Ed Fast

[Government Business No. 20, October 18th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, the underlying premise of Bill C-31 is an assumption that the government is even capable of delivering a $10-billion program, yet its record in government is appalling when we think of the mess it made of passports, when we think of the mess it made of ArriveCAN, when we think of the mess it made with the Canada Infrastructure Bank and even with the delivery of the CERB program.

What makes the minister think that he and his government can actually deliver a $10-billion national dental care program in a coherent and accountable way?

[Taxation, October 3rd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the inflation crisis in B.C. is exploding. It is not only food and shelter costs that are taking a hit. Vancouver's gasoline prices are now the highest in North America, yet the Prime Minister wants to force B.C. to triple the carbon tax on everything, making life completely unaffordable for families.

While the Prime Minister fiddles around, life has become hopelessly expensive and Canadians are now losing hope. Will the Prime Minister now cancel his plan to triple the carbon tax on gas, groceries and home heating, yes or no?

[Petitions, September 20th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, my second petition calls attention to the fact that the current government, in its 2021 platform, proposes to deny charitable status to organizations that have deeply held, genuine convictions about protecting life in the womb.

The Liberal Party considers these views to be dishonest, and this may jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that do not agree with the Liberal Party of Canada.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to do two things: to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis and to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.

[Petitions, September 20th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, it is good to be back in this House after the summer recess.

I am rising to present two petitions. The first petition is in support of Senate Bill S-223, which seeks to combat the practice of forced organ harvesting, which is still going around the world. It is the practice of harvesting organs from healthy, living human beings without their consent, and the bill would combat this practice. The families of the victims of forced organ harvesting and trafficking have now waited almost 15 years for Canada to pass this legislation. It is time to end the delays, and the petitioners are calling on the House and on Parliament to now get this done.

[Flood Protection, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, last November, B.C.’s Fraser Valley experienced a massive flood. Thousands were evacuated as the Nooksack River in Washington state sent floodwaters pouring into Canada. Sumas prairie, the heart of Abbotsford's agricultural industry, suffered catastrophic losses of livestock, crops and buildings.

This week, city council approved a plan for long-term flood protection at a price of close to $3 billion. The goal is not just to rebuild old dikes, but to construct new flood-resilient infrastructure to 21st century standards. Modern engineering will not only keep us safe; it will avert billions of dollars in future economic losses.

In fact, hundreds of constituents have written to me asking the Liberal government to fund this infrastructure. Today, I will personally deliver those letters to the Deputy Prime Minister. I plead with her to listen to our cries for help and deliver the support we have asked for.

[Judges Act, June 16th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I want to profoundly thank the hon. member for Fundy Royal for placing victims at the heart of his intervention. I listened very carefully to the speech that the parliamentary secretary to the Liberal Minister of Justice gave, and I do not believe the word “victim” was ever mentioned. My colleague here on the Conservative side, of course, made victims the linchpin of his comments.

I would ask him to expand on the practical impact that this legislation, if it is improved at committee, could have on the plight of future victims.

[Judges Act, June 16th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I notice that the two Liberals who have gotten up in the House to speak about the bill and ask questions have resiled from a discussion about victims. My colleague for Fundy Royal specifically asked a question on how victims are implicated by the bill and how they would benefit from an improved complaints process. However, all they did, both the parliamentary secretary and my colleague from Kingston and the Islands, was deflect. They do not want to talk about victims; they want to talk about something else.

Could the hon. member please explain to the House how victims will benefit from this legislation? At the end of the day, we are talking about judges, the ones who render judgment in many criminal cases across this country, and it is the victims of crime who are often left hanging and fall through the cracks.

[Taxation, May 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, has the minister seen the price of gasoline lately? Of course she has not; she has a chauffeur. However, in Vancouver it is as high as $2.35 per litre. A huge chunk of that cost is GST and the carbon tax. That is a tax on a tax.

The Conservatives have asked the Prime Minister to suspend GST on gasoline purchases. He refused. The only winner is the Liberal government, which is raking in billions in extra taxes but is refusing to share that windfall with Canadian families.

Why have the Prime Minister and the government so badly failed Canadians in their time of need?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, May 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, that is one of the best questions I have ever heard from the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. It was a great question.

Abbotsford, and in fact southern British Columbia, suffered the most significant rain and flood event, certainly in my lifetime, this past November. It drove home the reality that our weather resiliency and climate change resiliency are not anywhere close to being up to snuff. Our dikes failed, we had massive flooding across the Sumas Prairie, and many other communities in southern British Columbia, such as Princeton, Keremeos and Merritt, were impacted by infrastructure that was not up to snuff. We need to invest more in adaptability to make sure that our country is climate resilient. She may be surprised to hear—

[Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, May 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, the thing the Liberals do not deliver on is affordability. They do not deliver on their promise to fight inflation. In fact, do members know what happens with the Liberal government? The biggest beneficiary of inflation and the affordability crisis is government revenues. Every step along the way, it gets another piece of the action.

This new legislation would allow the government to now charge GST on the assignment of real estate contracts. Therefore, if somebody buys a house, but is doing it on spec, and finds another buyer who is prepared to pay more, they can say, “Hey would you like to buy this? I will sell you the contract.” Well, is the government not going to take a piece of the action on that as well?

It does on gas. It does on carbon taxes. It is all the GST layered on everything that Canadians buy. At the end of the day, Canadians are the ones who pay the price, and the big beneficiary is the Prime Minister, who continues to bring in more and more government tax revenues and then spends that money wildly. That is unacceptable, and Canadians are going to call him on it.