Kelly Block
Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, Saskatchewan · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, that was a serious question that deserved a serious answer. Buried in the Liberals' omnibus budget bill is yet another ministerial power grab. Cabinet gives itself more powers to award contracts while allowing itself to muzzle the very watchdog, the procurement ombudsman, who is meant to monitor it.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would just suggest this: My hon. colleague does not need to take my word for it. She does not need to take the word of my colleagues on this side of the House. Maybe she should go back and look at the Auditor General's report or the PBO's report that was tabled last fall.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-20 , an act that seeks to establish the Build Canada Homes bureaucracy, at third reading. As I mentioned during the debate at second reading, this bill is the latest attempt by the Liberals to solve a problem they created.”
“We must also acknowledge the lost potential to our economy as construction workers are laid off and home builders stop building at a time when housing starts, job creation and affordability are needed the most. Building has become complex. The regulatory burden has become expansive.”
“This would mean a departure from an “Ottawa knows best” mindset and a return to common sense, wherein young people are free to innovate, businesses are able to adapt and the market drives demand for growth.”
“As for the Canada Lands Company, its responsibility to develop federal properties and convert them into housing units will now become the responsibility of Build Canada Homes. The six projects that were announced, as my colleague pointed out earlier, had already been approved and development was well under way.”
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“Madam Speaker, at the beginning of the current Parliament, I stood in this place to call upon the government to give an answer to Canadians as to why they pay so much and get so little from the Liberal government. Liberals gave away millions of dollars to GC Strategies, while federal departments could not prove whether there was any work done before authorizing payments. After investigating all of this, the Liberals have yet to get even a penny back from GC Strategies for stealing money from taxpayers, all while they increased their spending plans. The Liberals have spent millions of dollars trying to transform office space into housing, with little success. In an audit conducted by the Auditor General, there were concerns with the government's seeming to determine success by commitments rather than achieved outcomes.”
“Mr. Speaker, could the hon. member advise the House if, in his review of this legislation, he has seen a plan to solve the new influx of citizenship applications, if we are going to add 30% more in just five years?”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for outlining the issues that we on this side of the House have with this piece of legislation. I know he has mentioned his wife and his wife's family, who came to Canada and have embraced becoming Canadian citizens. I wonder if he could comment on what the impact is of reducing the requirement to obtain citizenship on those individuals who are coming to Canada, who are going through the process, who are perhaps even fleeing persecution. What impact does that have on those individuals who have gone through a very lengthy process?”
“Mr. Speaker, the PBO confirmed the deficit will be higher. Reports indicate it could even push $100 billion. Canadians know that massive Liberal deficits drive inflation. They pay for it at the grocery store, as food inflation is 70% above target. As a result, 25% of households cannot afford to put food on the table. Will the Prime Minister admit that having no fiscal anchor and doubling the deficit will only drive inflation higher?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to cap spending but is now set to double the deficit. This is another broken promise, another Liberal bait and switch. Here is what the PBO, Canada's financial watchdog, said about the PM's economic record: “the deficit will absolutely be higher”, “I don’t know that the government currently has fiscal anchors” and “the labour market sucks, wages are not going up”. My question is this: How high will the deficit go and what is the government's fiscal guardrail?”
“Conservatives are ready to do the work and continue to hold the Liberals to account to deliver more than just empty promises, with real results for Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place on the first day of the fall session to resume the important work we should have been doing over the summer. At a time when Canadians were promised a government that was here to meet the moment and to accomplish things at speeds not seen in decades, the Liberals went on vacation, posed for photo ops and signed empty agreements. This is more of the same, with the same Liberal ministers and the same Liberal MPs delivering the same old results. I spent the majority of the past nine months in the riding hearing from constituents, and they want to see the tired government held to account for its inaction and empty promises. Canadians want a government that meets their issues with the same urgency they themselves feel.”
