Tom Kmiec

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Development admitted on a SiriusXM radio show that Canadians' international aid tax dollars could end up in the hands of ISIS fighters in the Middle East. Her excuse was that Canada must respect aid neutrality. We should never be neutral about mass slaughter, of those who use rape as a weapon, and those who pose the greatest threat to Canadian security. Organizations that assist ISIS should never receive Canadian taxpayer funding. Instead of making excuses, will the minister do her job and cut funding to aid groups that are directly supporting ISIS fighters in the field?

Mr. Speaker, Davud Hanci has been imprisoned in Turkey for three months now, without any access to legal counsel, and denied virtually any opportunity to communicate with his wife and children. As a Canadian citizen, he deserves the support and assistance of the Canadian government, especially with numerous reports of human rights abuses occurring in Turkish prisons. Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain why he is focused on cozying up to dictators in China, Russia, and Iran, instead of helping Canadians like Davud Hanci?

Mr. Speaker, last week the foreign affairs minister and two of his Liberal colleagues held a private round table on appeasing Iran. Two attendees said it was unfairly balanced toward supporters of Iran, stacked in favour of those who want to cozy up to this serial human rights abuser. Missing were critics of Iran's human rights abuses, such as that country's religious minorities: Baha'is, Baluch, and Iranian Kurds.My question is for the foreign affairs minister. Is this what the Prime Minister means by Canada is back, rewards of embassies for despots, tyrants, and serial human rights abusers?

Mr. Speaker, the Chinese company, CCCC International Holding Limited, has a bad reputation. The Chinese government-run corporation has been banned by the World Bank from bidding on construction projects for rigging bids in the Philippines. This corporation is helping the Beijing government violate the law of the sea and now this same company wants to buy Aecon, a leading player in Canada's construction industry.Why will this government not take the time it needs? Why is it in such a hurry to say yes?

Madam Speaker, at finance committee this week, every single Liberal MP voted against looking at the punishing new stress test the Liberals introduced on mortgages, without even saying a single word.As many as 100,000 Canadians could be blocked from purchasing a home. Up to 150,000 Canadians could lose their jobs because of this economic slow-down.Will the finance minister do the right thing, ignore his mute Liberal MPs and commit to a full review of these new mortgage rules?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has called small business owners tax cheats. The Prime Minister implied that these hard-working Canadians are cheating on their taxes. The Liberals announced the most dramatic changes to the Income Tax Act in the dead of summer when farmers were busy with their crops and getting ready for harvest, and when parents were on vacation with their children and then getting them ready to go back to school. Now, the consultation has been bungled in every possible way. The minister has expressed zero regret. Will he do the right thing and extend the consultation, yes or no?

Madam Speaker, the Liberals have spent the last 18 months cozying up to dictators while Canadian citizens are detained and abused overseas. The latest case is China's arrest of Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen. China jails dissidents, oppresses minority Uighurs and Tibetans, uses arbitrary detention, and violates the religious rights of Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and Falun Gong worshippers like Sun Qian.Why are the Liberals negotiating an extradition treaty with China when it refuses to release Canadians wrongfully arrested?

Mr. Speaker, Bangladesh has just banned one of China's state-owned enterprises due to corruption and bribery. It happens to be the same organization as the one proposing to buy the big Canadian construction giant Aecon. Bangladesh is ranked as the 31st most corrupt place to do business according to Transparency International. If the Government of Bangladesh says that this China state-owned corporation is too corrupt to do business with, then why will the Prime Minister not commit to a national security review and to extending the review period so Canadians can have their say?

Madam Speaker, it took two years for the finance minister to admit fault for his failure to disclose his directorship in the corporation that owns his French villa, and its value. The Ethics Commissioner has fined him. Yesterday, the Liberals spent the day trying to justify the illegal actions of the finance minister. It is clear that Canadians have lost trust and faith in the finance minister's ability to do his job. Is justifying illegal activity and poor judgment the new standard of the Ottawa Liberals?

Mr. Speaker, my family fled the communist regime in Poland, so I know a bit about communist repression. After decades of brutal repression in Cuba, this past weekend was a time when Cubans could finally dream of freedom. Under Castro's rule, Cubans who opposed him faced torture, imprisonment, forced exile, or death by firing squad.Why would the Prime Minister choose to celebrate Fidel Castro when he should be looking at ways to empower the Cuban people?

