House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was trade.

Last in Parliament August 2023, as Conservative MP for Durham (Ontario)

Won his last election, in 2021, with 46% of the vote.

Statements in the House

International Trade May 8th, 2014

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for that question. Our government has negotiated a historic agreement with the European Union, a market of 500 million consumers, as announced last fall, with the final agreement to come before this place in the coming months.

Today is European Union Day, and I will be meeting our ambassadors tonight, talking about the jobs that will be created by this truly historic agreement. I hope the NDP can change its ways and finally get behind trade and the jobs that come from it.

First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act May 2nd, 2014

Mr. Speaker, my concern with the remarks by the member for Western Arctic, and even his responses to his colleagues, is that the NDP's typical approach here is to delay, suggest more talking, and not address the issues.

We are hearing from first nation leaders across Canada who like the idea of being empowered to provide education, and our government is also supplying the money to help them do that. Today, Regional Chief Roger Augustine described the bill as a “huge improvement” for first nations parents and communities across the country.

The bill would be giving power and funds to help improve education for first nation students, yet it appears that the member for Western Arctic and his colleagues just want more delay and study, when we all know that this power has been asked for.

I would ask the member to justify his delay of this provision.

Mental Health Week May 2nd, 2014

Mr. Speaker, next week is Mental Health Week. On May 6, Senator Roméo Dallaire and I will host the Sam Sharpe breakfast, exploring veterans' mental health and wellness issues.

We will hear from Tim Laidler, a young Afghanistan veteran who struggled with his mental injuries before attending the veterans transition program and returning to school. Now he helps other veterans as director of that program.

We will hear from Chris Linford, author of Warrior Rising, an inspired story of his family's journey on his road back from PTSD.

Sam Sharpe himself was a member of Parliament in this place for Ontario North. He served on the battlefields of World War I before returning to Canada, where he took his life struggling with his mental injuries.

By remembering Sharpe and hearing these inspired stories of our veterans for today, we have shown we are coming a long way on the road from stigma. We still have a way to go, but the stories of our veterans will show that there is help out there for them.

Democratic Reform May 1st, 2014

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak for a few moments. I am not sure how to respond, because most of those were general statements.

It is clear that members of the opposition, both in the Liberal Party and the NDP, have not even done the basic level of research on the bill or on the Neufeld report. I saw, and Canadians saw, this at the procedure and House affairs committee.

I would suggest they read pages 23 to 27, where Neufeld said that this antiquated system needed modernization. He warned the government that we lived in a great parliamentary democracy, so there was a complacency with respect to the system. A lot of people will feel that we do not need to fix it, even when court decisions show it is profoundly broken. He warned us that there would be resistance.

What I find deeply troubling is that the NDP and the Liberals allowed this process to be part of their partisan efforts to work with activist groups against really fixing a system.

We now have a bill that is quite strong and will give us the modern system we need.

Democratic Reform May 1st, 2014

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege for me to stand in this House to speak to the fair elections act, which I did at the procedure committee for several weeks, and in the media, to make sure that Canadians understand the modernization and reform we are bringing to our elections law. The polls last week seemed to show that Canadians agree with our modernization of elections administration.

I will address the questions and commentary from my colleague from Winnipeg North. First, he said about his own experience at the procedure and House affairs committee that the government did not want to hear and that he did not feel that the government was listening to him. I would remind him that there were almost 30 hours of witnesses. Almost 60 or 70 witnesses appeared at the procedure and House affairs committee to give their perspectives on the fair elections act.

Members in this place spoke in questions and in debate, as well as in discussions in the media, which means that there was a lot of discussion. Our government made 14 substantive amendments to a bill that was already focused on modernizing our antiquated elections law. That word “antiquated” comes from Harry Neufeld himself.

The hon. member suggested that the government acted alone or took charge of an issue that seemingly did not need to be addressed. He certainly has not been following elections law in Canada. In 2011, the results in Etobicoke Centre led to a result being overturned and ultimately to a challenge at the Supreme Court of Canada, where issues related to election administration, the training of officials, and vouching showed that our system needed profound modernization.

Elections Canada asked Harry Neufeld, the former B.C. chief electoral officer, to do a report. He had both an interim report and a final report. The bill is also built on a 2007 Elections Canada report on voter participation and issues related to groups that are under-represented on election day.

I would suggest to the hon. member that this bill did not come out of thin air. In fact, it came out of a profound need to modernize and make our system far more effective and less prone to irregularities, because each election, we have between five and 15 results in the 200 to 500 vote range. Mr. Neufeld's report showed that our old way of doing things had as many as 500 errors per riding.

