Government Orders
Madam Speaker, today's motion is about putting people first. It is about Canadians. It is about seeing them. It is about hearing them. It is about making sure they are understood. It is about doing no harm. That is what today's debate is all about. I am advocating for Canadians. This should not be something that is controversial or that causes disgraceful comments to be made within this place from…
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Madam Speaker, I believe what the member is referring to is something that is very procedural. There is the substance of something brought forward and then there is the process. We disagree with the process. We absolutely stand for Canadians who live with a disability. We are talking about a population within this country who lives on a small government stipend. They do not have an opportunity to …
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Madam Speaker, the motion on the table here today concerns increased taxation and the way that influences Canadians. As Conservatives, we are asking that we halt any further increases to taxation because we want to allow Canadians to keep more of the money they work hard to earn. I do not think that is too much to ask. Canadians are hurting in this country right now because the cost of living is b…
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Madam Speaker, due to the decorum of the member, I will not answer the question.
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Madam Speaker, I was wondering if you would desire for the House to stay on topic with the motion today.
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Madam Speaker, the motion on the floor today is, in fact, about serving Canadians. It is, in fact, about making them better off. The motion on the floor today, unfortunately, is not about what the opposite member mentioned. I think you would probably desire, Madam Speaker, that we stay focused on what we are discussing today.
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Madam Speaker, more and more Canadians are struggling to get by because their dollars are valued less and less due to inflation. Let us talk about charities for a moment. Many charities have filled the gaps we have had in this country, but because Canadians are so hard done by right now, they do not even have enough left at the end of the month to donate where they normally would. This is then lea…
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Mr. Speaker, the average Canadian now spends more on taxes than on food, clothing and shelter combined. An individual recently came into my office in the riding and said that she had moved into her car because she could not make rent. Another couple told me that they live out of their RV because they could not make their mortgage payment due to just inflation. These stories are far too common from…
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With regard to actions taken by the Clerk of the Privy Council in response to statements made in public by the Prime Minister or any other minister, broken down by year since January 1, 2016: (a) how many times did the clerk (i) consider, (ii) inform the Office of the Prime Minister, that a statement made by the Prime Minister or another minister in public was false or misleading; and (b) what are…
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With regard to government travel, broken down by minister's office since January 1, 2019: (a) which ministers or exempt staff have rented vehicles, including, but not limited to, car and driver services, limousine services or car services, within Canada or elsewhere; (b) for each use identified in (a), what was the (i) date of the rental, (ii) pick-up location of the rental, (iii) drop-off locatio…
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With regard to performance audits or similar types of assessments related to passport processing times which were ongoing, or have been conducted since January 1, 2022: what are the details of each audit or assessment, including for each the (i) start and end date of the time period audited or assessed, (ii) summary and scope of the audit or assessment, (iii) findings, (iv) recommended changes to …
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the heritage committee, when they were asked questions about the cover-up culture that is so a part of their institution, a Hockey Canada official said, “we're on a journey”. Specifically, they were being asked questions about an alleged sexual assault case involving a gang rape by eight players. The response, “we're on a journey” seemed trite and altogether inappropriate…
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moved: That Bill C-11 be amended by deleting Clause 2.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member across the way made the comment that the bill does not give the CRTC the ability to regulate user-generated content. However, Mr. Ian Scott, the chair of the CRTC, came to committee, and he said that yes, in fact, they do have that ability. He said however right now they refrain from using it. He asked us to trust him, but he made it very clear that he has the power …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to correct the record. We did not have five weeks of witnesses. That is incredibly misleading, and I would give the hon. member the opportunity to apologize to the House for misleading. We had five days.