“Madam Speaker, I think I would have difficulty choosing just one story because, as my hon. colleague pointed out, immigration issues consume a lot of our time in our ridings. I will say this: Conservatives will continue to support a system that is one of integrity and security and is based on responsible policy. We will continue to support—”
“Madam Speaker, I would not presume to pre-empt what the members on the committee that will be reviewing this piece of legislation may choose to bring forward and what they may choose to bring forward based on the testimony they may hear in regard to this piece of legislation. I believe that, as in the past, we have a case here of some deeply flawed legislation being proposed. We have already indicated some of the things that we have difficulty with. The government does not know the number of people this will impact, it does not know what the costs are, and it has not been able to confirm processes that need to be put in place in order to follow up with its 1,095-day requirement.”
“Madam Speaker, I believe that not only I but others who have already spoken to this piece of legislation this morning have indicated that we believe in a strong, fair and meaningful Canadian citizenship. We also support restoring citizenship to lost Canadians and equal treatment for adopted children. However, as we have stated, the bill goes far beyond that, cheapening the value of Canadian citizenship by creating a new system of unlimited chain migration, which only serves to undermine our national identity. I look forward to watching what happens at committee. I trust that, based on what the member has said, members of the Liberal caucus who serve on that committee would be more than open to the amendments we bring forward.”
“While the Liberals say it is because of an Ontario court ruling from June 2023, a ruling they never appealed, it is now an emergency, and only because they have not been able to propose a decent piece of legislation and get it passed in the last two years. Canadians deserve and should be able to expect better from their government.”
“That is why Conservatives, through Bill S-245 , sought to correct the very changes the Liberals are now claiming to fix, but without creating more problems for our already overburdened immigration system. The members opposite me are using the bill that the Conservatives brought forward to put forward their own ideological biases. The Liberals changed it and then stalled it in the Senate. They have never given an account to Canadians and to those they claim they are trying to help for why they delayed the solution we brought forward and why they put their own interests first. I think that is shameful.”
“Conservatives know that it is not just the legislation that is the issue; it is also that the Liberal government continues to put bandages over a broken immigration system. Canadians are looking for change from the fourth-term Liberal government, change that delivers on the promises the Liberals made in the last election rather than the same old band-aid solutions that may cause even more damage. While we are a generous and compassionate nation, citizenship must be valued, and immigration should work for the betterment of Canadians and Canada. Conservatives will always stand on the side of a fair and robust system that does not disenfranchise Canadians or potentially risk their safety.”
“Canadians should be able to expect that their elected leaders would consider their safety ahead of rushed solutions. The department, IRCC, has nearly a million total applicants outside acceptable processing times. That is on top of the more than one million applicants it claims are waiting for their application to be resolved. What is the plan to solve the new influx of citizenship applications if we are going to add 30% more in just five years? Adding more seems like a plan to fail, more than it seems like a plan. I hope for the sake of Canadians that the bill is not an example of how the Liberal government plans to enact changes, by simply rushing the process instead of fixing the deep-rooted issues it has spent the last 10 years creating.”
“That is why it is so difficult to support the bill in its current form. At the time the bill was introduced, not even the parliamentary secretary had read it until that same morning. The legislation seems to create more challenges than it solves. We owe it to both Canadians and newcomers to handle this fragile system with the utmost care. I fail to see that this is what is happening with the last-minute communications from a minister to a parliamentary secretary when it was introduced. For example, let us talk about the backlog in citizenship applications. The backlog is in the hundreds of thousands, while the government has failed to meet its own metrics for processing applications in spades. There are no details that outline what background checks would look like or even whether they would occur at all.”
“While the Liberals had no clue and were unable to even guess how many people the change could affect, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that if the bill passes, more than 100,000 new people would be granted citizenship in five years. (1205) At a time when Canadians feel that the health care system and our economy are more fragile than ever, the Liberal government wants to issue new citizenship without requiring that the people in question pay taxes, just to reside in Canada from time to time over the course of their lifetime. With no requirement that it be consecutive or accomplished within a time frame, and for those of descent, citizenship could be passed to those who have never lived in Canada. Conservatives will always support positive changes that seek to correct issues to current legislation.”
