House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 81% of the vote.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns November 6th, 2017
With regard to contracts signed by the government with Sparks Advocacy since November 4, 2015, and for each contract: (a) what is the (i) value, (ii) description of the service provided, (iii) date and duration of the contract, (iv) internal tracking or file number; and (b) was the contract sole sourced?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns November 6th, 2017
With regard to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority: (a) what was the total airport screening budget for the following fiscal years (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16, (iii) 2016-17; and (b) what is the projected total airport screening budget for the following fiscal years (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19, (iii) 2019-20?
Questions on the Order Paper November 6th, 2017
With regard to the appointment of Rana Sarkar as Consul General in San Francisco: (a) who made the decision to pay Mr. Sarkar at a rate significantly higher than other Consul Generals; (b) was there an open competition for the position; (c) if the answer to (b) is affirmative, what are the details of the competition including (i) where was the competition posted, (ii) number of applicants, (iii) selection criteria; (d) is the government taking any steps to ensure that Mr. Sarkar’s salary does not impact salary negotiations between the government and other diplomats; (e) was the government warned that paying an appointee at higher than the normal rate would have an impact on the salary negotiations with other diplomats; and (f) if the answer to (e) is affirmative, what are the details of the warning, including (i) who issued the warning, (ii) date, (iii) recipient, (iv) reason warning did not impact salary decision?
Taxation October 5th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, in their desperation to raise revenues, the Liberals are now raising taxes on the family farm. In addition, it is even worse. Their new tax proposal will make it more expensive for a farmer to sell the farm to his child or a family member than to a multinational corporation. Most Canadians understand the importance of encouraging the next generation on the farm.
Why are the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance so dedicated to protecting their own family fortunes, while waging a war against the family farm?
Business of Supply October 3rd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, my colleague gave another great speech.
My constituents are concerned. They have seen the Liberal record. They heard the promises during the last election of just an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, little deficit. Then shortly afterward they heard that Canada would not come to budget balance until mid-2050. My constituents are worried.
When they see a Liberal government come in and immediately slash the ability of individuals to save in tax-free accounts, with the contribution limit going from $10,000 to $5,500; when they hear that CPP premiums will go up, which will hit the employer and the employees of every small and medium-sized business; when they see a new carbon tax being added; when they hear about all of this Liberal spending and the hunger for more revenue, Canadians are concerned and skeptical, and rightfully so.
Could my colleague share with me some of the concerns she has about the Liberal government's affording Canadians the ability to save for a safe, secure retirement?
Business of Supply October 3rd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I am wondering, after listening to the member's speech, if she has heard from people within her constituency who are very concerned about having access to a family physician. I have met with a number of physicians, who simply said that attracting doctors to rural areas is going to be very difficult. She mentioned that there is a rural component to her riding. It is a challenge. I served on a small community's economic development board before I was elected, and the most horrifying thing is finding out a community is losing a doctor. How do we attract them?
Some of the doctors I met with had come from Africa, South Africa, Great Britain, and I believe one was from Ireland. They said that if these measures had been in place when they were looking to locate their practices, they probably would not have chosen Canada. In my rural riding, access to a doctor is of great concern to a lot of seniors, the aging community, and families. I would ask the member to tell me her experience in listening to her constituents.
Business of Supply October 3rd, 2017
Madam Speaker, we cannot accept the amendment the member has brought forward.
CFB Suffield Fire September 28th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, on September 11, a grass fire started on Canadian Forces Base Suffield. The fire jumped the fireguard and spread to ranchers' fields, which lost nearly 90,000 acres. One hundred and sixty cattle died. Farms were evacuated. One farm site was destroyed, and undetermined miles of fence and infrastructure were burnt. An 89-year-old man has been left homeless. Winter feeding pastures have been lost and will take years to replenish. Residents had to leave their homes in the middle of the night, and everyone tirelessly fought this fire.
Fires coming from CFB Suffield are common as they explode ordonance and carry out their exercises. There remain many unanswered questions about this fire. Why did the base cause a fire when southern Alberta was under a fire ban? Why was the base's emergency response so inadequate?
I thank the Minister of National Defence for meeting with me to hear my constituents' concerns. We hope that progress will be made quickly with the internal review and that the local community will be kept advised as to the process and the results.
Export and Import Permits Act September 28th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, in 17 years as a member of Parliament, that is the first time that has happened while I have been giving a barnburner of a speech. I did not realize that somebody would pull the fire alarm because it was such a smoking speech.
I was talking about the concern that the Liberals are trying to push through the back door what they would not be willing to bring through the front door: something very much like a registry, if not an actual registry of the kind we had. Make no mistake: when Allan Rock established the long-gun registry in the 1990s, my constituents were against it and have been against it since then. When the Conservatives were elected under the Right Hon. Stephen Harper, it was one of the commitments we made, and we did it. We said we would get rid of the long-gun registry, and we did. We said that we would get rid of all of the data so that it could not be brought up again, and we did.
Now the government is saying that if we do not have the ability to do it here, let us do it somewhere else, and the United Nations stands as a beacon for an opportunity to bring forward some type of registry. Conservatives say no. We are not going to take the chance. Liberals give us platitudes and tell us to worry not and fear not, but we have seen this show before and we are not going to stand for another registry.
In closing, I would ask this one question. When red tape is added, do members believe that will make the export and import of firearms more expensive or less expensive? If somebody bringing firearms into Canada now has to deal with all of this paperwork and red tape, will it make it more difficult to bring them in? Is it going to drive the cost of firearms up?
