Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, my friend from South Shore—St. Margarets asks what they are afraid of. The problem is that they are afraid of Canadians. They are afraid of the viewpoints and considerations of Canadians. They are afraid of hearing more testimony from stakeholders. In the last couple of days alone, we have had requests from dozens of stakeholders, organizations, individuals and businesses that would b…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, the member for Northumberland—Peterborough South says there cannot be more, but there is more, unfortunately. The government has tools available to it in the House to force through legislation. On motions it can use what is called closure, and on pieces of legislation it can use time allocation. That is the traditional process. If Bill C-11 were to be reported back to the House and th…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, the NDP House leader knows full well that it was the Conservatives who originally moved the motion to hear from Hockey Canada. The record must reflect that.

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I just want the record to reflect that the member for Ottawa—Vanier just introduced a guillotine motion on a guillotine motion.

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, it is great to see you in the Chair. You are doing a fine job. The member just asked that we vote and get this done. My question to her is this. Why is she currently filibustering this motion? The House leader of the opposition moved this motion, spoke for about four minutes and hoped that we could have a vote on it. What the government members are now doing is filibustering the motio…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point or order. I would draw your attention to paragraph 489 of Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms, sixth edition, as well as page 3760 of Debates, February 18, 1970, concerning the unparliamentary language used in this place. Immediately prior to this vote, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, in reference to the member for Windsor West, on two separate occ…

Mr. Speaker, in response to your ruling, I will take your advice. By unanimous consent, I seek that notwithstanding any standing order, a question to the spokesperson for the Board of Internal Economy may be raised during the proceedings, pursuant to Standing Order 38, and a spokesperson for the board who is not a minister of the Crown or a parliamentary secretary may give the response during thos…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives care about Canadian creators, but the Liberals continue to ignore the negative impacts of Bill C-11. This morning, digital creator and 47-year-old skateboarding mom Oorbee Roy told this to the committee: “not only does this bill not help me; it hurts me and actively undermines my needs.... I literally have never gotten a seat at the table, except now. As a digital cr…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what Conservatives know is that we will always stand up for our creative industries and fight on their behalf, so we can see Canadian creators succeed here at home and around the globe. Yesterday at committee, communications expert Monica Auer said, “gaps in Bill C-11 will make current serious problems with the CRTC's transparency, accountability and timing even worse” and “court chal…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, I rise today on a question of privilege concerning the refusal of my request for Adjournment Proceedings, or a late show, concerning my question pursuant to Standing Order 37(2) to a spokesperson for the Board of Internal Economy during the May 16 question period. On the afternoon of May 16, I followed the provisions of Standing Order 37(3), which states, “A member who is not satisf…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am disappointed because my colleagues and I were looking forward to debating this piece of legislation. So far, the only Conservative member to speak to it has been me, which is unfortunate. To my colleague, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, it is obviously a forgone conclusion that this bill will be passed and time allocation will be guillotined on this bill. I want a clear comm…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, we request a recorded division.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, last week, Morghan Fortier, creator of Canada's most-watched YouTube channel, appeared before the heritage committee, and had this to say about Bill C-11: It's been written by those who don't understand the industry they're attempting to regulate....worst of all, section 4.2 hands sweeping power to the CRTC to regulate the Internet use of everyday Canadians and small businesses. This …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we can support the cultural sector by taking user-generated content out of this bill and letting Canadian creators thrive here at home and internationally. The Liberals claim that user-generated content will not be included in Bill C-11, yet the chair of the CRTC contradicted the government and said that it would and that it could regulate user-generated content. We still have not see…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, for the record, in response to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, as the shadow minister responsible for Bill C-18, I was not consulted on time allocation for this bill.