Mr. Speaker, some of the worst human rights abusers are bidding for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. So far, the government is refusing to say how it will vote at the next meeting of the council on October 28. A number of human rights advocacy organizations have said that some countries should not be eligible for a seat because of their serious human rights abuses.Can the Liberal government confirm that it will not vote in favour of Russia, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, or China obtaining a seat on the UN Human Rights Council?

Mr. Speaker, nearly two million people in Hong Kong have taken to the streets to protest the draconian new extradition law that would have seen residents and visitors, including Canadians, sent to China to face trial in communist-controlled courts. They are on the streets to defend their hard-earned democracy. The extradition law is a clear assault on Hong Kong's autonomy. There is mounting pressure for Hong Kong's PRC-controlled leader, Carrie Lam, to resign after trying to ram through this law and silence peaceful protestors with violence.What action is the government taking to support the people of Hong Kong and the 300,000 Canadians living there?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal economic statement was a slap in the face to Alberta families. Albertans today are protesting in the streets against the Prime Minister and his failure to get pipelines built. Nothing in the fall economic statement gave anything to Alberta energy families. Instead, he prioritized $600 million in corporate welfare for the media. Why is the Prime Minister trying to buy off the media in an election year instead of supporting Canada's energy workers?

Mr. Speaker, it gets worse. Hundreds of Canadians, including 10-year-old Evan Palmer, in my riding, suffer from spinal muscular atrophy, a life-threatening rare disorder. Bureaucrats have approved Spinraza, but only for the most acute cases, using one clinical trial study of one subgroup. Most children who suffer from SMA are being denied. Vulnerable Canadians with SMA are at the mercy of bureaucrats and the health minister, who are ignoring the evidence. Will the minister commit to overruling her bureaucrats so that Evan and other SMA patients can get the medicine they need?

Madam Speaker, business professionals are worried about the Liberal tax hikes on small professional corporations. Dr. Melanie, a physician in my riding, has said that these tax changes would mean less clinical hours in the community. That means less front-line health services.The Prime Minister thinks small businesses are just ways for wealthier Canadians to avoid taxes. Dr. Melanie is a hard-working GP serving her community, not a wealthy tax dodger.When are the Liberals going to shelve these tax hikes and stop punishing hard-working doctors like Dr. Melanie?

Mr. Speaker, the Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism was established by the Conservative government in 2015 to recognize and celebrate the many cultural and ethnic communities that call Canada home. Official government documents show that the Liberals never bothered to even give out the award, blaming it on a lack of nominations. Well, it is impossible to give out an award if a call is never made for nominations.Why are the Liberals failing to champion Canada's Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the revenue minister to release valuable information so that Canadians can understand how widespread the problems are with the disability tax credit for diabetics. The minister totally evaded my question. When it comes to the disability tax credit, Diabetes Canada has said that “nobody's being targeted the way people with diabetes” are. When will the revenue minister do her job, release the data on the disability tax credit, and come clean with Canadians suffering from diabetes?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' one-size-fits-all mortgage stress test has blocked 147,000 Canadians from the dream of home ownership. To fix their big-government mistake, they are proposing a big-government solution of shared equity mortgages. The finance department claims that up to 100,000 Canadians will be helped. They said that CMHC told them so; CMHC says the department gave it that number. The CMHC boss says this program will work on the margins; Liberal MPs keep claiming it will be transformational.Will the Liberals admit that when it comes to housing affordability, they are making it up as they go along and young Canadian families are paying the price?

Mr. Speaker, when Australian construction firm John Holland was bought by a Chinese state-owned enterprise, the result was a children's hospital built with asbestos in the roof and lead in the water. Despite this, China's envoy to Canada said that it would be immoral for Canadians to question the takeover of Aecon by the same Chinese state-owned enterprise that built the botched hospital. Does the industry minister agree that it is immoral to question the takeover of Aecon, or will he take the concerns of Canadians seriously?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's answer to everything is a new tax on hard-working Canadians. The solution to climate change: a tax plan called the carbon tax. The solution to waitresses getting too many freebies: tax their free sandwich. Now we have learned that Liberals think life is much too affordable. Their solution is a tax on pop.Will the Liberals come clean on their planned new soda tax?

Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax will cost the average Canadian family over $2,500 this year. That is 11¢ more for a litre of gas, $250 more for home heating, $100 a month more for groceries and that is just the beginning. Canadians know the Liberal carbon tax is not an environmental policy; it is a tax policy, punishing soccer moms, seniors on fixed incomes and small business owners.Why is the Prime Minister forcing Canadians to pay for his mistakes with punishing new taxes on everyone?

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the millionaire Prime Minister does not realize that taxpayers are not his personal ATM and that ATM does not stand for automatic trust fund machine. The Prime Minister has left Canadians with only debts and deficits, with no sign of a balanced budget. Canadians know that the extravagance of the Liberals will soon become the burden of middle-class families as they continue to raise taxes to pay for Liberal mistakes. Dollars do not fall from heaven. They have to be earned on earth. Will the Prime Minister come clean and tell Canadians the truth about his plan to raise taxes?

Mr. Speaker, the government does not have an environmental plan. It has a carbon tax plan, a plan that will see taxes rise on all families, including low-income families. Government documents show that the Prime Minister's carbon tax will be 15 times higher than the Liberals now admit but only after the next election. The Prime Minister wants to cover up the true cost of this carbon tax until after the election, but Canadians want an answer now.Why is the Prime Minister forcing struggling families to pay for his mistakes with this punishing new tax?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals believe it is more fun to spend someone else's money than their own. I was shocked to learn in an email from the Minister of International Development that as part of refocusing international assistance, the Liberals consulted very few Canadians. They hosted more than 300 consultations in 65 countries but they only met with Canadians on nine occasions in five locations across our country.Why is the Minister of International Development prioritizing the views of non-Canadians on how to spend our international aid money when it is Canadians who are paying the bill?

Madam Speaker, the Liberal government's new mortgage rules are having an impact across the country and making it virtually impossible for many Canadians to buy or sell a home. These changes were meant to cool the overheated markets in Toronto and Vancouver, but instead, the housing market has plunged 20%, and home sales have slid to their lowest level since 2001. Will the Minister of Finance admit that his latest rule changes are hurting Canadian families? Will he relax the rules, from his ivory tower in Ottawa?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned about the Liberals' plan to change our democracy.What was the first move by the Liberals? They are going to set up a committee with a majority of Liberal members. When you want to change the rules of democracy, the only majority that counts is the majority of Canadians.Why not simply commit to consulting all Canadians through a referendum?

Madam Speaker, the only assets the finance minister grew were his own, and on a commission, too. Uncovering the assets of the finance minister has been an ethics riddle that we have not been able to figure out, so riddle me this. “We're exempt from tax hikes of the everyday sort. You won't find us in a parliamentary disclosure report. What are we? Why, we're the finance minister's private holdings, of course.”Will the finance minister help us solve this ethics riddle and tell us what is in those private holdings?

Mr. Speaker, criticism was swift and consistent in response to the dual appointments of Stéphane Dion as ambassador to both the European Union and Germany. Each is a crucial and critical portfolio to manage. Now the European Union has rejected Stéphane Dion as ambassador.Can the Prime Minister explain why he would insult two of our strongest and closest allies by suggesting that Canada's relationship with each of them is a part-time job?

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has over $48 million of Canadian pension dollars invested in Hangzhou Hikvision and Zhejiang Dahua tech companies, which are two firms working closely with China's military. These companies are playing a significant role in China's internment of over one million minority Uighurs. These growing labour camps are euphemistically referred to as “vocational schools”, but the Uighurs in these camps can expect a starvation diet, torture, forced labour, beatings and worse. Will the government direct the board of the CPP to divest from these companies, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, Dominique Daigle is one of thousands of Canadians affected by the Liberal Phoenix fiasco. She has not been paid in 15 months. I sent a letter to the public works minister in July of this year on behalf of Dominique and guess what? No answer. The minister said at the operations committee in November of 2017 that hardship cases would be dealt with in just “a couple of weeks”. She has lost her home and has moved back in with her dad.Will the public works minister take responsibility, end the empty talking points and pay Dominique the wages she has earned?

Mr. Speaker, Canadian company Aecon is also helping to build and has built a great deal of Calgary's South Health Campus in my riding.The People's Republic of China is now seeking to buy Aecon through a state-owned enterprise, leaving many Canadians in fear over what knowledge this foreign government will have of our hospital. We know that the past approval of MDA means that the Liberals do not really care about the national security concerns of Canadians.Will the minister of industry put Canadian national security ahead of any economic considerations?

