- Feb/19/22 8:08:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves here, this morning, discussing another attempt by the Liberal government to make a mad grab at power, a gross overreach. We have seen it before.
We know that the Liberal-NDP alliance have started their heckles because they want to silence me, just like they want to silence people they do not agree with.
We know that, at the very beginning of this pandemic, the first thing the Liberal government attempted to do was make a mad grab at power. It wanted the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money and to raise taxes, to tax Canadians as it saw fit, without parliamentary oversight, for nearly two years.
Her Majesty's loyal opposition was awake at that late hour, and we stepped up. We stopped that overreach. Here we are, at an early hour on a Saturday morning, in an extraordinary sitting of this place, while the government looks to use extraordinary processes to attack people they disagree with. We heard from the justice minister. He said it on TV for all to hear that, if people have political views that he disagrees with, the government is coming for their bank accounts.
If people agree with the justice minister and have the same distaste for the same politicians, maybe this time they are not worried. However, what about the precedent that it sets when a future government that has a different political view goes after the bank accounts of their enemies or people it disagrees with?
We, in this place, have a responsibility to safeguard the rights of all Canadians. We have heard a lot of talk about the impact in downtown Ottawa, so I want to start with that. The residents of downtown Ottawa have seen protests and celebrations in their neighbourhoods for years. It is a feature, normally, of living at the heart of Canada's democracy. As of late, it has been anything but. Many of them are now represented in a class action lawsuit against the protesters.
I would like to, for the House, share what their lawyer, a fixture in the human rights legal community, has to say about the government's invocation of the act:
[This] seriously infringes on the Charter rights of Canadians.
That is the lawyer representing the folks downtown in Ottawa. He said:
...I am acutely aware of the trauma experienced by Ottawa residents, I fully agree that the Emergencies Act is a dangerous tool that was not required.
Who better to pronounce on the urgency of the situation in downtown Ottawa than the human rights lawyer who is representing the downtown Ottawa residents?
Let us talk about the other remedies that have been used to address people as part of this movement. At the Ambassador Bridge, the Windsor border crossing, we saw police of jurisdiction resolve the blockade of our international border. They did it over a two-day period without the use of the Emergencies Act. In Coutts, Alberta, we saw the same result with the existing resources and the existing laws. The police of local jurisdiction there, through police intelligence, identified that there were weapons and ammunition at a nearby site, and they effectively interdicted it without a shot being fired, using the local laws and the local resources. It was not an emergency.
We had the greatest public health crisis in more than a century, which the government presided over, and an economic downturn, the worst in a century, which the government presided over. It deemed neither emergencies. We have an opioid crisis where people are dying on our streets every day, and the government does not declare that an emergency. It is not taking extraordinary steps to deal with that.
However, it goes back to that power grab and it goes back to a pattern that we have seen with this Prime Minister. Every time that he finds someone he disagrees with, and this is no exception, he dismisses them, he degrades them and he dehumanizes them. This includes millions of Canadians because they disagree with him. He said they hold unacceptable views and they take up space. He said they are mostly misogynists and racists. The majority of Canadians, millions of these same Canadians, have said that any signs or expressions of hate or intolerance are unacceptable. They condemn them and I condemn them.
Anyone who commits an illegal act is individually accountable for that, but we have laws to address that. The charges that are being laid in Ottawa are for mischief and “conspiracy to commit”. We do not require an Emergencies Act to deal with these things. We have a public order operation taking place on the streets of Ottawa. It is not an national emergency.
However, it sure was a great opportunity for this Prime Minister to do those things that he does best: to divide Canadians. That is not the job of a Prime Minister, and it is a shame that he finds common cause among the government benches and with the third party in the House. History will not be kind to those who approve of this illiberal power grab. That is not who we are as Canadians.
Many of the folks who are protesting at different places across Canada, who are raising their voices, are tired. We are all tired of COVID. They wanted a plan. They wanted to know how far until we get to that off-ramp because many of them, including those I have met and spoken to in front of this place, are vaccinated. Some of them are not. They just want to know when it is going to be over.
We gave the government an opportunity to present a plan. We asked for it a year ago. We did it again in the last week. The government refused to provide a plan. Meanwhile, those who are following the science, science presented by people like Dr. Moore in Ontario, have signalled when the COVID measures will end in the jurisdictions that they are responsible for.
