Routine Proceedings
With regard to pharmaceutical drugs, treatments and therapies authorized by Health Canada since January 1, 2022: (a) how many treatments or therapies for rare diseases, known as orphan drugs, were granted authorization; and (b) what are the details of each drug in (a), including the (i) name of the drug, (ii) date of the approval, (iii) purpose of the drug, including the disease or condition treat…
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Madam Speaker, prior to being elected to this place, I served as a provincial member in my home province of Alberta. Municipalities are the creation of provinces, and as such I am not suggesting that we take over the individual permitting. What the leader of the official opposition has suggested, and it is very smart, is to tie federal infrastructure money to having high development permits in cer…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I think she mentioned several issues that are top of mind for Canadians across the country and that were not addressed in the budget. One thing that struck me is that there are a lot of expenditures in this budget but no money to tackle Beijing's interference. There is also no money to reduce crime rates across the country. That is an area wher…
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Madam Speaker, that is absolutely hyperbolic from the NDP. Frankly, the Canadian Constitution is extremely clear that the delivery of health care is the sole jurisdiction of provincial governments. Provinces and territories all across the country have dental programs. Had the federal government wanted to have a well-costed program, it could have worked with provinces and territories to establish a…
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With regard to the government's response to the harms caused by tobacco and since November 4, 2015: has the government joined or participated in legal action against any tobacco companies in relation to the harm caused by tobacco usage, and, if so, what are the details of each case, including the outcome?
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, a home is a haven where we feel safe, build memories and raise our families. It is the foundation of our lives and the place where we plan our futures, but for far too many Canadians, the dream of owning a home is completely out of reach. Even if someone works hard and does everything right, a home seems out of sight, and nine in 10 Canadians who do not own homes say they never will…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Today, during question period, the member for Pickering—Uxbridge said, “I am very concerned about the health of your baby” to me. It was an absolutely inappropriate and unparliamentary term. Quite frankly, I am proud to be here, 32 weeks pregnant, fighting for my constituents. I demand an apology.
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With regard to the government's response to the opioid crisis and since November 4, 2015: has the government joined or participated in any legal action against (i) Purdue Pharma, (ii) McKinsey & Company, (iii) any other pharmaceutical companies, in relation to how their activities may have contributed to the opioid crisis, and, if so, what are the details of each case, including the outcome?
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Madam Speaker, I think this is absolutely shameful. The comments that were just made by the member for Pickering—Uxbridge, yet again, denigrate women. We need to be supporting women in politics and not doing things like that. I asked for an apology. She has called me a liar in this chamber four times now today. This is absolutely inappropriate, and I demand an apology.
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member can explain some of what he has heard from some of his constituents, who, I am sure, are very similar to those I have heard from in northern Alberta who are very concerned about what this is going to mean and about what they are going to be able to see and say on social media platforms.
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I have in fact read Bill C-11. Many of my colleagues have read Bill C-11. I think that it is absolutely important that we always make sure we tell the truth and the whole truth in this—
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Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that Canada imports all its baby formula from other countries. For over a year, there have been shortages of baby formula all across this country, with no end in sight. The shelves are now bare, leaving many families stressed, frustrated and desperate. Moms and dads who rely on formula to feed their kids are now scared they will not be able to feed their babies.…
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Madam Speaker, this is the interesting part about the bill. It is quite a comprehensive bill that covers a lot of different subjects. One of the challenges is that it takes the Internet, something that is very large and very vague, and tries to put it into a box. Frankly, it is not something one can easily put into a box. Therefore, digital creators, whether they be indigenous or from different cu…
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Madam Speaker, I will keep this really short and sweet. Margaret Atwood touched on Bill C-11, saying it was “creeping totalitarianism”, period.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the amount of correspondence he got from constituents and people from all across his riding who were concerned about Bill C-11. I have heard a lot of concerns from people in my area around this. I am wondering if the member could perhaps go into a little more detail on some of the specific concerns he heard from regular, everyday, hard-working Albertans.
