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Context: House Hansard - 267 - Dec/13/23

Mar/20/24 7:37:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, for the people watching this debate this evening and for the record, I want to respond to a question that came up earlier with respect to Canada's provision of artillery shells to Ukraine. From our own stocks and from other acquisitions, we have donated over 40,000 155-millimetre shells, but we are also currently involved in an effort sponsored by the Czech Republic to source 800,000 shells for Ukraine. Our contribution for that will be $40 million.

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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Dec/13/23 5:41:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, can the hon. member comment on the fact that a business, such as a trucking company that moves food, pays a price on pollution or a carbon tax but gets a rebate, and as an input cost, it also gets to deduct that from the amount it earns as a company? Does that not, in the member's opinion, really negate the argument that somehow a price on pollution is behind high food prices today?

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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Dec/11/23 12:13:39 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-56

Madam Speaker, the fact is that two years ago we would not have foreseen the situation we face today. The fact is that this is going to be long term. It will intentionally be a forever measure to deal with anti-competitive behaviour in whatever sector it arrives. It is necessary right now to deal with groceries. It will certainly be fundamental in dealing with some of the issues on housing, which the hon. member presented, but it is also going to have to be nimble. Over the course of the years to come, the House will have to sit down and consider what is going on in the day, look at the Competition Act and make the changes necessary to ensure that basically everybody in the market is getting a fair shake. That means not only the producers, the grocery stores and the farmers, but also the consumers.

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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Dec/11/23 12:11:44 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-56

Madam Speaker, to be honest, the hon. member's question is key. The first thing we have to do is really get a firm grasp about what is causing prices to be so high. Hon. members would point to the carbon tax, but there was a report out of the University of Calgary that said, no, that was not really it. We would point to the war between Ukraine and Russia, with Ukraine's exports of grains being greatly reduced because of the conflict, which has had a chilling effect on the availability of food around the world that then had an effect on prices. However, it is anti-competitive behaviour at a time when all of the major grocery chains are recording record profits that suggests there is something not working properly in the free market system. That, I think, is the purpose of the Competition Act amendments.

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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23