The Liberal government is going to do all it can to punish lawful firearms owners in this country, and Conservatives will have nothing to do with it.
Export and Import Permits Act September 28th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to speak today to second reading of Bill C-47, an act to amend the Export and Import Permits Act and the Criminal Code with amendments permitting the accession to the Arms Trade Treaty and other amendments.
This legislation is of concern to law-abiding firearms owners in my constituency of Battle River—Crowfoot. Many of us own firearms, and we use them on our farms and ranches as tools for rodent control and so on. We also enjoy sport shooting.
The Liberals' firearms laws have cost us dearly over the past decades. They have cost us considerable worry and paperwork. They have cost money that many of my constituents just do not have to spend on renewing licenses and filling out application forms and more.
Once again we see the Liberals pandering to the United Nations in their attempt to win a seat on the UN Security Council. The Liberal government is desperate for that seat and is willing to do anything to ingratiate itself with anyone who might cast a vote in favour of Canada's becoming a member.
The Liberals have snooped around and have found a military equipment treaty that Canada has yet to ratify, and that is what Bill C-47 is about. The Liberal government is forcing Canada to meet certain obligations contained in this treaty. Canada will be required to implement brokering controls. Under the proposed bill, brokering is defined as arranging or negotiating a transaction that relates to the movement of goods or technology on a brokering control list from one foreign country to another foreign country.
Our previous Conservative government did not ratify this treaty because it was really a treaty that was written for other nations. Canada is recognized as having a very responsible internal system to monitor and control the export of military and security equipment that meets or exceeds the United Nations treaty.
Canada's Trade Controls Bureau regulates the Export and Import Permits Act, which since 1947 has allowed the minister to prevent the supply of military equipment to countries for a variety of reasons, countries that are a security threat or are involved in internal or external conflict or are under sanctions of the United Nations. Canada can decide whether or not it will export to those countries.
Specific items that are already heavily restricted by Canada include military or strategic dual-use goods; nuclear energy materials and technology; missile technology; chemical and biological goods; and many other kinds of equipment. Treaties are already there for these goods.
Canada is already tracking and recording more than required under the treaty. The Canada Border Services Agency and Statistics Canada collect information on all items exported from Canada and classify the items using categories negotiated by the World Customs Organization.
Canada can also utilize a blanket ban on trade with high-risk countries through the use of the area control list under the Export and Import Permits Act. Although it takes an act of the Governor in Council, a country can be placed on that list. North Korea is currently on that list. In the past the list has included Belarus and Myanmar, as my colleague from Brandon—Souris mentioned.
Major countries that represent the majority of the sales of military equipment, Russia and the United States, have either not signed on to the treaty or have not and likely will not ratify it.
Why did I go through those four items that already show that Canada has the opportunity to regulate and to watch a country? I did it because this legislation is simply overkill. That is why the United States is not going with it. That is why Russia and other countries are not likely to ratify the agreement, although they may have signed on to it.
As with many ineffective international treaties, the key participants in the arms trade are not part of the treaty, but the Liberals want Canada to sign this treaty anyway. Why on earth do the Liberals want Canada to sign on to a treaty that was not designed with Canada in mind and is focused on other countries? Who knows why the Liberals would bring this legislation forward?
I can tell the House why I believe they did and I will tell the House in a few moments exactly what my constituents believe the Liberals are up to.
I believe this treaty will affect Canada in a negative way. Let me give the House a couple of examples.
The Department of National Defence, as a department of the crown, is traditionally exempted from the export control system. Bill C-47 would force the Department of National Defence to adhere to erroneous sections of export control systems like never before, but the Liberals do not really care about that. They just want to be able to say that Canada has ratified this United Nations agreement, this UN treaty. The United Nations will indeed be surprised, because former Prime Minister Stephen Harper declined to put Canada through this, and the international community understood why he said “no thanks” and accepted it.
We were not pushed into this. The folks at the UN will be surprised that of all things, the current Prime Minister is willingly and feverishly and actively trying to ratify this treaty. Many at the UN will consider this dusting off of an old treaty rather odd, but they will recognize that it is simply the Prime Minister desperately trying to do something, and in this case it may be that he might be able to get a few extra votes for the United Nations Security Council. They will understand and see right through this disingenuous offer to ratify.
Right now exports of military aid or government-to-government gifts do not require authorization and occur without oversight by Canadian export control officials, but with the passage of Bill C-47, Canada will be required to bring our Department of National Defence into the export control system. In other words, our national defence will now be under this agreement. This arrangement would actually work against helping other nations. It will burden Canada whenever we want to help other nations. The Department of National Defence will have more red tape—a lot more, perhaps—to cut through before we can provide the goods or services we used to be able to provide without hesitation.
How does this fit with “Canada is back”? The Prime Minister is actually putting Canada in a much more difficult position. Canada is one step back with the Prime Minister making the statement, but he has set Canada two steps back when it comes to being able to help other countries. The Prime Minister said Canada is here to help, but again, the bill would add more red tape and require the Department of National Defence to do much more.
The Liberals are denying that they are launching any new form of gun registry with the bill. However, there is a requirement for exporters or importers to retain records in a specific electronic file for a period of up to six years. This file must be made available to the ministry upon its request at any point of time. Again, my constituents question whether this requirement does not create some kind of a registry. Does this not create a registry that would be available to the minister in electronic form, naming firearms and the people who have them?
The information has to contain all the particulars pertaining to the sale, import, or export of a firearm. As well, the information does not just deal with firearms alone—