Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have said many times now that the Canada groceries and essentials benefit would help 12 million Canadians, but what about the other 28 million Canadians who are struggling with rising grocery prices? Why not adopt policies that will bring down the cost of groceries for all Canadians, such as cancelling the industrial carbon tax, the federal fuel standard or unnecessary fo…
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Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada has confirmed what Canadians already know: Food inflation is up 6.2%, and it is getting harder and harder for people to fill their shopping carts with groceries. The Liberal fuel standard adds 7¢ to every litre of gas. That is going up to 17¢ by 2030, and this drives up higher prices at the grocery store. Conservatives would be more than happy to work with the Libera…
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Mr. Speaker, last year I met with Holly Laird, executive director of the Regina Farmers' Market, whose organization had developed a program that was both inspiring and depressing. The Regina Farmers' Market had partnered with the YWCA to hand out food coupons so that families could afford to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. While it is inspiring to see neighbours helping neighbours, it is depressi…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present a petition today on behalf of members of the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association. Approximately 2,200 people suffer a new acquired brain injury every year in Saskatchewan, with about 150 of those requiring significant long-term support. The most common causes of acquired brain injuries include strokes, falls and motor vehicle accidents…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present a petition here today on behalf of concerned residents of Regina and southern Saskatchewan. The petitioners are concerned about the Liberal government's plan to ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. They say the plan is unrealistic due to the lack of capacity in this country's electricity grid, and the result wil…
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Madam Speaker, an agreement was finally reached last night at the APEC summit in South Korea. Unfortunately the agreement was between the United States and China, but not Canada, to reduce tariffs. The Prime Minister flew to Asia, met with the Chinese President and had a nice photo op, but there is still no deal. In this international game of Deal or No Deal, why is it always no deal for Canada fr…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present a petition today on behalf of many Pakistani Canadians who are concerned about the arbitrary detention of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and the fate of his supporters. Signers of the petition believe that free and fair elections in Pakistan remain a distant hope after widespread reports of the massive rigging of last year'…
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Madam Speaker, it is not just Chinese canola tariffs that are punishing Canadian farmers. India has slapped a 30% tariff on Canadian peas and a 10% tariff on lentils. Canada cannot export beef to the United Kingdom, but the U.K. can and does export beef to Canada. When will the Prime Minister finally stop with the photo ops and finally get a deal for Canadian producers?
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present a petition today on behalf of concerned residents of Regina and southern Saskatchewan. The signatories of the petition are concerned about a recent finance committee recommendation to revoke the charitable status of religious organizations. They feel that faith-based charities do good work in our communities, as secular charities do, and…
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Mr. Speaker, Remembrance Day is all about thanking Canada's war veterans and remembering those who never came home. Sadly, Canada's Second World War veterans are getting fewer and fewer in number. Recently, Regina lost its last remaining World War II veteran. “Ossie” Lakness enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943, shortly after his 20th birthday. He went on to serve as a quartermaster on the …
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Mr. Speaker, before the election, the Prime Minister said he could solve Canada's economic woes because he has a plan. This week, he finally revealed that plan to a roomful of young people. It turns out that the plan is that young people have to make sacrifices by giving on the dream of home ownership, paying higher prices at the grocery store and spending all summer unemployed. If this was the Pr…
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Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised to “Build, baby, build.” He promised to fast-track nation-building projects and that these projects would be built at a speed not seen in generations. He said he was committed to “building the strongest economy in the G7”. Unfortunately, most of us thought he was talking about the Canadian economy, not the United States'. When …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin my speech this morning with a movie review, if I may. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, is widely considered to be James Cameron's masterpiece, won 11 Oscars and brought in $2 billion at the box office. Of course, I am talking about Titanic. One of the most memorable scenes from that movie is when the ship is first coming up on the iceberg and t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting how the Liberals keep moving the goalposts. I remember when Paul Martin was prime minister. The goalposts were to balance the budget “come hell or high water”. A few years later, the Liberals said they were not going to balance the budget, but it would be a function of GDP. They would keep it under a certain percentage of GDP. Now they are talking about separating th…
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Mr. Speaker, this reminds me of the elementary school student who comes home with an F on his report card and says to his mom and dad that other kids flunked their report cards too. It does not mean someone is doing a good job just because they can point out someone who has a record that is just as bad. It is true that governments around the world have struggled with reining in unnecessary spendin…
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Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more frustrating than world leaders from Germany, Greece, Poland and other countries saying they would like to buy Canadian oil and gas so they can stop buying from Russia and dictators in the Middle East, and the response from the Liberals being that there is no business case for oil and gas exports to Europe or other allies around the world. There is nothing more fr…
