Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to start by recognizing that the member opposite has a tremendous beard, and I mean that with all sincerity. He has been growing it over the summer and it looks “Tom Mulcair-esque”, but I know he will not appreciate that comment as much. The government has put forward a number of pieces of legislation this week that are non-cost in nature; they are legislative reforms. …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food entitled Bill C-280, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust – perishable fruits and vegetables). Sometimes Canadians watch this House and think that we cannot get along, but I want to give…
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Mr. Speaker, he had almost as much time as I had in my remarks to give a speech, so I hope you will give me some time to respond. First of all, there is no gun registry, and I am happy to work with the Minister of Public Safety to make sure there is an exemption for sport shooters. Number two, on Sustainable Marine, I agree with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that we have a problem. I have…
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Mr. Speaker, I covered the public safety question. I will now cover the question around Sustainable Marine. I agree. In fact, there actually needs to be a fundamental change in the way DFO operates and approves these projects. The member opposite, my neighbour, would know I was against DFO and the way in which the situation was handled on the Avon River and continue to be against that if the gover…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here today with my colleagues to speak on Bill C-49, which is a piece of legislation to amend the Atlantic accords, which are between the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. This is a crucial piece of legislation that matters in the global race toward net zero. I want to say to my colleagues that we are in a perfect position as a country. C…
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Madam Speaker, I was absolutely flabbergasted listening to that speech. There are a couple of things I want to say. Has the member opposite talked to the energy industry in Atlantic Canada? It wants this piece of legislation advanced as soon as possible. Has he talked to the premiers of Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador? They want this legislation advanced as soon as possible. Has he talked…
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Mr. Speaker, my answer is simple. The Bloc Québécois should join us in our effort to create the legislation we need to move green energy and the Atlantic offshore wind industry forward. The Bloc Québécois has always talked about the importance of climate change. Now it has an opportunity to join the fight. My question is simple: Will the Bloc Québécois join us in our effort to move the Canadian wi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this summer the challenges climate change and extreme weather are presenting have become abundantly clear to Canadians. In Kings—Hants, we sadly lost four individuals in our communities to flash floods, which have not been seen in 50-plus years. The importance of real-time emergency alerts to cellphones is so important, but cell reception in some of the communities in my riding is sim…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This afternoon I had the opportunity to ask the right hon. Prime Minister a question. I started my question with a preamble and I supported it by facts, and then I asked the Prime Minister if I could hear how his government would administer differently the policies that are being articulated from the official opposition. I know this made the House leader qu…
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Conservative Party no longer resembles that led by Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney or even Stephen Harper. The leader of the official opposition is taking the Conservatives into the ditch on the far right to outflank Max Bernier by spewing conspiracy theories about the World Economic Forum, supporting candidates who are against reproductive rights and promoting hate aga…
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Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity to speak on the amendments to the Standing Orders, and of course I am in support of them. We have heard in this 30 minutes of debate some of the hypocrisy in the fact that a couple of the opposition parties who are against this are readily using these tools. My question to the hon. House leader is this. We have moved through a continuum of making changes as thi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Grocery Affordability: Examining Rising Food Costs in Canada”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to the report. Let me recognize the hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, [Member spoke in Gaelic] [English] What I just said is that May is Gaelic month in Nova Scotia. This is an opportunity to celebrate Nova Scotia's rich history and connection to Scotland and the Gaelic language. Like thousands of Nova Scotians, I can trace my family's history to Scotland. The contribution of Scottish Gaels to Canada, particularly Nova Scotia, is significant; the langua…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned he is from a rural area in Quebec. I am from a rural area in Nova Scotia. We have a lot of individuals who competitively sport shoot with handguns. One of the things I have said on the record is that I hope the government can address, in regulatory measures in the days ahead, a pathway for competitive sport shooters. Right now the definition is Olympic sh…
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Madam Speaker, there are certainly legal gun owners who have concerns. Any time we talk about a certain restriction on guns, some people may not like that policy. It may not be my hon. colleague opposite, but certainly his colleagues, because I have heard them, drive some of that narrative and that fear. Every time a Conservative stands and says the government is going after hunting rifles, people…
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Madam Speaker, normally I would love to engage in French, but it is late and I want to make sure that I am proper in my mother tongue. There was one amendment that I wish we would have seen the government move on. The government position at committee was against what Mr. Julian moved in terms of allowing IPSC to be named. Maybe there is a more artful way to do this in the days ahead to make sure t…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague across the way. I agree with him that we have a great working relationship, and I think he is one of the more astute members in this House in terms of his interventions. I completely agree. As I highlighted in my speech, this is one of the failings of the bill. There is a lot that is good about it that makes me feel a conviction to want to sup…