Dec/11/23 12:01:04 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-56

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to present updates to Bill C-56, as they are timely and are required to better tackle the increasing cost of living by strengthening Canada's competition law. Two months ago, the government introduced Bill C-56, the affordable housing and groceries act. As members may recall, it was presented as a down payment of sorts on broader reform efforts with respect to Canada's competition law, with more comprehensive amendments to follow pursuant to the fall economic statement. There has already been considerable debate in the chamber on this important piece of legislation, so let us talk about market studies, which are a key part of the legislation. Bill C-56 would provide the Competition Bureau with much-needed market study powers. It is important to ensure that the bureau would retain its independence while it does this. This is why we have supported an update that expressly confirms that the commissioner would be able to initiate a market study. This would remove any possible ambiguity over the market study process and would ensure that the bureau retains its discretion as an independent law enforcement agency. The update would ensure that the bureau would be able to look into specific market issues that it identifies as warranting scrutiny. The modification reflects the existing inquiry structure under the act, where it is already the case that either the commissioner or the minister may initiate an inquiry into potential anti-competitive activity, at which point the commissioner assumes full control of the investigation. The government's proposal has taken these concerns into account by creating a framework that would balance the need for independence, the benefit of collecting information and the safeguards required to protect businesses and public funds. This is why both the commissioner and the minister would be required to consult before any study is undertaken. Requiring consultation would ensure that Canadians would benefit from a market study that has been thoroughly considered and appropriately tailored. The proposal made by the government to update Bill C-56's market study provisions would also keep the framework aligned with international precedents, with countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia all offering various forms of oversight to ensure appropriate use of market study power. Central to this is a test of the abuse of dominance. In order to effectively address increasing prices, we need to enhance more than just the bureau's ability to conduct market studies. It is also important that the law be able to hold today's well-resourced and sophisticated businesses to account. In particular, we need to better address large players who, many believe, abuse their market power to shut out competition, especially given the clear concerns raised throughout our consultation about protecting competition in and contestability of these markets. There are all different kinds of competition. We could talk about the fact that the big grocery chains have been recording record profits. One would think that if companies are posting record profits, they would be in a position to lower prices in order to attract more market share, but we did not see that, which suggests that something in the free market system is not working as we would normally expect it to work. There are other forms of potential anti-competitive behaviour. The ability to get shelf space in a major grocery store is a real competition, and the grocery stores have the hammer, to use a curling term, to find out who gets the market space. More and more, in my own personal observations when I go into grocery stores, I see the in-store brands taking more and more shelf space, with the other brands effectively being crowded out. We believe there has been an unnecessarily high burden to prove behaviours clearly damaging to the public interest. This is out of line with our international partners, by the way, including the United States, the European Union and Australia. These jurisdictions better allocate the burden of proof and allow the agencies to act more easily where harm is apparent. This can include by requiring proof of intent or effects, but not necessarily both. The government's update to Bill C-56 would allow abuse of dominance to be established on the basis of either intent or effects, following the actions of a dominant firm. This would allow for more effective enforcement of the act where there is harmful conduct by large players. It would accomplish what the act is meant to do: stop big businesses from abusing their position to the detriment of competition. The detriment of competition is a detriment to the citizens of Canada. As I noted before, the purpose of remedial orders is to protect competition in the market, not to punish its actors. Recognizing the lower burden involved in securing a remedial order that this change would bring about, the law would limit the remedy in these cases to a prohibition order. More serious remedies, such as monetary penalties and divestiture orders, would continue to require that both anti-competitive intent and effect be proven. This two-tiered approach would help guard against chilling, aggressive competition on the merits. The government already took an important first step to address this concern by positioning penalties to serve as more effective compliance measures against abuse of dominance. We did this through the 2022 amendments to the Competition Act that removed an ineffective and outdated cap on monetary penalties. We introduced a more principled approach that could better accommodate larger volumes of commerce. Firms engaged in anti-competitive conduct can now face a penalty set at up to three times the benefit obtained for their anti-competitive conduct, to ensure that it is not profitable to them. While this was an important update to move away from the outdated and ineffective fixed penalty system, the old fixed amounts of $10 million, or $15 million for a second order, still remain in the law. This is in the event that they are still higher than the new proportionate maximum. However, it is possible that these fallback numbers could still be too low to act as a deterrent in certain cases where abuse by a big business is significant but caught early, and thus benefit derived from it is still modest. As everyone here knows, competition is a driving force behind innovation and efficiency in our economy. It ensures a healthy, fair and vibrant marketplace. This is what the free market system is supposed to nurture and protect. Of course, competition is instrumental in bringing down prices. The fact that we have not seen prices fall in spite of the dominant profits being recorded by big grocery and some of the producers but that we see things like shrinkflation and skimpflation creeping in, where we are paying more for a smaller or inferior product, means that something is not working. When something is not working between what the market price is and what Canadians value, then we think it is the job of government to come in and close that gap. For Canadians, the updates to Bill C-56 would mean more choice and better affordability. When someone needs to pay their bills, the exact motivations or mechanisms behind anti-competitive conduct do not matter. The effect of paying higher prices remains the same. What does matter is that businesses can be held to account. It matters that the law can impose meaningful penalties to ensure compliance. It matters that the Competition Bureau has the information it needs to study problems in the market. The updates to Bill C-56 have been prioritized because they are the most directly related to addressing the issues identified in the grocery retail sectors. In fact, if we look at the whole landscape, particularly the concerns about inflation, the two big players to this point, at least in the retail market, have been gas, oil and diesel, and grocery. We have seen the market handle gas and oil, because the prices have been dropping at the pumps, which is a welcome sign for most Canadians, and probably one of the main reasons inflation in Canada has dropped to well less than half of what it was about a year ago. However, the thing to remember is that the provisions in Bill C-56 now, and what is coming, would apply to all sectors of the economy. As such, they would have a broad and, we hope, positive impact. These changes would also be just the first steps in responding to the issues that have been identified by the stakeholders and the public in our comprehensive consultation on Canada's competition law. As the government announced in its fall economic statement, it intends to introduce significant additional amendments for the consideration of Parliamentarians in the coming weeks. Perhaps in the question period to come, some of the hon. members here in the chamber can suggest some additional amendments that we should consider in the coming weeks.

