Stephanie Kusie
Calgary Midnapore, Alberta · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, Canada's independent Information Commissioner said she was disappointed with the Liberal changes to access to information. Disappointed is an understatement, considering that yesterday, the President of the Treasury Board could not even respond to the question, and last week, he could not even find the right page.”
“Mr. Speaker, in July, thousands of federal public servants will return to the office four days a week, but several departments are saying there is not enough office space. I would like to ask the President of the Treasury Board how many employees will not have a desk next month.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are saying that they are putting forward legislation in an attempt to make Canada safer, to be harder on criminals and to support victims of crime. However, in my own city of Calgary, in the last 10 days alone, we have had four shootings.”
“Mr. Speaker, I was really disappointed to hear, this evening, that Bill C‑9 passed thanks to a deal between the government and the Bloc Québécois. In my view, that is not fair. That is not really how we should be making laws.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague has been a member of our Conservative team in the House for over a year now. I would love to hear his opinion on how the government is handling public safety and the justice system. I would love to hear what he thinks after a year in the House, compared to how he felt before being elected.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to present e-petition 7284. This petition, which was signed by 1,160 concerned Canadians, calls upon the president of the Treasury Board to remove proposals in the legislative review of the Access to Information Act that seek to dampen transparency and accountability, such as those altering the defini…”
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“Mr. Speaker, in July, thousands of federal public servants will return to the office four days a week, but several departments are saying there is not enough office space. I would like to ask the President of the Treasury Board how many employees will not have a desk next month.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada's independent Information Commissioner said she was disappointed with the Liberal changes to access to information. Disappointed is an understatement, considering that yesterday, the President of the Treasury Board could not even respond to the question, and last week, he could not even find the right page. Will he rescind the changes, yes or no?”
“Mr. Speaker, I was really disappointed to hear, this evening, that Bill C‑9 passed thanks to a deal between the government and the Bloc Québécois. In my view, that is not fair. That is not really how we should be making laws. I want to know whether my colleague thinks that this is really how she wants laws to be created here, that is, with deals, agreements and bartering, instead of being transparent with Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague has been a member of our Conservative team in the House for over a year now. I would love to hear his opinion on how the government is handling public safety and the justice system. I would love to hear what he thinks after a year in the House, compared to how he felt before being elected.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are saying that they are putting forward legislation in an attempt to make Canada safer, to be harder on criminals and to support victims of crime. However, in my own city of Calgary, in the last 10 days alone, we have had four shootings. What this is indicating to me is that Canada, under Liberal rule, is not any safer. I am really beginning to question, as I am sure many Canadians are, and I know certainly Calgarians are, if the legislation that the Liberal government has been putting forward for 10 years now is really contributing to a safer Canada. I would like to know what the member thinks about that.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to present e-petition 7284. This petition, which was signed by 1,160 concerned Canadians, calls upon the president of the Treasury Board to remove proposals in the legislative review of the Access to Information Act that seek to dampen transparency and accountability, such as those altering the definition of “official record” to exclude emails and text messages. The petition also calls on the president to wholly and transparently seek input from the independent Information Commissioner of Canada regarding any proposed amendments in the act.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today from my seat in the House of Commons to present e-petition 7359. The petitioners were alarmed by recent reporting that noted a concerning number of absences by the Prime Minister during question period, and they sponsored this petition, which over 2,100 Canadians have signed, calling on him to attend question period on a weekly basis and to wholly and truthfully answer questions from members of Parliament during those sessions, including on luxury items consumed.”
“Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy is palpable. Canadians were promised relief, but the Prime Minister 's costly credit card budget is driving up costs for Canadians while driving investment away. Twenty billion dollars' worth of investment has left Canada in the last four quarters alone. Over $1 trillion has left since 2015. As a result, Canada is the only G7 nation in a recession. Instead of putting his friends at Alto and Brookfield first, the Prime Minister should put Canadians first so they can finally get ahead instead of constantly being left behind. How many more quarters of negative growth will it take for the Prime Minister to choose Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians have had it with the Prime Minister 's costly credit card budget. The deficit is $65.3 billion, and this year, Canadians will pay $58.7 billion on debt interest. Food inflation rose 3.8% in April, with gas prices surging 28.6% last month alone. Canada is the only G7 nation in a recession. The Prime Minister is more focused on his American stock portfolio and his friends at Brookfield than on Canadians. How many more negative quarters of growth will it take for him to change course?”
