Jonathan Rowe
Terra Nova—The Peninsulas, Newfoundland and Labrador · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, summer is just around the corner, and there is no better place to be than on the Rock. Whether people want to go to Swift Current to see a world-class car collection, to Bonavista to see the icebergs, to the Burin Peninsula to hear the great stories of the famous pirates or to Lumsden to experience the best beaches north of C…”
“Mr. Speaker, I do not think Saint Pierre and Miquelon was even mentioned in that answer. I do not think that answer is very good for the next generation or very comforting to the next generation. Critical minerals, for example, are critical to the country's development and future.”
“Mr. Speaker, I read a news article yesterday that said there are asylum seekers and claimants from Saint Pierre and Miquelon entering Canada through my part of the island. Are people coming from France, a G7 ally, really seeking asylum in Canada? Are these even legitimate asylum claims?”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Carmanville and surrounding communities. The petition is based on a concern for the lack of RCMP presence within those communities.”
“Mr. Speaker, Port aux Basques and Argentia ferries are critical to Newfoundland's economy. They supply our food, medication and everything else. However, the union's agreement ended in December. The unions have been fighting for a deal ever since.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am going to let that minister in on a little secret. These ferries are a federal Crown corporation. Canada has just entered into a recession. Tourism businesses across this country are still having to pay off COVID debt. More small businesses in this country are closing than opening. Insolvencies are higher since 2000.”
The complete record
Every one of 226 lines we hold for Jonathan Rowe, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 5.
“Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador relies heavily on the tourism industry. In fact, it is one of the biggest employers in rural Newfoundland, since the collapse of the fishery. Even this industry has a massive trade barrier: the Marine Atlantic ferry. This ferry acts as a bottleneck, holding back growth despite demand. Bill C-5 talks about nation-building projects, yet our current infrastructure and transportation system needs immediate attention. During tourism season, these vessels are fully booked, with no room for tourist vehicles and RVs. Although most hotels, resorts and restaurants have more capacity, tourists are not able to get across the gulf into Newfoundland. Our tourism industry has grown tremendously in the last decade, yet Marine Atlantic services have hardly grown.”
“Mr. Speaker, because of the government's economic failures, Newfoundland and Labrador is once again dependent on equalization payments from the west. Newfoundland's employment has been entangled with the west for decades. We understand that when the west does better, all Canada does better, but in order for the west to succeed, it needs to get its resources to market. Will the current Liberal government repeal Bill C-69 , which stops new pipelines; repeal Bill C-48 that blocks our shipping exports; and remove production caps so all of Canada can prosper?”
“Mr. Chair, I think the hon. minister should refer to clause 28 of that which does make reference to the 2050 powers. I think this is a very powerful veto card and that the government does not foresee this sort of power will risk politicians—”
“Mr. Chair, it has been announced that by 2030, it will be 30%, with expectations by 2050 of 50%. Is it true that if an area is becoming a marine protected area, even in the future, the federal government has the power to terminate the lease?”
“Mr. Chair, how does the minister plan to entice investors when even the Liberal government of Newfoundland has major concerns with sections 19, 61 and 62, which triple the timeline and add the Impact Assessment Act to an already lengthy review?”
“Mr. Chair, why did the government allow the top sides of the West White Rose extension project to be built in the U.S.A. rather than in Newfoundland, more specifically the Burin Peninsula and the Bull Arm fabrication site?”
“Madam Speaker, the Liberals are good at promises but not production. In fact, they will cap it. The refinery used to produce 100% of our island's diesel, propane, jet fuel and gasoline. Then, the Liberal government wasted $89 million on a conversion for only biodiesel. Now we have to ship in all the other fuels, and everyone is paying the price. Does the government realize that its political headline is now costing Newfoundlanders an extra five cents a litre to import fuels that used to be made on our Rock?”
“Madam Speaker, during the lost Liberal decade, North Atlantic stripped its investment in our local refining, causing major instability in our area. On Wednesday, my hon. Liberal colleague from Newfoundland announced with pride that North Atlantic is now investing once again, not here but in France. This does not seem like something a proud Newfoundlander would announce. Did the Liberal leadership force my fellow Newfoundlander to spin this shameful news?”
“Mr. Speaker, I believe a Conservative government would make the sun shine once again through the creation of high-paying jobs that prioritize the livelihood of each Canadian, not just the long list of consultants the Liberal government has on speed dial.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is good to see any help going to seniors, but we definitely need to do more. Seniors built this country. They put their blood, sweat and tears into building things and raising us, and we definitely need to support them more.”
