Philip Lawrence

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise every time I get the opportunity, but in particular, for this very important private member's bill respecting Arab heritage month. Before I get into the speech, I would like to take a moment, because it has been some time since I have risen in the House, to say what a great privilege it is to represent the great people of Northumberland—Clarke. It is a true honour to be here. I thank them very much for sending me here three times, and who knows, there may be a fourth. The heart of today's speech is obviously Arab heritage month. I am going to start by painting the macroeconomic picture, and it will become clear as to why I am doing that. Canada, right now, is in an economic challenge, really an economic struggle. Of course, as was said many times in the House, we are the only G7 country that is currently in a recession. Our GDP per capita has barely grown over the last 10 years. In fact, it is the worst growth per capita since the Great Depression. We also have an unemployment rate, which is rising, of almost 7%. It is nearly a third higher than the United States—

Mr. Speaker, I will get to the punchline because I do not want to keep the member waiting. We have always needed the type of entrepreneurship and innovation that has been led by Canadians of Arabic origin. I want to tell members a story about a Lebanese gentleman who I got to know. His name is Ziad. He is not the member in the House. I think I am allowed to say that. I got to work alongside Ziad and it was an absolute honour and privilege. This gentleman is a true shining light for what Canada should be and what the Lebanese community in Canada is. When working beside him, I learned that there was not a business opportunity that this guy could not see. I will not get into the details of the business, but obviously like any business, it is important to have more sales to grow it and to be more productive. When everyone else said that they were not going to get the sale or the business was not going to grow, Ziad would always find a way. If members have had the honour and privilege of meeting Lebanese Canadians, they know that, bar none, there are no better business people in this country or anywhere in the world. They bring with them an incredible power of positivity. They have a natural mind for business. They get to deliver those products and services, not just because they want to be successful or they want to make a profit, although we know that those things happen, but because they have a deep sense of community and believe, support and trust one another. Canada is in an economic quagmire. We are in an extreme challenge. We have the most indebtedness of any G7 country outside of Japan. We are facing high unemployment. Our inflation is still within range of 2.8%, but is creeping up. We have the highest food inflation. A quarter of the population is food-insecure. While we have always been highly dependent on Canadians of Arabic origin, we are even more dependent right now, because we need their entrepreneurial spirit. I want to tell members a story about my friend's dad. She told me the story. Her dad came over here with literally not a dollar in his jeans. He built a construction business. He did not speak English or French. He had everything in life stacked against him, but once again that incredible Lebanese spirit, mind for business, innovation and entrepreneurship shone through. Not only was he able to create a successful business, but he was able to raise a family and help build a community. He supported other Lebanese members of his community within Canada. His daughter went on to be a very successful lawyer. That is the type of entrepreneurship innovation that Canada is increasingly in need of. One of the stats I will go back to again, if the member will indulge me to digress, but I promise to bring it back, is with respect to what is called the entrepreneurial drought in Canada. Throughout recent history, there have always been more businesses starting than closing in Canada. That ended in 2024. We are now seeing more businesses closing every day in this country. Actually, more businesses are now closing than are opening in Canada. In fact, over 50% of folks who are business owners today say they would not recommend to a friend or an acquaintance to start a new business. However, we desperately need that business in Canada. Certainly, government policies, as one government official said to me, have put a lot of snow on the runway and we need to clear it off now. I think that is very well put. We need to clear the path for these entrepreneurs so that the great entrepreneurs of Arabic or other origin have the ability to succeed and be more successful. Ultimately, Canada has, I believe, the best workers, the best brains and the most intelligent people in the entire world, which is in no small part because of our diversity. We bring the best and brightest from literally all around the world. I have certainly been impressed by people of all different origins. It makes all the sense in the world to acknowledge that diversity with a spirit of inclusivity so we can allow all Canadians to achieve the economic dream that, unfortunately, because of 10 years of Liberal mismanagement, has increasingly become more difficult to achieve. We have a whole generation that is finding it very difficult to buy a house. The average age of first-time homebuyers is creeping further and further along. I believe all Canadians should have the opportunity to own a house. I know that Canadians of Arabic origin will be there pushing, as they have with their tremendous legacy throughout the world. They, of course, have been responsible for breakthroughs in nearly every single discipline one can imagine, whether that is culture, mathematics, engineering or science. They have been there, making those breakthroughs, making our world literally a better place, including saving lives with medical breakthroughs. Canada is more independent. We need Canadians of Arabic origin more than ever because, as one Liberal official said to me, of all of the snow that has been put on the runway over the last 10 years. Now I believe the population is over a million people who count themselves as of Arabic origin, and that is absolutely tremendous. I, for one, am hoping that number grows, because of the amazing contributions they have made. They are some of the best doctors in the world and some of the best engineers. As I said, my own personal experience is with several Lebanese business owners who contain this incredible energy of optimism and spirit that Canada really needs more than ever. With that, I would say that this private member's bill, the Arab heritage month act, has my full support, and I look forward to it being unanimously passed. I say this as a House of Commons member and a people's representative acknowledging the tremendous accomplishments of Arab people. If I could, I would give a whole year, in fact, but I guess April will have to do. It is my pleasure to stand here in full support of this private member's bill. I cannot wait for it to be law and to celebrate it here with some great shawarma.

