Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, June 15, 2012, was a dark day in Edmonton. A young man named Brian Ilesic was one of three armoured-car guards who were murdered. The other victims were Michelle Shegelski, Eddie Rejano, and Matthew Schuman. As they serviced ATMs in the Hub Mall on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, their co-worker, Travis Baumgartner, shot and killed Brian, Michelle and Eddie. Baumgartner …
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Mr. Speaker, my private members' bill, Bill C-243, is being read for the second time today. It is a common-sense bill that would lessen the anguish of people who have had loved ones stolen from them by murder. This Conservative bill would reduce annual parole hearings for murderers from every year to every five years. Parole hearings are traumatizing. This would be a compassionate law supporting t…
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Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if it bothers the Liberal members across the aisle that people whose refugee claims have failed get better health benefits than many Canadian senior citizens, including vision care and physiotherapy.
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Mr. Speaker, I wanted to draw to the attention of my colleague that Build Canada Homes is a big bureaucratic program. It has been around for six months and, according to its own website, it has not finished one single home. I am wondering what my colleague would suggest as the Conservative solution to building houses without this huge bureaucracy surrounding it.
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Mr. Speaker, I did a bit of a deep dive on Build Canada Homes. It seems like a noble idea to build homes. The people across the way say they are going to build at a speed that we have never seen before. Build Canada Homes was launched in September of 2025. Six months later, according to Build Canada Homes, not one home has been completed. Why is that?
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister and other Liberal MPs have often said that we have a trade war going with the U.S.A., so how is subsidizing the purchase of new U.S.-made vehicles with $5,000 in Canadian tax money helping us win that trade war?
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Madam Speaker, today I rise to present a petition signed by my constituents in Edmonton Griesbach. This petition highlights the 26-year persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. My constituents say this persecution has included torture, killings and forced organ harvesting. The petitioners call on the federal government to take urgent action to end these abuses and protect a community targ…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that he should be judged by prices at the grocery store. Well, eight months later, those prices have skyrocketed. I have heard countless horror stories in Edmonton of families struggling to afford food. I have even heard of single moms selling their furniture online to pay for rent and groceries. Just this week, Miranda from North Edmonton told me she…
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Mr. Speaker, I say condolences to the 1,000 workers laid off from Algoma Steel in my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. My dad, Tony, worked at Algoma for over 30 years. The Prime Minister is squarely to blame for these layoffs. In the election, our elbows-up PM said he was the guy who could get a good trade deal with Donald Trump. Instead of a deal, the PM said, “Who cares?” We then saw higher tariffs…
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Mr. Speaker, let us play “today in history”. It has been 133 days since the Prime Minister said he would have a trade deal with Donald Trump's U.S.A. It was the PM's main campaign promise, but he broke it. It is now December, and there is no deal in sight. Tariffs are higher: Softwood lumber tariffs exceed 45%, tariffs on steel are 25%, and they are 25% on some Canadian autos. It is now almost imp…
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Mr. Speaker, I noticed that the hon. member across the way mentioned that the Liberals cancelled the carbon tax. I am wondering if he could explain where they got the idea to axe the tax.
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with that, and we hear it all the time. I hear it from people in my riding. It is soft on crime, and that is what we get.
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Mr. Speaker, this legislation needs a lot of work, obviously.
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Mr. Speaker, I hear it all the time in my community. It really is terrifying and so sad that in a country like Canada, people are afraid to be out on the streets in their own neighbourhoods. As a parliamentarian, I truly believe that the first order of business for Canadians, for parliamentarians, is to keep citizens safe. That should be job one. There should be no reason that people could not wal…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak about public safety in Canada or, more accurately, the lack of public safety in our country under the Liberal government. Bill C-14 is another classic miss by the Liberals. Right now, we should be strengthening Canada's bail laws and protecting law-abiding citizens. We should be making the public safer and keeping criminals in jail. We should be …
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, first responders are often victims of crime; because they are first to respond, they are always in danger. I have talked to first responders personally. They feel very strongly that we need tougher laws so that they are not in danger, and that the people who are repeat violent offenders must be kept in jail so that the first responders can do their job of treating peopl…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not a lawyer and I am not about to do lawyers' work or judges' work. This bill comes from the heart. We need to recognize the pain of these victims. I have to admit that I choked up reading some of the thoughts from Mike and Dianne, who have to face that monster every year. Every year the same person is coming before them and they have to relive it. I can imagine they probably do…
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Mr. Speaker, that is why the member is a lawyer. I am a former journalist. I thank the member.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, the whole intent of the bill is basically to do that, to accomplish that. Instead of the offender coming back year after year, it would mean they had only one shot every five years. Whether somebody appears live, by video or any other way, it still brings up those awful feelings and just puts them through sheer hell. This is the ideal bill to solve that whole issue, help victims and p…
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moved that Bill C-243, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (parole review), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, it is my profound honour to rise today to speak to my private members' bill, Bill C-243. Before I begin, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu and Senator Denise Batters. I would also like t…
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Madam Speaker, it is so typical of the Liberals that they promise and promise but do not fulfill. We have a problem at the borders. We saw what happened with Roxham Road, for instance: People poured in, and now we are facing challenges for housing, for schooling and for many things. “Overpromise and underdeliver” is the motto of the Liberal Party of Canada.
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Madam Speaker, I could not have said it better myself; that is exactly it. The member nailed it. We have a serious problem with fentanyl, and the Liberals are doing very, very little to address this very grave problem.
