Pierre Poilievre
Battle River—Crowfoot, Alberta · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, for over a century and a half, Canadians took for granted that when people came here from around the world, they left their problems behind.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the constituents of Battle River—Crowfoot in communities like Amisk, Hardisty, Hughenden, Czar, Metiskow and Lougheed and the MDs of Wainwright, Provost and Flagstaff, who have all raised significant concerns about problems with cellphone coverage and data service, adding to already limited connectivity in…”
“Mr. Speaker, I will tell the member what we are for. We are for an affordable Canada, a Canada with growing paycheques and safer streets, which is the exact opposite of what the Prime Minister has delivered. This is his record: Count them; there have been five consecutive quarters of declining investment.”
“Mr. Speaker, do people know why the Prime Minister cannot stand to answer a question in the House of Commons? It is because he has been wrong about every single economic issue of the last decade. He was wrong to push bigger and broader carbon taxes. He was wrong to say that we should keep half our oil in the ground.”
“Mr. Speaker, no, we do not plan for a restful summer. We plan to fight all summer long against the Liberal recession, Liberal inflation, the rising Liberal cost of living and the rising Liberal crime crisis in our streets. Let us take, for example, investment. The Liberal Prime Minister promised he would increase it.”
“Mr. Speaker, at least the Liberals listened for once. I explained to them that houses are built by plumbers, electricians and carpenters, and the members stood up and said that the building trades build homes. We know who builds homes, but do we know who blocks homes? The Liberals block homes.”
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“It turned out the protester was angry because of Gail's principled support of the all-important seal hunt, but if that protester with her bad behaviour thought she was going to change Gail's mind, she said it only increased her “resolve to support the seal hunt and our northern and coastal communities that depend on the hunt for part of their annual income.” She was an iron lady, never backing down and unflappable, and was determined and resolved to stand for what she knew was right. She would serve provincially and federally, and most importantly, she would continue to do the most important job she had. There were three jobs she had, actually, that she bragged about most often: mom, grandmother and great-grandmother. Gail carried in her heart her strong faith in God and her love of the people who surrounded her.”
“One day, when she was at a press conference, a lady walked up pretending she was about to fix a technical problem on her microphone and threw a pie in her face. Most people would have thought the press conference would end and the politician behind the mic would quickly run away and do so in shame. She simply took her hand, wiped off her face and said, “back to the business at hand”.”
“Her love of music was reflected in her efforts to get the Stompin' Tom Centre inaugurated in honour of the great Canadian legend. She was also the first female cabinet minister at the federal level from Prince Edward Island, and she was very proud of that commitment. She then went on to serve as minister of fisheries and minister of national revenue. Most importantly of all, she was the MP for Egmont. She was also a provincial member of Parliament and was elected there after defeating a Liberal in a riding that had not switched blue for 40 years prior to her election. This often meant she was challenging the way things were. She was taking strong and principled stances. This meant there would occasionally be controversy.”
“I remember when I first started running for leader of the Conservative Party, she anticipated my long travels away from my family and gifted me two beautiful little teddy bears that I brought home to my kids. My daughter, who has a tendency to develop a great attachment to different kinds of objects and toys, held on to that teddy bear for days and days after I left on my subsequent trip. My wife told me that little Valentina held that teddy bear close to her heart. Gail was very proud of her Irish roots, reminding us all that there are only two types of people: those who are Irish and those who wish they were. If I walked down the hallways of the parliamentary precinct while she was preparing for question period, I could hear the beautiful sound of Gaelic music and an Irish harp echoing off the walls as she quietly prepared.”
“She had a generous heart, and I often turned to her for encouragement. In times of confusion and stress, I would call her to get her counsel. In the many years after she left Parliament, she continued as a mentor and friend to me. She always lifted the spirits of the people she knew. I think of my friends from Atlantic Canada. She visited my friend from Newfoundland and his community. My friends from New Brunswick would see her pop up in their community to bring her smile, her humour and often her razor-sharp intellect. There are so many stories of the kindness she showed to people in the community, all the personal details that she would remember about people's lives.”
