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Member of Parliament

Michael Barrett

  • Member of Parliament
  • Conservative
  • Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $133,355.09

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 172 - Mar/23/23
Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)
  • Mar/23/23 2:05:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, members of our Canadian Forces are being told they are asking for more than the Prime Minister will give. Take, for example, the brutal conditions at my alma matter, the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics at CFB Kingston. Troops are housed in four-person rooms with poor HVAC, broken shared facilities, no privacy, no kitchenettes, no access to storage and bathrooms full of mould. Just yesterday, one member told me he is living in the shacks. His room is heated to 33 degrees and is full of mice. “Would you let your family live here?” he asked. Of course, the answer is absolutely not. Even the equipment is in shambles. LSVWs and lineman construction trucks are well overdue for replacement. No wonder morale and recruitment are dismal when the government will not provide our men and women in uniform the equipment or living quarters they need. We ask everything of the men and women in our Armed Forces. It is about time the Liberals give them what they need to get the job done.
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Context: House Hansard - 104 - Sep/28/22
Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)
  • Sep/28/22 7:35:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, after the Liberals finally caught up with our international allies and declared that it is safe for people to get onto planes and trains or return to work in the federal public service without a COVID vaccine, they are still saying that it is unsafe for a person to serve our country in the Canadian Armed Forces. We know that the Liberals replaced COVID science with political science a long time ago, so it comes as no surprise that they would continue such an unscientific and contradictory mandate. Canada's soldiers, sailors and airmen are the best in the world. Let me say that again: They are the best in the world. We have watched time and time again as they have answered our country's call and calls for aid from nations around the world. Just this week, we have witnessed them come to the aid of our friends in Atlantic Canada in the aftermath of a hurricane, where we heard grandmothers breathing sighs of relief at the sight of our soldiers rolling into tiny villages to lend a hand. With Russia on the war path, Canada's armed forces must be prepared to defend our allies and our borders. It is high time for the Prime Minister to drop the last of his politically motivated and divisive COVID mandates and give our brave men and women in uniform their jobs back. This week we heard that Friday will be the last day for COVID border restrictions, such as the proof of vaccination, quarantine, testing and isolation requirements for people entering Canada, as the government catches up to all of the provinces on following the science. We know that, at the same time, the mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app will cease. This is important because Canadians have had an incredibly challenging time. We have seen people lose their jobs. We have seen people struggle with the isolation of lockdowns. We have seen people miss monumental events such as welcoming new life and saying goodbye to loved ones. At a time when Canadians are facing unprecedented, in many of their lives, cost-of-living increases, the government has collected or issued fines worth over a million dollars to people trying to enter Canada. It is because of the failed ArriveCAN app that it has issued those fines. The government needs to do the right thing, and it needs to do the compassionate thing. It needs to rescind the fines, cancel the collections and refund the payments to Canadians. Frankly, it needs to apologize for the impacts of this failed app on Canadians. I do not know what the difference is in the science today and the science Saturday that will see these mandates end, but it is high time that they end. We are glad that they are ending. We call on the government to do the right thing and refund those who have been wrongly fined with the ArriveCAN app.
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