Candice Bergen

[Kim Simard, June 7th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honour the life and passion of Kim Simard, who passed after a courageous and faith-filled battle with cancer.

Kim and I met some 20 years ago, when we were attending the same church with kids the same age. What really drew us together was our sole political goal of defeating the Liberals. Kim loved politics, and we knocked on many doors, made phone calls and raised money in the riding of St. Boniface with the purpose of electing Conservatives.

Kim was passionate about much more than just politics. She loved God and she adored her family, including her church family at Springs Church, but she especially loved her husband Pat and their kids Josh, Jordanna and Jamie.

Kim always had the most beautiful smile on her face, laughter in her voice and light in her eyes, even through some her most difficult physical battles. That light and that smile will be very much missed. I love you, Kim, and I am going to be thinking of you during the election campaign in October, because if there is any politicking going on in heaven, I know you will be leading the Conservative charge and cheering us on all the way.

[Business of the House, June 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, given the uncertainty surrounding the agenda and future work of the House, can the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons tell us about the business of the House for the rest of this week and next week?

[Government Priorities, June 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell members what the Prime Minister has no idea of and does not know anything about. That is the struggles that everyday middle-class Canadians are going through. He is more focused on self-promotion and increasing his so-called feminism than on the needs of hard-working families. He does absolutely nothing, while small business owners are dealing with the price of his carbon tax.

Canadian families are falling further and further behind under the weight of the Prime Minister's failed economic policies, and they are asking for tax breaks. Does he know what? Conservatives are going to give Canadians those tax breaks.

Why are the Liberals ignoring Canadians?

[Government Priorities, June 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has no understanding and no respect for hard-working, middle-class Canadians. He thinks that small business owners are tax cheats. He thinks construction workers are a threat to our rural communities and he calls commuters who are driving to work polluters. He has made it more expensive to access public transit, to buy textbooks or to put kids in sports. To add insult to injury, these are the very same people who are going to be paying more for gas at the pump.

Why is the Prime Minister making life so expensive for everyday, middle-class Canadians?

[Foreign Affairs, June 5th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it is not working. This relationship and the impact are getting worse. The Prime Minister's failure when it comes to the Chinese government is causing real pain and real suffering for Canadians. He has failed to appoint a new ambassador. He is refusing to pick up the phone and call the Chinese premier. Canadian lives are at risk and agriculture producers are suffering.

When will the Prime Minister finally start treating this crisis with the seriousness, urgency and attention it requires?

[Foreign Affairs, June 5th, 2019]

As if it is the producers' fault, Mr. Speaker. That is absolutely incorrect.

Five months ago, former Liberal cabinet minister John McCallum had to resign in shame as our ambassador to China. We are now in June and the Prime Minister has not appointed a replacement. Canadians are being detained on bogus charges, soybean producers are facing new barriers, canola producers are having shipments blocked, and now the Chinese government is going after our meat producers. This is going from bad to worse.

Why has the Prime Minister not appointed an ambassador to China?

[International Trade, June 5th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's failures when it comes to dealing with the Government of China are escalating, and his gross mismanagement of our relationship with China will now hurt even more Canadians.

This time, Canadian meat producers are being punished, after China's customs agency announced that it is going to dramatically increase inspections and open all containers of Canadian meat and meat products.

Does the Prime Minister not realize that Canadian producers are suffering as a result of his failures? What is he prepared to do about this?

[Natural Resources, June 4th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, that is a complete fabrication. The Manitoba Hydro line was approved by two independent regulatory agencies and all outstanding issues have been addressed. This project would reduce emissions by providing clean electricity to areas of the U.S. that currently burn coal. However, the Prime Minister is blocking this green project and costing Manitobans hundreds of millions of dollars and Canadian jobs.

The Prime Minister is politically interfering and trying to kill yet another Canadian energy project. Why?

[Natural Resources, June 4th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Manitoba Hydro is planning to build a transmission line to the U.S. to export clean green energy. Unlike the useless Liberal carbon tax, the Manitoba–Minnesota transmission project would actually help the environment by increasing the amount of green energy. Five years of consultations have been done and this project has been approved by the National Energy Board and Manitoba's clean energy commission.

Why is the Prime Minister blocking this product and not allowing it to get started?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1, June 4th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we currently have a very late night vote scheduled for this evening at 11:25 p.m. I know we are all planning on being back here for that vote, but I would like to propose a motion that I have circulated to the other parties, because I think we actually could move the voting to right after Oral Questions. It would probably better organize the business of the day. We sent it earlier.

I would like to propose that notwithstanding any standing or special order or usual practice of the House in relation to the business of the House today, the deferred recorded division on the opposition motion standing in the name of the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, currently scheduled for tonight at 11:25 p.m. be deferred anew to immediately following the time provided for Oral Questions later this day; and that at the conclusion of the consideration of the report stage of Bill C-97 an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 19, 2019 and other measures, or statements by members not seeking—