Before these folks arrived in Ottawa or at those other locations in Canada, Dr. Tam, representing the Public Health Agency of Canada, said that the government needed a new plan. We have not heard that from the government, because this is a great opportunity to pit neighbour against neighbour, family member against family member. It is an opportunity this Prime Minister never misses.
We are wide awake this morning. We have seen what the government has tried to do and we are here to say that it is not acceptable. It is not our Canada. Folks who want to protest absolutely have the right to do that. Folks who want to use their right to freedom of expression absolutely have a right to do that, and there is a place for that on the lawn of Parliament Hill.
The folks who are moved through the public order measures out front, or who have moved on days ago after visiting the seat of our democracy, need to come to the appropriate places to protest, which are the lawns of their city halls and provincial legislatures and the lawn of Parliament Hill, and exercise their rights, balanced with the responsibility of doing so in a lawful way. That is what Canadians do. They do not try to effect extraordinary measures that subvert the regular rule of law and the charter rights that Canadians hold sacred.
This Prime Minister knows better. His ministers know better and the back benches know better. Let us find out, when we vote on this, if they are prepared to tell Canadians that this really is a country that respects the rule of law, a liberal democracy. Let us find out what Canada really stands for.
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- Feb/19/22 8:04:00 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the member for Winnipeg North knows not to interject, he talks about foreign interference. We are talking about Canadians having Canadian bank accounts frozen because they have political views that the justice minister does not like. That is not a liberal democracy. It is, frankly, illiberal and I would like to know how the member opposite can, in good conscience, support this kind of gross overreach and infringement on Canadians' charter rights.
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- Feb/19/22 8:02:52 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we heard the justice minister, just two days ago, talk about the financial measures that the member opposite referenced and say that they are going to be used to target people who have political views, not hateful or intolerant views but views that he finds unacceptable. They are going to be targeted by these financial measures included in this law.
The concern that we should have in this place—
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Mr. Speaker, just after the member for Carleton started speaking, the member for Kingston and the Islands said, in a volume loud enough for all members in the House to hear, that another hon. member had lied. I believe if we were to check Hansard, it would confirm this, and I believe the folks at the table heard the same thing.
I ask the Speaker to invite that member to unreservedly apologize for impugning a members' character and speaking in an unparliamentary way about an hon. member of this place.
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- Feb/11/22 11:37:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve a plan from the government on when it will end the federal mandates. Countries around the world and provinces across this country are making that decision. Even Canada’s top doctor has said it is time to return to normalcy. Like the minister said, nine out of 10 Canadians have been vaccinated. Is the goal from the government 100% before it reopens? If that is the case, the Liberals need to tell Canadians that life will not get back to normal until 100% of Canadians are vaccinated.
Canadians have done the hard work. It is the time for the government to do its work. What is the plan to reopen?
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- Feb/11/22 11:36:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, from the Liberals we continue to see the politics of division. Instead of talking to Canadians, they try to divide them. Instead of doing their job, they pass the buck to the provinces on what is squarely the government's jurisdiction: our international borders. It was the current Prime Minister who once said, “The role of the PM is to build a stronger country, not make it easier for some to break it apart.” Leadership means having conversations, even when they are with people we disagree with.
Is the Prime Minister prepared to have these conversations and to peacefully and quickly end the impasse this country is facing?
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- Feb/10/22 1:43:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this motion is calling for the government to table a plan. That is something that it has failed to do at this point.
Yes, if we are looking at other countries and modelling what is going on in other countries, it may result in those mandates being lifted. It seems it is high time, but the Liberals are not providing us with the evidence; they are providing us with the politics of fear and division.
Canadians deserve better. End the mandates.
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- Feb/10/22 1:41:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a great question from the hon. member.
What we are looking for from the government are the benchmarks it is going to use to exit us from the COVID restrictions that the federal government has put in place. That is what we asked for a year ago. What are our targets? What are the metrics the Liberals are using to end the travel restrictions and to end all the federal mandates they have put in place? “Let us just wait and see” is not a science-based approach. Identifying the efficacy of vaccines and encouraging people to take a look and talk to experts, as I mentioned, is following the science. We have not seen that from them up until this point. I encourage them to talk to Dr. Tam and Dr. Moore to find out what metrics they should apply to end the federal mandates.
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- Feb/10/22 1:39:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while I appreciate the question, we are going to assume that the hon. member misspoke and that he was not misleading the House.
