- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20
- Government Page
- May/7/24 2:01:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a joy for me to be able to celebrate the great career and send best wishes on the upcoming retirement of a renowned educator from my community, Principal Francis Poole. Mr. Poole was actually my principal when I was in elementary school, and it will not surprise members to hear that I spent a lot of time in the principal's office. However, in those days, going to the principal's office was always a pleasure. Mr. Poole's warm and gregarious personality lit up the whole school environment.
When running for office and since being elected, I have had occasion to return to the principal's office, and I have always appreciated Mr. Poole's warmth and his sharp, candid advice. Thousands of families in my community have been positively impacted by Mr. Poole's career. As the principal of Strathcona Christian Academy, Mr. Poole's life and career are defined by his faith in Jesus Christ and the joyful way that he shares that faith with everyone he meets. As Mr. Poole would say it, “Blessings on you, my friend.” May he enjoy retirement.
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- Feb/26/24 3:36:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition responds to a government policy that would restrict access to natural health products, which Canadians rely on every day for their health and safety.
The petitioners note that Liberals are threatening access to natural health products through new rules that would mean higher cost and fewer products available on the shelf. They note that so-called cost-recovery provisions would impose massive costs on all consumers of natural health products and undermine Canadians' access to these products. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to reverse the changes made in the last Liberal budget regarding natural health products.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member that many Canadians are struggling right now. I would challenge her to reconsider her participation in the confidence and supply agreement with the government as a result. Maybe we will have to agree to disagree on whether more federal spending on federal bureaucracy, sticking its nose into provincial jurisdiction, is actually going to improve the lives of, for instance, kids who are hungry in schools.
I want to ask the member about the bill before us, Bill C-62, and the situation around euthanasia and facilitated suicide in Canada. Because of the challenges we are seeing, with people facing pressure and people being offered or having euthanasia pushed on them, in our last election platform, Conservatives proposed that we would protect the right of patients to choose to receive care in a MAID-free environment. That is, by protecting the conscience rights of physicians and health care institutions, we would preserve the right of patients to choose to be in a hospice or a health care facility where they know they would be offered life-affirming care.
There are many Canadians, I think, who want that. They do not appreciate being in a situation where government bureaucrats, health care officials or bureaucrats in other departments are pushing, promoting or encouraging them to choose a path they do not want to take.
Does the NDP support our proposal to protect the right of patients to choose to receive care in euthanasia-free or MAID-free spaces?
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- Feb/6/24 8:00:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in the midst of this gross corruption scandal, we continue to get bureaucratic non-answers from the NDP-Liberal government.
I had a very simple question that was not answered, so I will ask that simple question again. Why were two senior public servants suspended without pay in the middle of an investigation only after they had offered testimony critical of more senior public servants and the government? Why were they suspended after their testimony?
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- Jan/30/24 3:17:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if you could clarify the rules with respect to the cases in which members are expected to apologize for a violation of the rules and the cases in which members are not required to apologize.
I note the difference between the treatment of a member of the NDP caucus during question period and that of a member of the Conservative caucus this morning, even though the violation by the member from the NDP caucus was evidently much more egregious.
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- Jan/30/24 3:17:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I wonder if you could clarify the cases in which an individual is expected to apologize for a violation of the rules and when an individual is not expected to apologize for a violation of the rules.
During question period, a member used unparliamentary language and was not expected to apologize. Meanwhile, earlier today, a member of the Conservative caucus was forced to—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jan/30/24 10:26:06 a.m.
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Next, Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition about changes the government has made to natural health product regulations. The petitioners note that the government is threatening access to natural health products through rules that would mean higher costs and fewer products available on store shelves. The petitioners note that so-called cost-recovery provisions could impose massive costs on all consumers of natural health products and undermine access for Canadians who rely on these products; and further, that provisions in the last Liberal omnibus budget have given the government substantial new arbitrary powers around regulation.
Of course, there is a private member's bill from a Conservative member that seeks to reverse these changes. Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to implement the proposals in that excellent Conservative private member's bill that is to reverse the changes made in the last Liberal budget regarding natural health products.
