Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the last time I checked, the member for Kingston and the Islands was not part of my election team, my readiness team. Again, he is—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we often hear from this member characterizing the entire Conservative team as the team that ran on this. I can say that, personally, I did not. I know that several of my colleagues did not as well—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, indigenous peoples in urban areas cannot afford to wait any longer for transitional housing. In my riding of Brantford—Brant, 28 indigenous women have gone missing and 13 have been killed, three of whom were pregnant. They were left on the streets and were living in encampments or in abusive environments. The demand for housing for urban indigenous people in Brantford—Brant and across…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister has done nothing but recklessly spend. Not only was $54 million rushed into the poorly functioning arrive scam app, but 11 million taxpayer dollars were given to a so-called consulting company, employing two people working out of their basement, who were doing absolutely no work. Talk about hitting the taxpayer lottery. It is beyond clear that the…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want these questions asked of the ethically and morally challenged government. Public officials were caught lying and insiders who became millionaires through the arrive scam app were caught lying. It is time for honesty and clarity in this House. For weeks, we have heard the same talking points from the minister and no action. No one has been charged and no one has been fir…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, it is time for the NDP-Liberal government to end the cover-ups and come clean with Canadians about the ArriveCAN scandal. Two senior bureaucrats were caught lying to committee about their role in hiring a two-person basement company for the $54-million arrive scam. With cozy relationships with the government, GC Strategies was hired over Deloitte, Microsoft and Appl…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Liberal insiders, officials and members behave like the law does not apply to them. They mislead committee, threaten co-workers and funnel taxpayer money through ghost contractors and even through their own companies. The $54 million on the arrive scam app is only the tip of the iceberg. Now the RCMP is investigating corruption with the NDP-Lib…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, outright incompetence is how senior officials to the Prime Minister describe the scandal around the $1-billion green slush fund, $40 million of which is under investigation for suspicious payments. Leaked audio has been recently released, and members will not believe what a Liberal government official had to say about it. He called this fund “a sponsorship-scandal level kind of giveaw…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, silence and shut down are what the NDP-Liberal cover-up coalition did yesterday when the RCMP commissioner was shamefully denied any opportunity to give evidence in relation to the Prime Minister's criminal investigation. Nowhere in the coalition agreement does it say that the NDP needs to be complicit in the Prime Minister's political scandals. After eight years of the government, th…
Read full speech →Oral Question
Mr. Speaker, that response is the opposite of the definition of transparency and accountability. In 2019, after being found guilty of breaching the Conflict of Interest Act, the Prime Minister claimed he took full responsibility for his mistakes, yet here we are after five years and the RCMP confirms that the Prime Minister refused to release all the documents as requested. Canadians have question…
Read full speech →Oral Question
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP ended the SNC investigation due to the Prime Minister's refusal to give access to cabinet documents. It does not stop there. During my recent inquiry of the Auditor General, the NDP-Liberal cover-up coalition adjourned the meeting, leaving crucial questions unanswered. Over the last eight years, the Prime Minister has spent years concealing his role in the SNC scandal. He is …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this NDP-Liberal government favours insiders and friends rather than transparency. The current international trade minister helped her friend receive government contracts with no oversight. The current public safety minister granted a licence worth $24 million to a company linked to his wife's cousin. The former finance minister and this Prime Minister pushed through an untendered con…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the answer is obvious, and it is because of the Liberals' political gains. Whenever it gets too hot or too close to the real truth, they just shut down committees and debates and prorogue Parliament. They have an arsenal of tools that prevent Canadians from seeing the light with respect to the rot in the government.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, no one is above the law, and that includes the Prime Minister. After eight years, he is the only one in Canadian history who has been found guilty of breaking not one, but two, ethics laws and now, with the arrive scam app, the RCMP is investigating criminality in the highest echelons of the government. What was the Prime Minister's response? He shut down debate, and he shut down comm…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the good citizens and residents of my riding of Brantford—Brant. My colleague from Dufferin—Caledon expressed his disappointment and said that it is a sad day for Canadians. It is a profoundly sad day. In terms of my involvement in this particular study, I was brought on fairly late to the game to participate in the Standing Committee on …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, my friends can laugh all they want, but this is the sad reality. These are the facts. There has been scandal after scandal. There have been ethical breaches. The Prime Minister is the only prime minister in Canadian history who has been found guilty of ethical breaches not once but twice. It is not only him but also several ministers and other members of the government. We had the W…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my Bloc friend for the question, but it defeats the purpose by which we agreed to call the emergency meeting. It was agreed upon by all political parties, and although the Bloc did not vote to shut down the committee, the issue is that Canadians deserve to know the truth. Canadians deserve to hear directly from the Auditor General the circumstances behind how she is now goin…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, as a politician, I am profoundly disappointed. As a Canadian and a taxpayer, I am profoundly disappointed. As a former prosecutor, I think it stinks. As said in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” There is something rotten in the government.