44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 6, 2024 10:00AM
- Jun/6/24 2:58:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously our hearts go out to the farmers who went through some tough times last year.
As my hon. colleague is well aware, AgriRecovery is a partnership between the province and the federal government. We are working to determine whether the program will apply and will have a response very soon.
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- Jun/6/24 2:59:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while Ottawa drags its feet, the processor Saladexpress in Châteauguay—Lacolle has just shut down its operations. When workers arrived this morning, the doors were locked. This means that a lot of our growers found out just this morning, after the planting season, that they had lost their one and only buyer.
This comes on the heels of a disastrous season in 2023 and repeated natural disasters. Unless Ottawa wakes up and adapts to climate change, one in 10 businesses will close within the year. Is the minister finally going to launch AgriRecovery?
We need a date.
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- Jun/6/24 2:59:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows, AgriRecovery involves an analysis conducted not only by the federal government, but also with the province. This is done in collaboration with the Government of Quebec. The two work in partnership. I am sure they will have an answer very soon. However, I understand all too well that, in times of crisis, an answer can never come fast enough.
In the future, we will keep working with all the provinces to ensure that our programs respond more quickly to these climate change crises.
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- Jun/6/24 3:00:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is another day, and we are still waiting for the Minister of Employment to introduce us to the other Randy, the one who was cashing cheques from a company that was lobbying the government, winning contracts and using the minister's name to do it. That is not allowed; it is illegal. The text messages reveal that someone named Randy at the minister's company was part of a $500,000 fraud.
Will the employment minister finally get up on his feet and tell everyone the supersecret identity of the other Randy?
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- Jun/6/24 3:00:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am all too happy to set the record straight. I have had no role in the company since being elected in 2021. Regarding the day in question, I have shared my phone records with the committee and with the commissioner, which confirm that I am not the person in the story.
I have said it and the companies have said it, and now I have proven it: I was not involved. Let us get back to working for Canadians and focusing on the real issues.
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- Jun/6/24 3:01:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has not proven a single thing.
We are looking for whom he called the other Randy. I am pretty confident that we do not actually have to look very far, because the other Randy might be right here, the one who broke the conflict of interest law, who broke the Lobbying Act and who broke the Criminal Code, so will the employment minister from Edmonton let us know if Randy is in the room?
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- Jun/6/24 3:02:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister just answered that question.
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- Jun/6/24 3:02:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Here is a story that is a bit randyabout a Liberal's excuse that seemed just too handy:Blame others for failures; they just could not resist,but if one is going to blame someone, be sure they exist.
The employment minister continues to blame the mysterious other Randy for his ethical trouble. Meanwhile, after nine years, all of this country's problems have actually been caused by the other Justin.
Will the person responsible for the scandal, the real Randy, please stand up?
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- Jun/6/24 3:02:57 p.m.
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I encourage members not to go too close to the line in terms of referring to other members by their first names. I understand that it made sense with the first name that was mentioned, but the second name skated a little bit too close to the line.
The hon. leader of the government in the House of Commons.
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- Jun/6/24 3:03:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we just got an interesting little behind-the-scenes insight into how things work over there. The minister stood up and comprehensively swatted away all the questions. What followed were two more questions that the members are so proud of wittily writing in the morning and rehearsing in front of the mirror that they just have to get them off their chest, even though the questions were answered two minutes ago.
That is what is going on in the House. The Conservatives do not want to talk about lower interest rates. They do not want to talk about eight out of 10 Canadians being better off. The opposition just wants to talk about its own stuff.
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- Jun/6/24 3:04:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I got into politics in 2015, it was the end of a decade of the Conservatives betraying Quebeckers' trust time and time again. They started by excluding the Davie shipyard from the national shipbuilding strategy, only to top it off by hiding behind the courts for 10 years to justify their inaction over the Quebec City bridge, when Stephen Harper was not going to Quebec City just to sneer at it, that is.
Now that we have corrected the injustice against the Davie shipyard and bought back the Quebec City bridge, could the Minister of Public Services and Procurement tell us how we are going to guarantee the sustainability of this unique part of our heritage for generations to come?
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- Jun/6/24 3:05:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will do so with pleasure.
It is hope and hard work. What good news the Prime Minister announced on May 15 about acquiring the Quebec City bridge. What good news it was that this piece of strategic infrastructure that is unique in the world and critical to the Quebec City region will be saved, restored and upgraded.
On behalf of my colleague from Louis-Hébert, I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership, and I also want to thank the Quebec caucus, all the ministers involved, our great negotiator Yvon Charest, the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Québec, and everyone in Quebec City who supported us over the past few years so we could achieve this fantastic result.
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- Jun/6/24 3:06:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, contrary to the minister's representation, he has not turned over all of his phone records and text messages. Text messages reveal that someone named Randy from a company that the Minister of Employment has a 50% interest in was involved in a business deal now mired in allegations of fraud. The minister says it was not him but that it was some other Randy. the trouble is that no one can identify who that other Randy is.
Has the minister, in the past 48 hours, pored over the employment records of the handful of employees at his company to find Randy?
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- Jun/6/24 3:06:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just when we thought we had heard from the final member who was practising all morning in the mirror, up pops another one to look straight into the camera and relay a question that was just answered several minutes ago. I think the people over there need to be a little more agile.
The minister has answered the question.
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- Jun/6/24 3:07:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the minister is the Randy in the text messages, then the minister broke the law, including contravening the Conflict of Interest Act. It should not be difficult to find the other Randy if he exists.
If the minister did not break the law, then where is Randy?
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- Jun/6/24 3:07:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the member that I am over here, not over there—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/6/24 3:07:47 p.m.
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Order. I would like to remind all members that questions should be addressed to the Chair and that members can look where they wish to ask or answer questions.
The hon. leader of the government in the House.
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- Jun/6/24 3:08:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has responded comprehensively to all of these questions. What I find a little off-putting in the tone and tenor of the member's question is that in this place we are all to presume each other to be honourable. That is not what the member did and he should carefully consider the kinds of words that he uses in the House.
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- Jun/6/24 3:08:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Superman, Batman, Randy, we know the identity of these fictional characters, but Canadians want to know who Randy is. The mysterious Randy is in control of a fraudulent company called Global Health Imports. His business partner, Stephen Anderson, says that he is a public official.
By pure coincidence, the Minister of Employment, by the same name, founded Global Health Imports and is a 50% shareholder. We just heard the minister say that he is not involved, but is he not at all curious about who this Randy fellow is who is committing fraud in a company he owns 50% of?
Why will he not tell us who this Randy is?
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- Jun/6/24 3:09:41 p.m.
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I am glad, Mr. Speaker, that this segment has been brought to us by what goes on in the House of Commons.
Here we have yet another Conservative member who toiled over this witty text all morning, looked in the mirror and hoped that the leader was there, because if the leader were there, he might be noticed by him. Then he is going to put it on Facebook, but what he will not do is put this answer on Facebook, happily saving me from a thousand trolls online.
The member should know better than to ask those questions in his pursuit to dishonour—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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