Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a supplementary report on behalf of the Conservative members of the committee. The Conservatives would have liked to see additional recommendations with a view toward strengthening the integrity of our elections, including an amendment to the Canada Elections Act to require electors residing abroad to provide proof of their last place of residence prior to the issuan…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it has been two years since legislation was passed to establish a foreign influence registry. Two years later, the Liberals have missed every deadline to get the registry up and running. On what date will the foreign influence registry finally be fully operational?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, if the House adjourned, I guess the government would have just capitulated on getting through all of the legislation that it has had before us this entire spring.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the government had an opportunity with this bill to close significant loopholes with respect to foreign money flowing into registered third parties. The bill would fail to close those loopholes. Why did the government refuse to close those loopholes? Why would this bill, if it goes forward, allow for foreign money to continue to be funnelled into third parties to influence Canadian el…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill C-25, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act, at the third reading stage. As I noted in my speech during the second reading debate, there are a number of measures in this bill that would strengthen the Canada Elections Act, which Conservatives welcome. Among them are measures to counter the undemocratic activities of the so-called longest ballot committee, wh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have been told I have unlimited time. I did not split my time.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what we had proposed was simply to remove the exception and simply to require that all third parties be required to set up an individual bank account and that they only be able to receive contributions from individual Canadians. We believe that would be charter-compliant and that it would, to the greatest extent possible, close loopholes around foreign funding and foreign influence th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would agree. This could have been done sooner. The government did not need to wait a year and a half to do this. Also, I would note that the name change that the member has proposed and that would be changed through this bill would, I believe, restore what had been the name of the riding at one time.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, with the greatest respect, I think it underscores the fact that the Prime Minister is AWOL when it comes to this House. It underscores how disconnected he is from the business of this House and how little attention he pays to the business of this House. Perhaps he should consider showing up for once.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I agree. There are many measures in this bill that we support, that we have long called for. We have worked with the government, getting it through second reading stage, over to the procedure and House affairs committee. We brought forward some amendments where I think there was a missed opportunity, however. There was an opportunity to fully close well-identified loopholes with respe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that was an important question. The member does raise a good point, insofar as the bill would prohibit someone from signing more than one nomination form. There are arguments counter to that amendment in the bill. However, I would argue that on balance it is a reasonable amendment to the Canada Elections Act, preventing the longest ballot committee and other such bad actors from engag…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as the government works to get its legislation through, we in the official opposition will discharge our responsibility, which is to hold the government to account and to carefully scrutinize legislation before this House.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Terra Nova—The Peninsulas. I rise in strong support of the amendment put forward by my colleague, the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes to stop the payment of 20 million tax dollars that would otherwise flow to Maritime Launch Services, pursuant to the government's main estimates. These 20 million tax…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, let us look at what has happened since the lease was entered into. There has been no rocket launch and no construction. All there is is a concrete slab and a gravel parking lot. However, someone got rich, and it happens to be Mr. Jacob, who sold three million shares, walking away with $1.8 million. Why did the Liberals not, for example, insist upon a lock-up agreement, which would be …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I understand the issue the member has raised. It underscores what a debacle and poorly thought-out policy the carbon tax was from start to finish that the Liberal government kept in place for years, which Conservatives called on it to abolish. Of course, it technically has scrapped the consumer carbon tax, but has maintained a hidden industrial carbon tax that is increasing the cost o…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals say that it is an investment, it is indeed an investment. It is an investment in Liberal insiders, and Mr. Jacob made off like a bandit in a matter of weeks upon the Liberals entering this lease. Why Maritime Launch Services? That is the central question. Only the Liberals could manage to spend $20 million a year on land that is already owned by taxpayers, but that i…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, despite today's headline numbers, Canada is in a recession. The Prime Minister promised the strongest economy in the G7. Instead, he has delivered the only shrinking economy not only in the G7, but also across the entire G20. That is three out of four quarters of negative growth. Will the Liberals simply acknowledge that Canada's economy is weaker after one year of the Prime Ministe…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, here are the facts: There were 25,000 net jobs lost this year, and productivity, business capital investment and GDP are down. Today's numbers show that wage growth is down, with Canadian workers taking home less. If this is the Prime Minister's idea of a strong economy, what would a weak economy look like?