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal bail has unleashed crime and chaos on our streets. The Liberals' law, Bill C-75, requires courts to release violent career criminals at the earliest opportunity under the least onerous conditions. Just two weeks ago in Regina, a man under a probation order terrorized a neighbourhood by chasing multiple people down the street with a machete. The Prime Minister promised to flip-…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised criminal justice reform, but half a year later he has broken that promise. Liberals are obstructing the jail not bail act from passing, keeping in place Liberal soft-on-crime, catch-and-release laws. Because of lax Liberal bail laws, homicides are up nearly 30%, auto theft is up 25% and sexual assaults are up 76%. Today, Conservatives are proposing to pass …
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Mr. Speaker, it is my deep honour today to welcome the Balfour family to Ottawa. James, Heather and Taylor are visiting us today all the way from Regina, Saskatchewan. Today is the birthday of their late daughter Rachel, who was killed when she was poisoned by fentanyl in 2019. Every year, the Balfour family tries to do something meaningful to remember and honour Rachel on her birthday. This year,…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comparison, but I did not hear an answer in all of that. In last year's fall economic statement, the budget deficit was $62 billion. A deficit of $62 billion was so embarrassing that the finance minister had to resign that morning rather than deliver the bad news. I will ask the current finance minister again, how much is this year's budget deficit, and how high does …
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Mr. Speaker, in the not too distant past, the Liberal Party used to be the party of fiscal responsibility. I remember when former finance minister Paul Martin promised to balance the budget “come hell or high water”. Now Liberal deficits are causing inflation, and Canadians are paying the price. My question for the current finance minister is this: How much is this year's budget deficit, and will …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Investment Tax Credit and the requirement to submit a project plan to Natural Resources Canada and be issued an initial project evaluation for each qualified Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage project: (a) how many project plans have been submitted to Natural Resources Canada to date regarding the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and St…
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With regard to processing times for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: what is the current average processing time for (i) temporary residence - Seasonal Agricultural Worker, (ii) temporary residence - International Experience Canada, (iii) economic immigration (all subcategories), (iv) family sponsorship (all sub-categories), (v) refugees - dependents of Protected Persons, (vi) humani…
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Mr. Speaker, last week alone, the Regina Police Service responded to 54 suspected overdoses, including four fatalities. According to multiple news reports, fentanyl is suspected in most if not all of these cases. The crisis has gotten so bad that the provincial Ministry of Health has issued an overdose alert for Regina. When will the Liberals finally crack down on organized crime and mass fentanyl…
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Madam Speaker, the leader of the party that used to represent workers now props up a government that raises the carbon tax, makes homes unaffordable, has lost control of the deficit and lets crime run loose on our streets. On Monday's vote, will the Prime Minister continue to hide behind the NDP or will he finally call a carbon tax election?
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Madam Speaker, the fact is “the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people”. Those are the words of the NDP leader, who continues to betray Canadians by propping up the failed Liberal government. The leader of the party that used to represent workers now props up a government that raises the carbon tax, makes homes unaffordable—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, when a child becomes sick, it takes a terrible toll on the entire family. This burden becomes so much greater by the fact that hospitals with pediatric services are often located a significant distance from the family's home. This is where Ronald McDonald House Charities steps in to provide accommodations, meals, peer support and other services to the entire family while their child i…
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Madam Speaker, it sounds like the government has no plan to deal with the United States, and Canadians continue to get poorer. Today, Statistics Canada reported that Canada's GDP per capita has declined for six quarters in a row. The situation will only get worse if the U.S. follows through on its threat to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada. Since the Prime Minister has no plan to dea…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, let me be perfectly clear. The reason Parliament has not moved forward with its legislative agenda is because the Liberals continue to block the handing over of documents to the RCMP. That is like saying Richard Nixon filibustered Congress for not handing over his tapes. We have to comply with the law. The Liberal government has to comply with the law. If we see something, we need t…
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Madam Speaker, Canada's economy grew at a rate nearly 10 times slower than the economy of the United States in the last quarter. This week, U.S. President-elect Trump announced that he was considering a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada. This would be devastating to our economy because we export more goods and services to the United States than to the rest of the world combined. What is the go…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, what I am hearing from my constituents is that they have had enough of all of the Liberal scandals. I enumerated quite a few of them during my speech, whether it was SNC-Lavalin, the “other Randy” scandal or the ArriveCAN app. They all just blur together, and people say they have lost confidence in the government and in the Liberals. It is time to call an election, send the Liberals…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I take considerable exception to the hon. member's statement that I never stand up for or speak about Regina—Wascana. During the pandemic, Nav Canada was planning to shut down the air traffic control tower at Regina International Airport. I advocated to keep it open. During the RCMP mass casualty—
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to address a matter of critical importance to the health and future of our democracy: the dangers posed by corruption. A democratic government is founded on the principles of accountability, transparency and trust. When these principles are eroded by corruption, the very fabric of democracy is eroded as well, and public confidence …