In a G7 country, it is unacceptable to have an antiquated system, so we have updated it. It is our position, and it has been clear throughout, and Canadians agree, that one must show some form of identification before one votes at the poll. Canadians understand it. It is reasonable, and our amendment has addressed the concerns about some of the 39 forms not having addresses.

It is a great bill. The amendments have made it even stronger, and our government is proud to move our elections forward with it.

Battle of Vimy Ridge April 9th, 2014

Mr. Speaker, today is Vimy Day. Like many members of this House, I wear my Vimy pin to recognize the sacrifice of those who fought at Vimy but also the unique achievement the Battle of Vimy Ridge represented for a young country.

Last night at the Canadian War Museum, Canadian Forces members, veterans, sponsors, and guests gathered for the First World War Centenary Gala to raise money for the museum's Operation Veteran program and the Royal Canadian Legion's poppy trust fund.

It is our duty to remember the 425,000 Canadians who served overseas in the Great War, the 66,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and the 173,000 who returned to Canada wounded.

On the road to 2017, a year that represents the 150th anniversary of Canada and the 100th anniversary of Vimy, I urge Canadians to understand our past, commemorate these achievements, and thank our veterans.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 April 4th, 2014

Mr. Speaker, this is another great question from my Liberal colleague that allows me to explain to him as well how this works, because being from Charlottetown, he too likes to play a few games on this subject, although I know his heart is in the right place.

When it comes to these funds, this government cannot predict, nor could any member of this House, how many veterans who are impoverished may pass in 10 years from now. These amounts provide a contingency reserve within the fund that will provide enough flexibility over the course of the coming decades for access.

On the amount the member referred to from the last budget, the individualized costs for funeral, burial, and services around that have come up, reflecting a higher cost than a generation ago; and so the money in this budget would now ensure that the overall fund has the ability to ensure that indigent veterans post-Korea—so modern-day veterans, even potentially some of my own colleagues from my time in uniform—would be protected by the fund.

If the member has any further questions, we would be happy to answer them.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 April 4th, 2014

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her work on that committee, and I hope she is listening, because the question gives me an excellent opportunity to show members why this fund is actually structured in a way that targets those in need.

As a veteran, I do not expect decades later to have my funeral covered. It is only for impoverished veterans. Let me say what the member neglected to say about that $12,500 cut-off.

That amount of net assets for deceased veterans does not include their house and it does not include their car. We are talking about people who only have that amount of assets at the end of their life. The car and the house could mean that veterans have more, and so we are not just talking about homeless veterans or people like that. This is a set amount that is very reasonable to make sure that those who fall into the cracks and need support get it.

I would invite the member and the NDP to stop playing games and tell the full story on how that number is calculated.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 April 4th, 2014

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to rise in the House of Commons to speak on economic action plan 2014 and the budget implementation act flowing from it, because in many ways they complete a very important journey. That journey, in the next year, will see a return to balanced budgets here in Canada. What is most important to us as Conservatives is that the journey has taken place without increasing taxes, an approach and a journey that my colleagues on the opposite side, the NDP and the Liberals, would have turned to during the economic crisis. Our government was consistent that we were not going to raise taxes on families, on seniors, or on job creators. So, we have had no tax increases and will have a return to balanced budgets.

I would be remiss if I did not say that one of the key shepherds on that journey has been my colleague, my friend, and my neighbour, in fact, the member of Parliament for Whitby—Oshawa, who, working with the Prime Minister and our caucus, ensured that we kept our commitments that we started during the worst of the downturn in 2008-09 to get to a balanced budget and where we are now.

I would like to remind my colleagues in the House where we are now. We are in a unique position of leadership in the G7. We have the best economy in the G7 right now. We will be the first G7 nation to have a balanced budget in the coming year. We lead in job creation, with almost one million net new jobs since the depths of the recession, and the vast majority of those are full-time. We have the best debt-to-GDP ratio among our G7 colleagues. We have the top financial institutions and regulatory environment in the world.

In many ways, we are the envy of our friends and are not only going to continue with that success but also ensure that Canada remains a leader under our government.

It is also important, whenever I stand in this place, that I recognize my role as the member of Parliament representing Durham, which is a proud part of Canada in southern Ontario, with deep century-plus roots in agriculture; a leading role in energy with Darlington Nuclear Generating Station; and with a proud history of manufacturing, both large and small. Our government has been taking the prudent steps to ensure that all of those industries and families that derive their wealth and wellness from them thrive.

Just this week, CIBC released a report showing that in the years since the great global recession, we have stronger and more productive manufacturers. We have more small and medium-size specialty manufacturers in southern Ontario that have withstood the global challenges that some of our best friends and allies are still facing but are now starting to thrive.

