Jake Stewart

[Softwood Lumber Dispute with the United States, December 1st, 2021]

Madam Chair, on a point of order, before this Liberal member gets up to speak, I think it is important. He is being investigated by the Calgary police—

[Softwood Lumber Dispute with the United States, December 1st, 2021]

Madam Chair, I could not agree with the member more.

Right now I have mills in my riding, the same as the member opposite. I agree with him. We need leadership from the Prime Minister. It has to supersede politics and political parties. We need real leadership. There is an inability by the Liberal government to provide it.

[Softwood Lumber Dispute with the United States, December 1st, 2021]

Madam Chair, I am sure the member has a valid point in terms of his own province, and I would dare say the member knows more about his own province than I do. However, every province in Canada is suffering because of the Prime Minister's inability to forge a relationship with the country that is supposed to be our very best friend.

If the United States is our best friend, our country should be able to forge that relationship, whether we are Liberal or Conservative or Bloc or anything else. That should not matter. Right now, we have seriously been taken to the wood shed by the United States, and the Prime Minister has done nothing but talk about the climate crisis and electric vehicles.

Now everybody is suffering because of that.

[Softwood Lumber Dispute with the United States, December 1st, 2021]

Madam Chair, when former prime minister Stephen Harper signed the first deal in 2006, the esteemed member across the floor, in his prevailing ways, comparable to sunny ways, actually voted against it.

How shameful is it to stand in this House after failing every softwood lumber company in the country and talk about something when the Liberals failed in 2006? The Liberals are going back all these years on something they have failed on. That is total hypocrisy in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister has to show leadership here, and he has not done it. He has not been able to do it. Obama started it off. He could not build a relationship with Trump. Now Biden, and no pun intended, has taken the Prime Minister to the wood shed, and every softwood lumber company in our country is feeling the effects of that right now.

[Softwood Lumber Dispute with the United States, December 1st, 2021]

Madam Chair, the U.S. and Canada share the world's longest international border and have been allies for more than 150 years. This past year, the Prime Minister has been concerned with cross-border relations. He has been concerned with electric vehicle production and border carbon adjustments. He has been concerned with climate change in his own country, and he has not been very concerned with the softwood timber dispute.

President Biden does not have much respect for our Prime Minister because former prime minister Brian Mulroney got deals done. Liberal prime ministers after him got deals done, and former prime minister Stephen Harper was actually managing to get exemptions for Atlantic Canada. Under the current Liberal government, New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada and all of Canada are facing more than double the tariffs that we were already struggling with.

The Obama administration sent the Department of Commerce into a deep dive to determine how the United States could get something they wanted and how the country of Canada could not get something it wanted. The basic rules of friendship are to respect each other. This is an over 150-year relationship. We are two nations that have always managed to get something that is in the best interests of their nations.

Right now the United States has no respect for our country because our Prime Minister is weak on the international stage. This is part of the problem we are facing right now. The Clintons gave the Prime Minister a nice endorsement at election time knowing how easy it would be for the Americans and their buy America campaign. Everyone worried about President Trump and talked about how bad Republicans were. This started under President Obama, and it has been doubled twice, now again under President Biden. This is actually a liberal agenda stemming from the United States, which our Liberal government here has no impact to counter.

The forestry sector is crucial in New Brunswick, as it employs thousands of New Brunswickers. The government must stand by lumber producers for our communities. It has not been able to do it. The evidence is very clear. I have three or four mills in my constituency and many communities benefit. My father was a logger. My grandfather was a contractor. The forestry industry runs deep in my blood. There are a total of 24,000 jobs and the sawmill sector alone in New Brunswick is the foundation of those jobs.

Tonight, I heard Liberal members across the floor standing up in total hypocrisy talking about how they are going to prevail. Where have they been when right now the evidence is that they have failed not once, but twice? Now we are expected to believe they are going to prevail. They are not going to be able to prevail because the Prime Minister is failing on the international stage. This one is affecting all of Canada.

I would like to say to the people of New Brunswick and the people of Miramichi—Grand Lake that Conservatives are going to keep the government accountable because right now Liberals are unable to do any damage across the border. When we have a 150-year relationship, we should be able to say what is good for them, and what is good for us, and then make a few deals. They are the basic rules of trading. There has to be something that we are exporting to the United States that they depend on our country for. There has to be something more important than electric vehicles.

