Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am rising to present a petition from concerned Canadians across the country on government Bill C-9, the combatting hate act, which passed third reading yesterday in the House. The petitioners worry that amendments made by the government would limit religious expression, and they are concerned that the state would be interfering in the ability of faith communities to practise their f…
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Mr. Speaker, a grocery store worker in Haldimand—Norfolk contacted my office to say $120 used to buy five bags of groceries, and now it barely fills one. Even though she works at a grocery store, she is still forced to use the food bank. The Prime Minister has delivered the worst food inflation in the G7, and he even plans to raise the clean fuel standard tax by 7%. Will the Prime Minister get rid…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are in distress and struggling with high food costs. The Prime Minister promised change but instead, the affordability crisis has just gotten worse over the past year. The Prime Minister broke his promise. He said grocery prices would go down. Now Canada has the worst food inflation in the entire G7. His plan to increase the clean fuel standard tax by 7% would only make thin…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in Haldimand—Norfolk, beef farming is a way of life and a significant contributor to our local economy. Beef farming in my riding has produced world-class Canadian beef, and beef farmers deserve access to global markets. Can the government explain to the farmers in Haldimand—Norfolk and throughout Canada why their world-class beef still cannot access the U.K. markets like it could bef…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, there have been a few issues over the last few years that I have heard consistently so much about, and this is not just in my riding of Haldimand—Norfolk but across the entire country. Among those, the cost of living, the erosion of freedom and individual choice ranked very high at the top. The bill that we are debating today goes to the very heart of the fundamental concerns that Can…
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal insiders connected to former Liberal MPs received a $206-million loan below market rate from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and nearly $150 million in subsidies for a Nova Scotia wind farm project. Canadians are tired of Liberal insiders getting rich off taxpayer dollars while millions of Canadians are lined up at food banks every single month. When will the Liberals finally m…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member opposite why it was necessary for the government to include a provision to exempt individuals and companies from acts of Parliament, rather than using the usual legislative amendment provisions.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, given that tens of billions of dollars are going to be allocated for high-speed rail, does the member think that it is necessary for the government to have some sort of independent cost-benefit analysis that would include when there is not enough ridership in order to fund the rail system and the cost to taxpayers?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker. I thank my hon. friend for his passionate speech. My heart goes out to the members in his community who faced violent criminals while going through a catastrophe. It is endemic. It is an example of how our criminal justice system has failed us. When we look at Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, we see a culture of releasing violent offenders. It is no wonder 60% of Canadians feel that crime is r…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present a petition that raises important concerns of Canadians about amendments made by the Liberal government and supported by the Bloc to Bill C-9. Petitioners fear that the change could criminalize passages of the Bible and other sacred writings. They believe that the state should not interfere in religious teachings or scriptures and that doing so risks government …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, firstly, I agree that public safety is not a partisan issue, and it was noticeable that this point was highlighted in my hon. friend's speech. I want to point my friend to the issue of mandatory minimums for the most heinous crimes. We know that when those are eroded, the public feels that judges are taking the law into their own hands and are not punishing strictly for the most heino…
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Madam Speaker, yes, this new position would not have to audit public funds. In fact, it would be a buffer to ministers answering for what is done with these funds.
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Madam Speaker, there are a number of recommendations in the report that deal with the status of indigenous women. What is important for reconciliation, and for indigenous women to feel empowered, is making sure that whatever system is in place is not filled with bureaucracy but rather responds to their needs and does not deflect responsibility away from ministers.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are losing jobs, plants are shutting down and investments are fleeing. Canada lost 52,000 private sector jobs last month alone. Workers and families are paying the price, from GM employees in Oshawa to forestry families in Quebec who are struggling to put food on the table. This is the opposite of what the Prime Minister promised. When will the Liberals admit that their rhet…
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Madam Speaker, the important issue is one of reconciliation. If we implement a system that blocks accountability and allows the ministers to deflect responsibility, it would not lead to reconciliation. It is very important that, with Bill C-10, people recognize that this system would ensure that the minister would appoint a commissioner, and that the commissioner would then be accountable to the s…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-10, an act respecting the commissioner for modern treaty implementation. At its core, the bill responds to long-standing concerns raised by indigenous communities about the need for greater federal accountability in implementing modern treaties and agreements. These treaties are essentially comprehensive land claims agreements that are negotiated betw…
