Candice Bergen

[The Economy, June 20th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, well, one idea is to reduce federal taxes at the pump to help ease the high cost of gas. The provinces are doing it. Other countries are doing it. Even the U.S. is considering doing it. What did the Liberals say when we made this suggestion? They said no.

Whether it is lowering taxes on gas or things like removing restrictions and mandates, the Liberals always say no to good ideas. Why are the Liberals always so slow and reluctant to do the right thing when it comes to helping Canadians?

[The Economy, June 20th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are suffering with record-high inflation, and it is clear the Liberals have no plan to deal with it responsibly, except with more of the same mismanagement that got us here in the first place: out-of-control spending. Even financial institutions like Scotiabank have warned that their continued spending drives higher inflation.

We cannot spend inflation away. Is it not true that life is continuing to get worse not better for Canadians under the Liberals and they have no idea how to deal with it?

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time the Prime Minister has kept a disgraced minister in his cabinet. He defended the former defence minister, who covered up sexual harassment in the military.

The Prime Minister calls Canadians he disagrees with names. He divides and stigmatizes for political gain, and he demotes female MPs who stand up to him.

Is it not true that the only reason he will not fire the Minister of Public Safety is because that minister is doing and saying exactly what the Prime Minister wants him to?

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the inquiry and the committee's investigative work are finding that there is less and less evidence for the government to have used the Emergencies Act, and the evidence points to the only reason it was used was to cover up the problems the Prime Minister was finding himself in. Unfortunately, because the minister has been misleading, the work of the committee is being disrupted and corrupted.

It is very interesting to see that, when strong women stand up and speak truth to the Prime Minister, he has no problem firing them. However, when a minister of the Crown misleads Canadians, that is completely fine and he overlooks it. Why does the Prime Minister get rid of people who have integrity and speak the truth, but defend—

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the only people whose actions are being scrutinized right now are those of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety. In fact, as the committee's investigation into the government's use of the act continues, it is clear the legal threshold was not met to justify its use. It is clearer by the day the Emergencies Act was used for one thing and one thing only, and that was to get the Prime Minister out of hot water.

It looks like the reason the Prime Minister is not firing the Minister of Public Safety is that the minister is helping cover for the Prime Minister. Is that not the sad but real reality right now?

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has misled Canadians several times. He said protesters started fires in an Ottawa apartment building. That was false. He said foreign money was funding the protest. That was not true. He said law enforcement asked for the Emergencies Act. That was also false.

Does the Prime Minister agree that Canadians deserve better than a minister who repeatedly and overtly misleads them?

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness told the committee that law enforcement never asked for the Emergencies Act, which is yet another contradiction of the Minister of Public Safety. Nobody is backing him up, not even his own colleagues.

It is clear the Minister of Public Safety has been misleading Canadians for months. Will the Prime Minister remove him from his portfolio? Yes or no?

[Foreign Affairs, June 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, his minister is either incompetent or complicit in what happened, maybe both. Either way, it is a complete failure on behalf of the Liberals. Canadians expect that their Minister of Foreign Affairs will lead by example, by condemning and isolating Putin's regime, not sending senior officials to party at the Russian embassy.

The Prime Minister and his foreign affairs minister claim to be great friends of Ukraine. I hope he apologized to President Zelenskyy, because what kind of friend sends a delegate to their enemy's house to enjoy champagne and caviar?

[Foreign Affairs, June 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our responsibility is to stand up for Canadians who have been misled by the minister.

Canadians were shocked and disgusted to learn that last weekend, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sent one of her delegates to share champagne and caviar with Russian diplomats. While Putin and his thugs continue an unjustified and violent war on innocent civilians in Ukraine, can the Prime Minister tell us how, in the name of everything that is good, did he allow this to happen? We are supposed to be friends of Ukraine. Why did his minister send one of her delegates to party with Russian diplomats, who are still being allowed to stay in Canada?

[Public Safety, June 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has abdicated and failed in his responsibility to be truthful with Canadians. He is a lawyer and a former federal prosecutor. He knows full well how to choose his words carefully. He knows full well how to be precise in his language, yet he said over and over again that law enforcement requested the Emergencies Act. Those were his words. We now know his words were not true.

How can the Prime Minister have any faith in the minister? Will he ask the minister to resign?