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Michael Barrett

Conservative on Business of Supply 2026-11-02

Replying to Martin Champoux (Bloc Québécois)

“Madam Speaker, I congratulate my Conservative colleague on his speech. I find today’s motion particularly compelling for a number of reasons. First, the national poppy campaign is in full swing. Nearly every member of the House is proudly wearing a poppy in remembrance of those who fought, and those who gave their lives, for our freedom and our values. Against that backdrop, we are confronted with a situation that, in my view, is nothing short of an insult to our veterans, whom we have pledged to honour and whom we are sincerely honouring, I would hope, during this special week. Can my colleague tell us a bit more about the fact that, during the last election campaign, the parties generally agreed to implement a buy Canadian, buy local policy and to implement measures that promote buying from local companies and groups? What message does it send to veterans that they were passed over in favour of an American company with ties to ICE and a questionable track record? I would like to hear my colleague’s comments about the sensitivity that should have been shown to this group of individuals whom we are honouring during this special week.”

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Madam Speaker, we can see quite plainly that this decision does not align with what are plainly Canadian values. It is not aligned with what Canadians expressed in the last election. Most importantly, I think the motion and the discussion today measure the Prime Minister’s words against his actions. We want him to make good on what Canadians expect him to do. They expect him to do it because he said he was going to. We want the government to buy Canadian. We want it to honour our veterans. I think that this choice, frankly, is diametrically opposed to what Canadians want. It is antithetical to what the government says it believes and what it will do. We want to create opportunity for Canadian firms, but we also need to send a message. What are Canadian values? What do we believe? Who are we going to stand up for? If we are not standing up for Canadian businesses and if we are not standing up for the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, what are we doing here? There is an opportunity for the government to do the right thing. The Liberals can reverse the decision and award this contract to a Canadian firm because it is the right thing to do and it is what they said they were going to do.