Damien Kurek

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, June 21st, 2021]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to join in the debate, once again, in the House.

However, from what I am hearing in the media, and the rumours around Ottawa, we very well may be facing an election in the coming months. As this may be my last speech prior to that election, I want to share some brief words of thanks to the constituents of Battle River—Crowfoot for the honour to be their voice in Canada's Parliament over the last year and a half or so.

As we have faced an unprecedented time on so many fronts and the need for collaboration and to hold the government to account as a member of the opposition, it has been a true honour. I look forward to life getting back to normal. Alberta plans to open for the summer, with the vast majority of COVID restrictions being lifted on July 1. It is an exciting prospect for Albertans as we look forward to getting back to normal.

Even though Parliament is scheduled to rise in a few days, I look forward to continuing to fight in every way possible for the good people of east central Alberta and Battle River—Crowfoot for whom I have the honour and privilege of serving.

I am rising on debate on the Liberal's budget, an omnibus budget bill, Bill C-30, which the Liberals promised to never do. When a Liberal parliamentary secretary was asked that very question on Friday, he said in effect that this was different because it was a budget bill. I have asked a number of questions and on this and, quite frankly, I have not received much response to them. This bill covers a wide swath of things that, yes, were promised in the much-delayed budget that was introduced a number of months ago, but it also includes some other aspects, such as an amendment to the Canada Elections Act, a change to the gas tax fund and a few other things, which I will dive into in more detail.

However, I would like to address one concern I increasingly hear from constituents, and that is the attitude to which this current Liberal government has approached the legislative agenda and the way it has governed the country. I had a constituent give me a very apt description that I would like to share with members about the rhetoric that has been coming out of the Liberal benches as of late, and it is simply this.

The government is quick to blame the opposition for all its failures, which I think we have been very effective at articulating how absurd that is. Had it not been for the opposition, Canada would be in a much worse spot when it comes to COVID relief programs. The third time is the charm with respect to legislation that has had to be repaired several times. The fact is that the opposition has been exposing many of the areas of mismanagement and very troubling trends related to the approach that the Liberals have taken to government accountability and ethics.

These last couple of weeks, in particular, the government House leader, other Liberal members and the Prime Minister in his press conferences, who would never say this in the House of Commons because he would be held to account on it, have effectively said that it is the Conservatives who have been obstructionists, that it somehow is the opposition's fault that the government cannot get anything accomplished.

A constituent shared with me an analogy that I will share with members. It is a bit like students, after having received the syllabus for the school year, coming upon the night before the deadline for a major assignment at the end of the course and all of a sudden realizing they had lot of work to do but did very little or nothing and now they have a choice: They can either admit their failures or they can blame, pivot and make excuses. The Liberals have chosen to do the latter by blaming the Conservatives for obstruction, rather than acknowledging that they are the ones in charge and that they have utterly failed in their legislative management. If this is any indication of how the Liberals have managed government over the last six years, no wonder our country is facing some major challenges.

Bill C-30 is a large bill and it addresses many aspects of COVID response program changes to other aspects of the functioning of government. I am going to get into those specific things.

However, I want to touch on a couple of things that have not received a lot of airtime, so to speak, one of which is the proposed amendment to the Canada Elections Act. The part of the Elections Act that talks about misleading statements during an election was struck down by a court ruling. The government has inserted in the bill, somewhat innocuously, an amendment to the act that would include the words “knowingly mislead” during an election.

There should be a lot of discussion on the “knowingly mislead” part, especially when we see the failures of the current government to uphold elections commitments, its pivoting away from promises made and, certainly, the astounding level of mistrust that is faced across political discourse these days. I find it troubling that this has not been debated extensively. It calls into question some of the purposes associated with why that would be inserted into the back of a budget implementation bill.

The second thing, and this is typically Liberal, is that in the budget implementation bill, the government plans to rename the gas tax fund. This is the Liberal agenda at its best. It takes something, renames it, shines it up a bit, gives it a little spit and polish, and then suggests they have done Canadians a great service with this new program with its fancy new name. That appears to be what Liberals have done with the gas tax fund, which will be called the Canada community building fund going forward.

The new name certainly has a ring to it, and most Canadians might say that it is a great idea, with grant applications and funds going to municipalities. However, it is very important to highlight that it is simply a change in name of a program, which has some of the challenges associated with government accountability and the increased costs. Then I expect to hear a flurry of election spending announcements, promoted by the infrastructure of government, as we saw prior to the 2019 election. We are already seeing cabinet ministers jet-setting across the country, using the tools they have at their disposal to make a myriad of promises prior to the election.