“Mr. Speaker, on August 21, many of us were saddened to learn of the passing of our former colleague and long-time friend Gail Shea. At four foot five, she was a little lady who packed a big punch, and she put her fight to work on behalf of farmers, fish harvesters, workers and veterans. She was proud of her roots and her commitment to the island that gave her her upbringing, her career and of course her beloved family. In addition to being a great fighter for her people, she was a woman of incredible warmth and generosity. In fact, those who knew Gail always found out that if she learned of their presence on beloved Prince Edward Island, they would be making the obligatory and extremely enjoyable visit to her residence to enjoy seafood casserole and many other island delights.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made the appointment of the Parliamentary Budget Officer temporary so that he could hold a sword over his head and threaten him if he speaks the truth about the financial mess the Prime Minister has made. To a government that does not know how to count, there is nothing more terrifying than a man armed with a calculator. The Prime Minister wants to silence the Parliamentary Budget Officer from telling the truth about the fiscal mess that he has created under his watch. Will he legalize math, make the Parliamentary Budget Officer's position permanent and tell us how big the deficit is?”
“Mr. Speaker, the collapsing economy is bringing down interest rates, but the financial expert does not even know what his own deficit is. Another financial expert spoke yesterday. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said, “the deficit will absolutely be higher” because of “additional spending”. He said that he does not know what the government's fiscal anchors are because they do not exist. He says, “the labour market sucks” and “wages are not going up”. Is this why Liberal members on the committee who heard those truth bombs threatened that the Prime Minister would fire the Parliamentary Budget Officer after 166 days?”
“Mr. Speaker, surely, if he is such an expert, he would know the size of his own deficit. It is now halfway through the fiscal year. Six months have gone by, and he has announced $40 billion of additional spending. Deficits drive up inflation, grocery prices, housing costs and interest rates. They drive investment out of our country and create uncertainty that destabilizes our economy. That is why every other prime minister in Canadian history has announced the deficit at the beginning of the fiscal year. We are six months in. Does the Prime Minister even know the size of his own deficit?”
“Mr. Speaker, the government is supposed to present the deficit at the beginning of the fiscal year. That was six months ago, and we still do not know the size of the deficit. The uncertainty has driven out $50 billion in investment and killed 86,000 jobs. This is the first time in the history of the country that a prime minister cannot tell us what the deficit is six months into the fiscal year. He says he is a leading financial expert. Does he know the size of his deficit, yes or no?”
“Mr. Speaker, the question was about food prices, and the member stood up to announce that he is going to be feeding some of his friends who are going to populate the latest $13-billion bureaucracy, a bureaucracy that will build no homes and that will only reward Liberal insiders, who, like him, have a record of actually doubling housing costs. However, back to food, the stuff that needs to go on people's dinner table. We have a record number of people at food banks, after the Prime Minister promised to make food more affordable. Does he not realize that his promises have real costs for Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, the question was not about re-announcing a previously approved project; it was about the cost of food, and frankly, it is insulting. We have asked 10 questions about the cost of food in the last two days, and not a single Liberal minister will get up and answer. Maybe that is because the inflation rate on food is 70% above the target. Maybe it is because there are now four times as many visits to Toronto food banks as there were three and a half years ago. Maybe it is because the Liberals broke their promise to stabilize food prices. Maybe it is because the Prime Minister promised that he could be judged on the price of food. Speaking of which, what is the verdict?”
