Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, Canada elected a new Conservative government led by former prime minister Stephen Harper. The Harper legacy is one of true progress. It was a government that cut virtually every tax Canadians pay. It negotiated a record number of trade deals that are more critical now than ever. It navigated a global economic meltdown guided by the world-leading Harper-Flaherty economic …
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Mr. Speaker, I did not note an answer to the question there. Earlier this week, CTV's Vassy Kapelos pointed this out to the Liberal House leader: “What you announced yesterday is more than $11 billion of additional government spending, but nobody from your government has said how you will pay for it.” As he does daily in the House, the House leader completely ignored the question, twice. Now that …
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Mr. Speaker, less than a year ago, the Liberals were elected on a platform that included an already astounding $62-billion deficit and lower food prices for Canadians. That deficit grew to $78 billion in the fall. This week, the Liberals announced $12 billion in new spending to deal with the ongoing food inflation crisis they created. This is a massive bill that will inevitably be passed on to the…
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Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Stephen Harper Conservative government. After a decade of being in power, the Harper government left with a balanced budget and what The New York Times referred to as the richest middle class in the world. I would ask our hon. leader to reflect on what we did well under the Conservative government that led to those circumstance…
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Madam Speaker, while members of the House may sometimes get confused when they see the two of us standing up, let us be assured we could not be further apart in terms of our views on this issue. This is probably more of a comment than a question, because I do not know where a question would even go. The comment would be that the wish list for my constituents, and probably his, would include the st…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member talked about the Liberal decision to kill this pipeline back in November 2016. Of course, the biggest beneficiaries of that decision were Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries around the world. How important would this pipeline be in accruing benefit across Canada, instead of in those oil-producing dictatorships?
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Mr. Speaker, let us remember that Santa Claus is not spending taxpayer dollars. Every single dollar the Liberal government brags about spending comes from the pockets of hard-working Canadians, in the form of higher taxes and inflation. While Canadians line up at food banks in record numbers, their own money is being used by the Liberal government to hand out hundreds of millions of dollars in exe…
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Mr. Speaker, in 2015, The New York Times reported that Canada had the richest middle class in the world. Just a decade later, our country is in an economic tailspin. What happened in 2015 was that the Liberal government took power, and many of its current ministers, including the finance minister, were elected. Here is where we are today: During an epic housing crisis, 99% of CMHC executives got b…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour one of the most incredible organizations in the history of sport. While others will no doubt pay tribute to our beloved Blue Jays this afternoon, I am here to celebrate the many Special Olympics athletes joining us in Ottawa today. For six decades, the Special Olympics has changed the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities worldwide, inc…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, or CAMIMH, and to highlight the importance of Mental Illness Awareness Week, which is taking place October 5 to October 11. CAMIMH has spent the last 25 years ensuring mental health and substance use health remain national priorities, advocating for awareness, reducing stigma and demanding life-changi…
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With regard to hotels and accommodations paid for by the government for asylum seekers, since January 1, 2022 and broken down by month: (a) what are the names and locations of the hotels and other accommodations which the government has paid to accommodate asylum seekers; and (b) what are the details of each hotel or accommodation in (a), including, for each, (i) the owner, (ii) the monthly amount…
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Mr. Speaker, I will note that the Liberal members seem incapable of using the words “pipeline” or “oil” in the House of Commons. Let me keep this simple: It is a fact that the emissions reporting requirement on Saudi oil being sold in Canada is less stringent than for Canadian oil being sold in Canada. Who in the Liberal government wants to stand now to defend this incomprehensible policy?
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Mr. Speaker, this week, Canada hosted the G7, and one of the people on the Prime Minister's invitation list was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia currently has a sweetheart deal with Canada, shipping over two billion dollars' worth of Saudi oil a year to our Canadian east coast. Alberta oil, shipped to the same place, would face extremely onerous reporting requirements on upstream and…
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to the oil coming from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, we brought in 403 million dollars' worth of oil from Colombia and 202 million dollars' worth of oil from Ecuador. None of that oil was subject to the same rigorous reporting on upstream and downstream emissions as oil coming from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Does the Minister of International Trade s…
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Mr. Speaker, according to the Canadian Energy Regulator, in 2023, Canada imported 19.5 billion dollars' worth of crude oil. This included 2.5 billion dollars' worth of oil imported into Canada from Nigeria. How important would that $2.5 billion of revenue be to the Canadian government's efforts to fund things like health care and education in Canada?