Mr. Speaker, after more than a decade of Liberal inflationary spending, the Prime Minister is sticking Canadians with a bill for his lavish meals while they struggle to put food on the table. Food inflation is up 40% since the Liberals took office. Last year, a record 2.2 million Canadians lined up at food banks in a single month. Just today, we learned from the National Payroll Institute that employed Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, going into debt just to afford food. One-fifth of people even reported that they were losing weight due to food insecurity. While Canadians cannot feed themselves, the Prime Minister is having taxpayers fund $200,000 in luxury food on just three flights: Normandy buttercups, veal escalope and a pricey wine list. Last year, when the Prime Minister told young Canadians they would have to make sacrifices, he was clearly not talking about himself. The Liberal Prime Minister said for Canadians to judge him at the grocery store. Well, the verdict is in: Canadians are furious with the prices at the grocery store and his lavish meals.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition with respect to catastrophic birth injuries. The petitioners and signatories want to stand up for accountability and for the rights of people who have been affected by catastrophic birth injuries.

Madam Speaker, given the broad discretion this legislation lends to regulations, would the member agree with me and our party that draft regulations should be published prior to the passing of this legislation?

Mr. Speaker, I will start by saying I will be splitting my time with the spectacular member for Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North. I have to move on to a brief but very sad note. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the tragic incident that happened in my riding in the town of Cobourg yesterday. An OPP officer in my community died in the line of duty in a tragic accident. I want to take a moment to remember Sergeant Brandon Malcolm's memory and send our thoughts and prayers to his family. Godspeed, my friend. I will start the speech in earnest. Canada has a proud space past. We have numerous accomplishments. Look at the satellites we have built and put into space. There is the Magellan company, which the member for Winnipeg North mentioned. We are all very proud of that. We are proud of great astronauts like Chris Hadfield and Roberta Bondar, and Jeremy Hansen most recently. I am a “space‑phile”. I love two academic subjects. One is space and the other is politics. I was glued to the television, watching Jeremy Hansen. I had the Artemis II app as they made it all the way around the moon. It is the farthest humans have ever been. A Canadian was not just a part of that, but a big part of that. He was leading the charge. I will warn that criticism of the legislation is coming forward, but let there be no doubt that Conservatives are full‑throated supporters of Canadians taking their rightful position in the lead in the next space race. Let me talk a little about some of the concerns that come from this legislation. It purports to create a legislative framework for the launching of rockets into space from Canada. That is a notable and laudable objective, and it is something we all should aspire to. The challenge is what is actually in the legislation or, more accurately put, what is not in the legislation. If I can, I will go over some of the things that are not in this legislation. When we look at a piece of legislation that purports to create a framework for the launching of rockets into space, one would think a key term included in it is the word ”launch”. It is not included. “Launch vehicle” is also something one would think we would want to define in the legislation. It is not included. “Re‑entry vehicle” is another important piece. It is a descriptor and another important definition that one might want to include in that legislation. Let us go over some of the broad topics now that are not included in the legislation, such as permitting an authorization system, the certification and operation of launch and re‑entry sites, safety requirements, financial responsibility and insurance, liability and indemnification, zoning and land use, the application of international agreements and standards, emergency powers and stop orders, administrative enforcement matters, exemptions and exclusions. I know the members across will ask Conservatives how we are going to vote on this. My question is, what are we going to vote on? Where is the beef, as they say? The legislation might as well be two lines, saying the minister shall grant, on the terms that they wish, a launch pad wherever they