Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, business capital investment declined 0.7% last quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. This was reported by Statistics Canada on May 29. Would the member comment?
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear that all sectors of the Canadian economy need significant investment, including aviation, forestry, aluminum and other sectors. However, investment has declined over the past year. On May 29, Statistics Canada reported the following: “Business capital investment fell 0.7% in the first quarter of 2026, the fifth consecutive quarterly decline.” Could my colleague comment on …
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Mr. Speaker, reports indicate that the Palestinian representative in Canada met with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights during the development of its upcoming Nakba exhibit. This should be a Canadian museum for Canadian human rights stories, not foreign agendas. The museum is a Crown corporation reporting to the heritage minister. Is the minister aware of these meetings? Does he consider these m…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada mourns the loss of Constable Marc Pinizzotto. The Globe has reported that a search warrant executed yesterday related to the shootings at a synagogue and the U.S. consulate. U.S. prosecutors linked these shootings to an IRGC‑backed terrorist network that is behind 18 attacks in the U.S., Canada and Europe. A year ago, the government identified nearly 30 Iranian regime operative…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the fact that the government is carrying out a great deal of analysis. The death of Constable Marc Pinizzotto is not an isolated incident. Canadians are afraid. People are shooting bullets at synagogues, community centres, businesses and, now, the U.S. consulate in Toronto. Public safety is a national security matter. Canadians deserve answers. What new action is the gove…
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Mr. Speaker, U.S. prosecutors have linked the U.S. consulate and synagogue shootings to an IRGC terrorist network. In 2023, Global News reported that upward of 700 regime‑linked associates could be operating in Canada. A year ago, the government said that nearly 30 Iranian regime operatives who were here in Canada should be deported. Since then, reports have indicated that only one has been deport…
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Mr. Speaker, a year ago, the Prime Minister said that the PRC's foreign interference was the greatest threat to the security of Canada. The government now has a strategic partnership with the PRC. A year ago, the government said that nearly 30 operatives linked to the Iranian regime were here in Canada and should be deported. A year later, only one has been deported. How can Canadians believe that…
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps somebody on that side over there can answer this question. For weeks, the Prime Minister and government ministers have insisted that strong measures are already in place to combat the importation of products using forced labour into Canada. If that is the case, why did the government give the House notice that it is going to introduce a bill entitled “An Act respecting the pro…
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Mr. Speaker, the government granted a visa to a former IRGC commander who arrived at Toronto Pearson airport on April 28 to attend the FIFA World Cup. The government also failed to deport an Iranian regime supporter who has been convicted of sanctions violations and has been here so long that he is suing the government. The government has said for a year that dozens of senior Iranian officials are…
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Mr. Speaker, a recession can be defined as two consecutive quarters of flat or negative GDP growth. By that definition, Canada is in a recession. The government has downplayed the seriousness of these two consecutive flat to negative quarters of growth and painted a picture of an economy with underlying strength. However, that fails to take into account the bigger picture. Here is the bigger pictu…
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is making the mistake of looking at flows, in other words at the P&L, rather than at the balance sheet. The balance sheet is clear. Business capital investment has declined in each and every one of the last five consecutive quarters. That is the more important measurement, because as capital is deployed, it depreciates, and the fact that business capital investment…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. It was not me who used the word “emergency”; it was the deputy governor of the Bank of Canada. It was a central banker who used the word “emergency”, which is strong language for someone who is normally quite opaque about the direction of the economy. It was not me who used the word “emergency”; it was Steven Globerman at the Fraser…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the dangers of denial is that we are going to see a brain drain from this country to our neighbour to the south. According to the TD Bank study that was released on May 21, Canada's top-skilled workers are leaving for the United States in droves for lower taxes and higher pay. It says, “Canada is not hollowing out; it is spilling out at the top” and “Absent progress on this fro…
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Mr. Speaker, the text of the MOU signed by the Liberal government with Beijing's Ministry of Public Security remains secret. Considering that Beijing abused the previous MOU signed by the Harper government, including by coercing some 25 Canadians to return to the PRC under Operation Fox Hunt and considering that a year ago, both the public inquiry into foreign interference and the Prime Minister s…
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Mr. Speaker, if Beijing's foreign interference and transnational repression are the greatest threat to the security of Canada and if the government is confident about the MOU between itself and Beijing's Ministry of Public Security, the government should simply release the MOU and let Canadians decide for themselves. Will the minister raise the issue of transnational repression and foreign interfe…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill S-217, which was introduced by my friend and colleague in the other place Senator Percy Downe. I thank him for his perseverance in pushing this issue forward. I believe this is the third time the bill was introduced and adopted in the other place and the third time the bill has been sent to the House for consideration. I know Senator Downe has put a lot of work…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I am raising the alarm bells about Ontario's auto sector. The sector depends on access to the U.S. market. The sector has paid $5 billion in tariffs over the last year. Passenger, car and light truck exports to the United States are plummeting. The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association has said, “You cannot have a commercially viable automotive plant in Canada facing tariffs of …
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Mr. Speaker, Reuters reports that Mexican President Sheinbaum is eyeing an early deal, ahead of the completion of the review of CUSMA, on autos, aluminum and steel. Is the government working in coordination with Mexico to secure an early deal on autos, aluminum and steel? If not, why not?