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Madam Speaker, I am sorry to interrupt the member, but I have an important UC request for a motion on Bill C-57 that I think the House will want to hear: That, notwithstanding any standing order—
Some hon. members: No.
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- Dec/7/23 3:19:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member for Timmins—James Bay frequently tries to shout down the indigenous woman in our caucus, the member for Lakeland, at the natural resources committee—
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- Nov/1/23 4:07:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented on Tuesday, February 14, be concurred in.
I will be sharing my time with my great colleague from Yorkton—Melville.
This is an important report from the foreign affairs committee that focuses on the many actions required from Canada to continue and strengthen our support for the people of Ukraine. This week, at the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, we had harrowing testimony noting that as part of its illegal, genocidal invasion of Ukraine, Russia is using child abduction. Children are being abducted from Ukraine and brought to Russia, and this is part of the genocidal campaign of the Putin regime. It was harrowing testimony, and we will be hearing directly from victims at next Tuesday's hearings. This underlines how critical it is that we stand with Ukraine, that we fight for freedom and that we stand for truth and justice.
During yesterday's testimony, the point was made about Ukraine's territorial integrity that territorial integrity is not simply or primarily a matter of land. It is a matter of people. When Russia takes over or tries to take over territory, it is not just stealing land. The Russian regime is involved in a campaign of stealing people, of forcing people into its authoritarian orbit, of sexual violence and of stealing children from their families. Therefore, when Ukraine fights for territorial integrity, when it demands respect for territorial integrity, this is not just or primarily a matter of land; it is a matter of people and preventing the Putin regime from stealing people.
This report, a unanimous report from the foreign affairs committee that we are seeking to concur in today, has many different recommendations, all of which are important and many of which speak to justice, to bringing the aggressor to justice and to the steps Canada can take to do this, including, for instance, supporting the special tribunal for the crime of aggression. Recommendation 4 speaks of expelling diplomats. The report includes some creative ways of getting information to the Russian people, such as “supporting a free and open internet in Russia through the use of technologies such as virtual private networks”. There are many recommendations that are valuable and would be relatively uncontroversial in this House.
I want to focus my remarks on two recommendations. Those are recommendation 12 and recommendation 15. Recommendation 12 of this report says, “That the Government of Canada not grant a sanctions waiver to Siemens Energy Canada Limited for Nord Stream 1 pipeline turbines as long as sanctions remain in effect.”
This was an important recommendation because last summer, instead of working to bring Canadian energy to Europe to displace Russian oil and gas exports and instead of trying to use Canadian energy as a tool to reduce European dependence on Russia, the government was granting an exception to sanctions to allow the export of turbines to facilitate Russian energy exports to Europe. Rather than helping to create jobs in Canada and supporting energy exports from Canada to Europe, the government was more interested in allowing turbines that would facilitate the export of energy from Russia to Europe. Russian energy exports have been critical for the Putin regime as it tries to maintain its war. Its selling of energy is fuelling the violence we are seeing.
The area where the government has been the weakest when it comes to supporting our allies in their fight against the Putin regime is not understanding the importance of energy security and not understanding the crucial role that Canada could play there. It is a win-win-win. Exporting our energy, developing our energy sector and supporting the rapid export of energy resources to Europe are good for European security and good for our economy.
Often we talk about energy as an economic issue only. It is an economic issue but also a global security issue, because most of the world's democracies are geographically small, densely populated nations that rely on energy imports. As long as those nations are buying gas from Russia, they are sending back money that is being used as part of this horrific campaign of genocidal violence against Ukraine.
Canada, as a geographically large and sparsely populated country rich in natural resources, has a unique and special role to play if we develop our energy sector and we export that energy, displacing that dependence. Last summer, instead of thinking about this economic opportunity and security imperative, the government was granting a turbine to facilitate continuing exports of gas from Russia through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. This was a massive betrayal of our allies in Ukraine. The ambassador from Ukraine came before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and was very clear that this was not at all what the Ukrainian government wanted. The Ukrainian government recognized the vital importance of allies standing united in opposing those sanctions, and the government failed.
