Andrew Scheer

[The Economy, March 11th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to blame everyone else for his failures. I have no doubt that in the days ahead he is going to blame things like the coronavirus and the stock market crash for Canada's weak economic performance. The reality is that, long before those things happened, Canada's economy was already headed for trouble. The last quarter's result was a feeble 0.3%. Most economists are now slashing their projections for future growth.

The Prime Minister's strategy of choking our economy with red tape, raising taxes on small businesses and wasting billions on things like fridges for Loblaws clearly is not working. Will he change course?

[Natural Resources, February 27th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it was the Prime Minister who praised the protesters when he said they were out defending their community in the cold. Those were his words.

It is very complicated to get a project approved, but it is actually very simple once the independent regulator gives a recommendation, and that recommendation had been sitting on the Prime Minister's desk since July. The Prime Minister could have approved this project in July, but he refused to do so. He refused to approve it in August, September, October, November, December and January.

What I would like to know is what information the Prime Minister was waiting for that he could not approve this project back in July.

[Natural Resources, February 27th, 2020]

The problem with that answer, Mr. Speaker, is that almost $200 billion of investment in our energy sector has left Canada for other countries that can actually get projects approved and built by the private sector.

The Prime Minister is trying to blame Teck Frontier's decision on the polarized debate around it. In other words, he is saying that the only way big projects can get built in this country now is if nobody notices that they are happening because he does not have the strength to stare down radical activists who just want to leave the oil and gas in the ground.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what he is going to do to make sure that future projects do not get hijacked by these types of tactics?

[Natural Resources, February 27th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Teck Frontier mine would have been a big benefit to Canada's economy, creating 7,000 construction jobs and 2,500 long-term jobs. Fourteen indigenous communities signed partnership agreements and they were looking forward to benefiting from the jobs this project would have created. Therefore, the decision to cancel Teck Frontier should have been a massive disappointment to any government, but the Prime Minister has refused to tell us how he personally feels about this decision.

Can the Prime Minister tell us how he feels about Teck Frontier being cancelled?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, February 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, there is a dire situation across the Prairies. I met with farmers in Saskatchewan who are facing an urgent cash flow crisis. Actions by China are blocking canola exports and, of course, the Liberal carbon tax is putting a squeeze on their bottom line. Early snowfall has prevented the harvest from being completely taken off. As a result, loans are due in a short period of time and farmers do not have the cash flow to plant this season's crops.

Is the Prime Minister willing to consider extending the advance payments program deadline, waiving interest on its loans and looking for other types of solutions that will ensure that farmers have what they need to get a crop in the ground this spring?

[Public Safety, February 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, he is continuing to elevate radical protestors with no connections to indigenous issues. That is shameful.

These are not people who are reflecting the will of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation. If they did, they would be standing in solidarity and fighting to get this project built. These are radical groups, like Extinction Rebellion, an organization that has been listed as a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.

Is the Prime Minister not embarrassed that he has shown less leadership and less of a backbone than radical protestors who just want to shut down our economy?

[Public Safety, February 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, that simply cannot be true because people are pulling investments out of Canada because he does not have a plan for either the environment or the economy.

In terms of inventing things, that was a direct quote from his Minister of Natural Resources, so he might want to check with him on that.

For three weeks, we witnessed the Prime Minister's weak leadership in response to the rail blockades. They sprang up across the country, blocking streets, ports and railways. They are negatively impacting workers who want to get to work.

Does he realize that his own weakness is the reason this situation is “out of control”?

[Natural Resources, February 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, he has the same environmental plan that he has for his jobs plan: no action on either one. He has a balanced approach. He is failing on the environment and he is failing to get jobs built, so I congratulate him on that one.

When it comes to having a real plan, I want to read a quote that says, “We don’t have a net-zero plan. We have got to work on it, that’s for sure.” Do members know who said that? It was the Liberal Minister of Natural Resources.

Will the Prime Minister admit that it is his lack of action and lack of a plan that is causing the hardship all over western Canada?

[Natural Resources, February 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is trying to blame everybody else. First he blamed global commodity prices, but that cannot be true because there are investments pouring into Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States. He tried to blame the Alberta government. His Liberal government gave equivalency to the Alberta emitters regime. Then he tried to blame Stephen Harper. I guess he forgets that he has been Prime Minister for almost five years now.

He cannot blame Scott Brison, so will he finally take responsibility for his failure on this file?

[Natural Resources, February 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister still does not seem to realize that Teck Frontier pulled its decision to invest billions of dollars into the Canadian economy because of a situation that he has created. He is directly responsible for the loss of 7,000 jobs.

This application went through an independent analysis. It was approved by the independent regulator, and all that was left was his political approval. Why did this application sit on his desk since July?