As we know, what we asked for a year ago, and what I articulated that we asked for a year ago, was a plan from the government. Instead, what we get from it is finger pointing. If we want to point fingers, we will point fingers at the Liberals for their absolute failure. They are doing nothing but moving goalposts and dividing Canadians. They are calling people racists and misogynists. They are saying people are un-Canadian. They are saying they are deplorable because they have opinions different from those of the Liberals.
I want to remind the hon. member about my example about having those important conversations and encouraging people to get vaccinated. That is the example we demonstrated in my community. That is the spirit in which I offered those comments. If the hon. member wants to play silly games, he should talk to those of his hon. colleagues who had the courage to stand up to the government's failed policies of division.
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- Feb/10/22 1:28:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to discuss this important motion. It comes as we approach the start of the third year of dealing with COVID-19. We have heard a lot of discussion today about why it is important that the government table a plan for us to exit the COVID-19 restrictions and end the mandates.
We all know what Canadians have had to sacrifice over the last two years. Most importantly, we know that Canadians have lost loved ones to COVID-19. Canadians have sacrificed a great deal, missing out on time that they will never get back. Some of them did not get a chance to say goodbye to the loved ones they lost, not because they were dying of COVID, but because of COVID restrictions.
Early in the pandemic, governments rightly used all the tools that were available, to restrict movement and implement masking everywhere. Governments around the world got to work on developing vaccines. Now we know an awful lot about COVID. We learn more every day. Vaccines have been developed.
I made the choice to get vaccinated, and I have encouraged people in my community to do the same. Many have been concerned about the vaccine and had questions about it. If my saying that I am vaccinated is not sufficient encouragement for them, I accept that and encourage them to talk to medical professionals. The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit has had, and continues to have, one of the highest vaccination rates in the province and in the country.
One of the really interesting initiatives was one for folks who had questions during a shortage of doctors and nurses and when our health care system stretched to the limit. My community made doctors available to stand in parking lots outside of vaccination clinics, not to vaccinate people, but just to answer their questions and talk to them. That was it. They were there to have conversations. Did all of those folks convert to people who ended up getting the vaccine? I am sure they did not, but having conversations is so important.
Over the last number of weeks, we have seen the frustration that Canadians are feeling grow. Over the last several months, Conservatives and I have have been saying that nobody should lose their job because they have not been vaccinated. We need to use the other tools that are available.
People wonder why, if they got vaccinated, why will other people not. There could be a number of reasons, but let us play this all the way through and have the conversation with them. Let us look at what it will be like for those individuals if they lose their livelihoods because of a vaccine mandate. What is the broader societal implications of people being put out of work because of that choice? We have other tools available. None of them are perfect, but neither is the vaccine. It is not a cure, but it is one of the very important tools that we have.
We are now at a point where experts, trusted figures, are saying that we need a plan to exit. I want to reference a few of them. I do not think three years ago the majority of Canadians could have named the chief public health officer for the Public Health Agency of Canada, but now we know it is Dr. Tam.
Just two weeks ago, Dr. Tam said, “We need to be able to address the ongoing presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a more sustainable way.” She went on to say that all COVID measures must be re-evaluated and stated, “I think the whole concept is, we do need to get back to some normalcy.”
In Ontario, Dr. Kieran Moore, who is the top doctor responsible for the province, said, “we have let our lives be controlled for the last two years in a significant amount of fear and now we are going to have to change some of that thinking.” He went on to say, “I think we have to start to understand we have to learn to live with this virus.” Those are two very important points.
What are we asking the government for today? We are asking for a plan to end the mandates. I am positive Drs. Tam and Moore offered those comments knowing the situation on the ground, and knowing the examples of other countries, such as Sweden, Norway, Greece, the Czech Republic, many states in the U.S.A., the U.K, France, Portugal and Switzerland, dropping those mandates. The evidence those doctors used to make their decisions is some of the same evidence used by Drs. Tam and Moore.
That is what we are looking for. We know the World Health Organization has said that countries should not require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for international travel as the only pathway or condition permitting international travel. We have the World Health Organization saying that. We need to take a look at these. What is the plan? What benchmarks will the government use to exit us from these mandates and restrictions?
They were absolutely important tools, particularly in March of 2020. We are a long way from then. We know so much more. The conversations we need to have include talking with people we do not agree with. It is so important. We certainly should not be calling them names.
People who disagree with us, who are concerned and who have questions are not unacceptable. They are not deplorable. It does not make them misogynistic or racist. They are our neighbours, community members and people's family members. This compassion is part of the fabric of our country. We cannot forget it, and we cannot lose it. It is part of our off-ramp out of this thing.