“My riding is rural, and families from Saskatchewan have had roots planted in their community for generations, caring and working for the success of one another. It takes time and commitment, resulting in a way of life that is loved and respected by those around them. The west was settled by pioneers, people who risked everything, leaving the comforts of what was known, in order to build a life elsewhere that could be better. The key here is to build a life. It is important that this experience is also shared by those people seeking Canadian citizenship. Justin Trudeau spent years devaluing and trying to erase what makes up the Canadian identity, referring to Canada as a “postnational state”. Measures like the one set out in Bill C-3 devalue the importance of choosing Canada as a home with shared duties and responsibilities.”
“Reducing the requirement to obtain citizenship threatens to undermine the millions of Canadians who have come for decades, fleeing persecution, violence and war, or those seeking to give a better life to their children than they had. It required a process, and it required effort. It required planting roots in Canada, involving themselves in their community and engaging with their fellow Canadians. Each province within Canada has unique needs, interests, identities and culture. Some have their own distinct language. One provision in Bill C-3 would require a person to live in Canada for 1,095 days. However, it would not require the 1,095 days to be consecutive, meaning that Canadian citizenship may not require participation or a love for their province and the country.”
“The bill contains elements that could undermine trust at a time when Canadians are seeking to unite in the midst of uncertainty. The bill, however, is also nothing new. It was tabled by the previous Liberal government as Bill C-71 and, before that, in the Senate, as Bill S-245 , which was heavily altered by the Liberals and New Democrats, yet another classic example of a Liberal band-aid-like solution to a problem without considering the consequences. Citizenship is a connection to a home. It is loyalty to one's country. Canadian citizenship comes with a promise that anyone from anywhere can achieve anything if they are willing to work hard.”
“We expect citizens to have an ongoing commitment, connection and loyalty to Canada.” Former Liberal minister for citizenship and immigration Lucienne Robillard said, “We [ought] to share our citizenship with those who want it and work hard to deserve it.” While the Liberal government claims that it is trying to right historical wrongs by loosening its test of connection to our country, it is proposing to remove safeguards and to allow citizenship to be granted without the need for connection, engaging civically or contributing to the social safety nets in Canada that many rely on. In other words, it is proposing to share our citizenship with people who do not want to, in the words of the former Liberal minister, “work hard to deserve it”.”
“Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House this afternoon to speak to Bill C-3 , an act to amend the Citizenship Act. The proposed bill has three pieces to it to address issues related to citizenship by descent, lost citizenship and the status of born-abroad or adopted children of Canadian citizens. The stated aim is to ensure that individuals born to or adopted by Canadian parents outside Canada have a path to obtaining or retaining Canadian citizenship. Canada is a beautiful, sovereign and distinct nation with a rich history and free democracy, with values and an identity that have been built and that have existed for longer than just our lifetime. Canadian citizenship, as defined by former minister for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism Jason Kenney, “is more than a legal status, more than a passport.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is more broken promises with the Prime Minister , broken promises on spending, on tax cuts, on defence, on elbows up with the U.S., and now on consultants. While offering Canadians a meagre $90 tax cut this year, he is not getting the money back from GC Strategies and is paying yet another consultant to update websites for an undisclosed fee. It is billions for consultants and peanuts for Canadians. Why is the Prime Minister giving consultants so much and Canadians so little?”
“Mr. Speaker, old habits die hard. The Prime Minister promised to cut consulting fees but is now raising them by 37% to a record-smashing $26 billion this year. That is $1,400 for every Canadian household. He is doing it knowing that Canadians have not received value for money from these Liberal insiders. Why is the Prime Minister breaking his promise and increasing spending on consultants?”
“Mr Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition on behalf of petitioners from my riding calling on the government to reject recommendations 429 and 430 of the House of Commons finance committee's pre-budget report, refrain from including these recommendations in the federal budget or any related legislation, and affirm the charitable status of faith-based organizations whose work flows from sincerely held beliefs and whose contributions serve the common good in Canada.”
“Madam Speaker, I would like to give my colleague the opportunity to comment a little more on the Liberal government's misalignment between its virtue-signalling announcements and its project-killing policies.”
