Government Operations Committee on Nov. 29th, 2023

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Chair, thank you for allowing me to intervene.

Looking at this amendment, a number of things are troublesome for me. I think the first step in this is to recognize that the amendments would have a significant impact on public confidence again.

What I believe in, which is really important at this point in time, is ending the confusion, clearing up the context and making sure there is a clear understanding of what's at stake here and how the investment takes place.

Unfortunately, the amendment would create a process that would effectively remove me from even communicating with my constituents about this matter. It would actually bar me from even bringing forth, out of good conscience, information. Other people would be discussing this in my own community and I would have to lie to their faces. I would not be able to communicate this to even Unifor.

The amendment that is being suggested would effectively remove the member for Windsor West's opportunity to engage in this discussion in the future to any meaningful extent.

I appreciate the fact that when we came here and when I made my first adjustment to the amendment, we got rid of the political jargon that was at the beginning of the amendment.

Second, I supported the Liberals in getting rid of paragraphs (g) and (h) because it was a process we also weren't comfortable with.

Here we are with an amendment that, at this point in time, I cannot support because I believe it's actually going to cause more problems in the future, as opposed to improving the situation.

We have so many different numbers out there right now. The member for Windsor—Tecumseh says that we don't. We've heard even today some different numbers that have come out.

When I asked my first question in the House of Commons, it was one job. Later on, it became 100 jobs and then 1,500 jobs. The job numbers are changing constantly. That's an issue in itself. Whether the contracts will give us that specific information, we'll find out.

One thing that is interesting is that when the companies sign these agreements with the government, they already have non-disclosure clauses on what they don't want to go public. That is already in the process when they sign these agreements. They understand they are going to be the recipient of public funds and public services. The things they do not want to be disclosed, we will not get anyway.

I look at what we went through with the Volkswagen situation. I refused to go to the actual hearing for the Volkswagen situation because I had to lock myself up in a room without any information that I could actually bring out of that room. Essentially, if I wanted to talk about Volkswagen in the future with any substance, I could have made a mistake and broken the law because I could have accidentally disclosed information. I couldn't even make notes.

In this motion, you can't even make reference notes for yourself. Ten years from now, I won't even be able to reference the situation with the confidence of knowing that what I actually got was right there.

On top of this, I have to tell you that Ottawa is one of the worst places to try to keep secrets. That's one thing I've learned here. What happens if we go into this lock-up process and into that situation where we can't make our notes and we can't actually say things outside? We can't converse with anybody else outside. What happens if something actually gets leaked or somebody claims that something has been leaked? We can't defend that.

I've worked in the auto sector. I've worked in plant 3 and plant 6 in Windsor. My father was a marketing and incentives manager for Chrysler. I believe in these jobs; I have for a long time. I believe with confidence that we actually have to transition something. It's not our fault that the United States moved with the Inflation Reduction Act. Both the Democrats and the Republicans decided to aggressively go after manufacturing jobs.

What we hear from the government all the time is that we are following through and replicating the Inflation Reduction Act process. At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act actually has a formula and a process that's very much accountable in public. Meanwhile, we don't have that over here.

We have a number of jobs in different occupations that are at risk here, in terms of what some people are saying, whether it be.... The building trades have expressed this on several occasions. We do have some people who will come in and do some training on site. We don't know how many, so we can't even do proper social planning.

By the way, the South Korean ambassador does not come to Windsor for vacationing, so don't blame the Windsor police for this. The South Korean ambassador was in Windsor for a reason. A large constituency that he represents is going to be showing up in my community and is going to need the proper supports to be effective. We want them, whatever the number is, and the number, again, has been a moving target.

We don't want conflict, whether they're from South Korea, Germany, or any other place. What we want, if they are going to be coming here, is that the proper supports are in place. I've seen when the proper supports weren't in place. We had students coming through our constituencies from overseas who didn't have even proper housing. To me, this is also about the proper social planning that has to take place.