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is really rich to listen to the parliamentary secretary talk about avoiding answering questions. They do that every day in the House. That is the bottom line. Something is rotten here. The Prime Minister is hiding something. Will the member recommend to his leader, the Prime Minister, that he cooperate with the RCMP and waive all cabinet confidentiality?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the government's ongoing corruption, we have yet another scandal. We have had conflicts of interest, nepotism and abuse of power. Now we have allegations of criminality around the contracting practices in the top offices of the government. The $54-million price tag for the arrive scam app is just the tip of the iceberg. Last week, the NDP-Liberal coalition voted t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is all about the supremacy of Parliament. The language in the dissenting report from the Supreme Court of Canada made it abundantly clear that this was the rationale behind the amendments made by Prime Minister Harper in 2011. To reflect upon that, it took the better part of 12 years before there was a successful charter challenge, which made its way all the up to the Supreme Court…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as we approach Thanksgiving weekend, I would like to share my gratitude with this House and all Canadians watching us. First, I wish to express my profound appreciation to my family. Their support has been the cornerstone of my work as a member of Parliament. I also want to convey my thanks to my constituents. They work hard to raise their families, help their neighbours and make our …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour and a privilege to rise in the House to speak to a bill on behalf of the fine residents of Brantford—Brant. I know there are many victim advocacy groups that are watching this particular debate, not necessarily me, but certainly the debate itself. I know one such passionate group, My Voice, My Choice, would also be watching this and taking an active interest. Af…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my friend has hit the nail on the head. Mandatory training applies not only to judges who clearly need it. Clearly we have judges who do. I need only cite a number of cases from across this country where judges, particularly more experienced judges, have often relied upon some rape myths to try to establish the rationale as to why an individual was acquitted. Too many judges follow th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is very simple: It is the notwithstanding clause. If I had a full 20-minute speech and an opportunity to share all the relevant details of the dissenting report, I would encourage my colleague to actually spend some time, because the language is so instructive on that particular question. All sex offenders, particularly against children, pose a heightened risk to reoffend. The conc…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have heard for several hours now from the Liberal bench, the NDP and the Bloc how Bill C-48 is going to be an answer to improving community safety from coast to coast. As a former practising Crown attorney who has run thousands of bail hearings dealing with the individuals who we have read about and seen on television committing heinous crimes across this country who are already f…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, on behalf of dozens of Canadians, I present this petition. The Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Bissonnette struck down section 745.51 of the Criminal Code, which allowed parole ineligibility periods to be applied consecutively for mass murderers. As a result of that decision, some of Canada's most heinous mass murderers will have their parole period reduced, now being eligible to a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak on behalf of my constituents of Brantford—Brant. In particular, it is very meaningful to me to have this opportunity to opine and provide some thoughts with respect to Bill C-48. In light of the UC motion that was passed, much of my commentary is now moot. The time I have available provides an opportunity for me to share with this House that Bill C-48 is no…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, people in Brantford—Brant and across the province have come together to urge the government to address the cancellation of Via Rail Train 82 and take immediate action to reinstate this vital commuter service. Via Rail plays a crucial role in facilitating transportation for all Canadians. The cancellation of Train 82 has left hundreds of my constituents without a reliable mode of tra…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I will move on with the petition. People deserve reliable transportation, thus the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to stand up for Canadians engaged with VIA Rail's management and reinstate Train 82.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, how do we work together? It is incumbent upon me to stress that collaboration on these issues ought to never be partisan. If we all come from a goal of protecting this community known as Canada, from coast to coast to coast, we have to put aside our ideological differences. We have to strive to not only talk about issues that are germane to the concerns of victims but actually imple…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I remark upon the minister's commentary. That he had this information available to him for three months and chose not to share those details, not only with the House but with Canadians and, more importantly, with the families of the victims, is completely inexcusable. The government—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my colleague gave an excellent speech. In relation to the parliamentary secretary to the House leader's last question, this particular parliamentary secretary, in fact the entire Liberal government, love to compare and contrast themselves to former prime minister Stephen Harper. Could my learned colleague share how differently Stephen Harper would have dealt with these obvious conflic…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege and honour to speak in the chamber, but, more