“Mr. Speaker, the hon. member can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe it took 1,282 days to get Bay du Nord approved before the government finally drove that project away. We have had two years in Newfoundland's offshore with no bids. I am not sure what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are expected to do, but we need work, and we have the opportunity to create an economic superpower in Newfoundland. We just need to get out of our own way.”
“There are seniors wandering shopping malls trying to stay warm in the winter. I have even heard of seniors who are eating pet food because they cannot afford the skyrocketing grocery bills. Imagine that, Mr. Speaker. After a lifetime of paying into the system, this is the dignity we afford them. These seniors are the very people who voted for the current government. They supported it. They voted for it to fight Donald Trump with tariffs and have a plan for Canada's economy, not to drop the tariffs and have no budget. (1550) Furthermore, the throne speech completely turns its back on seniors and offers no help to survive the economic storm these Liberals have created. “One day the sun will shine and have-not will be—”
“Let us not forget that the topic affecting every Canadian is the high cost of living due to inflation. This inflation did not magically appear out of nowhere. No, it is as a direct result of reckless overspending and economic mismanagement. It is because the Prime Minister , the very one who now leads us, was advising the former prime minister to waste tax dollars, saying that budgets would balance themselves. Now he does not even have a budget at all. Not only are single mothers struggling now, but we also have double-income parents who are struggling to provide for their kids. Food bank usage is up, and there is no sign of its slowing down. I have gone to houses in my district where seniors have the upstairs of their home tarped off and are sleeping on the couch because they cannot afford the heat.”
“While the Prime Minister tells one side of the country he is building pipelines, he tells the other side a different story. Perhaps they could get a visa and work in other parts of the world where he has invested in building pipelines, but unfortunately that is not here at home. With the production caps and emissions caps, I do not think they would have very much luck getting a job in the oil sands either. I have my doubts they would be working on the nationwide energy corridor, because I do not think the Liberal government has the guts to do what it takes to put it through Quebec into Labrador, where it could build enough hydroelectricity to make it the green energy superpower that we want it to be. The power is there and the people are ready.”
“What frustrates me the most is that we are sitting on a gold mine of oil facilities, an untapped potential that the Liberal government keeps suppressing. We have the resources, the infrastructure and the workers, but instead of building, it is blocking. Instead of digging, it is diverting. Where shall my constituents find work? I can tell the House that they will not find work in Ottawa, since most of them have not learned French in our rural schools. It is no fault of their own but a failure of the system, a system that forgets about rural Canada until it is election time. Now young people are being disqualified from federal opportunities because of it. I do not think they would find much work building a pipeline either.”
“They closed down due to the government's embarrassing policies, policies that are chasing investors away and eliminating our competitive edge. Let me be clear: The prices of gold and of minerals are global prices. We do not control them. What we control is how competitive we are as a country. Now, the artificial costs, like the industrial carbon tax and the inefficient bureaucracy, eliminate our competitive edge. The minerals are still in the ground, but the wrong leaders are still in government. The throne speech talks a lot about giving Canadians a tax break, which is great, but we cannot tax someone if they are not working. Right now, we have the highest unemployment rate in the country, at nearly 10%. That is not because our people do not want to work but because there are no jobs, and that makes me frustrated.”
“It suppressed the whole business with regulations and industrial carbon tax, poured millions of dollars into shrinking its output and now acts all surprised that it is on the brink of collapse. Speaking of collapsing industries, Newfoundland's mining industry is hitting rock bottom. I have been in the pits, seen the blasts and stood shoulder to shoulder with the hardest-working men and women in this country. Mining is not just a job in Newfoundland; it is one of our economic foundations. That foundation is crumbling. Within six months, four mines closed on our island, one of which was in my riding. That is not a coincidence; that is a crisis. These were not exhausted sites or failed ventures; these were viable operations that had to close down rather than keep going down.”
“It produces 135,000 barrels of oil a day. Oh, wait, it used to produce 135,000 barrels a day. That is the kind of capacity that built middle-class families and allowed young people to stay at home to work. Then the Liberal government invested 89 million taxpayer dollars, not to improve it and not to modernize it but to incentivize the company to reduce its throughput to 14,000 barrels of biodiesel. We should think about that; it is a 90% reduction. This was not a market-driven decision but a politically manufactured one. Now we see the media publishing stories saying that the refinery is struggling and its future is uncertain. In fact, just yesterday it had layoffs. I ask the government what it expected.”
