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 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.
Read full speech →Government Orders
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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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, the member for Kingston and the Islands just accused the member for Regina—Lewvan of lying. I am just wondering, with respect to—
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Madam Speaker, we know that the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has already issued a directive with respect to these types of diversion measures. The effect of codifying them and having Bill C-5 enacted is that there will not be much of a difference between what is currently happening and what would happen as a result of this bill being put in place for those measures. What we would see is th…
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Madam Speaker, it is incredibly important that we have accountability measures in place. The mandatory minimums being repealed are going to weaken accountability; it is that simple. The crimes that are going to be impacted and the criminals who will be impacted will have been convicted of committing serious offences. Victims need someone speaking up for them. That is exactly what we are doing here…
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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…
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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…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
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 …
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…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
There you have it again, Mr. Speaker. The Prime Minister talks about land prices with relation to the supply chain. Our land is not affected by supply chain prices. The Prime Minister has, in fact, overseen the largest increase in home and land prices of any prime minister. It is driving home ownership out of reach for Canadians, but it is also driving the price of rent up for Canadians, meaning t…
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Mr. Speaker, I am really excited to tell the Prime Minister that the folks who elected this Conservative for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes have the highest vaccination rates, not just in the province, but in the country. If the Prime Minister wants to play games, he should be thinking about monetary policy. Instead, he does not. I am going to ask the Prime Minister a question. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think part of the issue in this case is that colleagues entering from the opposition lobby do not want to pass between you and the member who is speaking. They are waiting to take their seats before question period. As soon as the member is done, I would expect that they will all be going to their seats, as they are now.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would note that, with respect to other matters that have been brought before the Speaker during this session, there was a lot of discussion with respect to practices, items and debate from the previous session. The member for Winnipeg North said that past practices and discussions from the previous Parliament should be part of this consideration, and I am looking to see if the Chair…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the chamber today and join colleagues in this important discussion. This is my first opportunity to take up more than a few minutes in the House, and I want to thank all of my constituents, all the folks in my community, for their support over the last three years. My community has had three federal elections in three years that have returned me to this pla…
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Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I am so disappointed but unsurprised by the comments from the member for Winnipeg North. Every time the Liberals have the opportunity, they look to politicize the COVID-19 pandemic. Do members know where I am from? I am from a riding that is in the health unit with the highest vaccination rate in this country and in this province, because along with my constituents,…
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Mr. Speaker, it is my first time responding to the member since her election, and I welcome her to this place to do the work that we do for our constituents. Certainly, I will chalk it up to an interpretation challenge, but supporting Canadians is not a waste. However, we need to be careful and specific in how we do it. There are challenges that remain, but we have seen undisciplined and untargete…
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Mr. Speaker, the programs put forward by any government require scrutiny. We have seen that the current government needs more scrutiny than most, and certainly some of the reports we have seen of late with respect to abuse of pandemic programs are very troubling indeed. We are going to need to make sure that whatever the government proposes has all the checks and balances, and that requires all pa…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to conclude my remarks with respect to this motion. While we heard great enthusiasm from the government benches and their coalition colleague, the independent member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, I would expect, of course, nothing but silence and peak attention from the government benches as we discuss this important motion. We have a situation following nearly 20…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, while I am sorry to hear that the member was offended, I do not believe I said anything offensive. What I did say is that ministers are accountable to this House and to Canadians. What we saw in the last Parliament was disgraceful. They would not even walk across the street or come downstairs to sit in their chairs in an empty House and be accountable to Canadians. Dur…
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Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely correct. When members of this place are ill, just as when any Canadian is unwell, they should not go to work. This has been done for so long. Why we need to literally reinvent how this place operates is beyond me. We have a system in place. I have referenced it several times. We can pair, and it does balance things out. We do need to return to how things hav…
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Madam Speaker, what we have seen in this place is ministers, the Prime Minister, parliamentary secretaries and government backbenchers duck accountability and absolutely avoid this place like it was the plague that has affected Canada. Parliamentarians are accountable to Canadians. There is an accountability mechanism. They can come to this place safely. It is not too much to ask. I hear members s…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP was spotted in a TikTok video, sitting on a swing, plucking daisy petals. He was heard whispering, “Do I have a coalition with the Liberals, or do I not? Do I have a coalition with the Liberals, or do I not?” With the upcoming vote on the Liberals' latest anti-accountability motion, Canadians will get to see, in prime time, just what kind of dance these partners …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise for the first time in the 44th Parliament. Congratulations on your election as Speaker. It is a pleasure to join all of my colleagues here in the House. I have a point of order that I would like to raise. It is uncharacteristically short, based on my past interventions. It is with respect to the two questions of privilege raised yesterday regarding matters tha…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In a way that would not put any of my colleagues on the spot, I ask, as a gentle reminder to members on both sides of the House, that when they are not speaking, perhaps they could follow the best public health advice and wear their masks while they are seated.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House. I appreciate being given the opportunity to give my speech today and again tomorrow. I will look at the glass half full in being able to be here in person after the nearly two years that this place was a shadow of what it should be for Canadians. The work of the House administration and the Speaker's staff was Herculean. They changed centu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, six years ago when the Liberals formed government, the Prime Minister promised sunny ways and ethical governance. Instead, Canadians got cover-ups and the most corrupt government in our country's history. What is worse is that the Prime Minister is so arrogant that he thinks he can fool Canadians. His record speaks for itself, but let us give the Prime Minister a chance here. Can he l…