importantly, to lend a voice to the fine residents of Brantford—Brant. On a topic such as this, with next to no notice, it is even more important that I lend an appropriate voice. I come at debates on criminal justice issues and victim issues from a place of significant experience. I know that several members hav…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, that is an excellent question. Judicial resources are at an all-time low. We have a total of almost 80 federal vacancies. We have vacancies provincially. We do not have enough Crown attorneys. We do not have enough detention centres. We do not have enough money going into police services. A multi-faceted approach is needed to deal with this crisis known as the criminal justice issue…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the whole government is about partisanship. From day one, the Prime Minister has had zero interest in letting Canadians learn the truth. He refused to tell us what he knew and why he did nothing about it. He selfishly used David Johnston to delay the process and cool the air around the issue. Now that Mr. Johnston has resigned, it is time for the Prime Minister to do what Canadians ar…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, here we are. The government has wasted three months deflecting and dodging on this issue. Canadians have not been duped; no public inquiry, no truth and no responsibility has been shown by this government. Now, with David Johnston's resignation, the government has only one option, an open and independent inquiry. Canadians support it, the majority of this House supports it and even th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, David Johnston, the loyal rapporteur of the Prime Minister, his ski buddy, his cottage neighbour, his dinner companion and member of the Trudeau Foundation, was incapable of seeing any conflict of interest. I can understand why our ethically challenged Prime Minister would be oblivious to this, but for a lawyer, law professor and dean of a law school, this is nothing but wi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, in addition to those “random Liberals”, there is our former Privy Council clerk, Michael Wernick, who was also sacrificed to preserve the legacy of the Prime Minister. There is also, of course, his trusted friend, political adviser and principal secretary, Mr. Gerald Butts.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am forever the optimist, and I hope my NDP colleagues have listened very carefully to the speeches so far on this side of the House. As I indicated at the end of my speech, I hope they will put their constituents and this country first before propping up this absolutely corrupt Liberal government.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, David Johnston sacrificed himself and his reputation to preserve the reputation and career of the Prime Minister. He is not the first friend of the Prime Minister who has sacrificed his reputation to preserve the reputation of the Prime Minister and the government, and he will probably not be the last. Let us all remember our former attorney general and minister of justice, Jody Wil…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague's question had many layers to it, so I will try my best to respond. Perhaps he is not aware that for the past year and a half, I was a sitting member of the standing joint committee reviewing the Emergencies Act declaration. I would encourage my colleague to confer with his colleague, the member for Hamilton Centre, an NDP colleague, who will easily debunk everything th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, after the release of the so-called special rapporteur report, the Conservatives were working to get Mr. Johnston to appear before committee to answer on his failure to recommend a public inquiry. Again, the NDP showed its true colours in siding with Liberals and voting together to try to silence the opposition and hide the truth from Canadians. Now, 19 sitting days before the summer…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, to really emphasize my point about how the New Democrats talk out of both sides of the mouth, let us take a look at their history. In 2020, when Conservatives were pushing for a study on the WE Charity scandal and creating an anti-corruption committee, the NDP voted against it with the Liberals. In 2021, the New Democrats helped the Liberal government to shut down any public debates…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, they can heckle me all they want.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the member for Carleton, the leader of His Majesty's official opposition and Canada's next great prime minister, for sharing his time with me today on such a prominent issue that our country is facing. As always, it is a privilege to speak on behalf of the residents of Brantford—Brant. As we are all aware, the topic of foreign interference in this country…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, every third Thursday in May, we celebrate Vyshyvanka Day, a day to honour Ukraine's rich culture and heritage. This year, with the unprovoked Russian war, the holiday plays a critical role as Ukrainians defend their independence and identity. For centuries, Moscow has consistently banned the Ukrainian language and made efforts to appropriate Ukraine's history. Generation after generat…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety falsely stated that all Beijing-backed police stations had been shut down. He now confirms that new stations may still be operating on Canadian soil. Minister, words matter. The incompetent minister continues to mislead the House regarding this crucial issue. He has all the intelligence and security agencies at his disposal to get to the bottom of it. I a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today, I present a petition signed by the residents of Brantford—Brant in response to the heartbreaking and tragic death of 12-year-old Grace-Lindsay McSweeney, whose life was taken far too soon from a Tylenol overdose. Unfortunately, the situation is not uncommon as acetaminophen, a key ingredient in over-the-counter pain medication, is responsible for approximately 10,000 overdoses …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, actions speak louder than words. Canadians deserve no less. The government's apathy concerning the threats of foreign interference continuously fails to protect Chinese Canadians across the country. We have had enough with the smoke and mirrors. Last week, on this very same topic, the minister stressed the importance of communication and transparency in the House. It is time for the m…
Read full speech →