James Bezan

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, for 607 days now we have witnessed Ukraine valiantly fight back against the Russian invasion. For 607 days, we have watched Russia carry out mass atrocities, and we know that Vladimir Putin wants to commit a genocide against the people of Ukraine.

One of the things that Ukraine is begging for is Canadian energy to make sure that Ukrainians are able to survive another cold winter since this war has started and not be dependent upon natural gas and oil from Russia. Will the member commit today to making sure we can send Canadian ethical energy, our liquefied natural gas and oil, to Ukraine so that it can have a comfortable winter and not be putting money into the fuel tank of Putin's war machine?

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech on the need to provide more support to Ukraine.

The member talked about the military aid we provide for Ukraine. I can tell members that when I was in Ukraine earlier this summer, they were very grateful for the support that Canada has given them. However, as Conservatives, we have been advocating for quite some time that the Government of Canada actually provide more military aid to Ukraine, including more weapons.

One of the things that we are about to be decommissioning here in Canada, and some have already been sent off to the scrap heap, is a number of our older armoured vehicles. Armatec, in London, Ontario, has offered to take those old vehicles, refurbish them and send them off to Ukraine to help them win this war. We know that the M113 track LAVs that Canada has would be very welcome along with our old Bisons and Coyotes that are in the process of being retired.

The old M113s that were sent from the United States and Australia have actually helped liberate Kharkiv, and we know that in this fight today, the more Ukrainians are being put in armed vehicles, the more they can push back and the more they can win.

I would ask the member if he would support having Armatec refurbish old, outdated LAVs that the Government of Canada is retiring from the Canadian Armed Forces.

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Abbotsford for the leadership he has shown on this file, going back to 2014-15 when he was minister of trade. I had the pleasure of accompanying him on a trade mission to Ukraine when we started this whole process.

As the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan mentioned, he has been a very strong advocate for Ukraine and its ability to defend itself against the Russian invasion and the atrocities that Putin and his proxies are committing in Ukraine. In the trade agreement, the Liberals would be sneaking in one of their ideological platform ideas on carbon taxing and carbon pricing.

Does the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan believe that it is important to put carbon pricing on energy? Every time I have talked to Ukrainians whenever I have been in Ukraine, they want more of our energy and more of our technologies so they can produce more energy there to replace the Russian oil and gas they have to use, which fund Putin's war machine.

[National Defence, October 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is actually repeating Liberal history, known as the decade of darkness. Soldiers and their families back then were forced to use food banks. There were slashes to training programs. They operated with old equipment and were sent to Afghanistan without proper boots or uniforms.

Now, this month, the headlines read, “Soldiers asking for donations to help with housing, food costs”; “Canadian Forces personnel leaving the ranks over lack of affordable housing”; and, “Federal government looking to cut $1 billion from National Defence budget”.

Our troops are out there fighting for our freedoms. Why is the Prime Minister attacking their economic freedom?

[National Defence, October 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight miserable years, our military heroes can no longer afford the Prime Minister. The NDP-Liberal government keeps driving troop morale down and their costs up.

A recently leaked report stated, “Increasingly, members will release (from the Canadian Forces) rather than relocate to an area they cannot afford or taking a loss on an existing home.” The Canadian Armed Forces are in a crisis and are short 16,000 people, but the Liberals are pushing people away and making things worse.

Why is the Prime Minister destroying our military?

[Veterans Affairs, October 18th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are discriminating against people of faith who want to pay tribute to our veterans. It is bad Liberal policy that is actually driving down morale in the Canadian Armed Forces.

It was reported that troops are leaving the forces in droves because of the lack of good, affordable housing. Sadly, military families are being forced to ask for donations to help offset the high cost of food and housing. After eight long years, the troops can no longer afford the Liberals or make that sacrifice.

When will the Prime Minister finally start supporting our troops?

[Carbon Pricing, October 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, that sounded like a bunch of gobbledygook. In my riding, we have some of the best turkey producers in Canada, but the Liberal-NDP carbon tax is increasing the cost to feed their turkeys and heat their barns. When the Liberals tax the farmers who grow the food and the truckers who ship the food, Canadians have to pay more to buy the food. Canadians know that the Liberal-NDP coalition is just not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister stop his photo ops, get back to work and axe the carbon tax, or is he just going to wreck Thanksgiving for everyone?

[Carbon Pricing, October 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Global News published a report just last week that over seven million Canadians are struggling to put food on the table. Let us talk turkey. Under the last Conservative government, turkey cost only $1.49 a pound, but under the Liberals, it is $2.49 that Canadians have to pay. That is a 67% increase. The Liberal-NDP carbon tax is hurting everyday Canadians, who are just trying to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner with their families. After eight long years of the Liberals, Canadians have had enough.

Why are the Liberals not axing the carbon tax so Canadians can bring home affordable dinners this Thanksgiving weekend?

[Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, October 5th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I too hear from my constituents all the time, from seniors, that a disparity has been created by the Liberals between those who are 65 to 75 and those 75 and over in the amount of money they receive through their pensions. That does need to be rectified.

I forgot to mention that one of the seniors from my riding, Bill from Beausejour, wrote to me that the big bonuses given out by the Liberals to Bank of Canada executives and CMHC executives appear to be very plainly a slap in the face to Canadians struggling to house their families.

[Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, October 5th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, every time we can give more power to the Competition Bureau to actually do its job and create more competition in the marketplace, consumers win. The rules around the efficiencies defence have to be addressed. Efficiencies usually mean fewer jobs, and we know efficiencies that have been applied in the past have meant we have had more concentration of the market and fewer and fewer players, and that has not helped the consumer.

Although there is all this talk about the affordable housing and groceries act, the change that is suggested here, as it was by the member for Bay of Quinte, addresses the entire Competition Act. It goes beyond food production as well as grocers and it talks about every part of the industry so we can have this opportunity to apply a new lens when we are looking at acquisitions and mergers.