Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when we proposed that motion at the beginning of February calling for a timeline, we gave the government ample opportunity. Of course, seeing the reasonableness of the proposal, we are happy to see that the member's party supported it. Now, we are nearing two months since that time. It has been a month and a half since then, and the provinces continue to accelerate the lifting of thei…
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Mr. Speaker, at the health committee this week and last, Conservatives have asked the government what its plan is. The Liberals failed to provide that plan to Canadians. We continue to ask for their plan. We asked for them to show us what benchmarks they are using that will see the restrictions lifted and reduce the harm on the very vulnerable people that the member opposite mentioned. Of course, …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for taking the time to speak to our motion today. In his remarks, he talked about transparency and about the different surveillance tools and the monitoring that happens. I am wondering if the minister take the opportunity today to be transparent with Canadians and share with us what the benchmarks are. He mentioned the lifting of one of the testing requirements o…
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Mr. Speaker, we reject the amendment from the government member.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, according to the Minister of Health, there are many different factors to consider before lifting mandates. He said, “It's quite complicated.” Health officers across Canada have worked through these complications and have ended their mandates. If it is not complicated for the provinces, why is it complicated for the minister?
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday I asked the health minister what the national vaccination target would need to be and for Canada to achieve before the government lifted the mandates. His response was that the booster uptake was too low. Next week it could be that case counts are off, or the following week it could be that waste-water surveillance numbers are askew. The goalposts will keep on moving. What n…
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division, please.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, again Canadians are well served by the member for Edmonton West and his detailed analysis and breakdown of the spin that we hear from the government benches when its members talk about the massive debt it racks up and how they try to dress it up as something that Canadians ought not to be concerned about. The government continues to spend money and say things, as I mentioned before, l…
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Mr. Speaker, if the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill is scared by the numbers, so are Canadians. They are scared because they cannot afford to pay their bills. It is great to talk about a AAA credit rating. It is great to talk about how debt to GDP stacks up against other countries, but it does not matter. In this country, whether people live in Victoria by the Sea, Prince Edward Island,…
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Mr. Speaker, it is pleasure to rise today and take part in this important debate on the economic and fiscal update. I of course listened with great interest and I always learn a lot from the detailed research that my colleague from Edmonton West does before he makes any interventions in this House. It is very important that we have that perspective, and I thank him for it. Since the start of the p…
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Mr. Speaker, if the parliamentary secretary says that the government is going to follow the science, then he should do that, just like the 10 chief medical officers of health have done in every single provinces in this country. They are all ending the mandates, so we want to know what the benchmarks are. What are the data points that this government is going to use to end the mandates? The governm…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the health minister told the committee that the government had a plan for every possible policy related to its continued mandates, but he repeatedly refused to share the government's plan to end the mandates. I want to give him another chance right now. The provinces have shown leadership and are all moving on from COVID mandates. Will the minister tell Canadians on which da…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear that the minister is delighted to get my question, and I am glad to hear that he has been working with the Province of Ontario. However, on behalf of all Canadians, I would be delighted if the minister and the government would tell Canadians what their plan is to end the mandates. When is the government going to stop firing its public servants? When is the government…
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Mr. Speaker, for two years, Canadians have been doing the hard work of getting themselves and each other through this pandemic. Saskatchewan and Alberta have done away with their mandates, with Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces doing the same this month. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is doubling down on mandates and our allies around the world are moving on. There is no leadersh…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, for two years Canadians have been doing the hard work of getting themselves and each other through this pandemic. They followed public health advice. Many got vaccinated and everyone supported their communities. Now, we are seeing hope and renewal in the provinces and around the world as our allies lift restrictions and mandates and Canadian provinces begin to do the same. Saskatchewa…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, while the member for Winnipeg North knows not to interject, he talks about foreign interference. We are talking about Canadians having Canadian bank accounts frozen because they have political views that the justice minister does not like. That is not a liberal democracy. It is, frankly, illiberal and I would like to know how the member opposite can, in good conscience, support this k…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves here, this morning, discussing another attempt by the Liberal government to make a mad grab at power, a gross overreach. We have seen it before. We know that the Liberal-NDP alliance have started their heckles because they want to silence me, just like they want to silence people they do not agree with. We know that, at the very beginning of this pandemic, the first …
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Mr. Speaker, I talk about a Liberal democracy because the government of this country is represented by the illiberal party of Canada, it would appear. The tactic I am using today is reminding the government of the foundation of our democracy, which is the rights of Canadians. When citizens are afraid of their government, and that is the goal the government seeks, they have got it backwards. The go…