“I firmly believe that not only Albertans but also Canadians deserve a government that believes in every corner of this nation and that would allow Canadians to contribute and prosper to their full capacity. Only a federal Conservative government can save Canada.”
“Mr. Speaker, as an MP from Alberta, I can tell members that the foundation of our present environment is decades of being ignored or even harmed by years of ideological Liberal government. Albertans want to be treated the same way they feel about their fellow Canadians: with amity, with respect and with the opportunity to not only grow as a province but also fully contribute to the Confederation. Sadly, this has not been the case. Liberal governments have perpetually ignored Alberta, stifled our growth and, therefore, limited the growth of this nation, leading to our current situation of economic despair, no housing and two million Canadians visiting food banks.”
“Mr. Speaker, Liberals like to claim they are efficient stewards of public funds. However, by 2030, they will have added $1 trillion to the national debt since taking office. Their reckless spending means taxpayers will pay $59 billion servicing that debt this year alone. That is $3,400 for every single Canadian family. This is not sustainable, and it is not something a government that cares about our finances or our future would do. In fact, their so-called savings plan is so low on the priority list that it was barely mentioned in the costly Liberal budget. With this Prime Minister , it is more cost, more debt and more of the same. Seniors who built this nation deserve better. Families just trying to survive deserve better. The future of our nation, our youth, deserves better.”
“Why should corporations get enormous debt write-offs when they target the little guy for significantly smaller amounts? In summary, I want to again thank the member for Simcoe North for bringing forward the legislation. The right thing to do in society is to pay one's fair share that is owed to Canada and to one's fellow citizens. In addition, we are unfortunately in a terrible fiscal position, with significant debt as well as deficits, including $65 billion this year alone, and deficits for the last 15 years. The piece of legislation that is before us looks to remedy this.”
“It would also make consequential amendments to other acts. Here are some observations in relation to this. In 2023-2024, 11 companies received $1.2 billion in combined write-offs for tax debt and other obligations, and 11 companies accounted for nearly one-quarter of the $4.9 billion in write-offs in fiscal year 2023-2024. We are talking about a small number of bad players. The bill's being passed would be a huge step in the direction of transparency. Certainly, on this side, we have always attempted to fight for transparency, such as in the appointment of a parliamentary budget officer who will always stand up for transparency and call the government out on things that do not appear to be accounted for. Of course, we advocate against tax increases and new tax measures for everyday Canadians.”
“The contents of the public registry would have to include the following information in relation to each debt: the name, including any business name of the corporation, trust company or partnership that owes the debt or obligation to which His Majesty has a claim; the specific amount that was waived, written off or forgiven; the period to which the amount relates; the act under which the debt, obligation or claim arose; and any other information that the president of the Treasury Board may require. The enactment would amend the Financial Administration Act to require the president of the Treasury Board to establish and maintain this public registry of certain large debts and obligations owed by businesses to His Majesty, as well as claims by His Majesty against businesses that have been waived, written off or forgiven.”
“The legislation would create a public registry that would require the Treasury Board to annually publish a list of corporate entities that had debts owing to the government waived, forgiven or written off. The amount we put forward originally, the member was thinking, was somewhere from $1 million to $5 million. The number that was landed upon was $2 million, which is certainly a substantial amount, but I think it is a good amount that would really provide corporations with an incentive to pay their taxes so they do not end up on this list as well.”
