Jagsharan Singh Mahal
Edmonton Southeast, Alberta · Conservative · Canada
“Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for opposing this bill for valid and right reasons. I have a question. I agree with him and want to ask him if he can shed more light on this. He quoted a few recent decisions where the courts have turned down the minimum mandatory sentences.”
“Mr. Speaker, under the Liberal Prime Minister , Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. In Edmonton, families are feeling the effects of Liberal mismanagement. A recent United Way survey found that 60% of Canadians now feel anxiety about their personal finances. Global factors are not to blame.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his insight on this new Build Canada Homes bill. We have two Crown corporations: the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Canada Lands Company.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible work of the Edmonton Police Service and other law enforcement agencies involved in a two-year-long national drug trafficking investigation.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only country in the G7 in a recession. There is nothing technical about someone coming home from work and telling their kids that they no longer have a job. Canada's economy has shrunk for two quarters in a row. Business investment is falling. Food bank use is at an all-time high.”
“It is an essential input into almost every part of our economy. The cars that bring our kids to school, hockey practice, soccer games and medical appointments rely on gas. The trucks that bring food to grocery store shelves rely on diesel. The farmers who grow that food rely on fuel.”
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“Only one would need to prove themselves to get citizenship. Only one would truly need to contribute to get citizenship. Do not mistake me for believing that foreign-born relatives do not deserve Canadian citizenship. There are Canadian families that live much of their lives abroad and that have children abroad, but we need to have reasonable measures in place. (1350) This legislation would come with major risks to the immigration department, the IRCC, as well. When the bill was proposed in the last Parliament session as Bill C-71 , it was estimated that over 100,000 people would get Canadian citizenship. At the moment, IRCC is completely dysfunctional. There is a massive backlog that has pushed back the decision-making ability of IRCC way past the acceptable timelines.”
“So many of these people are still waiting for citizenship. There are many good people taking the right steps out of love for this country. It is a long process and has many hurdles. One has to prove their commitment to this country. It has always been a privilege to be earned by birth or by contributing to and living in this country. It has never been up for grabs so easily with so little effort in Canadian history. If Bill C-3 passes as is, we will have two tiers of foreign-born Canadian citizens. We will have those like me, who worked hard to proudly call themselves Canadians, and we will have those who were raised abroad and have a grandparent or great-grandparent born in Canada. Neither of these groups was born in Canada, but only one would need to believe in Canada to get citizenship.”
“This would be on top of an already backlogged immigration system that cannot even keep up with the number of people applying for citizenship who are living in and contributing to Canada. I am an immigrant, like many in this House. Like many across the country, I worked to become a Canadian. I contributed to Canadian society. I built my career. I am raising my family here. I am representing my neighbours and community here in our sacred democratic institution. I, like many Canadians, chose to invest myself here and become part of this great country because I believed in it. Canadian citizenship comes with value, responsibility and something we Canadians truly love and believe in. Being Canadian is something many people seek. There are many people who have invested their lives, built businesses and raised families in this country.”
“All that would be required of a foreign-born Canadian is to spend three non-consecutive years of their life in Canada, and they can pass on citizenship to their children. This would create a repeating cycle. Generation after generation of foreign-born people could maintain Canadian citizenship without ever living in Canada. People who have never been in Canada would get citizenship because their parents spent a few months in Canada and their parents spent a few months in Canada, and so on. It is chain migration. This would not be a small number of people either. We are talking about 100,000 new people who would become eligible to get Canadian citizenship if this law passes, with no background check, no security check and no need to contribute to Canada.”
“They are upset with the old Liberals, who did nothing under Justin Trudeau and have done nothing under the current Liberal Prime Minister . To Edmonton Southeast, I am here and I am listening. I am eager to bring their voices to the House and to fight for them. Bill C-3 is just another Liberal upset. This amendment to the Citizenship Act would do little but cheapen what Canadian citizenship is. Right now, Canadians living abroad pass Canadian citizenship on to their children. However, if the family continues to live outside of Canada, it would not pass on to the next generation. There is a one-generation limit. There are reasons that a one-generation limit exists. Introduced by Stephen Harper in 2009, it was a reasonable and necessary measure to stop Canadians of convenience. This Liberal bill would throw that out.”
“Madam Speaker, it is an honour to once again stand in the House and speak on the first day back in session. First, to all my colleagues, I want to say welcome back. After a summer spent in our constituencies, I am certain we are all excited to be back doing the work Canadians elected us to do. As a new MP elected just under five months ago, I can say that it has been a busy summer in Edmonton Southeast talking with people, studying their issues and building a new office that will faithfully serve them. I want to thank the people of Edmonton Southeast again for putting their trust in me to be their champion in Ottawa. The people of Edmonton Southeast are upset. They are upset with rising crime. They are upset with the chaos in the immigration system. They are upset with the cost of living crisis.”