“Mr. Speaker, this old, tired government creates imperatives with its inaction and then introduces half-empty measures. When will the government introduce that it is going to repeal the oil and gas production cap?”
“Mr. Speaker, there has been $64 million in fraudulent spending on GC Strategies, and not a cent has been returned. Today's Auditor General reports have slammed the government. The F-35s are 50% over budget, up from $19 billion to nearly $30 billion, with more increases expected. Millions of dollars have been spent on transforming office space into housing, and no homes have been built. Why, under the Liberal government, are Canadians spending so much and getting so little?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General tabled a scathing report today on how the Liberals paid GC Strategies, which is now under RCMP investigation, $64 million. In 46% of the contracts reviewed, federal organizations had little to no evidence of receiving deliverables, yet government officials continued to pay. Given that the ministers responsible have yet to get the money back from the fraudsters, how did they get promoted into the Prime Minister 's cabinet?”
“Madam Speaker, I appreciate the attention that the member pays to the financial reports. I know that numbers do not lie, and I agree with him that it is time the Liberals came clean and admitted to their failures of the last 10 years.”
“Madam Speaker, I do agree with my colleague. Despite the title of the bill, as I mentioned in my speech, it would go beyond its stated aim to secure our borders. It is a sweeping piece of legislation that stretches far beyond immigration, national security and securing our borders, and I do think it is an attempt to use the guise of border security to push through other unrelated measures and that the Liberals are hoping Canadians are not paying attention. I would suggest that, as consultations are undertaken when the bill is referred to committee, each member of that committee, and certainly the opposition, should be calling for time to review this piece of legislation, every piece of it, in order to make sure that it addresses the concerns for which it is intended.”
“Madam Speaker, the hon. member has been very instrumental in reviewing this piece of legislation, and I absolutely agree with his observations. We have heard more stories like the one he just cited for us in this place. The government needs to ensure that the legislation is going to be robust, and, as opposition, we are going to do the same in addressing the concerns that he just cited.”
“Madam Speaker, there it is: exactly what I said in response to the previous question. The Liberals want us to believe that they are new, a new Prime Minister and new government, but they are not. They have been in power for 10 years and did nothing to address the issues regarding border security. They keep hearkening back to a decade ago. They have had a decade to do what needed to be done, to do what Canadians have been calling on them to do. As I have stated, I know the Liberals want to ram the legislation through. As in many cases in the past, the imperative is created, and we have to get it done because they did not get it done over the last 10 years.”
“Madam Speaker, I disagree with the premise of that question. Conservatives have always been concerned with security at our border. We have long been calling for decisive action to protect Canada's borders, and we continue to do so. The government has been in government for 10 years, and it took 10 years for it to introduce this piece of legislation. We know that it is coming at the eleventh hour and that time is of the essence in order to get the legislation through the House and potentially passed. I do understand that the Liberals would like this to happen quickly, but we are not going to rush this. We are going to take the time to look at the legislation to make sure that it addresses all the issues that need to be addressed. It will get the scrutiny it deserves.”
“Madam Speaker, while I do not live in a border community, I know that the issues that stem from not having a secure border are far-reaching across our country. There are myriad issues that need to be addressed. As I stated in my speech, the bill would amend nine acts and introduce a new one. It is a large omnibus bill with many different aspects that would have knock-on effects. As always, the devil is in the details. It is important that we have a robust debate and study the bill intensely at the proper committee. Concerns have been raised about the bill, and I am sure will continue to be raised as more people are consulted and review the legislation. I look forward to hearing what the results of those consultations are.”
“Conservatives ran on a promise to secure the border, and we are prepared to support tougher measures, especially those that address the myriad issues created by the past decade of Liberal failures. As I said, I do look forward to the rest of the debate on the bill, and I look forward to when the bill is referred to committee and the committee undertakes a comprehensive review of the study to see what amendments may come forward in order to address the gaps that often accompany a bill introduced by the government.”
