Ziad Aboultaif

[Natural Resources, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can find $40 million for his friends at the WE organization who are struggling financially, but cannot do anything to help Alberta's oil and gas sector.

The finance minister promised help within hours. However, when his friends at WE needed help, he had no problem cutting them a cheque. It is always the same story with the Liberals: help them get votes and get the money. The government is corrupt. Where is the help for Alberta's oil and gas sector?

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 21st, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary mentioned that the wage subsidy is very important for small businesses to survive. There is no doubt about that, but with the new bill, it seems there are a lot of complications. People probably need master's degrees in mathematics to understand it, plus a few accountants, if they can afford to hire them.

I will give an example to the parliamentary secretary. If a business experienced an average revenue drop of more than 50% over the last three months, it can get a top-up to its wage subsidy benefit to reach a final top-up number. If we add into the calculations the base wage subsidy, which is if it had lost under 49% of its revenue, it is up for another set of calculations.

So my question for the parliamentary secretary is this: If a business loses 60% of its revenue, what would be the wage subsidy percentage that it would receive in order to survive?

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, what is the number of disability payment recipients in Canada now?

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, it has been a very entertaining free market of speech topics today by the member opposite. There are so many channels he changed. It is typical of a remote-control handler. One thing is that he did not stop at the WE channel. He did not touch on that.

Why does he not tell us about his Prime Minister's scandalous contract with the WE foundation to benefit his Prime Minister's, and his cabinet's, friends?

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his very thoughtful comments on the scandal that is taking place now in our country. It is a common practice when one enters into a contract to do due diligence. In this case, no such thing took place except that the Prime Minister handed over a big fat contract of $912 million to a friend's organization.

How much due diligence does the hon. member believe happened and if proper due diligence had happened, what could have been the result compared to what we have right now?

[Small Business, July 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian small and medium-sized business owners have stepped up to the plate to give back to their communities. Many had to close shop with no warning for an uncertain period. Uncertainty is one factor that can take a business down. Small and medium-sized businesses have long been the economic engine of this country. Now they need their country more than ever. What they need right now is clarity on various government programs, such as the wage subsidy and rent assistance.

How long will they run? Is there anything else coming to help them? Those questions are there. Diverse small businesses I have been visiting and talking to in my riding have reached out and want answers from the government. Every time a small business closes down, it is a piece of the community we may never see again. Let us help them out. They need us.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party is always a supporter of small and medium-sized businesses, all businesses, as they are the economic engines of our economy and country. The bill in front of us, Bill C-20, is very complicated and I believe the Bloc supports it.

I would like to give the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois a chance to shed some light on one scenario in the bill. For example, if a business suffers a 60% average loss, then what would it get back in return to help it continue to operate?

Again, if a business loses 60% of its revenues, what will it get back in wage subsidy support from this bill?

[Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, March 10th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois listed a few areas of concern in the CUSMA agreement. I would appreciate it if he could restate them and discuss them.

I would also ask him to explain why the government failed to bring a good agreement to Canada and Canadians, and what could have been done to get a better agreement.

[Business of Supply, February 28th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I think Liberal members still do not realize they do not have a majority government. I feel the pain they are going through now in not understanding they are in a minority government. No, I do not, by the way.

There is a phrase that goes, “Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” That is what today's motion is all about, and I hope the member realizes and understands that.

[Business of Supply, February 28th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I think the Liberals do not realize that they do not have a majority government and that this is a minority government. It is an opportunity to enhance democracy further and to make this Parliament work better.

Does my hon. colleague agree that the government should support this motion because it is wiser under a minority government?