There has been so much damage done to our country with the impacts of all the restrictions. We are going to be feeling that for many years, particularly with our children. Let us not make it worse by not talking to each other. Part of that communication and talking comes from the government presenting a plan to Canadians to end those mandates. That is what we are talking about today.
It is incredibly important everyone recognizes the role they have to play in doing that. We have a job in this place to talk to people. We have our role as the official opposition to challenge the government. It has the tools and the resources, and it is the authority to tell Canadians what it is going to take for us to exit from these restrictions.
We are going to be that voice for Canadians. We are going to be that voice, and we are calling on the government to end those mandates. In fact, we asked for a plan a year ago. The situation certainly has changed a lot in that year, but this is a new opportunity, a fresh opportunity, for the government and the minister to provide that information to Canadians.
Instead of pointing fingers about who was the strongest advocate for these public health measures, let us just recognize we can always do better. The government has had time to produce this information to let Canadians know when it is going to end the federal mandates and what needs to be triggered for that to happen. Let us do that. Let us move forward together. Let us have those important conversations. Let us talk to our friends and neighbours and make sure we come out of this stronger.
We have heard all along that we are in this together. Let us make sure we all get out of this together.
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- Feb/9/22 6:04:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in hearing the name of the great riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I have to take a moment to recognize the tremendous work of my provincial counterpart, the Hon. Steve Clark, who has served ably as Ontario's minister for municipal affairs and housing.
Minister Clark has been a champion for affordable housing in our community of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and across Ontario. Minister Clark has been part of the call for the Liberal government to come good on the $490 million that is owed to the Province of Ontario for housing and homelessness supports in this province.
Strong Conservatives like Minister Steve Clark, and like this Conservative team in this place, will continue to fight to make sure housing is affordable and that Canadians and Ontarians can recognize that dream of home ownership, and they are going to make sure they streamline the process to do that.
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- Feb/9/22 5:57:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was pleased to hear the parliamentary secretary say that he is prepared to take notes on this very important adjournment proceeding.
We have heard a lot about the housing affordability crisis in Canada. The cost of everything is ballooning. The cost for Canadians to afford a house is slipping out of their hands. That dream of home ownership is getting further and further away for young Canadians. Thirty-year-olds are living at home or stuck in the cycle of renting and are not able to save up for a down payment, as the price of a home has doubled while the Liberals have been in government.
However, it is not just the price of homes that has gone up. We know that the price of feeding our families will go up by an average of $1,000 per family this year. The list of individual items and how much they will cost with this increase is too great to go into, but it includes chicken, beef, dairy, fruits, vegetables, heating our homes and putting fuel in our cars so we can get to work and medical appointments. In rural ridings like mine, people do not have the option of taking public transit, for the most part.
We need a government that is committed to making life more affordable for Canadians, one that does not say inflation is a global problem while pointing to how our inflation stacks up against that of other places without doing anything to address the issue here. Telling Canadians that inflation is a global problem does not do anything to address the rising cost of everything for folks across this country. Folks are stuck in that cycle, stuck living in their parents' basement because they are trying to save up money to afford a down payment.
The price of the average home went from $435,000 when the Liberals took office to more than $800,000 today. That is over a six-year period. With $400 billion of printed cash pumped into our economy just last year, we know we are in a situation where too many dollars are chasing too few goods, and it is raising the price of everything.
I hear the Liberals on the other side heckling, “Why stop now?” Well, I will tell them why. It is because this out-of-control, undisciplined spending is putting us in a situation where the only people who will be able to afford a home are folks from overseas who are parking their cash in our housing market, waiting for homes to inflate in value and then flipping them to the next investor. There are empty homes owned by non-residents sitting vacant as an investment vehicle and Canadians cannot afford to get into our housing market.
My question for the parliamentary secretary is very simple. What is the government prepared to do right now to make housing more affordable for Canadians?
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- Feb/1/22 3:23:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if you consult Hansard, you can verify that the member for Peace River—Westlock expressed in his intervention a hope. He said, “Mr. Speaker, I hope you will find unanimous consent for the following”.
The member for Kingston and the Islands said that the member for Peace River—Westlock had said that there had been consultations. All the member for Peace River—Westlock had asked for was the consideration of the House to condemn the wearing of blackface, and the member for Kingston and the Islands denied that and voted against that condemnation.
