Damien Kurek

[Privilege, May 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, to emphasize—

[Privilege, May 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Because of the importance of this debate and the constitutional requirement related to members' participation, I would ask for a quorum call.

[Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act, May 27th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, this divide-and-conquer approach seems very typical of the Liberal government. The Liberals say one thing, do another and it pits group against group and region against region. I wonder if my colleague could comment further on whether Bill C-49 is about that: not about building prosperity, but rather playing politics with our federation.

[Committees of the House, May 22nd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, in the defence of democracy, I would ask for a recorded vote.

[Carbon Pricing, May 22nd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I have two words: false and failure. That describes exactly what the member just said. It is false that families get more back than they pay into it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer made that very clear. When the net cost, which is the impact the carbon tax has on the economy, is calculated, 60% of Canadians end up paying more. There is also the negligible cost for many who do receive a rebate, but it certainly does not have the impact that the member is saying it has.

It is a failure when it comes to addressing the environment. It is not working. Why does the member, and the Liberals, propped up by the cowardly NDP, continue to blame single moms driving their kids to soccer practice, families that want to go on vacation, and grandparents who want to see their grandkids? Why are they blaming those people for the challenges facing the country and making them pay more? Why not adopt our common-sense proposal, which is to axe the taxes on fuel this summer—

[Carbon Pricing, May 22nd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask for further details about the impact the carbon tax is having upon Canadians, but what I would like to highlight in the next couple of minutes is the common-sense proposal the Conservative Party leader, the member for Carleton, has put forward to give Canadians a much-needed break for the summer.

The carbon tax is costing Canadians significantly. The price of food for an average family is up more than $700 for this year compared to last year. There are a record two million visits to a food bank in a single month. We saw the carbon tax rise on April 1 a shocking 23%. Common sense shows that if one taxes the farmer who grows the food, the trucker who ships the food, the store that sells the food and the person who has to go to pick up the food, the cost of food rises. It is driving up the cost of everything.

This year, the Prime Minister and the NDP-Liberal carbon tax will cost families in Alberta almost $3,000 a year. In Saskatchewan, it is more than $2,600 a year, and in Manitoba, more than $1,700 a year. In Ontario it is $1,670 a year, and in Nova Scotia, $1,500 a year. In Prince Edward Island, it is $1,600 a year, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, $1,870 a year. Canada-wide, the average cost to Canadians is nearly $2,000. That is the cost even when calculating the rebate. The net cost to families is nearly $2,000 a year, which is crippling at a time when inflation is up and Canadians are simply looking for a break.

That is why only a number of days ago, the common-sense Conservative leader, the member for Carleton, called for a tax holiday, to cancel all of the federal government taxes on gasoline and diesel to help Canadians and give them a much-needed break so they can maybe afford not only to buy the necessities that are required to raise a family, and that seniors require to get by, but also to make sure they have the chance to live out a little bit of the Canadian dream. Maybe that is going on a road trip or maybe it is driving their kids to sports. It would give them that chance and ensure that a much-needed break is given.

The question I asked a number of months ago in relation to the carbon tax is very simple: Will the member speak out in favour of the common-sense proposal to cancel the federal government's fuel taxes on gasoline and diesel to give Canadians a much-needed break from Victoria Day to Labour Day? That would mean cancelling the carbon tax, cancelling the federal fuel tax and cancelling the GST so Canadians can afford that little bit of hope, that little bit of a break that is so very needed at a time when Canadians are suffering so much.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the speech that was just given by my colleague, but something that she failed to articulate in her speech was the fact that the continual deficits, the massive increases in spending, are contributing to inflation. The government seems to be taking credit for inflation continuing to rise at 2.7%. That is not a decrease but simply a slowing of what has been an exceptional increase.

I would like her to comment on that, but also on the fact that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance has announced that the government is increasing the debt ceiling for our country by $495 billion. I am wondering if the member would be able to shed some light onto why such an incredible increase in the national debt ceiling is required, in light of the circumstances that we find ourselves in, especially with the inflationary environment.

[Privilege, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, just to clarify, as I hope was made clear in my remarks for when this is reviewed further later, this is not the first time that a question of privilege has been related—

[Privilege, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, on that question of privilege, I would note that this is not a one-off instance, and the member tried to suggest that somehow privileges were not being violated. However, if we look back on a series of Order Paper questions that have been asked, the government has been required to provide supplementary answers when there was inaccurate information that was provided to the House, which it had to correct, and it is very clear that this has become a trend. Therefore, when that member, who was speaking on behalf of the government, suggests that somehow members' privileges were not violated, I think it speaks to a very troubling trend we are seeing from this government, which is that it feels it is unnecessary to provide fulsome, accurate and appropriate information, as Canadians would certainly expect. As parliamentarians, we should be able to use the processes that are provided to this place and to all members to be able to have and to expect accurate information.

My suggestion, which I hope would be taken under serious consideration, is that this continual trend where inaccurate or incomplete information is provided, and then we have to use mechanisms like a question of privilege in order to force the government to actually provide that information, is in fact a violation of a member's privilege, which is so important to the appropriate functioning of this place and, ultimately, to the ability for Canadians to get information from their government.

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, May 9th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the minister a question from Mayor Kletke of the town of Trochu, a small community in my constituency.

The Trochu Housing Corporation, 118 units of senior and care-provided living, has applied a number of times to CMHC, but has not always received the best communication from it. Therefore, I would like to ask the minister if he could provide an update to Mayor Kletke and the Trochu Housing Corporation, because this is a project that, had it been able to proceed three years ago, would have cost about 20% to 25% less than it would cost to build that same project today, even with a few less units. I would also ask the minister to make sure that rural areas are not forgotten about in some of the conversations surrounding housing.