Gary Vidal

[Emergencies Act, February 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to quote an NDP MP in the House, but considering the Honourable Tommy Douglas was from Saskatchewan, maybe I will do it this one time. In describing Pierre Elliott Trudeau's use of the War Measures Act, he said it was like “using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut”.

I am sure my colleague from the Bloc would agree that what is happening outside pales in comparison to what was going on in 1970. He referred to that in his comments. What does my colleague think the great Tommy Douglas would do if he were here in the House of Commons at this moment in time?

[Emergencies Act, February 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to listen to my colleague from Winnipeg North. It is often both entertaining and enlightening.

It is interesting to hear him talk about the political aspects of this. It seems that the first thing that comes to mind is the pot calling the kettle black.

The Prime Minister expects us to believe that “the Emergencies Act will be “geographically targeted”, and that is a quote. That is what he told Canadians when he made the announcement. However, the Order in Council itself states that “a public order emergency exists throughout Canada”, and again that is another quote. We have nothing to suggest otherwise, nothing in writing. I can assure this House that the premiers from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and many other provinces in the country do not want this in their provinces.

How does the member explain the contradiction, and why should we trust him and his Prime Minister when the first thing they did in the announcement of the act was mislead Canadians?

[Saskatchewan By-election, February 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in the House today to congratulate newly elected Sask Party MLA Jim Lemaigre on his historic victory in last night's by-election in the provincial riding of Athabasca.

A proud member of the Clearwater River Dene Nation, Jim has been a voice for northern Saskatchewan, built around a career of community service. He served on the council of the Clearwater River Dene Nation holding the education and natural resources portfolios. He also served as a member of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council's office of education. In addition to these roles, Jim is a retired member of the RCMP, and served many northern communities and first nations.

In its 114-year history, the Athabasca riding has only been represented by the Liberals, the CCF or the NDP. Today begins a new exciting chapter for northwest Saskatchewan. I look forward to working with Jim to grow the north's economy, keep our communities safe and make life more affordable for everyone across northern Saskatchewan.

Congratulations to Jim on his historic victory.

[Harold R. Johnson, February 11th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege today to rise in honour of the life of Harold R. Johnson. A member of Montreal Lake Cree Nation and a resident of La Ronge, Harold has been a voice for northern Saskatchewan through his work as an author, capturing the essence of the region, the communities and the people.

Harold joined the Canadian navy at the age of 17 and afterward became a logger and miner, as so many northerners do. He followed that experience with a decision to return to school, eventually earning a law degree from Harvard University. After years of running his own private practice and then becoming a Crown prosecutor, Harold pursued his passion of writing and began an illustrious career as a published author. His book Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing my People (and Yours) was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction. Harold's influential voice in northern Saskatchewan and all of Canada will live on through the words he has left us.

I ask all members of this House to join me in recognizing the life and the legacy of Harold R. Johnson.

[Business of Supply, February 10th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, in his compassionate speech, it sounds like my colleague for Mount Royal might actually be supporting our motion on this issue. I appreciate that very much.

Recently, the member for Louis-Hébert revealed that the Liberal leadership made the decision before the last election to wedge, to divide and to stigmatize Canadians. That was for political gain, no matter what the cost. A poll taken just after the election showed that 77% of Canadians felt the country was more fractured than ever. Make no mistake: That will be the legacy of this Prime Minister and of his government.

Does my colleague for Mount Royal agree with his Quebec colleague, that the legacy of the government will be one of division and fracture?

[Business of Supply, February 10th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North talked about the plan from the very beginning in his comments. Recently, the member for Louis-Hébert revealed what the Liberals' plan was when they made the conscious decision before the last election to wedge, divide and stigmatize Canadians who were unvaccinated or skeptical of vaccines for political gain, no matter what the cost. I can definitely agree with that statement.

In northern Saskatchewan, leaders of indigenous communities have been working for over a year at eliminating vaccine hesitancy among their residents. For very legitimate historical reasons, indigenous people have a distrust of vaccinations.

Do the member for Winnipeg North and his Prime Minister really believe it is right to continue to marginalize indigenous people by continuing to disparage the unvaccinated?

[Louis Roy, February 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today and honour the life of World War II navy veteran Louis Roy.

Mr. Roy passed away early in January at 101 years of age. He enlisted in the army in 1942 and served Canada in Ireland, Portugal, Italy and England until his discharge in 1945. A well-respected family man and community member, Mr. Roy spent his years after the war as a trapper and hunter before beginning a career as a carpenter. At the young-hearted age of 85, Mr. Roy built himself a home on the banks of the Beaver River in his home community of Beauval, Saskatchewan, where he enjoyed time with his children and his grandchildren.

His granddaughter, Glenda Burnouf, said it best about her grandfather: “He was just a very well respected man. He lived a fulfilled life rich with adventure.” He was loved by all.

I ask all members in the House today to join me by recognizing the life and the legacy of Louis Roy.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, January 31st, 2022]

With regard to the offices of the Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations, Minister for Indigenous Services, and Minister of Northern Affairs from July 1, 2016, to December 8, 2021: (a) how much was spent on contracts for (i) temporary employment, (ii) consultants, (iii) advice; (b) what are the details of all contracts related to (a), including for each (i) the date and duration of the contract, (ii) the vendor, (iii) the value of the contract, (iv) the description of services provided, (v) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive bid process, (vi) the file number; and (c) what are the names of the individuals who provided the services to the minister’s office in relation to the contract?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, January 31st, 2022]

With regard to delayed federally funded infrastructure projects in Northern Saskatchewan: what are the details of all projects which have yet to be completed, and have had their original expected completion date delayed by more than six months, including, for each, (i) the project location, (ii) the project description, (iii) the original expected completion date, (iv) the revised expected completion date, (v) the original total projected budget of project, (vi) the most recent total projected budget of project, (vii) the original federal contribution, (viii) whether or not the federal contribution has been or will be increased, and, if so, to what amount, (ix) the specific reason for the delay?

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

With regard to payments made to individuals through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or the Canada Recover Benefit (CRB), and broken down by each program: (a) how many individuals received their payments via (i) direct deposit, (ii) a paper cheque; (b) of the individuals who received their payments via a paper cheque, how many were mailed to an address outside of Canada; (c) how many of the paper cheques were counter-signed or cashed by a third party; (d) what specific action was taken by the government to ensure that money in the cheques cashed in (c) went to the intended individuals; (e) approximately how many cases of CERB or CRB fraud is the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) aware of involving paper cheques; (f) what specific action is CRA taking to investigate the cases in (e) and recover the money; and (g) how much money has been recovered to date, as a result of the efforts outlined in (f)?