Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that if the member had actually been paying attention to my speech, he would have noticed that I said it did not matter which political party was in power at the time; there would have been huge amounts of spending. Obviously he must have missed that section.

Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. As my colleague will recall, when a motion was put forward in the House, the majority of MPs voted in favour of the increase, as he said, for our seniors, who built this country. We need to support them in their time of need, and without increasing their pensions, I do not see how they are going to survive as we proceed forward.

Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1  Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to the Liberal budget and raise concerns on several fronts. When I was elected in 2019, and in the years prior during the first mandate of the Liberal government, we saw deficit after deficit with no clear plan for balancing the budget. The grand plan for the budget to balance itself was failing.

Forest Industry  Madam Speaker, in my region of Canada, the forest industry needs help from the government. It is facing an epidemic caused by the mountain pine beetles. The species destroys many acres of pine trees every year and are expanding east, causing damage along the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act  Madam Speaker, definitely we need to start looking at targets. I am not so certain as to whether it should be defined as 40% or what number we should look at, but to start reducing our emissions and getting to carbon neutral by 2050, we need to have a plan that is going to adjust and we need to ensure it is a reasonable plan.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act  Madam Speaker, it is very easy to say no, because the government has failed on so many attempts. These are nothing more than just election promise words for the Liberals to say, “Don't worry, we're going to have a plan, keep putting faith in us. and trust us.” That does not build any confidence whatsoever nor does it guarantee that they will meet any of these emission targets.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act  Madam Speaker, I think there is a lot of misconception as to the future of our oil and gas. Are we going to completely eliminate it? Probably not. There are many sides of it that we need to consider, such as using it as a lubricant in the future. We know that we still need to have lubricants, whether it is for our car transmissions, car rear ends or even ball joints, for grease.

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act  Madam Speaker, today, I am speaking to Bill C-12, the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability act and to some of the bill's flaws, not least of which is the vital role our oil and gas sector plays and the role it will play in getting us to net zero. When the Liberals first introduced the bill to the House back in November 2020, they introduced it primarily as a political wedge.

Public Services and Procurement  Madam Speaker, as other countries are coming out of this pandemic, small communities in my riding, such as Breton, are just beginning to receive their first doses because of the Liberals' failure on procurement. Many of these communities have expressed concerns with delay and uncertainty of the timeline getting their first and second doses.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I noticed that wage subsidy and rent relief programs are in the budget. Conservatives support these, as they are very valid and they need to be done. My concern is that the Liberals keep extending them, which probably comes down to the lack of vaccines that have been procured by the government.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, last week constituents of mine working in pipeline repair and inspection services were detained upon arrival into Canada, despite having provided travel letters and government essential service worker permits to the CBSA agents. Workers who cross the border for essential work have been deemed essential for a reason.

Volunteerism  Madam Speaker, today I am proud to recognize the great work of volunteers in my riding of Yellowhead. I want to give special recognition to the brand-new food pantry at the Edson United Church, which has already been supplying free nutritious hot meals to the community. I recently had the opportunity to visit the church and it was fantastic to see the shelves stocked and volunteers in action.

Health  Madam Speaker, the government has completely bungled its quarantine hotel scheme. The Conservatives have been calling for a post-arrival testing regime since the beginning. The Calgary International Airport pilot project showed that this could be done successfully. I recently met with travel agents to discuss the impacts of COVID on the sector and its path to recovery.

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020  Madam Speaker, my colleague had an interesting interpretation. The Liberals talk about not giving cheques to their millionaire friends. The Ethics Commissioner sometimes has had some difficulty in assessing the same values or principles at times. We need to assist families, and that is why I am very pleased we are working to assist families in the future.

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020  Madam Speaker, that does go hand in hand. When we talk about tourism, without the cultural activities available, how would we attract people? We need to address that area. It is very important that when we look at the tourism sector, we also include the arts and culture sector as well.