On Parliament Hill

While the attention of Canadians has been (quite understandably) focused on the terrible violence in Israel the past couple weeks, a lot has been going on in Ottawa. Here are few things you may have missed.

ArriveCan App: The RCMP have opened a criminal investigation into how the contracts for the ArriveCan app were awarded. There are allegations regarding identity theft, fraudulent forged resumes, contractual theft, fraudulent billing, price fixing, and collusion, all with senior bureaucrats with the Government of Canada. To make matters worse, like the SNC Lavalin scandal, the Trudeau Government, and their NDP counterparts, continue to try to cover up these alleged crimes.

Trudeau’s Trip: Justin Trudeau has, once again, misled Canadians about the costs of his lavish, taxpayer-funded vacations. Mr. Trudeau told Parliament his latest vacation cost $23,846. A bit of investigative work by Conservatives revealed the actual figure was nearly $230,000. The fact the PM saw no issue in disclosing his four-day vacation cost the same as the annual take-home pay of a Canadian earning $40,000 during a serious cost-of-living crisis shows just how out-of-touch this PM is. That he, once again, misled Parliament shows how little respect he has for Canadians.

Budget Deficit: The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released hisfiscal outlook. The report confirms what many Canadians already know: Our economy is “stagnate” and Canadians have no money left over to spend. This year alone the PBO predicts a $46.5 billion dollar deficit. The more Justin Trudeau spends, the more it costs Canadians, by pouring fuel on the inflationary fire. It’s time to reverse inflationary deficits and taxes and end the Liberal war on work by getting our nation’s finances under control and letting workers bring home more of what they earn.

MAID Extended: Last week, Liberal Members of Parliament voted against a Conservative bill to stop the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) to the mentally ill. Our bill was supported by the disability community and the heads of psychiatry at every Canadian medical school. Once again, the Liberals are ignoring experts (and common sense) to advance their culture of death. Conservatives will stand with the vulnerable and their loved ones and keep fighting to delay this dangerous Liberal legislation.

India Dispute: Despite levelling serious allegations against India – namely that India’s Government was behind the murder of a pro-Khalistan Canadian (which all parties agree is unacceptable) – Mr. Trudeau has yet to publicly produce any evidence to back up his claims. Both sides have expelled diplomats over the incident and there is talk of India freezing Canadian VISAs. Canada continues to demand India co-operate in the investigation. However, the lack of evidence produced has few of our allies interested in backing Canada and risking their relationship with such a key ally and trading partner. A new Conservative Government will protect Canadians from foreign threats by restoring respect for Canada on the world stage.

C-69 Ruled Unconstitutional: The Supreme Court has ruled Justin Trudeau’s “No More Pipelines Act”, Bill C-69, unconstitutional. Conservatives warned the Liberals that their plans to steamroll provinces by giving themselves unprecedented power over provincial infrastructure, industry, and natural resources was unconstitutional – and would hurt Canadian workers. Justin Trudeau and his radical activist Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault have made no secret of their desires to kill Canada’s natural resource industry and the paycheques it generates for workers. Nine provinces and every territory demanded amendments to C-69 to address provincial jurisdiction concerns–Justin Trudeau ignored them.After eight years of Trudeau’s gatekeeping anti-pipeline and resource development policies hundreds of billions of dollars in project investments have fled Canada and taken away countless powerful paycheques for Canadian workers. Conservatives will continue to fight to repeal what’s left of this job-killing law. A common-sense Conservative Government will bring back investment, remove the gatekeepers so we can green-light green projects, bring home powerful paycheques, and make traditional and alternative sources of energy affordable and accessible for all Canadians.

Debating Bill C-50: Parliament has been debating Bill C-50, the government’s “sustainable jobs” plan. This bill – like their so-called “Just Transition” plan – is the latest Liberal attack on our energy sector. The government’s anti-energy agenda is driving investment in both traditional and alternative energy away from Canada – ironically, crippling the very sector that provides the greatest investments (and advancements) in alternative energy. This Liberal plan will directly kill 170,000 Canadian jobs, displace 450,000 workers (directly and indirectly) working in the energy sector, and risk the livelihoods of 2.7 million Canadians across all provinces in the sectors of energy, manufacturing, construction, transportation, and agriculture. Conservatives believe Canada must develop both our traditional and alternative energy sectors. Environmental stewardship must be addressed with realistic, concrete, and effective measures. Conservatives believe in transformation, not transition; technology, not taxes; led by the private sector, not government.

Those are a few of the things going on in Parliament these days.

As MP for Provencher, I will continue to fight for your family, your wallet, and for common sense and accountability in Ottawa.