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Context: House Hansard - 247 - Nov/6/23

Dec/7/23 1:47:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do value the hon. member's input, but I have a question. In an era when big grocery is raking in massive profits, which, unfortunately, the opposition does not want to talk about, does the old Conservative idea of trickle-down economics square? Can the member guarantee, if we take the tax off farmers and truckers, that it will trickle down to the consumer or will it simply absorbed by the folks up and down the chain? Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Context: House Hansard - 239 - Oct/25/23

Nov/6/23 11:24:08 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-352

Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is refreshing to see somebody stand up and talk about the cost of living and not blame it all on the price on pollution. However, one would think that, if all these grocery stores are making so much money, there would be an unholy competition to drop prices to get more customers into the store and get more market share. I am wondering if the hon. member has thought about doing the deeper dive and going to the producers of the food. We have seen shrinkflation, and we have seen a lot of things happening a layer below the grocery stores. I am wondering if he has thoughts about that aspect.

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Context: House Hansard - 202 - May/30/23

Oct/25/23 6:19:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, definitely I think so. I think this is a first step. This is a catalyst that could get that kind of discussion taken up at the transport committee, which would have an opportunity to dig into the details. This is what we need to accomplish, in my view. The “how” part is definitely necessarily a focus of conversation among the members of the House who are charged with delving deeper into the issue.

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May/30/23 4:14:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for Edmonton Strathcona, who participated in the study that was done at the Canada-China committee, where the report was tabled a couple of weeks ago. In that regard, in the recommendations is a call for a foreign agents registry; there are also a lot of other pieces that could, in fact, form the terms of reference for some form of inquiry. Given the fact that so much of what we have had exposure to is all covered by the Official Secrets Act and could never actually be made public, could the hon. member for Burnaby South give us more details as to what he would see as those terms of reference?

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May/16/23 11:45:25 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-21

Madam Speaker, I wonder if the hon. member could comment on the fact that firearms-related incidents in northern Saskatchewan went up by 75% from 2017 to 2021, or the fact that the shooting in The Danforth in Toronto was done with a gun that was stolen in Saskatchewan. I guess it really comes down to a fundamental question: Who on earth, in this country, other than police or the military, needs a handgun?

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May/16/23 11:15:40 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-21

Madam Speaker, I noted that handguns tend to represent the largest share of homicides by firearms in Canada, close to 60%, in fact. Does the hon. member believe that firearms are necessary in the hands of civilians anywhere, at any time, in Canada?

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May/16/23 10:45:34 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-21

Madam Speaker, I guess I would like the hon. member to comment on the fact that back in the Stephen Harper days the Conservatives cut the CBSA by, I heard, up to 1,000 people. The Liberals have restored that and added to it. To the member's knowledge, would the Conservatives, if they formed government, go back and cut the CBSA again?

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Context: House Hansard - 165 - Mar/7/23

May/16/23 8:12:38 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-21

Madam Speaker, I have one comment. I shot myself in the military, or I should say, I did not shoot myself, but I was taught to shoot in the military, and I like to go to the range. If some of the weapons that would be banned were available at the range where we could just go out to rent them and shoot an AR-15, which is a very fun gun to shoot, would that be of interest to the hon. member? Would the hon. member agree that, in spite of any weapons that are not going to be available in the future, there are still more than enough models available for hunters to go about doing what they do?

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Context: House Hansard - 132 - Nov/22/22

Mar/7/23 12:53:54 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-27

Madam Speaker, I wanted to relate to the hon. member an experience I had back in 2014 or 2015. I saw something on Facebook that said it was Stephen Harper's birthday and to wish him a happy birthday, so I did. What the heck. I am a Liberal, and I know he is a Conservative. I disagree with what Mr. Harper did, but a birthday is a birthday. Imagine my surprise when, after that, I saw posts online that put me down as a supporter of Stephen Harper. That did raise some questions among my family and others. That is an example of something that also needs to be paid attention to. How many times, for instance, have we been asked to fill out a personality test, or whatever, not knowing that we are giving all this information that could be used against us? I am wondering if the hon. member could reflect on that.