I can't say enough without.... The aspect that should not be lost on this is how we've lost 18 months in the process to train workers, which we have done traditionally in the auto sector on a regular basis. We've been assembling vehicles for over a hundred years and have built in the supports and capacities. What I'd like to find out from this process right now is whether or not—whether they're from Windsor or from all the other places coming forth—we can actually use this situation to train more workers so that we need fewer people from overseas for this particular situation.

This, again, is unique, because the Inflation Reduction Act is a large spigot of funds in the United States that we're responding to from here on this side.

I don't like the fact that we've been here. I've been trying to remove some of the language that I don't think is helpful in this, and I don't think that the motion we're discussing right now is going to make the situation better in the future. I think it's going to drag it out, and we're going to continue to have these types of problems.

I want to conclude by saying again that clearing the air, clearing the context and getting some consistency on this will be helpful. The companies, when they sign these agreements with the government, have their own non-disclosure information that is already baked in, and it's up for them to decide—and they have decided. It's almost condescending for us to say what can or cannot be in there because they've signed those agreements with their lawyers' advice. Knowing that they're doing this—because we're not the only country they're signing agreements with—they've already baked into those contracts the information they feel is sensitive.

For me, using this opportunity to somehow build better public confidence and an opportunity to get moving on training workers, whether it's in building skilled trades, the assembly or the training that comes afterwards; whatever it might be, is how we can make the situation better.

Unfortunately, I find the motion is going to make it worse and will drag this out even further. Again, if this ever got leaked, or some information got leaked or it was said it was from there, everybody who walked into that room would know the truth in their heart about what that was, but without breaking the law could not say that back out in public. You'd have to wear that the entire time, and I can't wear that walking around in my community.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you, Mr. Masse.

We'll go to Ms. Atwin, please.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

It's good to see everyone there. I'm happy to be back with the mighty OGGO.

I've been brought up to speed by my colleagues. I've certainly been following along as I've been on the indigenous and northern affairs committee for the last couple of weeks.

I want to weigh in, for sure, on what's being discussed today. I certainly appreciate the conversation around transparency and accountability. I can also appreciate the interpretation around risk, particularly to future foreign investment and the potential for destabilizing this kind of environment.

On the amendment, after reviewing it I really think it's a good-faith proposition that can satisfy our opposition colleagues, while protecting our partners. I think that's really paramount in the high-stakes scenario that we're looking at with this. The amendment allows, of course, the unredacted documents to be shared with our committee rather than in the public eye, which I don't think is the appropriate place for this to be discussed.

I look to the fact that we have a Privacy Act for a reason, and it's certainly not to protect nefarious deals, which is apparently the insinuation of our Conservative colleagues.

How we got here is particularly worrisome. A lot has been said in the House and on social media, unfortunately. I believe it's a controversy that's been fabricated. It's caused a lot of confusion for Canadians and perhaps for those hoping to invest in Canada, or to be part of future deals of this nature, which are groundbreaking in Canada. We should be celebrating this deal and this signal that it sends to Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and certainly around the globe, about the direction of the future economy and Canada's place in it.

Instead, I'll quote Ms. Payne again, who referred to this as “the firestorm”, as we're also seeing accusations of hiding documents and burying the issue, which I certainly reject wholeheartedly.

This discussion also threatens to overshadow some of the critical voices from stakeholders, including Dave Cassidy at Unifor, who represents the actual workers who will be directly benefiting from these well-paying and meaningful jobs.

I have a couple of things I'd like to read into the record regarding that specifically. I certainly support what our science and innovation minister has noted, that this is a “once in a lifetime” chance for Canada to carve its place out in the EV industry. He specifically references as well the Inflation Reduction Act. We want to keep our fair share of the auto sector in North America, so it's important for us to participate, catch up and get up to speed.

Brian Kingston is the president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association. He states, “It's really important that Canada secures some of these battery plants because this is going to effectively be the backbone of this new electric vehicle supply chain.” He goes on to say, “I really can't understate how important it is to have a battery plant of this size and scale in Canada.”

Mark Stewart is the chief operating officer of Stellantis. He said that the United States Inflation Reduction Act added incentives for companies to locate EV plants south of the border. He said that it “changed the landscape for battery production in North America, making it challenging to produce competitively priced, state-of-the-art batteries in Canada without an equivalent level of support from government.”