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Mr. Speaker, just one last time, I want to hear an answer to this question. Does either minister believe that oil coming from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador or Colombia should be subject to the same rigorous emission standards as oil coming from Alberta, Saskatchewan or Newfoundland and Labrador? Please answer the question.
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Mr. Speaker, the top producing countries for oil in the world are the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia. Russia is number three, just ahead of Canada. Do either of the ministers, or anybody in the government, realize that when we refuse to sell Canadian oil and gas to the world, countries are forced to buy that oil from Russia? Therefore, the Canadian government's energy policy is a pro-Russia energy …
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Mr. Speaker, in August 2017, the National Energy Board issued a decision. It said, “the NEB will consider upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions...in determining whether these projects are in the public interest.” That effectively killed energy east or any east-west pipeline. Does the minister agree that upstream and downstream GHG emissions should be considered before oil and gas projec…
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Mr. Speaker, tonight the Liberals have talked a lot about equalization. The minister said, “We are increasing fiscal equalization by nearly $970 million.” I have spent about seven hours this week so far in committee of the whole, and I am wondering whether Liberal ministers or members are allowed to use the word “oil” in these debates.
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Mr. Speaker, that 2.5 billion dollars' worth of oil coming from Nigeria and $2.1 billion coming from Saudi Arabia, $4.6 billion, is not subject to the same rigorous reporting on upstream and downstream emissions as oil coming from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Does the minister think that is fair?
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Mr. Speaker, one of the minister's cabinet colleagues has strongly expressed a contrary opinion, saying, “Maybe as much as half of oil reserves, proven reserves, need to stay in the ground if we are going to get where we are.” Does the minister agree with her cabinet colleague?
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Mr. Speaker, recently, a commentator in Alberta had this to say: “If you look out east, I'll take Quebec. They import about 365,000 barrels a day of oil. All of it is coming from abroad. Seventy per cent of that is coming from the U.S., so we have an opportunity to displace there.” He went on to say, “we should be using it all the time ourselves because we are going to use what I call conventional…
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Mr. Speaker, the quote was, “we should be using it all the time ourselves because we are going to use what I call conventional oil and gas for the rest of my life and beyond.” Does the minister agree with those statements?
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Mr. Speaker, when the minister hears such disparate comments, does she realize how hard it is going to be to achieve consensus in this country around pipelines?
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that he would take Quebec, as it imports 365,000 barrels a day, all of it coming from abroad, so we have an opportunity to displace there. Does the minister suggest we should use pipelines or rail to displace that oil going to Quebec, which her own boss says we need to displace?
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister realize that both of the quotes I just read came from her own Prime Minister? They are from the same person.
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Mr. Speaker, my home province will be listening very closely to the conversation that we are having tonight. The National Energy Board, in its decision on Energy East, said that the NEB “will consider...upstream and downstream GHG emissions” in determining whether these projects are “in the public interest.” This is effectively the government policy right now. According to the Canada Energy Regula…
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify what your ruling is going to be moving forward. Are we to expect now that if somebody says no before a word is spoken on a point of order, you are going to stand up and shut down that member from speaking, regardless of which party it is, from now on? Is that the precedent?
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In response to our House leader's point of order, I want to point out that before he even had a chance to say a word—
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded vote, please.
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Madam Speaker, that is one of the first comments I think I have ever heard the hon. member make that I might agree with. We agree that it seems as though the minister in question sees every government program as a personal opportunity. That is what we are talking about today. It sounds like the hon. member was making the same point I am. I was going back to the conversations I have had in year-end…
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Madam Speaker, I am having a hard time.
