Government Orders
—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…
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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 …
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is a huge privilege to rise in the House to debate Bill C‑47 and discuss the implementation of the budget. I thank my hon. colleague from Pontiac for sharing her time with me this afternoon. I want to present the views of my constituents in Kings—Hants on the budget and speak about certain initiatives that are very important to my riding. The budget essentially has thr…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member would probably be best suited to ask that question of the Minister of Finance. Yes, I sit on this side of the House, but I am not a member of the King's Privy Council. I will say that, as per normal, the government will outline expenditures in certain areas where it looks to take up programs. The budget is not a complete view of every single program the government wi…
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Madam Speaker, let me first address some of the questions. There is $46 billion in domestic spending for health care. There has been 70 billion dollars' worth of housing spending. Part of the reason why we did not see major expenditures is money is still getting out the door to help support Quebeckers and indeed those across the country. I will address the member's question. He is framing this as …
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the nature of the question. However, as it relates to whether a hospital emergency room is going to be open or not, it largely ties back to the decision of health authorities at a provincial level. I appreciate that the member opposite said that requires more resources. I think it requires both more resources and an allocation of said resources in the province. We are d…
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Mr. Speaker, the fact that I am getting drowned out is a real illustration of where the Conservative Party of Canada is at right now. Let me ask this: Could the Prime Minister comment on the government's approach to protecting local media and vibrant news outlets in this country, in opposition to what the opposition party is standing for right now?
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Mr. Speaker, my constituents in Kings—Hants rely on getting quality news to inform them on what is happening at home and across Canada. The recent attacks by the Conservative opposition leader on Canada's media and journalists is resembling the same type of playbook of the extreme right-wing politics in the United States. By attacking Canada's public broadcaster, they are undermining an important …
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Feeding the World: Strengthening Canada's Capacity to Respond to Global Food Insecurity”. The committee requests that the government table a comprehensive report. Like my hon. colleague for Avalon, I thank all members on our committee for their …
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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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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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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, 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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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, 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 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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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, I find it a bit ironic that the member opposite would have presented as a candidate in the last election by talking about carbon pricing. This was something on which that member ran. I take notice that he and the Conservative Party may not agree with the approach that this government is taking. He talked about it as being an environmental plan. However, really the core of what the car…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here debating the opposition motion moved by the Conservative Party. The motion focuses on affordability. This is of the utmost importance to all Canadians at this time. It is important for people around the world because inflation is a global issue. It affects all of the world's economies. First, I would like to talk about some government programs that target low-i…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talked about inflation. As I mentioned, it is a global challenge. There are a number of reasons that are driving that, including demographics in the western world, supply chains and some of the resulting impacts of the war in Ukraine. Some of it, a small portion, is going to be related to government spending, but that member opposite was the same member who, in the 43r…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question, although it was less of a question and more of a speech that contained several points. I am in favour of certain measures that I believe are necessary to ensure that our businesses, owners and entrepreneurs are competitively positioned in the global market. There are a number of questions to ask, but I support the proposal to ensure that governme…
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Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia's wine, grape and fruit-growing sector is facing an uncertain future. On the weekend of February 3-4, a polar vortex event hit Nova Scotia with sustained temperatures of -25°C and a wind chill record of -43°C. This, coupled with the fact that we had one of the mildest winters on record in Nova Scotia, has resulted in significant damage. Early estimates suggest that we will…
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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, 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 …
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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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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, 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…
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, I rise on a point of order. Obviously, the procedural rules say that no member should suggest that another member has misled the House, but before me I have a report from the Nova Scotia government that talks about the number of registered day care spaces in South Shore—St. Margarets. Could we—
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague, during his remarks, talked about government spending over the last two years, and some of that spending has included a national child care program, which has been rolled out across the country. Indeed, the Nova Scotia minister is actually an MLA within that member's riding. We just announced that child care fees are going to be going down by 50%, and that there wi…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her kindness in letting me see our former premier, Darrell Dexter, yesterday. It was nice to a have chance to connect with him. On an output-based pricing system, I think there is a conversation to be had about that in terms of trying to find that equilibrium. At the same time, we have to make sure our major emitters and our major corporat…
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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, 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, 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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We did not take anything away like you did.
