Tony Baldinelli
Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, Bill C-26 gives the Liberal Minister of Finance a blank cheque to spend $1.7 billion with no guarantees of results, targets or accountability to build homes. In fact, the word “housing” is in this bill only twice. My hon.”
“Mr. Speaker, the member speaks about the Liberal commitment to bail reform, justice reform and listening to police and constituents. Would he not agree that we are here today because of Liberal policies that are soft on crime?”
“Let us not forget that former CSC commissioner Anne Kelly, when she appeared before the public safety committee, called Paul Bernardo a “psychopath”. This bill clearly targets the worst of the worst dangerous offenders in Canada. Do the Liberals truly believe Paul Bernardo should be or deserves to be rehabilitated?”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the chamber today to share some final thoughts on my private member's bill, Bill C-232 , before we conclude second reading debate and proceed to an eventual vote.”
“This legislation should be seen as non-partisan and a common-sense legislative response to the concerns expressed by many of our constituents.”
“It was a mistake by the CSC to transfer Paul Bernardo from maximum to medium security. That needs to be corrected. Downgrading the security classification of these criminal monsters is not justice. It is an injustice to victims and their loved ones.”
The complete record
Every one of 116 lines we hold for Tony Baldinelli, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 3.
“The ArriveCAN app first launched on April 30, 2020, as a digital tool that was developed in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency. Between November 21, 2020, and September 30, 2022, the mandatory use of ArriveCAN was aimed at ensuring that all travellers to Canada complied with federal travel and border measures relating to COVID-19. In theory, this app was supposed to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, but, in practice, it instantly turned into a disaster. My constituency office was inundated with phone calls and correspondence from constituents and travellers who were experiencing a wide range of issues with the app. Many travellers could not access or use ArriveCAN if they did not have a computer, a cellphone or a data plan.”
“The city of Niagara Falls and the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake are tourism communities located along the Canada-U.S. border. We are home to three international bridge crossings that span the Niagara River and connect Canada to the U.S. All three are part of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. There is the Queenston Lewiston Bridge in Niagara-on-the-Lake and both the Whirlpool Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. Together, these bridges facilitate trade, travel and tourism. They were also on the front lines of the two-year-long ArriveCAN app disaster, from 2020 to 2022. When COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake were among the first and hardest hit by the consequences of restrictive government policies intending to preserve public health by slowing the virus's spread.”
“It is to take part in speaking to our common-sense Conservative motion, which states: That, given that the Auditor General found that ArriveCAN contractor, GCStrategies Inc., was paid $64 million from the Liberal government, and in many cases, there was no proof that any work was completed, the House call on the government to: (a) get taxpayers their money back, within 100 days of the adoption of this motion; and (b) impose a lifetime contracting ban on GCStrategies Inc., any of its subsidiaries, its founders Kristian Firth and Darren Anthony, and any other entities with which those individuals are affiliated. Truly, it is the least the Liberal government can do. Let me explain. The impacts of the disastrous ArriveCAN app are still fresh in the minds of my constituents.”
“That is the recent finding of the Auditor General when it came to the federal contracting of ArriveCAN, which inspired this headline in The Globe and Mail on June 10: “ArriveCan's main contractor GCStrategies paid without ensuring work was done”. Although ArriveCAN was a Trudeau-era creation, its fallout is now the current Liberal government's problem. That is why I am here this afternoon.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Windsor West . One of our primary duties as members of His Majesty's loyal opposition is to hold the federal government to account. Although the new Prime Minister wishes to reset the clock as if this were a new Liberal government, the reality is the team around him is made up of the same old scandal-plagued, tired Liberals, who are carry-overs from the previous era of Liberal incompetence. Canada continues to face several challenges. There is a housing crisis, there is a crime crisis, there is a fentanyl crisis, there is a federal spending and debt crisis, and there are many more. Today Conservatives are here to speak about how the government wastefully spent taxpayer money on a project for which it did not even confirm if the work was completed. Those are not our words.”
“How much comfort and confidence should Canadians have in the government to create a new bureaucratic entity when it demonstrated it cannot even run a passport office? Now, TD Bank is saying they cannot build the—”
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians are justifiably frustrated when it comes to the housing file after 10 years of the Liberal government being in power. When the government was first elected, it proposed an $80-billion plus national housing strategy. The results were that housing costs doubled, rents doubled and mortgage payments doubled. To compound this failure, the Liberals then pledged an over $4-billion housing accelerator fund, which the former housing minister admitted was not designed to build homes. I guess he was right. According to Statistics Canada, more homes were built in 1972 than in 2022. During the campaign, the Liberals took our idea of removing the GST from new home sales, but they did not go far enough. They also pledged to create a new housing entity.”
