Parliamentary Speeches
492 speeches by Michelle Rempel Garner — Page 5 of 10
Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, earlier in the session, I raised the issue of the ineffectuality of the carbon tax. Climate change is a very serious issue, and I find that the Liberal government's approach to this policy has made it very difficult for Canada to achieve any sort of gains in making progress on our targets. Moreover, the carbon tax has made it a lot harder for people to afford to live. In my riding o…
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Madam Speaker, the reality is that even internationally renowned scientists like Jane Goodall have said that the carbon tax will not address greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Even the member opposite has made statements that I think stifle innovation, such as that “building highways is not a way to fight climate change.” The reality is that we need to find a solution in Canada that will reduce g…
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Madam Speaker, the bill that my colleague opposite mentioned, with regard to child online sexual exploitation and extortion, requires that social media operators submit plans to a yet-to-be-created bureaucracy about how they will protect children. Why would, at a minimum, the government not require these plans to be posted for everyone to see or for law enforcement to inspect? Why not have maximum…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise tonight on a very important issue. In November of last year, a 12-year-old child committed suicide in British Columbia, after being the victim of online sexual extortion. The Liberal government has known that this has been a growing problem during the entirety of its nearly nine-year mandate and has taken no action to address this issue. It has gotten worse, and…
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Madam Speaker, I have a lot to say about the bill. I will just start with a brief personal anecdote. I want to be very clear when I say this: I do not do this as victim porn or looking for sympathy. It is an example of how if somebody like me, in a position of privilege, has a hard time accessing the justice system, what about others? When I was a minister of the Crown, over 10 years ago, I receiv…
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With regard to Polar Knowledge Canada and the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS), which Polar Knowledge Canada operates: (a) how many full time equivalent (FTE) positions have been vacated in each year since 2015, in total, and broken down by Treasury Board classification level (e.g. AS-04, EX-02, etc.); (b) how many FTEs have been hired in each year since 2015, broken down by Treasury …
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With regard to the government’s estimates on the efficacy of its Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations: (a) how many fabric, as defined in section 2 of the Textile Labelling Act, checkout bags (hereinafter “fabric checkout bags”) were purchased at major Canadian grocers annually between 2015 and now; (b) how much gross revenue did major Canadian grocers make from the sale of fabric checkout …
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Mr. Speaker, a recent report shows that the NDP-Liberals are going to hike their carbon tax by 23% on April 1, even though it does not work. Canada's environment commissioner says the NDP-Liberals are nowhere near on track to hit their emissions reduction targets and are relying on “overly optimistic assumptions, limited analysis of uncertainties and a lack of peer review.” In fact the NDP-Liberal…
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Mr. Speaker, as to experts, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says the average Ontario family, where the member's riding is, will pay $1,363 for their carbon tax and only get $885 back. That means that, by 2030, a family in his riding will pay a whopping $1,800 for their carbon tax. Eighteen hundred dollars contributes a lot to a family of four. It is not a minimal amount. It is time to axe the tax…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is a cold, natural resource-based country that does not have major public transit options for many Canadians across the country. In fact, we do not even have an electric grid that works to plug electric cars in, so it is insane to increase a carbon tax that does not work, that does not meet Canada's emissions targets and that makes Canadians broke. It is time to axe the tax and…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for spiking the hike and axing the tax on that question. She knows that Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. They are going to food banks to get food. They cannot put fuel in their cars, never mind trying to save for an unaffordable home. That is why it is absolutely crazy to take the government's word. The government wants to be thanked for inc…
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Mr. Speaker, many people across Quebec are struggling with rising rents, rising costs of food and lower standards of living. Part of that is also higher prices to fill their cars. A carbon tax does not make life more affordable. Conservatives will axe the tax and spike the hike.
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Mr. Speaker, on October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered, raped and tortured over 1,000 Israelis in the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas is listed in Canada as a terrorist organization. It wishes the destruction of Israel, still controls Gaza and holds dozens of Israeli hostages in captivity. The provisions of the motion before us ask much of Israel and include no accountability…
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With regard to the Canada-Wide Early Learning & Child Care System: (a) how many kids are currently enrolled in a $10 a day spot, in total and broken down by province or territory; (b) what is the average income of the parents who have the $10 a day spot; (c) how many of the $10 a day spots are for flexible childcare outside of the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; (d) what is the average wage of a …
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Mr. Speaker, to echo my colleague's comments on the scope of this, as to including the West Bank issue, my colleague from the Bloc is absolutely right. We are being asked to vote on a matter that is material to Canadian foreign policy, and we do not have it in both official languages.
