Government Orders
Madam Speaker, several years ago, the environment committee made recommendations regarding national standards for clean air and clean water. Why have these two important elements in protecting the environment been ignored as Bill S-5?
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Madam Speaker, I thought the hon. member did not want us to talk about the environment from this side. That is my first impression of his question. On the other hand, I thought we were talking about clean air, clean water, toxic substances and so forth; I also thought I was talking about red tape and regulations. Canadians need fewer regulations, less taxation, less red tape and more action. That …
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Madam Speaker, there is a different way of looking at things and dealing with things. We are very much more practical on this side of the House. This is a style of management that different parties have. We need less regulation. We have too many regulations, and we need to look at that; we need less ideology in terms of looking at everything, especially the environment.
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Madam Speaker, the environment is on all our minds these days as we see images of more than 100 wildfires raging in my home province of Alberta. Thousands of people have had to flee their homes. The provincial government has declared a state of emergency. As I mentioned in my S.O. 31 last week, such situations as these remind us that the circumstances people endure may be uncontrollable, but we ca…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, as wildfires rage across Alberta, the people of Edmonton have opened their doors and their hearts to those fleeing the devastation. Adversity brings out the spirit of community adopted by the pioneers who settled our province in the face of much hardship. Many times, we have no control over the situations we find ourselves in, but we can control our response. Canadians come together i…
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Mr. Speaker, with Liberal taxes sparking rising inflation and food prices out of control, today's Canadians have never had it worse. Forget about a vacation, most people cannot even afford a staycation. The Prime Minister does not have the same worries. He has taken five foreign vacations this year alone, including living it up in New York City with celebrities and selfies, and his $80,000 vacatio…
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Madam Speaker, this is the second interruption from the other side for some reason. I am splitting my time today with the member for Mirabel. It is good to see a bill that reduces the administrative burden government places on business, facilitates digital interactions with government and simplifies regulatory processes. All our legislation should be aimed at making government smaller and simpler,…
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Madam Speaker, I believe the indigenous community, as well as other communities in Canada, and business communities are the victims of red tape and regulations. The red tape and the bureaucratic processes are so thick that they are basically stopping oxygen from getting into the body. That is how I describe it. We need to open up. We need to realize that we cannot continue doing what we are doing,…
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Madam Speaker, I know so many friends who are trying to start a business or are already in business, and the amount of red tape that they are facing is incredible. It is so risky nowadays to think about starting a business. Those regulations start with the government. The government has to understand the common sense of doing business for businesses to be competitive, for their ability to survive …
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Madam Speaker, this is a business case, basically. When one does business, one structures it properly and one puts the proper steps that are streamlined by nature. One does not put the processes that start adding red tape over and over to thicken the bureaucratic process so that business cannot be done. That is one way of doing this. It has to start in the roots and it has to be a culture of any g…
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Madam Speaker, I know that many of us are not used to being here this late in the evening, but maybe we are not really here and this is all a dream, because I have difficulty believing that the government is actually doing something about this mountain of red tape that Canadians face. While it is true that Bill S-6 would not do much, at least we are doing something. Before the people of Edmonton M…
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Madam Speaker, the RMB is supposed to be instituted annually, as per the government. The last one was done four years ago. I cannot believe how bad the government is at math. Something that has to be done every year is being done once every four years. Could my hon. colleague elaborate on that failure in dealing with something such as this, which is supposed to be very important?
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Madam Speaker, economists are telling us that Canada is on the brink of a recession, and the response of the Liberal government is to offer us a grim budget. Not only is it grim in the dictionary sense of being depressing or worrying to consider, but it is also Grimm as if it were written by the Grimm brothers. In other words, the finance minister has offered us a complete fairy tale. The minister…
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Madam Speaker, there is another fantasy world. It is the planet the NDP is living on right now. That is the bottom line. We are trying to remove gatekeepers and streamline the system. We are trying to help provinces by offering real help, not just a bunch of spending that would achieve nothing. That is the plan. It is a logical plan that makes sense.
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Madam Speaker, that goes back to the same idea we noticed here. The government spends too much and achieves too little. If this continues to be the case, there is no hope that we will see any actual results.
