Candice Bergen

[Business of the House, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is Thursday, but it feels like a Friday for some reason.

I would like to ask the government House leader if she could let us know what we will be doing when we get back after our two-week constituency break in early May.

[Government Accountability, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, Canadians know it is costing them to pay for all of the Prime Minister's big spending. He is arrogant and entitled, and Canadians are seeing that. He is also shutting down anyone who opposes or criticizes him. We know he is shutting down the ability of opposition to criticize him; we have now learned that he has neutered the parliamentary budget officer.

The Prime Minister clearly has a big problem with accountability and transparency. How long does the Prime Minister think he can keep running and hiding from all of his mistakes? How long does he think he can keep silencing anyone who dares to criticize him?

[Taxation, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister is taking lavish and expensive family vacations at a cost of $133,000 to the Canadian taxpayer, he is at the same time nickel-and-diming everyday families who want to plan a modest vacation or maybe a long weekend with their loved ones. Passports are going up. Gasoline is going up under this Prime Minister. Uber will be going up. Even beer and wine will be going up under this Prime Minister.

Why does the Prime Minister think he is entitled to make Canadian families pay for his excessive spending?

[Ethics, April 12th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this is about being honest with Canadians. Either the Prime Minister was misleading Canadians in January, or he is now.

He is talking about talking to the Ethics Commissioner, so I have two questions for him: What has he told the Ethics Commissioner? Was it “The RCMP made me do it” or was it “It was my only option”? Also, has he met with the Ethics Commissioner already?

[Ethics, April 12th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not seem to answer direct questions, so let us try again.

The Prime Minister was the one who told Canadians in January that his only option was to take this helicopter. Yesterday he put the blame on the RCMP, so Canadians are confused. Could he clear this up for Canadians? Is he willing to table the documentation, whether emails or written advice, that shows that the RCMP told him to break the law?

[Ethics, April 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this trip has once again exposed the Prime Minister's bad judgment, his disrespect for the Canadian taxpayer, and his lack of integrity. A prime minister should have good judgment. A prime minister should respect the Canadian taxpayer, and a prime minister should have integrity. This one cannot even keep his Aga Khan holiday story straight.

What is the next shoe that is going to drop? What is the next thing that Canadians are going to find out that the Prime Minister has been misleading them on?

[Ethics, April 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, let us review the facts. First the Prime Minister violated the rules by getting on the Aga Khan's helicopter, then he misled Canadians by saying “that was my only option”, but today, he is blaming the RCMP for that one. Then he failed to disclose the full amount of the $134,000 that his little Xmas getaway cost taxpayers. What arrogance.

Will the Prime Minister come clean and admit that he willingly and knowingly broke the rules?

[Egypt, April 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the most persecuted and victimized and attacked religious group in the world today is Christians.

Over the weekend, dozens of Christians were brutally murdered while attending Palm Sunday ceremonies in Egypt. This is not an isolated or rare incident. Just last December, 25 Christians were killed after a church was bombed in Cairo.

Christians throughout the Middle East have been targets of deadly violence for years, with the most vicious attacks reserved for Christmas and Easter.

Christians living in the Middle East and throughout Africa are targeted by radical Islamic terrorists because they have decided to worship Jesus Christ and not follow Islam.

Unfortunately, persecuted Christians do not have any champions in the west. We do not often hear of Hollywood stars talking about Christians being massacred while they are accepting their awards. In fact, many of the elite readily join in the mockery and the disdain shown to Christians.

These are very sad realities, but they must be faced and they must be called out.

In this Holy Week, I pray that the world, particularly leaders here in the west, pay attention to the plight of persecuted Christians and do all we can to stand with them.

[Standing Orders of the House of Commons, April 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, given the Prime Minister's statements today, we expect, as do all Canadians, a clearer answer in the days ahead.

I have a question for the Liberal House leader. This past weekend she said that she does not want the Conservatives to have a veto over the House rules. We agree. We think no one party should have a veto and be able to bully its way into changing the rules. I want to ask whether the House leader agrees that the same principle should apply to the Liberals, that no one party gets a veto but rather that we work by consensus. Please, no word salad; an actual answer would be very refreshing.

[Foreign Affairs, April 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the position of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Syria and the Syrian regime has changed a number of times over the past few days. Today, the Prime Minister is openly talking about a regime change in Syria, which is different from what he said last week.

Canadians need to know that their government has a consistent and coherent position on this. Given the Prime Minister's statements today regarding a Syria that does not involve Bashar al-Assad, what action is he considering to depose the Assad regime?