Kevin Waugh
Saskatoon South, Saskatchewan · Conservative · Canada
“Madam Speaker, one year in, the member for Oshawa has done a lot of work on the public safety committee. I just want to state again, on our amendment, that we agree with the government on part 1, which would be Bill C-22A. We have also heard from police all over this country that they need the tools.”
“Mr. Speaker, I had two or three years as Saskatchewan caucus chair, and we moved our summer meetings around. I remember saying to this member that we were coming to Yorkton—Melville. What a delightful two days we had in Yorkton—Melville because of her. She brought the community together.”
“Mr. Speaker, under this Liberal Prime Minister , Canada is the only G20 country in recession. The economy has shrunk three of the last four quarters. The Liberals are already borrowing over their projected $65 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer projects borrowing now to climb to $72 billion.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by Canadians from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. They call upon the House of Commons to develop and make available a framework for national urban parks to ensure the governance of all national urban parks includes meaningful participation from indigenous nations, rights h…”
“Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure this afternoon to rise and present a petition signed by Canadians from across my province of Saskatchewan, and actually many from my riding of Saskatoon South, who strongly oppose Bill C-9 for its infringement upon the fundamental right of free speech.”
“Mr. Speaker, SOS: Save our Snowbirds. The Snowbirds are a proud Canadian institution based in the land of the living skies, Saskatchewan. We now hear that the Liberals are going to cancel the Snowbird program. It is unthinkable that we could see the end of this precision squadron that proudly represents this country at home and abroad.”
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“Today, in my city, over 100,000 children and 55,000 families in need have been assisted with toys, books and food hampers. I should add that, in 1999, Denny Carr was honoured with Canada's highest honour, the Order of Canada. Denny's belief was that one person could make a difference. Saskatoon has always punched above its weight when it comes to philanthropy. In 1997, a Saskatoon Progress Club member by the name of Ted Merriman, along with then B'nai Brith president Sid Katzman, started a care and share program to feed inner-city school students. I want to thank executive director Sandi Meldru, who organized this event. They have over 20 schools that they visit in the month of December. They partner with various businesses in Saskatoon, serving up a turkey Christmas meal with all the fixings.”
“Then Saskatoon City Hall got involved; it had an area set aside dedicated for people to drop off unwrapped toys. Then the Saskatoon Fire Department, whose members are here today in Ottawa, would go around our community singing Christmas carols, just to get people into the spirit. (1240) Yesterday, people gathered in my city at the traditional wieners and beans lunch to kick off the Secret Santa Campaign. I have to thank Rachael Steinke and her staff at the Saskatoon Community Foundation for a part of this tradition. I remember Denny starting this in 1983. Yesterday's event marked the 41st year of Secret Santa. Thousands of people in our community have given their time and donations, in memory of Denny Carr, to his Secret Santa Campaign.”
“We call on the Prime Minister to work with us on this side of the House to support a positive, hopeful and affordable future for all Canadians. We know that Canadians are hard-working and very generous. They deserve better than the government has produced. Today is national day of giving in this country. I do not know if members knew this, but it was created in 2012. It is a simple idea: a day that encourages people in this country to do good things in their communities. I remember working at a radio station in Saskatoon when the morning man, Denny Carr, started a program in our city called Secret Santa Campaign. That was way back in 1983. Denny had a vision of ensuring that all Saskatoon children would receive a new toy at Christmas. People stopped by our station with unwrapped toys every week in advance of Christmas.”
“It means that Canadians will now be spending more money on servicing the debt than we spend on health care in each province and territory in this country. The debt is so large that it eclipses the spending on major government initiatives. At least 10¢ of every dollar sent to Ottawa is now spent servicing the out-of-control debt by the Liberal government. Interest payments will reach $54 billion, which is 10.8% of total federal revenues. Conservatives have presented amendments to boost take-home pay and deliver affordable homes and food by ending the hidden taxes, to cut wasteful spending, to open our country up to opportunity, and, for heaven's sake, to get rid of the bureaucracy in order to build affordable homes.”