We are going to see a whole bunch of promises related to this new fund, but the Liberals probably will not call it a new fund. However, under a new name, the Liberals will certainly claim credit for the work, even though it was not the Liberals who brought forward that fund, and how it has benefited many municipalities, including some in Battle River—Crowfoot.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to put that on the record so Canadians know that simply renaming something does not give the government of the day credit.

There are extensions to many aspects of COVID programming and there are some concerns related to not being able to address some of the folks who have fallen through the cracks. There are further changes to health transfers, some of which are very needed. I would suggest the dollars are a little too late when it comes to vaccinations, which speaks to the Liberal strategy. If we had been on time with vaccines, we would not have had a third wave. This was the Prime Minister's third wave, when it comes to the delays we face.

As I have come to the end of my speech, I will simply say this. Parliament is an institution that represents Canadians, and to hear that the government is trying to circumvent, at every cost, the need for this place to carefully and thoughtfully debate and discuss legislation, including something as significant as the bill before us, Bill C-30, is very troubling. It is very troubling to hear the Liberals try to circumvent and dismiss the need for what should be of absolute importance to every single one of us.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, June 21st, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I had the chance to listen to both the first part and second part of the hon. member's speech.

I have not heard very much about a part of the bill that proposes an amendment to the Canada Elections Act, which specifically would make it unlawful to knowingly mislead electors during an election campaign. I find it interesting that this is in an omnibus budget bill. Has she had a chance to look into the proposed amendment to the Canada Elections Act and does she have any comments on it?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, June 18th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. friend and colleague for the shout-out and comment on how troubling the debt level is that exists for new Canadians. I am very happy to have celebrated the birth of my third son, Winston, so I appreciate that context for what we are debating here today.

However, I want to ask specifically about how troubling the rhetoric coming from the Liberal side is. We saw an example of that here just a moment ago. Somehow, Liberals are blaming Conservatives for their own unbelievable mismanagement of COVID, the economy and the legislative agenda. I wonder if the member for Regina—Lewvan has further comments on that.

[Government Priorities, June 18th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister’s misleading and blind partisan rhetoric over the last week is quite something.

It was recently pointed out to me that the Liberals' attitude is like that of an irresponsible student who, only when faced with a deadline and possible failure in a class, realizes their actions have consequences. Instead of taking responsibility, they are blaming others, blaming the system, and screaming it is simply not fair.

The Liberals' condescending attitude abdicates the responsibility they have to serve Canadians. It is time to end the excuses and grow up. Will these Liberals take responsibility for their failures?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, June 18th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I find it interesting to hear the Liberals tying themselves in rhetorical knots about defending aspects of policies and trying to distance themselves from decisions that were made in the past. It certainly is a fascinating discussion in rhetoric.

My question for the member is quite simple. In Bill C-30, there are some changes to the Elections Act that are related to a court decision. Specifically, it would make it illegal to knowingly mislead constituents during an election. Now, there has not been a lot of focus on this in the debate on this bill because it is a bit like an omnibus bill, which the Liberals had promised not to do, but this has been inserted into the bill. I would like to hear the member's comments on that particular aspect of Bill C-30.

[Committees of the House, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament in my first term, I was astounded when a Conservative opposition day motion was brought forward to deal with an issue of foreign affairs, which is not overly common, dealing with the genocide being brought against Uighur Muslims, which is especially significant in light of some of actions that have rocked this country with the London attack this past week and that the entire executive of a government would not only abstain but then that the Minister of Foreign Affairs would break with parliamentary protocol, break with the standard rules and procedures of this House, and announce he was abstaining on behalf of the Government of Canada.

That is not leadership, it is an absolute failure to stand up for the values Canada needs to represent around the world. I am proud to be part of a party that has a member like the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, who makes it clear that no matter the cost, we will continue to stand up for those democratic principles and the rule of law and justice around the world.

[Committees of the House, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me take a brief moment to thank you for your service to this House as Deputy Speaker. It has been a pleasure getting to know you. Your efforts and service to stewarding democratic discourse in this country will be remembered. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the member's question because it touches on something that is very important. The fact that the shadow minister of foreign affairs, an opposition member of Parliament, would be the one who is sanctioned speaks to how absolutely effective a leadership the Conservatives are demonstrating, not just in Canada but around the world, when it comes to standing up for Canadian principles at home and abroad.

It further speaks to the sanctioning of a committee that there is good work being done, and I will give credit where credit is due, by all members of that committee. It is encouraging to see that the principles of Canada, principles that I would hope we all hold dear are being stood up for. That these sanctions were levelled means that we are asking the right, tough questions to demand accountability from a foreign state actor that is perpetuating injustices around the world and upon its own people. It is absolutely essential that there be accountability for that.

