- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- York—Simcoe
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 69%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $119,263.34
- Government Page
- May/30/24 1:33:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to ask the member for Kingston and the Islands if he would sign my petition.
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- May/30/24 1:31:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Kingston and the Islands for wanting to speak in facts. Given his speech, we can all agree that we know the shopping cart is the most expensive vehicle in Canada to operate for all Canadians.
Speaking in facts, my riding of York—Simcoe does not qualify for the 20% rural top-up. I cannot even see the CN Tower from my riding. The Chippewas of Georgina Island, in the middle of Lake Simcoe, are 70 miles from Toronto, and they are classified as rural and remote by the federal government. We know, based on facts, that the government has rolled back the CMAs for certain ridings. It knows there is a problem. Houston, there is a problem. It even said so in the budget, but it has done nothing to address this.
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- May/28/24 12:25:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague missed my four-minute speech. York—Simcoe does not qualify for the 20% rural top-up. I need her to understand that in York-Simcoe, we are on the outside looking in. I would also point out that the fastest growing area in Canada is East Gwillimbury, in my riding, and none of the six northern communities got any housing accelerator funds.
I would sum it up to my colleague like this. York—Simcoe is too Toronto for the rural top-up, but not Toronto enough for any housing accelerator funds. It does not make sense. It is completely upside down. I think of the Chippewas of Georgina Island, out in the middle of Lake Simcoe, which one has to take a ferry to. Could the member square the circle for us? What would she like me to tell the chief on the Chippewas of Georgina Island? They are not subject to getting the rural top-up. We do not qualify. We are part of the people who are not qualifying for the rural top-up.
Axe the tax.
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- May/28/24 12:18:32 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, good morning. It is 12:20 a.m., and I rise to get answers and accountability from the NDP-Liberal government on behalf of the hard-working people of York—Simcoe. The Liberal carbon tax has made life more expensive for every Canadian across the country, raising the price of food, fuel and everything else. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed: “When both fiscal and economic impacts of the federal fuel charge are considered...most households will see a net loss.”
Rural Canadians are especially affected, as they have to travel farther for longer to go anywhere and face higher costs across the board compared to urban regions. While the government has introduced a 20% top-up to the carbon tax rebate for small town and rural Canadians, many residents are not eligible to receive it. Under the current rules, in order to qualify for the rural rebate, one must live outside a CMA, a census metropolitan area, as defined by Statistics Canada.
Under these ridiculous rules put in place by the Liberals, my community of York—Simcoe is considered to be part of the Toronto CMA, despite being made up entirely of rural areas, agricultural lands and small towns. This includes the Chippewas of Georgina Island on Lake Simcoe, who are classified as rural and remote in any dealings they have with the federal government.
If people google it, they will see that it would take 16 hours to walk to the closest subway station. We are the ice-fishing capital of Canada, the soup and salad bowl of Canada. That is York—Simcoe, and yet the upside-down Liberal government thinks that the CN Tower is right in our backyard. Houston, we have a problem. We know that the government is aware of this problem.
After all, Liberals recently rolled the census data back to 2016 for those living in Liberal ridings that were to be classified as part of a CMA in the most recent census. This ensured that they would still receive the rural top-up, but the Liberals have done nothing for those who are already unfairly excluded from the rebate, which is affecting those in York—Simcoe, outside Thunder Bay and elsewhere, coast to coast to coast.
Budget 2024 indicated, “The government is also working to expand rural top-up eligibility to more Canadians who need this support and will announce a proposal on better defining rural areas later this year.” As per Liberals, they say as much as they can without saying anything. The carbon tax has been in place for years, and now the Liberals are promising a proposal this year, but we all know what a Liberal promise is worth. That promise will be no relief to the residents of these excluded communities who are struggling to pay for groceries on their table and fuel in their cars right now.
Conservatives will axe the tax, but until then, my job is to stand up for my constituents and get every nickel that is owed to them.
Will the Liberal government commit today to stop screwing over rural Canadians and give York—Simcoe the rural top-up?
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- May/27/24 10:58:30 p.m.
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I would like to check the requirement for quorum, Mr. Speaker.