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Mr. Speaker, the premier of Quebec was able to effect that result in the same way that Toronto was able to effect the same result as they did in Montreal or in Quebec City, which was by using the existing laws of the local jurisdiction and using their existing resources. That is exactly what could be done here in Ottawa. It is what was done in Windsor, it is what was done in Coutts and it is what …
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Mr. Speaker, we heard the justice minister, just two days ago, talk about the financial measures that the member opposite referenced and say that they are going to be used to target people who have political views, not hateful or intolerant views but views that he finds unacceptable. They are going to be targeted by these financial measures included in this law. The concern that we should have in …
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Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite, the following is a question from Evan Solomon, the host of CTV's Power Play, to the Minister of Justice: A lot of folks said, “I just don’t like your vaccine mandates and I donated to this, now it’s illegal, should I be worried that the bank can freeze my account?” The Minister of Justice responded: If you are a member of a pro-Trump movement who is donating hu…
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Mr. Speaker, knowing it is important that order is maintained in this place, perhaps you could invite the hon. member not to use inflammatory language and rhetoric that will create disorder, which he is attempting to do with a comparison between what is happening here and Tiananmen Square.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I condemn it. I also condemn the member opposite's party supporting this grab at power and propping up its coalition partners in the Liberal Party. I am not sure what rationale was given behind closed doors, because we have not heard the rationale. We have laid out very clearly that the laws of local jurisdiction are effective enough. Instead, the government looks to settle scores wit…
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Mr. Speaker, just after the member for Carleton started speaking, the member for Kingston and the Islands said, in a volume loud enough for all members in the House to hear, that another hon. member had lied. I believe if we were to check Hansard, it would confirm this, and I believe the folks at the table heard the same thing. I ask the Speaker to invite that member to unreservedly apologize for …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, from the Liberals we continue to see the politics of division. Instead of talking to Canadians, they try to divide them. Instead of doing their job, they pass the buck to the provinces on what is squarely the government's jurisdiction: our international borders. It was the current Prime Minister who once said, “The role of the PM is to build a stronger country, not make it easier fo…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve a plan from the government on when it will end the federal mandates. Countries around the world and provinces across this country are making that decision. Even Canada’s top doctor has said it is time to return to normalcy. Like the minister said, nine out of 10 Canadians have been vaccinated. Is the goal from the government 100% before it reopens? If that is the c…
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Mr. Speaker, this motion is calling for the government to table a plan. That is something that it has failed to do at this point. Yes, if we are looking at other countries and modelling what is going on in other countries, it may result in those mandates being lifted. It seems it is high time, but the Liberals are not providing us with the evidence; they are providing us with the politics of fear …
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Mr. Speaker, while I appreciate the question, we are going to assume that the hon. member misspoke and that he was not misleading the House. As we know, what we asked for a year ago, and what I articulated that we asked for a year ago, was a plan from the government. Instead, what we get from it is finger pointing. If we want to point fingers, we will point fingers at the Liberals for their absolu…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to discuss this important motion. It comes as we approach the start of the third year of dealing with COVID-19. We have heard a lot of discussion today about why it is important that the government table a plan for us to exit the COVID-19 restrictions and end the mandates. We all know what Canadians have had to sacrifice over the last two years. Most impo…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a great question from the hon. member. What we are looking for from the government are the benchmarks it is going to use to exit us from the COVID restrictions that the federal government has put in place. That is what we asked for a year ago. What are our targets? What are the metrics the Liberals are using to end the travel restrictions and to end all the federal mandates they…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I was pleased to hear the parliamentary secretary say that he is prepared to take notes on this very important adjournment proceeding. We have heard a lot about the housing affordability crisis in Canada. The cost of everything is ballooning. The cost for Canadians to afford a house is slipping out of their hands. That dream of home ownership is getting further and further away for …
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Madam Speaker, in hearing the name of the great riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I have to take a moment to recognize the tremendous work of my provincial counterpart, the Hon. Steve Clark, who has served ably as Ontario's minister for municipal affairs and housing. Minister Clark has been a champion for affordable housing in our community of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Is…
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Mr. Speaker, while the minister is handing out self-congratulations, I want to let her know, on behalf of Canadians, that they cannot afford the 80% increase in home prices and they cannot afford the 30-year increase in inflation that we have seen under the current government as a direct result of its policies. The Liberals are spending all this money, and they are still underfunding housing and h…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are feeling the pinch. For years, they have worked hard and made tough choices to save up, but they seem to find themselves falling further behind. They cannot afford to put nutritious food on the table, put gas in their cars or even heat their homes. Their hard work is not paying off under these Liberals, with skyrocketing inflation as a result of their …
