Candice Bergen

[The Economy, November 29th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, what the finance minister is saying, then, is that the government has absolutely no control and has no ability to deal with inflation in this country. That is a big F right off the start; it is a fail for the government.

I believe the chief economists and experts in this country. What is the government going to do? Will the Liberals at least admit that they are in government and should have an answer for inflation? Are they going to do anything or just throw up their hands and say, “Not our problem. Too bad everybody. Keep paying high costs because the Liberals don't care.”

[The Economy, November 29th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me take the finance minister back to a meeting that she had just this Friday with Canada's most senior economist, and maybe she would want to ask them some questions and take their advice.

Most of them agreed that the government is making the inflation problem worse. In fact, BMO chief economist Doug Porter said, “I think at the margin there are some things fiscal policy can do,” which is the federal government's responsibility, “and that's basically to take the foot off the accelerator.”

What that economist was saying is that the government is contributing to the crisis, so take responsibility. What are the Liberals going to do?

[The Economy, November 29th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching the price of everything go up while the Liberals have been denying that their policies would cause inflation. However, by the end of last week, the finance minister was calling inflation a “crisis”. She does not think that the Liberals are responsible for it. It is almost like she is printing money so that she never runs out of bucks to pass.

If the finance minister and the Prime Minister believe that this is a crisis, what is she prepared to do to deal with it?

[The Economy, November 24th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the other thing that is inflating is the Prime Minister's arrogance and disconnect. It is very disappointing to see.

The Prime Minister said he does not care about monetary policy. Well, that is clear because his monetary policy is causing massive inflation in Canada. He might try to say that it is happening everywhere, but it is worse in Canada for people without children, people with school-aged children and seniors. There are Canadians who are struggling with it.

When will the Prime Minister stop just talking about day care and talk about the fact that the cost of everything in this country is going up and he does not seem to realize it or want to address it?

[The Economy, November 24th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me answer that question for the Prime Minister. A year ago, a pack of bacon was about five dollars. Today, to go and buy even a no-name brand, and everybody knows what a no-name brand is except maybe the Prime Minister, it is almost eight dollars.

People without children, seniors and those who have school-aged children are buying bacon, bread, eggs and clothing and pay rent, and this is costing them. It is very disappointing to have a Prime Minister who is so out of touch that the only thing he might be worried about is if the cost of surfboards goes up. I guess he will worry about that.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that there is a crisis going on with inflation in this country?

[The Economy, November 24th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday’s speech was just more Liberal broken promises. However, what it did not talk about was the rising cost of everything in this country: gasoline, groceries, rent and clothing. Everything that Canadians need for their basic needs is going through the roof.

My question for the Prime Minister is simple. When was the last time he went and filled up his tank with gas? When has he gone to a grocery store? When has he gone to a hardware store? Does he know what a loaf of bread costs now, or maybe a can of beans or a package of bacon?

[Public Safety, June 21st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the important work of Parliament. In less than one hour, the president of the Public Health Agency of Canada will appear before the bar of the House of Commons. This Parliament, this one, has asked four times to see the documents relating to the firing of two scientists from the National Microbiology Lab. Now the agency has been found in contempt of Parliament for failing to hand the documents over.

Will the government confirm that it will stop the cover-up today and allow the president of PHAC to table the unredacted documents to this, the people's House?

[Ethics, June 21st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, well, Liberal friends are certainly being served well: $200,000 for Katie Telford and Gerald Butts's moving expenses, half a billion dollars for the Prime Minister's friends at the WE Charity and now tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars for another one of the Prime Minister's buddies.

It pays very well to be a friend of the corrupt Prime Minister, but Canadians cannot afford more of this unethical behaviour. Again, who in the government told 149 Liberal MPs to give taxpayer money to Tom Pitfield, the Prime Minister's friend and colleague?

[Ethics, June 21st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, today we learned that 149 Liberal MPs have been using taxpayer dollars to pay the Prime Minister's good buddy, Tom Pitfield, to help Liberals get elected. Mr. Pitfield is not just the Prime Minister's friend, but his wife was the president of the Liberal Party, and they both were with the Prime Minister on that infamous billionaire island trip. It is just a typical day in the life of the corrupt Liberals.

Who instructed Liberal MPs to use their taxpayer-funded budgets to pay the Prime Minister's friend to do political campaign work?

[Business of Supply, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the only one who is making this issue personal is the minister himself. He is putting his personal reputation, his pride and his desire to be right ahead certainly of Parliament, but, more important, ahead of the interests of our men and women in uniform. The fact is that because this has been mishandled so badly, the men and women in uniform do not trust the minister again.

If he were to put his name forward as a minister of defence to lead the men and women in the military and if the men and women in the military were casting a vote, does he think he would get even a slight majority of them wanting him to stay on? I do not think he would. They cannot trust him to clean up the military, to deal with the sexual misconduct and to lead them.

I would ask him to not make this personal, but to put our military before his own ego and his own desire to be right, and to double down, as he likes to say. Does he think he even has the support of the military?