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- May/22/24 10:34:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is supposed to be a debate on the budget. We can see the Liberal Party is dragging us into its goofy debate about far-right extremists and everything else. It is very disappointing. I am going to allow the member for Winnipeg North to refocus. I am going to talk about how upside-down things are in my riding.
The member spoke about the carbon tax, and we know the carbon tax disproportionately affects rural Canadians. My riding of York—Simcoe, of all things, has been classified as Toronto. We have a first nation in the middle of Lake Simcoe, 70 miles from Toronto, where we cannot even see the CN Tower, that does not get the rural top-up.
The member talked about announcements. It was funny that government members were in my riding to announce money for Lake Simcoe, but the only thing they came for was to let people know that they can possibly apply for money. The government is all talk, no action. People in York—Simcoe have had enough of this.
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- May/9/24 2:38:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that is disinformation. Canadians looking at their bank account know that the carbon tax hurts. After all, the government continues to classify small-town and rural communities as urban, making them ineligible for the rural rebate and forcing them to pay more in carbon taxes to the out-of-touch Prime Minister.
Are the Liberals punishing rural Canadians and dividing them based on geography, or do the Liberals actually think that Pefferlaw is downtown Toronto?
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- May/9/24 2:36:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government has made life even more unaffordable for Canadians by raising the wacko carbon tax by 23%. Gas, groceries and everything else is making life more and more expensive, especially for those living in rural, small-town communities, where driving farther for longer is just a fact of life. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that Canadians would be better off without the carbon tax.
Will the Prime Minister stand today and admit to Canadians that he is just not worth the cost?
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- May/9/24 2:36:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government has made life even more unaffordable for Canadians by raising the wacko carbon tax by 23%. Gas, groceries and everything else is more and more—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/3/24 11:47:28 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are struggling, and rampant crime, drugs and disorder have become the norm. Instead of offering treatment and support to those who need it, the Prime Minister is jeopardizing the safety of Canadians by allowing hard drugs to be used openly in public: on buses, in hospitals and right in front of children and their families. That is enough.
Will the Liberals end their radical drug policies, or will they inflict elsewhere the same chaos seen in B.C.?
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- Apr/29/24 4:42:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, all MPs make Ottawa home when we are here. It is frightening to walk down Bank Street now, to see the homelessness and to see the people lying in the street at night. I had company come, and they were actually afraid to walk down the street. This would be a state of emergency in York—Simcoe.
That brings me to rural Canada. I am from a rural riding. Of all things, now the government is actually taking our money in York—Simcoe because it has classified us as Toronto under the goofy carbon tax regime. The Chippewas of Georgina Island in my riding, a first nation in the middle of Lake Simcoe, are not entitled to the rural top-up, and yet the government classifies them as rural and remote. I would like the hon. member to comment on that.
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- Apr/18/24 5:00:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am trying to make the Liberal government understand. Let us take York—Simcoe, for example, which we are talking about tonight. I want to again talk about the rural top-up of the carbon tax because the government members love to divide Canadians. They are dividing Canadians based on geography now; that is what they are doing. I went atop the CN Tower with binoculars, and I still could not see my riding of York—Simcoe, with binoculars, yet the government chooses to classify us, the soup and salad bowl of Canada, as Toronto. It is actually unbelievable.
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- Apr/18/24 4:58:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we can talk about the housing accelerator fund. Interestingly enough, I am a York Region and Simcoe County MP. The northern six municipalities in my riding applied for the housing accelerator fund, and guess what? They got no money. Apparently, in York—Simcoe, we are “too Toronto” for the rural top-up and actually “not Toronto enough” for any housing funds.
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- Apr/18/24 4:57:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to bring this back to York—Simcoe, it is the farmers, the working class and the middle-class people who are paying for these deficits. Let us look at this. There is $50 billion in new spending. That is more than we bring in through GST alone. I alluded to the fact that York—Simcoe does not have a hospital. We still do not have a hospital. To my NDP colleagues, I would say that we are spending more on the debt than we are on health care. It is unbelievable.
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- Apr/18/24 4:46:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague and friend, the member for Simcoe North who we actually meet out in the middle of Lake Simcoe in rural Ontario.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to the 2024 budget on behalf of the hard-working residents of Bradford West Gwillimbury, the soup and salad bowl of Canada; East Gwillimbury; Georgina; and the Chippewas of Georgina Island.