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Madam Speaker, of course, the housing crisis is a devastating situation, and it is heartbreaking to see a lot of Canadians who cannot find houses. Furthermore, our young generations do not even dream of owning or buying a house in the future. The proposed budget would not address any of that. The government is dominated by the idea of spending so much and achieving so little, and that is the probl…
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Madam Speaker, I was still on the definition issue with the government, and there is nothing in the budget to ask for. The budget is more spending, more inflation, no responsibility and no going back to balanced. What is there to ask for in the budget other than more bad news for Canadians? The government is looking for more and higher taxes, more spending and a more uncertain future.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have petition 11759654 signed by 28 members. The undersigned citizens and residents of Canada draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following. Whereas Canadians have the right to be protected against discrimination, it is a fundamental Canadian right to be politically active and vocal. It is in the best interests of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the e…
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Madam Speaker, would the member be able to advise us on the debt service interest and he how he sees it going forward? It would be nice to know the exact number based on the budget. How does he see things developing further in the future?
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Madam Speaker, Canada is a safe haven for money laundering. It is a known fact, and it is getting worse by the day. Would the minister be able to advise us of the following? First, how much would this bill limit or downsize the money laundering market in Canada and, second, what is the amount of money laundering in Canada that is known to the minister or the government?
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Mr. Speaker, every time someone disagrees with the government, its members call them on integrity, where integrity really is not a favourable commodity on that side, since they took office in 2015. The hon. member is really calling on the fact that the bill is so good that Canadians will never have had it better. Now, there are so many voices around Canada, some professionals and some academics, t…
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Madam Speaker, I will ask a question of the hon. member. She finished on a collaborative tone, as far as working together in this specific area goes. I do not believe any of us would disagree on what we need to do when it comes specifically to Afghanistan. However, my question is about the timing, the 18 months she and many other members referred to in terms of the bill. How does she see this? Is …
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Mr. Speaker, I believe we could use some executive orders to speed this up and provide the necessary steps to get aid to the people who need it the most.
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Madam Speaker, we have been hammered by hundreds of emails and questions from members of the Afghani community and from Canadian society asking why the government has dragged its feet in helping these people. Timing is so critical because whatever one loses during this time period, one will lose big and can never recover. That is what we are faced with. I do agree with her assessment on this. I wi…
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Madam Speaker, I guess the question was about the assurance that the agencies will continue to do the job. In cases like this, in crises like this, we need to be thinking ahead of time. That is what I think the government failed to do. We are talking about 18 months, 18 months where women, children and elders suffered a lot and the humanitarian aid did not get there to help them out and cope with …
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman. The title of Bill C-41 is a bland one, an act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other acts, but the impact on people's lives is exciting. This bill is about providing help and hope for those in desperate need. It highlights the Canadian tradition of caring for those in ot…
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Madam Speaker, this has nothing to do with the debate. The chamber is cold and I was wondering if the air conditioning can be turned down a little so we can continue.
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Madam Speaker, I think timing is at the essence of this. I also suggested that maybe a quick prestudy at the justice committee would probably improve the quality and conditions of this bill to be able to push it further. If this mechanism is the correct one, I think if it is passed through the committee and the final stage here, that would be critical and very important.
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, representatives of Open Doors Canada came to Parliament Hill this week to highlight the 2023 World Watch List of the 50 most dangerous countries in which to live as a Christian. More than 360 million Christians around the world are suffering high levels of persecution and discrimination. Last year, 5,621 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons. An additional 4,542 were deta…
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Madam Speaker, this bill has gone back and forth in the House for a long time. the NDP's position before was completely different from what it is today. I would ask the hon. member to tell us what kind of revelation happened for New Democrats to have changed their minds all of a sudden.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I respect your decision, but you never called my riding by name. You looked my way, and I—
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Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for the motion. The text of this bill claims: it is fitting that March 11 of each year be officially designated as “Pandemic Observance Day” in order to give the Canadian public an opportunity to commemorate the efforts to get through the pandemic, to remember its effects and to reflect on ways to prepare for any future pandemics. Certainly, it is…
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Madam Speaker, I did mention the European law and the fact that the government was too late at looking at it and in considering steps to bring Canadians legislation that would help and that was most needed. I also mentioned the fact that there are a lot of vague definitions that will lead to problems for this bill to be resolved. The government presented the bill much later than the Europeans, who…
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Madam Speaker, I did actually edge on where the federal and provincial responsibilities come on certain aspects of privacy and privacy protection. Again, the definitions come into play in understanding the legislation. That is why the government could have done much better in bringing more clarity to the bill, so we could at least study it better.