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Context: House Hansard - 112 - Oct/18/22

Nov/22/22 1:16:34 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-20

Mr. Speaker, back in 2003 the Harvard Business Review issued a publication that I think should be required reading for anybody who has to deal with the public. It was all about fair process in the knowledge economy. Fair process is a really critical issue, as it should be, for everybody who is overseeing the creation of legislation, such as we are doing now, right down to the work we provide in our constituency offices. Fair process means a good hearing. It means objective review of what has been presented, and it allows for independent, objective analysis, review and recommendations. This is what the legislation proposes to apply to the CBSA, and I think it is probably about three years overdue.

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Context: House Hansard - 111 - Oct/17/22

Oct/18/22 12:53:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I honour the member for the service that he has provided. There is a week coming up in which we need to make sure we do that. I want the member to reflect on something else that has been in the news, which is associated. The British government has warned ex-RAF fighters not to train Chinese pilots. In addition, we hear that former American service people, including senior officers, have been working with the Saudi Arabian government. I am wondering if he could reflect on what he may know about Canadian ex-military people off on these adventures and whether or not he considers this to be dangerous to the overall picture of world security.

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Context: House Hansard - 105 - Sep/29/22

Oct/17/22 2:07:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is indeed Small Business Week and it is a great time to salute those small and medium-sized enterprises that truly are the foundation of Canada's economy. It is just as great a time to recognize the people who work so hard to support those business, including people like Dean Barbour of our Fleetwood Business Improvement Association or Baljit Dhaliwal and Anita Huberman of the Surrey Board of Trade. Their tireless work has been backstopped by our government's pandemic supports, the Canada child benefit and so many other programs. Our government's focus on supporting people who really need some help works, because that money is spent close to home at our local businesses. That is why, unlike the previous Conservative government, we do not send cheques to millionaires and that is why we have more small businesses open for business in Fleetwood—Port Kells today than before the pandemic. All in all, we are a great team making a big difference for families, small and medium-sized businesses and a strong community.

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Context: House Hansard - 97 - Sep/16/22

Sep/29/22 5:01:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I must apologize to the hon. member because I will not attempt to speak French with the question I have. We have seen a “back to the future” move from the Conservative Party. Stephen Harper thought that lowering taxes would promote the trickle-down effect, but what trickled down certainly was not much help to the Canadian economy or the Canadian people. We are hearing the same thing from the new leader of the Conservative Party. Given that they are cut from the same cloth, we should not be surprised. I would like the hon. member to comment on the effectiveness he sees in the Conservative strategy to simply cut taxes as a way to help people through tough times.

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Context: House Hansard - 85 - Jun/9/22