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Madam Speaker, it is an absolute honour to have the opportunity to raise concerns and share my displeasure with what is going on right now with Bill C-11. It is being rammed through Parliament after having pretty substantive debates. I am going to be sharing my time with the member for Yorkton—Melville. I want to start out by indicating that I believe Bill C-11 is a deeply flawed piece of legislat…
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Madam Speaker, I think that it is completely disingenuous of the member opposite to be making false allegations that we perhaps have not read the bill, and I—
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Madam Speaker, the scary part about the bill is that it does leave a lot to be determined at some other point. It leaves a lot to be determined in regulation. It leaves a lot to be determined by other levels that are away from this piece of legislation, which is part of the concern that we brought up. It also means that large media streaming giants like Crave or Disney+ might decide that the regul…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague actually highlights a very important issue here. While having security is critical for our cybersecurity system, we must also make sure that we are balancing this with civil liberties and not allowing personalized data to be shared in an unfettered way. We need safeguards in place so we are able to respond. In certain circumstances, we might have to have a bit of flexibil…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague has pinpointed some very serious problems. The reality is that technology progresses at such a rapid pace that it is really difficult to have legislation in place to address the next steps. It is crucial to have the best experts analyzing the flexibility of our legislation to ensure the protection and security of future technologies that will be implemented. This means no…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague actually brings up another big point that I did not get to in my speech. The amount of control that it provides to a few people is very concerning. Some serious conversations are needed about what we are doing to ensure that it is not just one or two people making these decisions, especially as we explore whether we really want the government to be the sole keeper of all …
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Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to have an opportunity to speak to Bill C-26, an act respecting cybersecurity, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other acts. I think this is such an important topic, and it is something we need to be very aware of, especially in this increasingly digital era. We are seeing more and more attacks on cybersecurity happening here in…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. It is the usual practice of the House that it is absolutely inappropriate to make mention of the presence or absence of any member of this chamber. I think it is absolutely inappropriate for the members opposite, who have been ducking accountability for weeks in the House, to come here and try to accuse Conservative members of not being accountable, …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House to speak to the private member's bill of my colleague, the member for Kelowna—Lake Country, the end the revolving door act. This legislation proposes critical amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Criminal Code of Canada that would expand access for substance use treatment in federal facilities across the country. I was rea…
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Madam Speaker, my Bloc colleague had an exceptionally simple question. Instead of getting a simple answer, we got a word salad. Therefore, I will ask again. Is tomorrow's vote going to be a confidence vote? Yes or no is the only thing the member needs to answer.
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Madam Speaker, while I was listening to my colleague's speech, I heard him talk about the importance of mental health. While the Liberals have been in power for eight years, they have failed to act on a mental health transfer. In fact, a mere 18 months ago, they ran on an election platform about creating a Canada mental health transfer and yet, in 18 months, we have seen nothing. We have seen less…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to participate in this important debate on Bill C-224, the national framework on cancers linked to firefighting act. The bill would have a couple of really important pieces. It would establish January as firefighter cancer awareness month, and when we draw more attention to an issue, we are more likely to catch something early. The bill would also create a national fram…
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Madam Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, a community that has had devastating fires, I do not think it is funny to be politicizing tragedy no matter where it is and—
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by saying on this side of the House, Conservatives believe in supporting provincial jurisdiction and provincial competences, and I am very proud to be an Albertan. In Alberta, Peter Lougheed was initially one of the big fighters for this clause to protect provincial rights. Albertans have been exceptionally clear that they do not support a carbon tax, and yet the gov…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the job-killing carbon tax is a tax plan, and after eight years it is making everything more expensive. After eight years of a Liberal anti-energy agenda, Canadians have been deprived of economic prosperity, and the livelihoods of millions of workers in the energy, manufacturing and transportation sectors are on the unjust transition chopping block. After eight years, Canadians are st…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to drug shortages in Canada: (a) what drugs are currently considered in short supply in Canada; (b) for each drug in (a), (i) what is it used for, (ii) when did it become in short supply, (iii) what is the estimate on how long the shortage of the drug will continue, (iv) what is reason for the supply shortage, if known; and (c) of the drugs in (a), which ones are deemed essential?