“Mr. Speaker, he wants us to celebrate his failures, including failures that are leading to real human suffering. Let me quote the CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, Neil Hetherington: “Giving you some context, previously, before the pandemic, we were at...600,000 for the year.” Those are visits to the food bank. “And so it took 38 years to get to 1 million visits per year, and then only one year to get to 2 million [visits], another year to 3 [million]. Now we're at 4 million [visits].” Food bank lineups are growing at an accelerating rate under the Prime Minister . Does he realize the very real human consequences of his broken Liberal promises?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised that he would spend less, yet his deficit spending is 100% more, more than even Justin Trudeau. What is the real human consequence of that? Food price inflation is rising 70% faster than the Bank of Canada's target. Today, the CEO of the major food bank network in Toronto says that there has been a 400% increase in food bank use there. Does the Prime Minister understand that his empty promises lead to empty stomachs?”
“Mr. Speaker, many Canadians cannot even afford to eat. The Prime Minister promised to spend less, but his deficit spending is twice as high. He promised that food prices would come down, but food prices are rising 70% faster than the Bank of Canada's target. He said there would be less poverty, but there is more. Does the Prime Minister realize that his empty promises are leading to empty stomachs?”
“Mr. Speaker, we are halfway through the fiscal year and the Prime Minister has yet to table a budget, despite managing to double the deficit. The deficit is twice as big as it was under Justin Trudeau. What an accomplishment. This is causing inflation. Today, we found out from Statistics Canada that the inflation rate is 50 times higher than the target. For food, it is 70% higher. More people are using food banks. The Prime Minister said that Canadians could judge him by the price of groceries. What is the verdict?”
“Mr. Speaker, a lot more debt is what there is. There is a lot more debt than we ever imagined would be possible. The Prime Minister said we would have the fastest-growing economy in the G7; we have the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7. He said grocery prices would go down; they are going up faster than ever before. He promised to create jobs; he has the second-highest unemployment in the G7. He is really reminding us all of that sign at the bar, “free beer tomorrow”. When someone goes back the next day, the beer is still not free, and tomorrow never comes. Why is it that all of the Prime Minister's promises of yesterday turn into today's disappointments?”
“Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of non-partisanship, we are simply going to hold the Prime Minister to his own promises. He promised that he would spend less. He is already spending 8% more. He promised the budget would be in October. Now he says it will be in November, more than halfway through the fiscal year. He promised that his government would have a smaller deficit than Justin Trudeau's. Instead, now we hear that it might even be double. I have a trivia question: Can the Prime Minister tell us whether there ever been a prime minister who has successfully doubled the deficit without even introducing a budget?”
“Mr. Speaker, in a non-partisan spirit, we will simply insist the Prime Minister keep his promises. He promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7, but now, ours is the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7. He promised food would cost less, but it costs more and food inflation is getting worse even faster. He promised a budget in October, more than halfway through the fiscal year. Now, it will be in November, with double the deficit. When will the Prime Minister—”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister mentioned how much had changed, and it is true. I look around this place, and when I left, there was a Liberal prime minister who was making excuses about breaking promises and was running massive deficits, and costs, crime and chaos were all out of control, whereas today we have a Liberal Prime Minister breaking promises, making excuses and running massive deficits, with costs, crime and chaos out of control. When will the Prime Minister match the grand promises with the real change Canadians need?”
“Mr. Speaker, some things never change. [ Translation ] I would like to thank my constituents in Battle River—Crowfoot, Mr. Kurek and the Prime Minister for holding a by-election so quickly. I wonder whether he will regret that decision sometimes, but I think we can all agree with the goal of once again making Canada a place where hard work is rewarded, where food and homes are affordable, where streets are safe, where borders are solid and where we are all united under a proud flag. Does the Prime Minister agree with that?”
“Mr. Speaker, my mother taught me never to be late, so please forgive me for my late arrival to the session. I had some meetings with extremely important people in east central Alberta, after which I was honoured to be elected by the great people of Battle River—Crowfoot. I thank the great Damien Kurek, who made it possible, and I thank the Prime Minister for calling a prompt by-election. I wonder if one day he might regret that decision. In the spirit of good faith, I wonder if the Prime Minister agrees that our goal should be a Canada where hard work is rewarded, where food and homes are affordable, where streets are safe, where borders are solid and where we are all united under a proud flag.”