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Mr. Speaker, we will not let talking points get in the way of an answer from the minister because we know that inflation is at a 30-year high, we know that housing prices have gone up by 80% under the current government, we know that Canadians cannot afford the price at the pump, and we know they are taking less home every month with the payroll tax increase from this finance minister and these Li…
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Mr. Speaker, if you consult Hansard, you can verify that the member for Peace River—Westlock expressed in his intervention a hope. He said, “Mr. Speaker, I hope you will find unanimous consent for the following”. The member for Kingston and the Islands said that the member for Peace River—Westlock had said that there had been consultations. All the member for Peace River—Westlock had asked for was…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the economic impact of the COVID-19 negative molecular test requirement for fully vaccinated travelers on the tourism industry in Eastern Ontario: (a) what was the number of foreign international travelers who arrived at the land border crossings in Eastern Ontario, broken down by month since the border opened for non-essential arrivals on August 9, 2021; (b) what is the breakdown o…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, under this Liberal Prime Minister, the price of everything has gone up. The cost of basic necessities for life in Canada, such as home heating, groceries and gas, have all skyrocketed at rates we have not seen in 30 years. While the Liberals have been blaming everything under the sun for soaring prices, they only have to look in the mirror to find the culprit. When the Liberals formed…
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Mr. Speaker, like my colleague for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, I rise to present a petition signed by Canadians who are in support of the passage of Bill S-223 to combat forced organ harvesting. Like my colleagues, I hope that this is the Parliament that gets this done. Bill S-223 has been put forward by members of multiple parties over 13 successive years. The bill is tremendously important to making …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to thank the people of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes for their continued trust and confidence in returning me to Parliament with a clear mandate. The people have been very busy over the last three years with federal elections. They continue to demand strong representation in Ottawa with a focus on securing funding for infrastructure,…
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Madam Speaker, with respect to the comments on the elimination of mandatory prison time for people who have committed serious offences, it is contrary to ensuring we have accountability when these crimes are committed. Again, I remind people these are not folks who are accused of committing crimes, these are people who have been convicted of committing criminal offences such as discharging a firea…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to have this debate with the parliamentary secretary this evening, and I congratulate her on her appointment to this position. I am pleased she mentioned the work being done in my community with respect to affordable housing, particularly the program between the federal government and the provincial government that saw affordable housing units created. That is where w…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise this evening and take part in these Adjournment Proceedings. When I last addressed this issue in the House, it was a question to the Prime Minister about housing affordability. We are hearing a lot about cost of living and housing affordability challenges that Canadians are facing right across our country from coast to coast to coast. We are seeing those same …
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Madam Speaker, I think we do agree that Canadians who are suffering from addiction should be getting treatment, and if the crime is simple possession, there are currently directives in place and the discretion can be exercised to divert those individuals from the criminal justice system to help them get help. That is entirely appropriate. We absolutely need to help people who are suffering from th…
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Madam Speaker, with respect to your response, I am sure, if you consulted with Hansard, you would find that at the conclusion of the member's comments he did in fact make that very assertion. The member for Kingston and the Islands said the member for Regina—Lewvan lied. My understanding is that is not how we speak in this place.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to speak to this bill. It is unfortunate, though, that the government is taking the first opportunity possible to flex its soft-on-crime approach. They have very much reinforced this approach with Bill C-5. It would do nothing more than reduce punishments, and truly reduce accountability, for perpetrators of violent gun crimes and drug dealers. It woul…
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Madam Speaker, I do appreciate that. I will direct them through you. Of course, I hope that the government is reminded about its heckling, as the opposition is held ruthlessly to account. We want to ask the government these questions: Does it really have a mandate to expand conditional sentences for these crimes? Does it have a mandate to let someone out, and to not have someone go to jail for a m…
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I am concerned, Madam Speaker, that the parliamentary secretary has been named as a representative of the government, but does not understand how simple debate works in the House. He thinks that if a rhetorical question is put through the Speaker to the government in response to Liberals creating disorder in the House, suddenly they have standing to interrupt debate and start answering questions. …
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Madam Speaker, much to the chagrin of the member for Kingston and the Islands, who is very upset that the Conservatives continue to expose the Liberal government's soft-on-crime approach, we are going to continue to do that, because we have a mandate from Canadians. We know the government wants to crack down on law-abiding gun owners while letting gangbangers out with a warning. It is no problem i…
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Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is talking about Bill C-22, which is really interesting. We are dealing with Bill C-5. Why are we dealing with Bill C-5 and not Bill C-22? It is because the Liberal Prime Minister, against the agreement of all parliamentarians in the previous Parliament, called an election during a pandemic. He killed his own legislation. He did not want to enact anything…
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