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Parliamentary Speeches

357 speeches by Rachael Thomas — Page 7 of 8

2022-05-18
The Economy
0

Oral Questions

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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2022-05-11
Canadian Heritage
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Oral Questions

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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2022-05-11
Online Streaming Act
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Government Orders

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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2022-05-11
Canadian Heritage
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Oral Questions

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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2022-05-11
Bill C-11
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Statements by Members

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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2022-05-10
Canadian Heritage
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Oral Questions

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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2022-05-06
Freedom of Speech
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Statements By Members

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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2022-05-04
Public Safety
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Oral Questions

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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2022-05-02
Public Safety
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Oral Questions

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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2022-04-07
Petitions
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Routine Proceedings

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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2022-04-05
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
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Oral Questions

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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2022-03-30
Climate Change
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Oral Questions

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-29
Online Streaming Act
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-28
Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 202…
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-28
Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 202…
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-28
Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 202…
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-28
Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 202…
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-28
Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 202…
0

Government Orders

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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2022-03-28
Carbon Pricing
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Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government plans to kick Canadians while they are already down. The carbon tax will grow by 25% on April 1. It might be April Fool's, but it is no joke. The government tries to claim there is actually more money going back into the hands of Canadians through this taxation scheme. However, the PBO said otherwise. He actually said that Canadians definitely pay more than …

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2022-03-24
Business of Supply
0

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, an hon. member speaking earlier used a line that stuck out to me. She said that what the Liberals have presented to the House and to Canadians as a whole is “opinion masquerading as science”. When we see the difference between political science and medical science, I believe we certainly see where this government has followed the former, the political science. In other words, it has d…

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2022-03-24
Business of Supply
0

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I think if you look back about 30 seconds, you will note that the hon. member across the way called this motion stupid. He said, “a stupid motion." I believe that if you were to look at parliamentary history, you would know, and I believe this member knows as well, that this is unparliamentary language, so the House would like an apology for that.

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2022-03-22
Health
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Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, they might be based on political science, but certainly not medical science. Yesterday, when the health minister was asked to explain when federal mandates would be taken off, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, COVID is still here”. No benchmarks have been set, no plan has been put in place and no assurances have been given as to when we return to normal. This is absolutely ir…

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2022-03-03
Taxation
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Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Marly came into my constituency office last week with tears in her eyes and her heating bill in her hand. She was worried because the price of living has skyrocketed but her payment at work has not increased at all. She will pay part of the bill but she cannot pay all of it. She will have to make up for it next month, hopefully. The problem is that she is doing this with every single …

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
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Orders Of The Day

Madam Speaker, I wonder if the member opposite would like to talk about the vast majority of protesters who held themselves in peaceful regard, such as elderly individuals and those in their twenties, the children who bounced in bouncy castles and waved Canadian flags, the people who cooked sausages and pancakes and held little rallies, and those who advocated for their freedom, which is their dem…

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders Of The Day

Madam Speaker, violence was their mode of operation; hate is what drove them; human life was called into question or altogether threatened; millions of dollars of damage was done to property, yet there was silence from the Prime Minister, and the media only spoke whispers several days later. Meanwhile, 4,500 kilometres away on the other side of the country, a diverse group of Canadians gathered fr…

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders Of The Day

Madam Speaker, interestingly enough, the member knows very well that my party, the members on our side of the aisle, have condemned those acts of hate or the flying of swastikas, but she chooses to participate in the same tactics as the Prime Minister, which is to divide, attack and be punitive. It is absolutely disgusting. What we are talking about right now is invoking the Emergencies Act in the…

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders Of The Day

Madam Speaker, as discussed in my speech, I believe that the Prime Minister is overstepping and that this is a massive overreach and abuse of power. Something that should be used against terrorists he is using against the citizens who have protested him in the streets of Ottawa because they hold viewpoints that are different from his. It is absolutely—

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, the hon. member from across the way made mention that the protests that took place in Ottawa could be traced back to organized crime groups or terrorist-like groups, as he accused them of being. However, he did not offer any evidence for this, and the minister just a few days ago made the same types of accusations when he was doing a media press conference. The media followed up wit…

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders of the Day

How is that related to Ottawa?

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, I did not hear an answer, so I was curious.