“Canadian workers and businesses are paying the price for the Liberal government's out-of-control spending. In fact the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the PBO, told us that the Liberals' spending was unsustainable. This was backed up by the PBO's latest report, which found that the government even broke past Trudeau's fiscal guardrails when the deficit increased to $68.5 billion. It is an additional $20 billion or so in spending that has not even been included in the outlook of the Liberal platform. It is unsustainable; there is no question about it. Those of us who manage a family budget know exactly those numbers and what they mean. The government is simply maxing out the credit card for future generations to pay off with interest. This costly credit card budget is gambling away this country's future.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the recent Liberal budget, which actually came down late this year, on November 4, and about Bill C-15 , the budget implementation act. The Liberals promised to keep the deficit at roughly $62 billion. They lost a finance minister last December over that number, and now it has escalated to $78 billion. They promised to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio; instead it is up, and inflation is up. They promised to spend less, but they are spending $90 billion more, which is $5,400 more inflationary spending per family in this country. We hear daily from colleagues across the floor about how they are creating programs to help struggling Canadians from coast to coast. Canadians, though, want well-paying jobs and financial security, not higher deficits and more taxes, and certainly not more handouts.”
“Mr. Speaker, the problem right now is being soft on crime. It is just wicked in this country. I give credit to my leader , who went coast to coast hearing from individuals across the country about extortion, which is why we wanted the emergency debate. The incidents are happening in Calgary, in Edmonton, in Vernon, in Surrey and in Ontario. There is a 330% increase in extortion, and nobody in the House, other than our leader and our Conservative Party of Canada members, are talking about it.”
“Mr. Speaker, no, of course we are not confident. I mean, over the last 10 years, this has been a disaster. The Liberals have finally woken up and realized that Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 were a joke. We on this side of the House have been talking about it for years. We need tougher action on bail and release. We need to get criminals behind bars. In downtown Calgary, 75 people were charged for most of the assaults and what is going on in the city. A small number of people in Calgary are causing the biggest headache for the police service in that city.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the member is from the city of Victoria, as there have been many encampments and lots of crime over the last number of years in Victoria. As we have noticed, many people from Saskatchewan are not travelling to the United States of America these days, for one reason or another. We would like to be hosted in B.C., but the crime in his city of Victoria is as bad as anywhere else in the country. We are saying what the public wants to see right now, and we have been talking about this for three or four years. The Liberals have had 10 years to fix this, and now they are coming in with a band-aid approach to Bill C-75 .”
“Hundreds more RCMP, if not thousands, are needed in our municipalities and cities to have the full complement of RCMP officers, which the government has promised. We are well short of that. In Saskatchewan right now, where we have the home of the RCMP Depot Division in Regina, we are short more than 100 RCMP officers in our communities. I just wanted to say, in wrapping up, that this is an important bill. We know that there are lots of shortfalls. We look forward to further debate on Bill C-14 .”
“There are two hurdles that need to be navigated in my city for a full complement of officers to be realized: number one is recruitment and number two is the backlog. The provincial government is trying to help out. It has offered $8 million to pay for dozens of officers, but the public will unfortunately not see the impact any time soon. The city police in my city have asked for an increase of $158 million in the city budget. That will be debated next week in Saskatoon. Every community is under pressure for new hires. It is a growing challenge, with fewer people today interested in a career of policing. That is disappointing. I look at the RCMP in our province. We have had some major incidents, unfortunately, in our province over the last number of years.”
“This is a result of disastrous catch-and-release policies and lax liberal laws, such as Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 . Earlier this year, I sent out a questionnaire to constituents asking what their views are on crime in our city. Overwhelmingly, the response was that the justice system needs to change in this country. The Liberals need to scrap their useless justice policies and adopt Conservative policies that actually are tough on crime. I have gone to many ride-alongs in my city with paramedics and police. The first thing I noticed is that they know people by name. Repeat offenders are picked up early in the day and, unfortunately, released in the afternoon or night. Last week in our city, the city police held a news conference to talk about a couple of issues.”
“They conducted search warrants in a few locations in and around the city. They again seized a number of drugs, drug paraphernalia and over $400,000 in cash. During the summer, my colleague, the member for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte , and I met with the Saskatoon chief of police, Cam McBride. In fact, we met for over an hour. We discussed how soft-on-crime bail laws have allowed our cities to be taken over by violent repeat offenders. It was a fascinating conversation in my office. During this meeting, Cam McBride, the city police chief, said that officers who are on the streets arrest the same people so often that the officers know them by name, saying they catch them on Monday, they are released, back on the street, and then they catch them again on Tuesday night.”
“I wonder how many of us in the House have been in similar circumstances in their communities, when there have been incidents reported and later convictions. Members may have kind of wondered and said, “Oh yeah, I did door knock that area.” I wish I could tell members that was an isolated incident in my city, but the truth is I cannot. Just last year, police concluded a nine-month investigation that saw the arrests of five high-level drug dealers, three of whom were operating in my riding. The total amount of everything seized was as follows: 4.2 kilograms of cocaine, almost three kilograms of meth, $16,000 in cash, a nine-millimetre carbine rifle, a prohibited handgun, ammunition, cell phones, various other equipment, and multiple vehicles. In May, police arrested two men in Saskatoon for more drug trafficking.”
