Candice Bergen

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear, I am not invoking or talking about fear. I am talking about an issue at our border where people are coming across the border illegally. Our borders matter, or do they not matter to the Prime Minister?

The Prime Minister needs to answer to Canadians who are concerned. They are not racist. Canadians who are concerned are not racist. People who are trying to come to Canada legally are not racist. They have a legitimate concern.

The Prime Minister, instead of laughing, needs to answer the question.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, last year alone over 20,000 people crossed the border illegally, as the Prime Minister now acknowledges, and that problem is only getting worse. The people who are really suffering are those men, women, and their families that are trying to come to Canada legally, but are being put at the back of the line because of the Prime Minister's inaction.

The Prime Minister has just acknowledged that the problem at the border is a problem of legality. He is the Prime Minister, after all. What is his answer to this ever-growing crisis?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we have the government shutting down debate on its budget implementation act, a budget that has not bothered to mention NAFTA, a budget that has no plan to pay down the massive deficit it will give to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and a budget that will implement a carbon tax, which the government is covering up not only the cost of to Canadians but of the effect it will or will not have.

Today, the PBO told us that the carbon tax would have a cost to the GDP of $10 billion by 2022. Will the Minister of Finance tell us today how much this carbon tax will cost everyday Canadians? Would he please be upfront, stop the cover-up, and tell us once and for all?

[Business of the House, April 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the government. I hope that I will get a better answer than those that were given in question period. We will see.

Can the government House leader tell us what work the government is proposing for the rest of the day and next week?

[Barbara Bush, April 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, last night the world lost an incredible individual and a dear friend of Canada. Barbara Bush, former first lady of the United States, wife of former president George Bush, and mother of six children, including former president George W. Bush, passed away at the age of 92. As the matriarch of her distinguished family, she was a bedrock of support, advice, and love. On her most recent birthday, her husband of 72 years lovingly tweeted, “I'm still the luckiest guy in the world.”

An international champion of literacy, Mrs. Bush left us with words of wisdom that we can still learn from. She said, “cherish your human connections.... At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.”

On behalf of the official opposition, I want to convey our deepest sympathies to the Bush family and to the American people on the loss of this remarkable woman, Barbara Bush.

[Foreign Affairs, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today I moved a motion for concurrence in “The Trudeau Report”. We debated that motion as well as an amendment we made to the report. We were hoping we could vote on it, but the government filibustered, which was rather interesting to watch.

There have been consultations, and I hope you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That notwithstanding any Standing Orders or usual practices of the House, the report of the Ethics Commissioner entitled “The Trudeau Report”, tabled on Monday, January 29, 2018, be not now concurred in, but that pursuant to section 28(13) of the conflict of interest code for members of the House of Commons, it be referred back to the commissioner with instructions that he amend the same to include recommendations to close the loopholes in the code as well as the Conflict of Interest Act that allowed the Prime Minister to withhold from the public the nature of the unacceptable gifts he received from the Aga Khan, because the public registry includes only acceptable gifts within the meaning of section 14 of the code and section 11 of the Conflict of Interest Act.

[Natural Resources, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, there is no answer from the minister.

Let me tell him that $80 billion have left in the last two years under the failed policies of the minister and the Prime Minister. Those numbers do not lie. Things like the carbon tax, extra red tape for investors, and erroneous failed policies are why investors are saying they are leaving Canada.

How many more billions of dollars have to leave the country before the Liberals reverse their terrible anti-energy policy?

[Natural Resources, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has failed the energy sector, and it is not just with respect to Trans Mountain. The climate that he has created in Canada has become so toxic for investment that investment and jobs are leaving in droves. The energy sector is speaking with its wallet. In fact, we have not seen such a decline in energy investment in over 70 years.

Here is my question for the Minister of Natural Resources. Does he even know how many billions of dollars have left the country over the last two years under his watch?

[Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's Report, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I notice that the Liberals are not speaking about the motion that I introduced earlier today. They want to keep speaking, and it would seem that they perhaps want to talk about the budget. We would be happy on this side of the House to close off debate on the current motion and vote on it. That is what we do in the House of Commons. We debate legislation, debate motions, and then we vote on them. Therefore, we are absolutely willing to end the debate and have a vote on this motion. If the member wants to talk about the budget, why do we not bring the bill before the House so we can all debate it?

With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That notwithstanding any Standing Orders or usual practices of the House, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion currently under debate to concur in the report of the Ethics Commissioner entitled “The Trudeau Report”, tabled on Monday, January 29, 2018, be deemed put, recorded divisions be deemed requested and deferred to the ordinary hour of daily adjournment today, and that the House do now proceed to orders of the day.

[Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's Report, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am the one who moved the motion earlier today, but we have heard very clearly from all sides. We have had a good discussion about “The Trudeau Report” and about the fact that the Ethics Commissioner needs to have the ability to close some loopholes. We have had a great discussion about that and I would agree that we can move on now and talk about the budget.

With that in mind, I believe that if you seek it, Mr. Speaker, you would find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing orders or usual practices of the House, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion currently under debate to concur in the report of the Ethics Commissioner entitled “The Trudeau Report” tabled on Monday, January 19, 2018, be deemed put, recorded divisions be deemed requested and deferred to the ordinary hour of daily adjournment today, and that the House do now proceed to orders of the day.