“Mr. Speaker, incidents of extortion are increasing at a rampant speed, and the Liberal government does not seem to be serious about it. In Edmonton, firebombs are being thrown at businesses and bullets are being fired at houses with demands for extortion money. Extortion is up by 357%. Liberals voted down the common-sense Bill C-381 , which would have enforced a three-year mandatory minimum penalty, and a four-year penalty for extortion involving non-restricted firearms, which was repealed by the Liberals in Bill C-5 . Will the Liberals finally adopt the Conservative plan to crack down on violent extortion?”
“Madam Speaker, the member says that Liberals are building one economy and are working on it. How can they build one economy when they are not taking into consideration the oil and energy sector of Alberta?”
“Mr. Speaker, 10 years of Liberal anti-energy laws have stopped pipelines from getting built. Energy companies will not build unless those Liberal laws are gone. To build pipelines, the Liberals need to repeal the suite of anti-energy laws: Bill C-69, the no new pipelines law; Bill C-48 , the shipping ban; the job-killing oil and gas production cap; and laws such as the industrial carbon tax. Is it the Prime Minister 's plan to keep our oil and gas in the ground?”
“Madam Speaker, Conservatives are all about common sense. They are strong advocates for strong paycheques so that Canadians will not be worried about paying their mortgage or about getting groceries for their kids. We will work hard on those principles, and we will make sure that we hold Liberals accountable for that.”
“Madam Speaker, that is such a wonderful question. Yes, at the doors, I heard that we need pipelines, we need more jobs and we need infrastructure. I agree with the member that so far, the Liberals have come up with no concrete plan. They have given solid slogans and beautiful speeches, but that is about it. There are no details. There is no action plan with respect to how we are going to do that. That is where the whole question comes in. The throne speech is empty. Liberals have not tabled a budget so far. The Liberals are trying to convince the opposition to go on a blind date with them. That is not going to happen. We need to know what the budget is going to bring.”
“Madam Speaker, that is such a wonderful question. From day one, when I heard that the Liberals are working on a single economy, I had questions like the member has. Until and unless the Liberals put down a plan or make clear what they mean by “single economy”, we are not going to support that. The real challenge or force that we can put forward to fight against Trump is making the economy stronger, making the micro-economy stronger, making the national economy stronger and making sure that our infrastructure is such that we can send our oil and gas out to other markets. We are not dependent just upon America for that.”
“Madam Speaker, as it has alway been, it is the Conservative Party's mandate to stand to support any positive step. Despite the fact that the tax cut the Liberals are talking about is so minimal, we will stand behind it.”
“I will stand strong in Ottawa, and I will make sure that the Liberals are held accountable on jobs, the fight against crime, building pipelines and building more infrastructure.”
“If the Liberals want Canada to be together, then this is the prime time to unleash Alberta's oil and gas and make sure Alberta feels listened to and honoured. That is what unity and Confederation are anyway, is it not? As for soaring house prices and affordability, the rising cost of houses for new Canadians in Edmonton has been inexplicable. I hear Liberals talk about aggressively building houses, but they are not saying whether Canadians get to own those houses or whether they are just playing into some sort of scheme. I see the Speaker signalling that my time is up, but there are so many issues that I want to touch upon, like jobs. We need jobs in Edmonton. We need infrastructure in Edmonton. We need to make sure that oil and gas get out to market. I want to thank all my constituents, my riding and my family.”
“Alberta holds one of the largest oil and natural gas reserves, but the Liberals have failed to pass laws and legislation to build pipelines and to secure deals with global partners to unleash the energy sector of Alberta. Rather, the Liberals have passed legislation like Bill C-69 , making sure that our oil and gas stay under the ground. What is even worse is that the Liberals have turned down building needed infrastructure and killed the LNG deal with Germany, a deal worth billions of dollars that could have generated hundreds and thousands of jobs. The continuous denial and ignorance of Alberta's genuine demands have led to a strong feeling of separation. Believe me, it is not trivial; it is real this time. I am a strong believer in Canada and its unity, but the onus is now on the Liberal government if it wants Canada to stay together.”