After nine years of the Liberal government, Canadians are worse off than ever before. Sadly, this failure of a budget will only make things even worse. The Prime Minister and finance minister have refused to listen to common sense and have presided over a shrinking middle class and record-low levels of national productivity.
Prior to releasing this budget, the finance minister promised it would be a plan to unlock pathways to the middle class for the next generation. Wow, can members believe that? The Liberal government used to brag about its ambition to grow the middle class. The first chapter of the Liberal Party's 2015 platform was entitled “Growth for the Middle Class”. The 2019 platform emphasized “Forward: A Real Plan for the Middle Class”. Now, here we are in 2024, and instead of looking to grow the middle class, the Liberals are admitting that because of them, the middle-class lifestyle, which used to be a reasonable and attainable expectation for living life in this country, is now something that few Canadians will ever enjoy. It seems that, over nine years, the promise of Canada is gone.
This is the day-to-day reality facing Canadians. Two-thirds of young Canadians have resigned themselves to being worse off than their parents. Can members imagine that? With this budget, instead of restoring that promise for our citizens, the Liberals are sending a clear message to millennials, to zoomers and to everyone else left behind, saying that it's tough luck and that they should have been born sooner or in better circumstances. However, Canadians, both young and old, are well aware that it is the punishing taxes and the high-spending agenda of the Liberal government that are to blame, and the policies have locked Canadians out of so many of those pathways that people used to join the middle class.
The cost of living is out of control. It has left half of Canadians living paycheque to paycheque. After paying for their everyday expenses, Canadians just do not have money left over to save, and others are resorting to charities and food banks just to get by. It did not need to be this way. Common-sense Conservatives have been calling on the Liberal government to restore the promise of Canada and to bring home lower costs by axing the tax, building the homes and fixing the budget. Unfortunately, the Liberals did not axe the tax. In fact, the Prime Minister increased it by 23% on the first of the month, making it so that families, rural residents, farmers and small businesses suffer even more.
For months, I have been calling on the Liberal government to address the unfairness that has excluded rural communities, like York—Simcoe, from the rural top-up. The Liberals insist on classifying them as Toronto, making them pay more in carbon taxes than other Canadians. After ignoring this problem for years, budget 2024 finally says that the government will look to better define rural areas, but it only commits to put forward a proposal to do so later in the year. Let us talk about a day late and a dollar short. This is just further proof of why we have to axe the tax for everyone everywhere.
The Liberals also have not built the homes, after nine years of the Liberal government. The government promised to lower the price of housing, but now rents and mortgages in Canada have doubled, and middle-class Canadians are forced to live in tent encampments in nearly every city across Canada. Even small towns like mine are seeing the impacts, as all forms of shelter have become unavailable and unaffordable.
Budget 2024 will not make things any better. It will certainly give more opportunities to Liberal ministers to pose for photo ops, but it will not help Canadians who cannot buy a home or who cannot afford to renew their mortgage.
With $40 billion in new spending in budget 2024, it is obvious that the Liberal government has failed to fix the budget. The Prime Minister has failed to put a stop to the inflationary deficits and has failed to rein in spending. He will continue to make life worse for Canadians. The Liberals are now spending more on interest and more on the debt than on health care. There is more money for bankers than for nurses. It is no wonder there is still no hospital in York—Simcoe.
To protect our social programs and to lower costs, Conservatives have called on the government to cap the spending with a dollar-for-dollar rule to bring down interest rates and inflation. That would require the government to find a dollar in savings for every new dollar in spending.
Instead, the Liberals are misleading Canadians, pretending that the rich would pay for the Prime Minister's spending. We all know that it is the everyday Canadians, the extraordinary Canadians, not the Liberal bigwigs and Bay Street billionaires, who have been paying the price. The government even admitted in its response to Order Paper question 2407 this week that it does not even know how many wealthy Canadians have fled the country and no longer paying taxes.
When Canadians look around at what this country has become, they see abysmal failures of the Liberals to address the problems that the Liberal government created. It is more clear now than ever that the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
I recently received a letter from a constituent of mine, Laura. I will read it into the record so that the government can finally understand the pain it is inflicting on Canadians.