“This has come under serious scrutiny as experts have raised concerns about the impact on the privacy of Canadians that it would have. The government must continue its consultations on privacy issues that are being raised with the bill to ensure that innocent Canadians do not have their privacy breached. I look forward to more robust debate on the bill and to the committee study that will follow. We all know that Canadians are counting on us in this place to make the changes needed to secure our border. After 10 years of mismanagement and a porous border, it is time for the government to reverse its disastrous policies. It is time for it to take border security seriously.”
“By planning to broaden the ability of the government to open mail, outside the current restrictions held within the Canada Post Corporation Act, the Customs Act, and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, the government is causing deep concern and anxiety among Canadians about their privacy. The government must ensure that strict rules remain in place and must provide a more comprehensive response as to when this would be justifiable. As my colleague asked earlier today, is this charter-compliant? (1325) Additionally, part 14 of the bill, which would amend the Criminal Code to allow access to basic information from public service providers, would permit peace officers to access certain data without a warrant, and it would relax warrant requirements and streamline data collection.”
“I look forward to the day when the government adopts and implements more Conservative policies regarding crime so Canadians can once again live on safe streets and in safe communities. There are already concerns around privacy being raised regarding the bill. It is always a concern for Canadians when the government asks for sweeping new powers in a large omnibus bill, particularly powers that deal with their privacy and appear to infringe on it. One area that has raised concerns is the section of the bill which would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act.”
“The past 10 years of soft-on-crime policies and easy bail for violent repeat offenders has caused untold misery across Canada. While it cannot undo the past 10 years of tragedies, the government can alleviate some of the pressure on our police forces by making bail more difficult to get for repeat violent offenders. By keeping these criminals in jail rather than letting them back out onto the street within hours of their arrest, our police would be able to better serve their communities since they would not keep getting calls to deal with the same offenders. Repeat violent offenders deserve jail, not bail. It is time the Liberals put victims first instead of the criminals who victimized them.”
“Liberal catch-and-release policies have devastated communities across Canada. We are in desperate need of bail reform, which Conservatives have been calling for for years. Recently, the Liberals finally admitted their mistake and have agreed that the Conservative push for bail reform is the only way forward. In the throne speech, the Liberals stated, “The Government will bring a renewed focus on car theft and home invasions by toughening the Criminal Code to make bail harder to get for repeat offenders charged with committing these crimes, along with human trafficking and drug smuggling.” While we have numerous examples of the Liberals' plagiarizing the Conservative platform, one measure that we would encourage them to undertake is adopting our position on bail reform.”
“Over the past nine years, over 49,000 Canadians have died from opioid overdose. Despite this number, the Prime Minister has claimed that it is not a crisis but just a challenge. This crisis needs to be addressed, both at the border and in our cities, to combat the flow of fentanyl and its ingredients, which are coming primarily from China and Mexico. By stemming the flow of the ingredients at the border, we can alleviate some of the pressure on our police forces across the country, which are dealing with this crisis. While measures for the border are needed to crack down on the smuggling of illegal firearms and drugs, we also need to address the issue that is stretching our police forces thin: easy-to-get-bail laws. In 2022, 256 people were killed by someone out on bail. This constitutes 29% of all homicides committed that year.”
“Without knowing which companies the Prime Minister has a financial interest in, it is difficult to scrutinize the government spending that he approves. That is why I hope the Prime Minister will disclose his assets sooner rather than later so Canadians can hold his government to account for any favouritism that may be shown in the procurement process. Along with the bill, we need to see movement on bail and sentencing reform. Many of the issues at the border originate in our cities. Over the past 10 years, there has been a drastic increase in crime across the country. The fentanyl crisis has found a home here in Canada under the Liberal government. Fentanyl superlabs are being set up to ship the deadly drug across Canada and abroad. These superlabs have flourished under the Liberals' watch.”
“If we fast-forward to today, the government is promising to spend $300 million on a large procurement project in the midst of a crisis, and I have huge reservations about trusting its judgment when it comes to who those millions of dollars will go to. Will it be another former Liberal MP? Will it be another friend of the prime minister? We have seen the reports that Brookfield firms reached out to the Prime Minister just days after he took office. Will one of these firms receive contracts for the new border initiative? (1320) Another issue with large procurements is that we know that the Prime Minister has financial holdings in companies that he has failed to disclose to Canadians, so it is possible that when these initiatives cross his desk, there may be certain companies that will be looked upon more favourably.”
