Brad Vis

“I want the government to protect private property rights in British Columbia after the Cowichan court decision. Because the government will not defend these rights, businesses are investing less money and families risk losing value on their homes.”

“Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I asked the Prime Minister a simple question: Will the Liberal government defend the private property rights of British Columbians in response to the Cowichan decision, yes or no? The member for Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby said that Conservatives, myself included, were fearmongering. However, British Columbians were not imagining what was happening. Real people and real businesses are already feeling the consequences of the Cowichan decision. Real estate deals have been abandoned. The provincial government has had to backstop mortgages, and investment is draining out of British Columbia. A survey from the Business Council of British Columbia found that almost 74% of B.C. businesses plan to decrease investment due to uncertainty over DRIPA, which is the provincial equivalent of the federal UNDRIP legislation; 73% said it is harder to access external financing; and one in three respondents said they are reducing hiring plans. The CEO of Wesbild Holdings said to Global News, “If you asked us today whether we’re going to invest in land in B.C., the answer is no.” In March, the Vancouver Sun reported that property values in Richmond could decrease by up to 40%. For many families, that means their home, their biggest asset, is suddenly at risk. This is not theoretical. Business owners and homeowners are facing the consequences of the government’s refusal or denial to prioritize and protect fee simple titles. Last week, the government could have made a commitment to defend private property and remove previous instructions to its lawyers. Instead, it left British Columbia in further uncertainty, sending a signal that Canada is becoming a riskier place to invest. Thankfully, the Supreme Court refused to hear the New Brunswick Wolastoqey Nation case. Conservatives will continue to push the government to pursue a policy and a legal position that protects private property rights for all British Columbians.”

“My party tried to change this bill to keep tough, mandatory prison sentences for people who possess child pornography. Does the Bloc Québécois think the government is doing enough to punish these people?”

“Mr. Speaker, during the amendment stage, the Conservative Party put forward CPC‑13. It would have protected child pornography possession and access offences from charter challenges under sections 7 and 12 by enacting the notwithstanding clause while also preventing these offences from benefiting from the bill’s mandatory minimum safety valve. Does the Bloc Québécois believe that the government has done enough to prosecute individuals who look at child pornography in Canada?”

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In response to a question from Jean-Denis Garon

“It should be easier for Canadian provinces to trade with each other than with the United States. Right now, it is easier for a business in Quebec to trade with America than with British Columbia.”

“Madam Speaker, the member for Mirabel needs to ask his constituents why it is easier for a small and medium-sized enterprise in his province to trade with the northeast United States. Why is it easier for a Quebec company to do business with America than with a company in British Columbia? I believe in a federation where it is easier to do trade among Canadian provinces first, before doing it with a foreign country. If the Bloc Québécois continues taking that position, it is going to minimize its economic impact and the ability of its province’s enterprises to grow accordingly.”

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In response to a question from Kevin Lamoureux

“Conservatives voted to remove federal rules on trade between provinces. The Prime Minister promised free trade across Canada, but he failed to push the provinces to drop their own trade barriers. He broke his promise.”

“Madam Speaker, indeed, the Conservatives voted in favour of removing all federal regulations on interprovincial trade, but the fact of the matter is that the Prime Minister promised there would be free trade amongst the provinces in Canada. What we needed in that moment was federal leadership, for the Prime Minister to say to the provinces and territories that if they do not remove their barriers in professional services, financial services and transportation, there will be consequences. The Prime Minister was not willing to expend the necessary political capital to remove the provincially related barriers to interprovincial trade in Canada. That is a failure of his leadership, and a promise broken that he made.”

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“I do not support this budget bill because it ignores small businesses and leaves out my region. The government should raise the small business tax cut and GST limits to help owners deal with high costs. It also needs to cut red tape and send infrastructure money to Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley to protect us from floods.”