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Mr. Speaker, Mexico is clearly at the negotiating table, providing formal updates. Yesterday, President Sheinbaum and U.S. Trade Representative Greer formally met in Mexico City. The joint statement said that Mexico and the U.S. will hold talks this week on resolving trade irritants, and that Mexico and the United States will begin the first official negotiating round for the review of CUSMA the w…
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Mr.S peaker, work is under way to celebrate the founding of Guelph in 1827. Next year marks 200 years since the city was founded at the confluence of the Speed and Eramosa rivers, in the province of Upper Canada, by Scottish poet and novelist John Galt. The Guelph 200 community working group has already begun planning. On April 23, the city will launch its official bicentennial logo, marking the b…
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Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada released The Daily just yesterday about the income and wealth distribution of Canadians last year under the Liberal government. Here are the opening two sentences of that report: “The income gap increased in 2025 as lower income households were negatively affected by declining interest rates and weak growth in employment income. The wealth gap grew throughout 2025 as…
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Mr. Speaker, Iran is a serial violator of human rights, and because of that the government formally designates Iran as a state supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act. However, last Wednesday, the Liberal government voted in favour of Iran's membership on the United Nations Committee for Programme and Coordination, which plans, programs and coordinates human rights at the United Nation…
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Mr. Speaker, Parliament recognized, with Liberal MPs supporting, that a genocide, including forced labour, was taking place against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang province in the PRC. In response, the Liberal government imposed sanctions. Today, a Liberal member of Parliament in committee intimated in questioning Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a former PCO official, that there was and is no Uyghur forced lab…
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Mr. Chair, the government's position on the war in the Middle East has been contradictory and incoherent. I think, when I say that, I am being generous in my criticism. The Prime Minister and government members have said multiple times that they support U.S. air strikes against Iran to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran's regime from further threatening international …
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Mr. Speaker, it has been four years since the war in Ukraine began, and it has been four years since we called on the government to expedite Canadian LNG exports for allies like Germany. It has been eight months since Parliament gave the government power to expedite new oil and gas projects for exports to Europe and Asia. In eight months, not a single new export project like that has been approved…
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Mr. Speaker, the question was about LNG exports. When the war began in Ukraine, it took Germany only 194 days to approve and build a new LNG export facility, and another four new facilities were quickly brought online shortly thereafter. Over 194 days ago, this Parliament gave the government unprecedented powers to expedite new gas projects to expedite LNG for Europe and Asia. Now we have a war in…
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Mr. Speaker, the government has said three things about the U.S. air strikes that are incoherent and contradictory. First, on March 4, the Prime Minister said, “Canada’s policy itself is to always and everywhere respect international law.” He went on further and said, “Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents.” The minister herself just said, “International law binds all part…
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Mr. Speaker, again I will ask the minister to clarify the government's position. The government has said multiple times that international law binds all parties and that Canada, everywhere and always, respects international law. The Prime Minister said in Australia on March 4 about the air strikes, that “it appears that these actions are inconsistent with international law.” The government then al…
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Mr. Chair, I really appreciated my colleague's remarks. Our position is clear. The regime in Iran poses a threat to citizens here in Canada, a threat to the international system and a threat to peace and security in the Middle East. That is why we oppose the regime in Tehran, and we are pleased that the regime can no longer threaten our country as it did before.
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Mr. Chair, my hon. colleague's question points out that Ukraine, which we all support in the House, was unequivocal, clear and unambiguous in its support for the U.S. air strikes against Iran, because Ukraine, like few democracies, understands first-hand that this is a fight between western liberal democracies and authoritarian states. Ukraine is on the front lines of that fight and has been subje…
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Mr. Chair, I think that the threat of Iran, in the context of nuclear threats, is very real. We obtained information indicating that Iran obtained 400kg of nuclear material with a purity of 60%, and—
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Mr. Speaker, Hong Kong has sentenced newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison simply for exercising his rights and freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association, which are guaranteed in an international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration. First, will the government reiterate its call for Jimmy Lai to be immediately released? Second, will…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague, the member for Calgary Confederation, with a great deal of interest. I would encourage him to look at Motion No. 517, which was introduced in the 40th Parliament and which echoes many of the issues he has raised. I note that in that motion, which the Liberal Party later adopted in the 42nd Parliament, the 43rd Parliament and the 44th Parliament, one of th…
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Madam Speaker, I am delighted to rise to participate in this very important debate, because I think checks and balances on power and how power is distributed in Parliament are an extremely important topic of debate. We have all seen what has happened in other democracies over the last number of years, the weakening of guardrails and the importance of guardrails in restraining executive power. Part…
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Madam Speaker, I am open to all potential options for the way this place sits, but I would note that we already sit the least of any major national legislature in the west. The U.S. House of Representatives typically sits between 165 and 190 days a year, and the U.K. House of Commons typically sits between 146 and 162 days a year. We sit only 129 days a year, and provincial legislatures sit even l…
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Madam Speaker, I think that any ideas that concern democratic reform here in the House should be considered by members of the House and by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. As I mentioned before, I believe that the three reforms I presented are the easiest and most significant ways to improve the situation. That said, I thank my Bloc Québécois colleague for his comments.