“Crime is, in fact, out of control after a decade of Liberal soft-on-crime policies. These are real stories. A 75-year-old woman, who normally feels safe in my city and my constituency, was attacked for no reason whatsoever. I will give a few more examples, if I can. Earlier this month, there was a big drug bust in my riding; it was in Stonebridge. According to the Saskatoon Police Service, on November 6, police seized over $22,000 in cash, 750 grams of fentanyl, over half a kilogram of meth, 362 grams of cocaine, multiple mobile phones and assorted paraphernalia consistent with the illegal drug industry. (1215) During the election, I specifically remember door knocking on that block. It is unnerving to think that I most likely knocked on that door in Stonebridge, completely unaware of what was happening on the other side.”
“She was charged with aggravated assault, assaulting a peace officer, breach of undertaking and breach of probation. Police say the woman punched a female special constable in the face while she was being booked into custody. No one is surprised that she was wanted elsewhere in the province. She ended up in Saskatoon South, and because of this gardening incident, she was finally caught. After hearing about this attack, I sent a sympathy card to this senior, and after receiving it, she showed up at my constituency office. She laid out the whole story in front of us about what happened that day: leaving her place with her dog, going through this community garden and finding this 27-year-old rummaging row by row. Then, of course, she talked about the crime that is happening in our city.”
“The senior then asked this lady if she actually had a plot in this garden and what she was doing. She said that if the person did not have a plot, she should leave, as some had spent hours with their garden. That was all it took for this 27-year-old to attack the 75-year-old senior walking her dog. The victim was grabbed by the hair, thrown to the ground and then attacked, believe it or not, with a gardening tool. We are grateful that this did not end as badly as it could have, but the victim lost a chunk of hair. There were no broken bones, but just think of the trauma this 75-year-old had while walking her dog and then getting into an incident with a 27-year-old. The attacker was apprehended thanks to the Saskatoon city police a short time after. The police found her hiding in a nearby bush and took her into custody. Guess what.”
“If we compare today's crime stats to those of 10 years ago, assaults in my city are up 35%, kidnapping and hostage-taking are up 33%, sexual violations are up a massive 66%, and stalking and break and enters with firearms are both up 300%. That is over the last 10 years. My riding has the highest concentration of seniors in this country. In reading these numbers, I was reminded of an incident that took place in my riding of Saskatoon South this summer. I have to share it with everyone. A 75-year-old senior woman was taking her dog for a walk, as she normally does every day in the morning. They were walking by one of the beautiful community gardens we have in the riding, and as she was walking by, she noticed someone in the garden moving around from plot to plot.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have been looking forward to this debate all day on Bill C-14 , an act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act. For the last 10 years in this country, crime has been going one way, and that is straight up. In fact, even in my home province of Saskatchewan and my city of Saskatoon, in the last decade under the Liberals, there have been pathetic soft-on-crime policies, and serious crime has gone up everywhere. I just looked at the Saskatoon Police Service website, and the crime stats are amazing. I am going to share some of them with members here today.”
“Madam Speaker, the budget is a major disappointment for my home province of Saskatchewan. There is nothing for canola, nothing for pulse, nothing for beef and nothing for the cities. I am very disappointed in yesterday's announcement. There is $260 million for the entire province. There is a bit for the RCMP museum. We do not know how much, but it was mentioned. There is a line in the budget. Then for La Ronge, and nothing else. There is nothing to help our farmers and nothing to help our producers. Yes, the Liberals are putting a lot of money into foreign mining, but that is it. I want the member to talk about why there is no support for the food producers of this country.”
“Mr. Speaker, the cost of groceries has become a daily burden on Canadians, and the Liberal government's policies are the main culprit. Years of heavy Liberal spending have fuelled inflation, making it more expensive for families just trying to get by. Farmers and shippers face higher costs, which then get passed to the consumer. The result is that food insecurity is rising, grocery bills are soaring and too many households in this country are simply one price shock away from overdraft. Over two million Canadians a month are visiting a food bank. Canadians want to be able to support their family and not have to rely on charity. It is time for the Liberals to hear the alarm bells and stop telling Canadians they have never had it so good. Canadians have sacrificed enough.”
“Mr. Speaker, every single dollar that the Prime Minister spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians in the form of higher Liberal taxes and inflation. The Prime Minister said he would be judged by prices Canadians pay at the grocery store. A visit to the supermarket confirms that sugar is up 19%, strawberries are up 18% and even salad dressing is up 13%. This week, the Liberals voted against our motion to stop taxing food and remove their hidden food taxes. Why?”