Some hon. members: Shame.
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- Feb/1/22 2:40:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the minister is handing out self-congratulations, I want to let her know, on behalf of Canadians, that they cannot afford the 80% increase in home prices and they cannot afford the 30-year increase in inflation that we have seen under the current government as a direct result of its policies. The Liberals are spending all this money, and they are still underfunding housing and homelessness supports in Ontario by almost half a billion dollars a year.
The finance minister is again offering all kinds of information. I am sure she will not even get up to answer the question herself, but will the Liberals finally just admit that they are overspending, and get their out-of-control spending under control for Canadians?
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- Feb/1/22 2:39:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will not let talking points get in the way of an answer from the minister because we know that inflation is at a 30-year high, we know that housing prices have gone up by 80% under the current government, we know that Canadians cannot afford the price at the pump, and we know they are taking less home every month with the payroll tax increase from this finance minister and these Liberals.
They again offer all kinds of excuses, and they want to talk about what things cost in other places, but from Victoria, B.C. to Victoria-by-the-Sea, Prince Edward Island, things are more expensive under these Liberals. Will they finally admit that it is “Justinflation”, apologize to Canadians, and stop the out-of-control spending?
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- Feb/1/22 2:37:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are feeling the pinch. For years, they have worked hard and made tough choices to save up, but they seem to find themselves falling further behind. They cannot afford to put nutritious food on the table, put gas in their cars or even heat their homes. Their hard work is not paying off under these Liberals, with skyrocketing inflation as a result of their out-of-control spending.
While these Liberals offer every excuse under the sun, what we are here today to find out from the Prime Minister and from his finance minister is this: Will they finally get their out-of-control spending under control so Canadians can afford to live again?
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- Jan/31/22 2:19:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, under this Liberal Prime Minister, the price of everything has gone up. The cost of basic necessities for life in Canada, such as home heating, groceries and gas, have all skyrocketed at rates we have not seen in 30 years.
While the Liberals have been blaming everything under the sun for soaring prices, they only have to look in the mirror to find the culprit. When the Liberals formed government, the average price of a home was $434,500. Now it is $811,700, which is over 85% inflation in just six years under this Liberal Prime Minister. Now we have the second-most inflated housing bubble in the world.
People in my community are feeling the pinch. Young people, working-class Canadians and the poor have all had their dreams of home ownership stripped away by a silver-spoon-fed and out-of-touch Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has made life unaffordable, so when one empties their bank account buying groceries or gas, remember that it is just inflation.
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Mr. Speaker, like my colleague for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, I rise to present a petition signed by Canadians who are in support of the passage of Bill S-223 to combat forced organ harvesting. Like my colleagues, I hope that this is the Parliament that gets this done.
Bill S-223 has been put forward by members of multiple parties over 13 successive years. The bill is tremendously important to making sure it is recognized as a criminal offence for anyone to go abroad to receive an organ taken without the consent of the person giving that organ. This bill deals with the dignity of each person. It deals with a matter of grave human rights, and we look to the House to expeditiously pass this important piece of legislation.
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- Dec/14/21 2:11:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to thank the people of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes for their continued trust and confidence in returning me to Parliament with a clear mandate. The people have been very busy over the last three years with federal elections. They continue to demand strong representation in Ottawa with a focus on securing funding for infrastructure, lowering taxes and making life more affordable. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the hard work of my many volunteers. There are too many to name, but I give special shout-outs to Joan Lahey, Barb O'Reilly and Heidi Piper-Ward for their tireless work on my campaign. Of course, I thank my wife Amanda and our children Luke, Ama, James, Nathan and Michaela for their enthusiastic door-knocking and for being the best sign installers in the last election.
I will say to the people of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes that I will continue to advocate for them, their families and our community. I thank them and wish them a merry Christmas.
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- Dec/13/21 7:35:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to have this debate with the parliamentary secretary this evening, and I congratulate her on her appointment to this position.
I am pleased she mentioned the work being done in my community with respect to affordable housing, particularly the program between the federal government and the provincial government that saw affordable housing units created. That is where we see what the government can do. When the government is spending Canadians' tax dollars and we are seeing half a trillion dollars in government spending, those are the kind of results we expect to see: real results where people can see the change in their communities.
We need government to make smart choices that help the folks who work to end homelessness and work to create affordable living spaces. However, we do not want to see skyrocketing debt and deficit with no plan to bring them under control, which unfortunately has very much been a hallmark of the government.
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