SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 337 - Sep/17/24

Ms. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné (Terrebonne, BQ)

Sep/17/24 12:58:28 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech and his work on the ArriveCAN file. I know that he questioned the witnesses effectively. Working with him is a pleasure. However, I have noticed a tendency in the Conservative Party lately. Additional requests to the Auditor General have increased significantly, on top of the work already being done by the Office of the Auditor General. If the Conservatives were to form a government, would they increase the budget of the Office of the Auditor General?

86 words

Mr. Larry Brock

Sep/17/24 12:59:02 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, when the leader of the Conservative Party forms government, and he will, and becomes Canada's next prime minister, we will ensure that all of these scandals are fully explored and will, indeed, ensure that resources are available to the Auditor General so she can complete her job and provide a more fulsome picture as to how much more the government has fleeced the taxpayer. We know it is approximately $60 million, and that is the tip of the iceberg. We need to find out more.

88 words

Mr. Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, CPC)

Sep/17/24 1:00:43 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to this motion to make sure that we continue to look into this as much as we can. We have to ensure that Canadians get their eyes on it and that the government does not bury it under the floor one more time and say that while it is incompetent, it is not guilty of anything. Well, incompetence is guilt in itself. It is $60 million that we have identified so far of money going off the table that belongs to Canadians. This money is going from one hand to the hands of people who are well connected with the Liberal Party of Canada. This cannot continue. It is not the only instance where this has happened. It happens again and again. This is one instance where the Liberals have tried to obfuscate in the House of Commons and at committee repeatedly in order to not have this looked at. For my colleagues across the way to pretend at this point in time that they want to get to the bottom of this is completely false and is misleading the House in the greatest sense. I cannot believe he stands up and says this after leading his caucus in voting against all of the transparency that we have tried to bring to the table and against getting this matter before Parliament and before Canadians to make sure the government has some accountability and transparency in what it does for Canadians with Canadian taxpayer dollars. My colleague talked earlier about what Canadians contribute in taxes to run the government. Right now, they see very clearly that the government is misusing those taxes again and again. It is spending on its friends. It is spending excessively through all kinds of measures in order to whittle away the hard-working tax dollars of Canadians. We were almost $50 billion in deficit this past year, and getting back to balance is, of course, very important. I know that $60 million in a sea of $50 billion looks like a drop, but this drop is indicative of how bad and how insincere the government is as far as accountability goes. Our friends do not worry about it; it is a drop in the bucket, but it is not a drop in the bucket. It is a significant amount of money that Canadians no longer have. Canadians have contributed to running the government, and the respect the government is showing for their money and the taxes they pay is not there. Any government has to allocate scarce resources. The number one thing, whenever we are allocating resources, is to allocate scarce resources as effectively as possible. That is not happening here whatsoever. Whenever Liberals can get money from some program or another into the hands of their friends, they will do it. That is a problem we are here to unearth. The number one role of His Majesty's loyal opposition is, of course, to make sure that we hold the government to account on what it is doing for Canadians with Canadian dollars. At this point in time, we have seen repeated instances of misuse, this one being the most egregious we have shown so far in the House of Commons, one the Liberals have tried to hide several times. This is very important for Canadians to understand. We are doing our job. We are doing our job in holding the government to account on its misuse of Canadian taxpayer dollars, its nepotism in giving to insiders and friends and its non-delivery of real programs to Canadians. Canadians need a government that responds to their needs. This one is not responding to their needs. It is responding to the needs of its friends, who are getting an excess return right now because they see a government that has no accountability whatsoever. While the government is here, it will just use the money printer and put a bunch of dollars in their jeans. Canadians expect much better from the House. Canadians expect much better from the people who run this country. I have heard my colleague across the way blame this on bureaucrats. Somewhere the buck has to stop. This is the government that recently raised taxes on capital gains, so more Canadians are paying more money to the government so it can shovel more out unaccountably through the back door. When it goes out badly, that is just the bureaucrats' mistake. That is not their problem, because they do not provide leadership in this realm. What we need to do is ensure that we get some accountability, that this is exposed and that we make some procedures available so it does not happen again. I have seen enough of people trying to shovel this under the rug. This is very important. We had a man brought to the bar in the House of Commons for the first time in almost a century. That was obviously an exception, so something exceptional happened here. One of the people who was very connected with this party deemed that he did not have to provide available information, which was required, at a parliamentary committee. The committee chair told him that he was in contempt, and he was brought here to Parliament to answer to the person who was in the chair at that point in time, acting as judge. He was compelled to give evidence, and in that giving of evidence, he showed absolutely no shame: “I took the money. I have the money. Tough luck.” That was the money of a bad government that has no checks and balances to make sure that Canadians' dollars are spent wisely and effectively to deliver programs for the benefit of Canadians. That did not happen here. It did not happen here in an egregious sense. We have to stand up as the opposition and make sure we expose that for what it is. It is a gross oversight of the Liberals, and they are trying to avoid accountability for it. Our job here is to make sure they own it and put procedures in place so they cannot say that while they are incompetent, they are not guilty of anything that they should go to jail for, or anyone should go to jail for for that matter. They are completely incompetent, and we have already proven that over the last nine years. The Liberals cannot balance a budget. They cannot deliver programs. It is a government all about narrative and no execution whatsoever and it has lost the faith of Canadians. It is time to move on and get to a government that is actually accountable, provides transparency for Canadians and shows respect for the dollars that Canadians contribute to the tax system in Canada. That is not happening and it is a shame. We hope to bring that to a head. We have some mechanisms in this House of Commons, and we are going to continue to use those mechanisms to hold the government to account.