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Madam Speaker, I always appreciate the member for Timmins—James Bay and his dedication to a high level of debate in the House. I will come back to the member for Edmonton Centre, an on-again, off-again member of the House. Of course, he was a member for four years and then was put on a time out and then came back for the last few years, taking a cabinet position as one of two Alberta members of Pa…
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Madam Speaker, before I start my comments today, I have an opportunity, because I am standing up, to recognize Sabrina Larson, who has worked in my constituency office for 16 years. She is here in Ottawa today to get a long service award. I cannot say whether she is in the House but I am very thankful for the work she has done for many, many years, helping my constituents handle their casework. I …
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Madam Speaker, actually, the quote-unquote comment was “fake news” from the hon. member, so that point of order seems to be fake news in and of itself. I serve in an Edmonton riding. I have served for 19 years in the House. I have had the opportunity to—
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. The government's own analysis admits that its cap on production will cost Canadians thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. Meanwhile, a Canadian company that cannot get a pipeline approved in Canada is investing $700 million in a U.S. project, and in 2023, the Liberals increased oil and gas imports to Canada, with…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. parliamentary secretary talked about the enviable position we have in Canada. She touted good news for property owners renewing their mortgages. However, because of the policies of the Liberal government, a Canadian renewing, say, a five-year fixed-term mortgage in September today versus someone who had a mortgage in September 2019 could be paying between $500 and $1,000 mo…
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Madam Speaker, tonight, I have a chance to revisit an exchange I had in question period at the end of May. Sadly, it was an exchange about the economy. Things have not gotten any better since May here in Canada, and we find ourselves dealing with a continuing economic crisis brought on by the policies of the Liberal government following, of course, the failed Trudeau economic plan of the seventies…
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Madam Speaker, again, the situation we are in right now is infinitely worse than the situation a decade ago. We are sitting in a situation where, in the member's province, run by an NDP government, housing starts in the middle of a housing crisis are down 31% over the last year. We can go back a decade in history, but what is probably more relevant to this conversation is the last three or four ye…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to take part in the debate today. I will be splitting my time with the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. I find this to be a fascinating debate. We are debating concurrence in a committee report that says that the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities recognizes Canada is in a h…
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Madam Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the hon. member. When we look at the current situation, and we have heard this from members from all parties, we have to acknowledge that the status quo is not working. Certainly the answer cannot be to throw more money at the problem. The amount of record spending that the government has done over the last decade has led us to the fiscal crisis we are in…
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Madam Speaker, that hon. member lives in a fantasy world that I can only imagine visiting one day. If we look at the facts around that time, our Conservative government took on a global economic disaster and we set out a plan to get back to a balanced budget by 2015. In 2014, Canada had the richest middle class in the world. Fast forward 10 years and we are running unthinkable record deficits. The…
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Madam Speaker, I want to talk about hypocrisy a bit. The member of Parliament for Winnipeg North stands up over and over again and talks about the amount of time the debate is taking, yet he burns up more minutes in the House talking than any other member here. He complains about the Conservative members who stand up to raise concerns from their constituents on important legislation, yet he speaks…
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Madam Speaker, the member has been here long enough, though he may not be here for much longer, and he knows that he cannot mention the presence of another member in the House, which he just did.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to ask a question about incompetent Trudeau government overspending. Of course, it raises the ire of members on the other side sometimes when I talk about the Trudeau government of the 1970s and 1980s and the devastating cuts that resulted in the mid-1990s of 32% over two years from 1995 to 1997 for spending on health care, social services and education. I am wondering if the h…
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Madam Speaker, as I am listening to this, today in question period we heard Liberal members repeatedly refer to Conservative members of Parliament as “mean” and “cruel”. If we are going to go down this road, I am sure we could scour the record of the member for Kingston and the Islands for all sorts of language that he has used that we might not agree with. I would just urge the Chair, as the offi…
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Mr. Speaker, April is World Autism Month, and it is now 26 years since my son Jaden was diagnosed. Since then, I have embarked on an unanticipated lifetime of learning experiences. For example, I have learned at home to always check for finger lines in the butter, cupcakes or just food generally. I have learned that an urgent “bababababa” in the car often means an iPhone left behind or a missed Go…
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Madam Speaker, that question is quite laughable. First of all, there was a lot of disinformation in that question. However, I think the point to be made is that we faced an economic crisis. His party's reaction, by the way, at the time, was to form a coalition with the Bloc and NDP to try and take down the government right after an election. That was the response of the Liberals. Of course, anyone…
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