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The minerals are still in the ground, but the wrong leaders are still in government
Jul 24, 2025
These weren't failed ventures. These were viable operations that had to close down rather than keep going down, Mr. Speaker, They closed down to this government's embarrassing policies, policies that are chasing investors away and eliminating our competitive edge. -- This video has automatic dubbed versions. Go to Setting / Audio track and select your preferred language among the following: - English - Dutch - French - German - Hindi - Indonesian - Italian - Japanese - Korean - Polish - Portuguese - Spanish Thanks for watching!
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0:00
Resuming debate or please do the ba the
0:02
honorable member for Teranova the
0:04
peninsulas.
0:08
Mr. Speaker, before I get into the meat
0:10
of my uh response, I just want to thank
0:13
the 19,65
0:15
people from Teranova the peninsulas that
0:17
voted to have me here today to bring
0:20
their voices here to Ottawa. I'm a proud
0:22
Newfalander and I am with an entangled
0:25
heritage to the rock. While there are
0:26
many things to be proud of, the things
0:28
that makes me proud the most is that I
0:30
am part of a community that truly cares
0:32
for one another. A great example of this
0:34
is when 8-year-old Adeline Skinner went
0:36
missing in the woods and the whole
0:38
community banded together to make sure
0:40
that she came home safe. And I'm proud
0:42
to stand here today to say that she was
0:44
found safe and sound. And
0:47
this story doesn't just bring us
0:49
together. It shows who we are because
0:51
when something like this happens,
0:53
politics don't matter. status don't
0:55
matter. What matters is looking out for
0:57
one another no matter the cost. That's
1:00
the spirit of a Newfalander. That's the
1:02
spirit I was raised with and that's the
1:04
spirit I bring to this house.
1:07
We know that success isn't measured by
1:09
what we accumulate for ourselves, but
1:11
how we show up for the people around us.
1:13
That's why I've grown to hold the model.
1:16
Success is helping other people succeed.
1:19
So, let me begin.
1:21
Mr. Speaker, one day the sun will shine
1:24
and have not will be no more. These were
1:26
the famous words of our Premier Brian
1:28
Pekford. Well, the sun did shine, Mr.
1:30
Speaker. Under the last Conservative
1:32
government, our province was thriving.
1:35
For the first time in history, we had an
1:37
economy that we could be proud of. But
1:39
during this last Liberal decade, our
1:42
province has been spiraling into
1:44
poverty. Almost every aspect of our life
1:46
has been in decay. Mr. Speaker, our
1:49
hospitals are closing and the ones that
1:51
remain are having closed apartments with
1:53
no emergency services. Patients are
1:55
having to drive over deplorable roads
1:58
with life-threatening issues. And just
2:00
to give you an idea of how deplorable
2:02
these roads are after my only 36-day
2:05
campaign, I had to replace all the
2:07
suspension in my pickup truck. That's
2:10
how bad they are. And Mr. Mr. Speaker,
2:12
the MHAs in my province would love
2:13
nothing more to be here and announce
2:16
more hospital funding and repave every
2:18
inch of our road to roads.
2:20
Unfortunately, our province is in dire
2:23
financial situation and are running
2:24
major deficits due to this Liberal
2:27
government's failed economic policies.
2:30
Mr. Speaker, my district of Teranova
2:33
Peninsulas touches five bays and we have
2:35
more small craft harbors than any other
2:37
district in Canada. Whether off the
2:39
point man, St. brides in the south or
2:42
new west valley bonavista and beta verd
2:44
in the north. Fishing has and needs to
2:47
continue to thrive in these regions.
2:49
When I travel from wararf to wararf,
2:52
there is no trouble to tell that these
2:54
fishermen are at their wits end with
2:56
this liberal government and their
2:58
policies that are hurting their
2:59
industry. But yet the worst is yet to
3:02
come. With this government planning to
3:04
allocate 30% of our ocean as marine
3:07
protected area by 2030 and 50% by 2050,
3:12
these targets will once again be a major
3:14
blow to their livelihood. Mr. Speaker,
3:17
can you imagine the uproar if Otto
3:20
decided to take 30% of farmland for
3:22
farmers? Well, let me tell you this. New
3:25
Philanders and Labradorans are not
3:27
putting up with it. We will come here
3:29
week after week after week and fight for
3:32
our constituents and fight for our
3:34
province. Despite having the most small
3:36
craft harbors in Canada, the top
3:38
employer in my district is construction.
