Candice Bergen

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 14th, 2018]

With regard to individuals who have crossed the border illegally and are currently being housed in accommodations being paid for, funded, or operated by the government: (a) what is the current number of individuals in such accommodations; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by city and province; (c) what is the list of facilities, such as stadiums or hotels where large groups of individuals (more than 100) are being accommodated; (d) for each location in (c), what is the number of individuals housed at each location; and (e) what is the projected total expenditures on such accommodations for the 2018 calendar year?

[Employment, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's actions speak otherwise. On one hand, he is giving these anti-Semitic religious extremists taxpayers' dollars to actively promote hatred using funds from the Canada summer jobs program. On the other, he has denied funding to faith groups that want to help those in need.

Why is the Prime Minister allowing certain religious organizations to be funded to promote hatred toward Jews, but saying no to churches that want to help the homeless?

[Employment, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, in downtown Toronto in what can only be described as a rally intended to incite hatred toward Jews and others, Sheik Shafiq Hudda of the Islamic Humanitarian Service called for the eradication of Israelis, and genocide. Some of his anti-Semitic hate speech aimed at the Jewish community included telling them, “You will leave in body bags.”

Will the Prime Minister condemn these hate-filled anti-Semitic comments?

[International Trade, June 11th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, there are some things we could do right now that would create opportunities for Canadians who are impacted by this growing trade dispute.

We could immediately ratify the TPP, the carbon tax on Canadian families and businesses could be scrapped, and we could eliminate trade barriers between provinces. These would all have positive effects.

Will the Prime Minister begin working with Conservatives on these constructive solutions that will help Canadian families who will be impacted by this trade war?

[International Trade, June 11th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, and I know we all know this, when politicians fight and when leaders argue, it is always the people who suffer. In this case, these unfair tariffs are hurting Canadian steel and aluminum workers, and additional sectors are being threatened.

The government has said that the projected deficit is going to be just over $18 billion next year. Does the projected deficit account for a potential aid package to help mitigate the damage from this dispute?

[International Trade, June 11th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, Canadians witnessed, with shock and dismay, the U.S. administration hurl insults, verbal attacks, and threats of more tariffs at us. We are all Canadians first, and we will stand with Canadian workers and the families impacted by this escalating trade war.

Can the Prime Minister tell Canadians what his plan is to resolve this impasse that we have with our closest ally and trading partner?

[Business of the House, June 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. government House leader if she can let us know what we are going to be doing here tomorrow, and then what else we will doing next week.

[International Trade, June 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, one thing that would have helped is if we had ratified the CPTPP. Mexico has ratified this agreement, and Japan is well on its way. Again, instead of passing CPTPP legislation, the Liberal government has been more focused on ramming through legislation that would reduce penalties for terrorists, child molesters, and drunk drivers. Again, talk about misplaced priorities.

Why are the Liberals taking so long to bring this free trade agreement into force?

[International Trade, June 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government had months to prepare for this, but it did nothing. Steel and aluminum workers and their families are being hurt by these tariffs right now, but instead of having a plan ready to immediately deal with these punitive measures, the Liberals have been more focused on things like raising taxes on Canadians and giving billions of dollars to Texas oil companies. Talk about misplaced priorities.

Will the government commit, today, that all monies collected from our retaliatory measures will go directly to those who are impacted by this trade war?

[International Trade, June 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the possibility of the U.S. president imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum should not have come as a surprise to anyone. The president first announced them back in March. He then exempted Canada in May, and then again in June.

Why in the world was the Prime Minister not ready to immediately impose retaliatory tariffs when the U.S. president imposed his on us?