Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, those are more words and no action. Contrary to the government's claim, Bill C-21 is not about getting tough on crime and it is not targeted at the gang members who are shooting up our streets. On the one hand, the Liberals try to increase the maximum penalty, yet they push eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for a number of serious gun crimes under Bill C-5. Also, let us not forg…
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Mr. Speaker, today marks the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack on a Muslim family in London. Four members of the Afzaal family were deliberately hit and killed by a truck during an innocent evening walk. A spokesperson for the family rightly criticized the federal government for its lack of action and hollow promises to prevent similar attacks in the future. This is a serious offence. Will t…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, listening to my friend, his comments are completely off topic, which is par for the course for him. To take a page from the Liberal government that it ought not to take any lessons from the Conservative members who challenge the Liberal government on a daily basis in question period, perhaps he should listen to his own rhetoric. The bottom line is, if he has nothing to hide, why are…
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Madam Speaker, I am proud to be one of the members of Parliament who, along with four Senators, are working on the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency. This committee is one of very few that requires all its members and staff to take an oath of secrecy in order to allow them to work with sensitive information and secret documents. After a couple of meetings, the media started r…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the residents of my riding and many across the country are rightly concerned about the dangers that Bill C-5 would cause to our communities. As we know, the bill would eliminate a number of mandatory minimum penalties for significant, serious, violent gun offences and drug offences. It would also eliminate mandatory minimums for dangerous fentanyl dealers. Canadians are afraid that th…
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Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the fuel crisis, the tone-deaf response from the government is that it has Canadians’ backs. It cites the carbon tax rebate and, of course, the misinformation on cutting taxes for the middle class. My constituents are struggling. They are fearful. They are angry. The challenge is paying for fuel at the expense of feeding and clothing their kids. The government shoul…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, recently, the Supreme Court struck down life without parole for mass murderers, dealing yet another blow to victims' rights in Canada. When I first heard this, I was shocked and then I got angry. I later spoke with my constituent Sharlene Bosma, whose husband Tim was brutally shot in the head and then incinerated in 2013. The murderer, who also killed his father and girlfriend, was th…
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Mr. Speaker, on this Vyshyvanka Day, I am honoured to present a petition supported by the fine residents in my riding of Brantford—Brant and many Canadians who are very concerned about Russia's unprovoked war and genocide against the people of Ukraine. They are also concerned about the Liberal government's slow and inefficient response. Knowing that Canada was the first western country to recogniz…
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Mr. Speaker, this week's diesel prices averaged $2.30 per litre, compared to just $1.45 last year, and prices are still on the rise. Diesel is a fuel that powers our economy and powers our critical supply chain from coast to coast. This is going to impact the cost of food, clothing and other goods. This is going to lead to an economic catastrophe. When will this tone-deaf government provide immedi…
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Mr. Speaker, gas prices reached yet another record high this weekend, with many in Ontario and across Canada paying more than $2 per litre. The pile-up does not stop there, with drivers being urged to brace for yet another increase. According to a gas prediction website, prices are expected to reach $2.15 per litre for most Ontario cities by Victoria Day. While experts are urging Canadians to stay…
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Mr. Speaker, today, on International Nurses Day, I rise to pay tribute to nurses across Canada and the world who selflessly serve their communities, often at a great personal sacrifice. I would particularly like to honour one of my constituents, who has tirelessly served her community throughout the entire pandemic caring for COVID-19 patients at the Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington. She is a h…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we have just listened to a great collection of talking points that Canadians and parliamentarians are hearing over and over again. Will the parliamentary secretary acknowledge this failure and all the problems that his government caused to Canadians and other nationals who will become future Canadians? Is the government willing to consider any compensation for the delays, cancelled …
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Madam Speaker, earlier this year I asked the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship about the unprecedented backlog of immigration applications. The system is struggling to recover from two years of the pandemic due to a lack of planning and crisis management, as well as poor leadership. If the approach is not changed, it will take years to catch up on the millions of applications in th…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, recently the justice committee heard the testimony from Robert Davis, Chief of the Brantford Police Service. During his testimony, and I am quoting from the blues, Chief Davis said, “With Bill C-5 and the proposed changes now we are going to see sentencing become a joke”. He then continued, “with...turning sentences into conditional sentences...the justice system...is being brought in…
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Mr. Speaker, throughout my prosecutorial career, I worked on hundreds of cases that took years to complete. Notwithstanding many unknowns, procedural delays and complicated evidence, the truth always prevailed. Criminals must always be punished. Now Canadians demand answers from our Attorney General. If new evidence comes to light in relation to the member for Papineau's illegal vacation, even aft…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to mourn the tragic loss of Grace McSweeney, a 12-year-old girl from my riding who passed away last month by suicide after a long battle with depression. While her mother, Lauren, and her stepfather, Jeremy, were well aware of her struggles, yet they felt helpless. Her age and the price tag for services were persistent barriers when it came to accessing professional help.…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to dodge questions about the basic facts of his train wreck of an illegal vacation and the subsequent RCMP investigation that followed. While he attempts to convince Canadians that this issue is solely in the past, it is clear that his skeletons do not remain far from the surface. Although this is not the Prime Minister's first rodeo when it comes to trick…
