House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 69% of the vote.
Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act September 20th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member that the world is not black and white.
Most refugees are innocent, but not all. Would the member agree that we need to know who is who before we let them out on the streets? We all want to give relief to those who endure the atrocious situations that smuggled humans endure, but is it not more compassionate to create legislation that would prevent them from getting into those atrocious situations in the first place?
Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act September 20th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the opposition does not have a monopoly on friends and family who came to Canada under extremely difficult circumstances. My mother also came to Canada by boat after her family had escaped Germany, dodging dogs and bullets all the way.
The opposition knows that we Conservatives do not maliciously intend to target innocent refugees. This bill is designed to protect these refugees from being duped into the most dire and dangerous of circumstances.
We ask the opposition to call a spade a spade and recognize that Conservatives are not cold-hearted people who hate refugees and want to throw them away into worse circumstances. When refugees first arrive, they are certainly held in better conditions than on the boat they arrived in. It is just a matter of finding out who is who and making sure that the good guys get in and the bad guys do not.
Could the hon. member comment on that?
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 25th, 2011
Madam Speaker, I will just read this email. It says:
Members of Parliament:
I am following the debate on ParlVu, and it seems frustrating to me that in trying to follow some of the things that some of the Hon. members are discussing, it seems like the majority of them have not read Bill C-6..
I know this is a lockout....
Can the members not read that the very first provisions require the EMPLOYER to end the lockout? That the very next subsection prohibits the EMPLOYER from impeding employees from returning to work? Can they not read that C-6 requires the EMPLOYER to resume respecting the collective agreement until a new one can be put in place?
Can they not read section 13 which states that nothing in the act precludes the Union and the Employer from agreeing on a new collective agreement before the bill comes into force?
I find that some honourable members are wasting our time and tax dollars by not reading Bill C-6 and properly interpreting its intent.
Will the NDP quit constructing straw man arguments and focus on the bill?
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, we do not blame the unions. We do not blame the postal workers. There is one sole organization that has the ability to let the postal workers go back to work and that is the NDP.
I have a letter from Roy Wood, a small businessman. He says:
As of right now I have 4000 “Spring Special” post cards, stamped and addressed......and just sitting on the shelf.
We have to be very careful and calculating with our marketing dollars.... We are losing revenue every day those cards sit. ...will it do me any good to cross out spring and write summer on 4000 cards?
When they do not have business, it is not just he who is losing money, but his employees who do not work are losing money too. We want to ask the NDP to please stop this political stunt and let the post get mailed.
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, last weekend I met with a local postal union representative. He was very respectful in his communications with me. He was very open and kind. He invited union leaders from three or four other unions in the area. They were all very reasonable and respectful.
One of the things that is really impressive about the strike from the union side is that it did not do a general strike. It did a rotating strike because it did not want to do any damage that would hurt Canadian people.
I would urge members of the NDP to have the same respect for their fellow Canadians and let the postal workers go back to work by ending their self-serving political stunt. It does not serve the general public nor the postal workers. They should let this legislation go through.
Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation June 23rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, if we want to make comparisons between countries and what they have tried, the roads to prosperity and bondage have both been proven through 5,000 or 6,000 years of human history. We may look to the south sometimes for examples of free markets, but we do not have to look south. We could look east and west for the examples of free markets versus socialism. I do not know what our handbook is but we know about some of the planks written by Mr. Marx on socialism and the redistribution of wealth. It is very clear that socialism has always led to poverty and despair.
Lethbridge June 23rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the people of Lethbridge and Southern Alberta for electing me as their new member of Parliament. They put their trust in me because they have grown to trust the Conservative Party. They know that we are the party of the hard-working working class.
They know that they can count on me to work hard to reduce taxes and to strengthen the economy, to continue to let parents choose for themselves how to care for their children and to work toward a more just justice system.
Southern Albertans also know that Conservative policies are the only sure way and the most compassionate way to help the poor and lift the downtrodden.
We offer families real choices, real assistance and real results.
I am here to listen and to serve and to ensure that Southern Alberta remains a place of rich diversity and independent thinkers who work together within a strong, vibrant community.
Business of Supply June 22nd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I feel that any talk from a socialist party about supporting business is just not believable. Saying that we love small businesses but hate large corporations is a little bit like saying that we love eggs but we do not like chickens.
Where will we get all this funding for small businesses if we are hostile to the large businesses? They will leave the country with their huge tax base, along with all the jobs that will surely be lost if they leave. Someone has to pay the piper. All the tax breaks in the world will not help a small business if the economy is a disaster.
Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act June 21st, 2011
Madam Speaker, in the spirit of reciprocity, I want to point out that at the beginning of her speech, the member said that this bill was designed to be cruel and she then went on to say that meant an intent to inflict pain upon innocent people.
Is she saying that the minister is cruel and wants to inflict pain upon innocent people?
D-Day June 6th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, we also wish to acknowledge the 67th anniversary of D-Day, the first day of the major allied invasion of occupied France that led to the end of the second world war.
On June 6, 1944, more than 450 Canadians parachuted inland before 15,000 Canadian troops stormed Juno Beach in the face of enemy fire. With courage and skill, the Canadians soon captured three shoreline positions.
The soldiers of the army, the air force and the navy continued fighting until August 25, 1944, when Paris was finally liberated. Nine months later the allies achieved final victory in Europe.
As we remember the contributions of those who landed on foreign shores 67 years ago, we honour Canada's brave service men and women who continue to serve today, and we remember that even if they are not physically injured, soldiers can still come home wounded.
We must never forget Canada's brave service men and women and their sacrifices.
Canada remembers D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.