Martin Shields

[Privilege, November 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate the information from my colleague, including the details he gave about where taxpayers' money was going and to what dubious causes it might have been sent. However, sending the issue to committee is not what this is about; it is about producing documents because the House has ordered them to be produced, and for no other reason. That is the supremacy of Parliament.

What is the member's opinion on the supremacy of Parliament to control what it needs to do in its own House?

[Privilege, November 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague touched on something that is really important, which is the trust that people have in their democracy. This particular case is an example of trust and how important it is that taxpayers, our constituents, have a level of trust. This is how we lose this level of trust. We are working to try to re-establish that by what we are asking. My colleague has been here a long and understands what trust is. How important is trust in this particular issue?

[Privilege, November 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I think one of the concerns I have heard expressed is about the supremacy of Parliament itself, that when Parliament makes an order, with the Speaker directly making the order, it is our own business. The supremacy of Parliament is at stake here, in following what we believe should be done within our own Parliament, the House of Commons.

I would like to have my colleague's opinion on this particular point.

[Privilege, November 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague and I have both been municipal mayors in the past, and the documents and transparency are critical in municipal government. It is very open and transparent.

In this particular case, and the member may have been referring to it, we just asked for the documents to be produced so that we can move them to the next stage. People often say that we should take it to committee. However, we must take it to committee with the full documents, because if it goes to committee without the full documents, it will not work.

Does my hon. colleague have an opinion about why the full documents need to go to committee?

[Privilege, November 5th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, one of the things my hon. colleague did not mention in his speech on the relevance of the documents is that we have only had a partial look and we have information about only one part. There is much more to this slush fund. That is why we need the documents. I think he had an opinion about that.

[The Economy, November 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal government is just not worth it.

Just this week, the Calgary Food Bank reported more people needed it than ever before. It has had a 200% increase since 2019 and 30% increase in the last year. Nearly 40% of them were employed, higher than the national average. Constituents like Kim write me to say that the coalition will cost them their house, mode of transportation and any semblance of quality of life that they have left.

Will the Prime Minister give Canadians relief and call a carbon tax election?

[Privilege, October 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, from what the party across the way talks about, Canadians have never had it so good. I know from my hon. colleague's background with his family and kids, he would understand the people he represents and how Canadians have not had it so good.

[Privilege, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, that means the old guys. The superseniors are the old ones.

The plans I negotiated for employees had much better dental plans. The fear is that under a single-payer system, seniors would lose the better plan. That is the concern I have.

[Privilege, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, at one time I negotiated contracts and benefits for employees, but I negotiated a much better dental plan than the current government one. I have a problem because this particular plan is a single-payer plan. My concern, not as a regular senior but as a supersenior, is I understand—

[Privilege, October 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, to give an example, some people believe that the cattle industry should not exist, but cattle are a huge part of the environmental movement and keeping the environment and ecology of the Prairies whole. This was once done by buffaloes. The buffaloes are not there so the cattle have now replaced them. They are a strong part of it, and cattle people understand that. A lot of people in urban areas do not.

Another example in Saskatchewan is the air seeder. That was developed so someone does not have to continue to till the soil every time they turn it. The development of the air seeder has made such a difference in agriculture, and we can export that kind of knowledge everywhere. The member is right that agriculture has been part of a lot of environmental activities, and they have come from the farmers and ranchers themselves on the land.