House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was regard.

Last in Parliament September 2021, as Conservative MP for Thornhill (Ontario)

Won his last election, in 2019, with 55% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Business of Supply June 15th, 2021

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. I have the utmost respect for the language of Vigneault, Nelligan, Roy, Carrier, Gagnon and even Charlebois. This morning, the Bloc leader talked about the humility and pride of Quebec francophones, but what does my colleague have to say to Quebec anglophones who worry about the loss of their official language?

Government Business No. 10—Broadcasting Act June 14th, 2021

Mr. Speaker, just to reassure the minister, the Conservatives enthusiastically support Canadian creators. We want them to succeed, and they are succeeding spectacularly. As the lead policy adviser of Ryerson University's audience lab reminded us, about 160,000 Canadian creators of varied ethnicities, genders and abilities lead the YouTube genre and generate millions and even billions of views.

Why would the minister give literally a blank legislative cheque to the unelected CRTC to meddle in these creators' success?

Questions Passed as Orders for Return June 11th, 2021

With regard to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and individuals presenting COVID-19 test results at points of entry, since testing requirements were put into place in January 2021, broken down by type of crossing (land, air): (a) how many individuals did the CBSA intercept with a suspected fraudulent or false test result; (b) how many individuals did the CBSA intercept with a test result that was otherwise deemed unsatisfactory, such as the wrong type of test; (c) of the individuals in (a), how many were (i) admitted to Canada, (ii) denied entry; (d) of the individuals in (a), how many were (i) ticketed or fined by the CBSA, (ii) had their cases referred to the RCMP or other law enforcement agencies; and (e) of the cases in (b), how many were (i) admitted to Canada, (ii) denied entry?

Government Policies June 11th, 2021

Mr. Speaker, to that non-answer, let me offer the reaction of an hon. former colleague of the House, Michael Levitt, now CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. He wrote:

As a former Liberal MP I’m disappointed and concerned by the news that [the] MP [for Fredericton] has crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus, given her inflammatory one-sided and divisive rhetoric during the recent conflict between Israel and the terror group Hamas.

Is the Liberal government really so desperate in its rush to attempt re-election?

Government Policies June 11th, 2021

Mr. Speaker, across Canada, religious, ethnic and cultural communities are hurting. In recent weeks, we have seen toxic hate on social media and in our streets. We have seen hate-driven vandalism, violence and murder.

Canadians expect members of the House and the parties they represent to calm, not inflame, intercommunal discord and discrimination. Why, then, have the Liberals welcomed a floor-crossing MP, disciplined by her former party for inflammatory, misguided and intemperate remarks against Israel?

Business of Supply May 31st, 2021

Madam Chair, the Liberal government has repeatedly accepted implausible assurances from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency that Canadian dollars are not misused to condition Palestinian children to hate and to aspire to terrorism and martyrdom in war against the State of Israel. Successive and respected NGOs have regularly provided hard evidence that UNRWA's teachers and the teaching materials they use, which we have heard discussed again tonight, deny the legitimate existence of Israel, glorify terrorism and encourage children to wage jihad against Israel.

To the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the minister responsible for the entire department, when will Canadians stop hearing empty promises to investigate, stop the funnelling—

Business of Supply May 31st, 2021

Madam Chair, Ambassador Rae was a principled politician, and he is a principled diplomat. However, any Canadian familiar with the last century of international politics knows that the policy positions Canada often speaks to at the United Nations today are as anachronistic as they were at the time when a majority of member nations of the world body were democratic.

I know the minister is relatively new in his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs, but I am wondering if he believes that time is overdue for Canada to more forcefully champion meaningful reform of the United Nations, which in many ways is a dysfunctional and corrupt organization.

Business of Supply May 31st, 2021

Madam Chair, in 2017, a petition signed by 15,000 Canadians called on the Government of Canada to achieve the release and return of two Israeli bodies held by the Hamas terror regime in Gaza. Now today, as the minister mentioned, Egypt is attempting, at very long odds, to achieve a lasting and durable truce between Hamas and Israel. Canada has just committed $25 million in aid to Gaza.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the one who is dealing with the Egyptian initiative, might it not now be appropriate to make this financial assistance conditional on the return of those two Israeli bodies and two other Israeli captives?

Business of Supply May 31st, 2021

Madam Chair, that answer brings one to recall a very different but similarly controversial vote when the minister improperly attempted to abstain from the Uighur genocide motion on behalf of the entire Government of Canada. He and the cabinet did not vote at all, even though most Liberal MPs did vote yea.

Back to the IRGC and Iran, given that a judge of the Ontario Superior Court has now ruled that the shooting down of the Ukraine International Airlines flight was an intentional act of terrorism, why will he and the Prime Minister not fulfill the will of Parliament now and list the IRGC as they voted?

Business of Supply May 31st, 2021

Madam Chair, my questions will be for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On June 12, 2018, the minister stood in the House and voted yea, along with the Prime Minister and the public safety minister and with an overwhelming majority of members, 248 yeas to only 45 nays, in favour of a motion to immediately designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a listed terrorist entity under the Criminal Code of Canada. This was for the entire IRGC, not just our Conservative government's listing of the Quds Force, behind which the public safety minister regularly attempts to dodge the question.

Why do this minister, now responsible for foreign affairs, and the Prime Minister continue to defy the will of Parliament and their own votes in favour of the motion to list one of the worst terror organizations in the world today?