want, whenever they want, and we shall just trust them. I have something I would like to share with all Canadians. If a politician comes up to them, regardless of whether they are a Liberal, a Conservative, from the NDP, a Green or from whatever party, and says to just trust them, do not do it. Here is a real challenge that comes from the uncertainty and the overreliance on regulation in the legislation. The challenge is the two Cs. One is certainty and the other is corruption. When we are looking to invest in an economy, when we are looking to invest in a business and when we are looking to buy anything, we want certainty. When an investor is looking from around the world and the trillions of dollars that float around in the global economy, they ask where they are going to put that money. They could put it into a country that has a defined regulatory system and prescribed legislation that allow people to understand with full certainty how their money will be utilized and whether or not a launch will be permitted, or they could invest in Canada, where, at some point, there will be some regulations about something regarding a launch that will, no doubt, help Liberal insiders. If I am sitting outside of Canada and I have billions of dollars to invest, I am thinking, “Canada has many great things.” We have some of the leading research scientists in the world. We have great people. We have great resources and great universities, like Waterloo, that are leading the charge. What we do not have from this legislation is certainty, and without certainty, we really do not have anything. It is a challenge, because we do not know how that is going to be interpreted and what the minister is going do. The minister, in response to my colleague's question, actually said he just copied his homework, and in the U.S., they do the same. When he says that about the U.S., I hope he is not copying Russia or China. That would be troublesome for its own reasons, but he said they are copying the homework. That is not even entirely true, because in the U.S., the licensing of launch pads is actually done by independent professionals that operate at arm's length from the government, such as the FAA and other professionals. In Canada, with this legislation, we would put it directly under the minister, which then opens us up to the other troublesome C, which is corruption. When given absolute power, it corrupts absolutely. That was said many years ago. We have certainly seen it over the last 10 years. Whether we are talking about the WE scandal, SNC-Lavalin, the billions of dollars blown on consultants or the Canada Infrastructure Bank, these ministers have a penchant for making bad decisions. As I said earlier, if any politician of any stripe comes up to a Canadian and says, “Just trust me,” that is the key for all Canadians to know not to trust them. There is a reason why we put the rule of law in place. It is that it creates a level, equal playing field for all Canadians. There is perhaps a reason that we have seen $1 trillion of capital flowing out from our country during the Trudeau and Carney eras of government. This is challenging.

Mr. Speaker, I apologize. I should say “the Prime Minister”. It is 10 years of Liberal rule, and I appreciate the ability to underline that. It is another Liberal, one might say. In the last decade, we have seen $1 trillion of capital flowing out. It is precisely what this legislation would embody that is the problem. Here we are. Now we are sitting here and we have to make a legislative decision. We have to decide whether or not we support this. What Conservatives are really asking for is to know what we are voting for. Nancy Pelosi famously once said they will pass the bill and then read the bill. The Conservatives believe the opposite should be true. We need to know what is in this legislation. My hon. colleague has posed a number of great questions about security and the screening of the payloads that will go up. We need to know what is in the legislation. I have two constructive suggestions for the members opposite. One is to include necessary things, such as a definition of a launch vehicle in the legislation. Amend it so that we know what is in the legislation. The second, if they really wish to go forward with regulations, is that there is nothing in law to stop them from publishing today draft regulations that would demonstrate to all Canadians exactly what their intent is going forward. Take some of the ministerial discretion and put it onto the people who are the professionals who are able to objectively review it and provide us with objective decisions on it. Those are a couple of things that would certainly help Conservatives make a decision.

