, feel just as emotional every time I step into this place as she did. We are heading back to our constituencies for a couple of weeks to do the work that our constituents expect of us. We will be coming back on March 21. It is my hono…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, we want a recorded vote.

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, we would like a recorded division.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, 41 years ago in October, Ronald Reagan famously turned to then-president Jimmy Carter and said, “There you go again.” Well, here we go again. On the 39th sitting day of this Parliament, this is the fifth time the government has invoked closure on debate, on something as important as an oversight committee. The government decided to take extraordinary powers by invoking the Emergencies…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that the Prime Minister did not even have the courtesy of introducing the Emergencies Act within our symbol of democracy, which again shows contempt for our institutions. We have seen this pattern of contempt continue throughout the six and a half years of the government. The other thing I would say is that what we are proposing in our amendment, to have a Liber…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from the Bloc Québécois. We need to create this committee soon. I know there has been an issue of public and private information that becomes available to the committee, and how much should be public and how much should be private. I know the member has expertise in this field. I am interested to know, as we move forward, what sort of criteria he would be loo…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, one thing that has come to light throughout the course of this whole thing is how important it is for the government to be held to account for its actions in invoking the Emergencies Act. However, the government and the NDP seem to be holding some opposition parties to a greater account. To the hon. member from the Bloc, how important is it for us to hold the government to account on …

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, one of the conversations we are having as a result of this war crime by Vladimir Putin is around the issue of energy security in this country. Obviously, Europe is supplied with natural gas by Russia. Canada is the fifth-largest producer of natural gas. Clean Canadian energy can be exported around the world, not just used here at home. However, the issue of energy security is becoming c…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Prime Minister for his words this evening. One of the things that Canadians are talking about a lot and we have been discussing throughout the course of today is the need for energy independence and energy security in this country, whether it is liquefied natural gas or natural resource production, making sure that this country, our Canada, is energy secure. Could …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges we have been dealing with, all of us working on this committee, is the perception, real or otherwise, that the government is trying to stack the deck with this committee. The Conservatives, and I will be speaking about this momentarily, provided a reasonable proposal that would have used an already existing committee, which was purpose-built for this particular p…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I am really looking forward to discussing this situation. Before I begin, I would certainly like to express my concern for the people of Ukraine and the current situation they are going through. All of us are watching very closely. We see the government acting and we are, as Conservatives and as Her Majesty's loyal opposition, in support of many of the government's actions. I note we …

Government Orders

I apologize for that, Mr. Speaker. It is no wonder people were angered when the Prime Minister of the country referred to his own countrymen, his people, in those terms because he does not agree with them and they do not agree with him. It is not prime ministerial, and it really has affected a lot of people in more ways than perhaps the Prime Minister thinks. The challenge right now is that the an…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's point. As I said in the course of my speech, there is no other situation or committee that is structured in the manner the government is proposing, where there are three co-chairs and members of the third and fourth party. Typically, as I said, oversight committees are designed to provide oversight and justification of the government's actions. We have t…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague. I have been working with him now for the better part of three weeks as the opposition House leader, and I respect what he does in that capacity. However, to characterize this in such a way that somehow we were not, as Conservatives, empathetic to the situation is a gross misstatement. Two or three weeks before action was taken by the police, o…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is the government's actions that should be held to account here. It is the government that decided to invoke the Emergencies Act. We need to find out what thresholds were met. We also need to understand, as I said, that there is a strong level of anger and anxiety that exists and that it has manifested across this country because of what people have been dealing with over the last …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. I made that point during my speech. I believe that the scrutiny of regulations committee is purpose built for many of the reasons the hon. member stated and many more within its mandate. It could have been constituted easily because it is already an existing committee of Parliament. There might have been some moving parts and pieces in terms of members. Howev…