3:40
Places like Mary'stown and Greens Harbor
3:43
and many more towns in our district have
3:44
a long history of construction and boat
3:47
building. On the Bureum Peninsulas, they
3:49
have built boats for World War II
3:51
fairies and even the top sides of oil
3:53
rigs. But under this Liberal government,
3:56
they have not one but two
3:58
state-of-the-art multi-million dollar
4:01
shipyards sitting in idol. And this is
4:04
not the only thing sitting in idol, Mr.
4:05
Speaker. The bull arm fabrication site
4:08
costs a half a billion dollars to
4:10
construct in the '9s and is probably
4:12
worth over billions of dollars today. It
4:15
has built multiple oil rigs including
4:16
the Hiburnia and the Hebron which was
4:19
the fifth largest in the world. And to
4:21
give an idea of the magnitude and size
4:24
of this facility, I wanted to inform
4:26
everyone that they have the second
4:27
largest doors in the world, only second
4:30
to NASA.
4:32
Myself, my father, and my mother all
4:34
worked on another oil rig construction
4:37
site in Argentia. It was more than a
4:39
job. It was a legacy. Three members of
4:42
the same family coming together to build
4:44
something that would stand tall in the
4:46
North Atlantic. Something that we could
4:48
be proud of. But just like so many other
4:50
sites across Newfaland and Labrador,
4:52
this site too will be idle within a few
4:54
months now that this project is coming
4:56
to completion. Another facility, another
4:59
opportunity sitting idle. And what's
5:02
even more frustrating is there's no plan
5:04
to fill the void. Just silence.
5:08
Silence where there should be progress.
5:10
We have an oil refinery as well, Mr.
5:11
Speaker. It produces 135,000 barrels of
5:14
oil a day. Oh, wait. It used to produce
5:17
135,000 barrel a day. That's the kind of
5:19
capacity that built middle class
5:21
families and allowed young people to
5:23
stay at home and work. Then this Liberal
5:26
government invested 89 million taxpayer
5:29
dollars, not to improve it, not to
5:32
modernize it, but to incentivize this
5:34
company to reduce its throughput to
5:36
14,000 barrels of biodiesel. Think about
5:40
that. A 90% reduction. This wasn't a
5:43
market-driven decision. This was a
5:45
politically manufactured one. Now we see
5:48
the media publishing stories that the
5:50
refinery is struggling and its future
5:52
uncertain. In fact, just yesterday they
5:55
had layoffs. So I asked this government,
5:57
"What did you expect?" They suppressed
5:59
their whole business with regulations
6:01
and industrial carbon tax, poured
6:03
millions of dollars into shrinking its
6:04
output, and now act all surprised that
6:07
it's on the brink of collapse. And
6:09
speaking of collapsing industries,
6:10
Newfaland's mining industry is hitting
6:12
rock bottom. I've been in the pits. I've
6:15
seen the blast. And I've stood
6:17
shoulderto-shoulder with the hardest
6:19
working men and women in this country.
6:21
Mining isn't just a job in Newfaland.
6:23
It's one of our economical foundations.
6:25
But that foundation is crumbling. Within
6:28
6 months, we had four mines closed in on
6:30
our island. One of which was in my
6:32
writing. That's not a coincidence, Mr.
6:34
Speaker. That's a crisis. These weren't
6:36
exhausted sites. These weren't failed
6:38
ventures. These were viable operations
6:40
that had to close down rather than keep
6:43
going down. Mr. Speaker, they closed
6:45
down to this government's embarrassing
6:47
policies. Policies that are chasing
6:48
investors away and eliminating our
6:51
competitive edge. And let me be clear,
6:53
the price of gold and minerals are a
6:56
global price. We don't control it. What
6:58
we control is how competitive we are as
7:01
a country. But now due to the artificial
7:04
costs like carbon tax, industrial carbon
7:06
tax and the inefficiency inefficient
7:08
bureaucracy, it eliminates our
7:10
competitive edge. The minerals are still
7:12
in the ground, but the wrong leaders are
7:14
still in government. Mr. Speaker, this
7:16
throne speech talks a lot about giving
7:17
Canadians a tax break, and that's great,
7:19
but you can't tax someone if they're not
7:21
working. And right now, we have the
7:23
highest unemployment rate in the country
7:24
at nearly 10%. 10%. That's not because
7:28
our people don't want to work, Mr.