[Committees of the House, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this chamber, albeit virtually this time, to address such an important matter that strikes at the very heart of the democratic principles that I would hope all Canadian parliamentarians represent.

We have an authoritarian state actor, the Chinese Communist Party, that has repeatedly demonstrated disdain for modern democratic values. This is something that all Canadians need to take seriously. I would note this follows a very important debate where we discussed at length the importance of respect for democracy and the rule of law.

I want to read into the record the motion we are debating concurrence on:

That the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development strongly condemn the unacceptable sanctions imposed by the People's Republic of China against one of the Committee's Vice Chairs, the Member of Parliament for Wellington—Halton Hills, and the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights which represent an affront to Canada's democracy and parliamentary system; as parliamentarians, we will continue to actively denounce human rights violations and breaches of international law in keeping with our respect for basic human rights; and that this motion be reported to the House.

This is an opportunity for all parliamentarians to demonstrate how important it is that we take the democratic values of our country very seriously. It is unprecedented to see these sorts of sanctions against a committee and against a particular member of that committee.

The speaker before me, my hon. colleague from Calgary Midnapore, referenced the comments of the shadow minister from the official opposition in his statement when he learned of these sanctions. He said he would wear it as a badge of honour. That is the attitude that all of us should take seriously. We should defend, at all costs, human rights and the dignity of life and our democratic principles that define us.

We are doing what we are supposed to do. The fact that the member and the subcommittee were denounced should clearly state that the committee is getting to the root and is threatening the tyrants who are, in some cases, taking lives in the People's Republic of China.

I am proud to be a Conservative who is taking a stand, but I would note that this shows a clear contrast. It was not the Minister of Foreign Affairs who was sanctioned by name. It was not a Liberal member. It was not an NDP member. It was not a Bloc member. It was a Conservative member. I think it shows that the Conservatives, even from the opposition benches, are demonstrating to the world that we are leading on issues like standing up for human rights. The talking points we hear from the members opposite would suggest something very different, but there are very clear examples like this where a communist regime would sanction by name a member of the official opposition, it is clear that the Conservatives are doing something right, and I am proud to be a member of that party.

This contrasts very clearly with some of the actions of the current government. I have no doubt when I mention the statement the Prime Minister made at a fundraiser prior to getting elected, where I do not think he knew he was being recorded, he said he admired China's basic dictatorship that there will be head-shaking by the members of the Liberal Party who do not seem to like to remember that he said that. There is contempt for Canada's Parliament and aspects of our democratic institution. If we look at some of the specific examples with respect to our relationship with China, many of those issues are being studied before the special committee. We see the unprecedented movement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs abstaining on behalf of the Government of Canada and breaking parliamentary protocol on a motion to condemn a genocide. It is unbelievable that would be the legacy of the Liberals.

Most recently, we heard the Prime Minister parrot communist talking points that asking tough questions about Chinese state interference would somehow be an issue of racism, not to mention the many economic impacts that have been felt, and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs coming from a largely rural riding, certainly the impacts on agriculture and trade have been significant.

It is clear that Canadians need to be able to trust that their government stands for the core values of what Canada is. I call upon this entire House to concur with this motion and demand respect for the rule of law and the democratic principles that define what Canada is.

[Privilege, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, although I am not a lawyer but a student of Canadian politics, the member strikes on such an important issue: the need and the demand that we have as parliamentarians to steward the processes, what this institution represents, and to ensure that it is done with the utmost respect for the benefit of Canadians.

I spoke often in the last election, from when I first announced my nomination all the way up to referencing it often to my staff and constituents about the need for good governance. We see at the very heart of so many of the challenges we face that this is a symptom of a failure of good governance. We need to return this country to a point where there is good governance once again, that Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, can at least trust the government that is in power and although they may not like the decisions, trust the institutions and the fact that their government is working for the best interests of the nation.

We need a return to good governance in our country. The precedent that is being set time and again by the government is troubling and is eroding the trust that is necessary to sustain democracy in Canada.

[Privilege, June 16th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I find it very unfortunate that the member obviously did not listen to my speech, and I would encourage him to simply go back and read carefully or watch the video of what I said. I think he would find that he has become so blinded by partisanship and the inability to respect the institutions of Parliament, that the Liberals will to turn a blind eye to actions of contempt.

When it comes to protecting and stewarding the democratic principle of our country, every member of Parliament needs to take that incredibly seriously. The fact that Liberals, and that member in particular, many times this evening have dismissed that with such utter disregard, speaks to the attitude that obviously comes from the top, of an admiration for a basic dictatorship that would bring democracy down in our country. As I have said a number of times, it is a national shame that it has come to this point in our country.