I see there was also a mention around corporate subsidies, and I can certainly appreciate that discussion. I think there is a place to have that conversation, but context is everything, of course, and certainly this case is no exception. The Inflation Reduction Act absolutely changed the game.

I really would like to thank our opposition colleagues for being in committee today and using, I would argue, a bit more judicious and thoughtful word choice, because what I've seen in the House, particularly in question period, and on social media is really worrisome. This issue, specifically with respect to the use of the term “replacement workers”, is sharing this idea that Canadian union jobs will be stolen or taken by foreign workers, specifically from South Korea. I think we can all agree that we need to be really careful with how this discussion is framed, and what some of those impacts could be in broader society. This language, to me, has a dangerous tone and a potential harm. We need to be clear about what we're really talking about, and what the next steps are.

This is about NextStar's plan to hire technicians, including temporary staff, to install and test equipment, to transfer some of that skill and knowledge that we require to be part of this new and exciting green economy. It is absolutely the future, and I'm really proud to see that our government is stepping up on it.

It also, again, paves the way for these 2,300-plus Canadian unionized jobs. Again, context is everything here. I think it's really important that we stay clear to the facts.

Mr. Chair, there's no smoking gun here. I don't think we should pretend that there is. I support the amendment.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you.

I'm not seeing Mr. Kusmierczyk. We'll go to Mr. Sousa, and then we'll come back.

Mr. Sousa.

[Charles Sousa, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I appreciate the comments being made by all members here. I appreciate the desire and the responsibility of us as representatives to act in the best interests of our constituents and Canadians. I respect that, and I appreciate that it is exactly the intent here of members of the Conservative party particularly, and all sides, frankly. We have that duty. That's why I implore everyone to be cautious about divulging information wildly because of the competitive implications that may arise.

I want to reinforce some of the comments made today. David Cassidy, the chair of Unifor national skilled trades council and the president of Unifor Local 444 reinforced that this is the single most important investment in history in their community in Windsor.

He says:

....my message is pretty simple. This has turned into nothing but political hay, and the facts in the matter are, if we're not part of these investments on a global scale, then we're out of the game. Windsor used to be the automotive capital of Canada, and then we had some downturns in the economy, and everything seemed to stop.... We bargained for these new investments and we continue to see that the battery electric vehicle production facility has the means by which to move forward.

He further states:

Windsor is now the gateway to manufacturing in Canada. That's where manufacturing starts, and we have skilled trades. They're on the job, and let me remind people, these South Koreans, that deal was done back by the Conservatives when they allowed the free trade agreement with South Korea. They're the ones who start this. It's nothing abnormal.

He goes on to say:

I'm an electrician by trade. It's nothing abnormal when we build machinery here that we follow it, whether it's to Asia, whether it's to the United States, whether it's to Mexico, to make sure it's up and running.

Mr. Cassidy continues, and this was today:

There is proprietary stuff with this equipment that we've got to make sure is right and we get it right.

He adds this about the Conservatives:

[They] don't talk about the 600 jobs that we have that's going to be in engineering alone, and when we have at the research and development that they're putting them jobs in there.

He says:

They don't talk about the 2,500 members from my local—going to be my local when it's up and rolling—that are going to build these millions of batteries. And this has turned into nothing but political hay, and it's driving me crazy because we have more investments coming to Windsor.

He notes:

We have another company that's going to invest $3 billion with one company, and they have a decision if they're going to come to Windsor or they're going to go to Mexico. And when they see this going on here, it's ridiculous....if it was up to the Conservative government... We would not have this investment because they look at it as corporate welfare instead of a return on investment for all the workers that's going to be there.

He goes on to say:

I hope people listen to this. I hope people pay attention. You know, this is nothing new. l'm a skill trades. I talk to the skilled trades... The iron workers are installing lines in the modular plant overseen by the South Koreans, and that's starting right next week. So like I said, this is nothing new... I just hope that people really pay attention to this.

