SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Sep/19/23 1:19:24 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-49

Mr. Speaker, in my speech I laid out the reasons why we think it should not pass at this point. It needs amendments. However, if this truly is an urgent matter for the federal Liberal government, then why did it take eight years? Why are we watching a recycled video of a housing announcement that happened six years ago? There is no urgency on that side of the floor, and Canadians know it. People cannot afford their mortgages now. People cannot afford gas. They do not need an electric car where I live because there is nowhere to plug them in. They take 18 months to show up, and then there is nowhere to plug them in when we get them. I could go on and on, but no understanding of rural Canada exists over there, none at all. Therefore, no, the bill should not go forward right now. It needs amendments because the Liberals are impeding progress, and we cannot allow them to keep doing it.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Ryan Williams

Sep/19/23 5:46:31 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill S-242

Madam Speaker, when this bill gets to committee, I will definitely be in favour of any amendment that is going to improve it. For the most part, the amendments in the Senate have already satisfied some of my colleagues' concerns, including the effects on rural Canada and those companies, specifically with respect to the fact that the minister would have all the power to determine what happens if spectrum is unused. The biggest provision of this bill would be that of punishing only those who are grossly negligent in terms of not using spectrum that they said they were going to sell, in other words, using spectrum only for speculative activities by buying and selling it for more profit. If companies want to develop that spectrum in a rural area, I think they are going to find support from the minister in ensuring not only a use-it-or-lose-it provision but also the use-it-or-share-it provision that is in this bill. We are going to be happy to discuss that at committee and make this bill the best it can be going forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Sep/19/23 6:26:52 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill S-242

Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the mover of the bill made reference to the fact that he was but a child when the Internet was around. It made me reflect on myself. When I was a child attending school, the Internet did not exist, so there is maybe a bit of a generational gap. During the eighties the Internet really started to come upon Canadian communities with the old dial-up service, dial tones and so forth. With the advancements in technology that we have witnessed over the last number of decades, today it is safe to say that when we think of the Internet, it is an essential service. It is of critical importance. When I think of many rural communities, if not all of our rural communities, I think about how they can dramatically benefit from the Internet. We need to understand and appreciate the way in which communities, both rural and urban, can benefit through the Internet. We have heard a number of citations, such as about the economic power of the Internet. We can talk about health services today that are on the Internet, along with the many different types of services that can be acquired. It is truly amazing. When we talk about the spectrum I can appreciate the fact that over the last couple of decades the spectrum issue has been on the floor of the House of Commons. It is something ministers have had to deal with. I start to get a little bit offside with some of the comments, whether coming from the Conservatives or my New Democratic friends, in particular, when they start making accusations or expressing concerns about how this government has allegedly been neglecting rural connectivity. I would argue that there has not been a government that has spent more time, energy and financial resources in ensuring that rural communities are being connected. They talk about hundreds of millions of dollars that have been collected through spectrum auctions or the selling off of spectrum, which has been estimated somewhere in the neighbourhood of about $20 billion. It is a significant amount of money. This government has also invested hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars into rural communities related to Internet access. The government has done that because, as I indicated, we have recognized the importance of rural economic development plus the social benefits of expanding and ensuring rural—

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