Mr. Speaker, without freedom of speech, no other freedom is possible. Canada was ranked eighth in the world by Reporters Without Borders in their 2015 World Press Freedom Index. After just one year under the current Prime Minister, we have dropped 10 spots, to number 18 in the world. Namibia, Jamaica, Costa Rica, are all ahead of us.Why is the Liberal government failing to uphold our freedom of speech and freedom of the press?

Mr. Speaker, repeating oneself is not the same as answering the question.When we see the Liberal majority on the committee and the government's insistence on not really consulting Canadians, then we wonder what is really going on here.It is simple. Ontario, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island held referendums in the past, which legitimizes the process.Will the Liberals have the courage of their convictions? Will they promise today in the House to hold a referendum to change the voting system?

Mr. Speaker, in July the Conservative government was proud to commit $1.53 billion to the largest public transit infrastructure project in the history of Calgary. The Green Line North LRT project will double the rail network and cut commute times in half for my constituents. Today, Calgary city council will be debating the funding model in order to kick off construction by 2017. Will the government honour this Conservative commitment, support Mayor Nenshi and the city of Calgary to get Calgarians moving again?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Diabetes Canada said at the finance committee that the Canada Revenue Agency is refusing to release valuable information that would help determine the impact of the mass refusal of disability tax credits for diabetics. Now diabetics have to pry, pull, and rip the information out of the minister's hands just to prove their case. Why will the minister not release this information, or does she have something to hide?

Mr. Speaker, Canadian company Aecon has been doing maintenance on Bell Canada's networks since the 1950s. Today, Aecon is working on Bell's wireless fibre optic migration to expand its wireless cellphone service in Canada. It is also building Bell's headquarters in Mississauga. The People's Republic of China is now seeking to buy Aecon through a state-owned enterprise. The Liberals do not seem to be concerned about the possible security risk this transaction will have for Canadians. Could the minister of industry confirm that a national security review will be done on Aecon's purchase, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, investment in Canada's energy industry increased nine out of 10 years under the previous Conservative government. Today, we have hit a decade low, with $100 billion in investment losses and major divestments from Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips totalling nearly $30 billion. Now Kinder Morgan is fleeing Canada in the face of the Liberal plan to phase out our oil sands. Canadian energy investors are now creating a record number of new jobs outside of Canada as the Liberals block energy projects at home. With investment at record lows and energy jobs fleeing Canada, why does the natural resources minister keep pretending this is the best he can do?

Mr. Speaker, the chair of Aecon and one of its chief financiers wrote an editorial in The Globe and Mail praising the Aecon takeover by a Chinese state-owned enterprise. They said it would be as amazing as the takeover of Australia's John Holland Group, the same John Holland Group that has been involved in the botched construction of a children's hospital in Australia, with asbestos in the roof, shoddy construction, lead in the water, and inexperienced contractors. Will the Prime Minister listen to his corporate insiders, who would gain from this takeover, or will he listen to Canadian national security officials and cancel the deal?

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps doing this. He keeps referring to how robust, rigorous, and multi-staged the process will be.Investment Canada data shows that only five of the more than 700 foreign takeovers in 2016-17 underwent a full-scale national security review. The minister claims all foreign takeovers face a national security review, when in fact most of them only go through the preliminary step.If the minister trusts our national security agencies, like we all do on this side of the House, will he direct them to do the full in-depth national security review of the Aecon purchase?

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Minister of International Development gave me an answer that contradicts an email I received on February 6 at 11:50 a.m., entitled “semaine du développement international International Development Week”. It is in French and English. I am seeking the consent of the House to table this, even though it contradicts the minister's--

Mr. Speaker, we are sent here on behalf of constituents to get answers for them on issues they are facing in their dealings with the government. On behalf of Evan Palmer, a 10 year old suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, I would like to table in the House the letter he sent to me as well as the letter from his parents Kira and Justin, explaining all the difficulties they have had dealing with the minister's department.I am asking for unanimous to table this.

Mr. Speaker, last week Ambassador McCallum said, in reference to an extradition treaty with China, “We’ve agreed to talk about the issues that need to be addressed for China or any other country to meet our high standards”, but on Friday, the parliamentary secretary said, “There are no extradition negotiations.” If talking to the Chinese government about the extradition treaty is not negotiating that very same treaty, then would the Liberals give an honest answer and explain what these non-negotiation talks are about on extradition with the Chinese government?