The government across the floor has no interest in fixing this issue right now. Canadians were promised a renewed relationship by the Prime Minister and, instead, what do we get? An EV tax credit that threatens Canadian auto manufacturing, stringent buy America policies, measures targeting agricultural exports and actions against energy pipelines, which are contributing to skyrocketing energy prices, just like the inflation on everything else in this country.

Now the United States is at it again, doubling tariffs on Canadian softwood. What is going to be done about it? The hypocrisy from across the floor is that they will prevail. That sounds great. On behalf of the people of Miramichi—Grand Lake, I ask how they will prevail.

Tonight I am proud to speak for New Brunswick and New Brunswick companies. We need a government that will put them first on softwood timber.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 30th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada was asking for the CEBA to be reorganized so it would include supports for start-up businesses, which are often the backbone of our economies. In Miramichi—Grand Lake, start-ups are one of the most important things that fuels the Miramichi city, which then funnels out into the rural communities of Blackville, Boiestown, Rogersville and the surrounding areas.

The Conservative Party of Canada agrees with the member. We were asking for those supports, and we are hoping the Government of Canada will be able to open their eyes and put those supports in there.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 30th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, sometimes what gets lost is how many things we use that are made from petroleum, oil and gas. I will not deny in the House that at some point in time we may be able to store enough energy to use it, but I do not think I will ever see it.

I am a salmon fisherman. I was the 14-year-old kid diving off the 14-and-a-half-foot boat and digging the beer bottles out of the bottom of the Miramichi River because I loved it that much. I care about the environment and every day I think about it, but our country was built on natural resources, and we are a world-renowned leader in the development of those industries. We need to shift, yes, but it is going to be much slower than the people on the other side of the floor and the Bloc are talking about today.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 30th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, any member of the House would be against barbaric and ancient practices that are harmful to human beings. However, like any member of the House, I will be taking a good look at the bill and I will probably vote to send it to committee. I am in favour of it going to committee at this point in time.

However, with respect to the word “conversion”, this is a great conversion to the reality that the Liberals are killing our energy sector. While the cost of housing went from $450,000 for the average cost of a Canadian home to now $750,000 just over the Liberals six years in government, that is the conversion we want to talk about in here.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 30th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to stand in these hallowed halls of this great House to deliver my inaugural speech.

The people of Miramichi—Grand Lake truly motivated me to fight on their behalf. I thank them for placing their trust in me. My efforts here will always be on their behalf. They will get the best, the Miramichi very best, of what is in my head, in my soul and my heart, and this heart is embedded with the success of our region and its people, our province and country, and the Canadian dream for every single one of them.

I thank my family, both immediate and extended, for supporting me in this endeavour. I thank Shannon, River, Roman, Leia, Meadow Rose and Sky for putting up with me all these years and for their support, once again. There are sacrifices that each of them undertook that allowed me to embark on this journey.

My friends are the best. Regardless of which political stripe they come from, they have always supported me every step of the way, with passion and enthusiasm. It gives me confidence, humility, comfort and still, great pride. My team of dedicated individuals have had my back for many years, some for 12 years now. I realize thanking them will never quite be enough, but the truth is that their kindness, volunteerism and unparalleled efforts to support me and the Conservative Party of Canada do not go unnoticed, and they do not go underappreciated.

I am beyond grateful and with a full heart even mentioning it. Many nights I lay awake thinking how I could ever thank many of them, knowing still that their ambition was not to receive but simply to help me sit in this green chair for the people of Miramichi—Grand Lake. They, too, shall always get my honesty, my integrity, my energy and my deep will to be better for the people of Miramichi—Grand Lake.

I began my political journey as a municipal councillor in 2008 in my hometown of Blackville, where my family and I continue to make our home. After that, I spent 11 years in the provincial legislature of New Brunswick. This is now the third chapter of my life in politics, as a member of Parliament. Regardless of the roles I have held, the principles have been the same for me: to stand up for those I believe in, give a voice to those in need and to defend our way of life.

Analysts and pundits often speak of economic issues in abstract terms. Whether the topic is inflation, or recession, or housing costs or even the cost of groceries, the commentary is often generic, but we as elected representatives see these effects daily in our interactions within our own communities. Canada is in a very precarious position at this moment.

As costs continue to rise, the quality of life for Canadians becomes threatened more and more. They are under enormous strain right now. Year over year, housing inflation in New Brunswick alone is 30%, and that is from a Globe and Mail article this week. Canadians are having to make the choice between heating their home or buying their groceries, yet, in Canada, we are rich with natural resources and a motivated hard-working labour force. As the leader of our party noted this week, “other countries are launching ambitious plans to unleash innovation, lower taxes and slash red tape to get their economies surging and we see nothing from [the government].”

