SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 285 - Feb/26/24

Mrs. Kelly Block (Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:06:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight long years of the Prime Minister, everything feels broken, and Canadians are struggling. Rent is up and housing costs have doubled, resulting in the rise of tent cities, and crime runs rampant on streets across the country. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the chaos, and there is no end in sight. Just last week, the leader of the NDP signed on to prop up the Liberals for another 16 months. While the NDP-Liberal coalition continues to thrive, Canadians are struggling to survive. New scandals continue to break about government spending and Liberal insiders getting rich. Glaring mismanagement, the gross waste of taxpayers' money, reprisals and cover-ups all speak to corruption. The buck stops with the Liberal Prime Minister. He is not worth the cost of the corruption. It is time for him to be held accountable to Canadians.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:07:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Coldest Night of the Year events that happened in 190 communities across Canada on Saturday. Each year, thousands of Canadians walk in February to support local charities that serve people experiencing hurt, hunger and homelessness. My family, my constituency team and my friends walked together to raise money for Lionhearts in Kingston this year. It was truly heartwarming to see over 150 walkers, 30 teams, hundreds of donors and dozens of volunteers contribute locally. Thanks to their collective efforts, over $70,000 has been raised to date, and that number continues to grow. I give a huge shout-out to the team at Lionhearts for their outstanding work in what they do, in partnership with other organizations, to support the most vulnerable in our community, and congratulations to all participants for stepping outside of the warmth and comfort of their homes to help charities that serve our communities with compassion every single day.

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Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:08:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, the Bloc-Liberal coalition is costly for Quebeckers. The Bloc is in cahoots with this government that is not worth the cost. It pretends to be outraged by the ArriveCAN scandal, yet it voted in favour of cost overruns to fund ArriveCAN eight times. Then, it defended its actions by saying that it was not going to scrutinize everything the government spends. The Bloc told the government to go ahead and hand out the money. Voting for the Bloc is costly. Even the Premier of Quebec is wondering what is the point of the Bloc Québécois. That is saying something. The ArriveCAN app cost an arm and a leg, made a company very rich and made things difficult for Canadians. ArriveCAN joins this worn-out government's long list of bad decisions, mismanagement, lack of ethics and lack of transparency. While the Liberals are mocking Canadians, common-sense Conservatives continue to fight for their interests. We are going to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

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Ms. Joanne Thompson (St. John's East, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:10:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, tourism in my province of Newfoundland and Labrador exceeds $1 billion in annual expenditures, fuelling employment and prosperity across all communities. It embodies our identity, our traditions and the stunning natural wonders around us. Moreover, tourism fosters environmental stewardship, preserving our ecological treasures for future generations. This past week, alongside the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, I attended the 2024 Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador conference. Together we celebrated the economic success of the province's tourism industry and its profound impact on our cultural vibrancy and environmental well-being. I thank the event organizers. Let us continue to welcome visitors from around the world to experience Newfoundland and Labrador's magic and be part of its legacy.

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Mr. Majid Jowhari (Richmond Hill, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:11:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in celebrating Black History Month, we honour Black Canadians' rich heritage and achievements. We spotlight individuals like Rosemary Sadlier, an advocate for Black history and women's issues, and Dr. Jeffrey K. O. Thompson, a leader in technology and community services. Their contributions enrich our nation's tapestry. From Richmond Hill, we recognize Aneal Swaratsingh, Marsha Simone Cadogan and Pamela Harakh for their local impacts. Aneal's leadership in community initiatives, Pamela's in philanthropy and Marsha's in legal IP exemplify the spirit of Black excellence we celebrate this month. To thank Richmond Hill contributors, we have invited local stakeholders to a Black caucus networking event. This gathering is a testament to our collective efforts toward inclusivity and the recognition of Black excellence. As we continue to combat anti-Black racism, let us support Black communities and enterpreneurship, working towards a just and equitable future for all of us. Happy Black History Month. Here is to building a better future for everyone.