“On June 2, I am looking very much forward to taping, with the ArriveCAN team, the ArriveCAN second-year anniversary, and we will be distributing that at the end of June. Bill Curry has been fantastic in terms of following stories such as these. CBC News also did a story on the $133 million written off that was owed by a single taxpayer, so this definitely is something that needed to be addressed. Write-offs and waivers for taxes owing to the government were done in secret because of privacy provisions in the Income Tax Act, and the member wanted to bring these numbers to light. Historically, while the CRA spends a lot of time pursuing small businesses and ordinary Canadians who owe minor amounts to the CRA and to Canada, some major corporations have gone unaccountable and unnamed.”
“At a time when we are encroaching upon $1.63 trillion in national debt, which we will get to by 2030, every single dollar counts, so I am grateful that the member saw this as the right thing to do for society. It is important for corporations to pay their fair share. At this time when we are in need of such fiscal prudence and responsibility, everyone is required to pay their fair share at this time, and that includes corporations. (1810) The member for Simcoe North is not the only one who recognized this lack of oversight, this lack of acknowledgement, of people who are not paying their fair share. There are media outlets such as The Globe and Mail, and Bill Curry of course has done an excellent job of following the public accounts committee and the Treasury Board. Speaking of which, I am going to do a little promotion.”
“There could be something that they think should be a part of the bill, that they think is more accurate or that they do not want to include, but the member went beyond that. Of course, we know that the Canada Revenue Agency is responsible for collecting debts owing to the government, but in recent years, the CRA has been waiving debts owing to the government in record numbers. Last year, the government wrote off $4.7 billion. It forgave $10.9 billion. In remissions it had $0.4 billion, and in waivers it had $2.6 billion. This is a total of $18.4 billion, which at this point would actually be close to 25% of the deficit we have, not only this year, but also last year.”
“I have never drawn higher than 238th in the private member's bill draw, so I am very grateful that, first of all, he had this good fortune; second, that he was able to see this idea; and third, that he had the tenacity and the persistence to work through the bill with the government. I would also like to recognize the government's piece in this collaboration. Of course, as sitting members of the public accounts committee, we went through the bill in detail. We thought about all of the different aspects that would have to be considered. There was compromise on all sides, and again I want to thank the member for his compromise in that regard as well, because it is very easy to get very stubborn when it comes to one's own legislation.”
“I just want to take a moment to thank the member for Simcoe North , who went through so much effort and recognized this was a problem. He is an expert in finance. I have been in his office when he has CNBC on and is following the financial markets, so it is no surprise to me that he would have this type of thinking and that he would recognize this as something that needs to be fixed. I also want to thank him for taking the time to work with the other parties to gain their collaboration in bringing the bill forward and seeing it successfully to this stage in our process at the House. That is something very rare and special to do.”
“Certainly, it is a problem that compounds over time, but the majority of Canadians, certainly more than a fair share of Canadians, want to do the right thing, and that is pay their part to society and contribute to this incredible nation that we live in. One way we do that is by paying our taxes. I want to thank the member for Simcoe North , who had the foresight to recognize that there was this lack of oversight in Canadian society and that there are corporate members who are not necessarily filing taxes for one reason or another. They owe an amount of tax to our society but are not paying it, and it is not being recognized that they have not kept their commitment to Canadian society in not having paid these amounts.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour and a pleasure to rise on behalf of the wonderful citizens of Calgary Midnapore to speak on their behalf. The citizens of Calgary Midnapore recently went through something all Canadians went through, and that is tax filing at the end of April. Of course, this is the time when we all must do our duty to society and pay our fair share of taxes. At least, this is what we are supposed to do. Of course, there are always those who make the decision to not file their taxes. There are those who perhaps cannot pay what they owe or are reluctant to pay what they owe.”
“Mr. Speaker, before doing the “I believe you” campaign, the researchers talked to numerous victims of the most heinous crime a person can receive, to be violated as a person. What the researchers were told, time and time again, was that the victims just wanted to hear someone say, “I believe you”. Right now, the Liberal government is not saying “I believe you” to the victims of sexual assault, and that needs to change. It starts with Bill C-11 .”
