Pierre Poilievre

[Justice, May 30th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, this is new. Now, all of a sudden, the Liberals do not think politicians should be involved in the justice system. What a strange turn of events.

The top prosecutor, the former attorney general, a Quebec judge and Canadians writ large all believe accused corporate criminals like SNC-Lavalin should face the music in a trial. Unfortunately, the matter is not closed. The government still gives itself the power to interfere.

Will the Liberals confirm that no politician on that side will interfere to cancel the trial into SNC-Lavalin?

[Justice, May 30th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, actually, based on those very criteria the member just listed, SNC-Lavalin does not qualify for a deferred prosecution agreement. This is not just my opinion; that is the opinion of the top prosecutor, the former attorney general and now, most recently, a Quebec judge.

We already know Canadians do not support special deals for accused corporate criminals. Will the government confirm that no politician will overturn the justice system and give a special deal to SNC-Lavalin?

[Presence in Gallery, May 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order on the subject of unanimous consent for motions from the floor. Recently, the House of Commons put forward a motion to apologize to Mark Norman for the vicious attack by his government against him that caused a massive heartache for him and his family. The Prime Minister snuck out the door before that could be voted upon. I would like to invite him to rise now and—

[Natural resources, May 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, what we know, whether on climate change or gas prices, is that we do not need another high school drama production from the Prime Minister. We need clear answers.

The Prime Minister said that he believed $1.60-a-litre gas prices are “exactly what we want”. He admits his price on gas will go up 250%.

Will the Prime Minister tell us the full and final price increase that his carbon tax will impose on a litre of gasoline?

[Natural resources, May 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, even the members opposite are following the plan of the Liberal environment minister, screaming louder and louder to cover up the truth.

The Prime Minister said $1.60-a-litre gas prices in B.C. are exactly what he wants. Will he admit that that is where all prices are going across Canada once his carbon tax is fully implemented?

[Natural resources, May 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is following the direction of his environment minister, who said this week, “if you actually say it louder, we’ve learned in the House of Commons, if you repeat it, if you say it louder, if that is your talking point, people will totally believe it. So just go in.”

[The Environment, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, that calmed him down a little bit. Unfortunately, Liberal members in the House do not realize that while they raise the volume and raise taxes at the same time, they make both our ears and our wallets worse off.

The member across the way, now that he has calmed down, is sitting behind a leader who has advocated $1.60 a litre gas prices. Will he stand today and tell us exactly how high gas prices will go, once the full and final Liberal carbon tax is in place?

[The Environment, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, why is he always screaming over there?

The answer came from the environment minister, who said:

if you actually say it louder, we’ve learned in the House of Commons, if you repeat it, if you say it louder, if that is your talking point, people will totally believe it.

That is the Liberal strategy to convince Canadians they will be better off by paying higher gas prices while missing the Paris accord by 80 million tonnes of carbon. Is that not really the Liberal strategy, to say it louder even when it is wrong?

[Accessible Canada Act, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, when people say the term “marginal effective tax rate”, eyes begin to glaze over right across the land, but it is a very important concept, because that is the amount of money one loses for every extra dollar one earns. This loss happens in two ways. First, social benefits are often clawed back as someone earns an additional dollar. Second, income and payroll taxes apply to what is left. The combined effect can mean real marginal tax rates of over 100%.

For example, in Saskatchewan, until recently, minimum-wage workers on disability assistance who went from part-time to full-time work would actually have a pay cut. In other words, they would make less money working 40 hours a week than they would working 20 hours a week. These are people trying to escape from poverty, improve their situation and climb the ladder, and the government punishes them for doing so. Surely we can adjust our social benefits and tax system to ensure that people keep more of their wages than they lose to clawbacks and taxes.

[Accessible Canada Act, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the former minister responsible for seniors for sharing her personal experience with this issue. I know that she has been a great supporter of her husband, who has a vision impairment. They have lived a very rich life, and it is a good example of the great life all people can have, even when they encounter the difficulties disability brings.

Today we can celebrate that this bill would help knock down some of the unnecessary physical and other barriers that are in the way. We need to begin the conversation on how to take yet further steps in the future to remove governmental barriers that remain so that all people can fulfill their full potential.