Rick Perkins

[Carbon Pricing, November 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Hortons could not afford a home in Ontario, so they found their dream home on a lake in Nova Scotia. The kids love skating and swimming on the lake. Life was good until this year. The increased cost of everything, like a 68% increase in the cost to heat a home in Nova Scotia, forced the Hortons to have to choose between paying their mortgage and heating their home.

The Hortons want to know why the Liberal government will not do the right thing and cancel its planned carbon tax on home heating.

[The Economy, November 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I just met with Melody and Jack Horton and their two boys Lucas and Jesse. They had the same hope as all young families to own a home. This was out of reach for them in Ontario, so they left and bought their dream home on a lake in Nova Scotia. They quickly found jobs. The family loves swimming in the lake in the summer and skating on it in the winter.

Life was everything they hoped it would be, until this year. The rapid cost increases for gas to heat their home and for food for the family was too much. Melody and Jack sold their dream house in September. They moved into a house half the size, and they are still struggling to pay the bills. The Hortons do not understand why the Liberals do not know how tough it is for families.

The new Conservative leader will always put people first. He will always work every single day to make paycheques bigger and government smaller for families like the Hortons.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, November 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his speech. There was not a lot in the speech that I could disagree with or that we could disagree with. Our challenge is that we do not think the speech actually delivers what is said in this bill. We know perfection can be the enemy of the good, but I think, in this case, that “good” is not good enough.

Privacy is a basic human right. We have seen in past iterations of this bill that the Liberal government cannot put that in the bill, which I think is a bit of nonsense. Parliament has the right to deal with economic issues under the Constitution. The personal privacy element is the basis of freedom, the freedom of movement and the freedom of speech. Privacy is critical to that. Privacy is a fundamental human right. It should be recognized in this bill, but it is not.

Why do the Liberals not believe that privacy is a fundamental human right?

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, the member went through a litany of Liberal failures, excessive spending and corruption.

In the last three years, as the Canadian government has grown in size, and people have lost their jobs, we have seen examples such the Department of Fisheries and Oceans growing by 4,300 net new jobs in the last three years, 1,000 of which are in finance and HR. I guess they have a lot of HR problems in fisheries.

The only place in this economy that seems to be growing is government jobs. I wonder if the member could comment on that.

[The Economy, October 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, they would like to hear it again: They spent $600 million supporting high school kids with CERB, while Giles from my riding heats with oil and had to fill up yesterday and it cost $1,600 to fill the tank. It was $900 last year. This is just incredible. That is a 68% increase in his heating as a result of the government's policies, and they still want to impose another $360 in new carbon taxes on his oil tank. Many people in my community have to choose between heat and eating.

When will these Liberals stop their triple—

[The Economy, October 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the fact they seem to miss is that they spent $600 million supporting high school kids during COVID living at home, while Giles in my riding, who heats with oil, had his tank filled up yesterday for $1,600, which is more than the $900 last year—

[Business of Supply, October 20th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, in the parliamentary secretary's intervention on the opposition day motion, it seems to me she is having a “let them eat cake” moment. She did not really speak to the motion, which is that the government's policies are creating massive inflation that is causing people in my community and my province to have to choose between heating and eating.

If members do not know what heating from oil looks like, they can look at my visual here. It costs more than $1,000 now to fill an oil tank. It has gone up 52% since the summer, and over 53% of Nova Scotians heat this way.

Could the parliamentary secretary actually address the issue of the day, which is why she and her government will not give a break on home heating taxes so people in my province do not have to choose between heating and eating?

[Disaster Assistance, October 5th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadians need help now, not two years from now.

The Prime Minister's sad, inadequate hurricane relief program would not even cover the cost of rebuilding wharves. If the Prime Minister had a fisheries minister, he would know that the most immediate problem is income lost for lobster fishermen in the Northumberland Strait.

That is because the season is over now and they cannot fish again until the winter fishery. Why is there no immediate emergency income relief support for fishermen in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick?

[Fisheries and Oceans, September 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, since the hurricane, I have been speaking every day with fishermen and fishing organizations about the damage caused by the hurricane and the needs of the industry to recover. As I said, it is clear that we need some new programs to deal with this.

It has been four days since the hurricane, and the minister has yet to call a single fishing organization in Atlantic Canada. How do I know this? It is because I talk to them to every day and she does not.

How will the minister design new programs that respond quickly if she does not talk to the fishing organizations and the people most impacted?

[Fisheries and Oceans, September 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, if a tornado tore up the 401 in Toronto, the government would already be repairing it. The government is not even in the communities assessing the wharf damage from the hurricane. How do I know? It is because fishing organizations are out there but no one from DFO is.

This will require new programs or we cannot earn a living. Will the minister commit that new programs to repair wharves will be 100% financed by DFO since port authorities do not have the financial resources to do this?