Richard Bragdon
Tobique—Mactaquac, New Brunswick · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, where are the results? New Brunswick families are feeling the effects of this Liberal recession every day. Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. GDP has shrunk for three of the last four quarters, and unemployment is the second highest in the G7.”
“Mr. Speaker, according to that member on that side of the House, everyone should just be happy. That member is getting an announcement. Another member is getting an announcement. Another member is getting a commission. Members are getting rhetoric. Guess what? There are still no results. Canadians want results. Show us the results.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, a report of the Canadian section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. [ English ] This report describes the group's congressional visit to Washington, D.C., from March 17 to 19.”
“Mr. Speaker, today, the Prime Minister arrives at the G7 as the only leader who has driven his country into a recession. While families struggle through this full-blown recession, the Liberals continue to offer announcements instead of results.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, four reports of the Canadian section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. [ English ] I had the privilege of leading several of these missions alongside the Hon.”
“The fourth concerns IPG's participation at the CSG's South Southern Legislative Annual Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, from July 19 to 23, 2025. The fifth concerns IPG's contributions to the Pacific Northwest Economic Region's 34th annual summit in Bellevue, Washington, from July 20 to 24, 2025.”
The complete record
Every one of 165 lines we hold for Richard Bragdon, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 4.
“It is time to stop pitting one region against another region. It is time to stop pitting rural Canadians against urban Canadians. It is time to stop pitting family against family and start bringing Canadians together to do something big for the country, which is, yes, to build the infrastructure necessary to get our energy and our resources to world markets so that we can lift our standard of living and tackle the food inflation crisis face on. It is time to get off the backs of our farmers, producers and workers and leave more of the money in their pockets, the money that they have worked hard to earn. It is time that we change course as a country and get on the right way. By doing that, we will start seeing our way clear.”
“I am thankful for the road-to-Damascus experience my friends on the other side have had, and I hope it continues, but I cannot help but be struck by the contradiction. Canadians must be scratching their heads and asking if this is the same crew. They look the same. They sound somewhat the same but they are talking a new talk. I think that, if we are going to overcome and see our way clear, we have to overcome the contradictions between what they have done in policy and what they are saying in rhetoric. Let us get the policy fixed so that we can get the country on the right course. That is the third C. I have to get to my third and fourth Cs. The second was the contradictions we have to overcome. Do members know what that means, if we overcome the contradictions? We have to have a course correction. It is time to change course.”
“They realized that it is a punitive tax that accomplished nothing as it relates to the environment and only had a diminishing impact on the pocketbooks of Canadians. I thank them for recognizing that the carbon tax served no purpose but to punish our own citizens. The contradictions continue. While they reduced the rate of the carbon tax to zero, as a result of the election, they kept the carbon tax on, and are going to put it on, industry, thinking, somehow, that the industries are not going to transmit those costs back to the consumers, who are ultimately Canadians. Talk about contradictions. It is really quite something. These are the same ones who were against pipeline construction, who talked down our oil and gas sector for 10 years and who said that it was dirty oil and dirty gas. All of a sudden, they are becoming champions for it.”
“If we deal with our problems within, we can face the challenges without with confidence. Though our challenges are many and that is the first C, I have to deal with the second C, which refers to contradictions. We are filled with contradictions when I consider the record of our dear friends on the other side. These were the ones who said that, if we do not put in a carbon tax, we will burn our planet. These are the ones who said that, if we do not put the cost on carbon, we are going to absolutely destroy our environment in this country. I am glad they contradicted themselves most recently and adopted our policy of eliminating, or reducing, as I think that, for now, it has been eliminated for the consumer, the carbon tax.”
“The greatest threat to us, far more than anything that may be happening externally or some strong southern wind that may blow in from time to time, is the threats that are within. We have gone through an era of Canadian self-sabotage. That is the biggest threat that the House has the responsibility to address. (1345) It was no external force that brought a carbon tax on our people. It was no external government that shut down pipeline construction and passed Bill C-69 and Bill C-48 . It was no external government that brought the highest levels of taxation in comparison to other advanced economies. It was our own government in our own country. That is the biggest challenge we have to face, which is to get our own house in order and have a massive course correction so that we can change the way we are going.”
