Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the proportional weight of representation is an interesting one coming from a member from the Bloc Québécois, the only party that has seats only in one part of the country and that does not represent the rest of Canada. Therefore, that proportional weight of representation the member is speaking about is a challenging piece coming from that member, who is a member from the other sid…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am flabbergasted by the indignation of the Liberal side on this debate. The member speaks about dysfunction in the House. It is their House, as government, to manage, and it is obvious that they are so dysfunctional in managing the House that they cannot get legislation through. Last night, the Liberals adjourned the House two and a half hours early, after cancelling committees so…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil for putting this motion forward and the discussion on splitting up the budget implementation act. There are so many pieces in that bill that really should be separated and discussed, debated and considered at committee separately, not pushed through the way the government has pushed legislation through in the past. I recall Bil…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to present this petition provided to me by constituents of North Okanagan—Shuswap, raising attention to the fact that all Canadians have a right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to freedom of expression without discrimination. The undersigned citizens call on the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable st…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, only the NDP-Liberal government could be capable of killing two economic drivers with one blow. The proposed surtax on vessels would destroy capital investments in the charter boat industry, kill jobs and drive investment out of the country. Without new charter vessels coming into the market here, tourists will choose to go elsewhere to spend their vacation dollars, further cripplin…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, certainly we in the opposition are here to hold the government accountable, not to block the process of what is taking place in the House in the way the government has worked in cahoots with the NDP to block our voice here.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today in the House to speak to the concurrence motion on the report from the standing committee, “Aquatic Invasive Species: A National Priority”. It is a great honour to speak to this motion today, as I am the member who proposed that this study be done at the committee, a number of years ago now. This was initially presented in previous Parliaments, and gove…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is interesting that this report went to basically the same government members back in 2019. It is now 2022, and the government still has not responded to this report. Years after it was presented to the government, the government has failed to respond. There have been years of inaction by a government that fails to recognize the threats being posed to our ecology, our economies a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is interesting that this question comes from the House leader of the NDP. I would ask him in return why his party has decided to go along with the government that has railroaded the official opposition voice in the House through Motion No. 11? The government has pushed it forward and the NDP have supported it. It basically quashes the ability for the opposition parties to hold th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, when the government's decision put salmon farms in the Discovery Islands on notice, there was no transition plan for affected workers. Now, 15 months later, the government has spent over $20 million in PR exercises, but not a dime for worker transitions. The government's decision on the Discovery Islands deadline is three months away and there are still no transition supports for the …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there is still no answer for workers. With regard to the expropriation of quota from crab and elver fishers, the minister told the fisheries committee that no decisions have been made on either the crab or elver fishery, yet DFO officials have written to crab fishers that the quota cut of 50% was final. They also told elver fishers that the 14% cut was final. Does the minister underst…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today representing the people of North Okanagan—Shuswap as I speak to Bill C-8, An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update tabled in Parliament on December 14, 2021 and other measures. That was three and a half months ago, and 21 months after the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Much has changed in the past months since this bill…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member asked when we will stop speaking to the bill. I would never encourage members of the House to stop speaking about a bill as significant as this, with billions in spending, no accountability and coming from a government that let the priorities pass on for months before it even introduced it. Therefore, I will take no lesson from this member about when we should and should no…
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Mr. Speaker, there is no question that there is a drastic shortage of affordable housing, and housing of any sort, across this country. That is because people have flocked into the housing market as an investment. They have not seen the investment in rental housing being as productive as it used to be, so we have seen a reduction in rental housing in some areas. In consultations with elected repre…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, obviously housing is top of mind for many members and, I think, for Canadians right across this country. Incentivizing the construction of residences, whether single-family or multi-family apartment buildings, is where the federal government can make a difference regarding that growth in new inventory that is desperately needed across the country.