Ruth Ellen Brosseau

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, May 31st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, sadly, the minister obviously did not hear the question from the House leader of the official opposition. There has been absolutely no consultation on allocating time on Bill C-74. This is the fifth time that the Liberals are imposing closure in three days. This is unbelievable.

I have been here for seven years, and we were used to time allocation because we had a lot under the previous government, but we have never seen a government limit debate to the point where it is doing the bare minimum. It is an insult to democracy.

The Liberals promised they would do things differently, yet they are going ahead and shutting down debate. We are 338 MPs in this House and we are here to represent our constituents. How can the Liberals justify doing time allocation on an important bill like Bill C-74?

[Export and Import Permits Act, May 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is very frustrating to see that we are here again debating time allocation on a bill. This is the fourth time we have had time allocation or closure in the last two days. In the last little bit, I think we were up to 36 or 37 time allocation motions proposed by the government.

I remember that back in the day, when the Liberals were in opposition, they bemoaned and complained about time allocation used by the Conservative government. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised to do things differently. Now we see that the Liberals are not doing that. They are eliminating debate. They are making it difficult for a lot of MPs in this place to be a strong voice for their constituents. When we come to the House, we are a voice to represent the concerns of our constituents.

What has changed? Why are the Liberals doing time allocation again and again? They promised not to do as the Conservatives did, but here we are, with a fourth time allocation or closure in two days.

[International Trade, May 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, apparently a close friend and adviser of the Prime Minister once advocated for the elimination of our supply management system. The really bad news is that this adviser is now playing an important role in renegotiating NAFTA on behalf of the Liberal government. That is disturbing—scary, even. I see shades of the Conservative Party.

The government says it wants to defend our supply management system, but it hires people like that who want to eliminate it. That makes no sense. I have a question for the Minister of Agriculture.

Will he swear by all he holds dear that he will defend our supply management system in its entirety?

[Natural Resources, May 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants all Canadians to take on all of these risks and then give this company all of the profits. That is not fair and that is not balanced.

The Prime Minister promised to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. What has he done? Nothing. Instead he is offering a big, fat blank cheque to a company that refuses to pay taxes here in Canada. If regular Canadians do not pay their taxes, they do not get a bailout from the federal government. Why is it giving one to Kinder Morgan Canada?

[Natural Resources, May 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Kinder Morgan Canada has avoided paying its fair share of taxes. The result? Kinder Morgan Canada has only paid 0.004% of what they should have paid over the last three years. That is over $180 million of tax avoidance. Now the Liberal government wants to use Canadians' money to subsidize Kinder Morgan Canada against any future losses.

Why is the Prime Minister willing to use taxpayer funds to help an oil company that refuses to pay its taxes here in Canada?

[Democratic Reform, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to trust the Liberals.

We are all gathered here to represent our constituents and make their voices heard in Ottawa.

Do the Liberals realize what they are doing by curtailing the debate on the electoral reform bill? Do they understand the irony of the situation? Refusing to debate in a democracy is the same as refusing to engage in the democratic process.

By doing the same thing the Conservatives did in 2014, the Liberals are insulting all Canadians.

Do they realize what they are doing? It is serious.

[Natural Resources, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has been clear. The Liberals do not have a plan to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.

How does the government defend itself? It discredits the Auditor General's work and says that he does not know what he is talking about.

Can the Liberals tell us the total amount of the subsidies for fossil fuels? Can they tell us when in 2019 they will eliminate those subsides? Can they finally tell us how much money they are going to give Kinder Morgan? Where is the Liberal government's plan?

[Elections Modernization Act, May 23rd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I just want to say it is infuriating, it is disgusting, that we are debating time allocation on this bill.

I remember. I was here in 2014 when we had the debate on the unfair elections act. The Liberals were with us. We talked about how we were infuriated and appalled by the time allocation that the then-government put forward.

The member for Winnipeg North even said:

We now have the government bringing in time allocation on a bill that deals with Elections Canada. ...[W]e have the irresponsible nature of the Conservatives trying to ram it through and limit debate in second reading, which is disgraceful.

He said a few years ago that he thinks we should remember these things. I wonder if he feels that way again today.

The member for Malpeque said:

Mr. Speaker, invoking closure on this bill really is the height of hypocrisy.

I think we all feel that again today.

He went on:

How can the government invoke closure on a bill about democratic reform? This place is supposed to be about debate and good discussion. The minister is shutting that debate down and, I believe, putting democracy at risk.

Fast-forward to 2018, and we are living the exact same thing. How can the Liberals justify what they said in 2014 and during the election with what they are doing now? It is a disgrace.

[Democratic Reform, May 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Liberals said that they were open to working with the opposition parties. Today, they are threatening to curtail debate on the election bill. They are doing exactly the same thing as Stephen Harper did in 2014. Is this real change? I do not think so.

If the Liberals really want to pass this bill before the summer recess, there are other alternatives.

Will the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party commit to working with us to find a solution and agree not to limit debate on the election bill?

[Democratic Reform, May 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, after promising to make amendments to the Canada Elections Act, the Liberals waited until the last minute to table them.

Worse still, when they were in opposition, they criticized the Conservatives for limiting the number of debates on electoral reform in the House of Commons, yet they plan to do the exact same thing today.

The member for Winnipeg North said in 2014, “We need to recognize that the Canada Elections Act is like no other.... This legislation should be designated such that time allocation cannot be applied to it.”

What happened between 2014 and now? Do the Liberals no longer believe that the Canada Elections Act deserves to be properly debated?