Routine Proceedings

moved for leave to introduce Bill S-227, An Act to establish Food Day in Canada. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to introduce at first reading Bill S-227, an act to establish food day in Canada. I am very proud to sponsor this initiative, which would formally establish food day in Canada on the Saturday before the first Monday in August, making it fall on a Saturday on whic…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 37(2), my question is for the spokesperson for the Board of Internal Economy: the member for Red Deer—Lacombe. Last fall, a question of privilege was raised in the House about troubling allegations of Liberal partisanship by the Clerk of the House, benefiting the government with insider tips and helpful arrangements. The Chair ruled that the Board of Interna…

Government Orders

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for clarifying her point, because I do worry that the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is now just going to stand in his place for the entirety of today's debate. I just worry that his legs are going to get sore from standing that long.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it certainly is an honour to rise in the House today to debate Bill C-18, the online news act. I did not get a chance to ask the parliamentary secretary for Canadian heritage a question. He spoke a lot in his speech about the online tech giants, the Facebooks and Googles of the world, gobbling up advertising revenue and leaving small local newspapers without the same access to revenue…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I do have the app on my phone, and I stay in touch with my local stations when I am here in Ottawa. I have spent time in Kingston. I served a year there at university, not in the other institution of that great town, and I did read the Kingston Whig Standard when I was there. The member asked a question about why we would send this bill to committee and have the subject matter reviewe…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, we know full well that newspapers and media outlets are in trouble. Also, more and more advertising space is being bought from the web giants, including Facebook, Meta and Google. This is a concern for all Canadians who see the value of their local media or local newspaper. We need to be able to share the stories from our communities. The government needs to do something. I think it i…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I think the preference of our side would have been to draft our own piece of legislation if we were in government, but that is not the case. The next best scenario is this type of amendment. As the member ought to know, as she has been in the House a long time, there are very few amendments that are acceptable at second reading debate. This particular amendment is one of the few that …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk on a different point she raised on where the government puts its priorities and where other members put their priorities. We just heard the member for Vancouver East rallying their support for this bill, but the member for Vancouver East spent $17,000 on Facebook ads. The member for Vancouver East is talking about levelling the playing field between major web giants and…

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, there are those in our country who measure their days in acres rather than hours. With the spring planting season upon us, farmers in Perth—Wellington and across Canada are on the land, growing the food that will quite literally feed our country. Agriculture is always an unpredictable business, with so many variables that all impact a farmer’s bottom line and their hopes to be in the …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is good to see you in the chair, but we have lost quorum.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for d'Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his speech. If I understood his comments correctly, the Bloc Québécois will be voting in favour of this bill, even though it does have some concerns. I believe that the Conservative Party has the same concerns about small businesses such as small community newspapers, which do not have the same resources as large businesses that …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, toward the end of the comments by the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, he talked a bit about the ability of news organizations to band together and collectively bargain. Certainly, that is a part included in the bill, as well as changes to the Competition Act that would allow that. We have heard commentary coming out of the Australian model from Australian organizations about sma…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, leave it to the Liberals to censor Bill C-11. In less than an hour, they forced a bill through the House that negatively impacts each and every Canadian who watches videos or listens to music on the Internet. Making matters worse, the Prime Minister refuses to answer a simple question about how the CRTC will use its new powers to regulate the Internet. Why is the government ramming th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, again and again, there is more disinformation from the Liberal government. This is a flawed bill. The Liberals are keeping the directives they are giving to the CRTC secret until after the bill receives royal assent, and now they are forcing the bill through the House of Commons. Why? Why is the government ramming this bill through, rather than providing certainty to digital first cre…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, will the government commit to releasing its policy directive to the CRTC before voting on Bill C-11?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is so proud of his approach, why does he not simply release the policy directive that he will be sending to the CRTC to implement this law? This “just trust us” approach does not inspire confidence in the Canadian people. The government is asking an entity that has neither the capacity nor the competence to regulate vast swaths of the Internet, but the government…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the government's response to question Q-306 and its reference to the 40 individuals, associations and organizations who were sent the email to promote the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS): (a) what are the names of these 40 individuals, associations and organizations; (b) how were they chosen; and (c) which ones responded to the email indicating an interest in sharing informatio…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, first of all, I find it passing strange that the minister is citing as an excuse for time allocation that there was a lot of time for debating Bill C-10 in the previous Parliament, so I think Canadians would be interested to know that this is truly just a repeat of Bill C-10 from the previous Parliament. I have a very specific question for the minister. The government is committed t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, we request a recorded division.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, does the member really think that the CRTC is the right entity to regulate the Internet? The CRTC has spent more than 14 months trying to renew the CBC licence. It spent over a year trying to implement a three-digit suicide prevention hotline. It has a chair who has private meetings, and goes out for beers, with one of the largest businesses that it regulates: Bell Canada. The gover…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, the member spoke about discoverability. This is one of those things that is being left to the CRTC to implement based on a policy directive that the government would send after the bill is passed. Has the member spoke to the Minister of Canadian Heritage? How would he direct the CRTC to implement discoverability through Bill C-11?

