Wayne Stetski

[The Environment, April 4th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, students from Nelson recently participated in a climate change strike and Ktunaxa students in grades five and six from the ?aq'am reserve wrote me passionate letters warning about climate change.

It is clear my constituents from Kootenay—Columbia and Canadians from across the country want immediate action, but the Liberal government is failing them. The Liberals' budget continues fossil fuel subsidies, which limit our ability to transition to a low-carbon economy before it is too late. We have fewer than 12 years to act.

When will the government end fossil fuel subsidies and help workers transition to the green jobs of the future?

[Child Care, March 22nd, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal budget acknowledges that lack of affordable child care is putting education, employment and home ownership out of the reach of parents, particularly mothers. Despite this, there is no new funding for child care and the crisis persists across the country outside of Quebec.

The Royal Commission on the Status of Women said almost 50 years ago that universal child care was critical to women achieving true equality, yet the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development is still calling this a “long-term vision”.

Will the government stop making promises and show leadership on the child care crisis?

[Post-Secondary Education, March 20th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, I wrote to the Minister of Finance about the struggles young Canadians are facing because of student debt, like putting off starting a family or buying a home. I encouraged the minister to follow the lead of British Columbia's NDP government, which stopped charging interest on student loans last month. Instead, the Liberal budget proposes a half measure of simply reducing interest rates.

Post-secondary education should not be a debt sentence. Why are the Liberals choosing to hurt young Canadians and their chance to build a better future?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 18th, 2019]

With regard to federal spending in the constituency of Kootenay—Columbia, for the calendar years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018: what are the details of all grants and contributions, and all loans to every organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 18th, 2019]

With regard to federal spending in the constituency of Kootenay—Columbia, for each of the following fiscal years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-2018 and 2018-19 to date: what are the details of all grants and contributions, and all loans to every organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

[Parks Canada, March 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, this week marked three years since the Phoenix pay system fiasco was rolled out. It is reported that it will take three to five years to clear the backlog and potentially 10 years until the system is fixed.

In the meantime, Parks Canada employees continue to have problems with the system, as many work full-time in the warmer months and are on call in the winter. Their pay transactions vary and they continue to encounter serious errors with pay and benefits.

These timelines are unacceptable. Will the Liberals commit in the 2019 budget to invest what is needed now to properly pay our workers?

[Alleged Interference in Justice System, February 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, for the last five hours tonight, everyone has been expressing their disappointment at having to be here to discuss this. What Canadians really want to know is the truth and they want a process they can believe in that leads us to the truth. We have heard a lot of interpretations of testimony depending on which side of the floor we are sitting.

What is the best way to get at the truth and give Canadians a sense of confidence that the process will lead to the truth?

[Alleged Interference in Justice System, February 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I, too, am disappointed to have to rise this evening to speak to this issue. When I arrived here in 2015, I attended the session for new members of Parliament. There were 200 of us who were new, and I was so excited, because everyone I talked to from every party said the same thing, that we were all here to work together collaboratively to make a better Canada. A better Canada is things like affordable housing, public pharmacare, affordable daycare and helping students with tuition fees.

My question for the member for Davenport, who I have a great deal of respect for, is this: Why will the government not just agree to a full public inquiry so we can get on with doing the business I know the people of Kootenay—Columbia sent me here to do and that the rest of us were sent here to do? Let us agree to a full public inquiry and let us get on with doing the things that are important to make a better Canada.

[National Defence Act, February 28th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, we are very much in favour of the bill, but we did propose an amendment and I would like to hear from the member why the government did not accept it. I want to read a quote from Sheila Fynes, who appeared as an individual before the committee. She said:

...it is disturbing that even today, under paragraph 98(c), a service member could face life imprisonment for an attempted suicide. It would be more appropriate to consider self-harm under such circumstances as being symptomatic of a serious and urgent mental health concern, and signalling the need for appropriate and immediate medical intervention.

Why did the Liberal government not remove subsection 98(c) from the legislation?

[Housing, February 22nd, 2019]

Madam Speaker, with the high cost of student loans, day care and rent, many young Canadians are finding it extremely difficult to achieve the dream of home ownership.

Through a series of rule changes by the former Conservative government, the maximum term for insured mortgages went from 40 years to 25 years. Instead of making it easier for first-time homebuyers, Liberals further tightened mortgage rules.

This is the same old story: While they make life easier for corporate friends, Liberals are shutting out young families from owning their own homes. Will the Liberal government put young families first and commit to introducing a 30-year term on insured mortgages?