That is recommendation 12. It is important the House concur in that recommendation as a sign of support for Ukraine and to be clear that never again should we allow the kind of weakening of sanctions we saw last fall. Finally, after months, the government pulled back on that permit after sustained opposition pressure, but frankly it sent a very negative and counterproductive message at the time.
Finally, I want to speak about recommendation 15. Recommendation 15 calls on the Government of Canada to list the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. This would be a critical step. The Wagner Group is responsible for horrific violence in Ukraine but also for violence in other parts of the world. The Wagner Group is notionally a private military organization with close affiliations with the Russian government. Historically, of course there have been some structural changes since the abortive coup and some further developments since this report was tabled, although it still makes good sense to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization as per this recommendation, as well as to look for the ways in which the institutional architecture of this oppression shifts as the Russian government responds to the abortive coup.
The call for the listing of Wagner Group as a terrorist organization is important in terms of delivering justice for the people of Ukraine and holding these violent terrorists accountable. It is also important for people of many other countries. There are many countries in Africa where the Wagner Group has been operating and has been, in effect, stealing from the people of those countries and has been responsible for absolutely brutal campaigns of violence within those countries. We see the increasing deployment and use of the Wagner Group in particular in Africa responsible for so much death and destruction and a kind of neocolonial policy of the Russian government trying to subject African countries and deploying this violence against vulnerable people.
The Liberal government has refused calls to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. There was a unanimous consent motion in the House calling for that listing. There was this recommendation of the foreign affairs committee, a unanimous recommendation I believe, calling for the listing of Wagner as a terrorist organization. This is another way where we need to see the Liberal government step up in terms of its support for Ukraine.
There are many different positive recommendations in terms of bringing the Putin regime to justice and providing military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. These are all recommendations Conservatives support. We strongly support the actions required for quickly delivering the support necessary to the people of Ukraine.
Again, I want to particularly highlight these two recommendations, where the government has been unfortunately missing in action. Number 12 is on energy security. If Canada is going to support Ukraine effectively, we must attend to the energy security dimension of this conflict. We must attend to the reality that the Russian regime relies on energy exports in order to fund this aggressive war. Canada can provide an alternative for countries that have in the past been dependent on Russia.
We must attend to the energy security dimension and we must recognize the terrorist groups like the Wagner Group that the Russian regime is using for violence in Ukraine, for violence at home and indeed for violence around the world.
Concurring in this 10th report, including recognizing the importance of those particular recommendations, would go a long way. We are proud to propose that the House take these steps today to make these important acts of recognition.
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- Oct/16/23 4:10:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling responds to grave concerns that I have heard from many of my constituents about changes that the government has made around the regulation and costs of natural health products. The petitioners say that Liberals are threatening access to natural health products through new rules that will mean higher costs and fewer products available on store shelves. New so-called cost recovery provisions would impose massive costs on all consumers of natural health products and undermine access for Canadians who rely on these products.
The petitioners also note that provisions in the latest Liberal omnibus budget have given the government substantial new arbitrary powers around the regulation of natural health products, and they call on the Government of Canada to reverse the changes made in the latest Liberal budget regarding natural health products.
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- Jun/12/23 6:35:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the matter of the consultation requirements, the House leader said that House leaders were consulted. He did not consult with our caucus in the drafting of this at all. He consulted with the NDP maybe—
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- May/4/23 1:01:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it will not surprise the member that I do not agree with her characterization of the Conservatives' role in this. We have been putting forward constructive solutions from the beginning. We have been proposing policy ideas that the government could take. Our motion is very clear in putting forward policy solutions. It does not contain any shots at the government in terms of the policy proposals that are being put forward. It proposes solutions. If the House could get behind these solutions, then I think we would have a clear road map for going forward. I am proud of the role we have played in holding the government accountable and also in being constructive in the approach we are taking.