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, on the same point of order, I think if you sought it, there would be unanimous consent to give the member for Drummond a question. I really want to hear what he has to say.

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the decision by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to recruit social media influencers to promote the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS): (a) how many influencers were sent recruiting requests or similar types of communication by PSPC; (b) what formula or rate is used to determine how much each influencer will receive in compensation for promoting the NSS; (c) what is t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to discuss this Bloc Québécois opposition day motion. I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised by the debate today. It has been a meaningful debate of an important issue. I would argue that this might not be the right time and place to debate this matter, but it has nonetheless been an informative debate. One of the great advantag…

Statements By Members

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Andrew Graham, who passed away last week after a remarkable and varied life of purpose. Andy served as warden of the Kingston Penitentiary, senior deputy commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, and assistant deputy minister at Agriculture Canada. Following his 30-plus-year career in the public service, he embarked on a two-decade academic career …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House and contribute to a debate. Today, we are debating at report stage Bill C-8, an act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update tabled in Parliament on December 14, 2021, and other measures. I always enjoy the long titles to bills because they give a sense of what the bill actually is. An economic statement or a fisc…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to address, first, Motion No. 11. The member has been in this place for many years. He physically is in this place all the time. I often wonder if he has a sleeping bag underneath his desk, and I say that in a positive light, because he is here a lot. What he fails to understand is that in the examples he has raised, there is no question put. What he is talking about now is t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Joliette for his good question. Indeed, the government must take action. It has to do something about the taxes on fertilizers. Our farmers and our families are working hard every day. Now they are facing uncertainty because of the current government. Where is the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food? She is not doing anything. She gives answers during que…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, first, to the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, the term “guillotine motion” is a common phrase. It is used at Westminster all the time. To his specific question, the government could have acted. They have had the ways and means motion passed in the House of Commons, which could direct CRA to implement these changes on this year's tax return. They are using this as a delay mechanism…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, the Liberals have spent over $600,000 on social media influencers. While they say they want to crack down on misinformation online, the Liberals literally paid thousands of dollars to influencers to give fake, sponsored endorsements of the government. Why should Canadians trust the Liberals to regulate online activity, when they have literally hired an army of keyb…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Volunteer Week, a chance to thank and pay tribute to the countless volunteers who are truly the lifeblood of our communities. There are volunteers such as Colleen Johnson of Mitchell, who was recently named citizen of the year for her selfless work in support of others, including her efforts to support three-year-old Claire and her family as Claire battles cancer…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is, as always, a privilege to rise in the House to share the concerns of the people of Perth—Wellington and bring those concerns to this place. This year's budget was the third opportunity the Liberals had to address the real concerns of Canadians. Since the election, they could have addressed the concerns of Canadians in the fall economic statement, in the implementation act for t…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member for Winnipeg North did not listen to my speech. What I am requesting is clarity from the government for fertilizer purchases that were made pre-March 2, before the sanctions were announced. These were purchased, and paid for in many cases, before March 2. The purchases were already made. There would be no impact on Vladimir Putin with that tariff. The only ones wh…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, in fact, my answer is yes. What we have found out during the last two years of this pandemic is that we need to do stuff in Canada again. We need to build stuff in Canada. We need to manufacture stuff in Canada. We need to be sure that we can rely on ourselves, especially for food security and especially for food sovereignty, so we are not once again finding ourselves beholden to di…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my friend from Saanich—Gulf Islands is absolutely right. In a country that is as prosperous as Canada, with the most fertile farmland in the world and the most innovative farmers, whether they be dairy, pork, beef or grain farmers, we can do so much here in Canada. We can be an economic powerhouse, a powerhouse that feeds our communities and feeds our country, and makes sure that we…