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Madam Speaker, it would absolutely not. It would not compel. In fact, it would create another layer of bureaucracy the government could deflect its responsibilities onto. The Auditor General has an auditing mechanism already in place. The bill would infuse another layer of bureaucracy and make it even more complicated for indigenous communities to hold the government to account, because the govern…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7, yet GDP growth is currently at zero. Manufacturing, auto and forestry sectors are all declining, and families in Haldimand—Norfolk fear for their livelihoods as the economy weakens. Despite this economic decline, the government has not repealed a single anti-development law. When will the Liberals finally admit that th…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, Canada has shaped the world far and beyond our borders. One such contribution lives on in a phrase we still use every day: “the real McCoy”. As we mark Black History Month in Canada, we recognize the achievements of Elijah McCoy. Born in Canada to formerly enslaved parents, he achieved greatness while facing barriers and discrimination. Elijah McCoy transformed modern engineering by…
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Mr. Speaker, my constituents find that when we have an authentic, genuine question that we are debating and members refer to it as obstructing, they are offended by the fact that we are not taking their concerns seriously. I have had people, and grown men, on the phone in tears because they cannot feed their families. This is not an obstructionist issue. We have to get it right. We have to be ther…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, these are very good questions, and that is why we are here discussing this issue. The hon. member asked why these payments were not made monthly. People call my office daily, telling us that at the end of the month they do not have enough for food. A rebate is not going to do it. A rebate is not going to be the solution. This should have been something that was contemplated in the bud…
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Mr. Speaker, we spend time on things that are important to Canadians. We spend time on explaining how things that impact their daily lives and their survival will play out so they can understand, because they pay our salaries. It is very important that we have a debate on real substantive issues, not just band-aid solutions. When people are going to food banks in the hundreds of thousands, when pe…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to share my time with the member for Edmonton Southeast.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin today not with statistics but with the lived experiences of people from my riding, Haldimand—Norfolk, and also from the residents of Canada. A constituent recently told me about standing in the checkout line at the grocery store and slowly watching the price climb and climb. Knowing how much money she had in her bank account, she slowly started to put items back to sav…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister spends his time with the world elites, life at home is getting harder for Canadians, including families in Haldimand—Norfolk. The 2026 food price report is alarming. This year, it will cost $17,600 to feed a family of four, which is $1,000 more than it cost last year. The Prime Minister's industrial carbon tax and fuel standard tax are driving up food prices. …
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Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. Statistics Canada shows that food inflation is up 6.2%, which is the highest in the G7. I remember, as a university student, putting food back on the shelf because I could not afford it. I am so blessed today, but even recently I did not buy a package of meat because it cost four times more than I paid for it last year. Imagine what average Canadians who are worki…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to bring down the price of groceries. In Haldimand—Norfolk, where I live, a family reached out to me in desperation. Despite a decent income, they said that they could barely afford groceries for their family and their household. When the Liberals took office in 2015, the average weekly grocery bill was $159. A decade later, it has more than doubled, to ove…
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Mr. Speaker, there is nothing imaginary about the hunger pangs that many Canadians are feeling. Many families are also financially squeezed with mortgage payments and utility bills that are rising faster than they can keep up with. These pressures have worsened under the Liberals with the rise in the industrial carbon tax, the packaging tax and the new fuel tax. All of these hidden taxes are drivi…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this morning at a multi-party parliamentary prayer breakfast, I shared from Mark 4:35 and the moment when the disciples, caught in a violent storm, cried out to Jesus, “don't you care”. These were experienced fishermen, but even they were overwhelmed by the winds and the waves. Today, many Canadians feel the same. They see economic uncertainty, rising unemployment, social tensions, im…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the member for Edmonton Northwest. The budget speaks of a generational shift, but few Canadians would realize how deep this shift runs. For the first time, our nation's infrastructure is not just about steel, concrete and asphalt; it is about code, computation and data. Beneath that shiny language of innovation lies a quiet transformation, one …
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Madam Speaker, I would remind the member opposite that Bill C-8 purports to be able to shut down people's Internet without a court warrant. In an era in which the government is moving toward digitization and AI controls, people could end up in digital jails. That is why it is so important to have safeguards and accountability and ensure that with the government collecting this data, we know how it…
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Madam Speaker, when I look at my portfolio as the critic for infrastructure, I see that the Canada Infrastructure Bank is actually receiving $10 billion more than it received before. We know of the recent scandal with respect to the $1 billion sent abroad to fund the building of ships for BC Ferries, leaving our employees in Canada without jobs. The real issue with the budget is accountability. We…
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My concern, Madam Speaker, is with respect not only to the debt but also to how it is calculated. The fact is that the accounting system is changing, so Canadians have no real way of measuring the progress in this country. We will need some sort of independent auditing to assess whether the government is repackaging debt or whether we are actually seeing real progress in this country. Therefore, I…
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Mr. Speaker, in a democracy, everything can be debated, but some moral lines should never be blurred; protecting vulnerable children must remain one of them. The Supreme Court recently struck down a one-year mandatory prison sentence for two men who possessed hundreds of sexual images of children, some as young as three years old. These are real victims of abuse and trauma. Why is the government m…