Mr. Cassidy continues:

It's not about taking jobs. This is about the equipment that they have built in South Korea at the battery plant. They're coming to help install this equipment, whether it's an electrician, whether it's a millwright. These are workers that are going to be there temporarily assisting. And they're not staying.

He goes on to say:

Today on the job site, there's about a thousand skilled trades putting the building together, and that's going to go to over 2,000 as we start installing the equipment into these facilities.

He reminds us that this facility is large:

I mean I think they quoted it's 20 Rogers Centres, the size of 20 Rogers Centres. Just imagine that! lt's a huge facility.

He states further, “We've got to get this battery plant going" and “We have to make sure all the theatrics and all the political stuff is gone.”

He adds, “Like they're asking for a national inquiry.” He's talking about this as a national inquiry. “On what?” he asks. “What is a national inquiry on?” he is asking.

He then states:

We're going to spend taxpayer dollars for the politicians to debate and discuss about whether we should open the books and show exactly what we're doing. If we do not participate in the global market with tax dollars then we're out of the game. We're out of the game in manufacturing and that's the truth.

I respect what members are saying, especially Mr. Masse with regard to training workers and what is engaged in these investments that will help us train the workers, and what investments are being made to secure those permanent Canadian jobs.

You say I can't go in good conscience, look at the contracts, determine what is being done and not be able then to discuss them if the disclosure suggests that work for Canadian workers wasn't being made. The fact is measures that are based in the contract require permanent Canadian jobs in the deal.

Furthermore, can you wear, I think it was mentioned, the information without being able to divulge it? The question is, or I guess the other question is, can you wear not being able to tell Canadians that this investment is for the benefit of our economic renewal and economic benefit and economic reinvestment in Windsor, which has suffered somewhat during the downturn. This enables that recovery to happen in a big way.

The jeopardy here is not having the jobs in the first place, right? Mr. Cassidy has made a reference to it as well. They're not taking away jobs. They're investing to create more investment and more jobs.

I would like to yield a portion of my time to my colleague, who I think had a meeting today with Mr. Cassidy. Is that okay?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

There's no set time. You talk until you yield the floor; there is no sharing of time.

[Charles Sousa, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

There is no sharing of time at this point?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

No.

[Charles Sousa, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I realize you're new to politics, Mr. Sousa.

[Charles Sousa, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

I try my best.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Next on the speaking list is Mr. Kusmierczyk, and then we have Mr. Genius, Mr. Arnold and then Mr. Viersen and Mr. Perkins.

You're yielding the floor to Mr. Kusmierczyk.

Please go ahead, sir.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important issue.

This is a serious issue. This is such a serious issue for my community that, today, the president of Unifor Local 444 Dave Cassidy came to Ottawa to speak on it. He is the president of the local union that represents thousands of workers in my community—Stellantis workers at the Windsor assembly plant. When the battery plant is completed, he will represent 2,500 local, Canadian, full-time members, who will be building about two million batteries at that battery plant each and every year.

This is serious. Dave Cassidy and I had a chance to meet the Prime Minister today in his office. We sat down for an important conversation. This highlights how serious the situation is.

My colleague from Windsor talked about public confidence. What I have seen is a concerted effort, from the very beginning, to undermine public confidence not only in the battery plant in Windsor but also in the entire investment program this federal government has brought forward—$30 billion plus in investment in communities like Windsor. These are communities in Quebec and British Columbia. These are communities like St. Thomas. These are all communities that, historically and most recently, have been hit very hard economically and have experienced a lot of hard times. There is a lot on the line here. I said it in my original appearance. This is so important and serious that we need to speak in facts. We need to be honest and speak truthfully about this investment, because it means a great deal to communities like ours.

In that meeting with the Prime Minister and President Dave Cassidy.... By the way, I should say that he's also the Unifor chair of the National Skilled Trades Council. We had an opportunity, a couple of weeks ago, to meet members of the Unifor National Skilled Trades Council from across the country. It had a meeting in Windsor.

