Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, Canada is the fourth-largest producer of oil and gas in the world. Although the Bloc member, whose goal is to create sovereignty for Quebec in this country, may not recognize its importance, oil and gas are 25% of Canada's exports. Our government is focused on ways we could reduce emissions associated with production in the oil and gas sector. We do not have the ability to control pro…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the member and I share an understanding of the importance of the agricultural sector to the entire country. On the question on fertilizer reduction, I have had conversations with Fertilizer Canada about ways we could move that forward. We know that the work being done by Environment and Climate Change Canada right now, as it relates to carbon offsets, is going to be an …
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Madam Chair, as the member opposite mentioned, I know that for the riding of Kenora the forestry industry is extremely important. We have heard in this debate tonight from all members. Regardless on what side of the House they sit, this is a concern, and that is the reality. Right now the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development is on her way to Wa…
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Madam Chair, sometimes the benefit of sitting in the House is being able to learn about industries such as those in northern Saskatchewan. I think we can all agree as parliamentarians that this is a challenging time for the forestry sector. The member opposite mentioned that there is a delegation going to Washington right now. My question is about innovation in the forestry sector, which I suspect…
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Madam Chair, let me begin by congratulating you on your appointment as Assistant Deputy Speaker. To the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, I want to mention it is the home to the Prince George Cougars, I believe is the junior hockey team there. As a former athlete, I certainly appreciate their good demeanour on the ice. A couple of different things have been suggested on this s…
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Madam Chair, it is great to see such strong representation from Calgary Skyview and another member of our Alberta caucus on the governing side of the House. The member has talked about the work the government is doing, the team Canada approach that we are all taking as parliamentarians. Part of the challenge I see as a parliamentarian is that the United States has a deficit or not necessarily enou…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member on being re-elected to the House. The leader of the Bloc Québécois mentioned in his speech how important health care is. Of course, increasing federal health transfers requires additional revenue to ensure programs are sustainable. Would the leader of the Bloc Québécois support removing interprovincial trade barriers in Canada to help generate…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to see the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition back in this House. It is great to see him in the same seat as in the 43rd Parliament. He mentioned during his speech $400 billion that the government had perhaps overspent. I do not have the words right in front of me. By rough math, that is about two-thirds of what the government took on during the height of the pandemi…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member's speech, and he mentioned that we are getting to a point where we are transitioning. We have heard a lot of conversations, particularly from opposition members today, about deficits and debt that seem to neglect the fact that we just went through a global pandemic. From where I sit in this place, it seems that the government is making a natural trans…
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Mr. Speaker, where we would differ is the sense that we left seniors behind. She mentioned the fact that we were there for seniors at the height of the pandemic. Whether it has been through the CERB, the increase in old age security or the increase in the guaranteed income supplement, we have been there for seniors. Obviously there is a challenge in that some of the income received has put some se…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague opposite for his question. First, Bill C‑2 definitely covers tourism businesses and businesses hit hard by the pandemic. In addition, our election platform contained a specific promise for craftspeople and the cultural sector. I am confident that the Minister of Canadian Heritage will create a measure for craftspeople and the cultural sector. I apologize f…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member opposite for his re-election in Regina—Lewvan. I quite enjoyed the opportunity to work with him on the agriculture committee, and I quite enjoy our back-and-forth. The member opposite mentioned priorities, and when I think about how this government approached them, it was about making sure that Canadians who needed help at the height of the pand…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time this afternoon with my hon. colleague, the member for Saint John—Rothesay. It is a privilege for me to rise today to speak to extending the government's support for businesses and individuals. Before I speak to the content of Bill C‑2, I want to highlight all of the work that the government has done throughout the pandemic to help individuals and businesses d…
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Mr. Speaker, I did not think that the trouble with interpretation would be with my English, but here we are. I want to take a moment, for my colleague who had trouble with interpretation, to talk about the government's decision to use a more targeted approach. I would say to my colleagues that we are truly at a different time here today than we were at the height of the pandemic. I want to take us…
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Mr. Speaker, we all know how important small businesses are to our Canadian economy. They are the bedrock and that is why our government was there since day one of this pandemic through the wage subsidy, the rent subsidy and the extension of the Canada emergency business account. However, as we head into Christmas, I am thinking of my retailers in Kings—Hants, small businesses, those that are on t…
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Madam Speaker, I have been here for two years, and I have found the member to be quite articulate in his points. However, one thing that concerned me in his speech, and he talked a lot about debt and deficits, was he made almost no mention of the fact that we have just gone through a global pandemic and the fact that the government has had to intervene to make sure that Canadian businesses and ind…
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Mr. Speaker, you better not be giving out any blank cheques, because the member certainly has been directing those questions through you. I watched the member's speech both earlier in the House as well as from the government lobby. I know the member across the way is very passionate, but I do not think she does a whole lot to advance her cause in a credible way. I want to say a couple of things on…
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Madam Speaker, I apologize because I was only able to catch the last half of my colleague's speech, but even in that short time, she had some very important points, particularly about trying to increase representation in the House and trying to make this place accessible, particularly for women with children. I know my fiancée and I have had conversations. We try to look at what we will do when th…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague opposite for his question. The examples he gave were local ones. The City of Montreal, the Government of Quebec and other local jurisdictions. This is the Parliament of Canada, and members come from all across the country, from coast to coast to coast. I think it is in the best interests of members to have the option to participate virtually when necessary.
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Madam Speaker, we know that testing is part of the COVID response, but testing alone is not always going to pick up instances where COVID-19 exists. The member mentioned the hybrid Parliament. Again, I would dare say that the majority of the members, if not all the members, prefer to be here, but we are still in the midst of COVID-19. We have to make provisions for members if they do contract COVI…
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Mr. Speaker, we talked about the opportunities of the 2019 class in the previous Parliament. One opportunity I did not have then was to give a speech that ran out of time just before we went to members' statements, so I will try to pick up where I left off. I was explaining that as the chair of rural caucus for the governing party, I have had the opportunity to speak to my colleagues. I mentioned …
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Mr. Speaker, this morning I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. I will begin by taking a moment to congratulate you on your appointment to the chair, Mr. Speaker. It is good to see a fellow Nova Scotian in the chair. I wish you good luck for the day ahead. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and people involved who allowed parl…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of points of clarification before I get to my question. One is that I do want to be here, but I want to ensure that the privileges of parliamentarians are extended in cases that they need to be. Second, the member for Mégantic—L'Érable who spoke previously poked fun at some of the ministers' responses to the questions they had to get by email. I sit on this side of the…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Calgary Nose Hill explained at one point in her speech just now about MPs working. As the member would know, I would sit up on that screen, probably sitting in my seat at home in Nova Scotia, and would participate in the debates and be involved in the committee work. Could my hon. colleague to speak to that fact? Let me be very clear that I intend to be here, but in the…
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Madam Speaker, there were portions of my hon. colleague's speech that I agreed with and there were some portions of it that I have real trouble with. The portion I agreed with was the ability for us to come together as parliamentarians and learn from one another. That is a valid point. The member talked about the definition of work of a member of Parliament. I unfortunately had to be home in Nova …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member opposite for his re-election to this place. I was taking notes, and yes, of course it is preferable to be here. As a new member, I felt like I was not able to fully participate because of the COVID pandemic. It was isolating at times to be at home. To his point about building relationships, I agree. In fact, I built many good relationships wit…
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