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Mr. Speaker, the sexual exploitation of children is one of the clearest and most horrific crimes imaginable. Recently the Supreme Court struck down the one-year mandatory sentence for possessing child sexual abuse material, yet the government refuses to use section 33 of the charter, the notwithstanding clause, to restore the minimal penalties for pedophiles. Why is the government choosing to prot…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise today on behalf of the good people of Haldimand—Norfolk to speak to a serious crisis in our country. Ten years of irresponsible Liberal crime and justice policies have led to the need for communities across Ontario and across Canada to grapple with growing violence and brazen crime in their neighbourhoods. The consequences of these policies are real. Since 2015…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for that response, but the Liberal government has been in power now for 10 years. Why is it now putting forward half measures to address the mess that Bill C-75 has caused? The government rejected Conservative proposals to strengthen bail laws and to protect our communities, yet it is now repackaging some of those same ideas as its own, showing that…
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Mr. Speaker, this kind of reckless spending is just breaking the backs of our children and grandchildren. For 10 years, the Liberal government promised that billions in deficit spending would lead to more growth and investment. Now the results are in. Canada has the worst per capita growth in all the G7. Billions in investments are fleeing this country every single month the Prime Minister remains…
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Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are tightening their belts to make ends meet, the government keeps running up record deficits. The Prime Minister's reckless spending and record-breaking deficits delivered the worst per capita growth in the G7, and investments in workers are down by 10%. Now the Prime Minister is set to double the deficits even beyond what Trudeau planned. Will the Prime Minister assu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is important, when dealing with religious freedoms, that every issue should be on the table and that we should have the capacity to sit down and have meaningful discussions about things that we disagree on. That is the essence of freedom of expression, that we should be able to have discussions from all over the country. That is why the Attorney General's consent for charges of hat…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Oshawa. I rise today to address Bill C-9, the combatting hate act, specifically the changes to subsection 319(6) and the introduction of proposed subsection 319(7) to the Criminal Code. I strongly support protecting religious freedom and ensuring that all Canadians are safe from hate and violence, but Bill C-9 would not do that effec…
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Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, we listened to an impassioned speech by the member for Toronto Centre, who is a person of Jewish heritage and faith. It became very clear that the bill was not designed to protect that community. Right now, people of the Jewish faith cannot even shop in grocery stores in a kosher aisle without being assaulted, yet we have crimes on the book that are not being enforced.…
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Mr. Speaker, I stand with members of all communities that are subject to hate. We know the current Criminal Code has, already contained within it, sections that deal with hate. The proposed law is not about that. The law is about the concentration of government power so that it can be weaponized against dissenters. We have section 319(2), which protects against hate symbols; section 423 is about i…
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Mr. Speaker, 10 years of Liberal rule, and what do Canadians have to show for it? Soaring food prices, food insecurity, four million visits to food banks in Toronto alone last year. A quarter of Canadian households cannot afford to put food on the table. That is 40% higher than the year before. When will the Prime Minister stop obstructing Parliament and introduce a budget that lowers food prices?
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians want a government that will deal with this affordability crisis. This crisis happened on the Liberals' watch. The Prime Minister promised Canadians that they could judge him by the price of groceries. Well, the numbers are in. Apples are up 14%. Potatoes are up 16%. Canned food is up 26%. When will the Prime Minister stop obstructing Parliament and introduce a budget that wi…
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Mr. Speaker, Parliament was misled. New emails show that BC Ferries warned the former minister of transport's officials six weeks before announcing that the ferries would be built in China, yet the minister stood in this House of Commons and claimed that she was blindsided. At the same time, her staff was working with the Prime Minister's Office on how to spin this billion-dollar deal. Canadians j…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to Canada’s obligations under the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations: (a) since 2016, what work has the government undertaken to create National International Health Regulations Focal Points in order to implement the International Health Regulations within Canada; (b) what are the details of all National Focal Points within Canada, including, for each, the (i)…
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With regard to the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (the “Action Committee”) co-chaired by Chief Justice Richard Wagner and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti: (a) who were the originators of the idea for the Action Committee; (b) what were the terms of reference and mandate of this Action Committee; (c) given the Action Committee’s membership…
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With regard to the government’s road infrastructure plans and policies: (a) what is the government’s current policy with regard to funding new road infrastructure; (b) what are the details of all analyses that have been conducted since 2016 by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities with regard to Canada’s road networks and future road networ…
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With regard to the government’s investments in the Aspire Food Group’s cricket facility in London: (a) how much in federal funding has the government announced for the Aspire facility to date; (b) how much funding has been disbursed to Aspire to date; (c) what is the government’s analysis of the return on investment for the millions invested in the facility, both short-term and long-term; (d) what…
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