Mr. Speaker, I think in this case, it would make a ton of sense to go slow to go fast. We need to walk this legislation back to provide certainty going forward. To give an idea to those folks who are watching out there, the government did not even create a new piece of legislation. It is amending the Aeronautics Act, which is really there to regulate airplanes. When the government understands that there is a difference between airplanes and rockets, we will be well ahead.

Mr. Speaker, having the ability to launch rockets into space is incredibly important for our Canadian economy. This is why it is that much more critical that it be done correctly. I do not understand why the government has created this slapdash job of legislation. It really would not have been difficult to create a separate piece of legislation that would have understood and contemplated the complexities of space travel and put Canada on the right foot going forward.

Mr. Speaker, I find it troubling, but more importantly, so do many Canadians, including those who control the capital that would ultimately be used to build space launches and invest in rockets here in Canada. Because of this uncertainty, they would not know whether their investment will be returned to them. I agree 110%. A piece of legislation on something as complex as space travel should not be a couple of pages in length.

Mr. Speaker, when I talk to my son about doing his homework, I repeat a line that has been used for hundreds of years. Every job has two things in common: It has to be done, and it has to be done well. We have only the first accomplished here.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify something. The member earlier said that there are definitions in the bill for “launch”, “launch vehicle” and “re-entry vehicle”. The reality is that there is a transitional definition, and the minister can now call a “launch vehicle” anything. He could call it an orange if he wanted to. There is no real, permanent definition, in contrast to what he says. I would go forward to things that are absolutely not in there, which are the certification and operation of a launch re-entry vehicle, safety requirements and anything on national security. If the Liberals do not want to put it in the legislation, will they at least publish the draft regulations?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need relief at the grocery store. They need relief at the pumps. Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to scrap all federal gas and diesel taxes for the rest of the year. Cancelling a third of the taxes for a third of the year is not good enough. It is time to remove the fuel excise tax, GST on gas and diesel, the industrial carbon tax and the clean fuel standard tax for the rest of 2026. Conservatives want a country where Canadians do not have to choose between a full grocery cart and a full gas tank. Let us get it done.

Mr. Speaker, the member and I share a reverence for an old book that describes how when a nation has sins, it puts all the sins onto a goat and drives the goat out, and with it all the sins of the nation. Does the member see the analogy here? When the government failed to live up to its treaty obligations, it put this commissioner up as its scapegoat.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the so-called benefits, how could the hon. member possibly square this with our current economic situation? Our unemployment rate is nearly double that of the United States. We just went through one of the worst quarters, at -0.6%. We are one quarter away from a recession, and inflation is on the rise. If the Liberals are so great, why are Canadians suffering so much?

Mr. Speaker, if someone is ever wondering how to make things more expensive, they can simply put a Liberal in charge. The Trans Mountain pipeline cost more than six times the original budget. Arrive scam cost 700 times. Now the Liberal are asking Canadians to trust them with a $90-billion budget for a high-speed rail train. That is more than even the deficit. Canadians cannot afford any more of this Liberal waste. Will the government focus on getting shovels in the ground for nation-building projects instead of blowing billions of dollars on a train to nowhere?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise with respect to the recreational boating study previously cited. Conservatives are entering a dissenting report because we believe that a rose by any other name smells just as sweet and that the carbon tax by any other name is just as painful. That is why we are tabling a dissenting report calling for the removal of the industrial carbon tax, to give boaters and boat manufacturers a break.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very special member of our community, Linda Jean Lorraine Pace. On January 3, God welcomed Linda home. She leaves behind three loving children and a legacy of service, love and a true example of what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Linda's mark on our community will never be forgotten. She was heavily involved with the Mission Thrift Store in Cobourg and volunteered at the Church on the Hill, the Coventry Relief Kitchen in Colborne and the Salvation Army. I know Linda's family will not be the only ones who miss her. Her impact on the community was deep and profound. We send our best wishes to the Pace family, and we remember Linda, who exemplified what Proverbs said: “clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

Mr. Speaker, poverty has risen for children for the third year in a row. Nearly 30,000 more children are falling below the poverty line this year. One in five children under the age of six now lives in poverty. If this does not cause the Liberals to act, I do not know what will. When will the Liberals finally meaningfully address the affordability crisis, limit their inflationary spending and get rid of all taxes on food?