Lisa Raitt

[Regional Economic Development, October 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the Prime Minister does not realize that he is accountable for this dysfunctional regulatory process that Liberals put in place.

Two days ago, all the Atlantic MPs except for one voted against having a longer process for consultation on tax hikes to fishers, farmers, and local businesses, all but one. With this morning's announcement, Atlantic Canadians are faced with another economic blow.

This is what I want to know. These are important sectors, and they are vital to the east coast economy. When will the Liberals stop stifling opportunity and stop taking us for granted?

[Natural Resources, October 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is dead wrong.

The business decision was to invest $1 billion to start the process. The decision to not go ahead is a regulatory decision because of the double standard that the government is imposing upon Canadian projects.

The Liberals have cost 15,000 Canadians a job, and they have hurt our economy to the tune of $50 billion.

They are putting the interests of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Algeria before Canadian jobs. What does the Prime Minister have to say to that?

[Natural Resources, October 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this morning thousands of men and women who rely upon the energy sector for well-paying Canadian jobs got the news that they have been dreading.

Today's decision to cancel the energy east pipeline is a direct result of two years of political interference by the Liberal Party. Failure is the only word that comes to mind.

When will the Prime Minister recognize that his disastrous economic and energy policies are hurting Canadians and our economy?

[Taxation, October 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, he may have heard, but is he listening to the anguish in their voices, and is he seeing the tears on their faces? That is exactly what I was seeing when I held consultations across this country. People are terrified.

A woman in Cornwall last night was at a loss for words. She could not speak, because she was so worried that she was not going to be able to make ends meet. Do members know what her solution was? It was that maybe she should just wrap it all up, move to the city, and work for someone else.

The current government is killing innovation for women, and I want to know from the Prime Minister, what hurts him in this legislation?

[Taxation, October 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister does not understand, when we stand to talk about the stories we have heard, is that we are not talking about him. We are talking about what constituents are saying about him, and they are saying it.

Last night, after the Liberals voted to close consultations on these tax changes, I went to Cornwall, Ontario. There were 130 people in that room who said they were not done with giving information to the Prime Minister and the cabinet. One woman said that she had been in the community for a long time. She had promised her daughter that they would not move, but now they have to move. Her complaint is this: her family fortunes are changed, but his are not.

[Taxation, October 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, he claims that he will listen to the concerns of Canadians, but what is really interesting is that just days after introducing this paper, he told on CBC's The House “We're not going to change our mind.”

The Minister of Finance seems to be very concerned and consumed with protecting the interests of Morneau Shepell that every request to extend the consultation has fallen on deaf ears.

The consultation is over. Tonight is the vote. Will the Liberal members on the other side agree and vote with their constituents, or are they going to vote with Morneau Shepell?

[Taxation, October 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, I met with Hatch Engineering, a great Canadian success story, with over 9,000 employees.

On Thursday, the president attended the disastrous Oakville town hall where he was given 90 seconds, one second for every 100 employees, to talk about his concerns with the Liberal tax plan. Why did he go there? Because he was refused meetings by the members for Oakville, Oakville North—Burlington, and Burlington. Even the Minister of Science refused his meeting.

Will the Minister of Finance admit that his consultation has been wholly inadequate, and vote with us to extend the consultation?

[Taxation, September 26th, 2017]

He may have gone to Atlantic Canada, Mr. Speaker, but he absolutely did not hear from constituents. Let me give an example.

On the same day that he decided he was not going to go to this incredibly large gathering of 400 people, he did have a private closed-door little session 15 kilometres down the road. Here is the thing about it: when the public tried to get in, what did they do? They locked the doors.

I want to know. Even if he cannot defend these changes to the general public, I am wondering if he will stop locking people out and start listening.

[Taxation, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday I was at the Halifax West High School, where over 400 residents crammed into the cafeteria to talk about these tax changes. I listened to their stories and shared their concerns, and yet I was the only member of Parliament in attendance. That is right: not a single one of the 32 Atlantic members of Parliament were there to listen or to defend their government's policies.

If their own members are not willing to defend this policy, when is the minister going to drop these changes?

[World Alzheimer's Month, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to recognize that September is World Alzheimer's Month, while September 21 was the day we reminded ourselves about Alzheimer's.

There are an estimated 564,000 Canadians living with dementia, and about 25,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. In 2016, we were one of those cases.

I want the House to know something. I want this House to know that in the past 16 months, I have learned a lot. I have learned that it is incredibly frustrating that there is no treatment or cure for Alzheimer's. I have learned that one needs to be prepared to have everything take a lot longer: a lot longer to get out the door, a lot longer to discuss issues, and a lot longer to talk about directions going to the grocery store. However, most important, I want the House to know that living with dementia can be okay. We have a good life. We focus on things Bruce can do, not on the things we can no longer do. We keep our health well. We sleep. We eat well. Bruce exercises, and we socialize together. These are the things that actually matter.

I want the House of Commons to know that life can be okay with dementia and Alzheimer's, and I will continue to update the House as we continue our journey.