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Mr. Speaker, we want to focus on his illegal, unethical acts. The current Prime Minister is the first and only Prime Minister found guilty by the Ethics Commissioner. The lavish, luxurious and illegal trip to the Bahamas was strike number one. Strike number two was our Prime Minister again being found guilty of ethical violations for his political interference in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. This …
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Mr. Speaker, section 19 of the Criminal Code says that, “Ignorance of the law by a person who commits an offence”, which includes our Prime Minister, “is not an excuse for committing that offence.” Section 121 of the Code indicates, “Everyone is guilty of fraud on the government if they, being an official, accept from anyone who has dealings with the government a reward”, such as a luxury illegal …
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Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Prime Minister promised to run the most open and accountable government ever. We all remember his sunny ways. With scandal after scandal, and crisis after crisis, he has proven it is just a broken promise. In the latest saga of the Prime Minister's dizzying mismanagement and misuse of the act, the government is now refusing to hand over to the Federal Court, under the gui…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Ukrainian army liberated the Kyiv region from Russians, yet nobody celebrated, as the world was shocked by the atrocities and crimes against humanity by these modern-day fascists in Europe. Ukrainian armed forces, joined by journalists, recorded hundreds of civilians murdered right on the streets of Bucha. Many had their hands bound and were shot in the back of the head.…
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Mr. Speaker, it gives me immense pride to announce that the City of Brantford is twinning with Kamianets-Podilskyi in Ukraine. This is a symbolic gesture that will initiate much-needed practical support for it. Since the Russian invasion, the city has been host to thousands of refugees, has helped displaced single moms with kids and the elderly who were pressured to leave their homes, and has orga…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the cost of living continues to be a gut punch to my constituents in Brantford—Brant and all hard-working Canadians. Food costs are up 7.4% and gasoline 32.3% in just one year. The housing affordability crisis has become even worse with the biggest month over month hike since April of 1983. To add insult to injury, the new NDP-Liberal government is pushing ahead with several tax hikes…
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Mr. Speaker, we all know who is hurting the economy the most. It is the Prime Minister and his Liberal government, and they now have blind support from the NDP. They have spent the most to achieve the least and have no intention of balancing the budget. Since the government was first elected, our great country has gradually lost its wealth and Canada's middle class is shrinking. Now its failure to…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I took great offence to the member who now questions the intellectual capacity of the Conservative backbench. I am a proud member of the Conservative backbench. For the member who questioned my intellectual capacity, I have enjoyed a 30-year legal career. I have a BA honours in political science. I have a law degree. I have had a distinguished career as a public s…
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Mr. Speaker, my riding of Brantford—Brant includes two first nation reserves, one of which is the largest in the country. It breaks my heart when I review reports like the ones released by the Chiefs of Ontario and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network. They stated that opiate deaths have doubled among first nations people in Ontario during the pandemic. The opiate crisis was recognized by ever…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I would tell my hon. colleague to speak to the Prime Minister. He is the who created this atmosphere of hostility, division and anger. We talk about hon. members in this House being conciliatory and needing to have open dialogue and discussion. There is none of that. None of that happens with the Prime Minister and his cabinet. That is who the member needs to talk to.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious I offended the delicate ears of my friend opposite. I retract the statement.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, after practising law for 30 years and being a Crown attorney for the last 18 of them, I decided to dedicate myself to serving the people of the great riding of Brantford—Brant and across Canada. It is a privilege to rise in the House early today, although I am doing this with a heavy heart. For the first time in our history, the Prime Minister, whose current support is as low as never…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is using mixed language. The act is very clear it should only be used in circumstances that seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians—
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, to make it abundantly clear, for the second time, I retract that statement. Blockades are already in violation of the Criminal Code, provincial highway acts and any number of municipal bylaws and court injunctions. This was and still remains the purview of the police. They had all the tools necessary. The legal authority for the government to invoke this act is currently being challen…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, perhaps I was not entirely clear with the member. We are a party of law and order.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, listen to the laughter. There is such disrespect for this particular member. I am trying to answer a question, and I have to be bothered by heckling and laughter. It speaks volumes to their character. In any event, I have made it abundantly clear that we disagreed with some of the tactics used by the organizers of this protest. As a lawyer, I follow and hold sacrosanct our charter rig…
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Mr. Speaker, there are many lessons to be learned and I hope we decide that a national inquiry should be undertaken forthwith to look at the obvious levels of failed leadership and the decisions that were made. Most importantly, it comes down to looking at the litany of emergencies, the protests, the demonstrations, the blockades, the world events that have impacted Canada and how effectively poli…
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Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to offer any free legal advice to anyone in the House, particularly a colleague. However, given what she has experienced by way of the message of vitriol on her answering machine, I want to remind my colleague that this is what the Criminal Code of Canada is for. What she describes is intimidation. What she describes is uttering threats. There is no limitation period…
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Madam Speaker, will this member speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and condemn what is happening in the B.C. Interior? There were 20 masked men armed with machetes and axes who attacked a group of pipeline workers causing millions of dollars in damage. Is he prepared, on behalf of the Liberal government, to condemn that type of activity?