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, the indigenous connections that I have made since being elected in 2015 continue to build. We have built relationships and have a better understanding of the cultures. That is something I will strive to continue to build as I continue as a member of Parliament and I will continue to push that among the members I serve with here and all members on all sides of the House, so we can bu…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, today I join fellow members of Parliament in debating the government's invocation of the Emergencies Act and the extraordinary powers of the act that have never been used by any government since the act was created in 1988. As the House debates the matters in front of us today, I believe the responsibility each of us carries individually to our respective constituents and the respon…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for asking me what I have been doing to reach out to people who disagree with me. I listen to them. I hear their phone messages. I receive their emails. There have been thousands of them over the past few days and weeks, unprecedented numbers. I read their emails. I listen to their messages and phone them back when time permits. That is unlike the Prime Minister w…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the correction from the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I wrongly inserted the word “our” in my comment and I apologize for that. I talked in my speech about the motion put forward on our opposition day a week and a half ago. It was voted down by members opposite. It would have seen hope for Canadians to move forward, a plan and some sort of timeline to get past the re…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, we are debating the Emergencies Act because of a political crisis of the Prime Minister’s own making, a political crisis here in Ottawa because of his failure to act sooner. There is another crisis building across our country that he and his government have failed to act on. Canadians are seeing the rising cost of living impacting them in their homes and in their backyards, in my ridi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, at the fisheries committee, officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could not identify who in government is responsible for ensuring imported seafood is not caught illegally or by using exploited workers. Illegal harvesting and the use of exploited workers are despicable. The government needs to get serious about stopping these a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is an honour today to rise to present a petition, on behalf of Canadians, recognizing that the evidence now makes it clear that the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs meets most, if not all, of the criteria for genocide as outlined by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Therefore, the petitioners are asking that the House of Com…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the impact of labour shortages on Canadian fruit growers and fruit processors: (a) what are the government's estimates on the shortage of workers during the 2021 fruit harvesting season, broken down by region; (b) what was the estimated loss of yield or production in the Canadian fruit industry in 2021 as a result of labour shortages, broken down by region and crop; and (c) will (i)…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying more for food, and the government is making it more expensive. Last March, the government blindsided spot prawn harvesters with a decision prohibiting a packaging practice that has been in place for decades. The government's decision is to increase plastic use and packaging costs, making Canadian food less affordable for Canadians already facing bigger grocery bil…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, the member mentioned the child care program agreements that are being put in place. I would like him to tell me how these programs are going to work for families in smaller rural communities, like Grindrod in my riding of North Okanagan—Shuswap, or Lumby or the Scotch Creek area, where there are no government-organized day care services. How about shift workers who do not work nine-…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells and like my colleague from Courtenay—Alberni, I worked with him on the fisheries committee for a number of years. Could the member explain how the bill would apply to companies that work or contract to federally regulated employers? We know that it applies directly to federally regulated corporations that are under federal regulati…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will make it quick because the member already responded that he does not know how this legislation will apply to companies that contract to federally regulated corporations. Had the government not thought about how the bill was going to apply to Canadians? It is another example of legislation put forward that is not fully thought out by an inept government. Why was it not thought …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, last June, the government announced the Pacific salmon strategy initiative and talked about bold, transformative action. At the same time, the fisheries minister doubled down on the government's refusal to quickly mobilize proven actions needed to restore Pacific salmon. Five months have passed and the salmon populations are still in trouble. Can the fisheries minister tell us what th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his concern for seniors. As I mentioned in my intervention, it depended on how seniors applied for the program. For some it was counted as taxable income and others it was not. The ones where it was considered as taxable income are now seeing their GIS payments clawed back. We have had constituents in tears on the phone because they cannot afford their rent, or …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Winnipeg North for his very often speaking points in the House. We have supported these programs as they were rolled out to ensure that the people who needed the support the most got that support, but we were not supportive of large corporations paying out executive bonuses. We were not in support of frauds, people receiving benefits who were not entitled to the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this House today. Once again, I thank the voters of North Okanagan—Shuswap for trusting me to represent them here in Parliament. As I open, I must also recognize the individuals and organizations in British Columbia and beyond who stepped up and continue to mobilize in support of British Columbians during wildfires and flooding this year. While all British C…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell for his presentation today. The concerns in my riding are growing every day. I have food processors who cannot find employees. They bring them in as temporary foreign workers. Now changes are being made, and they are not tied to those jobs anymore. The employers pay the cost of bringing them in, and they are leaving those jobs to go el…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to return to the House as the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap, and I thank the voters, volunteers, family and friends who supported me here as their voice. Like so many British Columbians, my constituents have persevered through the pandemic, wildfires and flooding that have ravaged our province. Now more than ever, they need action and results and I am here to be thei…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon's riding has seen devastation, as has mine and those of the members for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola and Abbotsford. I have advocated for the infrastructure that has been lost and needs to be rebuilt and the infrastructure that communities across our ridings have been asking for for a number of years now when I make an annual submi…
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