“I was not satisfied with the minister's response, so I am taking this opportunity to ask it again to give the government more time and another chance to try to justify its actions. Can the minister and the Prime Minister tells us why Canadians should trust them and their government to fix the housing crisis they created?”
“This is the lost Liberal decade, and today the dream of home ownership is even further out of reach for many Canadians. The Prime Minister 's new housing minister was formerly the mayor of Vancouver, yes, the city that is one of the most expensive cities in the world to buy property and is perhaps the epicentre of Canada's housing crisis. Under his watch, Vancouver rent increased by 50%, home prices increased by 150% and homelessness ramped up nearly 40%. That is a shameful track record for the person now in charge of and responsible for solving Canada's housing crisis on a national scale. It makes no sense. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to ask the Minister of Housing a question during question period.”
“It is simply astonishing to think of the damage done to the housing market after 10 years of the Liberal government. Simply put, sellers cannot sell, buyers cannot buy and many families are struggling to make their mortgage payments. That is the Liberal track record. In my riding, the communities of Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake are also grappling with the housing crisis. The Niagara Home Builders' Association has said that housing starts in Niagara are at a 10-year low. According to the Niagara region, the median rent for a one-bedroom unit is $1,550, which is up 19.2% since 2021, while the median rent for a two-bedroom unit is $1,800, which is up 12.5% since 2021. Furthermore, St. Catharines has the 11th-highest rents in Canada.”
“Sadly, it is expected to get worse, with Bild saying, “The new housing industry is decelerating quickly and a massive supply deficit in the 2027 to 2029 period is taking shape.” Bild also confirmed that the Liberals' GST cut for first-time homebuyers “will not substantially help address affordability, nor will it help significantly stimulate sales and construction.” Meanwhile, existing homeowners are also struggling with the rising cost of housing and groceries. According to Equifax, homeowners experienced a 6.5% increase in delinquency, as 90-day-plus mortgage delinquencies have increased 71.5% in Ontario and 33.3% in B.C. since the first quarter of 2024. They are not alone, as 1.4 million Canadians were unable to make a credit payment in the first quarter of 2024.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada is in a housing crisis. After 10 years of Liberal policy failures, home prices have doubled, down payments have doubled and rent has doubled. According to Teranet, which is Ontario's land registry office, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in Ontario last year was 40, up from 34 a decade earlier. Keep in mind that this is the average age. That means there are people buying their first home when they are 45 or 50, or even older. Furthermore, Bild GTA recently found that Toronto's preconstruction home sales have collapsed. Last month, sales of preconstruction homes were 89% below the 10-year average and had decreased 72% since April 2024. This marks the seventh consecutive month of record-low sales of new homes across the GTA.”
“Last, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Speaker on his recent election. I look forward to working with him and all my parliamentary colleagues in both chambers as we work to resolve the many pressing issues facing Canadians in our country today.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is a tremendous honour for me to rise in the House of Commons today to give my opening remarks in the 45th Parliament as the elected representative for the beautiful and iconic riding of Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake. I want to sincerely thank the residents of Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake for once again placing their trust and confidence in me to represent them and their local federal issues in Ottawa. I also want to thank the dedicated volunteers who supported my local campaign. What we achieved on election night was made possible only because of the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. I also want to thank my entire family, including my beautiful wife, Carol, and my son, Daniel. I would not be standing here today if not for their continued love and support.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Ontario land registry office, Teranet, reports that the average age of a first-time homebuyer in Ontario last year was 40 years old, up from 34 a decade earlier. New data also shows that GTA home sales are the worst since the market crash of the 1990s. At home, the Niagara Home Builders' Association has said housing starts in Niagara are at a 10-year low. This is the Liberal government's 10-year record. Can the Prime Minister tell us why Canadians should trust him and his government to fix the problems they created?”
“Mr. Speaker, on day one of his new job, the Prime Minister 's housing minister told Canadians that home prices do not need to come down. After 10 years, the Liberals have doubled housing prices, down payments, mortgage payments and rent. Now the housing minister is doubling down to keep home costs high. Can the Minister of Housing tell Canadians how many more families must fall behind before the government takes action and finally tables a budget?”