The Economy  Mr. Speaker, last week at FINA, I asked Philip Cross, who was the chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada for years, if he saw anything in Bill C-14 or the fall statement that would give him comfort that there is an actual plan on growing our way out of this crisis we are in

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, let us talk about underpinnings. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said himself, “I haven't seen anything yet, at least, from the government on recent measures”, when questioned if the government had any outcome-based analysis when allocating government spending. Th

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his kind remarks. How can we increase health transfers without a robust economy? This really comes down to this question: When we are going to get busy and make sure that we have a vibrant economy again? Canada, even pre-COVID, had anaemic gr

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would be glad to do that. The federal government can show leadership. That is what this is all about. This is about the Prime Minister showing some leadership, showing some direction to the provinces and giving them the tools they need. This is a leadership quest

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, it has been devastating in Edmonton Centre. We can go through mall by mall, business by business and see a third or a quarter of them closed, depending on the circumstances. It has been devastating. What business needs and how they need to reopen is certainty. The

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak to the opposition day motion. Before I get into the specifics on economic recovery, I would like to take this time to reach out and thank the many members of all parties and Canadians at large who have supported me and my family

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Speaker, the Canadian case of the novel coronavirus was reported by Health Canada on January 25, 2020. That was 422 days ago, 422 days of temporary measures with no long-term plan; 422 days of business shutdowns and sector collapses; and 422 days of widespread unemployment an

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, how important is it to look at more of a bottom-up strategy, rather than an Ottawa top-down strategy, in making sure that we have the support of these organizations, particularly the provinces, as we go forward?

Employment  Madam Speaker, as the economy recovers, we are going to see a massive drop in the demand for workers in the hospitality industry and other close proximity industries. Meanwhile, we are seeing an equally large growth in the demand for skilled workers in the emerging tech economy.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, the more important thing we need to look toward is how we can reopen these sectors and get people back to work. The people I talk to say that is what they want. They want to get back to their jobs. They want to get back to their way of life. They want to be able to d

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, there cannot be an economic recovery until there is a health recovery. Every area of the country has to be able to deal with this health crisis. Yes, I support the restrictions, but future restrictions and future policies should be based on strong data.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, what we have to focus on, and what I come back to in this health crisis, is that we cannot have a recovery until we get through this crisis. That is a combination of making sure that we have vaccines here, we have execution of those vaccines and we have rapid testing

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, what businesses need is some level of certainty or planning so they can understand what the potential looks like. Unfortunately, this particular industry has seen very little. We have talked about the airline industry, and the government coming up with some sort of a

Committees of the House  moved: That the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, presented on Friday, November 27, 2020, be concurred in. Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Niagara Falls. I am happy to speak today to the order in council

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020  Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about the future and talked about economic growth for this country. I would like you to elaborate a bit on the lack of understanding it appears the government has around competitiveness, continuing to burden individuals and businesses with addit