“After a study at committee and reviews by the procurement ombudsman and the Auditor General, it was clear that the government had funnelled money to fraudulent consultants with no care as to how much it was spending. Last, I want to point to the example of McKinsey, a company that got special access to government contracts because its managing partner at the time, Dominic Barton, was personal friends with Justin Trudeau. McKinsey made $100 million from that relationship, which, again, was found by the Auditor General to be improper. This is why it is so difficult to take the government at its word. Each one of these procurements was justified as necessary by the government at the time, and each one was plagued by corruption and incompetence.”
“We only need to look back at what happened during COVID, when the Liberal government handed a $237-million contract to its former MP, colleague, and future leadership candidate, Frank Baylis. While that was an obvious conflict of interest, the Liberals pressed on with the contract for ventilators, claiming they were necessary. Then, just a few years later, it quietly came to light that the government had sold the ventilators for pennies on the dollar for scrap. However, it did not matter, because yet another Liberal insider got to pad his pockets. Another example is the arrive scam scandal. The Liberals seized the opportunity of a crisis to spend at least $60 million on a simple app.”
“Conservatives have been calling, for years, for more resources for our agents at the border to stem the flow of illegal firearms and drugs. Only 1% of shipping containers are inspected coming into our country, allowing drugs and guns to sneak through in the other 99%. However, true to form, the government has offered no timeline for when the investment would be made and the resources would reach the border. The Liberal track record of making funding announcements and then sitting back and assuming someone else is going to do the job has shown a lack of transparency and trustworthiness. This brings into question the government’s ability to execute on this promise. Additionally, the past 10 years have shown that the Liberals always find a way to make funding commitments work best for their friends and Liberal insiders.”
“While the Liberals would have us believe that there is finally some movement on addressing the serious issues at the border, we must remember that most of the issues were created or exacerbated by 10 years of Liberal incompetence and inaction. The reality is that the Liberals, with the help of their NDP partner, lost control of the border and scrambled to act only when warnings from another country came calling for them to fix their disastrous broken border policy. As I mentioned earlier, the bill is sweeping legislation. I note that the Liberals have adopted some of the Conservative stance to strengthen border security and crack down on criminals. The government has promised that it will invest $300 million in border investigation and scanners; this is welcome news.”
“Having two helicopters to cover that large of a distance, even if they are both working at the same time, is a ludicrous proposition. Instead of hiring more CBSA agents to help staunch the flow of illegal firearms and drugs, the Liberals have spent millions of dollars to lease these helicopter for a few months. (1315) The work of our border agents has been continually hampered by the Liberal government, as it has refused to recognize where and what the problems are. The government has been asked repeatedly by border agents, their unions and other Canadians with common sense to give more resources to the CBSA so it can properly staff border crossings and deal with the crime at the border.”
“The Conservatives would like to see the Liberals scrap their failed gun buyback program, which, over four years and $67 million later, has failed to get a single gun off the streets, and redirect this money into stopping illegal firearms from entering the country. That way, the government can target criminals rather than law-abiding Canadians. After years of the CBSA and Conservatives calling for more resources at the border to combat the multitude of trafficking that occurs, the government had another bright idea: It purchased two Black Hawk helicopters to patrol the border and stop smugglers. On the surface, the purchase of new equipment seems good, but in practical terms, it was another Liberal nothingburger. Our border with the United States is just under 8,900 kilometres.”
“Sport shooters are now often turned around at the border, and even if they go through the exhaustive paperwork, jumping through all the hoops, they often have equipment wrongfully seized, which takes them months to get back. In the meantime, illegal firearms stream across the border, where CBSA agents, already understaffed, are stretched thin trying to slow the flow. After a decade of Liberal governance, gun-related crime is up 116%, and 85% of gun offences are committed using illegal firearms from the United States. Canadian security services have also identified 350 organized crime rings operating within our borders, 63 of which have international connections to China, Mexico and other nations.”