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in so many respects, the bill is not as advertised. The Liberals have advertised the bill as one of restoring mandatory minimum penalties, but one of the things the Liberals have not restored is the mandatory minimum penalties that they removed from the Criminal Code, including with respect to serious firearms offences, like robbery with a firearm, discharging a firearm with the inten…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to Bill C-16 because it is legislation that would completely eviscerate mandatory minimum penalties, virtually every one on the books, other than murder and treason. The bill would eviscerate them with a so-called safety valve that would give judges wide ambit to bypass virtually every mandatory minimum penalty set by Parliament, regard for Parliament's judgment t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the solution is not to impose a blanket escape valve and leave it to judges to, at their discretion, disregard or bypass what Parliament has judged to be a minimum sentencing floor related to the seriousness of the offence. That is what the Liberals have done. The Liberals have completely surrendered Parliament's law-making power as it relates to mandatory minimum penalties. They had …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, extortion has increased significantly. I believe extortion is up more than 80%. The member is quite right that the Liberals removed mandatory minimum sentences for serious offences including armed extortion, robbery with a firearm and weapons trafficking. It was not because the courts instructed the government to do so or because they were found to be unconstitutional but because the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
In short, Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is quite right. For example, there was an opportunity to fix section 810 orders at committee. I believe there were amendments brought forward that would have done that. What did the Liberals do? They voted against those amendments, just like they voted against every amendment to put in place robust guardrails around this escape valve with respect to mandatory…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the government has chosen a path. I think it is a flawed path, but it is a path nonetheless, and that is to provide for an escape valve. The question becomes, if this is an exceptional valve, in exceptional circumstances, why not define what those circumstances are? Why leave it completely—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Liberals on the ethics committee are blocking transparency around the Prime Minister's ethics screen. The screen was mandated by the Ethics Commissioner because of the Prime Minister's vast conflicts. Canadians deserve to know how the screen is working, including instances in which potential conflicts are flagged but the Prime Minister's advisers decide against activating the screen. …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in March, the Liberals entered into a lease with Maritime Launch Services for a so-called spaceport. The lease was backdated one full year to April 1, 2025, handing Maritime Launch Services 20 million tax dollars for no work and no value to taxpayers. Why?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after handing 20 million tax dollars to the nearly bankrupt Maritime Launch Services for no work, the chair of the board sold his previously worthless shares, pocketing $1.8 million. What we have is one big corrupt scheme in which Liberal insiders are getting rich while taxpayers are getting fleeced. How can the minister possibly justify this?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, why would the Liberals enter into a lease for a so-called spaceport with a nearly bankrupt company?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, in 10 years, how many successful space launches has Maritime Launch Services undertaken?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, in March, the Liberals entered into a $200-million lease for a so-called spaceport with a company called Maritime Launch Services. The lease was backdated by one full year to April 1, 2025. Why?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, in backdating the lease to April 2025, the Liberals handed Maritime Launch Services $20 million for no work and no value to taxpayers. Why?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the lease was backdated to April 2025. An independent auditor's report revealed that Maritime Launch Services was not a going concern and that they were on the verge of bankruptcy. Is the real reason the lease was backdated to bail out a nearly bankrupt company? Is that not what happened?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, the answer is zero. They have zero track record of launching anything into space. The Liberals are paying Maritime Launch Services $20 million a year to lease land that Maritime Launch Services does not even own, which they are leasing from the Province of Nova Scotia for less than $14,000 a year. They are then flipping it to the federal government, earning a 1,300% profit. Is that valu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, to review the inconvenient facts for the minister, we have a nearly bankrupt company that has no track record of launching anything into space flipping Crown land back to the taxpayers for a 1,300% profit. How does any of that make sense?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I will put it to the minister. This is about rewarding Liberal insiders. Is that not what is going on?