“Our first and foremost duty is to accommodate international students and people who are already in Canada, but that does not mean we should promote the bogus claims that refugees make after being in Canada and not being successful in getting permanent residency in this country. Refugee claims and pre-removal risk assessments have literally the same requirements to be successful, so why burden Canadians with added bureaucracy? I have seen CBSA officers in my practice as a lawyer who have turned down LMIAs for not being genuine. If a CBSA officer is the ultimate decision-maker, why burden Canadians with Service Canada bureaucracy and why not give all the work permit powers to CBSA officers? The next point I want to touch on is unleashing oil and gas. I have never seen such bigotry and hypocrisy at the hands of government.”
“(1635) I urge the Liberal government to correct its mistakes by immediately repealing Bill C-5 , which removed mandatory minimum penalties, and Bill C-75 , which made bail easier, and bringing in stricter laws for repeat offenders and for violent crimes, such as human trafficking, hard drug trafficking, arson and extortion, so that successful Canadians can feel safe and enjoy the fruit of their hard-earned money. I also want to talk about immigration. The immigration system has been broken in this country. This has had a direct impact on the health care system, housing and policing. Immigration needs to be based on quality and not quantity, yet at the same time, the government must stand in solidarity with international students and try to extend their visas as much as possible before providing visas to new immigrants.”
“Even earning money and running successful businesses in Edmonton and the rest of the country have become a curse and a nightmare. I personally know business owners who have received threats of extortion and ransom calls, and they are forced to live in hiding. From door manufacturing companies to realtors to restaurant owners, no one is safe. I personally know families who were escorted by police out of Edmonton to live in a different place. If people do not pay money, bullets are fired at their houses and death threats are delivered to them and their family members and to their businesses. Newly built homes are set on fire if homeowners do not meet the demands of the criminals and pay them money. Cars are stolen in the GTA and Montreal and are found in Nigeria and South Africa, and the Canadian police and CBSA do not have any clue.”
“I also want to thank all my volunteers, the group captains, my nieces, my nephews, my three naughty yet wonderful kids and my lovely wife Mandeep for their tireless work and effort to make this dream come true. The work they did, day and night, was commendable. I also want to extend a special thanks to my younger brother Chand, who I am lucky to have as my brother. I could not have done this without his organizational skills and foresightedness. Moving forward, I want to talk seriously and bring to the floor some of the issues I heard about while door knocking, such as crime. I want to tell members about a young, hard-working Canadian in my riding named Harshandeep Singh. She was gunned down by a repeat offender on bail in the city of Edmonton. Another young Canadian was killed while at work by another person who was there.”
“This is despite the fact that the Prime Minister himself spent half a day in my riding just before the election date. It shows that my riding was ready for a change and was ready to get the answers that the Liberals have failed to give in the last 10 years. How can I thank the people of Edmonton for the support I got? Honestly, I cannot thank them enough in words, but I can definitely thank them by representing them in Parliament as their rigorous voice whenever and however it is needed and by making sure I hold the Liberal government accountable for its actions. Edmonton Southeast is a diverse and ethnically rich riding, and I want to thank all the churches, synagogues, gurdwaras, temples, mosques and other religious congregations for extending their unwavering support to me.”
“Madam Speaker, I am thankful for this opportunity. First and foremost, I congratulate you on your role as Assistant Deputy Speaker, as well as all the members who were elected in this 45th Parliament. I trust in your capabilities to diligently live up to your role as a non-partisan and be fair to members of all parties during the term of this Parliament. I can tell that so far you are doing great. It is an honour and a privilege to become a member of Parliament, and I am humbled to be the first member of Parliament for the new riding of Edmonton Southeast. I want to thank all the residents of Edmonton Southeast who put their trust in the Conservative Party and in me. It was because of their trust and efforts that I won the seat for the Conservative Party, with one of the biggest mandates in the country.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians are getting crushed at the grocery store. Food inflation, since the start of this year, is out of control. Beef is up by 34%, oranges are up by 26%, and the list goes on. Ten years of Liberal inflationary deficit has a record number of Canadians going to food banks. Single mothers are watering down milk for their kids, and Canadians are eating less nutritious food. The Liberals now are increasing spending by 8%, but they promised 2%. Will the Liberals table a budget that will actually reduce inflation so that Canadians can afford to feed their family?”
“Mr. Speaker, first of all, this is my first time speaking in the House. It is nothing less than a privilege. This is my second week, and I am hearing this member on the other side of the House. I literally love him, but that is not the question. He is trying to sell us a fancy menu without telling us the price of the items that he wants to sell us on that menu. The issue is that, if he wants members of the CPC or the Bloc to support the Liberals, we need to know what we are doing to support that and where the Liberals are going to take us. The second thing I am failing to understand is that, it is the second week, and the Liberals have not provided us with the definition of “one economy”. They are circumventing it, and they have not provided it, despite the fact that we have a diverse economy. Different provinces have different economies.”