Kevin Waugh

[Privilege, November 7th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I think Canadians are astonished. We had a new board chair of SDTC, and the answers the public want to know deal with governance. The hon. member has a successful farm. He was successful in education too, and with education, of course, comes governance. We saw a lack of responsibility and accountability, with 186 conflicts of interest from the board since 2017. That is the issue. SDTC was a pretty good company until about late 2016 to 2017.

What does the minister think about the governance issues or lack thereof?

[Committees of the House, November 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand in the House today on behalf of the Conservative members on the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage. We submit this dissenting report on the tech giants' use of intimidation tactics to evade regulation in Canada and across the world. The main report failed to adequately explore the state of censorship in Canada, as well as the roles played by tech giants and the current federal government. This dissenting report is required.

I should say that the committee got to hear from 18 witnesses over the course of the study. Many of those testimonies expressed the censorship of Canadians by the government and tech giants in terms of what they can see, hear and say online, with specific nods to the hindrances being caused by both Bill C-11 and Bill C-18.

[Privilege, October 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member for Winnipeg North likes to quote The Hill Times. I am going to quote Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. Two weeks ago today, The Globe and Mail said the Conservatives are right and the Liberals are wrong; the redacted documents should be presented in Parliament; and the Liberals have held everything up. This is Canada's national newspaper, not The Hill Times.

I wonder if the member for Barrie—Innisfil would like to comment on Canada's national newspaper supporting the Conservative Party of Canada in asking for the unredacted documents from the Liberal Party.

[Privilege, October 31st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we are talking about $400 million here, which is a big number. We all know the cost of living is up. We all know food banks in this country have seen lineups out the door. The carbon tax is a big issue and so is housing. I mean, the member comes from B.C., and B.C. has one of the highest housing costs in the entire world, not the country, the world. However, this $8-billion budget overrun, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, is not helping Canadians with the cost of living.

I would say to the member from B.C., with the highest cost of living in the entire world, we can blame the Liberals, and everyone in B.C. knows the problem, certainly in your hometown of Abbotsford.

[Committees of the House, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we cannot justify the bonuses. There is no way. The Liberal member is even questioning his own party, the Prime Minister and the Privy Council. The bonus structure came to cabinet and the Minister of Canadian Heritage rubber-stamped it for $18 million, $3.3 million of which went to CBC executives, averaging over $70,000 for each executive member.

The member from Manitoba has always complained about CBC coverage in northern Manitoba. I come from TV, and APTN picked up what the CBC should have. APTN saw a need for indigenous broadcasting, which CBC avoided for decades. That is why we have APTN today.

I wonder if the member from Manitoba would like to comment on APTN, which is stationed in Winnipeg.

[Committees of the House, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, it is interesting that when CBC made its cuts last year, it started in Quebec. CBC/Radio-Canada had 25% listenership in the province of Quebec, and yet CBC executives decided to hit CBC/Radio-Canada first, with 800 employees losing their jobs. Some $18 million was presented in bonuses, with $3.3 million going to executives. I know my friend from Drummond has been on the heritage committee for a long time, but when Google came out with $100 million to help the industry, guess who was at the trough first? It was CBC, who he complained about being at the trough with Google.

I would like the hon. member for Drummond to talk about Google and CBC again putting their hands in the public broadcaster trying to get more money out of the public.

[Committees of the House, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the member for Windsor West and I have worked together on several private members' bills in the House of Commons, but the topic here is the bonuses; there was $18 million handed out last year when the corporation cut over 800 jobs. How arrogant that was. I watched an interview that CEO Catherine Tait did with Arsenault on CBC, and it was astonishing that CBC's CEO had little remorse for the 800 jobs leaving, but boy did she want to fill her pockets and her executive table, which she has done in the last year.

[Committees of the House, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the Bloc member is absolutely correct. CBC/Radio-Canada is a very good institution. It has done very good work in this country, especially in the province of Quebec, yet when it started cutting the 800 employees with CBC, the first place it looked was the province of Quebec and CBC/Radio-Canada. The most successful of the operations of CBC is CBC/Radio-Canada.

Where did it start the cuts? It started there instead of talking about television. It does not measure up at all in western Canada in television. The government and the CEO are out of touch. We cannot wait to correct their mistakes.

[Committees of the House, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the issue is the CBC bonuses. I know that the member does not want to talk about the bonuses. I know that he does not want to talk about them because the Liberals paid out $18 million. They have given CBC $1.3 billion. It has been a cash cow for the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Privy Council. That is why they do not want to talk about it. They know Canadians are upset; they are lined up at the food bank every day, yet $73,000 is going to—

[Committees of the House, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, this is what really worries me. As Ms. Tait has less than three months left as CEO of CBC and has not taken any bonuses in the last two years, here is my prediction: She will bolt from the position in January and take two and a half years of bonuses. We will never hear from her again. The public needs a response.

Do members know what? Conservatives are right on this. As common-sense Conservatives, we will clean up the mess created by the heritage minister and the Liberal government. Call the carbon tax election now.