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Mr. Speaker, my concern with the motion is the complete lack of accountability that it asks the Canadian Parliament to deliver to Hamas. What I did not hear my colleague talk about was the fact that Hamas is a listed terrorist organization in Canada. He did not reaffirm that. He did not condemn the acts, the brutal rape and murder of over 1,000 Israelis on October 7, 2023. He did not call for the …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order that pertains to the relevancy of this amendment. On page 541 of chapter 12, Bosc and Gagnon says that an amendment may not be in order if “it deals with a matter foreign to the main motion, exceeds its scope, or introduces a new proposition which should properly be the subject of a separate substantive motion with notice”. This morning, the Minister of Fore…
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Mr. Speaker, amendment (m) reads, “reaffirm that settlements are illegal under international law and that settlements and settler violence are serious obstacles”. These are all major substantive amendments to the scope of the original motion. As I argued, and as said on page 541 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, this materially “introduces a new proposition which should properly be the s…
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Mr. Speaker, I have three points. First of all, to add to the point of order that has been made about decorum, the reality is that what happened here on a major issue of foreign policy is that the Liberals came in with a substantive amendment that would change seven out of nine components of the original motion, including changing the unilateral recognition of Palestine to something else, on the b…
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Mr. Speaker, I would argue that type of revisionist history is why the Liberal polling numbers are so flaccid. Debate on legislation is why we are here. We are here to hold the government to account, and we are not here to make this easier for Liberal cabinet ministers because they failed to work plan. For example, responses to Supreme Court rulings, such as the one on MAID, have been introduced i…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. If members want to show that they are in the House and choose not to vote, they simply do not rise in their seat. There is a video record of them not rising in their seat either for or against, thus showing an abstention visually.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I would point my colleague to the substance of the amendment we are debating today. I find it disappointing that the Liberal government did not demonstrate a commitment to linguistic duality in the first instance of Bill C-35. The other place had to propose an amendment to correct that, which, I am sure, is as important to my colleague as it is to me. The other thing I…
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Madam Speaker, I love this question because it gives Parliament an opportunity to thank the unsung heroes of Canada: home-based day care operators. It is usually someone on a cul-de-sac or in an apartment block who takes in children in the neighbourhood, allowing them to play and to grow up together, putting in long hours, being flexible for parents and really being the neighbourhood mom or dad, g…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague that in any program seeking to provide universality, equality of access for indigenous persons has to be paramount. To her question about whether Bill C-35 would provide true universality, it would not. Grandparents, who might provide unpaid labour at home, are not valued in this bill. The parent who works in the gig economy, shift work or part time, would …
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Madam Speaker, again, I voted in favour of Bill C-35, but 2000 called and wanted its child care program back. This is not a bill that acknowledges the current economic reality in any part of our country with regard to the changes in how people work. This is a bill that was developed to provide child care in 2000, and there have been many gains made; our pluralism has grown and has changed in so ma…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, the RCMP needs access to the documents so that people can be held to account for this waste. The NDP-Liberal government's waste of at least $60 million on the arrive scam app, which wrongly put 10,000 people into mandatory quarantine, was so bad that the RCMP are investigating, and it needs access to these documents. After eight years, Canadians deserve better. They deserve accounta…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, to be clear, I am not questioning the integrity of the Auditor General. I am questioning the integrity of the government that is hiding these documents from the RCMP. Canadians deserve accountability. Somebody needs to be held to account for the waste of $60 million that went to a shady IT company that had two people working in a basement. Why have the Liberals not released these do…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in debate today with respect to the early learning and child care act, as well as amendments sent to this place from the other place. There are many things to speak about today since this bill is back before the House. First of all, the amendment that the Senate has sent back to us relates to the importance of linguistic duality. My maiden name is Godin. Thi…
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Madam Speaker, I guess it is an Atlantic Canada and Alberta problem. To re-emphasize what my colleague said, the problem is so acute in my province that unions that represent child care workers say that they might have to close facilities because of the inadequacies in the way this bill, Bill C-35, was structured. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Liberal government to address that. To my collea…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I quote: Canadians turn to GoFundMe to tackle cost-of-living challenges. Record-high inflation and affordable housing shortages have profoundly impacted Canadians, who have been turning to the GoFundMe platform to rally support. Since early 2020, GoFundMe has recorded a 274% increase in Canadian campaigns that mention “cost of living”. This is a text taken directly from the GoFundMe…
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Madam Speaker, it is so expensive to live in Vancouver that people are buying flights twice a week to commute from Calgary to Vancouver, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and costing them so much money. It is unbelievable that the Liberal government has created a cost-of-living crisis that is so profound that people feel they have to fly back and forth from Calgary to Vancouver twice a week just…
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Mr. Speaker, eight years ago, under the last Conservative government, extortion was down. It was five times lower, and the budget was balanced. The mayor of Surrey has taken note. In a letter pleading with the Liberals to do something about the explosion of life-threatening extortion in her community, she said that she has “terrified” people in her community. Conservatives would restore mandatory …
