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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 241

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 27, 2023 10:00AM
  • Oct/27/23 12:04:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have to admit that after yesterday's performance, I am surprised the Conservatives would dare go down this road, given the fact that they had 26 opportunities to move a motion to bring forward the RCMP to committee. Instead, they choose to use that as a political ploy to block the study of a lobbyist-paid trip by five Conservatives, including $1,800 worth of champagne and a $1,200 oyster bar bill. Talk about cover-up. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Oct/27/23 12:04:52 p.m.
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I am certain we all want to give our attention to the member of Parliament who has the floor next to ask a question. The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:05:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only person in this place who has broken ethics laws twice is the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister said when he took office that the government and its information must be open by default, but after eight years, the Prime Minister only wants to cover up the truth. The RCMP commissioner made himself available to answer questions, but the NDP-Liberal government does not want him to speak. We have learned it was the Prime Minister's Office that blocked the RCMP from getting key documents during the SNC-Lavalin investigation. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. What is the cover-up coalition hiding?
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  • Oct/27/23 12:05:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to me that the Conservatives would once again talk about a cover-up when it is they who are using political tactics to block the study of a lobbyist-paid trip for five Conservative members. They yelled out to correct me; it was two lobbyist-paid trips. They think that makes it better. I am curious. Was the chateaubriand that they consumed a steak or a 600-euro bottle of wine? Perhaps they could come to committee and answer those questions.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:06:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the alliance between the Bloc Québécois and the Liberal Party continues. The RCMP commissioner appeared before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics last Monday and was prepared to give evidence on the Prime Minister's interference in the SNC-Lavalin affair. The Liberals ended up adjourning the meeting. Who supported them? It was the Bloc Québécois. The member for Trois-Rivières voted with the Liberals to protect the Prime Minister. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly. After eight years of this government and out of fear of the truth coming out, did the Prime Minister promise the Bloc Québécois something to get its support?
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  • Oct/27/23 12:07:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, speaking of costs, I am just curious what a thousand-dollar meal at the Savoy restaurant for three courses of a lunch looks like. Maybe the Conservatives who went on a lobbyist-paid trip could come to committee and explain that. Instead, they are bringing up a case that the RCMP has considered closed for years as a way to block the committee from studying the exorbitant champagne tastes that Conservatives seem to have.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:08:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is and always has been a trading nation. Our government's trade commissioner service is an unmatched network of over 1,000 business-savvy experts in 160 cities that helps businesses in my riding and across the country reach new markets. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development update Canadians on how we are helping businesses get started, scale up and go global?
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  • Oct/27/23 12:08:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Lac-Saint-Louis for his strong advocacy on behalf of businesses. I visited two innovative companies in Montreal and heard about how they were growing, thanks to our government supports. OPAL-RT Technologies has been unlocking its global potential and now has a presence in over 50 countries. The EDC has helped Equisoft expand to new markets like the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Chile and South Africa. We will continue to be there for businesses to help unlock new markets as they create good-paying jobs right here in Canada.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:09:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as Canadians struggle, a tax evasion report confirms we need what the NDP has long called for: a global wealth tax to ensure the rich pay their fair share. Still, thanks to Liberal and Conservative governments, billionaires now pay next to nothing in taxes, but rampant tax evasion did not just happen; it is a political choice. When will the government stand up for working people and those on fixed incomes who are hurting right now, listen to experts and implement a wealth tax so that billionaires finally pay their fair share?
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  • Oct/27/23 12:09:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has been, and will continue to be, committed to ensuring everyone in Canada is paying their fair share. That is why we have permanently raised the corporate income tax by 1.5% on the largest banks and insurance companies in Canada; implemented a recovery dividend of 15% on the financial sector to pay for the cost of COVID-19; implemented a luxury tax on private jets, luxury cars and yachts; and we will implement a 2% tax on share buybacks. We are committed to ending the corporate tax race to the bottom and ensuring that multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax wherever they do business.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:10:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with the Liberal climate policies increasingly looking like Swiss cheese, the Greens have practical solutions, and one of them is motion M-92, from the member for Kitchener Centre, to have an excess profit tax on big oil. This was just costed out by the Parliamentary Budget Office, confirming there would be $4.2 billion available, if the Liberals move to tax the big polluters. When will the government move to create an excess profit tax, as it has done for banking and insurance, on the fossil fuels sector, in which the five biggest companies raked in $38 billion last year? When will we tax them?
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  • Oct/27/23 12:11:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has done more than any other to ensure that large oil companies do their fair share when it comes to paying taxes and fighting climate change. We already have regulations in place to ensure that they reduce methane emissions, a very powerful greenhouse gas, by at least 40% by 2025 and at least 75% by 2030. We are imposing a cap on the emissions of the oil and gas sector. As my hon. colleague just reminded the House, we have also imposed a surtax on share buybacks. We are doing more than any government has done to ensure that oil companies do their fair share.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:12:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and consistent with the current policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Framework Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil Concerning Defence Cooperation”, done at Brasilia on June 27, 2023.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:13:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. It is in relation to the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, October 16, 2023, regarding the housing crisis in Canada.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:14:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after discussions between the parties, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move: That the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be amended as follows: Mr. Green (Hamilton Centre) for Ms. Blaney (North Island—Powell River).
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  • Oct/27/23 12:14:41 p.m.
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All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay. Agreed. The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed will please say nay.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:16:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand today to table a petition. The constituents in my area continue to be very concerned about the logging of old-growth forests. The petition demands that the government pay attention to its obligations to protect migratory birds at risk by moving to curtail logging in critical habitat areas for endangered migratory birds, particularly the marbled murrelet.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:16:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of constituents in my riding. They are drawing the attention of the House to the fact that Canada has now the highest rate of common-law relationships among G7 countries, with a share of co-residing common-law couples increasing from 6% in 1981 to 23% in 2021. The petitioners also draw the attention of the House to the fact that nearly four in 10 children live with a lone parent, a step-parent, parents in a common-law relationship or those in other non-traditional unions. The petitioners call upon the Minister of Justice to initiate a statutory review of the Divorce Act, specifically concerning the federal child support guidelines, which would take into account the evolving reality of blended families' variance of income over time and better reflect the needs of children in shared custody situations.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:17:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present a petition started by Tammy Lachapelle-Ward, from Katrine, in my riding. The petitioners are calling on the Minister of Transport to request an amendment to current regulations that water aerodromes must follow the same requirements as land aerodromes on water. It is a loophole, and they often go around the local zoning and protections that exist on the shorelines of lakes all across this country. The petitioners think it is time that the loophole be closed. This is a petition that I am proud to present to the House today and affix my name to.
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  • Oct/27/23 12:18:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the first of the petitions I am presenting to the House seeks to support the health and safety of Canadian firearms owners. The petitioners recognize the importance of owning firearms, but they are also concerned about the impacts of hearing loss caused by damaging noise levels from firearms and the need for noise reduction. They acknowledge that moderators are the only universally recognized health and safety device that are criminally prohibited in Canada. The petitioners are calling on the government to allow legal firearm owners the option to purchase and use sound moderators for all legal hunting and sport shooting activities.
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