“Madam Speaker, that is interesting. I was a school board trustee for 10 years in Saskatchewan, as well as a member of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association. In our city we have a program called CHEP, which feeds inner-city kids. It has been going for decades. Then the federal government came along and said it wanted to start a national food program. Can members guess what has happened? Bureaucracy comes first. When we started the food program, it was because there was a need in the inner city. As a result of the government's programs and bad policies over the last 10 years, now the food program has to come to the suburban city of Saskatoon because nobody can afford to eat.”
“Today, when the tariffs are high and the price is going down, we have had little or no support from the Liberal government over the tariffs caused by China and the EVs in this country.”
“Madam Speaker, the hon. member from the Bloc brought up a very good point. On this side of the House, we have already talked about temporary foreign workers. We have excluded them from agriculture. We know that food is valuable in this country. We need workers. We have only 68% of the harvest in the bin in my province. Let me say one thing, though. An MP from Ontario came to Saskatchewan this summer. He peeked out the window as the plane was landing in Saskatchewan, and he asked, “What's all that yellow thing over there? All the fields are yellow.” Can members guess what it was? It was canola. Who invented canola? Who researched canola? It was the province of Saskatchewan, and we will even drag Manitoba in as well.”
“Madam Speaker, is that not disgusting? The gentleman comes from Hamilton, the home of steel in this country. Unemployment is running rampant in his community. I mentioned in the first line of my speech that I was rising today to talk about the extreme hardship in this country. The member bowled ahead and asked a question about my leader 's running in Alberta. That does not matter. He has been elected. He represents the Conservative Party in Canada. He is the Leader of the Opposition. He makes many speeches in the House of Commons. The member should be ashamed tonight with respect to the people of Hamilton, because many of them have been laid off in the last month. We ask him and the Liberal Party what they have done for the steel industry.”
“The 23,000 visitors per month is an all-time high. I have volunteered for the food bank in the city I live in, and I never would have expected in my life for 23,000 people to come through the door of the Saskatoon food bank. I hope that the Prime Minister is listening to this today. Michael Kincade is the Food Banks of Saskatchewan executive director. He summed things up beautifully when he said, “By the time somebody goes to use a food bank [in my province], they've already starved.” We should think about that.”
“We feed the world, yet the food bank in Saskatoon saw a staggering 25% increase because of these policies, with 43% of the people relying on the food bank being children. This reflects Saskatoon's high child poverty rate. The executive director, Laurie O'Connor, said that they are seeing 23,000 visits to the food bank monthly in Saskatoon, for about 8,000 hampers. More middle-class-income families are making their way to the food bank in Saskatoon, which is causing more demand. It is also being used by seniors and students. Students are back at the university, at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and they too are making their way to the food bank now. They simply cannot afford everyday living costs. Almost all grocery stores in our province have a bin at the door for food donations, which are given back to each community's food bank.”
“Right now, the colony is renting nine combines, which are changed out every two years. They cannot afford to buy the nine combines, but they can afford the lease every two years. Liberal policies have had a major effect on this colony in Saskatchewan. I thought I would mention that, because we often drive by these colonies in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They look big and nice and are this and that, but they too are under pressure because of the Liberal policies. Let us now talk about the food bank in Saskatoon, which is the city I live in. I just told the House that my province is world-leading when it comes to food production, yet we saw a staggering 25% usage in 2024.”
“It raises chicks and exports them to Lilydale in Wynyard, Saskatchewan. Every 37 days, the chickens are exported to Wynyard, the barns are cleaned and then this process starts all over again. I should add that everything in that facility is automated, from the water to the feed. By the way, the colony in Saskatchewan even produces its own feed because it is a lot cheaper. It is a great way to farm and produce food for all those in Saskatchewan. Also, Costco takes all the colony's chickens in western Canada. However, the colony has had to diversify. It is now into steel because the prices of grain and canola have come down. When I sat to eat with the colony members, they told me that they felt farming is simply too risky today. There is the price of land and rent prices, as well as the weather and insurance costs.”
“How can we expect farmers to survive and then thrive with a third of their income gone in the last two years? Stats Canada reports that the realized net income for Canadian farmers fell by $3.3 billion, or 25%, to $9.4 billion just in 2024. There are many reasons for that, and we will get into them. (1745) My wife, Ann, and I were honoured this August when we were asked to come to a Hutterite colony in Saskatchewan. I will not name it, but it was in southern Saskatchewan. I have many friends in the Hutterite community, and I see them a lot in Saskatoon, but this is the first time I have ever stepped foot in a Hutterite colony. We went for a long period, for a whole day. It was really interesting, and we enjoyed the experience. I certainly learned a lot. Farming is changing. It is undergoing huge changes. The colony has to diversify now.”