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With regard to Health Canada and medication shortages: (a) what are the details of all medications for which there is currently a shortage, including, for each, (i) the name of the medication, (ii) the purpose of the medication, (iii) who the medication is intended for (children, adults, etc.), (iv) the reason for the shortage, if known, (v) when the shortage is expected to end; and (b) what are t…
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With regard to government interactions with and expenditures related to Canada 2020, since January 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what are the details of all expenditures, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) description of goods or services, including the volume, (iv) details of related events, if applicable, includi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, winter is already a hard time for so many Canadian families, and this year is going to be especially tough with rising interest rates and inflation. Heating costs are expected to double this winter, which will leave more families making a hard choice between heating and eating. The carbon tax is not working. It is a tax plan that is driving up the cost of everything, from gas to gro…
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, that is absolutely cold comfort for families who are struggling right now to keep the heat on in their homes. More Alberta families are going to be paying more in carbon tax than what they will receive back. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has made that exceptionally clear. Also, 1.5 million Canadians visited a food bank in one single month. Just a couple of day ago,…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that is an excellent question because I was also taught that we cannot just throw money at problems and hope they go away. Some problems we can throw money at and they will go away, but life is not that simple. Frankly speaking, we are not seeing money being spent in the right ways. One of the things that has been championed quite a bit by the member for Winnipeg Centre is the…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that, but I am not going to sit here and allow him to say an entire industry is somehow to blame for this issue, because we are seeing women, girls and exploited people going missing from communities such as Winnipeg, Vancouver and a variety of communities all across the country. Frankly speaking, to just blame it on the extractive industry or natural resources is missing…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would really like to clarify some language here because I think language is super important. In the natural resources sector, they are not “man camps”. They are camps where people live. There are men. There are women. There are 2S+ individuals. There are a variety of people there. It is absolutely inappropriate to simply classify those as “man camps”. I am very proud t…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleague has an intense dislike of the natural gas industry—
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Mr. Speaker, I think that is a valiant effort. I know, for myself, that it has been a tough space. I had the opportunity as a MLA, when I was a provincial member, to sit on Alberta's joint working group for missing and murdered indigenous people and 2S+. In that work, I got to sit and chat with a lot of elders and a lot of community members from all across the province, hearing about how this issu…
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Mr. Speaker, I think one of the things that is really important is that we have more education. That is one of the pieces the red dress alert would provide. It would give an opportunity for more information to go out quickly, and study after study has shown that, the faster people get information, the more likely a person is to be found and to be found alive. I think that is so critically importan…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight with a really heavy heart to take part in this take-note debate. Unfortunately, the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls is extremely prevalent throughout northeastern Alberta. One does not have to look very far to find way too many heartbreaking stories. Here we are in the aftermath of hearing of more senseless deaths of four indigenous women from t…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that answer was really insensitive in light of the subject matter at hand. Quite frankly, the Government of Canada has a major role that it can and should play. It has no problem using its power of spending for a variety of pieces. In fact, just yesterday, the Auditor General came out with a report that showed $30 billion of wasted spending, and yet we still do not see action …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to government programs aimed at addressing drug and alcohol addiction: (a) what programs are currently being developed by the government or are already put in place; (b) for each program in (a), (i) what metrics are used to judge the success or failure of the program, (ii) what is the desired outcome of the program; and (c) what are the details of each poll the government has conducted…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Lakeland. This is a critically important bill. Despite the heated exchange that just happened, I think all members of the House can agree that this is an important bill and that seeing more reconciliation going forward is positive for our country and for our relationship with indigenous peoples from coast to coast to coast. It is something…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I believe it is exceptionally clear in our Standing Orders that accusing someone of lying is absolutely inappropriate, and that is exactly what the member for Kingston and the Islands just finished doing in a heckle.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not need the member for Kingston and the Islands to mansplain how to google to me. I do not think it is appropriate in any capacity for him to think he is doing me some kind of service by thinking I am not perhaps intelligent enough to figure out how to do a simple Internet search for information. I am more than capable of doing it. I would suggest that is something every single …
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Mr. Speaker, of course I think it is absolutely unfortunate the government made a promise during its election campaign and has woefully failed to deliver on it, which was to provide the Canada mental health transfer that would do so much to help all Canadians. It would do a lot to help indigenous people on and off reserves in Métis settlements and communities all across this country, and would mak…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the answer and that point of order demonstrate the fact that the member does not believe that those in this chamber are capable of doing a basic Google search, and I think that is absolutely shameful. People in my riding do not trust the current government when it comes to a lot of what it has done. The Auditor General's report was pretty scathing on its actions when it comes …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I have appreciated listening to the various speeches on this subject, and as someone who is very proudly an Albertan, which is part of this area, I think it is commendable in the effort, but the follow-through and the actual bill fail to meet the mark. One thing I have heard exceptionally clearly from my constituents, and it does not matter whether they are from far north in Fort Ch…
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