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary budget officer's report on the 2017 fall economic statement came out today, and I have bad news. The budgetary outlook means more deficits as far as the eye can see. Now, the Minister of Finance appeared at the finance committee, and we did not ask just him once when the budget would be balanced, but 13 times. He evaded the question every single time. We asked him what day it would be balanced. He did not know. What week would it be balanced? He did not know. What decade would it be balanced? He did not know.Mr. Speaker, since Batman is not in the House today, is there any minister in the government who can tell us when the budget will be balanced?

Minister, it is supposed to be people before government.

Mr. Speaker, my family fled the communist regime in Poland, so I know a bit about communist repression. After decades of brutal repression in Cuba, this past weekend was a time when Cubans could finally dream of freedom. Under Castro's rule, Cubans who opposed him faced torture, imprisonment, forced exile, or death by firing squad.Why would the Prime Minister choose to celebrate Fidel Castro when he should be looking at ways to empower the Cuban people?

Madam Speaker, business professionals are worried about the Liberal tax hikes on small professional corporations. Dr. Melanie, a physician in my riding, has said that these tax changes would mean less clinical hours in the community. That means less front-line health services.The Prime Minister thinks small businesses are just ways for wealthier Canadians to avoid taxes. Dr. Melanie is a hard-working GP serving her community, not a wealthy tax dodger.When are the Liberals going to shelve these tax hikes and stop punishing hard-working doctors like Dr. Melanie?

Madam Speaker, it took two years for the finance minister to admit fault for his failure to disclose his directorship in the corporation that owns his French villa, and its value. The Ethics Commissioner has fined him. Yesterday, the Liberals spent the day trying to justify the illegal actions of the finance minister. It is clear that Canadians have lost trust and faith in the finance minister's ability to do his job. Is justifying illegal activity and poor judgment the new standard of the Ottawa Liberals?

Mr. Speaker, some of the worst human rights abusers are bidding for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. So far, the government is refusing to say how it will vote at the next meeting of the council on October 28. A number of human rights advocacy organizations have said that some countries should not be eligible for a seat because of their serious human rights abuses.Can the Liberal government confirm that it will not vote in favour of Russia, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, or China obtaining a seat on the UN Human Rights Council?

Mr. Speaker, last week the foreign affairs minister and two of his Liberal colleagues held a private round table on appeasing Iran. Two attendees said it was unfairly balanced toward supporters of Iran, stacked in favour of those who want to cozy up to this serial human rights abuser. Missing were critics of Iran's human rights abuses, such as that country's religious minorities: Baha'is, Baluch, and Iranian Kurds.My question is for the foreign affairs minister. Is this what the Prime Minister means by Canada is back, rewards of embassies for despots, tyrants, and serial human rights abusers?

Mr. Speaker, when Australian construction firm John Holland was bought by a Chinese state-owned enterprise, the result was a children's hospital built with asbestos in the roof and lead in the water. Despite this, China's envoy to Canada said that it would be immoral for Canadians to question the takeover of Aecon by the same Chinese state-owned enterprise that built the botched hospital. Does the industry minister agree that it is immoral to question the takeover of Aecon, or will he take the concerns of Canadians seriously?

Mr. Speaker, Bangladesh has just banned one of China's state-owned enterprises due to corruption and bribery. It happens to be the same organization as the one proposing to buy the big Canadian construction giant Aecon. Bangladesh is ranked as the 31st most corrupt place to do business according to Transparency International. If the Government of Bangladesh says that this China state-owned corporation is too corrupt to do business with, then why will the Prime Minister not commit to a national security review and to extending the review period so Canadians can have their say?

Mr. Speaker, the Chinese company, CCCC International Holding Limited, has a bad reputation. The Chinese government-run corporation has been banned by the World Bank from bidding on construction projects for rigging bids in the Philippines. This corporation is helping the Beijing government violate the law of the sea and now this same company wants to buy Aecon, a leading player in Canada's construction industry.Why will this government not take the time it needs? Why is it in such a hurry to say yes?

Mr. Speaker, Dominique Daigle is one of thousands of Canadians affected by the Liberal Phoenix fiasco. She has not been paid in 15 months. I sent a letter to the public works minister in July of this year on behalf of Dominique and guess what? No answer. The minister said at the operations committee in November of 2017 that hardship cases would be dealt with in just “a couple of weeks”. She has lost her home and has moved back in with her dad.Will the public works minister take responsibility, end the empty talking points and pay Dominique the wages she has earned?