Small businesses are looking to the Liberals to bring forth a plan to address critical supply chain issues they are facing in advance of the holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, the Liberal Speech from the Throne is a complete failure for these small businesses. Instead of presenting an economic plan for small businesses, they have been simply left behind, and they have been the backbone of each and every one of our constituencies.

The Prime Minister's approach means more deficits leading to higher taxes. At a time when Canadians are barely making ends meet, they are getting higher taxes and inflation. This is a classic tax-and-spend Liberal government, and the business community in Miramichi -Grand Lake is feeling the impacts of it daily. As predicted, small businesses are an afterthought for the government. There is but little mention of them in the Speech from the Throne.

The dangerous Liberal climate agenda is destroying the very economy that has supplied Canada with decades of opportunity and wealth. As a result, it is putting hundreds to thousands of jobs at risk, and it is cutting into the revenue from the natural resources that have put food on our tables for decades. It has driven up inflation, making Canada a much more unaffordable place to live, and thus making it harder to attract new citizens. All Canadians believe in protecting the environment for today and the future, but we are a world leader in the development of our natural resource industries, and we have gotten away from taking pride in that. We have developed our industries in a safe and responsible manner, and it has driven our country for decades.

It is a well-known fact that hundreds to thousands of my constituents are rotational workers. These individuals travel in and out of western Canada and other provinces to work in natural resource industries such as oil, gas and mining. Anything truly economical in Miramichi—Grand Lake that would have yielded direct and indirect jobs, wealth and opportunity was sidelined, cancelled, dragged out in bureaucracy or simply not supported. The evidence to support this claim is vast, and the Liberal government along with its New Brunswick Liberal MPs are now put on notice. Every detail of that will be on the floor of the House and every single one of them will answer to it. Miramichi—Grand Lake is going to be heard. That is without question.

Another role of the federal government is the cultivation of national unity. Every region of the country feels that its identity is understood and appreciated, thereby allowing us to come together as Canadians. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney once said, “You accumulate political capital to spend it on noble causes for Canada. If you’re afraid to spend your capital, you shouldn’t be there.” I agree with him. It should be acceptable then, and in fact encouraged, to celebrate Canada. We have so much for which to be thankful. We are a beacon to the world of democracy and freedoms. Armed forces that fight for that freedom are worth celebrating. We have a Prime Minister who condemns every bit of it.

From 2018 to 2020, I served as New Brunswick's minister of aboriginal affairs and, frankly, it was one of the greatest experiences of my career. To witness the determination of first nations people, often in the face of adversity, was tremendous. Every single day was an opportunity to learn.

What kind of message was sent to the indigenous peoples when National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was not important enough for the Prime Minister to attend? What kind of message was sent to all Canadians when Canada Day was cancelled? Essentially, neither national holiday held any importance for the Prime Minister or the Liberal government, further adding to the hypocrisy of the push to convince everyone in the nation of their vast Liberal humanitarian efforts. It is shameful, and it is shameful for everyone in the country. We are a country of values, stemming from the origins through decades of generations, and we will always feel the compassion of those wrongs that exist in our history. If the government wants to truly help the indigenous peoples, then lift their boil orders with sufficient drinking water, install proper sewer systems, help lift nations up on their path to self-governance, self-determination and build economies for first nations and indigenous peoples as willing partners in our country.

Canada Day is more than Confederation, the decisions made and the merits of those decisions as reviewed all these years later. It is a defining moment in our collective history, and of that much I am certain. Better yet, it is a celebration of Canadian values and the people who defend those values. Cancelling Canada Day is a rejection and an insult to our Canadian values. The Prime Minister of Canada has no recourse for history, none whatsoever, but even still, history cannot be cancelled because it already happened. As Canadians, we must learn from it. We must aim to be better together.

Truth and Reconciliation Day was needed, and I venture to say it was greatly overdue. However, to not accept the personal invitation to attend the commemoration on that day, only to use it as a personal holiday is a major failure. There is no greater shame a nation can bring upon itself than to disrespect its own flag, the people who fought for it and the country that loves it. Canada's Conservatives are ready to—

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 26th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, over 22,000 New Brunswick jobs are going to feel the impact of this government's inability to stand up for them. There are thousands of jobs in Miramichi—Grand Lake and across the country that are now at severe risk because of the weakness of the current Prime Minister.

Printing more money, news flash, will not fix this issue. What will the Liberal government do to protect these hard-working forestry jobs?