Madam Chair, can the minister confirm that Canada is purchasing a block of F-35 fight planes from the scrapped Turkish purchase of Block 3 aircraft while the latest model, the Block 4, is unavailable; in other words, a less capable fighter?
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Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Chair, can the minister confirm that Canada is purchasing a block of F-35 fight planes from the scrapped Turkish purchase of Block 3 aircraft while the latest model, the Block 4, is unavailable; in other words, a less capable fighter?
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Chair, as I just stated, that is already set as part of the consortium agreement. Does the minister actually suggest that somehow Canada is going to be able to have a different process than the others in the consortium when it comes to price?
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Chair, the minister knows that, as a member of the consortium, Canada gets the F-35 at the same price as the United States in the year of purchase. Can she confirm that is correct?
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Minister, we know that Lockheed was allowed to bid after the government changed existing ITB rules requiring 100% offsets. Innovation, Science and Economic Development decided to allow F-35 to submit a best-efforts ITB proposal that would be negatively scored, because it was unable to guarantee benefits. Does the minister agree with that?
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Chair, Bagotville and Cold Lake cannot prepare for the F-35, because there has been no contract signed. When will the F-35 contract be signed?
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Chair, the government has named the F-35 the successful bidder for the future fighter requirement. The minister, on CTV's Question Period on Sunday, April 3, 2022, said, “At the end of the day, when this contract is signed, there will be guaranteed industrial benefits.” Does the minister still say that this is correct?
Child Care May 19th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing 30-year-high inflation. A single dad in my riding tells me he was looking at an illegal 18-by-18 foot rental unit for $1,500 a month and competing with dozens of others.
My daughter and her husband rent in east Vancouver. Their small one-bedroom has no storage and no parking for $2,200 per month. How can young people save for a down payment on a house when their entire pay is going to rent and food?
When is the government going to get serious and help working Canadians with this cost-of-living crisis?
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Speaker, there have been many suggestions made by people with knowledge. Rachel Bertone from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, for instance, emphasized that international arriving passengers are being delayed by public health requirements. Others are saying that they need more hiring; they need to get more staff, and they need to pay attention to this. It is not only one thing. It is many things that need to come together in a prudent and rational approach to travel and to the recovery of our tourism economy.
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Speaker, I am a big believer in paying people for the work they do, and border security and security at our airports are very important jobs. However, the fact is that the staffing shortages, and I think in my speech I alluded to their being at least 1,000 lower than they were, are just not acceptable.
I am not intimately knowledgeable about the union issues with CATSA right now, but I would say this: If there are union issues, then it needs to deal with them and it needs to care about the experiences of the travelling Canadian public, whether it is within our own country or going to another country. People want to get back to seeing relatives; they want to get back to being able to travel, and they do not understand why there are more restrictions in an airport and on an airplane than anywhere else where they spend their time.
Business of Supply May 19th, 2022
Madam Speaker, I have to applaud my friend for bringing the issue of prayer into airports. If I understand the question correctly, he is asking if this is based in policy, and we are saying it is absolutely based in policy. Every provincial health authority in every province has lifted vaccine passports and mask mandates. We see our own Prime Minister travelling abroad in countries with low vaccination rates and he is unmasked, with groups of people, anywhere from bars to restaurants to formal meetings. We walk out of this place, out of Parliament, take our mask off, and we can go to any restaurant and to any place we want to shop without a mask. It is simply unreasonable, and the Liberals refuse to tell us what the science is that they claim they are relying on.