“I just mentioned the meat, and they obviously cannot afford it. The items we put in our cart at the grocery store are up across the board, from 9% to 33%. Saskatchewan, the province I am honoured to call home, has long been called the world's food basket. Saskatchewan feeds not only this country but the world. I am going to give a shout-out. The harvest in my province is 68% complete right now, so many families are still in the fields. We wish them a very safe and prosperous harvest season. We still have over 30% to be put into the bin. We wish them all the best. Farmers are struggling more than ever just to produce the food we need not only in this country but around the world. The total net farm income decreased by $5.2 billion in 2024. That is over 40% from the year before. In Saskatchewan, it is down 36.1%.”
“The Prime Minister told Canadians that they could measure his performance by the prices at the grocery store. That is why we have this opposition day motion. The horror show at the grocery store is the meat department. When people go through the meat department, they stop and ask whether they can afford a roast. They open the freezer and then shut the freezer. Why? It is because they cannot afford the price of beef. It is up 33%. I have seen it in grocery stores from coast to coast. We have heard the numbers, but just let them sink in. If someone puts a stew in their crockpot today, they will have to pay between 11% and 33% more just for the ingredients in that crockpot. Normally, it would be a lesser grade of beef going into the crockpot, but that still makes it 11% to 33% more. I have watched shoppers all over at our grocery stores.”
“Poverty and food insecurity in this country have risen almost 40% in the last two years. The reality is very grim. If members have ever had the opportunity to visit a local grocery store to put food on the table for their family, it is a road show. I watch families when I am there. They stop, and the first thing they look for is specials, the second thing they look for is 50%-off items and the third thing they look for is expired items because they have been reduced. I sit and watch people in our grocery stores in Saskatoon, where I am from. It is amazing to watch them. I am really worried, and I fear for parents. Do they have enough money at the end of the month to put a decent meal on the table? Food inflation, as we all know, is 70% above the Bank of Canada's target. Food prices are up 40% since the Liberals took office 10 years ago.”
“Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford . I was pleased to second this Conservative opposition day motion, because six months ago, the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge him by the costs at the grocery store. In the last six months, Canadians have looked at the price of grocery store items. We will go through that in just a moment. I rise to speak out today on behalf of all the Canadians we represent. They are experiencing extreme hardship as a result of the failed Liberal policies of the last 10 years. The Liberals say they are a new government, but they are not. It is the same government that came in in 2015. The Liberal government is not hearing the general public. The Liberals are telling Canadians, as we have heard all day, that they have never had it so good.”
“Mr. Speaker, I seconded the motion here today. All we are saying is that when the Prime Minister came in, he said to judge him by food costs. That is why the motion is what it is. I had the opportunity all summer to go to various food outlets in my city, Saskatoon. All one has to do is sit around the meat freezer. People come, and they have sticker shock. Families cannot afford to eat, and they are making choices, not good ones, at the grocery store. I can say that because I have hung around them in my city. I want the hon. member from New Brunswick to talk about that. Families are now making some drastic decisions at the food store, because of cost, that may not be healthy for their entire family.”
“Mr. Speaker, we have all gone on ride-alongs. When someone goes on a police ride-along, the police officer might say, “There's Jerry. I picked him up on Monday. This is Wednesday and we're going to pick him up again.” The Liberal government has caused this through obstruction, with Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 . We have had two horrific incidents in Saskatchewan. A fatal shooting of a 44-year-old woman on a highway near Weyburn left people in that area scared. She was just driving along on the weekend and was shot and killed in her car. Two men have also been charged after a targeted shooting in Regina, with 23 bullets shot in the Eastview community. An 11-year-old girl was injured. I want the hon. member to comment on those incidents.”
“Mr. Speaker, there are issues in every city in this country. I will give a few statistics from the police in my city of Saskatoon: Violent crime this year is up 12.5%, assaults are up 20% and criminal harassment is up 150%. This is why we feel, on this side of the House, that the Liberals have been obstructing every police force in the country with Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 . I do not have to tell members about the gruesome killings in my province a couple of years ago at James Smith reserve. Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and hurt 16 others. He had 59 convictions, yet he was out on bail. This is why we are bringing forward the motion today. I want the hon. member to comment on Myles Sanderson's killing 11—”