“Mr. Speaker, I know that the Bloc Québécois and the NDP worked hard with Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to move this bill forward. I am pleased to see that the members of the Bloc Québécois are still keen to try to achieve the goal of Bill C-11 . Unfortunately, I understand that we have lost the NDP member, who decided to join the Liberals. The Conservative MPs and I agree on most of the ideas for moving Bill C-11 forward, and that includes the amendments.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is very hard to listen to this member talk about harassment when he sits with ministers who have been not only accused but also found guilty of harassment. That is disgraceful. I do not like to be lectured by a member of a party whose ministers have been found guilty of harassment. I will mention a quote: “Arbour's knowledge of international law is as questionable as her understanding of morality”. That is a direct quote from Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, a well-regarded international jurist. He said this in 2006. The member should think about who he is referring to as an example.”
“Extending beyond musical capabilities, as he and his wife are true songbirds, they advocate for those who are the victims of human trafficking. We should say each and every day, not only in my great province of Alberta, but also across Canada and in this chamber, “We believe you” and “I believe you”. Members of CAF should be given the opportunity to make their decisions as such.”
“If Parliament is serious about doing all it can to support those who serve, then all members of Parliament must retain the ability for military victims to choose which reporting path is the safest, most credible and most operationally workable for them, regardless of where they are in Canada. We need to speak with one voice as a House and say this to them: “We believe you. We recognize what you have been through, and we honour you by giving you the choice with how you are going to deal with this violation that has occurred to you. We believe you.” In closing, I want to share another incredible story about Alberta, and it is the #NotInMyCity campaign, which was created to deal with the horrific problem of human trafficking. We have seen the incredible ambassador Paul Brandt and heard his message in his song Alberta Bound .”
“The brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces have put in the work for decades to ensure that no one else has to experience what they went through. It is time for all of us to stand up, be allies to them and say, “I believe you”. We need to do what we know is the right thing for the next generation, for both our sons and our daughters, not only for those serving in the CAF, but across Canada. As the mother of a son, I will tell members that my husband and I have had this conversation with him. We hope he will carry it forward with him in all the decisions he makes. Removing victim choice on how to report sexual offences does nothing to solve the problem. It only deepens it. After 11 long years, the Liberals are, once again, letting down the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces by saying, “We don't believe you”.”
“We are proud of the progress we made at the Standing Committee on National Defence to improve Bill C-11 and to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors were heard and considered in the studying and amending of this legislation, but most of the witnesses at the committee are asking that victims of military sexual assault be given the choice of what justice system they make their report to. Is that not the very least that we can do for these victims, these individuals who have received the greatest offence a person can possibly go through, to have their person violated? The very least we can do is give them power in the decision to decide how this abuse of trust would be handled, but the government is not willing to do that. The Liberals are essentially saying, “I don't believe you”.”
“They try to muddy the waters by not taking jurisdiction of the decision. Instead, they try to defuse the decision-making process to avoid the responsibility. That is what we are seeing here today. Instead of listening to the legal experts and increasing independence in the military justice system, the Liberals want to ensure that they can politically interfere with ministerial directives and ensure that the director of defence counsel services, the director of military prosecutions and the provost marshal general stay under the thumb of the chain of command of the chief. That is what we are seeing. It is essentially the Minister of Defence saying, “I don't believe you”. Conservatives carefully studied Bill C-11 to ensure concerns from all stakeholders were taken into consideration.”
“I think of a great example in my incredible riding of Calgary Midnapore, which is cell phone towers. Constituents are very concerned every time another cell phone tower goes up. They create a petition that they bring it to my attention, and I forward it to the Minister of Industry . I say that my constituents are very concerned about these cell phone towers, about the impacts that they will have on their safety and well-being. What the minister does is punt it off to the municipal level of government. She puts off making a decision and taking responsibility for the actions of the government, particularly on an issue that is so relevant to the health and well-being of Canadians, certainly as much as the issue being discussed here today is. (1720) However, this is what Liberals do. They deflect responsibility.”
“The Liberals' only idea on military sexual misconduct is to force those cases into the overburdened and even slower civilian justice system without providing resources to local police forces or provincial courts to deal with military cases. When victims of sexual assault hear that these processes are being delayed, that they are being pushed off by the federal government, what they are hearing is that the government does not believe them. What these victims need to hear is “I believe you”. The Liberals are trying to do what is politically expedient. They want to punt this off to the provinces and municipalities by pushing sexual assault cases off their table and into an already overburdened civilian police and court system. We have seen this time and time again.”