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Madam Speaker, I have never had that conversation with my leader, but if the hon. member or members of the government feel strongly about this issue, they can make it part of their legislative agenda. If they have ideas about enhanced security clearances that should be in place for any member of Parliament, they can table a bill to that effect. In the meantime, we must deal with the situation that…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, where do I begin? I would say that the voters of Regina—Wascana do not like it when $400 million of taxpayer money disappears. I do not know why the hon. member from Edmonton would think that would possibly be okay. As for the biography he obviously read about my parents on my website, yes, my parents are retired teachers. If the hon. member is interested in schools and education po…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for all the good advocacy she does on behalf of her constituents. It really is reminiscent of the Watergate scandal of the 1970s in the sense that there always seems to be more to this story and this scandal. As I mentioned in my speech, it is not just $400 million. That was just the sample the Auditor General audited, so it is highly probable t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present two petitions today, both signed by the Pakistani community in Regina, Saskatchewan, and both concerning the well-being of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned in that country for reasons that the United Nations have found to be an arbitrary detention and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Hu…
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With regard to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's Northern Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program: (a) what has the government identified as the particular (i) engineering, (ii) geological, (iii) environmental, (iv) social, challenges of the Faro Mine remediation project; (b) what has the government identified as the (i) environmental, (ii) economic, (iii) social, costs and impac…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. Nearly every day, Canadians are waking up to the news of a new conflict of interest scandal involving carbon tax Carney. Just days after he became the special adviser to the Prime Minister, his first piece of advice was for the Prime Minister to give him $10 billion in taxpayers' money to be …
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Madam Speaker, after nine years of these NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. Despite the NDP leader's video claiming to tear up his support for the Liberals, the two parties continue to make life less affordable for Canadians. They have promised to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ per litre. Why does the Prime Minister not call a carbon tax election so that Canadia…
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With regard to the Northern Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program: (a) how much money has been spent on the program to date, in total, and broken down by year and by site; (b) what specific work has been done at each site; (c) what is the detailed timeline for what work will take place each year between now and the completion of each reclamation project; (d) what are the details of each contract over…
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Madam Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the cover-ups. The environment minister has been saying all along that the carbon tax would not cost us any money or that it would even make money, but now we know that the economy will lose $30.5 billion per year, or $1,800 per family, because of the carbon tax. When will the environment min…
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Madam Speaker, when the Parliamentary Budget Officer asked the minister's department to provide its internal economic analysis of the carbon tax, the response included the following sentence: “I request you to ensure that this information is used for your office's internal purposes only and is not published or further distributed.” This is the gag order that the extremist environment minister plac…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will start by saying that I will be sharing my time today with the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in favour today of a very reasonable motion that I believe members of Parliament from all parties should support, moved today by the leader of the official opposition. When making any major decision, it is important to weigh the costs and…
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Madam Speaker, let me reiterate the quote from the department's report. It reads, “Every day, we see the increasing impacts of climate change”. Right off the bat, one has to infer that the carbon tax must not be working very well if the department's own report is telling us that every day, we we are seeing increasing impacts of climate change. The report continues, “A price on pollution is widely …
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy working with my hon. colleague on the environment committee. I think it is important for people to understand that today's debate is about just one small piece of the puzzle we are trying to put together. We have requested some particular documents, and the government grudgingly provided them this morning, but this is a regular occurrence at the environment committee. We are…
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Madam Speaker, I cannot recall the particulars of that particular motion, but I think it is safe to say that Conservatives are in favour of making life more affordable for Canadians. That includes reducing and eliminating the carbon tax and not jacking up the capital gains tax, as the government announced earlier this week.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I never said that I believed that the carbon tax would solve this problem in a matter of years. It seems that this argument has been very strongly implied by the Liberals on the other side of the House. What Conservatives have been saying for years is that man-made CO2 emissions have been happening for a couple of centuries now. This is a very long-term problem that should be solved…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP Prime Minister, more Canadians than ever are hungry and homeless. The government recently promised to end chronic homelessness in Canada by 2030, but according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, chronic homelessness is up 38% under the Liberals' watch, and fully 80% of homeless individuals in this country are homeless purely because of affordabili…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to reports of "March madness expenditures" where the government makes purchases before the end of the fiscal year so that departmental funds do not go unspent, broken down by department, agency or other government entity: (a) what were the total expenditures during February and March of 2022 on (i) materials and supplies (standard object 07), (ii) acquisition of machinery and equipment…
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