The meeting with the Prime Minister and Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy was important. It reaffirmed the strong partnership our federal government has with labour and workers. That partnership delivered the Stellantis-LG battery plant in the first place. When we had the second round of very difficult negotiations, that partnership also saw us through. It's built on trust. That partnership between our federal government and Unifor is what delivered not only the battery plant but also 2,500 good-paying, permanent jobs for local Canadian workers in our community.

The workers who will be building those batteries will be Canadian. They will be local. They will be unionized, which is what Dave shared with us. Those are amazing jobs. They won't be here for five or 10 years. They will be here for generations. They will be the engine that drives my community. It positions my community. It positions Windsor as a thriving manufacturing community. It positions us at the forefront of the transition to zero-emission vehicles. Our community will lead that transition to zero-emission vehicles. It's incredible when you think about it.

On top of the 2,500 jobs from building batteries—and again, these will be local, Canadian unionized workers with good-paying jobs in our community—there will be, 2,300 construction jobs to be carried out by Canadian local workers in the trades, whether it's LiUNA, iron workers, millwrights, carpenters, sheet metal and roofers, IBEW—you name it—and they're all there already. There are literally 900 workers, as we speak, building the battery plant right now. They're all Canadian. They're all local. When all is said and done, there will be 2,300 Canadian local workers building the plant.

I encourage all of my colleagues to take a drive to the battery plant site at the corner of E.C. Row and Banwell. They will see that the job site is like a beehive. There are literally hundreds—900—workers building the battery plant as we speak.

In that meeting with the Prime Minister and Dave Cassidy, we talked about the fact that the major reason the battery plant is here in the first place is that we have the best workforce in the world here in Canada and in Windsor. That's why they selected Windsor as the location, because they know we have the absolute best workforce in the world. We know how to build things.

Dave Cassidy always says that if you want it built right, build it in Windsor-Essex—and it's true. That's exactly what our Korean partners decided when they selected Windsor as the site to build their $5 billion battery plant. They invested $5 billion in our community. It's never been done before. My community has never seen an investment that large.

In speaking with the Prime Minister and Dave Cassidy, we recognized that, in addition to having the best skilled workforce in the world, we have the best trades in the world. We have folks whose talents and skills are the best in the world and world-class trades in our community. We said that we want to work together to maximize Canadian workers, not just by constructing the battery plant and building the batteries but by installing the machinery and the equipment that will go into the battery plant.

There are 300 machines that will be installed in that battery plant and 9,000 shipping containers' worth of machinery and equipment—9,000. This is unprecedented in Canada. This is the first battery plant in Canada and the scale of it is unprecedented, and so we will require a partnership to get this battery plant off the ground and to get it up and running. We will require a partnership with partners that have 30 years' experience building batteries. The Korean company LG has 30 years' experience building batteries. They literally have 24,000 patents just on battery manufacturing alone—24,000. They know how to build batteries, and so we're partnering with them.

The world literally wants to partner with Canada to build batteries and electric vehicles, and that's a good thing. The world wants to not only partner with Canada to build batteries but they want to build batteries here in Canada. They want to transfer their knowledge to Canadians. They want to get us up to speed and they want us to be the best battery manufacturers in the world—and we will be because we have a track record of it.

I had a chance to meet the CEO of NextStar on Friday. I flew home specifically because I wanted to meet the CEO of NextStar, Mr. Danies Lee. We had about a two-hour conversation. Afterwards, I was given a chance to tour the job site, and it's incredible. It is absolutely incredible. It is beyond anything anyone has ever seen before.

He laid the plan out for me. It is a plan that is going to benefit our community. The economic impact for Windsor is something we have never, ever seen before in our community—ever.

It's not just the 2,500 full-time, well-paying union jobs that will be created in my community. That's never been done before in a single investment like this. We're going to have thousands more construction workers, and hundreds more folks installing machinery and equipment on a temporary basis, but it's more than that. It's all of the spinoff jobs.

Everybody in the business knows that for every automotive job, there are six or seven spinoff jobs. Can you imagine six or seven spinoff jobs for the 2,500 we just mentioned? These will be good-paying jobs. These are jobs that we can build futures around. These are jobs that you can raise families on—here, in Windsor and Essex. The spillover to restaurants, retailers and businesses in our community is going to lift our entire community. This is why this is so serious.

