John Williamson

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2023]

With regard to the relocation of the Department of National Defense’s (DND) headquarters from the Major-General George R. Pearkes Building, in downtown Ottawa, to the former Nortel campus site, on Carling Avenue: (a) how many DND employees are still working in the downtown location; (b) what is the date by which all of the DND employees in (a) will be moved to the Carling location; (c) what are the ongoing costs associated with keeping the downtown building operational and functional for the DND employees who remain there; and (d) what are the government’s plans for the downtown location, including the (i) description of any planned renovations, including timelines, (ii) costs associated or projected with the renovations, (iii) details of the number of employees, including from which department, expected to work in the building following the completion of the renovations?

[Committees of the House, December 14th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 22nd report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in relation to the motion adopted on Friday, December 9, regarding the 2022 reports 9 and 10 of the Auditor General of Canada. The motion reads, “That the committee report to the House that the committee affirms its support for the Auditor General and the independence and integrity of the office and that the committee also request a government response pursuant to Standing Order 109.”

I am also tabling the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts entitled “Access to Benefits for Hard-to-Reach Populations”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to each of these two reports.

Like many other members in this House, I am looking forward to the Christmas recess to catch up, but I want to thank the staff of the House and, of course, my assistants on the public accounts committee, the clerk and the analysts.

I wish everyone a merry Christmas.

[Carbon Pricing, December 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, families across the country are paying higher prices for gasoline, groceries and home heating because of the Liberal carbon tax. People in Atlantic Canada rely more on home heating fuels, which is a vital necessity to stay warm.

Here are some astonishing numbers. Since last year, home heating prices are up over 50% in New Brunswick and P.E.I., up 68% in Nova Scotia and up 78% in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Liberals say that they are sick and tired of people talking about this cold winter. That is too bad for the Liberals, because this winter is just beginning. Prices are going to be even higher than last year for families because of the Liberal government.

The rebate the Liberals are promising is a scam. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that over 80% of Canadians are going to pay more in the carbon tax than they receive from the rebate. This is a plan to bankrupt Canadians. We need to end the scam. We need to end the carbon tax.

[Carbon Pricing, November 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, no one is taking that minister's advice. No one in Atlantic Canada wants to see home heating fuels double this year. Nobody is asking the federal government to make heating more expensive.

The Liberal carbon tax is fuelling inflation. Even the Governor of the Bank of Canada says so. It is driving up the price on energy. It is driving up the price on food. It is driving up the price on life.

When Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick were able to reduce taxes on gasoline and home heating fuels, we saw prices go down. Under the government, they are going up because it keeps raising the carbon tax and it is going to triple it. They need it to stop.

[Carbon Pricing, November 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, according to Statistics Canada, families in Atlantic Canada are hardest hit by the Liberal's carbon tax on home heating fuels. On a year-over-year basis, families in New Brunswick are paying 50% more to heat their homes. It is up over 75% in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Liberals believe heat pumps will solve this energy crisis, but their carbon tax is already forcing families to decide between heating and eating.

When will the Liberals do the right thing, cancel their carbon tax and give families in New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada the break they need this winter?

[Public Services and Procurement, November 18th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, whatever the Liberals touch, they break, and it is déjà vu all over again. The Auditor General has reported that the Liberal government keeps wasting tax dollars. According to the Auditor General, the Liberals are about to lose the legal authority to collect half a billion dollars in wage overpayments from the Phoenix pay system. This is on top of the $2 billion the Liberals have already spent on overpayments to civil servants.

What is the minister's plan to collect these overpayments to public servants and to finally protect taxpayers?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 3rd, 2022]

With regard to fines issued by Transport Canada to Canadian Coast Guard ships and other vessels owned by the government, since 2016: what are the details of each instance, including (i) the date, (ii) the type of vessel, (iii) the summary of the incident or infraction, (iv) the location of the incident or infraction, (v) the amount of fine, (vi) who paid the fine and whether the fine was paid out of personal or public funds?

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 3rd, 2022]

With regard to the $49.2 billion in total funds approved for loans and expansion under the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA): (a) what is the (i) number, (ii) dollar amount, of CEBA loans that the government projected would have to be written off for bad debt or other reasons, such as fraud; (b) what is the (i) number, (ii) dollar amount, of CEBA loans that the government budgeted would have to be written off for bad debt or other reasons, such as fraud; (c) in what published document, if any, and on what date, was the dollar amount in (b) made public; (d) what is the (i) number, (ii) dollar value, of CEBA loans that have been written off to date; and (e) what is the (i) number, (ii) dollar value, of CEBA loans that the government projects will be written off in the future, but have not yet been written off?

[The Economy, November 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they want to reduce inflation, but everything they are doing is going in the wrong direction. The Liberals are piling up more debt and taxpayers cannot keep up.

When the PM travels abroad, he stays in a $6,000-a-night hotel. The ArriveCAN scam cost $54 million and handed millions to Liberal insiders. The cost of the administrative state has exploded. The debt last year was $90 billion. The Liberals have racked up more debt than all Canadian governments combined.

When will the Liberal government stop, reverse course, bring down prices for Canadians and stop its inflationary spending?

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, here is how standards have fallen under the Liberal government.

Back when the Conservatives were in office, the chamber was seized with a glass of orange juice purchased in London that cost $16. Today, it is a hotel bill that cost $6,000, and the government will not even come clean about who stayed there. We know it was the Prime Minister, but that is how the government has lost its way. It will not even be honest with Canadians.

My question for the member is straightforward. If the contractors identified by the government were never paid, and this $1.2 million is one example but I am sure there are others, what companies had access to this data through the contracts they received? If the Liberals do not want to make it about money, let us talk about privacy. Which companies have access to the private information of Canadians through these contracts that the government is not willing to reveal to Canadians?