House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 40% of the vote.
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act April 18th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member if she ever been in a home that has had this kind of thing inside it. If not, has she talked to anyone who has?
One of the larger problems with the scale of what is being allowed is that the humidity level of these houses destroys the frame of the house. I have personal and first-hand knowledge of houses that have been condemned after this has happened, and the owner had no recourse.
Canadian Achievement at Boston Marathon April 18th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, Brantford's Krista DuChene, at age 41, finished third at the Boston Marathon, running in memory of the Humboldt victims. Training in our Canadian winters prepped her for a day where she would beat all but two in the best field ever assembled in the history of the race, and deliver the best result by a Canadian since 1980.
I do not know where to start with this remarkable, strong woman of faith. She did not start running seriously until her mid-20s, with an aspiration to make it to the Olympics. She juggled work, training, and raising three beautiful children. She did not get to the 2012 Olympics, and aimed for Rio instead. However, that came crashing to a halt in 2014, when she suffered a broken hip at the end of a race. Armed with a plate and three screws in her hip, she refocused to get to Rio, and almost a year to the day after breaking her hip she qualified for Rio at the Rotterdam marathon with a third-place finish.
She is a spectacular person, and an inspiration to all moms, athletes, and Canadians. I congratulate Krista.
Vimy Ridge April 17th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, on April 9, Canadians marked the 101st anniversary of Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge Day marks one of the most important events in Canadian history. It commemorates the coming together of all four First World War corps for the first time to accomplish what no other allied army was able to do.
The Germans had heavily fortified the seven-kilometre ridge. Canadian soldiers were posted along what was known as the crater line, only metres apart from the German positions and one of the most dangerous positions on the front. At 5:30 a.m. on the morning of April 9, 1917, the Canadians pressed forward. It cost 10,000 Canadian lives to take the ridge. Another 11,000 were wounded.
For over a century, and without pause, the men and women of our Canadian Armed Forces have not wavered in their resolve to defend our country, our values, and our way of life.
Lest we forget.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns April 16th, 2018
With regard to the Veterans Affairs Canada offices: (a) how many veterans physically visited the following offices in order to utilize services, broken down by month, since January 1, 2017, (i) Corner Brook, (ii) Sydney, (iii) Charlottetown, (iv) Thunder Bay, (v) Brandon, (vi) Saskatoon, (vii) Kelowna, (viii) Windsor, (ix) Prince George; and (b) for each of the Veterans Affairs Canada offices in (a), (i) what was the monthly operating cost, broken down by standard object and line item, for each month since January 1, 2017, (ii) what is the number of full-time equivalents who physically worked in each office, broken down by month?
Veterans Affairs February 26th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, on August 24, 2015, the Prime Minister made this pledge to veterans:
If I earn the right to serve this country as your prime minister, no veteran will be forced to fight their own government for the support and compensation that they have earned.
That was when he was trying to get elected. Now that he is in power, the Prime Minister says veterans are asking for too much, but he has plenty of money for his pet projects, including a disastrous trip to India.
Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing and quit breaking his promise to veterans?
Veterans Affairs February 15th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, on August 24, 2015, the Prime Minister made this pledge to veterans, “If I earn the right to serve this country as your prime minister, no veteran will be forced to fight their own government for the support and compensation that they have earned.” That is when he was trying to get elected. Now that he is in power, he is fighting our veterans in court, because they are asking for too much, but all they ever wanted was for him to keep his promise.
Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing, and apologize for breaking his promise to veterans?
Business of Supply February 15th, 2018
Madam Speaker, not going into the weeds of comparison between governments, I can say that when the Conservatives were in government, there was a 35% increase in the funding for programs, per veteran, in the years we held the file.
I will not dispute that the Liberal government is putting money into programs. You are, but as the veterans I have quoted today have said, you are not hitting the mark. We have a Prime Minister who stood in front of a veteran, an amputee who lost a leg and has only 20% use of the other one, and told him that the government does not have enough money. That is what we are debating today. It is that lack of respect.
Business of Supply February 15th, 2018
Madam Speaker, my colleague brings up the fact that the government seems to have unlimited funds to do all the things he has mentioned, plus, at the same time, run record deficits in the country. The Prime Minister promised Canadians he would run a modest deficit, but again, it was a broken promise, because it is quadruple, or more, what he promised.
At the town halls and round tables I have done with veterans, in my role as critic, they constantly bring up these comparisons. This is proof of the disrespect shown by the government and the Prime Minister.
Business of Supply February 15th, 2018
Madam Speaker, as I referred to in my speech, we worked with Equitas to negotiate a settlement to put the lawsuit in abeyance. That was the status at the time of the election campaign.
It was in abeyance for the first six months of this government's regime. It consciously decided, the Minister of Justice decided, to go back to court and not to the negotiating table with the Equitas people. Those are the true facts. No one can dispute them.
On the issue of what really matters here today, what really matters are veterans and their families, who, through the words of the Prime Minister during the campaign and his words in the town hall, have been disrespected. He should do the honourable thing and apologize to veterans.
Business of Supply February 15th, 2018
Madam Speaker, the first question in this debate leads to exactly what I had hoped would not happen, which is the loss of focus on the fact of what the Prime Minister did to veterans, particularly Brock Blaszczyk, an amputee in Edmonton who, at a town hall, asked the Prime Minister why he had broken his promise. The Prime Minister looked back at him and said the government is fighting veterans in court because it does not have the money, that there is not enough.
There is enough for the government to do other things, which I am sure will come out in this debate today, but if what we are going to do here today is to honour the dignity and respect that the member says they are showing through their actions, then show it. Why are the veterans not cheering because the government has kept its promise? They are not doing that. They are on the front steps of Parliament today. There will be hundreds of them out there, saying they are having to fight the government for the benefits that they earned—