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Madam Speaker, I go back to the one thing I mentioned. Even these vague definitions would still be in the hands of the minister to decide after the fact, and that is one of the biggest flaws in the bill. We do not understand how the minister would handle this and whether the minister would let the commissioners play their roles and do their jobs. That is why we have to be very careful approaching …
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Madam Speaker, in a previous Parliament, the government killed Bill C-11 because it wanted to have an election. It did not see the importance of that bill. Now the government is proposing a flawed bill and expecting us to support it. We will support a bill that really makes sense, a bill that will help and work for Canadians. I do not think we have any interest in wasting time. It is up to the gov…
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Madam Speaker, last week, the federal government banned the use of the TikTok app on government devices because of data privacy concerns, so it is very appropriate for us to be discussing this matter today. Digital data privacy can be seen as a fundamental right, one that urgently requires strengthened legislation, protections and enforcement. Canadians must have the right to access and control th…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for his bill coming to third reading and passing most of the difficulties that any bill can face in the House. Ottawa is a place with a very large Arab community. I know that my own Lebanese community is quite established here. Could the hon. member give us one incident that he found in the past about the community's involvement and contribution …
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Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise once again to offer my support for Bill C-232, an act respecting Arab heritage month. I am one of more than a million Canadians of Arab descent. As so many have, I came to this country as an immigrant, escaping the dangers of war and economic upheaval. Here I have made my home, raised a family, and I am proud now to be able to give back by serving al…
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Mr. Speaker, if anyone is politicizing this issue, it is the government. The intention of Conservative Party members is to ensure the safeguards needed to make sure these types of bills do not come through the House of Commons without any regard to the safety and lives of Canadians. I would ask the hon. member to name at least half a dozen safeguards that he believes would ensure that the dignity,…
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Madam Speaker, it was in our platform during the last election to address this. Mental health is a health issue. The two can never be separated. The strategy has to be wide and wise to be able to address all the issues, because health care is at the front of everything we do in this country. It seems that the government is missing the point on that. We call on the government to act wisely and to a…
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Madam Speaker, the member's question speaks to the spirit of my speech and what I was trying to address here, the last-minute actions and the non-action on the government side when it comes to addressing even election promises. It has been dragging for the last eight years, and there is no action happening to support the palliative care promise the government also made. We are on the same page her…
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Madam Speaker, we have been here before, with the Liberals scrambling to meet a deadline, unable to get their act together. In this case, though, perhaps the delay will provide us with the opportunity to get things right, or at least, that is my hope. The question that we need to ask here is not whether there should be a delay in when medical assistance in dying is extended to the mentally ill, bu…
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Madam Speaker, this issue is for everybody, for every politician in Canada and in this Parliament, to work together on. There is no way this should be swept under the rug. We can delay the poison pill that we could give to Canadians—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, only smart people take lessons, by the way. Liberals insist their carbon tax is revenue-neutral, while picking the pockets of average Canadians. Life is no longer affordable. Faced with inflation, tax increases and record-high prices, the Prime Minister shows his sympathy by planning to triple the carbon tax. Conservatives would keep the heat on and take the tax off. For eight years…
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, inflation is at record levels. Grocery prices were up 11% last year. The Liberals' tax hikes make things worse, and they are planning more of them. The wind chill in Ottawa today is -40°C, but this is not as cold as the government's heart. The Liberals caused this problem. When will they cancel the tax hikes?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I wish a happy new year to all. The word “genocide” is not one to be used lightly. According to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing …
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With regard to the government's hydrogen strategy, since January 1, 2020: (a) what is the total amount spent related to the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada or hydrogen development by (i) Natural Resources Canada, (ii) Environment and Climate Change Canada, (iii) Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by program or initiative; and (c) what are the details…
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Madam Speaker, this is another twist. This world is full of competition, and big companies are there because they have all the tools needed to be a presence. Most of us in the House and beyond use the services of Facebook, Google and others to advertise what we do and what we stand for, so I do not think there is anything in the bill to tell us where the money is going to go and whether the money …
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Madam Speaker, 50 years ago there were metal boxes on city street corners where, for 25¢, one could buy a newspaper. Each box had a window showing the top half of the front page if it was a broadsheet and the whole page if it was a tabloid. If one wanted to read anything more, one had to put a quarter in the box and remove a copy of the paper. In our cities, it was common to find three or four suc…
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