Mr. Speaker, repeating oneself is not the same as answering the question.When we see the Liberal majority on the committee and the government's insistence on not really consulting Canadians, then we wonder what is really going on here.It is simple. Ontario, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island held referendums in the past, which legitimizes the process.Will the Liberals have the courage of their convictions? Will they promise today in the House to hold a referendum to change the voting system?

Mr. Speaker, the Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism was established by the Conservative government in 2015 to recognize and celebrate the many cultural and ethnic communities that call Canada home. Official government documents show that the Liberals never bothered to even give out the award, blaming it on a lack of nominations. Well, it is impossible to give out an award if a call is never made for nominations.Why are the Liberals failing to champion Canada's Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism?

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has over $48 million of Canadian pension dollars invested in Hangzhou Hikvision and Zhejiang Dahua tech companies, which are two firms working closely with China's military. These companies are playing a significant role in China's internment of over one million minority Uighurs. These growing labour camps are euphemistically referred to as “vocational schools”, but the Uighurs in these camps can expect a starvation diet, torture, forced labour, beatings and worse. Will the government direct the board of the CPP to divest from these companies, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's answer to everything is a new tax on hard-working Canadians. The solution to climate change: a tax plan called the carbon tax. The solution to waitresses getting too many freebies: tax their free sandwich. Now we have learned that Liberals think life is much too affordable. Their solution is a tax on pop.Will the Liberals come clean on their planned new soda tax?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Development admitted on a SiriusXM radio show that Canadians' international aid tax dollars could end up in the hands of ISIS fighters in the Middle East. Her excuse was that Canada must respect aid neutrality. We should never be neutral about mass slaughter, of those who use rape as a weapon, and those who pose the greatest threat to Canadian security. Organizations that assist ISIS should never receive Canadian taxpayer funding. Instead of making excuses, will the minister do her job and cut funding to aid groups that are directly supporting ISIS fighters in the field?

Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax will cost the average Canadian family over $2,500 this year. That is 11¢ more for a litre of gas, $250 more for home heating, $100 a month more for groceries and that is just the beginning. Canadians know the Liberal carbon tax is not an environmental policy; it is a tax policy, punishing soccer moms, seniors on fixed incomes and small business owners.Why is the Prime Minister forcing Canadians to pay for his mistakes with punishing new taxes on everyone?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the revenue minister to release valuable information so that Canadians can understand how widespread the problems are with the disability tax credit for diabetics. The minister totally evaded my question. When it comes to the disability tax credit, Diabetes Canada has said that “nobody's being targeted the way people with diabetes” are. When will the revenue minister do her job, release the data on the disability tax credit, and come clean with Canadians suffering from diabetes?

Madam Speaker, at finance committee this week, every single Liberal MP voted against looking at the punishing new stress test the Liberals introduced on mortgages, without even saying a single word.As many as 100,000 Canadians could be blocked from purchasing a home. Up to 150,000 Canadians could lose their jobs because of this economic slow-down.Will the finance minister do the right thing, ignore his mute Liberal MPs and commit to a full review of these new mortgage rules?

Mr. Speaker, Canadian company Aecon is also helping to build and has built a great deal of Calgary's South Health Campus in my riding.The People's Republic of China is now seeking to buy Aecon through a state-owned enterprise, leaving many Canadians in fear over what knowledge this foreign government will have of our hospital. We know that the past approval of MDA means that the Liberals do not really care about the national security concerns of Canadians.Will the minister of industry put Canadian national security ahead of any economic considerations?

Madam Speaker, the Liberal government's new mortgage rules are having an impact across the country and making it virtually impossible for many Canadians to buy or sell a home. These changes were meant to cool the overheated markets in Toronto and Vancouver, but instead, the housing market has plunged 20%, and home sales have slid to their lowest level since 2001. Will the Minister of Finance admit that his latest rule changes are hurting Canadian families? Will he relax the rules, from his ivory tower in Ottawa?

Mr. Speaker, the government does not have an environmental plan. It has a carbon tax plan, a plan that will see taxes rise on all families, including low-income families. Government documents show that the Prime Minister's carbon tax will be 15 times higher than the Liberals now admit but only after the next election. The Prime Minister wants to cover up the true cost of this carbon tax until after the election, but Canadians want an answer now.Why is the Prime Minister forcing struggling families to pay for his mistakes with this punishing new tax?