I would also look to the recent report by the Lawrence Centre in the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, one of the leading business faculties in the world. It just completed a study on the future of Canadian manufacturing by looking and learning from the success of some of our leading manufacturers in southern Ontario. Its conclusion was that a revitalized Canadian manufacturing sector will rely on the private sector and that the only role for government is really to promote and support an environment that allows the private sector to flourish. I cannot think of a better report that exemplifies the leadership of our government in the last few years, and I will tell members why.

The manufacturers that are succeeding in Ontario and, indeed, across the country are not just selling their goods and services here in Canada. They are looking around the world to be globally competitive.

What has our government done? We now have 38 new countries where our exporters will have most-favoured nation status. With the work of this government and the Minister of International Trade, in particular, in delivering the agreement in principle on CETA and our first trade agreement in Asia, with South Korea, we are building new markets that will allow our exporters not just to sustain their operations but also to grow and create employment.

Looking at the budget itself, page 98 shows a variety of other factors beyond just opening new markets. We are simplifying taxes for 60,000 small to medium-size enterprises in Ontario by streamlining the GST or HST credit rebate process and creating a new class of depreciable property. That is building upon our accelerated capital cost allowance, allowing those manufacturers to become more competitive.

I also refer the people of my riding to page 124 of the budget, which talks about the auto innovation fund, our government's multi-year commitment to securing our auto sector in southern Ontario. We have just put another $500 million into that fund over the next two years, on top of the over $300 million already invested on innovation in manufacturing in southern Ontario.

We are also looking at science and technology. Canada leads the OECD on funding for research at our universities to make sure that we innovate and are creating jobs for the next generation.

Our most recent budget adds to that, with the Canada first research excellence fund, a $1.5 billion fund that will be used by researchers, innovators, and universities across Canada to make sure that Canada remains ahead in science and technology. I would like to thank Dr. Tim McTiernan and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in our area of Durham for their work in science and in training the next generation of job seekers.

Durham is also known for its rich quality of life. While my business background has me passionately speaking about business issues and our government's success on the economic front, I am also proud that we are looking at recreation, culture, and other things that make our quality of life in Durham and Canada so strong.

I am proud of our government's recreational fisheries conservation partnership program. This last budget is doubling the annual funding for that program over the next two years.

In my community, before my election to Parliament, I was fortunate to work alongside dedicated volunteers at Valleys 2000 and the Bomanville Creek Anglers Association who, for many years, had been looking at making sure that migrating fish species on the Bomanville Creek could reach their spawning grounds despite dams and obstacles in their way. With funding from this fisheries conservation partnership plan, that group of volunteers in Bomanville has created a fish bypass channel, which, for the first salmon and trout run this spring, will allow those fish to bypass a dam and spawn up creek. I have to thank those volunteers, led by the late Al Strike, Harold Hammond, Reverend Frank Lockhart, Dave Lawson, Steve Kay, Jack Hampsey, and a range of other passionate volunteers from our community who got that program to where it is at. Our government was happy to help complete some of the funding.

As a veteran myself, I have to note that, as stated on page 223, our government maintains its strong commitment to our veterans and their families. With a $108 million commitment to the Last Post Fund, we are taking this funeral and burial program intended for impoverished or indigent veterans and are expanding it beyond its mandate from World War II and Korean War veterans to modern-day veterans so that no one will slip between the cracks. That is on top of our funding increases in the last budget for those services specifically.

The budget also mentioned the Afghanistan commemoration. I will be one of many MPs here who are proud to stand with Canadians for the families of the fallen on May 9, when we commemorate one of Canada's most sustained missions abroad in which over 40,000 of our best young men and women served our country when called upon.

We are also putting a priority on hiring injured veterans. Each year, approximately 1,000 men or women from the Canadian Forces release as a result of injury. We are putting them at the top of the priority hiring list for the civil service, a measure that I hope the opposition and the public sector unions can finally get behind to put those veterans in a place that will make sure they thrive when they transition out of uniform.

We are also putting increased spending into the My VAC Account and other resources so that veterans can access their services.

It is always an honour for me to rise to represent my riding of Durham. I am happy to have highlighted a few measures that make our budget and its implementation so pivotal for Canada.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 April 4th, 2014

Mr. Speaker, I would like thank the hon. member for Pontiac for his speech here today, and I will note two things from his remarks with respect to broadband Internet.

I invite the member to look at the digital Canada 150 plan being announced by the Minister of Industry today, which has over $300 million invested for rural broadband Internet.

However, more specifically, the member suggested that the funding from the latest wireless spectrum auction be applied to some of these investments. I wonder whether he recognizes that the investments made by carriers acquiring that spectrum is not a lump sum; it is received by the government and amortized over several decades.

Would the hon. member comment on the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent, announced just today, on rural broadband Internet?