Refine by MP, party, committee, province, or result type.

Results 1246-1260 of 1268
Sorted by relevance | Sort by date: newest first / oldest first

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I believe the question was whether I see the need for perhaps a different focus. I would agree that we could perhaps do more things other than just the Office of Religious Freedom, but that in no way requires us to shut down the Office of Religious Freedom. If we want to do more things, let us do more things, for sure.

March 21st, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague entirely that this sends a signal to all Canadians that religious freedom is not a priority. The government is going to shut this office down without even taking a second look at it, despite the repeated calls from this side of the House to say that we should see what work it has been doing, see what kind of an influence we have been in the world, and see how we are leading the world in terms of religious freedom.

March 21st, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today and speak to the motion tabled by my colleague the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, which calls for this House to recognize the good work being done by Canada's Office of Religious Freedom and calls for the federal government to renew the current mandate of this office.

March 21st, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, the member pointed out the record we had. I would say I agree with him that we had a very good record in that we were the top country in the G7 when it came to weathering out the global recession. We are proud of our record. We are the Conservative Party of Canada.

March 11th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, my understanding of the tax-free savings account is that it is is something to help our seniors. One of the ways this really helped was that when a senior sold their home and moved into a long-term care facility, they were able to place money in a tax-free savings account where the money would gain interest from the investments they made with that money, and that money would be tax free.

March 11th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity at the beginning of this speech to thank all of the people of Peace River—Westlock for giving me the opportunity to stand in the House and make this speech. Today, I rise to address the issue of fiscal responsibility. The previous Conservative government left the Liberal government a $1 billion surplus.

March 11th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Physician-Assisted Dying  Mr. Speaker, on February 25, 2016, the report of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying was released. It provided a glimpse into the upcoming Liberal government's legislation on euthanasia. The report contained alarming recommendations that went far beyond the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling, including a recommendation that euthanasia be available to children and individuals with mental illness, that all publicly funded health care institutions must provide the service, and that doctors who conscientiously object are forced to provide a referral.

March 11th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of my colleague about driving Civics, Hondas, and Corollas. I drove a Neon in the past, an entry-level vehicle. Being a mechanic, I have also worked on a lot of those types of vehicles. One of the things I would like to point out for my colleague is this.

March 11th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, diversity is definitely one of our strengths in Canada. When we go anywhere in Canada, we will find people who have come from every part of the world. In the northern part of my riding in Alberta there are significant French-speaking communities. I have a large community with a German background in another section and I also have a large Muslim community in Slave Lake.

March 10th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, there are not two levels of citizenship in Canada. Canadian citizenship is Canadian citizenship. What we are concerned about is people who take violent actions against our country. These people have not demonstrated that they share Canadian values, and we are saying that they were never Canadian if that is what they are willing to do.

March 10th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, it appears that the member asking the question is concerned about the revocation of citizenship, which is indeed very serious. When we are revoking the citizenship of a fellow Canadian, it is something that we definitely take seriously. However, we already have two other instances that have allowed the revocation of citizenship in the past, cases of fraud and the commission of war crimes.

March 10th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by outlining my family history to some degree. My grandparents both immigrated from the Netherlands separately and were married in Canada. They went on to produce a large family of 10 children. I have over 80 cousins from that set of grandparents.

March 10th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member started his question by referencing private members' bills, a very important aspect of this whole debate. During the last Parliament, unprecedented numbers of private members' bills were passed, which speaks to the level of democracy in this place then.

February 26th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, my colleague is exactly correct when she says that we are standing up for workers' rights. We are the only party that stands up for the Canadian worker. Both of the other parties are in bed with the unions and would essentially like to see all of Canadian society unionized.

February 26th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, accountability is one part of the bedrock of our democratic society. I think the Liberals are way offside, calling this accountable.

February 26th, 2016House debate

Arnold ViersenConservative