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Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to read through the fall economic statement that we are here debating today, and I just want to correct the record. Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We have the lowest deficit as it relates to GDP in the G7. We have seen some of the highest economic growth among our comparator countries in that category as well. I do not disagree with the me…
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Madam Speaker, I do not speak on behalf of the government, but of course, I am on the government side as a caucus member. I am proud of the way this government was able to step up and work with the United States to make sure their tax credit was aligned. I take note that the member opposite wants to make sure there is public money on the table to try to have a symmetry between those. That is a con…
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Madam Speaker, as usual, it is an absolute privilege to see everyone here and to be able to discuss Bill C‑32, which implements the measures outlined in the fall economic update. I had the opportunity to speak at second reading of the bill. I am very pleased with the way the Minister of Finance has struck a balance between providing important programs for very low-income Canadians in a targeted wa…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague touched on the profits of grocers. As the chair of the agriculture committee, I had the privilege of listening to some of the testimony yesterday from corporate leaders in the grocer sector in Canada. They maintain that even during the pandemic, their margin was around 2% to 4% on food-related profits. The member talked about excessive profits, and I can appreciate…
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Mr. Speaker, I took particular issue with the member opposite's remarks as they relate to Atlantic Canada and her mischaracterization of the Minister of Labour's comments The Minister of Labour was very clear that he is sick and tired of hearing Conservative politicians misinform the public about carbon pricing as it relates to home heating in Atlantic Canada. There will be no carbon price on home…
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Madam Speaker, I did not hear the comments made by the Minister of National Revenue during oral question period. I understand the importance of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, of course. Since I did not hear the Minister of National Revenue's comments, it is hard for me to answer my colleague's question.
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Madam Speaker, it is an important question, and I only have 10 minutes. I talked about some of the things that I think are going to be important, including the regulatory measures. I hope the member opposite would agree it is simply not a spending race, in terms of the government being able to draw private capital. Yes, that matters, and as I mentioned in my speech, we have seen our Minister of In…
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Mr. Speaker, we know how important EI sickness benefits are for Canadians who are impacted and have to be able to leave the workforce as a result of injuries or sickness. That is exactly why our government, in budget 2021, extended the EI sickness benefit, to make sure those Canadians who face an income gap between the time their benefits expire and when they are able to get back to work are prote…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food in relation to Bill C‑234, an act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments. I want to take this opportunity to thank the witnesses, those who w…
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, other colleagues in the House and I had the opportunity to participate in the Halifax International Security Forum. It is a forum that brings together political, military and industrial leaders from around the world to talk about today's security challenges. I remember being a part of the forum last year during the Russian build-up in Ukraine. We were trying to cont…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague certainly talked about her concerns around the price on pollution, but what I have asked members of His Majesty's loyal opposition is why they ran on a platform to price carbon. Just over a year ago, the member ran on a Conservative platform that would have established a price on pollution for a plan that would have rewarded those who were emitting more. She did ru…
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Madam Speaker, I want to make sure that it is well known that I appreciate how the government increased it. The government has put forward $3 billion a year in spending for those 75 and over for old age security. Like the member opposite, I have heard a number of questions and concerns about those who are 65 and older, not 75, particularly from lower incomes, who were not necessarily pleased with …
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Madam Speaker, as I look at the lights in this building right now, I know 60% of the generation of the electricity here in Ontario is done by nuclear power, so I would agree with the member opposite. As I made it very clear in my speech, we need to become more serious on this. I would encourage the government on this. I hope the Minister of Finance will make sure that, in the next offering around …
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Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to speak to the fall economic statement, which is reflected in Bill C-32. Let me go on record just quickly about the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Nova Scotia. The report was released today. I want to applaud the commission, particularly on its focus on reinstating all of Hants County as part of Kings—Hants. There was a lot of community …
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Madam Speaker, I have respect for the member opposite as well, but I can understand why Canadians would be confused about what Conservatives stand for. I just listened to the member opposite talk about the housing benefit not having a wide enough scope, immediately after he said the government was spending too much money. He talked about carbon pricing, yet he ran on a platform just over 12 months…
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