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Mr. Jacques Gourde (Lévis—Lotbinière, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:12:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, amid the ongoing saga of the ArriveCAN scandal, I can tell you that the Bloc Québécois leader has hit a new low. The Bloc Québécois leader candidly admits that he gave the 2021-22 estimates the green light without even examining them. He said, and I quote, “we are not going to scrutinize everything the government spends. We just tell it to go ahead and hand out the money”. When the government lacked the votes it needed to fund ArriveCAN, the leader of the Bloc Québécois came to the rescue. Eight times now, the Bloc Québécois has voted to give the government millions of dollars to fund crooks. As everyone knows, the Bloc Québécois is also spending the hard-earned money of Quebeckers like there is no tomorrow. It is unbelievable that the Bloc thinks it has what it takes to manage a country. I may not know what is the point of the Bloc Québécois, but I do know that voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly.

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Mrs. Stephanie Kusie (Calgary Midnapore, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:13:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we continue to see unbelievable hypocrisy from the leader of the NDP. Yet again, he is pretending to be outraged by the actions of his Liberal coalition partner while expecting Canadians to ignore the fact that he is the Prime Minister's chief enabler. The NDP say they are angered by the waste and corruption behind the “arrive scam” app, yet it would never have happened without their support. The Prime Minister needed his coalition cohort to have enough votes to get the money through Parliament. The leader of the NDP was more than happy to vote yes, at least eight times, to give tens of millions for cost overruns and money-for-nothing contracts to shell companies. Clearly this NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost, crime or corruption. The disregard for taxpayer money is appallingly consistent, and the leader of the NDP should be ashamed for not admitting his role in this boondoggle and apologize to Canadians for grandstanding on social media.

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:14:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on February 12, I had the privilege of visiting students in grades five and six at the Maple Ridge French immersion elementary school in Orléans along with the Minister of Veterans Affairs for Valentine's Day. It was quite touching to talk to the students who took part in the Valentines for Vets program by making Valentine's Day cards. It was an opportunity for them to send our veterans a special message to thank them for their service and for what they have done and sacrificed for our freedom. I would like to thank their teacher, Sophie Labrosse, and the school principal, Mireille Filion, for welcoming us and for their interest in this program, which dates to 1996 and teaches our young people to never forget.

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Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay, NDP)

Feb/26/24 2:15:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are on the 12th anniversary of Parliament's passing the “Shannen's Dream” motion, named in honour of the young Cree leader Shannen Koostachin, who stood up to challenge the systemic denial of rights for indigenous children. Shannen had never seen a real school. Children in Attawapiskat were being educated in squalid and dangerous conditions. The government knew this. It just did not give a damn. Thirteen-year-old Shannen launched the largest youth-driven civil rights movement in Canadian history. Shannen never lived long enough to see the beautiful school that was built because of her work. She died in a horrific car accident at 15. Following her death, youth, activists and educators from across Canada launched “Shannen's Dream” to end the systemic underfunding of first nations schools. We have so much farther to go. Children in Eabametoong have no school right now. Children in Kashechewan have no proper gym. Shannen reminded us that the greatest resource in this country is not oil or diamonds; it is in the potential of this young generation. We thank her. The fight for justice continues.

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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)

Feb/26/24 2:16:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to highlight that UNESCO has renewed the Lac Saint-Pierre region's prestigious designation as a “world biosphere reserve”. It is a great honour for Berthier—Maskinongé and for Quebec as a whole to see the rich biodiversity of our region recognized in this way for 24 years now. By raising awareness and mobilizing communities to adopt healthy and sustainable practices, the Lac Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve is working to reconcile human activity with the protection of our natural and cultural heritage. In the face of environmental challenges, we have a responsibility to adjust our policies, regulations and practices to ensure the vitality of the ecosystems that sustain our prosperity and quality of life. I want to congratulate Henri-Paul Normandin and his team at the Lac Saint-Pierre Area of Prime Concern Committee. They can count on my support as they carry out their important mission.

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Mr. Eric Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:17:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost, the crime or the corruption. The details and cost of the arrive scam app, at $60 million and counting, get worse by the day. Now the NDP is pretending to be outraged by the facts being uncovered. However, when the Prime Minister needed to approve the millions of dollars he funnelled to companies such as GC Strategies, the truth is that his costly coalition partners in the NDP and the Bloc voted to prop him up and allow this spending to take place, further enabling all this corruption and incompetence. GC Strategies did no actual work and got $20 million of taxpayers' money. The record shows that the NDP voted with the Liberals to allow the arrive scam spending to continue, with all these money-for-nothing contracts, at least eight times. It gets worse the more we know. The truth is this: The NDP refused to block this spending and is complicit in it. After eight years, the Prime Minister and his NDP buddies are not worth the cost or the corruption.