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Madam Speaker, the speaker opposite is being incredibly disingenuous right now. I did filibuster at committee. I filibustered because the members opposite, the Liberal members at the table, brought forward a motion that was shutting down debate. I did not want debate to be shut down because I believe Canadians deserve to be heard. Unfortunately, the Liberals planned it very strategically to have t…
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Madam Speaker, as we went through this process at committee, there were only five meetings held in total where we heard from witnesses. This is a piece of legislation that takes the Broadcasting Act, which is normally only applied to radio and television, and applies it to the Internet. It is a massive change to the way we do broadcasting in this country, or what is termed broadcasting. For the co…
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moved: That Bill C-11 be amended by deleting Clause 4. Madam Speaker, considering the current trend of the current government, I certainly do not take it for granted that I am able to stand in this place and freely deliver a speech in the House of Commons, particularly when I am critiquing government legislation. Bill C-11 would put the CRTC in charge of regulating the Internet. That is what we ar…
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Mr. Chair, I believe the hon. member across the way has very much outlined the problem, and I agree with many of the points that she raised in that regard. She also drew attention to the fact that this is really about people, and I appreciate that, because I think we have to consider the human face. The member also stated that we need more money to be contributed in order to help solve this proble…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a fact that on Tuesday we saw democracy thwarted. We saw a cloak of secrecy used. At the command of the NDP-Liberal government, Bill C-11 was forced through committee without adequate consultation with witnesses and adequate debate on amendments. There was no listening and no discussion. It was just rammed through. That was their mode of operation. It was censorship upon censors…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a matter of fact that on Tuesday, the government, under a cloak of secrecy, did in fact thwart democracy. At the committee, the NDP and Liberal government took Bill C-11 and forced it through without adequate debate or adequate testimony from witnesses.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just these documents. That is just one of many actions being taken by the NDP-Liberal coalition government. Let me give other examples. Ministers can now end democratic debate without notice, just at will. In addition to that, of course, documents are being refused to be granted with regard to the study of the Emergencies Act. In addition to that, the members opposite are no…
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Mr. Speaker, the heritage minister was not able to answer any of my questions on Monday, so I am hoping that perhaps the Prime Minister might be able to assist me today. The heritage minister has claimed repeatedly that Bill C-11 does not capture user-generated content, but the chair of the CRTC, Mr. Scott, has said that, in fact, user-generated content is captured within Bill C-11. Both of these …
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Mr. Speaker, what I find interesting is that I simply asked the minister to tell the truth, but he could not even do that. He had to ramble on and make excuses for himself. I will ask the minister again. The chair of the CRTC has said that user-generated content, such as Facebook videos, is in: It is captured. Meanwhile, the minister has said not to worry, that it is not. Which one of these is rea…
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Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves in a bit of a dilemma here, because the heritage minister keeps telling Canadians that user-generated content, such as YouTube videos, is out, but Mr. Scott, the chair of the CRTC, has said that actually user-generated content is in. Both of these men cannot be correct, so I would ask the minister to please tell the truth.
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Mr. Speaker, with the perpetuation of his punitive vaccine mandates, the Prime Minister is in fact prolonging the pain of COVID. The hypocrisy is evident and everyone is watching. His mask is on in Canada, but it is off when he is gallivanting around the world. His mask was on when he met with Prince Charles yesterday in Ottawa, but it was off when he met with the Queen in England. Instead of insp…
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Mr. Speaker, because of the government’s reckless debt spending, Canadians are becoming poorer by the day. That is because inflation has now reached a record of 6.8%. Groceries are up by 10%. Gas is over $2.30 a litre in parts of western Canada, and housing prices have doubled. Sadly, these realities do not seem to register with the Prime Minister because someone else foots his bill. Would the Pri…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to mislead Canadians. He tells them that Bill C-11 will level the playing field. What he means by this is actually that digital-first creators, those who produce on YouTube, TikTok or Twitch, are too successful, so they actually need to be held back through more regulation and by putting fees on top of them. Digital-first creators would be forced to subsid…
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Madam Speaker, what we continue to hear again and again from across the aisle is that there is an agenda that needs to be followed, and therefore there needs to be this push for Bill C-11 to be brought through the House of Commons without proper debate. That is wrong. That is absolutely anti-democratic. There are 338 elected individuals who were sent to this place to rigorously debate issues. That…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Prime Minister has proved he is either incompetent or absolutely committed to misleading Canadians every step of the way. He continues to do this over and over again. The fact of the matter is that Bill C-11 would actually tip the scales in favour of traditional broadcasters by punishing digital-first creators, artists and those who use TikTok, YouTube, Twitch or Spoti…
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Mr. Speaker, excessive control and a distrust of the Canadian people are the trademarks of the Liberal government. The Liberals want to choose what Canadians watch online. This is the latest of their assaults. They justify this power grab in Bill C-11 by saying they need to “protect Canadian culture”. Not only do the Liberals think that Canadians do not do a good job of promoting themselves and th…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Heritage keeps assuring Canadians that Bill C-11 will not interfere with their online viewing choices. Sure, perhaps the bill does not dictate which algorithms have to be used, but it does effectively take control of a person's search bar by determining what content that individual can and cannot access online. Say goodbye to consumer choice and say hello to whatever t…
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Madam Speaker, without the liberty to speak freely, we cannot profess to be truly free. It is through the use of speech that most of us share our thoughts, our ideas and our beliefs. This propels us forward and facilitates innovation. It is incredible. It also provides us with the means to criticize, to challenge and to correct when we believe someone to be in error. This includes the government o…