7:30
Speaker. It's cuz there aren't any jobs.
7:32
And that makes me frustrated, Mr.
7:34
Speaker. And what frustrates me the most
7:36
is we are sitting on a gold mine of idle
7:39
facilities and on O on tap potential
7:41
that this Liberal government keeps
7:43
suppressing. We have the resources. We
7:45
have the infrastructure and we have the
7:47
workers. But instead of building, this
7:49
government is blocking. Instead of
7:50
digging, they're diverting. So, Mr.
7:53
Speaker, where shall my constituents
7:56
find work? because I can tell you they
7:58
won't find work here in Ottawa since
8:00
most of them haven't learned French in
8:01
our rural schools. And it's no fault of
8:03
their own. It's a failure of the system.
8:05
A system that forgets about rural Canada
8:07
until it's election time. And now young
8:09
people being disqualified from federal
8:11
opportunities because of it. And I don't
8:13
think they'll have much work building a
8:14
pipeline either. While this prime
8:16
minister tells one side of the country's
8:18
building pipelines, he tells the other
8:19
side a different story. Now, perhaps
8:21
they could get a visa and work in other
8:23
parts of the world building pipelines
8:25
where this prime minister has invested,
8:26
but unfortunately that's not here at
8:28
home. And with these production and
8:30
emissions caps, I don't think they'll
8:32
have a very much luck getting a job in
8:33
the oil sands either. And I've got my
8:36
doubts they will be working on this
8:37
nationwide energy corridor because I
8:39
don't think this Liberal government has
8:41
the guts to do what it takes to put
8:42
their energy corridor through Quebec
8:44
into Labrador where it could build
8:46
enough hydroele electricity to make the
8:48
green energy superpower that we want it
8:50
to be. The power's there and the people
8:52
are ready. Mr. Speaker, let's not forget
8:54
that the topic affecting every Canadian
8:56
is the high cost of living due to
8:58
inflation. This inflation doesn't
9:00
magically appear out of nowhere. No, Mr.
9:02
Speaker, this inflation is a direct
9:04
result of reckless overspending and
9:07
economic mismanagement. This inflation
9:08
is because this prime minister, the very
9:10
one who now leads us, was advising the
9:12
former prime minister to waste tax
9:15
dollars having budgets and saying
9:17
budgets would balance itself and now not
9:19
even having a budget at all.
9:21
And not only do are single mothers
9:23
struggling now, but we have double inome
9:25
parents who are struggling to provide
9:27
for their kids. Food bank usage is up
9:29
and there's no sign of slowing down. I
9:31
have gone to houses in my districts
9:32
where seniors have the upstairs of their
9:34
homes tarped off and they're sleeping on
9:36
the couch because they can't afford to
9:38
heat their homes. We have seniors
9:41
wandering shopping malls trying to stay
9:43
warm in the winter. And I have even
9:45
heard where seniors are eating pet food
9:47
because they cannot afford the
9:49
skyrocketing grocery bills. Imagine
9:51
that. After a lifetime of paying into
9:54
the system, this is the dignity that we
9:56
afford them. These seniors are the very
9:58
people who voted for this government.
10:00
They supported them. They voted for them
10:03
to fight Donald Trump with tariffs and
10:05
have a plan for Canada's economy, not
10:07
drop the tariffs and have no budget.
10:10
Furthermore, this throne speech
10:12
completely turns his back on seniors and
10:14
offers no help to survive the economic
10:17
storm that these liberals created. One
10:19
day the
10:22
I have to interrupt the honorable member
10:24
questions and comments. the honorable
10:25
member for King's Hance.
10:28
Congratulate the honorable member on his
10:30
uh first and his maiden speech here in
10:32
parliament. Uh and I welcome of course
10:35
him to this place particularly as an
10:36
Atlantic Canadian. Uh a few things I
10:39
want to make sure that he knows as he
10:40
enters this place in terms of the way in
10:42
which this government has helped to
10:43
support the good province of
10:44
Newfoundland and Labrador. Whether or
10:46
not it was taking the approval time on
10:48
offshore oil and gas permitting from 900
10:50
days under Steven Harper down to 90
10:52
days. uh whether or not it was investing
10:54
in rate mitigation in this province,
10:56
$5.2 billion dollars from this
10:58
government to support his province,
11:00
whether or not it's been crucial
11:02
investments across uh that was delivered
11:04
by this Liberal government. But I it's a
11:06
little bit devoid as I sit here and
11:07
listen in this house. The oil and gas
11:10
question uh according to the
11:12
International Energy Agency, oil and gas
11:14
production in this country has actually
11:16
increased by 29% in this country over
11:18
the last 10 years. How does this honor
11:20
me member stand here in this place and
11:22
suggest that oil and gas has not been
11:24
benefited under this government in terms
11:25
of that oil and production?