I've spoken with the trades. I've spoken with IBEW. I've spoken with ironworkers. I've spoken with millwrights and sheet metal roofers. I've spoken with them. I know their concerns. I know they want to maximize work for their members, and I do too, because they are the best workers in the world, and they are incredibly proud of what they do. They are so proud of what they do because they're so good, and I understand it.

I met with Mr. Danies Lee, the CEO of NextStar and I had a long conversation with him. In my message to him, I delivered a number of key messages that I heard from the ironworkers, the millwrights and the trades. I told him that we want to see Canadian workers maximized at every opportunity for the installation of machinery and equipment. I told him to lean on us. We have the talent and we have the skills. Maximize as much as possible. I told him, as well, that this is a huge opportunity for a real partnership.

We also spoke about the fact that there is a need for greater communication between NextStar and the trades. I encouraged Mr. Lee to meet with the trades in Windsor, sit down, share the plan that he shared with me, have that conversation, reassure our local workforce and come up with a plan that maximizes local input. Absolutely.

I also said to Mr. Lee that our skilled workers in Windsor—our trades—are incredibly proud of what they do. They're incredibly proud workers. They're incredibly skilled and incredibly proud. This is the largest investment in the history of our community, and they want to be a part of it because they're proud. They want to be a part of it.

Again, I encouraged Mr. Lee at NextStar to meet with the local trades and maximize Canadian workers as much as possible.

After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Dave held a national press conference. It was quite a day for our Unifor Local 444 president. He comes to Ottawa, comes to Parliament Hill, meets with the Prime Minister and then holds a national press conference.

He wanted to deliver a message to all of us around this table. He wanted to deliver a message to all members of Parliament, and he wanted to deliver a message specifically, I believe, to the Conservatives and to Mr. Pierre Poilievre.

Let me read you that message. Dave Cassidy says:

Well, my message is pretty simple. This has turned into nothing but political hay and the facts in the matter are if we're not part of these investments on a global scale then we're out of the game.

He continues:

Windsor used to be the automotive capital of Canada and then we had some downturns in the economy and everything seemed to stop in London. But I can tell you we bargained these new investments we continue to see as the battery electric vehicle goes and moves forward.

Windsor is now the gateway to manufacturing in Canada. That's where manufacturing starts.

Then he goes on to say that a lot is being said:

They don't talk about the 600 jobs that we have that's going to be in engineering alone and when we have at the research and development that they're putting them jobs in there.

We're building in addition to a battery plant, then. A lot of folks may not be familiar with the fact or understand that, in addition to the battery plant jobs, we're actually building—and right now, as we speak, it's rising from the ground—a research and development centre, with 600 engineering jobs in our community. He goes on:

They don't talk about the 2,500 members from my local—going to be my local when it's up and rolling that are going to build these millions of batteries.

It's going to be Dave's members. It's going to be Unifor 444 members, with 2,500 who are going to be building batteries. Then he says:

And this has turned into nothing but political hay and it's driving me crazy because we have more investments coming to Windsor.

This is important. He continues:

We have another company that's going to invest $3 billion with one company and they have a decision if they're going to come to Windsor or they're going to go to Mexico.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm going to interrupt. There's a point of order.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

On a point of order, this is not relevant to the motion on the table at all.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you.

We do obviously allow a very wide latitude on this, but we probably should get back to the motion. We haven't been on Mr. Sousa's motion for quite a while. We should get back to the motion—or the amendment, rather. I'm sorry.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

We'll do that, but this is important, Mr. Chair, because this is relevant to my community. I do appreciate the latitude. This isn't a game, Mr.—

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I will ask that you do swing back relatively soon to the amendment.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

This is important, Mr. Chair.

This isn't funny, Mr. Genuis, to my community. This is serious.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

You're funny, because you're trying to defy the chair's rule.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

No, this is serious, Mr. Genuis.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm going to interrupt.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Follow the chair's rules.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Mr. Kusmierczyk has the floor, but please bring it back relatively soon to the amendment.