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Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act can be invoked only if there is no other law in Canada that can deal with the situation at hand. It appears that there was military surveillance that was conducted during the Ottawa protest. I find that very interesting, as do many Canadians, because either the government authorized this flyover, this military surveillance, without lawful authority, or it utilized …
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Mr. Speaker, to adequately justify the use of the Emergencies Act, the government must demonstrate that there is not an already existing law in place that could deal with this so-called emergency. Since the Prime Minister invoked the act on February 14 in response to the Ottawa protesters, I have to assume that there is in fact good evidence that procedure was followed. However, to know for certai…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to put forward a petition from constituents in my riding who are calling on the government to lift all mandates with regard to COVID vaccinations in order to travel, in order to be able to cross the border and then come back, and in order to be able to enter into federally regulated workplaces, etc. This group also highlights the fact that the mandates have been …
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Mr. Speaker, I truly want to take the minister at his word. On November 10, 2021, I sent a letter to the Prime Minister pleading with him on behalf of two of my constituents. Both of them served as interpreters for NATO in Afghanistan. They came to me. They are now in Canada. They are safe, but their families have been left behind. They are asking for help. Despite the danger that is upon their fa…
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Mr. Speaker, it has only been one week since the NDP-Liberal marriage and already there is trouble in paradise. The Minister of Natural Resources wants to produce more oil and gas. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change wants less. Meanwhile, the NDP deputy prime minister is silent on the matter. Look folks, we cannot sit and stand at the same time. On behalf of Canadians, who in this plac…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. History seems to be repeating itself. Canadians will recall, but here we are again. Having debated Bill C-10 last spring, we are now debating its replacement, Bill C-11. The new heritage minister will try to tell Canadians that he has fixed the problems that existed in the former legislation. However, this is …
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Madam Speaker, the individual across the way made mention in her speech that through Bill C-11, money will be taken from broadcasters and put into an art fund, and artists will then be able to pull from that art fund in order to generate more “Canadian content”. She said this is an investment in broadcasting of Canadian material. When I look at YouTube, TikTok, Twitch or Snapchat, I see some incre…
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Madam Speaker, I love the question. It is such a good question, and Canadians are really going to appreciate it as well. The Broadcasting Act in the 1970s was created in order to regulate television and radio because there was a limited sphere available. In other words, there were only a certain number of radio channels. Rather than give them all to Canadian English media, they also wanted to make…
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Madam Speaker, there is no doubt that there are amazing artists in this country. Of course there are. We are Canadian. We have 37 million incredible people who call this place home. Of course there is extraordinary talent. Of course there are artists across this country who deserve to be celebrated and deserve to be promoted, but that does not mean that the government intervenes. It does not mean …
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Madam Speaker, when the hon. member brings up web giants and the need to make sure they pay their fair share, that is incredibly misleading. That was actually already addressed last summer. They now have to pay GST. Make no mistake: that is not a part of this legislation. What is a part of this legislation is actually going after those digital-first creators, those new innovative artists, and aski…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member, during his speech, made a comment about digital-first creators. He said that they will not be captured by this legislation. This is a talking point that is used over and over by the government. It is very clear in the legislation that anything that uses music will be captured, and therefore the CRTC regulations will be applied to those things. TikTok videos, by thei…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member across the way talked about the importance of this piece of legislation and how it is going to expand diversity. He went on to say that Canadians deserve to “see themselves” in the stories that are being shared. What I find interesting is that this bill would allow the CRTC to regulate online creators. Now, the CRTC, the commission or governing body that will be resp…
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Madam Speaker, when my Conservative colleagues and I raise concerns about how expensive life is getting, the government responds by saying, yes, but it has spent so much money and has cut so many cheques. It says, “You get some money. You get some money. You get some money. You all get some money.” It is as if spending money is the measure of success. Since when? Show me the metrics. Show me how g…
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Madam Speaker, anyone who has shopped at a grocery store, filled up a car, eaten at a restaurant or paid a home heating bill, as I am sure many of us have, is well aware that the cost of living in Canada is in fact going up. It is more expensive than ever. For many Canadians, the burden is overwhelming. That is what I am hearing from the constituents of Lethbridge. They are feeling the pinch in a …
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Mr. Speaker, I just did a quick review in the dictionary. According to the Oxford dictionary, a dictator is a “ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force”. There are many Canadians who would hold the view that this applies to the Prime Minister of Canada. It is up to the Canadian people to determine that, and they will be determining that in the next ele…
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Mr. Speaker, there are those in the House who like to use these false talking points that the oil and gas industry is highly subsidized and is propagated by the government. It is the other way around. This industry is helping fund some incredible infrastructure within our country, such as hospitals, roads, bridges, recreational centres and high-paying jobs for moms and dads so they are able to tak…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for her new role within the government. Regarding the rich, first let us define that. What does that mean? Is that an individual who makes $100,000 a year? Is that an individual who makes $300,000 a year? How about $1 million or $10 million a year? What is “the rich”? What exactly are we talking about here, folks? Here is the problem. Most often,…
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