Mr. Speaker, investment in Canada's energy industry increased nine out of 10 years under the previous Conservative government. Today, we have hit a decade low, with $100 billion in investment losses and major divestments from Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips totalling nearly $30 billion. Now Kinder Morgan is fleeing Canada in the face of the Liberal plan to phase out our oil sands. Canadian energy investors are now creating a record number of new jobs outside of Canada as the Liberals block energy projects at home. With investment at record lows and energy jobs fleeing Canada, why does the natural resources minister keep pretending this is the best he can do?

Madam Speaker, the only assets the finance minister grew were his own, and on a commission, too. Uncovering the assets of the finance minister has been an ethics riddle that we have not been able to figure out, so riddle me this. “We're exempt from tax hikes of the everyday sort. You won't find us in a parliamentary disclosure report. What are we? Why, we're the finance minister's private holdings, of course.”Will the finance minister help us solve this ethics riddle and tell us what is in those private holdings?

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps doing this. He keeps referring to how robust, rigorous, and multi-staged the process will be.Investment Canada data shows that only five of the more than 700 foreign takeovers in 2016-17 underwent a full-scale national security review. The minister claims all foreign takeovers face a national security review, when in fact most of them only go through the preliminary step.If the minister trusts our national security agencies, like we all do on this side of the House, will he direct them to do the full in-depth national security review of the Aecon purchase?

Mr. Speaker, nearly two million people in Hong Kong have taken to the streets to protest the draconian new extradition law that would have seen residents and visitors, including Canadians, sent to China to face trial in communist-controlled courts. They are on the streets to defend their hard-earned democracy. The extradition law is a clear assault on Hong Kong's autonomy. There is mounting pressure for Hong Kong's PRC-controlled leader, Carrie Lam, to resign after trying to ram through this law and silence peaceful protestors with violence.What action is the government taking to support the people of Hong Kong and the 300,000 Canadians living there?

Mr. Speaker, it gets worse. Hundreds of Canadians, including 10-year-old Evan Palmer, in my riding, suffer from spinal muscular atrophy, a life-threatening rare disorder. Bureaucrats have approved Spinraza, but only for the most acute cases, using one clinical trial study of one subgroup. Most children who suffer from SMA are being denied. Vulnerable Canadians with SMA are at the mercy of bureaucrats and the health minister, who are ignoring the evidence. Will the minister commit to overruling her bureaucrats so that Evan and other SMA patients can get the medicine they need?

Mr. Speaker, we are sent here on behalf of constituents to get answers for them on issues they are facing in their dealings with the government. On behalf of Evan Palmer, a 10 year old suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, I would like to table in the House the letter he sent to me as well as the letter from his parents Kira and Justin, explaining all the difficulties they have had dealing with the minister's department.I am asking for unanimous to table this.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' one-size-fits-all mortgage stress test has blocked 147,000 Canadians from the dream of home ownership. To fix their big-government mistake, they are proposing a big-government solution of shared equity mortgages. The finance department claims that up to 100,000 Canadians will be helped. They said that CMHC told them so; CMHC says the department gave it that number. The CMHC boss says this program will work on the margins; Liberal MPs keep claiming it will be transformational.Will the Liberals admit that when it comes to housing affordability, they are making it up as they go along and young Canadian families are paying the price?

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the millionaire Prime Minister does not realize that taxpayers are not his personal ATM and that ATM does not stand for automatic trust fund machine. The Prime Minister has left Canadians with only debts and deficits, with no sign of a balanced budget. Canadians know that the extravagance of the Liberals will soon become the burden of middle-class families as they continue to raise taxes to pay for Liberal mistakes. Dollars do not fall from heaven. They have to be earned on earth. Will the Prime Minister come clean and tell Canadians the truth about his plan to raise taxes?

Mr. Speaker, last week Ambassador McCallum said, in reference to an extradition treaty with China, “We’ve agreed to talk about the issues that need to be addressed for China or any other country to meet our high standards”, but on Friday, the parliamentary secretary said, “There are no extradition negotiations.” If talking to the Chinese government about the extradition treaty is not negotiating that very same treaty, then would the Liberals give an honest answer and explain what these non-negotiation talks are about on extradition with the Chinese government?