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, is it a coincidence that the formal Liberal premier of Nova Scotia sits on the advisory board and the chief lobbyist is none other than a former senior staffer to the current Minister of Justice? How else does a nearly bankrupt—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal's PrescribeIT program has been a total debacle, costing taxpayers $300 million for a program that effectively no one used and that the government has since been forced to cancel. We have learned that the CEO of the program was being paid $1 million a year, including pocketing a $215,000 bonus. This happened under the health minister's watch. Will she accept responsibility …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the previous government is the same old Liberal government, and the buck stops with the minister. However, the minister has admitted that she asked no questions as 300 million tax dollars went up in smoke. In addition to the CEO, several other executives were paid handsomely and walked away with $60,000- and $70,000-bonuses. Who else got rich while taxpayers got hosed as the minister …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals refuse to come clean about 200 million tax dollars that they handed a six-person company of Liberal insiders to lease a so-called spaceport that is really nothing more than a gravel pit. That was 200 million tax dollars to a company that does not even own the land and that leases the land from the Province of Nova Scotia for less than $20,000 a year. If taxpayers are not …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there is more. The company's 2025 financial statements recorded a comprehensive loss of $47 million, and revenue of under $15,000. In other words, the company was nearly bankrupt until the Liberals came to their rescue and handed them 200 million tax dollars to lease land that taxpayers already own. Is the reason the Liberals will not release the documents not that it is just one big …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' costly budget demonstrates once again that the Prime Minister's rhetoric does not match reality. The Prime Minister promised to spend less. It turns out that he is spending more, way more than Justin Trudeau. In only one year, the Prime Minister has managed to double Trudeau's deficit, and now the Liberals are on track to rack up a record $1 trillion of new debt. It begs…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the ethics committee has issued a report calling on the Prime Minister to divest himself from Brookfield. Now, the Prime Minister has set up a blind trust, but the problem is that it is not truly blind, because the Prime Minister stands to make millions from stock options and future bonus pay from an investment fund that he personally set up while he was at Brookfield. Will the Prime …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals handed 200 million tax dollars to a six-person company of Liberal insiders to lease a so-called spaceport consisting of a gravel parking lot and a small concrete slab, 200 million tax dollars to a company that does not even own the land but rather leases the land from the Province of Nova Scotia for a fraction of the price. How do the Liberals justify handing 200 million …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, only the Liberals could spend 200 million tax dollars to rent land already owned by taxpayers, but then again, the former Liberal premier of Nova Scotia serves on the advisory board to the company, and the lobbyist for the project is none other than a former staffer to the Liberal Minister of Justice. Is this not just another case of Liberal insiders getting rich while taxpayers get r…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, at first blush, someone might dismiss this bill as merely symbolic, but I could not more strongly disagree with such a sentiment, because there are very real knowledge gaps amongst Canadians with respect to the important role that juries play in the administration of justice, as well as the significant and unique challenges faced by jurors and former jurors. Can the member speak to th…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill S-226, legislation to establish national jury duty appreciation week. Trial by jury is a cornerstone of justice in a free and democratic society. Trial by jury is a profound expression of equality before the law, to be judged by one's peers, 12 fellow citizens. In so doing, juries play an integral role in upholding the right to a fair trial. As Lord Devlin famo…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's spokesperson said, “The minister fully respects the screen, meaning he is neither implicated in nor party to any discussions, decisions, or votes related to Alto.” Yet the minister introduced, defended and voted on legislation to direct billions of tax dollars to Alto on at least 14 occasions. How do the Liberals reconcile the statement of the spokesperson for t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I welcome many of the measures contained in the bill. One measure I welcome is the closing of certain loopholes with respect to foreign funding through registered third parties by requiring third parties to set up separate bank accounts so that only funds donated from individual Canadians and permanent residents could be used for regulated activity. That being said, there is an except…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my previous question. As I understood the government House leader's answer, with the exception to third parties being able to use their revenues rather than setting up an individual bank account, there would be some possibility of melding or of foreign monies. Would it not be better simply to eliminate the exception and require all third parties to set up …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill C-25, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act. This bill would make a number of substantive amendments to the act. It is, in some respects, a technical bill with many moving pieces. Those pieces include welcome measures to counter the disruptive and anti-democratic activities of the so-called longest ballot committee. This bill also contains welcome measures t…
Read full speech →