Ted Falk

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from dozens of Canadians in support of Bill C-218, which is commonly referred to as the right to recover act. The petitioners recognize that the Canadian government intends to expand medical assistance in dying to individuals whose sole medical condition is mental illness. They also recognize that mental illness is treatable and curable. The experts have acknowledged that there is no way to determine when mental illness is irremediable. The petitioners are asking the government to not proceed with its intention to make mental illness a sole underlying condition for the expansion of MAID. They would like all parliamentarians to support Bill C-218, which would permanently remove that possibility from being considered.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are losing sleep because of the Prime Minister. A new United Way report confirms that 40% say they lie awake, worrying how to stretch their paycheque to pay for food, gas and housing. While Canadians are awake with anxiety, these Liberals are asleep at the wheel, refusing to acknowledge that they have driven Canada into the only recession in the G20. Canadians carry the stress and lose the sleep while the Liberals keep hitting the snooze button on the consequences. Will the Prime Minister wake up and reverse his costly policies that are keeping Canadians awake at night?

Mr. Speaker, under the Liberal Prime Minister, Canada is the only G20 country to fall into a recession. Just like he manufactured a Liberal majority government, he has now manufactured a full-blown Liberal recession. Instead of building the second-fastest growing economy he promised, he has actually shrunk it. All of this is from the same Prime Minister who described himself as the best person equipped to manage an economic crisis. In any other industry, that alone would call for a performance review. The Parliamentary Budget Officer just reported that there is only a 1% chance the government will meet and maintain its fiscal anchor of shrinking the deficit. Canada now has the highest household debt, the worst housing costs and the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7. Excuses simply do not cut it for children with empty stomachs, moms with empty grocery carts and parents with hollow bank accounts. The Liberals need to admit their policies have failed, reverse course and position Canada for the win. It is time to get Canada back on track.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Newmarket—Aurora for her excellent analysis of the situation we find ourselves in here in Canada, where the Liberals, and the Prime Minister in particular, refuse to acknowledge the data provided by Stats Canada that we are in a recession and are the only country in the G7 in a recession. I am wondering if the member has any thoughts on why the Prime Minister and his Liberal colleagues refuse to admit the seriousness of our financial situation here in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member in recognizing that there is an affordability crisis and that Canadians need relief. It would certainly provide a lot of relief to almost every single Canadian family to have the price of gas reduced by the amount of taxes being charged by the Liberal government. We cannot control global oil prices, so those profits with the oil companies would be there. However, they are also going to generate a lot of corporate taxes to the federal government, which would offset the loss from reducing the excise tax, the GST and the industrial carbon tax on the price of fuel. Would the member agree with me that this would be a good start?

Mr. Speaker, it sure did not take long for the Liberals to show their true character. Time allocation and closure motions are the kind of stuff we do when we want to ram things through without proper debate. I know my constituents expect me to come here and to thoroughly debate every single piece of legislation, to ensure that every avenue has been explored. They expect that we go down every rabbit hole and that we know what we are ending up with is a product we can all be pleased with. I think the justice system needs to be modernized. This has become clear at committee. I think it would be prudent for us to make sure we listen to the survivors and victims of the sexual abuse that has happened in the military to make sure this act really represents the justice they deserve. Has the minister personally met with any of the victims or survivors of sexual abuse in the military?

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-276, An Act to establish a framework for the continued access to and use of cash in Canada and to make related amendments to other Acts. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to introduce the bill that would establish a national framework to protect Canadians' ability to access and use physical cash and to ensure that no central bank digital currency can be created without the express authorization of Parliament. In recent years, digital transactions have grown rapidly, but millions of Canadians still depend on cash for daily life. Seniors, indigenous communities, newcomers, people living in poverty, those in remote rural regions and victims of financial or domestic abuse rely on cash because it is accessible, reliable and safe. Cash is the only form of payment that does not depend on Internet or the electrical grid. Cash does not fail. It works every time in every circumstance for every person. The framework this bill would establish would ensure that cash infrastructure remains resilient. Cash protects privacy at a time when government, corporate and financial sector data collection is expanding dramatically. It is also the only truly anonymous payment method. This bill would amend the Bank of Canada Act to require parliamentary approval before a central bank digital currency could be developed or issued. This legislation would ensure that future digital systems remain optional, not forced, and that Canadians retain control over their own finances. It would protect privacy, strengthen resilience and defend those who depend on physical currency. I am proud to introduce this framework on the access to and the use of cash. I urge all members to support it. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Mr. Speaker, today, I congratulate an extraordinary team from Provencher, the Niverville Nighthawks, on capturing the Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship. In just its fourth season, the Nighthawks achieved a record-setting 51‑6‑1 regular season and established itself as one of the most dominant teams in league history. It carried that success through the playoffs, defeating the Virden Oil Caps to capture the Turnbull Cup and become MJHL champions. The accomplishment is the result of a team effort, highlighted by exceptional individual performances and leadership throughout the organization. Goaltender Austin Dubinsky was named playoff MVP, Captain Adam Vigfusson led by example, Merik Boles was recognized with the top sportsmanship award and Coach Dwight Hirst was named coach of the year. Now the team will represent Manitoba at the Centennial Cup in Prince Edward Island, competing against the best junior A teams from across Canada. On behalf of the House, I congratulate the Niverville Nighthawks on its incredible achievement and wish the team continued success as it pursues a national championship. Go, Nighthawks.

