House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 52% of the vote.
Democratic Institutions November 15th, 2022
The government is right, Mr. Speaker, that this is not a partisan issue. Both Liberal and Conservative candidates are implicated in receiving these illegal funds, but we need public answers in the House so that investigations can be launched by parties on both sides of the aisle, by Elections Canada and by other relevant authorities.
Who are the 11 election candidates who received these illegal monies funnelled by Beijing through its Toronto consulate in the 2019 election campaign?
Democratic Institutions November 15th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, the government has an opportunity to answer a question that I asked twice yesterday. This is a serious matter in the public interest that requires an answer.
Who are the 11 election candidates who received hundreds of thousands of dollars funnelled through Beijing's consulate in Toronto in the 2019 election?
Democratic Institutions November 14th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, that is an appalling answer. It is the government that allowed People's Liberation Army scientists of the People's Republic of China into a top-level lab in this country against the government's own security protocols and in threat to the Five Eyes alliance.
We are talking about payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars to election candidates. We are talking about Beijing putting agents in MPs' offices. We are talking about an increasingly aggressive campaign to silence Canadian MPs.
My question for the government is very simple: Who are these 11 candidates?
Democratic Institutions November 14th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Beijing interfered in last year's 2021 election. Beijing’s ambassador to Canada commented critically and publicly during that election campaign and Beijing spread disinformation through proxies on Chinese-language social media platforms.
Last week we found out that Beijing also interfered in the 2019 election. We found out that the Prime Minister was told months ago, in January, about hundreds of thousands of dollars that were illegally funnelled to at least 11 election candidates.
My question is simple. Who are these 11 election candidates?
Beijing November 14th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, recent reports that Beijing interfered in our democracy are deeply troubling. It is clear Beijing spread disinformation through proxies in the last 2021 election campaign. It is also clear in recently unsealed indictments in U.S. court that Beijing's agents are operating freely here on Canadian soil, coercing members of the Chinese community.
Recent reports have also revealed the presence of three illegal People's Republic of China police stations operating in the Toronto region. Now we find out Beijing illegally funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars to at least 11 election candidates in the 2019 general election.
Despite the government knowing about this for at least 10 months, no one has been expelled, no one has been criminally charged and no action has been taken. The biggest victims of this interference is the Chinese community itself.
When is the government going to take action to protect Canadians and protect Canadian democracy?
Taxation October 26th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, $6,739 will be the heat bill facing a typical family using oil heat in rural Ontario and rural Atlantic Canada this coming winter. That is frightening.
They have no alternative. There is no natural gas. Electric resistance heating is just as expensive, and heat pumps will not work at -20°C in homes built before the 1980s, whether they are ground source or air source pumps.
We asked the government to help them and it refused.
In fact, this is the only G7 government that has increased energy taxes while prices are at an all-time high.
The government is getting away with it because the NDP is letting it. Canadians cannot afford this costly agreement between the NDP and the Liberal Party, and they certainly cannot afford to pay $6,739 to heat their homes this coming winter.
Business of Supply October 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, one of the things we can do to help disparity in this country is to reduce the tax burden on the most vulnerable households, many of whom live in rural Atlantic Canada and rural Ontario, many of them in older housing stock that was built before 1980 that are facing extraordinarily high heating bills this winter.
I think that would be a good place to start, and I encourage all members of the House to vote for the motion in front of us.
Business of Supply October 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I disagree with her. The carbon tax already applies to petroleum products for households and consumers in Ontario and other parts of our country.
The carbon tax is already in place and the figures I quoted were not for the increase that is slated to come in on April 1 of next year. They are for the carbon tax that is already in place and has been in place for a number of years that was increased on April 1 of this year.
These are the costs households are facing this coming winter. We are calling on the government to provide relief to these households, as many other major economy governments have done and cut the taxes on these fuels so that households will not face either freezing in the dark this winter or potential bankruptcy.
Business of Supply October 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, what I proposed in 2016 was, in fact, a revenue negative carbon tax. I even said at the time that I did not support this government's carbon tax quite simply because it is revenue positive. Not all of the money is returned to taxpayers. The government has used it for a plethora of programs that are not working. In fact, the government admits it itself. It says that 20% of households do not receive more back in these rebates than they pay in carbon taxes.
What I proposed is nothing of the sort of what the government is proposing. Its plan is not working and the proof is in the pudding, as reputable news organizations like Bloomberg are pointing out.
Business of Supply October 20th, 2022
My apologies, Madam Speaker. I got caught up in the moment and I made a mistake. I withdraw that.
I want to quote from this article, because it is damning.
It reads:
But all of Canada’s peers in the Group of Seven, or G-7, have managed to achieve economic growth while simultaneously cutting emissions, and Canada’s environmental commissioner says the country is struggling to bend the emissions curve. Among the Group of 20 major economies, or G-20, Canada ranks behind only Saudi Arabia when it comes to per capita emissions, and ahead of Australia.
That is a damning indictment of how the government's climate change policies are working, including its carbon tax.
I will finish by saying that this is the only government in the G7 that has raised taxes on fuel during a period of record high global energy prices. Even the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is pleading for relief.
The government needs to get in touch with Canadians and understand that 10% of this country is in dire straits facing a heating crisis this winter. It needs to do the right thing and cut the taxes on propane and heating oil.