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Madam Speaker, I always appreciate the hon. member's interventions. He is a reasonable colleague and we need more level-headedness in this place. I will say two things. I agree that this legislation, this proposal alone, is not going to solve gun violence. It is not going to solve violence in our communities. Solving it is going to take a more nuanced approach than that. It is going to take additi…
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is a privilege to be here tonight to debate Bill C‑21 and the proposals to protect public safety and the rights and privileges of hunters and gun owners. I would like to begin by mentioning that, as a member of Parliament, I represent a rural riding in Nova Scotia, Kings—Hants. There are many hunters and many people who own handguns and firearms in my riding. It is par…
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Madam Speaker, I do not mean to take away from my hon. colleague's time, but this is about Bill S-6. I have been listening intently for the last few minutes. I do not know what your ruling may be, but she seems to be quite off the mark from the piece of legislation before the House. If you could ask the member how her remarks today relate to Bill S-6, I would certainly appreciate that.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be here in the House with all my colleagues to discuss Bill S‑6. This bill is very important for addressing the red tape that exists in our federal system. I heard some of the comments, and it seems that most members of Parliament believe this is reasonable and straightforward legislation. We are taking important steps to be able to reduce unnecessary irritants in ou…
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Madam Speaker, it is an important question. I represent an agricultural riding, as I know the hon. colleague across the way does as well; as such, I will say that the PMRA is a really important agency for agricultural competitiveness. Obviously, its decisions always have to be based on science and the evidence that is before it. I am not fit to make those decisions, and I would respectfully say, n…
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Madam Speaker, I absolutely agree with the proposal to study this bill in committee. In my view, it is very important to publish major regulatory changes. At the same time, I believe that, with respect to the Atlantic provinces, the bill is very important as a means of identifying a way to adopt regulations for offshore wind power for the hydrogen sector. I believe that measures for Atlantic Canad…
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Madam Speaker, absolutely, I will address the presumptive approval. This is something I am pushing as a member of Parliament and saying that this is something the government should take on. What this bill actually does is outline a process where the CFIA could find mutual recognition between other jurisdictions. The member opposite points to the United States, but this is one example. There are mu…
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Madam Speaker, my apologies to the good people of the Gravenhurst community in the member opposite's riding. The point remains that I wish that was something the party opposite had put in the motion today. The Minister of Immigration is developing skilled pathways that are specific to regional outcomes, whereby the provinces are able to identify gaps in particular types of labour positions. They c…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to get back to what we are talking about today, which, of course, is the opposition day motion. I am going to take a moment to recognize Beatrice Weaver. Beatrice lives in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, and this past weekend, she turned 109 years old. I had the opportunity to visit Beatrice. While recognizing and celebrating her birthday, I promised her that I would make sure her …
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Mr. Speaker, today I am going to share my speaking time with my hon. colleague from Davenport. I have to admit it, I love opposition days. We get to debate issues and policies from the opposition's point of view. It is too bad that the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka did not win the Conservative Party leadership race, because even though I do not agree with his ideas, they are a lot more sensible t…
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Who are these gatekeepers? We have heard that during the debate. I would like to see the Conservative Party start to name the individuals in question. I am not against the principle of trying to reduce red tape whatsoever, but the principle of how we go about this has to be a little more nuanced than what the Conservative Party is throwing forward right now. The next part on provision (a) is alloc…
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—to contribute to their family at home is one of the best foreign development programs. The member opposite can try to scream me down in the House, but if she wants to hear my answer, it is simply, yes, absolutely we should regularize the opportunity for folks who want to come to Canada so they can. For those who do not want to, let us make sure there are protections in place to allow their valuab…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, three years ago, 22 people were killed in Nova Scotia in what was the worst mass shooting in Canadian history. The victims were friends, families and neighbours, and all Nova Scotians were touched by this tragedy. Last week, our government announced funding, in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia, dedicated specifically for mental health support for those who were impacted. C…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad my remarks at the end of the intervention have bled into a really important conversation about immigration. Of course, I will remind listeners at home that this is about housing, but I agree that we have to help folks who want to come to Canada to make a difference. My view, given my local experience in Kings—Hants, where we welcome almost 2,000 seasonal agriculture worker…
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Madam Speaker, as I understand it, there are already significant devolved and delegated powers for the Government of Quebec in relation to selecting the immigrants who come to Quebec. Our government has been very clear regarding our desire to increase, on the federal side, the amount of immigration that is francophone-based. We know that is extremely important from a linguistic perspective, not on…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, about the importance of the Atlantic Loop. It was mentioned in the budget. If he has enough time, could he also address the opportunities for offshore hydrogen development, particularly offshore wind? I know that he is working with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Could …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to join the proceedings virtually to talk about Bill C-234, but let me start by saying it has been a difficult day for my family. This morning, we had to put down our beloved Bernese mountain dog, Sulley. If you would permit me, I would like to put his memory on the record in Hansard. As all of us do as colleagues, I have what I call the “grand bargain” in terms of t…
