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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word is chair.

Conservative MP for Wellington—Halton Hills (Ontario)

Won his last election, in 2021, with 52% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Business of Supply February 19th, 2019

Mr. Speaker, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley talked at length about what happened at committee this past week, and I have to agree with him. What happened was unbelievable. Members of the House were saying that a committee of the House of Commons was not the right place to adjudicate this, that the House of Commons was not the right place to deal with this. This is the place. The House and its committees are the places where this thing should be adjudicated.

In fact, committees have all the powers of a court. They have the power to compel evidence. They have the power to summon witnesses. In fact, I remember sitting on the opposite side when a committee of the House took Karlheinz Schreiber out of an Ontario jail, in handcuffs, to bring him up here to testify in front of a committee. Why? It was because the committee felt that the matters at hand were important enough that someone should be brought in front of the committee to explain what had happened in that affair. The same thing goes for this matter, which I would argue is much graver than that matter back in 2007, because the matter in front of us today is about the current Prime Minister in office and a former attorney general. It concerns the administration of justice and the rule of law in this country. Therefore, a committee of the House and the floor of the House are the right places to adjudicate.

I hope members on both sides vote in favour of the motion in front of us to ensure that we protect this institution and pass on to our children and grandchildren institutions that are capable of putting checks and balances on the Prime Minister's power and that ensure that the rule of law and our constitutional order are upheld.

Business of Supply February 19th, 2019

Mr. Speaker, the member for Victoria had excellent arguments in favour of the motion. The Duffy and SNC-Lavalin scandals both have the same starting point, which is an all-too-powerful PMO that thinks it can do what it wants when it wants.

I will give another argument in favour of this motion for members opposite who may be thinking about voting in favour of it.

The government is hiding behind this concept of solicitor-client privilege, but there is a greater privilege that supersedes that solicitor-client privilege. That privilege is the democratic right of the Canadian people as expressed on the floor of this House of Commons and its committees. That privilege is guaranteed in the Constitution. Constitutional law supersedes statutory or common law. That privilege is guaranteed in section 18 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which guarantees the privileges of the House of the Canadian people to hear and hold the government accountable.

It is the privilege that gives this House and its committees the right to hear from the former attorney general and the Prime Minister about what happened in respect of the SNC-Lavalin affair and to ensure that the rule of law and administration of justice were upheld and that there was no obstruction of justice.

This is one of the high courts of the land and it has the right to hear from the former attorney general and the Prime Minister. The government and members opposite should not be hiding behind solicitor-client privilege because there is a greater privilege, and that is the democratic right of the Canadian people to be heard.

William Winegard February 4th, 2019

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, former member of Parliament for Guelph—Wellington, Dr. William Winegard, passed away at the age of 94. He was part of what many call the “greatest generation”.

He grew up during the Great Depression. He was a Second World War veteran and served as the youngest officer in the history of the Royal Canadian Navy. He came back from the war, became an engineering professor and eventually the president of the University of Guelph. He was then elected to this very House of Commons and served as minister for science in the government of Brian Mulroney. Bill was an officer of the Order of Canada, a recognition of his contributions to the city of Guelph, the county of Wellington and to Canada. He was a teacher and a leader to many and a mentor to me, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I ask all members of the House to join me in paying tribute to this great Canadian.

Business of Supply January 29th, 2019

Madam Speaker, I will be supporting the motion.

One of the things I wonder about is what we got for all the spending. When we look at the facts, we did not get much.

Here are four facts that prove we received very little for all of this out-of-control spending.

The Liberals like to talk about how Canada, under their watch, has improved its standing in the world. Here is a fact: Canada's overseas development assistance goal is 0.7% of GDP. With the Liberal government it is 0.25%, one-third of our international commitment.

Canada's NATO commitment is 2%. In fact, when President Barack Obama was in that very chair, everybody on the opposite side applauded when he said that Canada needed to meet its 2% commitment. Well, Canada spends less than half of that commitment on national defence each and every year.

As well, Canada's climate change commitment is not going to be met. We are going to blow through the Copenhagen targets. We are going to blow through the Paris targets.

Finally, the most important daily activity for millions of Canadians, some 15 million Canadians, is commuting. Commute times under the current Liberal government have gone up. In the GTA alone, it now takes over an hour for Canadians to commute each and every day, a 4% increase over the previous census—so what did we get for all of this out-of-control spending?

Science December 13th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, Liberals promised to treat scientists with respect, but last week, scientists in the Networks of Centres of Excellence found out about funding cuts in a newspaper article. The Stem Cell Network is working on cures for diabetes, blood cancers and heart disease. Their funding runs out in three months and they have been told that is it. They have been funded since 2001, for the last 17 years. How is telling scientists about funding cuts in a newspaper article treating them with respect?

Science November 6th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, top scientists from Canadian academia have come to our nation's capital to participate in the first ever science meets parliament program. This initiative connects scientists and parliamentarians. Organized in partnership with the office of the chief science adviser, science meets parliament aims to connect policy-makers and the scientific community.

During this two-day event, 29 scientists, all of them Canada research chairs, will shadow 43 parliamentarians from both sides of the aisle. Scientists will get to learn how policy is made here in Ottawa, while transferring their passion for science to parliamentarians.

Let us build on Canada's long accomplishment in science, from Banting and Giauque to McDonald and Strickland, to strengthen Canada's scientific community for the betterment of our collective humanity.

STEM Day on the Hill October 16th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, jobs in STEM, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are dominating our economy. We need more students to continue studies in STEM after they become non-compulsory in grade 10.

In order to ignite youth interest in STEM, Parliament Hill will be hosting the first STEM day on the Hill this Wednesday, October 17, between noon and 1:30 p.m. There will be interactive displays, including a Lego robot to spark curiosity in the STEM fields.

The members for London West, Nanaimo—Ladysmith and Simcoe North will be joining us for this event. I encourage all members of this House to come and support Canadian youth in STEM.

Canada's Donna Strickland just won the Nobel Prize in physics. Let us build on that big win and support the next generation of Canadians in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

International Trade October 5th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, this is not about any one party's position on free trade with China; it is about our sovereignty to negotiate those kinds of deals.

The Liberals also sold us out on our exchange rate policy, on our central bank policy. As Greece has found out, if we do not control our central bank, we do not have a sovereign state. If Washington does not like our exchange rate, chapter 33 forces us into consultations to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.

The Liberals were so desperate to get a deal, any deal, they sold Canada out on our central bank policy. Again, yes, they got a deal, but at what price?

International Trade October 5th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the government said that chapter 32, which requires us to get Washington's permission to negotiate free trade with certain countries, was not a big deal because, “any party to NAFTA is allowed...to leave with six months' notice.” That is ridiculous.

The government knows full well that Canada is not going to quit a trade deal on which one in five Canadian jobs depend. Effectively, the government has given up our independence in setting trade policy for Asia-Pacific. Yes, the government got a deal, but at what cost?

International Trade October 4th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago, 60,000 Canadians died in the Great War. Their sacrifice and bloodshed is full of the remembrance of that war. Parliament is full of reminders of that sacrifice. Their bloodshed paid for an independent Canadian foreign policy. It paid for our signature on the Treaty of Versailles. It paid for the Statute of Westminster, but the current government was so desperate for a deal that we now have to ask Washington for permission to negotiate free trade with certain countries. Article 32 makes us a vassal state. Is this restoring Canadian leadership in the world? Is this standing up for Canada?