She wrote that her family lives in Pefferlaw in a small bungalow. They are a single-income family. She is a stay-at-home mom of two, and her husband works 60 hours a week, just so they can survive financially. They received their gas bill, and over the months, the carbon tax has steadily increased up and up. Now, it has officially become more than their actual usage. They, like so many others, are struggling after the bills are paid and the groceries are purchased. Her grocery shop one day was $167 for just four bags of groceries. They have nothing left over.
She does not pretend to know the intricacies of big government, but she is also not a fool. She really feels like they, and everyone else, are being cheated by the Liberals, who rob from the poor to feed the rich because they lack the ability to budget taxpayers' money. They do not go on vacations. They do not eat out or take their kids to the movies. They live like that, apparently, because the Liberals need their money more than her family does.
The Liberals can choose to keep ignoring the common-sense proposals put forward by Conservatives, but it is shameful that they continue to ignore the plight of everyday Canadians like Laura. Every Canadian knows what a budget is and what it is supposed to do. By definition, it is a means to determine financial goals. With budget 2024, it is evident that the Liberals have no financial goals, no vision, no plan to bring back balanced budgets to our country and affordability to the people. Their only objective is to spend as much of Canadians' money as they can before they are sent packing. The needs of ordinary Canadians be damned.
Canada is broken. Canadians are broke. I will be voting, alongside my common-sense Conservative colleagues, against this budget.
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- Apr/9/24 1:35:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, last week, I went atop the CN Tower to see if I could see my riding of York—Simcoe, and I could not. We know rural Canadians are disproportionately impacted by the carbon tax, but my riding does not receive the rural top-up, the soup and salad bowl of Canada. It is unbelievable.
I wonder if my colleague could comment on the carbon tax disproportionately affecting rural Canadians and why we are not getting the rural top-up.
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- Apr/8/24 2:11:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can you hear that? It is the sound of stomachs rumbling from coast to coast to coast. It is no wonder, with millions of Canadians lining up outside of food banks every month, but the hunger does not stop there.
Every time Canadians see the skyrocketing price of meat, butter and vegetables they are hungry. Every time they see the numbers on the gas pump keep ticking up and up they are hungry. Every time they hear about another Liberal ethics scandal they are hungry. Every time they look to buy a home, pay rent or renew their mortgage they are hungry. Every time their car is stolen in broad view and crime rises in their community they are hungry. Every time they see the out-of-touch Prime Minister hike their taxes again they are hungry.
Canadians are hungry for new leadership from a Conservative government that will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime and bring home a Canada where Canadians are not going hungry anymore.
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- Mar/20/24 5:07:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, here we are again with the Liberal government moving closure.
I find it a little bit rich for the government to pretend to care about reconciliation when the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in my community, my riding of York—Simcoe, are not entitled to the rural top-up. They live on an island in the middle of Lake Simcoe, but they are now considered part of Toronto under this goofy carbon tax regime. Once again, we are seeing the Liberals move closure so that first nations' voices, like mine on the Chippewas of Georgina Island, are being silenced.
Could the minister comment about the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation not being entitled to the rural top-up under this carbon tax regime in York—Simcoe?
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- Mar/19/24 2:08:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is ridiculous. The rural communities of York—Simcoe are not eligible to receive the rural top-up on the carbon tax because they are classified as being part of Toronto by the government, and now, not a single community in northern York Region has received any housing funding from the Liberals' overhyped housing accelerator fund, but Toronto has received half a billion dollars.
A clear message has been sent to the residents of Georgina, East Gwillimbury, Aurora, Uxbridge, Bradford and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. According to the Liberals, they are not Toronto enough for housing funding, but they are too Toronto to get the rural top-up.
The Liberals are out of touch. They are hiking up the carbon tax by 23%, though it does nothing for the environment. Their housing fund will not build a single home, including in fast-growing places such as York—Simcoe.
Enough is enough. Conservatives will spike the hike, axe the tax and bring in homes Canadians can afford.
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- Feb/28/24 5:33:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The government is so concerned about this, yet have not asked for a body break. We should have a body break.
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