Mr. Speaker, there are moments in life when one looks back and says, “I could have. I would have. I should have.” We just could be at one of those moments. The Liberal government is only cancelling a third of the gas tax and for only a third of the year. Canadians do not want to get fooled; they want to get fuelled. Inflation is hurting, and the government can make the right decision to change that. Removing the full 25¢-per-litre of gas taxes could help families get to their child's activities, drive to work and pick up groceries. Conservatives want a country where Canadians do not have to choose between a full grocery cart and a full tank of gas. Removing all the taxes on gas and diesel for the rest of the year would save the average Canadian family $1,200 per year. That is a huge amount. Let us not look back on this moment with regret. The Liberals must seize the moment, take our Conservative plan and provide real relief for Canadians today.

Mr. Speaker, this is incredibly shameful. What we are seeing here is the Liberal government, immediately upon swearing in three new members today, calling for a closure motion on a very important debate that Canadians expect this Parliament to hold. The Liberals were not given a majority by Canadians. They stole a majority. Now, they are immediately abusing the power of a majority government to bring in this motion to give themselves a supermajority at committees so that they can ram through their legislation without proper debate. Canadians expect more from this Parliament than what the Liberals are offering today, and presenting a motion of closure is just inappropriate at this time.

Mr. Speaker, my friend across the way gave a very passionate speech. He implored us to speak to the issues and not about people, so I want to do that. I want to know in what realm he thinks it is reasonable to ask for a 60% majority on committees when the majority that the government has is closer to 50%.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member highlighted a lot of areas. We know that with the stolen seats that the Liberals recently acquired from opposition members, they now have 50.8% of the seats in this House. What they are trying to do with this motion is acquire 58.3% of the seats in committees. That is actually very unreasonable. They are looking to have seven out of 12 members be Liberal members. Why would they not be happy with six out of 11? If the Liberals are so bent on having control of the voting, why do they not give up the chairmanship of those committees? Then they could have control of the votes. Would that not make them happy, if they had maybe 54% of the representation instead of 58%?

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the fact that law enforcement need to have the tools to do their job and do it effectively so that we can put criminals behind bars where they belong. However, from a civil liberties perspective, can the member talk a little more about the protections for individual privacy that would be looked after in this bill?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from York—Durham for his excellent dissection of Bill C-22, part 2. The Liberals have been trying to assure us that judicial oversight will be an important part of this bill. Does he see that as still being retained inside the bill as it is written?

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the parliamentary secretary's speech. He talked about the rising cost of oil on the global markets and how that is affecting the price of gas and diesel fuel here. What he did not say is that when the price of fuel rises, the amount of taxes charged on that fuel also increases significantly. He did not talk about the $10 billion in extra revenue that the Liberal government is going to be realizing on the increased pricing. Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister if he would consider four things: removing the federal excise tax on gas and diesel, removing the fuel standard tax, removing the industrial carbon tax and removing the GST for the balance of the year. That would have put $5 billion back into the pockets of Canadians at 25¢ a litre. The Prime Minister has only gone part of that way, with 10¢ a litre on gas and four cents a litre on diesel fuel. Can the parliamentary secretary tell me why the government is only putting that measure in until September—

Mr. Speaker, originally this legislation was presented in Bill C-2, and there were lots and lots of problems with Bill C-2. It has been reintroduced now as Bill C-22. Does the member find that the concerns that were addressed with Bill C-2 have been adequately addressed in this legislation?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are pinching pennies as the Liberal government continues to pinch Canadians. Canadian families are struggling while the Liberal government is taking in cash every time Canadians fill up their gas tanks. Fuel prices have skyrocketed, and the Liberals stand to collect almost $10 billion in additional revenue because Canadians have to pay more at the pumps. Yesterday, when asked how he would help Canadians facing rising gas prices, the Prime Minister said he was still “looking” at it. Canadians do not need any more studying, waiting or another MOU. They need relief right now. Here is an idea for the Prime Minister: suspend all federal taxes on gas and diesel until the end of 2026, remove the fuel excise tax, permanently scrap the industrial carbon and clean fuel standard taxes, and eliminate the GST on fuel. Ending those four taxes would save almost 25¢ a litre, saving Canadian families roughly 20 bucks every time they fill up the tank. Canadians have been sacrificing long enough under the Liberal government. Suspend the fuel taxes, give Canadians—

Mr. Speaker, I also bring forward a petition addressing Bill C-9, which will be voted on later today. The petitioning Canadian citizens wish to bring to the attention of the government the fact that the Liberals have proposed removing from the Criminal Code safeguards that protect good-faith expressions of sincerely held religious beliefs, including those based on religious texts like the Bible, the Quran or the Torah. Canadians share the Liberals' desire to combat acts that propagate and normalize hate, but the proposal would not achieve that goal and would instead result in the persecution of people who hold and express in good faith sincerely held religious beliefs. Violence and threats are by definition excluded from the scope of that protection for freedom of expression and could never be expressed in good faith. Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are fundamental freedoms worthy of protection and promotion, not persecution. Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the government to withdraw this proposal and oppose any similar proposals in the future, and to protect and promote the religious freedoms of all Canadians, uphold their right to read and share sacred texts, and prevent government overreach into all matters of faith.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from dozens of Canadians who are concerned about mental illness and recognize that mental illness is a serious and real illness, but who are calling on the House to support Bill C-218, which would reverse the law extending eligibility for MAID to people with mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition. They believe that mental illness should be treated and not given a death sentence.

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to hear my colleague from Winnipeg North, early in his speech, confirm to the House and Canadians that the auto pact plan, presented by the Conservatives through the member for Dufferin—Caledon and the leader of the official opposition, holds water. Those were the words he spoke. We know the plan that the Liberals have been following does not hold water. We have seen more and more plant closures and increased unemployment in the auto industry. Other than the comment of the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek about waiting to see what happens, does the member have any other plan for the auto industry here in Canada?