Don Stewart

[Privilege, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say happy holidays to the people of Toronto—St. Paul's and also give a shout-out to my father, who got out of the hospital this weekend. I wish him a speedy recovery.

I have been in this place for three months today, but that does not mean that I am three months old. I have been watching the government heading toward a crash like this for the better part of a year. It is surprising that it took this long to happen. When I look at the former minister of finance's letter, she says we must keep “our fiscal powder dry” to accommodate for an unknown shock, which may or may not come in the future. This would give some flexibility to the government to react.

Is the SDTC slush fund, which used up lots of taxpayer dollars, endemic of a government headed for a crash anyway, and the former finance minister is only now admitting to it?

[Carbon Tax, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is draining the pockets of Canadians and has failed to meet a single emissions target. Anyone can see that this is a failed policy, even the Ontario Liberal leader, Bonnie Crombie. In a speech last night, she said, “I'm not here to tell the prime minister how to do his job. But, I promise you, I will tell him when he is wrong. Like on the carbon tax”.

I completely agree. It is wrong for the Prime Minister to punish Canadians with this heartless carbon tax, which devalues workers' paycheques. It is wrong to drive up the cost of living and vandalize our economy. Crombie's statement is not only a political critique but also a recognition that everyday Canadians struggle in so many ways. People should not have to choose between feeding their families and heating their homes this winter, yet the NDP-Liberal government will hike the carbon tax again in the new year.

When will the Prime Minister give Canadians real and lasting relief and realize the carbon tax is flat out wrong?

[Privilege, November 25th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the members today who have highlighted the riots in Montreal over the weekend. I would draw attention for a moment to the different symbols we saw there. We saw the hammer and sickle, we saw Daesh flags and we saw watermelon buttons as well.

I am new in this House and I am often reminded of that by the members opposite, who must feel threatened in some way by me to try to take down the most rookie MP on this side. Because I am new, could my colleague comment on whether the deflection from the government is something that you have seen a lot over time, or is that something new?

[Privilege, November 25th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I am reminded of the Greek myth of Midas, in which everything he touches turns to gold. He turned his daughter into a gold statue, and he was distraught. There was another part where he judged a music contest, and the gods did not like his choice, so his ears were turned into donkey ears. He had to run around like that. However, for the things he had turned to gold, he was ultimately able to unwind what had happened by washing his hands of it.

Therefore, my question for the member is this: Is there a way for the government to unwind this scandal and the money it has spent?

[Privilege, November 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the analysis of the member opposite. I would say that the only people who are following me around are my constituents, and they are asking me when this election is going to happen.

Can we have a carbon tax election? That is the only thing I am getting followed around about.

[Privilege, November 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the easy thing to do would be for the documents to be produced. This has been ongoing since the middle of June, and here we are in the middle of November. Many people have had birthdays. We are all a year older. We could have been doing the business of Parliament, but we cannot because we have a government that is not interested in accountability and transparency. Parliament has asked for the documents. The documents must be produced.

[Privilege, November 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, I have a background in finance, so I see how a lot of these things manifest themselves in the economy and in our decline in GDP. When we see the dollars of the country being mismanaged, such as with SDTC, ArriveCAN and other things, these compound one another.

When we waste $400 million on SDTC, that is money out the door. That is money that is being added to the debt side of the balance sheet of the country. At today's rates, we are paying another $16 million a year just on that one thing alone. If we had that money back in our pockets, back in our treasury, members can imagine the good things we could do with it.

I would leave it up to people at home who are watching to think about how they could spend that $6 million to improve their community. In St. Paul's, I think we would talk about reducing gun crime and other crime on our streets.

[Privilege, November 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as we talked about earlier, the seizure of Parliament is at the feet of the Liberal members. If they were to produce the documents, the business of Parliament could get going. We could have a full and wholesome debate on these issues.

[Privilege, November 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have had multiple leaders of opposition parties declare that they would also not get security clearance and be muzzled at a time when it would be deservedly better not to do so.

[Privilege, November 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I also admire our member for Wellington—Halton Hills.

I would direct the member opposite to listen to what his former leader, Mr. Mulcair, said, which was that, if he was in the same position, he would do exactly the same thing. He would not want to be muzzled by—