“We are also obviously feeling the effects of the global uncertainty happening right now: wars, rumours of wars, conflicts and riots. We are seeing instability. We are seeing things that once seemed so certain that no longer seem certain. With that, there is rising anxiety, fear and despair. We, as elected representatives, pick that up in our daily conversations and interactions with people. We hear it, and we cannot help but be affected by it. We are surrounded by those challenges, and yes, Canada's not immune to the external threats, but there are a lot of those that we do not have direct control over. We cannot affect what is happening overseas on a grand scale. We have a limited amount that we can say and do in regard to the vast geopolitical challenges facing our world.”
“One of the first and foremost challenges is the rising cost of living. We have heard a lot about how our food inflation is the highest in the G7, but I do not have to look at an economics report to realize that. I just have to visit a local grocery store and talk to the seniors who are on fixed incomes trying to make ends meet or talk to the young families who are trying to make their mortgage payments and their vehicle payments, keep their kids in sports and maybe plan for a bit of a trip, if they could at the end of the day, while putting food on the table. When I talk to them, I soon realize the challenges we are facing as they relate to food inflation and the soaring cost of groceries. The challenges we face are not just what is happening at home, here in our country.”
“It is wonderful to have great ideas, have wonderful plans and talk a great game, but can it back it up with the dollars and cents, the budgetary means, to both make it happen and be responsible? I think Canadians are looking to us to provide reasonable alternatives and to make sure we hold the government to account in regard to this. I have a few remarks today. I guess, the way to sum it up is from my background. I like the use of alliteration, so I have four Cs, and I am going to try to cover them quickly in the short time that we have. There are four Cs to seeing our way clear. The first C we need to address here today is the challenges we face. When we start thinking about the challenges we face as a nation, none of us should be ignorant of these, as we have several.”
“It is only responsible for any government, and let alone government, but any family or business, to bring forth a budget and to plan, to make sure to, at the end of the day, when at all possible, balance the budget and make sure there is enough there to pay the bills, meet the obligations and hopefully, if they are fortunate enough, have a little bit to set aside for the future. What is true for a household and a business should also be true for any government, especially the Government of Canada, but right now, we are going into one of the longest periods in our history without having a budget tabled. I think Canadians from coast to coast are wondering when that budget will get tabled.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to once again rise in the people's House. I always count it a privilege, and it is the first time I am addressing the House with a speech since being re-elected by the great people of Tobique—Mactaquac. I want to express my appreciation and heartfelt thanks to them and to my family for all their love, support and care. It is truly the honour of my life to serve here in the people's House, so I want to thank them. It is a privilege to rise on this opposition motion. Our motion is to hold the government to account and put forward alternatives that would serve the people of Canada.”
“We as the opposition will offer a clear alternative vision to Canadians, a vision that encourages increased Canadian self-reliance, security and prosperity for all, a vision that brings us together from every region, both urban and rural, to ensure that our beloved nation always remains the true north strong and free. Though the waters we face are turbulent, I still believe that our best days are ahead. As our beloved national anthem declares, may God continue to keep our land glorious and free.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank again the great people of Tobique—Mactaquac for the honour of serving them here in the people's House. I also want to express my deep gratitude to my wife Crystal, our family and the dedicated team of staff who do the important work every day so that we can be here. I could not do this without them. In the days ahead, we will continue to champion those who are too often overlooked and forgotten: the bucket carriers, the table waiters, the farmers, the builders and the workers. These hard-working Canadians, past and present, form the foundation of our great country, and they will be the key to our nation's comeback.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute joy to welcome my hon. colleague from Terra Nova to the House, and there is no doubt he is going to be a tremendous addition and complement to the people's House. We heard a lot of recent and happy talk from the other side of the House, the government, about oil and gas. However, it is kind of coded. It is shrouded in talk such as “maybe they are going to do it” and “possibly they are going to do it, if it meets certain requirements and stipulations, passes certain loopholes, and after 17 subcommittees, parent committees and overarching committees, they will look at it, examine it, come back and re-evaluate it once again.” My question is simply this: Is it time for a change so we finally get a government in place that could actually get these projects off the ground and done?”
“I am wondering if he has any comments on how we need to get back to a recovery-based approach over harm reduction strategies when it comes to working with those struggling and battling with mental health issues and addictions in this country.”
“Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your role. I want to commend my colleague from Edmonton Riverbend on the amazing, incredible work that he does for men who have been struggling with their mental health and all those who have been battling with their mental health. It is a very commendable field of work and is much-needed in these times. I wonder if the member wants to comment further in regard to the struggles that Canadians are facing. I know that we put a lot of emphasis on the importance of recovery and the need for recovery-type services as they relate to mental health and addictions, but there was not much mention of that in the throne speech.”