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, towns that used to be peaceful are being terrorized by foreign gangs that threaten our neighbourhoods with violence and arson. The rate of extortion across Canada is up a whopping 218%. Canadians are living in fear for their lives because of NDP-Liberal bills like Bill C-5, which eliminated mandatory jail time for extortion with a firearm. …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in debate on the concurrence motion regarding the report from the Standing Committee on Science and Research, “Revitalizing Research and Scientific Publication in French in Canada”. A fun fact about me is that my maiden name is Godin. My father and our family anglicized us. As an anglicized child, I feel very strongly about the importance of accessing French langu…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, four months ago I was on an airplane, and my phone started going off. I knew what was happening when I saw images of women with blood between their legs, in their sweat pants. Four months ago today, an atrocity of gender-based violence was committed by Hamas against Jewish women, because they were Jewish. It was an extreme example of the use of rape and gender-based violence as a to…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I believe that the head of the UN Women association that my colleague mentioned made some sort of ridiculous statement about the need for the victims of this sexual violence to do more, saying that they were not doing enough to get justice. No, the world owes these survivors justice. UN Women has done nothing, zero. Right now, the Canadian government should be condemning UN Women fo…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I oppose the Liberal carbon tax. It does not solve climate change, and it increases the cost of everything. If the government wanted to have a consensus-based approach on this agreement, it would have removed it. It is unnecessary and does not need to be in there. It is in there to be a political wedge, and I will stand up for my constituents. To my colleague opposite, he needs to g…
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Madam Speaker, it is really spectacular to see what these Liberals will do, knowing how far behind they are in the polls. The reality is they are behind in the polls because they are not helping Canadians make ends meet. They are making it worse for them. What we need to do is axe the carbon tax. We need to build more homes. There is a motion in front of Parliament that would make life more afford…
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Madam Speaker, I can assure members that, unlike the Liberals, if Ms. Byrne had hauled the grocers in for a round table, prices would be lower by now. The reality is the Liberal-NDP coalition has nobody outside itself to blame for high grocery prices, because of increased tax and deficit spending. This inflationary crisis was caused by it, so I ask a simple question: Will its members support our m…
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Madam Speaker, the free trade agreement with Ukraine already exists. The NDP could be pressuring its coalition partners to release frozen assets to Ukraine. It is not doing that right now. That would immediately impact the people that she just talked about, but she should also be trying to lower the cost of living in Canada and fight for climate change by axing the carbon tax.
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Madam Speaker, standing up and using a loud, shouty voice does not negate from the fact that the Liberals did not engage in a collaborative approach on this agreement. They did not table it in advance for the House of Commons. They did not try to seek consensus, and I oppose a carbon tax. The Liberal carbon tax has brought Canada nowhere close to meeting its emissions targets. It is increasing the…
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by quoting a former colleague of mine, who said, “Ukraine is defending itself against unjustified aggression — the Kremlin’s naked attempt to destroy a country’s statehood, infrastructure & identity. “Full collective support for Ukraine’s victory is the right legal, moral...military & strategic course of action.” I strongly support this position. Putin's war of aggressi…
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Madam Speaker, I am wondering if my colleague opposite, in the context of this agreement, will commit right now to talking to the Prime Minister and to his caucus to strongly commit Canada to repurposing seized Russian assets back to Ukraine. Will he commit to ensuring that Canada leads a G7 effort to send back seized assets to Ukraine?
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I did not get an answer to my question. This is the parliamentary secretary with responsibility for energy. Canadian energy production could be severely impacted by water restrictions and the drought in Alberta, so my colleague opposite should be able to provide some response to this. It is not just energy, though. Average Albertans may be facing water restrictions several short mon…
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Madam Speaker, I believe in Canada. It is nice to stand up here and talk about how I believe that Canada is greater than the sum of its parts. One of its parts, my home province of Alberta, is such an important part of our Confederation. It provides so much food, not just to Canada but to the world. It provides energy, not just to Canada but to the world. Sometimes I feel like my province is forgo…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the Decompression Program pilot project for front-line staff at Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada: (a) when did the program begin; (b) is it still a pilot project, or is it a permanent program; (c) what has been the overall cost of the program since its inception; (d) what are the yearly operating costs; (e) what does the curriculum consist of; (f) how many employ…
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With regard to the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program: (a) how much money has been distributed through the program to date; (b) how many funding applications were received through the program; (c) of the funding applications, how many were granted; (d) what is the total amount distributed through the program to date by province or territory where the applicant is based out of; (e) what are the d…
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With regard to cancellation fees or similar types of fees for items and services that were booked but not used, since January 1, 2020, and broken down by department, agency, and government entity: (a) what was the total amount spent in cancellation fees, broken down by year; and (b) what are the details of each such instance, including, for each, the (i) vendor, (ii) cost to the government related…
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With regard to the government’s agreement with Stellantis-LG Energy Solutions (LGES) related to electric vehicle battery production: (a) were any consultants or external advisors used by the government related to the deal or the negotiations, and, if so, what are the details of each, including (i) who, (ii) the amount of the contract, if applicable, (iii) the description of goods or services provi…
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Mr. Speaker, in a representative democracy, people who elect us to serve here must have a certain degree of faith that our voices count and that their voices are heard through us. I believe this is why we have the standing order that requires the Speaker to be impartial. My colleague from the NDP raised a question about what recommendations she would like PROC to make. In that vein, could the memb…
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