Kerry Diotte

[Natural Resources, January 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, “lame”, “weak” and “wimpy” are words that describe our Prime Minister's reaction to the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. On day one as U.S. president, Joe Biden dealt a crippling economic blow to this country and his own by derailing that project. The PM boasted that he was the first world leader Biden called. How did he stand up to the new president? He did not. He said he was disappointed by the cancellation, but he shrugged it off, saying that the new president was just keeping a campaign promise.

The Prime Minister needs to stop daydreaming about his last Caribbean vacation, get back to work, get the president back on the phone and tell him that this is no way to treat a best friend, that both countries need this pipeline and that he must reverse this decision immediately.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, December 11th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the busiest duty at my office is helping people with immigration issues, but there is a problem: civil servants tell me that cases people filed online are being processed as usual, but cases people filed as paper applications, which are most immigration files, are hardly moving at all. We are told it is because civil servants working at home do not have access to those paper files. This is unfair to people eager to start a new life in Canada.

Will the immigration minister fix this problem immediately?

[Holodomor, November 23rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, this summer I was honoured to meet a fascinating person in Edmonton with an amazing story.

Leo Korownyk told me about what it was like to live through the Holodomor. That was the forced starvation of millions of people in Ukraine in the 1930s. Joseph Stalin was the communist leader responsible for it. Even though crops in Ukraine were plentiful, people starved to death.

This is the time of year we commemorate that horrible famine. I want to thank Leo for telling me his first-person story. I am glad to spread the word about this atrocity. We must continue to guard against hard-core socialism and communism. It was communism that enslaved Ukraine and caused the genocide. Let us remember the words of Winston Churchill, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the member for Abbotsford talked about the effect of the coronavirus from China. I would like to know, in his words, how the Chinese communist government failed Canada and the world on this absolutely horrific crisis.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 16th, 2020]

With regard to the status of government employees since March, 1, 2020: (a) how many employees have been placed on "Other Leave With Pay" (Treasury Board Code 699) at some point since March 1, 2020; (b) how many employees have been placed on other types of leave, excluding vacation, maternity or paternity leave, at some point since March 1, 2020, broken down by type of leave and Treasury Board code; (c) of the employees in (a), how many are still currently on leave; and (d) of the employees in (b), how many are still currently on leave, broken down by type of leave?

[Health, October 30th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I was talking to an Edmonton travel agent named Matthew. He is worried. His business has been devastated by the pandemic. He is desperate for help. I asked him what one thing he would like to see the government do for his industry. He told me that we need to have rapid testing for COVID, widely available in Canada. It is already widely available in other countries. It will save the travel industry.

I am asking this for Matthew: When will Canada catch up to other countries on rapid testing?

[Petitions, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present this petition, brought forth from members of the Canadian Oromo community in Edmonton and people concerned with the current events in Ethiopia.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, September 25th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I note that the speaker from the government side was on a full 20-minute rant in support of the throne speech. Is that because there are no other Liberals on his side of the House who can stomach the speech or is it because of his ego?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, July 20th, 2020]

With regard to the functioning of the public service and government officials since March 16, 2020: (a) how many employees or full time equivalents (FTEs) have been (i) hired, (ii) reassigned in relation to the COVID-19 response; (b) how many FTEs have been (i) working from a government building, (ii) telecommuting or working from home during the pandemic; and (c) how many FTEs have been (i) laid off or terminated, (ii) placed on leave, broken down by type of leave?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 11th, 2020]

With regard to the government’s approach to the proposed Frontier mine project by Teck Resources Ltd.: (a) what specific steps, if any, did the government take in order to save the project; (b) why did the government delay its decision on approval for the project for over six months; and (c) did anyone in the government propose intentionally delaying the decision until the application was withdrawn, and, if so, what are the details of the proposal, including who made the proposal?