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Madam Speaker, it is quite a thing to be accused of ranting by the member for Winnipeg North. I am so sorry to have disappointed him with my speech. I recall in an earlier exchange he referred to me as a “mischievous little guy”. I framed that and put it on my wall. That is truly having a ride. The goal I set out from the beginning was to be thus recognized by the member.
He asks what changes to the bill I would like. I suggest he support changes that reflect what Conservative members, in their wisdom, have put forward through our policy declaration, which we, as a caucus, are strongly supporting. This is the idea that there is a right to digital privacy that comes before the corporate friends of that member and the government.
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Madam Speaker, our party has a diversity of views on many aspects of the euthanasia regime in this country. At various stages along the way, there have been Conservatives who have expressed different points of views and voted different ways. My past interventions are well on the record, and I think they have actually been borne out by the experience of this.
When we first debated Bill C-14, I said there was a slippery slope here and the so-called restrictions were not going to work and were not going to remain in place. We have slid quite far down that slippery slope, so I can certainly defend the positions I have taken historically.
I think the diversity of views within our party is often a source of strength, but our caucus is united in saying that this expansion of euthanasia to those with mental health challenges is not acceptable and is not justified. It is something we are united in opposing.
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- Feb/6/23 3:44:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we are discussing McKinsey. I spoke in my remarks about the issue of control. We can have debates in this House about how we approach immigration policy and various aspects of it. What we ought to agree on is that those decisions should be made by people's representatives and that they should be made in a transparent way. If there are conversations happening within the bureaucracy, those should be subject to the same kind of transparency and accountability mechanisms that we have come to expect from our government.
However, we would not want to see decisions being made outside of the public service by consultants to direct the country on very fundamental issues of values, character, immigration policies and other such things. We would want to see them being made by the people's representatives.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak today to a bill put forward by my friend from Beaches—East York. I want to wish him well with his explorations regarding the provincial Liberal leadership here in Ontario. It will be interesting to see how he does with the caucus management side given his independent streak. The good news for him is that the Liberal Party caucus in Ontario is such a small caucus to manage that it should be a bit easier. I do wish him well—
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Mr. Speaker, it is often said that the Liberal backbench is revolting. That may be a reason there is unrest in the Liberal caucus over the fact that only a small number of members are given an opportunity to speak. It is hard to speculate on what does and does not happen in the Liberal caucus room, but I agree with the member that it is a bit odd.
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- Oct/18/22 11:34:58 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member is certainly creative in her reimagining of comments that I and others have allegedly made. Fortunately, those comments are on the record and anybody can go back and review them to realize how nonsensical her paraphrase of them was. However, it is an important discussion and question to ask.
My view is that unilateral nuclear disarmament is not an effective way of pursuing global peace, that if western nations and NATO countries were to unilaterally disarm themselves of nuclear weapons that this disarmament would not be reciprocated by countries like Russia and that we would be more vulnerable as a result.
I support efforts to negotiate mutual reductions in nuclear weapons, consistent with the non-proliferation treaty that Canada is a party to, but I do not support NDP proposals for unilateral nuclear disarmament. Unilateral nuclear disarmament actually increases the likelihood that a nuclear weapon will be used by a hostile power. That is my position and I think it is the right position.
I would be curious to hear how the NDP thinks that unilateral nuclear disarmament will make us less vulnerable to these kinds of threats.
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- Oct/18/22 11:18:05 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is important to pick up and follow the comments made by the member for Timmins—James Bay. The Conservative Party has been very clear in its support for Ukraine and in pushing the government to do more. Certainly, our focus is on federal politics and on Canada's need to engage internationally in a principled way when it comes to supplying the weapons that are required.
I think the member for Timmins—James Bay should reflect on the failures of his own party in this respect. His party, from what I understand, continues to call for unilateral nuclear disarmament as a supposed solution to the international threats we have seen. Unilateral nuclear disarmament by NATO countries would leave us that much more vulnerable to threats and pressure from the Putin regime.
We are having this discussion with the NDP through our colleague from the Bloc, which is a bit unfair to him in some ways, but I wonder if I could ask him to share his thoughts on the proposal of unilateral nuclear disarmament and what the impacts of that would be.
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