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Madam Speaker, I know it is not exactly tradition to ask for a round of applause in this House, but our Conservative caucus deserves one today. That is because when the Liberals first introduced the bill in its original form, we fought long and hard against this disaster. It was because of our pressure that the Liberals backed down on the worst of it. Thanks to the work of our Conservative caucus,…
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Madam Speaker, the vehicle manufacturers of Canada are dead set against this EV mandate, as are all the major car manufacturers. I have talked to representatives from the industry, and they are all dead set against it. How does it even make sense that in a climate as cold as Canada's, the government would force such an insane law upon us? I have a friend who has a Tesla. He loves it in the summer.…
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Madam Speaker, it is not misleading; the Liberals agree with the sites wholeheartedly. More recently, the health minister refused to rule out injection sites, even near day cares. It is shocking. I rode with the frontline police officers who have to police around these sites, and they are just disgusted. It has made their lives so difficult, and if the Liberals had some leadership, they would be v…
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal bail has caused a bloodbath of crime in communities nationwide. The culprit is Bill C-75, the catch-and-release Liberal bail law. The Prime Minister has kept that awful law in place over his last six months in power, but Conservatives have been taking advice from police and victims to draft a new bill to scrap Liberal bail and bring peace to our streets. The House votes on it …
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-243, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (parole review). Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to introduce my private member's bill today in honour of Brian Ilesic. It would simply amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act so that convicted murderers would no longer be eligible to apply for parole each and every year after they have se…
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With regard to Sustainable Development Technology Canada's 2022 Leadership Summit: (a) what are the total costs incurred from the summit, broken down by type of expense, including the amount spent on (i) meeting spaces, (ii) travel claims, (iii) hospitality expenses, (iv) honorariums, (v) other expenses; (b) what are the details of all meeting space expenses incurred, including the (i) date, (ii) …
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With regard to contracts provided by the government to Brookfield Asset Management or Brookfield Corporation since January 1, 2020, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what is the total amount spent on contracts, broken down by year; and (b) what are the details of all such contracts, including (i) the amount, (ii) the vendor, (iii) the date and du…
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With regard to contracts for the provision of research or speechwriting services to ministers, since January 1, 2021: (a) what are the details of all contracts, including the (i) start and end dates, (ii) contracting parties, (iii) file number, (iv) nature or description of the work, (v) value of the contract; and (b) for speechwriting contracts, what is the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) audience…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to give my first full speech here in this hallowed hall. It is amazing to be back. Some will likely remember that I was a Conservative member of Parliament from 2015 to 2021. With this being my first full speech since coming back, I would like to quickly thank a few people who directly helped me, especially the people of Edmonton Griesbach. Politics truly is a team sport, an…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for that promotion. I was actually a city councillor, but I did run for mayor at one time. We all have to play a part in it, but certainly the federal government has a great deal of power to do something about crime. One of the things that really galls a lot of people in my riding is that they see violent people being released on bail only to reoffend. That is one t…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, again, it is one thing to try to go after fentanyl coming in through the mail, but the real problem is that it is coming in through containers and so forth, and so are the precursor chemicals. This whole thing of finding fentanyl in the mail is a tiny fraction of what is inflicting this country. We really need to look at the container vessels and start inspecting. They just need …
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Mr. Speaker, I believe it is on the website. It is not a surprise to Albertans that Liberals think that gas and diesel are pure evil. Why else would they be sticking with Justin Trudeau's EV mandates? EV sales are sagging and auto manufacturers are dead set against these mandates. This Liberal idea is a real clunker, and it is an affront to free choice. Will the Prime Minister reverse this reckles…
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Mr. Speaker, I would certainly concur. When the Liberals talk about guns, it is always the law-abiding gun owner who takes the brunt of their interference. Those are not the people who are causing the crime. My colleague is quite right. We need to go after the real criminals and stop coddling them, which the Liberals seem to love to do.
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Madam Speaker, my Liberal colleague across the way extols the virtues of the electric vehicle. It sounds wondrous. It sounds like a grade 8 oral, in fact. It sounds like they are wonderful vehicles. What would my colleague say to my friend who has a Tesla and cannot drive it in the winter because it is cold in Edmonton? He needs to borrow his spouse's vehicle because he cannot turn on the heater t…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member across the way talks about working with the auto sector and the industry. I met with some industry reps yesterday, and they hate these vehicle mandates. They have to be fully electric by 2026, and we are at 7.5% now. What kind of draconian laws is the government prepared to bring in so it can meet those targets?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I was the Conservative MP in Edmonton Griesbach from 2015 to 2021. Our team narrowly lost the 2021 election, but we won big in 2025, and it is great to be back. Politics is a team sport, and I am grateful for all the people who helped us win. The nomination campaign itself took tremendous work. My team and I knocked on doors seven days a week for a year and a half. My thanks go to som…
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Mr. Speaker, it is really a wonder that, for years, Canadians were told that we must have a carbon tax. The Liberals told them and told them. Magically, as if by magic, just before an election, suddenly, poof, it disappears. I am wondering if my Liberal friend across the aisle would admit that were it not for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, Canadians would still be saddled with an onerous,…
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Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, people at the doors told me they are fed up with crime. With violent crime up 50%, many folks are afraid to walk around in their own city. This year, Edmontonians were shocked when a 13-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a transit station. People know this chaos is a direct result of the Liberals' soft-on-crime laws. When will the Prime Minister stop th…
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