Sep/16/22 10:01:58 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as we rose yesterday to observe a minute's silence marking the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, it struck me that it was such an honour and a privilege to be in this place at such a historic moment. I hope that is something we all realize here in the House. I had not intended to speak, but my thoughts made their way to my family and the connection I have with them now, especially my grandson James, and the connection that being in this place forges for each of us with the descendants who will only know us by the memories we leave. The memories that our Queen, whose entire reign I have witnessed, has left for us give us an opportunity to reflect on what we too will leave, not only for our families but for our country, given the contribution to our national history that each of us has been privileged to offer by virtue of being here. I know that what we have an opportunity to offer in this moment will be captured as long as there is a Canada. This can be as enduring to our families as that part of unforgettable history our Queen has given to all of us. My reflections will begin with the fact that our new King, Charles Ill, is of my time. I will reflect more on this in a few moments. King Charles, in fact, is two years younger than I am. Just as he grew up in the realm of the royal family, I grew up in the glow and influence the royal family had on post-war Canada. Both my grandfathers served for King and country in World War I. Both my parents did likewise in World War II. I was around when King George VI was King and on the throne, and when Sir Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King were prime ministers. I remember the Queen's coronation, and I remember Canadians' love and affection for her and her love of horses and steam locomotives, not to mention the grease under her fingernails as a mechanic and truck driver during the war. This established her place in our hearts long before her coronation, and learning of her love for Canada only made the bond stronger for my family. I remember my mom getting teary-eyed so many years after the fact whenever she spoke about the abdication of King Edward VIII, and I remember going to the movies where, at the end of the film, the Union Jack would come on the screen and we would all stand for the Queen. There are a couple of moments I would like to share. One of them starts in 1939, even before my time, when King George and the Queen Mother visited Vancouver to officially open the Lions Gate Bridge and the Hotel Vancouver. The hotel celebrated its anniversary 60 years later by offering amnesty to anyone who had lifted something from the hotel over the years. There was a prize for the most unique item. Members can imagine my shock and embarrassment to see in the Vancouver Province newspaper that the winner was a relative, my uncle, George Daws, who presented the hotel with a beautiful little sherry glass from which the Queen Mum had sipped. Uncle George hastened to inform all that another uncle, his brother Danny, served the Queen Mum at the hotel during the royal visit, and that it was Danny who pinched the sherry glass. Only now do I reveal the family connection. For the other moment, we need to fast-forward to the American bicentennial in 1976. At that time, I was working at CFOB, a radio station in Fort Frances, Ontario, right across the river from International Falls, Minnesota. I had the privilege of interviewing photographer John De Visser, who had contributed photos from our region to Canada's bicentennial gift to the United States, Entre Amis, a wonderful collection of photos from along our world's longest, undefended border. John's photos, by the way, grace the National Gallery of Canada and many other places across our country. During our broadcast, John mentioned that he had been commissioned by the royal family to photograph Prince Charles's 1975 visit to the Canadian north. This was the one where our future King dove underneath the Arctic ice for half an hour to the great worry and wringing of hands everywhere from Ottawa to London. He, by the way, also sampled raw seal liver, which cemented his reputation, at least with me, as either a fearless adventurer or at the very least a very good sport. There was a big dinner thrown for the Prince of Wales. The whole community was there and they dined on all of the exquisite delicacies that people in the north are fortunate to enjoy. As the story goes, and as John De Visser told it because he was there taking pictures, after the main course, a young Inuit lad was clearing away Charles's dishes. The boy leaned across the table and whispered, “Lick your fork, Duke; there's pie.” If members are fans of Canadian literature, they will see this story recounted in Mordecai Richler's novel Solomon Gursky Was Here. I would like to end with a reflection about the young fellow who grew up with me and who mourns his mom as I did mine, but who now takes on the enormous mantle of responsibility and history as King Charles III. Here is someone who has been educated, mentored and shaped his whole life to fulfill a unique constitutional roll as a monarch. He represents the kind of continuity of experience, values and perspective that republics, at least the democratic ones, lack. There is something valuable in that, and it provides our nation with a foundation that serves us well. Charles III carries with him the values that he and I grew up with, shaped, though, by the monumental changes and challenges human affairs have presented us over our past 70-plus years. He, like most of the generation he and I come from, has had to developed a certain resilience of perspective and adaptation to change. He will do well, and his son Prince William, the Prince of Wales, will in time benefit from the hand-off he receives from his dad. The education and mentoring William receives, added to the rich history and continuity of the monarchy, will be uniquely placed to offer our nation, and the whole world, the perspective and wisdom that he will be able to provide, plus his modern perspective on the world. This will prove invaluable to everybody around the globe, God willing. This is not just nostalgia talking. It is projecting the unique strengths Canada has enjoyed, thanks to the royal family, off into its future as one of the world's great and strongest democracies. It is with an eye to that future that many of us with longer life experiences say with great fondness, “Thank you and God bless Queen Elizabeth II” as she, her prince, her corgis and her horses all enjoy their eternal peace. We will also add, with conviction and hope, God save the King.

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