“To give an idea of the magnitude and size of this facility, I wanted to inform everyone that it has the second-largest doors in the world, second only to NASA's facility. My father, my mother and I all worked at another oil rig construction site in Argentia. It was more than a job; it was a legacy. Three members of the same family came together to build something that would stand tall in the North Atlantic, something we could be proud of, but just like so many other sites across Newfoundland and Labrador, this site too will be idle within a few months, now that the project is coming to completion. It is another facility, another opportunity, sitting idle. What is even more frustrating is that there is no plan to fill the void, just silence where there should be progress. (1545) We have an oil refinery as well.”
“Despite having the most small craft harbours in Canada, my district's top employer is construction. Places like Marystown, Green's Harbour and many more towns in our district have a long history of construction and boat building. On the Burin Peninsula, companies have built boats for World War II, ferries and even the top sides of oil rigs, but under the Liberal government, there are not one but two state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar shipyards sitting idle, and this is not the only thing sitting idle. The Bull Arm Fabrication Site cost half a billion dollars to construct in the nineties and is probably worth billions of dollars today. It has built multiple oil rigs, including the Hibernia and the Hebron, which was the fifth-largest in the world.”
“Bride's in the south, or New-Wes-Valley, Bonavista or Bay de Verde in the north, fishing needs to continue to thrive in these regions. When I travel from wharf to wharf, it is no trouble to tell that the fishermen are at their wits' end with the Liberal government and its policies that are hurting the fishermen's industry, yet the worst is yet to come. With the government planning to allocate 30% of our ocean as marine protected areas by 2030 and 50% by 2050, these targets will once again be a major blow to Newfoundlanders' livelihoods. Can members imagine the uproar if Ottawa decided to take 30% of farmland from farmers? Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not putting up with it. We will come here week after week and fight for our constituents and for our province.”
“Our hospitals are closing, and the ones that remain have closed departments with no emergency services. Patients with life-threatening issues are having to drive over deplorable roads. Just to give an idea of how deplorable the roads are, after my only 36-day campaign, I had to replace all the suspension in my pickup truck. The MHAs in my province would love nothing more than to be here and announce more hospital funding and repave every inch of our eroded roads. Unfortunately, our province is in a dire financial situation and is running major deficits due to the Liberal government's failed economic policies. My district of Terra Nova—The Peninsulas touches five bays, and we have more small craft harbours than any other district in Canada. Whether off Point May or St.”
“What matters is looking out for one another, no matter the cost. That is the spirit of a Newfoundlander, that is the spirit I was raised with and that is the spirit I bring to the House. We know that success is not measured by what we accumulate for ourselves but by how we show up for the people around us. That is why I have grown to hold this motto: “Success is helping other people succeed.” “One day the sun will shine and have-not will be no more” were the famous words of our premier, Brian Peckford. The sun did shine. Under the last Conservative government, our province was thriving. For the first time in history, we had an economy we could be proud of, but during the lost Liberal decade, our province has been spiralling into poverty. Almost every aspect of our life has been in decay.”
“Mr. Speaker, before I get into the meat of my response, I just want to thank the 19,605 people from Terra Nova—The Peninsulas who voted to have me here today to bring their voices here to Ottawa. I am a proud Newfoundlander, with an entangled heritage with the Rock. While there are many things to be proud of, the thing that makes me the most proud is that I am part of a community that truly cares for one another. A great example of this is when eight-year-old Adalyn Skinner went missing in the woods and the whole community banded together to make sure she came home safe. I am proud to stand here today to say that she was found safe and sound. This story does not just bring us together; it also shows who we are, because when something like this happens, politics do not matter and status does not matter.”
“Mr. Speaker, in Newfoundland and Labrador, we take care of each other; that is who we are. Today, too many of our neighbours are being left behind. As of January, 360 people, men, women and even children, are experiencing homelessness in my province, and it gets worse. There are nearly 200 youth waiting on a list with nowhere to go, while the only emergency shelter in our capital is full every single night. They have even fewer resources in rural areas. That is our future, stuck in the dark. In just one year, housing prices have jumped nearly $23,500. That might not sound like a lot to a Bay Street banker, but to a young couple in Marystown, that is the difference between hope and despair. We already have the highest unemployment rate in the country, and now we have a housing crisis to match.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise here, representing the hard-working people of Newfoundland and Labrador, for the very first time. While my province of Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest unemployment rate in the country, at nearly 10%, the industrial carbon tax is compromising our competitive edge and shifting our jobs abroad. Canada's energy, mining and forestry workers are pleading to have the industrial carbon tax removed. Will the Prime Minister fully repeal the industrial carbon tax to create jobs at a time when we need that the most?”