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2022-02-21
Emergencies Act
0

Orders of the Day

Madam Speaker, the borders are open. Those at Coutts, Emerson, Surrey and Windsor are open. That happened before the Emergencies Act was even invoked. In Ottawa, the trucks have been removed, the streets are clear and there is no threat of violence or disharmony. Most of the charges that have been laid involve mischief or maybe trespass, not exactly terrorism. How does the member opposite, along w…

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2022-02-10
Business of Supply
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Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, the primary responsibility of the Prime Minister is to unify this country, to bring it together for people from all parts and all corners: the French, the English, the indigenous, the non-indigenous, those from the east, those from the west, etc. The purpose of the Prime Minister, first and foremost, is to bring us together around a unified vision. This is what ensures our prosperity …

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2022-02-10
Business of Supply
0

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, this is classic Liberal strategy. Liberals want to divide. That is their strategy. If they can pit one group against another, if they can create something that does not actually exist, they will do it. They should not try to distract. The issue is federal. The Prime Minister has a responsibility for the language that he uses, and he has been inciting hate and violence across this coun…

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2022-02-10
Business of Supply
0

Government Orders

You got that. You're a smart one. I was not sure given the question, so I thought I would clarify.

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2022-02-10
Business of Supply
0

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, there was a lot in that question. I will do my best. This pandemic has certainly highlighted that the health care system is fragile. A lot has been left up to the provinces in the abdication of federal leadership, and that is very sad. Much more can be done and should be done. When we were in the middle of the election campaign, which was an unnecessary election put forward by the Pri…

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2022-02-10
Business of Supply
0

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, the motion before the House has to do with the federal level. It has to with lifting the mandates that are currently on travel, that are currently on federal employees and that are on truckers and other essential service workers being able to cross the border. I am also talking about the vile language that is coming out of the Prime Minister's mouth ad nauseam, and it needs to stop. T…

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2022-02-09
Health
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Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian people have suffered an overwhelming amount of trauma in the past two years. This is due to forced isolation, countless pandemic restrictions and moving goalposts. Countries such as the U.K., Denmark and Switzerland are returning to normal life, yet the Prime Minister of Canada will not give a signal of doing the same. It is leaving people confused, frustrated and hopeles…

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2022-02-07
Health
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Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member can shift the attention to Canadians and blame them all he likes, but at the end of the day, it is ultimately on the back on the government. We are two years into this pandemic and our health care system has been on life support the entire time. Canadians have missed elective surgeries, they have missed early diagnoses of life-threatening diseases and they have missed …

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2022-01-31
Questions on the Order Paper
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Routine Proceedings

With regard to the Canada Greener Homes Grants program, as of December 13, 2021: (a) how many applications have been (i) received, (ii) approved by the government; (b) how many grants have been paid out; and (c) what is the total value of the grants paid?

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2022-01-31
Questions Passed as Orders for Return
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Routine Proceedings

With regard to the impact of COVID-19 measures on private companies and organizations that rent commercial space from the government in the National Capital Region (NCR): (a) what is the total amount of rent collected each month since January 1, 2020; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by type of company or organization (retail, non-profit, etc.); (c) what is the total number of clients that paid re…

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2021-12-09
Vaccine Requirements for Service Workers
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Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, service workers in large part have carried this country through the pandemic. They have continued to care for the sick, to transport food and to provide vital services. They are heroes. Their work has been critical and they have rightfully been afforded allowances for essential travel throughout the pandemic. It is confounding, then, that the Prime Minister is now going to impose vacc…

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2021-12-02
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply
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Speech from the Throne

Mr. Speaker, my words were not an attack on the Sovereign. They were an attack on the tone that the speech was delivered in and its content, which was lacklustre in nature. However, for the sake of the House and those across the floor who wish to control and manipulate in this place, I retract my words.

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2021-12-02
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply
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Speech from the Throne

You walked all the way from your constituency? Do not lie. You are held accountable in this place. I would ask the hon. member to tell me if we should just ixnay oil and gas. Does he want to sit naked in a forest somewhere? The vast majority of Canadians surely do not want to.

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2021-12-02
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply
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Speech from the Throne

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the hon. member how he brushed his teeth this morning. At least I hope he did. I would ask the hon. member what his suit is made out of and whether that used petroleum at all. I would ask him if his tie has any petroleum, or his pin, his shirt, his shoes, his computer or perhaps his hair products. I would ask the member how he got here.

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