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I appreciate that you are in the Chair, but your predecessor ruled on four occasions, on points of order, that the Liberal members of Parliament, including ministers, who continually talked over my colleagues who were speaking on this very—
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Mr. Speaker, with more than 1.3 million unemployed Canadians, 200,000 jobs were lost in January alone. At the same time, our businesses are struggling to fill almost one million jobs. Canada's economic recovery is in jeopardy. Canada has the fifth-worst job recovery in the G7. Hard-working people of Brantford—Brant are asking this: When will the Prime Minister stop putting his ideological agenda a…
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Madam Speaker, given my former career as a Crown attorney for the last 18 years, I want to draw on your reference to Mr. King and his comments directed toward the Prime Minister, which in my view constitute a threat to do grievous bodily harm. Do you not think this would provide the police with ample authority, under the Criminal Code, to lay criminal charges in relation to uttering death threats …
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Madam Speaker, the finance minister, the Attorney General and the Minister of Public Safety have all been unable to provide a clear and articulate answer to this pressing question. What is the donation threshold by which a financial institution will freeze an account under the Emergencies Act?
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, recently I asked the Deputy Prime Minister when the Liberal government would reverse its CPP tax hike. Instead of assuring people that the government is doing something about this, she said that we were all mistaken and that Canada's economy is robustly recovering from the COVID recession. The government is tone deaf. The reality is Canadians are paying an extra $1,000 in grocery ex…
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Madam Speaker, the cost of living crisis affects all Canadians. Everyone has experienced it when filling up their gas tanks, paying utilities or buying food. A recent Angus Reid Institute poll reported that nearly 60% of Canadians are having a difficult time feeding their families. As I indicated earlier, there is an extra $1,000 more in groceries in 2022 alone, as food prices surge. This is anoth…
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Mr. Speaker, Immigration Canada faces an unprecedented backlog under the Liberal government. Nearly two million applications are in the queue. My office receives dozens of calls every week. During a time of catastrophic labour shortages, thousands of foreign workers and Canadian employers are waiting years to get their applications processed. When will the Liberal government fix this Liberal-made …
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Mr. Speaker, with inflation reaching a 30-year high, the government continues to hurt Canadians with its poor economic policies. Nearly 60% of people are finding it difficult to feed their families. If that is not bad enough, the government raised its CPP tax on Canadians, an extra $700 coming out of families' paycheques. This may mean nothing to this Prime Minister, but it matters to everybody el…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to rise in the House today to acknowledge the efforts of an incredibly dedicated and passionate woman who has been at the helm of a very special organization in my riding, known as the Crossing All Bridges Learning Centre, or CAB for short. For the past seven years, Paula Thomlison has been the executive director and the driving force behind the centre, which supports de…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, following up on my friend's latter comments, does he think that those convicted of sexual assault, criminal harassment, trafficking of minors or abduction of minors deserve to be punished by way of a denunciatory sentence, which could include jail?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member had actually listened to my speech, he would know that at no point in time did I indicate that we, as the Conservative caucus, have no faith in judicial discretion in levelling appropriate sentences. As a Crown attorney for the last 18 years, I was in front of judges every single day. My point was that sufficient tools already exist within the Criminal Code for judg…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like the hon. member to inform me where in section 4 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act it speaks to mandatory minimum penalties.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. friend a couple of questions. First, does the Bloc Québécois stand for the proposition that all mandatory minimums under the Criminal Code and CDSA ought to be eliminated? If her response is yes, I would ask her this. Because she feels that judges are best equipped to render appropriate sentences, does she feel all judges across this great country all think…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague personally for the elevation of my past career. I was not a judge of the Ontario provincial court or Superior Court. Rather, I was a Crown attorney. To address the important issue the member raised, there already exists a regime that vests federal prosecutors, as it does with provincial prosecutors, in exercising their discretion appropriately to deal…
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