Ted Falk

[Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2, November 2nd, 2017]

Madam Speaker, how can investing half a billion dollars in the Asian infrastructure bank help Canadians?

[Canadian Farmers, October 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in this free and democratic country, we have so much to be thankful for. I am first and foremost thankful for a God who loves us and was willing to send his son, Jesus, to pay the settlement for our sin and how through faith in him we can receive that gift. I am thankful for my wife. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful to have the opportunity to represent my constituents of Provencher. As the harvest winds down across this country, I am thankful for our farmers.

In Canada, we are blessed with the abundance of land with which to farm, but without the hard work and dedication of our farmers, that blessing would not be fully realized. Farmers are incredibly talented. They are conservationists, they are veterinarians, they are mechanics, and they are even meteorologists. I want to thank our farmers today for providing us with safe, nutritious, and delicious food. Food does not just show up on our store shelves miraculously, but it is through the hard work and dedication of our farmers. Often, in our abundance here in Canada, it is easy to take our farmers for granted. Today, I want to make sure that farmers across this great country know that we are thankful for them.

[Ethics, October 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, these are the facts. The Prime Minister clearly instructed the Minister of Finance to arrange his private affairs in a way that would bear the closest public scrutiny. The finance minister told Morneau Shepell and the press that he would place his holdings in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest. However, two years later we now know that he did no such thing.

I will give the minister another opportunity to answer the question. When did he tell the Prime Minister that he chose not to put his assets in a blind trust, despite committing to do that?

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reiterate a bit of what my colleague from across the way said. Our Canadian forest industry is the most environmentally friendly forest industry in the world.

We have a fantastic industry, but the problem is that it needs a marketplace. Our former Conservative government was able to ink a deal within three months.

There has never been a closer relationship between prime ministers and presidents than there was between our current Prime Minister and the former president Obama. In fact, they had this little bromance thing going. The Liberals in this House committed to inking a deal within 100 days. They did not get it done. I want to know what it is about the Liberal government that it cannot seem to get a deal done.

[Access to Information Act, September 26th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I want to recognize the wonderful speech of my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable. He touched on a lot of very good points.

I want to reflect on the presentation of the member for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital. He said that the government did not want to respond to access to information requests because it was not in the government's best interests—not Canadians' best interests, but the government's best interests. That is the problem with the Liberal government. The Liberals think they are above accountability. They keep ramming things through the House. They do not want to be accountable. They do not want to be responsible for their actions. Now they are trying to push this very repressive tax attack on small businesses and farmers.

Could my colleague comment on that a little more?

[Petitions, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. I should have indicated before that I have two petitions to present.

This petition is signed by many individuals. They are requesting that the Canadian government condemn the illegal arrest of Canadian citizen Qian Sun, who is 51 years old and a member of the Falun Gong practitioners, and that it call for her immediate and unconditional release.

[Petitions, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I too rise to present a petition from residents of Provencher, in the Ste. Anne and Richer area. As the member for Cypress Hills—Grassland just reported, they are also asking the House of Commons to specifically identify hospice palliative care as an identified medical service covered under the Canada Health Act.

[Taxation, September 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Susan Yakabowich, one of my constituents, recently started up a small business that will help seniors remain in their communities after they retire. She started this new business after she got laid off from her 30-year career. She did not see that as a loss. She saw it as an opportunity to start a small business, put her skills to use, and improve her community. However, thanks to this new Liberal tax attack on small business, Susan is questioning her decision.

Why has the Finance Minister designed a system that forces Susan to pay up to 73% tax while the family fortunes of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister will be sheltered? How fair is that?

[Export and Import Permits Act, September 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands is always very thorough in her evaluation of bills, and I have great respect for the work she does in the House.

However, I disagree with her on the point that it does not affect individuals and organizations. Section 7.1(1) in the agreement clearly states that individuals and organizations will be subject to that agreement, so that will directly require the information of individuals to be recorded and kept in a registry.

[Export and Import Permits Act, September 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, what impact will this have on Canadians?

The extra burden of keeping those additional records, storing them and maintaining them for six years, is an additional burden. If it were not an additional burden, it would not be something that would be extra. There is going to be a cost to that. There will also be a cost to manufacturers to ensure they are compliant as well.

Any additional costs that will be incurred by exporters, importers, or manufacturers will ultimately to be passed on to the consumer, to law-abiding Canadians who want to do their sport shooting, hunt, or perhaps just want to be collectors. That is a cost and a burden that will be incurred.

It is also a registry that is currently not being kept. Under the Trade Controls Bureau, we have processes in place for the sale and purchase of arms to other countries. We also have processes and procedures in place under that bureau that protect the integrity of the sale of arms to other nations.