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians need is an ethical Prime Minister, and they do not have one right now. He has been the Prime Minister of corruption and cover-ups, twice found guilty of breaking ethics laws. He took illegal vacations to billionaire island. He interfered in the criminal prosecution of his friends at SNC-Lavalin and did everything he could to give money to his friends at the WE organizat…
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Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians could do with the Prime Minister spewing something. Facts would be a good place to start. Under the current Prime Minister, Ottawa has become a backdrop to his ethical breaches. Under the current Prime Minister, Ottawa has become an ATM for Liberal insiders. While Canadians are struggling and being left behind, the circle of insiders close to the Prime Minister line …
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Mr. Speaker, I note how far he has fallen. In 2015 he said Conservatives were his neighbours and friends. In 2019 more Canadians voted for the Conservative Party than anyone else, but of course nobody is listening to the Conservatives. It sounds like the Prime Minister is not listening to Canadians, but if there is an ethics law that has been broken, the Prime Minister probably had his hand in it,…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians have come to expect the same thing from the Liberal government: constant scandals and ethical breaches and that Liberal insiders will always get the inside track. Now it has come out that Liberal MPs are funnelling taxpayer dollars to the Prime Minister's close friend Tom Pitfield, and for what? The Liberals do not even know. This could not fit the Liberal MO any better. Who…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad the government House leader holds me in such high esteem that after he shut down Parliament during a pandemic and his members supported the prorogation and filibustered across all kinds of committees, he wants to talk about me instead of talking about the fact that he and his colleagues are funnelling taxpayer dollars to support Liberal Party back office and black ops. As we…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the people of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes have been getting things done. Collaborating with the provincial and municipal governments, our community has been working together to bring federal funding for major projects we need in developing them from ideas into reality. There are massive infrastructure projects, like the County Road 43 expansion that will get us t…
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Mr. Speaker, when asked why 97% of Liberal MP offices were paying Tom Pitfield, the childhood friend of the Prime Minister and fellow vacationer to billionaire island, the Liberal member for Scarborough—Guildwood said, “I haven't got a clue. I can't explain it. I vaguely recall once a year we write a cheque and it's always been explained that it is within the ethical guidelines, so we all kind of …
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Mr. Speaker, the government House leader said that it is no big deal, so I guess we better take his word for it, just as those Liberal MPs should take the word of the Prime Minister and this cabinet, who have been found guilty of multiple ethical law breaches, that there are no ethical misdeeds happening here. Tom Pitfield is a close friend of the Prime Minister. This is another Liberal insider ge…
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Mr. Speaker, what is rich is hearing the government House leader, who sits on the side of the most corrupt government in this country's history, talk about shutdowns. The Liberals prorogued the House during a pandemic, filibustered dozens of hours across multiple committees and mismanaged the House agenda so badly that they find themselves unable to get what they deem to be key legislation passed …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in this House at any hour, of course. This evening I find myself talking about a subject that we have been discussing at great length. That is the complete disregard that Liberal members have for this place, particularly the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet, with respect to the subject of documents ordered by the Canada-China committee and the governm…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it would be much easier to take the parliamentary secretary at his word that the government was acting with the best intention of Canadians in mind, and not simply looking to protect its own political self-interest. We have seen illegally redacted documents provided to the health committee against orders of that committee, to the finance committee and we have seen it now to this spe…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to this question of privilege, though not under happy circumstances as we find ourselves yet again with the Liberal government brazenly defying an order of the House in the name of a cover-up. The government operates in cover-ups, so we should not be surprised. Multiple times the Canada-China committee ordered documents from PHAC regarding the Winnipeg lab le…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, on that same point of order, the member for Winnipeg North is using points of order as a tactic to interrupt the member for Carleton. The Chair had made a decision and then gave instruction to the member for Carleton to be concise. The member for Winnipeg North then challenged the Speaker's interpretation of what was and what was not concise. We are seeing this tactic where we have me…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, the question of relevance was previously raised and the Speaker gave instruction for the member to resume. Since that point, the question of privilege that the House is debating has not been raised, but, instead, all items except for that item have been raised, including naming other items on the Order Paper in the coming days and questions of privilege other than one that is curren…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I will just ask that my time should reflect more than four minutes left on the clock, because I know that for five and a half full minutes I have talked exactly about this motion and did start to build the case for an additional 30 seconds. The point by the member for Kingston and the Islands is disingenuous at best. What I am demonstrating is that the government, led by the Prime Min…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the point of order raised by the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands, again, I will speak to something he raised in his speech. He raised the question of Conservatives looking to obstruct the business of the House. That was raised directly by that member. I would like to share with the House that the Liberals filibustered PROC for more than 73 hours, the Standing …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, absolutely. I noticed the member for Kingston and the Islands asked in his last two questions, for which no rulings were made by the Chair occupant at the time, who should be named in the motion. Of course, the president of PHAC is named because he signed the letters, but I am wondering this: Which ministers would he like to amend the motion to name to also have admonished or censured…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I have not had a conversation with the opposition House leader at this point, but I am confident that if the member for Kingston and the Islands would like to move an amendment to the motion to include a set of government ministers to be censured by this House, opposition parties would enter into a discussion with the government. I think that would be an important first step in the go…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have been on full display for six years as being unwilling to do what they promised Canadians in 2015 and 2019, which was to be the most open government in history and to let the sun shine in, as it is the best disinfectant. It is disingenuous and demonstrative of the issue when NSICOP is the committee that this issue would be sent to and the nominations from the official…
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