“We believe that we must continue to address sexual misconduct, as well as discrimination, racism and other forms of harassment, because all military members deserve to have a safe and respectful workplace. The greatest way we can do that today is by saying that, regarding Bill C-11 , “I believe you”, that we believe them, that the House believes them. The previous Conservative government accepted all recommendations from the Deschamps report to eliminate all forms of sexual harassment in the CAF, but after 11 long years of Liberal government and two more reports from Supreme Court justices, victims of military sexual misconduct are still no closer to having their cases dealt with properly.”
“That means 97% of persons who have been the victims of sexual assault do not have the courage to come forward to tell someone their story, what happened to them, because they are unsure that they will hear the words “I believe you”. This is the one line that a survivor of sexual assault needs to hear. What we are hearing today from the government, what it is saying to victims of sexual assault, is that it does not believe them. The Liberals need to say to these victims that they believe them. This was the crux of this incredible campaign that came out of Alberta: “I believe you”. Of course, Conservatives are proud of and support all of our men and women in uniform, who serve Canada.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank all my colleagues. It is always a pleasure to be here in the House to speak on behalf of the good people of Calgary Midnapore. [ English ] The people of Calgary Midnapore, of course, reside in the wonderful province of Alberta, and I am going to start my speech today with great words that came out of a campaign in Alberta in the year 2015. Those words are “I believe you”. This was a campaign created in 2015 by the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services to support victims of sexual assault. When someone comes forward and claims that they are a victim of sexual assault, there should be no other response than “I believe you”, yet 97% of sexual assaults go unreported.”
“Mr. Speaker, let us deal in facts. It is a fact that the Prime Minister has not signed any new free trade deals. He signed empty, non-binding MOUs and burned taxpayer dollars to jet around the world for his chief export: hot air. It is a fact that Canadians need results, not illusions. They need tariffs dropped and the Prime Minister to keep his promise to protect Canadian jobs. It is a fact that Europeans have been pleading for a secure and stable source of energy. While the Prime Minister is overseas, will he tell us when his new pipeline will deliver LNG to Europeans? I would like just the date.”
“Mr. Speaker, behind all the talk, the Prime Minister is just another Liberal. He is more expensive, more anti-resource and more misleading. He is well aware that Canada already has free trade agreements with Europe. Those are all in place. What we need is for he and his government to just get out of the way and stop blocking our biggest export. He said we would build at speeds never seen before, but so far our biggest exports under the government are speeches, handshakes and photo ops. Does the Prime Minister know when the first shipment of Canadian LNG will arrive in Europe?”
“Mr. Speaker, as a former governor of the Bank of Canada, the Prime Minister should know that fiscal discipline is non-negotiable and that deficits undermine investor confidence and harm Canadian workers. Conservatives are asking the Liberals to stop their credit card budgeting and to show some fiscal restraint. When the Prime Minister presents his spring economic statement this afternoon, will he commit to a deficit of no greater than $31 billion for the sake of Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, a year after the federal election, the Prime Minister has shown that he is just another high-spending Liberal. His costly credit card budgeting is forcing Canadians to use their credit cards. We have $90 billion in new spending and spending is up 9% this year alone. When the finance minister presents his spring economic statement this afternoon, will he commit to no credit card budgeting so that Canadians can finally afford to live again?”
“Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the member's leader to be honest with Canadians next time, that he did not have that capacity or that capability. He has not met his own deadline several times over. We are willing to work with him and with them, but they are clearly incapable of getting it done. Next time, they could just be honest about this.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is better not to give them more ideas as to the abuse of our democracy and the democratic process. The Liberals are capable of coming up with these types of ideas on their own. Again, it is such a sad day for Canadians because they did not vote for this and they did not ask for this. They asked for an official opposition that has all of the powers and the benefits of being the official opposition, and that was stolen from us today.”
“Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I think that this is only the beginning, that what we are witnessing is step one. We will see how things develop in the next few months or years. As undemocratic as it may be, I think that opposition members have to prepare for the fact that even though things are just getting started, we should probably expect more actions like these to come.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not appreciate being gaslit, as this member is doing. Forty-one per cent of Canadians voted for an official opposition, so they would like to see that reflected accurately within the makeup of the committees. I will point out that our member actually got more meetings than his Prime Minister . The member should think about that.”
“Then, as of this week, he said, “Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become [our] weaknesses”, but just three days later he said, “We can come to a mutually successful outcome.” As I said, the Prime Minister won the election with the promise that he would get a deal for Canadians. The government talks a good game about wanting us to work together, but really he, as described by the CBC, is “authoritarian”. This move to take control of committees points to that. I will say that the third and final reason is that it is fundamentally undemocratic that committees are constructed in this format. The government got 169 seats in the last election, which is 43.76% of the popular vote, with the CPC getting 144, which is 41.31%. In the words of the CBC, this is overreach. It has an authoritarian streak.”
“Then, on July 15, 2025, he said that a trade deal with Trump without tariffs is unlikely because there is not a lot of evidence right now that the U.S. is willing to make one. Again, he ran on this and he has not gotten a deal for us. In October, he said, “We are still negotiating further gains in [our] major sectors”. He also said, “As we speak, our team is negotiating. This is just not words. We will get a deal.” Then, in November, he said, “Who cares?” He said that we would make a deal as it was necessary, saying “It's a detail.... I'll speak to him again when it matters.” I will tell the House that it matters to Canadians.”
“The Prime Minister should be removed from office for his endless conflicts of interest. I can't wait for October 19th to vote for an independent Alberta.” That is what the government is driving with its authoritarianism, and that includes this committee constitution motion. I will also point out that the Prime Minister literally won office because he promised Canadians that he would be the individual who could get a deal with the U.S., but to date we have yet to see it. We have only seen his ever-changing position on the trade deal with our neighbours to the south. During the leadership race, he said that dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs by Canada should be given and should be aimed where their impacts in the United States would be felt the hardest.”
“We passed Bill C-5 , which gave them carte blanche to achieve anything they possibly wanted to, yet we are stalled out again with respect to major projects and achieving things for Canadians. They are driving the unity crisis as a result of this type of mentality, which has played out in the creation of these committees. I received a note this week: “I am so disappointed in our so-called democratic system. What a clown show. There is nothing democratic about floor crossing. When is this nonsense going to end? Who is overseeing this, and when will they fall in their job? Let's just start with the lack of answers during the question and period segments. When a question is asked, it should be obligatory to provide an intelligent reply that actually relates to the question and not merely dodges the question.”
“We do not know what to expect tomorrow, but we are concerned and worried. Nearly 80% of Canadians are saying that the cost of living outpaces their income. The government demands accountability. The fact it is creating these committee rules to not allow for this accountability is absolutely by design so it will not be held accountable by the official opposition. Second, this is a government that talks a good game about team Canada, but it really wants to do things by itself. It really does not want us to have the team Canada approach. Anyone who has any ideas that are not the Liberals' are deemed un-Canadian. It is absolutely insulting to the so many Canadians who have ideas that are different from theirs. The Liberals said that we were not working with them in their effort to achieve things for Canadians. This is also not true.”
“Our productivity gap has become so acute in the last eight years that, according to numbers that have been cited, Canadian business productivity slipped 0.6% from 2017 to 2024, and nearly half of last year's inflow came through mergers and acquisitions of existing Canadian businesses, well above the historical norm of around one-third. That is not new capital creation. It is not adding anything to our economy. It is not adding jobs for our young Canadian citizens. Today, the announcement of the sovereign capital fund is just ridiculous because there is nothing to go into the fund. Other nations that have created this kind of fund had a surplus. Instead, here, we see a history of deficits. (1925) For every consecutive year, since 2015, there has been a deficit. We see that again this past fiscal year with one of $80 billion.”