11:27
The honorable member for Teranova the
11:28
peninsulas.
11:31
Mr. Speaker, my honorable member can
11:33
correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe
11:34
it was,282 days to get Beta Nord
11:37
approved and for those talking before
11:39
that government finally drove them away.
11:40
We've had two years in Newflands
11:42
offshore with no bids. I'm not sure what
11:45
Newfalanders and Labradorians are
11:46
expected to do, but we need work and we
11:48
have the opportunity to create an
11:50
economic superpower in Newfaland. We
11:52
just need to get out of our own way.
11:53
Here, here.
11:57
The honorable member for
11:59
Thank you. I'd like to thank my
12:00
colleague for his speech.
12:03
He said that the Liberal government has
12:05
abandoned seniors. I tend to agree.
12:10
We at the block brought forward a bill
12:12
because the Liberals increase seniors
12:14
pensions for only people over 75. They
12:17
increased them by 10% but only for those
12:19
seniors. So we brought in a bill which
12:22
was which did get support and made it
12:24
through most of the steps to increase
12:26
the pension for people between 65 and
12:29
74. So I'd like to know what my
12:31
colleague thinks of that.
12:32
We're tearing over the peninsulas.
12:35
It is good to see any help going to
12:37
seniors, but I I think we definitely
12:39
need to do more. We they have built this
12:41
country. They put their blood, sweat,
12:42
and tears into building things and and
12:44
raising us, and we definitely need to
12:46
support them more.
12:47
Here's the honorable member for Tobek
12:50
Mctoquac.
12:51
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to my
12:53
honorable colleague from Teran Nova, the
12:55
peninsulas. It's an absolute joy to
12:57
welcome him to this house, and he's
12:59
going to be a tremendous dis uh addition
13:02
and compliment to the people's house. No
13:04
doubt about that. My question uh to the
13:07
honorable member is this. We hear a lot
13:09
of recent talk and happy talk from the
13:12
other side of the house, the government
13:14
around
13:16
oil and gas, but it's kind of coded.
13:19
It's kind of shrouded. It's kind of
13:21
maybe we're going to do it. Possibly
13:23
we're going to do it if it meets certain
13:24
requirements up to certain stipulations
13:27
and passes certain loopholes. And after
13:29
17 subcommittees and pair of committees
13:31
and overarching committees look at it
13:33
and examine it, we'll come back and
13:34
re-evaluate once again. My question
13:36
simply is this. Is it time for a change
13:39
so we finally get a government in place
13:41
that we can actually get these projects
13:43
off the ground and done?
13:45
The honorable member for Terramova the
13:47
Peninsulas.
13:51
I believe that a Conservative government
13:54
will make the sunshine once again and I
13:57
believe that that will be through pay
13:58
creating highpaying jobs that prioritize
14:00
the livelihood of each Canadian, not
14:02
just the long list of consultants that
14:05
this Liberal government has on speed
14:06
dial.
14:07
Here questions and comments. The
14:10
honorable
14:12
de
14:12
the honorable member for Terzville.
14:15
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
14:19
I'd like to thank our honorable
14:22
colleague for his speech. Listening to
14:24
him, it's clear that he's raised
14:27
important matters around energy and our
14:29
rural regions.
14:31
RPM has been very clear about our goal
14:34
to make Canada a global superpower both
14:38
in conventional and clean energy. And he
14:41
also wants us to reduce emissions.
14:43
With that in mind, it's clear that
14:46
yesterday's meeting in Saskatoon was a
14:47
real success. Can we count on the
14:49
Conservatives
14:51
to support the results of working
14:53
together to create one single voice
14:56
instead of 13 in Canada?
14:57
Peninsulas.
15:01
Removing interprovincial trade bears
15:03
seems like a good idea that may have
15:06
came from our side of the floor. Thank
15:08
you.
15:10
That
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