Mr. Speaker, in July the Conservative government was proud to commit $1.53 billion to the largest public transit infrastructure project in the history of Calgary. The Green Line North LRT project will double the rail network and cut commute times in half for my constituents. Today, Calgary city council will be debating the funding model in order to kick off construction by 2017. Will the government honour this Conservative commitment, support Mayor Nenshi and the city of Calgary to get Calgarians moving again?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals believe it is more fun to spend someone else's money than their own. I was shocked to learn in an email from the Minister of International Development that as part of refocusing international assistance, the Liberals consulted very few Canadians. They hosted more than 300 consultations in 65 countries but they only met with Canadians on nine occasions in five locations across our country.Why is the Minister of International Development prioritizing the views of non-Canadians on how to spend our international aid money when it is Canadians who are paying the bill?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned about the Liberals' plan to change our democracy.What was the first move by the Liberals? They are going to set up a committee with a majority of Liberal members. When you want to change the rules of democracy, the only majority that counts is the majority of Canadians.Why not simply commit to consulting all Canadians through a referendum?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal economic statement was a slap in the face to Alberta families. Albertans today are protesting in the streets against the Prime Minister and his failure to get pipelines built. Nothing in the fall economic statement gave anything to Alberta energy families. Instead, he prioritized $600 million in corporate welfare for the media. Why is the Prime Minister trying to buy off the media in an election year instead of supporting Canada's energy workers?

Mr. Speaker, criticism was swift and consistent in response to the dual appointments of Stéphane Dion as ambassador to both the European Union and Germany. Each is a crucial and critical portfolio to manage. Now the European Union has rejected Stéphane Dion as ambassador.Can the Prime Minister explain why he would insult two of our strongest and closest allies by suggesting that Canada's relationship with each of them is a part-time job?

Madam Speaker, the Liberals have spent the last 18 months cozying up to dictators while Canadian citizens are detained and abused overseas. The latest case is China's arrest of Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen. China jails dissidents, oppresses minority Uighurs and Tibetans, uses arbitrary detention, and violates the religious rights of Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and Falun Gong worshippers like Sun Qian.Why are the Liberals negotiating an extradition treaty with China when it refuses to release Canadians wrongfully arrested?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has called small business owners tax cheats. The Prime Minister implied that these hard-working Canadians are cheating on their taxes. The Liberals announced the most dramatic changes to the Income Tax Act in the dead of summer when farmers were busy with their crops and getting ready for harvest, and when parents were on vacation with their children and then getting them ready to go back to school. Now, the consultation has been bungled in every possible way. The minister has expressed zero regret. Will he do the right thing and extend the consultation, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, the chair of Aecon and one of its chief financiers wrote an editorial in The Globe and Mail praising the Aecon takeover by a Chinese state-owned enterprise. They said it would be as amazing as the takeover of Australia's John Holland Group, the same John Holland Group that has been involved in the botched construction of a children's hospital in Australia, with asbestos in the roof, shoddy construction, lead in the water, and inexperienced contractors. Will the Prime Minister listen to his corporate insiders, who would gain from this takeover, or will he listen to Canadian national security officials and cancel the deal?

Mr. Speaker, without freedom of speech, no other freedom is possible. Canada was ranked eighth in the world by Reporters Without Borders in their 2015 World Press Freedom Index. After just one year under the current Prime Minister, we have dropped 10 spots, to number 18 in the world. Namibia, Jamaica, Costa Rica, are all ahead of us.Why is the Liberal government failing to uphold our freedom of speech and freedom of the press?

Mr. Speaker, Davud Hanci has been imprisoned in Turkey for three months now, without any access to legal counsel, and denied virtually any opportunity to communicate with his wife and children. As a Canadian citizen, he deserves the support and assistance of the Canadian government, especially with numerous reports of human rights abuses occurring in Turkish prisons. Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain why he is focused on cozying up to dictators in China, Russia, and Iran, instead of helping Canadians like Davud Hanci?

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary budget officer's report on the 2017 fall economic statement came out today, and I have bad news. The budgetary outlook means more deficits as far as the eye can see. Now, the Minister of Finance appeared at the finance committee, and we did not ask just him once when the budget would be balanced, but 13 times. He evaded the question every single time. We asked him what day it would be balanced. He did not know. What week would it be balanced? He did not know. What decade would it be balanced? He did not know.Mr. Speaker, since Batman is not in the House today, is there any minister in the government who can tell us when the budget will be balanced?