Rona Ambrose

[Canada-U.S. Relations, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has a troubling need to hand out tax dollars to people who do not want it or do not need it.

His night out on Broadway with Ivanka Trump including buying tickets for executives from some of the biggest banks and law firms in North America. Now, these folks have a lot of money. In fact, they usually support the arts themselves. They could easily have paid for their own tickets, and maybe they would have if asked.

Why did the Prime Minister think taxpayers needed to foot their bill?

[Infrastructure, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal insiders, investment banks, $35 billion in tax money, and Liberal politicians who have control over how the bank is actually run, what could possibly go wrong?

How can the Prime Minister not see this blatant conflict right in front of him?

[Infrastructure, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the infrastructure bank boondoggle is just another taxpayer-funded Liberal vanity project. I know the Liberals are excited to impress their friends on Bay Street and Wall Street, but it is one thing to buy them tickets to a Broadway show. It is quite another thing to buy them a $35 billion bank.

Has the Prime Minister forgotten that his job is to serve regular working people?

[Infrastructure, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, no one seems to know what the purpose of the Prime Minister's infrastructure bank is.

He says it will be used to build new projects and attract private investment. However, the Liberals have shown that they are incapable of carrying out existing projects, and private investors are already investing in projects across the country. They do not need a government bank.

Can the Prime Minister explain why he is moving ahead with this bogus project?

[Infrastructure, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the fund managers are licking their lips. This is a blatant conflict. the Prime Minister has turned to BlackRock for all kinds of advice, setting up this bank. That is like the three little pigs hiring the big bad wolf to be their contractor.

Everyone can see the conflict of interest here. It is obvious. Thanks to the Prime Minister, the rich just keep getting richer. Who is going to stick up for the taxpayer?

[Infrastructure, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's infrastructure bank will take $35 billion from taxpayers to backstop profits for well-connected investment bankers, pension fund managers, and their clients. The problem is that these same wealthy and well-connected one percenters are the ones actually helping set up the bank.

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is not just in the room giving advice to the Prime Minister; it is in the room to actually represent its clients.

Why can the Prime Minister not see this as the conflict that it is?

[National Defence, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has let down countless Canadian Armed Forces members by exaggerating his role in Afghanistan, and he did it at least twice. When he was on active duty, I do not believe the minister would have ever resorted to such an exaggeration. It was only when he became a Liberal politician that he decided he needed to embellish this record.

When he was in the military, I assumed he would have never stood for this kind of behaviour, so why does he expect Canadians to accept it now? Why does the Prime Minister accept it?

[National Defence, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence never explained to Canadians why on more than one occasion he exaggerated the role he played in Operation Medusa. We asked him several times to explain himself in the House, and the media also asked for explanations. Instead of answering the questions, the Prime Minister sent the Minister of Transport to do interviews on the defence minister's behalf.

If the Prime Minister does not trust his Minister of National Defence to do his job, then why should Canadians?

[Disaster Assistance, May 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, intense flooding is currently affecting thousands of Canadians across the country. It is forcing people from their homes in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.

We hope that all Canadians facing these terrible circumstances will stay safe, co-operate with first responders and emergency services, and help their neighbours as much as possible.

Could the Prime Minister please update the House and Canadians on the assistance the government is providing to all Canadians who are caught up in this flooding?

[National Defence, May 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about that record. In our last year in office, the defence spending was nearly twice what the Liberals spent in any given year. We came in and we bought our men and women proper uniforms for Afghanistan, after the Liberals sent them into a desert with green camouflage. We bought them new planes so they did not have to hitch rides from the Americans. We bought them helicopters, tanks, and new LAVs so they could protect themselves from IEDs.

The Liberals sent them to Afghanistan with none of that support, and the minister knows that very well. We are happy to compare our record to the Liberal decade of darkness.