Chris Warkentin

[Passports, June 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Sally still has not received her new passport that she applied for in March. She needs it next week. The government says that she can now travel five hours to the nearest passport office to get an emergency passport printed. It told her to line up at 4 a.m., but will not guarantee that she will get served that day. It has also said that she must not arrive at the passport office sooner than 48 hours before her flight time in order to qualify for the said emergency printing.

Why does Liberal incompetence mean that Sally is forced to drive five hours one way to stand in line all night with no guarantee that she will have her passport by the time her flight leaves?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 31st, 2022]

With regard to the government paying social media influencers to promote the government's messaging, broken down by department or agency: (a) who in each department or agency decides which influencers to (i) hire, (ii) pay; (b) what is the manner in which influencers can apply to get paid to promote the government's messaging; (c) how many applications related to (b) have been received since January 1, 2021; (d) of the applicants in (c), how many were awarded a contract or payment from the government; (e) are there any specific criteria that government-paid influencers must meet, and, if so, what are the details; (f) are the influencers prohibited or in any way censored from publicly voicing their disagreement with any government policies or messaging, and, if so, what are the details of the prohibition; (g) what specific policies are in place regarding the use of social media influencers; and (h) on what date did each policy in (g) come into effect?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 31st, 2022]

With regard to measures taken by the government in response to the SNC-Lavalin affair: (a) what specific measures, if any, has the government taken to prevent future political interference or favouritism; and (b) what are the details of each measure related to (a), including, for each, the (i) title of the measure, (ii) date the measure was announced, (iii) date the measure came into force, (iv) summary of the problem being addressed, (v) summary of how the measure addresses the problem?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 31st, 2022]

With regard to the government's commitment to be transparent about which media organizations receive funding through its programs providing $600 million in funding for the media: (a) which media outlets has the government designated as a qualified Canadian journalism organization, broken down by type of outlet; and (b) since January 1, 2019, how much funding has each outlet in (a) (i) received to date, (ii) been eligible for, but has not yet received, broken down by specific funding program and type of funding (grant, tax credit, etc.)?

[Business of Supply, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, it is amazing. The NDP is heckling and suggesting there are record profits. Do members know who is enjoying record profits from the high price of fuel right now? It is the Government of Canada and governments across this country, and those are being invested in health care, our roads and the infrastructure across this country. The NDP does not suggest for a second that those should be reduced. They are just saying—

[Business of Supply, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, the NDP is heckling me, because I am asking for fuel prices to be reduced—

[Business of Supply, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I hate to imagine that the Bloc has joined the course of MPs and parties that want to drive up fuel prices at a time when we are seeing record high fuel prices.

I have come here today to fight for my constituents who are finding it impossible—

[Business of Supply, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, that is the kind of disrespect and disgusting behaviour of “Ottawa knows best” that we see in the House. Saying to my constituents to turn off their pickup for the next four years and wait until there is an electric truck available to them, and suggesting that they are living in the past because they will not immediately transition to a vehicle that is not yet available to them, is disgusting and despicable. The member should apologize.

[Business of Supply, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, clearly the member was swayed by my speech because he is now changing the subject. I commend him for that.

He is right that we were stalled not only by the WE organization but also by the Liberal government in its unwillingness to be transparent. They moved heaven and earth to ensure that the secrets remain secret. I know that the member believes there was information the Canadian taxpayer deserves to know. The corruption that was alleged, and the corruption that was starting to be exposed, never got to see the light of day because of the work of the Liberal Party. That is why I am so concerned about the deal the NDP has struck with the Liberal government to keep the corrupt government in power.

[Business of Supply, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I never would have accused the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay of having been a Liberal until recently, when he made that dirty deal with the Prime Minister to continue to drive up gasoline prices and follow the path of Kathleen Wynne, who was trying to shut down the oil and gas and resource sectors, while investing billions of dollars in these concepts of green energy that never came to fruition. The money was wasted in Ontario. The taxes went up to pay for those wasted experiments, and Ontarians still have to rely on traditional energy sources.

However, that is exactly what the NDP suggests. As a matter of fact, not only is the oil and gas sector an important investor in our communities, our governments and all the rest of it, but it is also one of the largest investors in clean tech in the country. The unique difference between the oil and gas sector and government investment in clean tech is that the oil and gas sector invests in clean tech that actually results in something beneficial for our communities, whereas there is waste in the government spending on these fronts.