1176 words

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

Sep/17/24 1:08:09 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, talking about extreme statements, let me give an example. This is how the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada inspired his Conservative caucus just last Sunday. He said, referencing the carbon tax, that the Liberal government's plan to increase the price would cause a “nuclear winter” for the economy. “There would be mass hunger and malnutrition with a tax this high...our seniors would have to turn the heat down to 14 or 13 C just to make it through the winter.” So said the leader. This is the extreme MAGA right Conservative Party, the reformers, who want to paint a picture that Canada is broken. We have seen extreme positions. The member spoke about Liberal friends. I do not even think that company had a Liberal Party membership. I have no idea. It is just extreme, everything that they say. Why should Canadians believe the extreme right of the Conservative Party today? That is the question that I have for the member opposite. They are stupid ideas. It is a stupid statement.

181 words

Extreme

Mr. Greg McLean

Sep/17/24 1:09:32 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the name-calling and vitriol. I apologize if I have gotten under his skin one more time. It seems like it is a habit here. We need a government that is accountable. That was the entire perspective of my speech. I hope he listened to some of the words I said, rather than just speak off his cheap little talking notes. We need accountability in government and he should stand for accountability in government. I know he tries to avoid that at every step and tries to cover up the mistakes his government continues to make. As I have said, incompetence is as bad as being complicit in the crime that has been committed.

121 words

Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Sep/17/24 1:10:19 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Calgary Centre always adopts the right tone in addressing these issues, which need to be raised. They are the result of this government being worn out and the culture of cronyism that is too often part of the Liberal brand. Once again, the country will go further into debt, and this will have a very negative impact on Canadians and their trust in their government. This explains why Quebeckers want to separate from this country and go their own way. Having said that, I would like to ask my hon. colleague the following. How can we ensure this never happens again? Could the government, possibly a Conservative government, commit to maintaining and increasing the Auditor General's funding to ensure that these scandals can be exposed?

131 words

Mr. Greg McLean

Sep/17/24 1:11:03 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, that is a good question. We will have a Conservative government in the near future, and we will work in the public interest to ensure that Canadians' money is spent as wisely as possible. I am sure my colleague will work with us to ensure that these funds are well spent.

53 words

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Sep/17/24 1:11:43 p.m.
Watch

It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House. The question is on the motion. If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

74 words

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Sep/17/24 1:12:17 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, we would request a recorded vote.

8 words

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Sep/17/24 1:12:31 p.m.
Watch

Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the division stands deferred until later this day at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

23 words

Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Sep/17/24 1:12:49 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to table quickly today. The first petition is from constituents whom I heard from over the summer. They are very concerned with the fact that the medical assistance in dying regime has not been banned entirely for those with mental health conditions. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to stop the expansion of medical assistance in dying to those with only mental illness as an underlying condition.

76 words

Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Sep/17/24 1:13:18 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the second petition is from my constituents who, over the summer, made this very clear to me. The petitioners are asking for the House of Commons to call for non-confidence in the government and call for an election within the next 45 days.

46 words

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)

Sep/17/24 1:13:36 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to table a petition again today regarding health care. This petition is dealing with the important relationship between Canadians and health care professionals, in particular nurses of all forms. The petitioners are asking both levels of government to take the actions necessary to demonstrate their support with everything from compensation to credentials being recognized. These are all very important issues, and they are asking governments of all levels to, in essence, work together to try to resolve some of these outstanding issues.

88 words

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

Sep/17/24 1:14:24 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time. The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

28 words

Hon. Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, Lib.)

Sep/17/24 1:14:54 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-71 Bill C-37