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Madam Speaker, I think the way in which many of these reforms can be implemented is quite simple. Most of these reforms would require the procedure and House affairs committee to table a report in this House recommending these reforms, and that the report be concurred in. That would be one way to adopt these reforms. The other is for any member of the House, through a private member's motion, or f…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Beijing's foreign interference is the biggest threat to the security of Canada; that is what the Prime Minister told Canadians last spring. Less than a year later, the Prime Minister has entered into a so-called strategic partnership with Beijing, yet we still have no foreign influence transparency registry. When the bill was being debated, the government said it hoped to have the reg…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected a minority government, and Conservatives fully respect the democratic will of the electorate. That is why, as His Majesty's loyal official opposition, we will carry out our constitutional responsibilities within the House. On some matters, we will oppose the government as the official opposition, which is a constitutionally mandated role in a Westminster parliamentar…
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Mr. Speaker, this is not a new approach. I enumerated five bills that we already supported in the last year of this Parliament, Bill S-2, Bill S-3, Bill C-4, Bill C-5, Bill C-12, and now, in addition to that, Bill C-14 and the bill that is now in front of the House, Bill C-18. We have been supporting some pieces of legislation to move ahead. The government would like to present a narrative that th…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question about importing goods made with forced labour. That is a major problem. I think the crux of the problem is this. Canadian law bans the importation of products produced from forced labour. This was first agreed to in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement and then, subsequently, implemented in Canadian law. Importing products into Canada via forced…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's question allows me to point out in greater detail that the Canadian government was not as successful in negotiating this trade agreement with Indonesia as the United Arab Emirates or the European Union were. The United Arab Emirates secured a 10% price preference in Indonesian procurement tenders and enhanced access for U.A.E. businesses to Indonesian government pr…
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Mr. Speaker, I would simply say in response that I think the more pressing issue to protect our political process and our democracy is for the government to expeditiously and forthwith implement the foreign influence transparency registry, which I think would counteract the single biggest threat to our democracy, which is Beijing's foreign interference.
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I am honoured to participate in the budget debate. I think that the context of this budget is important. First of all, it was delayed for an unprecedented number of months and introduced in the fall, which will now be the new government's budget cycle. It was also preceded by a lot of rhetoric from the government about what kind of budget it would be, with commitments about making this a budget fu…
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Mr. Speaker, that question highlights the financial illiteracy that pervades the House. The fact of the matter is that, if we go to Statistics Canada's labour productivity data, we will see that, over the course of the 1990s and the early aughts, right to 2015, a good part of 25 of the last 35 years in this country, labour productivity consistently marched upward. What we have seen, though, in the…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to ensuring federal transfers to the provinces for health and social services, I think the most important thing is economic growth and long-term prosperity. Economic growth is the best way to ensure long-term prosperity. We need to increase our productivity. There is nothing about that in the budget, and I think that is a serious problem in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, the record of the Liberals over the last 10 years has been the worst economic record in this country since the Second World War period. That is an incontrovertible fact. If members look at the labour productivity tables, for example, what will they see is that labour productivity has flatlined over the last number of years. Even with Statistics Canada's recent upward revision in GDP n…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight some labour productivity statistics that members of the House may not be aware of. This is from Statistics Canada, table 36-10-0480-01: In 2006, labour productivity was $56.8 per hour. In 2015, it was $61 per hour, an increase of $4.2 an hour. In 2024, it was $63.2 an hour, an increase of only $2.2. It is clear that the record of the previous Conservative gov…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government over the last 10 years has arguably the worst economic record since 1945. Here is just one set of data points: Overall labour productivity has declined in each and every one of the last four years. I cannot think of any four-year period since 1945 where this has happened. It is in CANSIM table 383-0033. Productivity was $65 per hour in 2021, $64.60 in 2022, $63.…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to represent Wellington—Halton Hills North. The Canadians who live in the riding, in Wellington County, the town of Halton Hills and the city of Guelph, are truly exceptional. In the last seven years, three people from Guelph and Wellington County have received a Nobel Prize. Donna Strickland received a joint Nobel Prize in physics, and David Card and Peter Howitt se…
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