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Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of partisan jabbing back and forth, but I do want to ask a sincere question. The member mentioned MI5. That security intelligence agency, on the basis of information that must have become overwhelming, made a decision to go to the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom to present those allegations moving forward. However, we talked a little bit toda…
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Madam Speaker, again, I thank my colleague from the opposition for his question. I am flattered that my hon. colleague thinks that I am in a position to decide with the government and the government House leader which votes are confidence votes. I do not know what the outcome of the vote will be tomorrow, but I am against the motion for a number of reasons, as I explained in my speech. I am very—
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Madam Speaker, I thank my opposition colleague for the question and his mini speech. I will answer with facts. Today's debate and the process under way in the two House committees are very important for finding answers. We need to investigate and find answers so we can restore public confidence in our institutions. When the government receives the report from the special rapporteur, it will act on…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to my hon. colleague across the way talk about the importance of trust in institutions and respect for institutions. Then I saw on his own social media, and indeed he raised it again today, questions about the integrity of someone who was a governor general in this country, who was appointed by former prime minister Stephen Harper when that member sat exactly where the Sp…
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Madam Speaker, I can answer the question to my hon. colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot and my colleague from Elmwood—Transcona. I support the idea of going through processes and perhaps including a public inquiry, but let us work our way up to that process. We have two committees that are studying this issue right now. The government has appointed a special rapporteur who is going to look into t…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to speak to this important issue and debate the opposition motion. I would like to clarify a few things. It is clear that the outcome of the last federal election is not in question, and that there is no evidence that any individual races were decided solely on the basis of these allegations. However, because of these allegations o…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I even quickly put on a tie because I was a little disappointed with the comments from the member for South Shore—St. Margarets in relation to the suggestion that any member of the House would somehow be involved with undermining Canadian democracy or the Canadian economy to any extent. I do not know where it is exactly in the procedural rules, but I think …
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps my hon. colleague missed the core element of my speech, which was, what is the Conservative Party actually going to do to incentivize that technological change? I have yet to hear anything from the opposition benches as to what that represents. The member talks about the carbon price as a tax. I do not refer to it as a tax, because all of the money is returned back to Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, although the hon. member is in more of an urban area, agriculture is so prevalent in his riding, as it is in mine, in Kings—Hants. A couple of the programs I never had the chance to talk about are the on-farm climate action program and the agricultural clean technology program. These are government initiatives that are helping to invest in the agriculture community. It is actually dri…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her remarks here today. She and I have had contrasting views regarding the importance of the Canadian oil and gas sector and overall prosperity, including in her home province, where the revenues of that industry help contribute to a lot of social good, not only in Quebec, but also in Nova Scotia. My question for her is about Quebec's ener…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to be back in the chamber. I hope you had a great holiday. This marks the first time I have had the opportunity to be back in debate. I always love the opposition day motion. I will start by recognizing that I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Winnipeg North, who is no stranger to getting up and making sure he is able to share his wisdom with colleagues…
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree. There is not one single silver bullet solution to tackle this challenge around emissions and fighting climate change. It takes a variety of different programs. We happen to be talking about carbon price, which is one of the key underlying principles. I agree with the member on energy efficiency. As a member of Parliament, as I have said in this House, what I worry …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food in relation to Bill S-227, an act to establish food day in Canada. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report back to the House without amendment. Let me take the opportunity to recognize the work of Senator Rob Black, and indeed the mem…
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Madam Speaker, we stand on our record on this side of the House that in a time of immense need, we were there to help support Canadians. I want to take this back and contrast this to the Conservative approach back in 2008-09 when the Harper government frankly did not get involved whatsoever. The economic scarring lasted years. In fact, issues lasted until 2015. I also want to remind the member tha…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I will try to answer in French. The Bloc is calling for an increase in old age security for people across Canada. My problem with the Bloc Québécois proposal is that, if the government increases benefits by 10% for all seniors in Canada, this represents an additional expenditure of $10 billion a year. It is essentially built-in spending. I…
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Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to speak to the opposition motion today. As I usually do, I will go over the parts of the text and address each part accordingly. First, the Conservatives keep saying that the price of pollution will be tripled, but they fail to mention two very important things. First, the money collected will be given back to individuals and businesses and, second, the price will…
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