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Ms. Annie Koutrakis (Vimy, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:18:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two years ago, Russia massively expanded its illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Two years on, we remember those who have died defending their homeland. These brave and fearless Ukrainians are fighting for their identity, their democracy, their history and their language. Canada will always stand with Ukraine. Besides taking in 200,000 refugees, we have provided $13 billion of military and humanitarian aid. Let us not repeat the mistakes we made before World War II. Ukrainians are fighting and dying against tyranny for all of us. To quote Churchill, the goal “is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.” We and our allies will continue to provide aid until that victory is achieved. Slava Ukraini.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:20:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime, after eight years, this Liberal Prime Minister, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, is not worth the cost, the crime or the corruption. The Bloc Québécois voted eight times to give the Liberal Prime Minister tens of millions of dollars for the “arrive scam” cost overruns and contracts that gave money for nothing. The leader of the Bloc Québécois knew that the “arrive scam” app should have cost only $80,000, but his party still went ahead and voted in favour of at least $24 million more for the app. What is the point of the Bloc Québécois?

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:20:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that question has already been answered several times. We once again thank the Auditor General of Canada for her important report and her solid recommendations regarding the review of the ArriveCAN app. The findings are troubling. The good news is that most of those recommendations have already been implemented. We will continue to do that for as long as it takes.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:21:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of ArriveCAN did not balloon all at once. The government needed votes to fund their corrupt $60-million app. The leader of the Bloc Québécois came to their rescue and voted with them not just once, but eight times. The Bloc Québécois continued to vote in favour of allocating millions of dollars more for ArriveCAN. It is costly to vote for the Bloc Québécois. In his defence, the leader of the Bloc Québécois said, “We are not going to scrutinize everything the government spends.” How can an opposition party not scrutinize spending? What is the point of voting for the Bloc Québécois?

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The Speaker

Feb/26/24 2:21:54 p.m.
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I see that the Minister of Public Services and Procurement is already standing to answer the question. I would like to remind all members that questions must pertain to government administration or else they should be directed to a committee chair. The hon. Minister of Public Services and Procurement.

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:22:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, I do not feel I can properly answer questions directed to the Bloc Québécois. I am sure our hon. colleague, the House leader of the Conservative Party, knows to whom he should be directing his questions and will find the appropriate setting to do so. That being said, my responsibility and that of the government during the pandemic was to strive to protect the health and safety of Canadians in a dire emergency. We had not seen this type of situation since 1919. However, even in a crisis, all the rules must be followed.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:22:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, fix the budget, build the homes and stop the crime. The NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is proving that he is not worth the cost, the crime or the corruption. The NDP is pretending to be outraged by the arrive scam scandal, but the Liberals did not have enough votes to get the funding through Parliament. Therefore, the NDP came to the rescue and, eight times, voted to keep funding no-show jobs and IT work that was never done. Common-sense Conservatives voted no. Had the NDP and the Bloc done the same, the arrive scam would never have happened. Does the NDP-Liberal coalition deal require the NDP to fund Liberal corruption?

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

Feb/26/24 2:23:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this question has already received multiple answers. The fact that it is coming from the former speaker of the House is obviously a bit strange. He would know that, if he needs to ask questions of the NDP, we are not, on this side, the right people to answer those questions. I would invite our hon. colleague to ask the right people.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Feb/26/24 2:24:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is his government's deal with the NDP. While common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, fix the budget, build the homes and stop the crime, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is proving that he is not worth the cost or the corruption. The Prime Minister managed to find $60 million for his arrive scam app. Now, he is going to reach into the pockets of Canadians yet again and hike the carbon tax on April 1. Canadians are struggling with out-of-control costs, and millions of Canadians are visiting the food bank for the first time. Will the Prime Minister just show some compassion and cancel his plan to hike the carbon tax?

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