Madam Speaker, I want to start by sharing that I put my phone on airplane mode to make sure that, if any interference were to in, it would not impact the interpreters. I just wanted to put that on the record as we go through the process of ensuring that our interpreters can do the important work that they do. I am on airplane mode in the hope that there will be no feedback. I appreciate that we are back to debating Bill C-71 and able to have this conversation. I was on House duty all day yesterday and had the privilege of being a part of the debate. Unfortunately our time came to an end, and I was looking forward to continuing that debate today. Having observed and listened to the emergency debate that took place last night, I was impressed with the calibre of the debate and the discussion taking place in the House of Commons. It demonstrates that we are able to rise above and do important work. Today, as I finish off my time, I want to come back to Bill C-71 and the fact that this is legislation that has been introduced because the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled that these individuals, also known as lost Canadians, are entitled to their citizenship. These are people who were always eligible for their citizenship but were under the previous Conservative government that advanced Bill C-37. At that time, there were many members in this place, of whom I was not one, but I did get to work closely with some of them. They had advised the Conservative government of the day that we could do better, saying that the legislation, yes, would correct some spaces and some issues, but there would be some people who would be left behind. They advised that they should do it right, but no, that is not the Conservative way. We saw some of those tactics again this morning. It is either the Conservative way, which is helping Conservatives, or, if we do not believe in the Conservative mentality or the Conservative mantra, we are not Canadian enough. Here is breaking news for Conservatives: Conservatives do not get to determine who is and who is not a Canadian. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects our rights and freedom. People sacrificed their lives for us to be able to have these rights and freedoms and with rights and freedoms come responsibilities. As the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled, Bill C-37, which former prime minister Harper and the Conservative government of the day passed, was unconstitutional. The Superior Court of Justice primarily named mobility rights, as people have the right to come and go, and equality rights, namely women's rights, as they are rights and freedoms that are protected in our country. I am not going to go down the rabbit hole of why Conservatives do not support women and the fact that they are constantly trying to threaten a woman's right to choose, along with all these battles we have already had. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Hon. Bardish Chagger: Madam Speaker, I was hoping to not get the commentary from the other side, but here it comes. I will just stay focused on the fact that this legislation is supported by a majority of members in the House. Conservatives actually sponsored a Senate bill along the lines of this bill. Members of this place expanded the scope of it, so Conservatives did not want to see that Senate public bill come to third reading. However, Bill C-71 is government legislation. We could advance this and send it to committee. Let us discuss the amendments. Let us get it right. The last thing I have to say is that, 50 years ago on this day, my father became a permanent resident of Canada. Today is September 17. It is a big day. I just want to remind my father, Gurminder Singh Chagger, that I love him and I am really happy that he chose Canada.

684 words

Ms. Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC)

Sep/17/24 1:18:58 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-71

Madam Speaker, I do have a concern with Bill C-71. My concern has to do with the measure that would allow a Canadian citizen to have their children be Canadian citizens if they were not born in the country, and even their children be Canadian citizens, in perpetuity. What would happen would be that we would then have all these people who do not live in Canada and are Canadian citizens. Elections Canada allows each person who is a Canadian citizen who lives outside the country to choose on their honour system where they want their vote to count. We cannot identify how many people this could affect, and we know elections sometimes get won by maybe 100 votes or less. Therefore, how is the government planning to address this part to make sure that we maintain our democratic purity?

141 words

Hon. Bardish Chagger

Sep/17/24 1:19:56 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I will just say to anybody who is actually paying attention to the debate and reading the legislation, that there is a substantial connection test to ensure that people do have strong ties to Canada. I would like to take this opportunity to do a public service announcement. We just had a Conservative member of Parliament stand up concerned that Canadians might exercise their right to vote. The Conservative history has always been to suppress the vote. If they can give Canadians a reason to stay home and not vote, they know they will do well in the polls. Former prime minister Harper had two minority governments, and then Canadians trusted him with a majority. Canadians quickly learned what Conservatives do with power. They will abuse it time and time again. Canadians, these people, have the right. As the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled, they are Canadians, they should be Canadians, and we should encourage them to advance Canadian values and participate in the democratic process. Nobody, especially the Conservatives, should be scared of a Canadian exercising their rights and freedoms.

185 words

Harper

Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Sep/17/24 1:21:00 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, we agree that the current bill comes in response to an Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruling that struck down provisions in the act and put pressure on the federal government. However, the discussion here concerns a citizenship issue debated in the House over 15 years ago. It affects the lives of Canadians who arrived here after the war, and who could well be over 80 by now. Why was it necessary to wait for the court's ruling? Why did the Liberal government not show some leadership during its nine years in power while this issue was being addressed? Instead of the current Prime Minister's mandate, we could just as easily say the Harper mandate, or the mandates of previous governments. We have been talking about this issue for decades. Why wait for a court ruling?

140 words

Hon. Bardish Chagger

Sep/17/24 1:21:49 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague. We want governments that can work and get things done. I heard several speeches yesterday. I was very proud to see that the Bloc Québécois understood that this was a citizenship issue, that we all had to work together and that it was very easy. If the Conservatives or members of the other parties want to propose amendments, we can work in committee and have discussions, but now we have to vote. Yes, it took a long time, but it has always been that way. I worked with the former member of Parliament for Kitchener—Waterloo, the Hon. Andrew Telegdi. He tried to do that work when he was in government and when he was in opposition. Now we have a court decision, and we have to get this done. It is the right thing to do. I think we can all work together to make that happen.

162 words

Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Sep/17/24 1:22:56 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-71

Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague's dad for making the choice to come to Canada and establish Canada as his family home. To the question around the lost Canadians bill, interestingly, yesterday, after the debate in the House, we went to committee. At the committee, there was a similar motion calling for the committee to support that Bill C-71 be deemed read through all procedures at second reading and be referred to the committee immediately. The Conservatives moved an amendment to that motion and the amendment was to have Bill C-71 referred to the committee after the next election. I think that clearly indicates how the Conservatives intend to filibuster the opportunity for Canadians to restore their constitutional rights. What does the member think of that? What does that indicate about the Conservatives' intention to thumb their noses at the Superior Court decision?

146 words