“Madam Speaker, before I begin, I want to say that I will be sharing my time with the member for Mirabel. Before I begin, BC School Sports hosted the high schools’ rugby championships in Abbotsford last week. There were thousands of young boys and girls from across the province who competed in sevens and 15s. Our very own in Abbotsford, the Yale Lions senior girls rugby team, won the provincial championships, and the Robert Bateman Timberwolves senior boys team came in second in the province. The WJ Mouat girls, the Yale boys, and the Abbotsford senior boys all did phenomenally well. We are blessed to have the infrastructure to host such an event in Abbotsford. It truly does lift up the profile of our local economy, and the ability to host major sporting events creates lasting memories for so many young athletes. As the member of Parliament for Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, I give special congratulations to all the phenomenal athletes on the Yale girls team in particular. They ran an amazing game of running rugby and totally dominated their opposition. It was just a joy to watch. My plug is to the Secretary of State for Sport, who has $700 million to hand out to sporting organizations. On a per capita basis, Abbotsford produces more Olympic athletes in the sport of rugby and more national team players than any other community in this country. I hope to see some of those infrastructure dollars there to improve our aging recreational infrastructure. Now to Bill C-31, a Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association report found that in the first quarter of 2026, Canadian venture capital investing dropped to its lowest level in nearly a decade. Venture capital investment fell nearly 77% quarter over quarter. For every dollar of foreign direct investment coming into Canada, two dollars have left, the largest capital exodus in Canadian history. Since the Liberals came to power, Canada has lost $1 trillion of investment, largely into the arms of our American friends. It is very unusual for Canadian businesses to go through this significant a period of negative growth as we are experiencing right now. As we reflect on Bill C-31, why not take some actions to protect small businesses? I believe small businesses have largely been ignored by this government. Many business organizations across Canada are calling for some changes to the tax code, like the small business deduction threshold, which has been set at $500,000 since 2009. The threshold has not kept pace with inflation, rising input costs or higher interest rates. This creates a cliff effect, where growing businesses are pushed into a higher tax bracket, discouraging investment and expansion. Business organizations have requested that the government increase the small business deduction threshold to $700,000 and index it to the CPI year after year. This would allow our truly small businesses in Canada to take advantage of the 9% tax rate and really make a difference in our economy. Let us support our small businesses. Second, another thing the government could have done in the last year, which would have made a huge difference in the lives of our entrepreneurs, is that it could have addressed the small business GST threshold. This was created in 1991, and it is currently set at $30,000. It was originally designed to limit GST collection to large businesses. Over two decades later, the threshold value has been eroded by inflation, and more businesses are now required to register, collect and remit GST than originally intended. I believe the government, in the last year, could have changed its policy and increased the threshold to $60,000 to reduce red tape for truly small businesses, the ones where people go to work every day and pay lots of taxes in Canada. Including these measures in Bill C-31, along with other GST/HST adjustments, would have provided SMEs with real financial relief, yet nothing has changed in the last year. The Liberals are still looking for big headline wins, while forgetting that most people in our private sector do in fact work for small firms. They are forgetting about small businesses that do not have lawyers who can apply for complex programs. They just do not have the time to do this, because they are actually running a business. Let me give an example: the tariff rebate programs. At a time when Canadian small businesses have faced real economic pressure because of American tariffs, the government has not come forward with meaningful support to help them. It promised that the tariff revenues would be reinvested to help the sectors hit the hardest, but that promise has simply not been met. The regional tariff response initiative was supposed to be the vehicle for that support. Instead it has become a case study in poor execution. The Secretary of State for Small Business has consistently framed the program as accessible and supportive, but in reality it has created more red tape, cutting out local small businesses. In January this year, the National Post reported that 80% of businesses were not even aware that this program existed, and only 8% said they intended to apply. In British Columbia, seven out of 10 businesses were not even eligible for the program itself, despite paying those tariffs. CFIB president, Dan Kelly, called the regional tariff response initiative totally useless. The challenges facing small businesses are not unique. I heard many of the concerns from business leaders across the Fraser Valley earlier this month at the Fraser Valley Economic Summit 2026 in Abbotsford, when more than 200 leaders from business, local government, indigenous communities, educational institutions and industry came together to discuss the future of our regional economy. Throughout the summit, speakers and participants spoke about the need for transportation corridors, trade-enabling infrastructure, industrial land, workforce development, housing and energy systems. They asked how Canada can improve productivity if businesses cannot access those infrastructure dollars. The Fraser Valley is one of Canada’s most important economic regions. The region is expected to grow by nearly 47% by 2050, bringing new opportunities for investment, job creation and agricultural exports in particular. Realizing that potential will require governments to focus on the practical conditions that allow communities to grow and succeed. We see this reflected across multiple sectors of the economy, including financial services. Canada benefits from having some of the largest and most stable banks in the world. However, there remains a significant gap between the country’s largest financial institutions and smaller local providers. A local example is Tru Cooperative Bank, formerly First West Credit Union, which began its federal continuance process in 2018 but did not receive final approval until 2026. If Canada wants greater competition in financial services, we need to create the conditions for strong, Canadian-owned, mid-sized institutions to grow and to compete nationally. This is in line with the policies of every political party in Canada: free trade between our provinces, more economic exchange between Canadians. It took eight years to get federal approval for one of the most established cooperatives in British Columbia. That is not acceptable. If Canada wants greater competition in financial services, it needs to look at reducing red tape and prioritizing the private enterprises that are willing to take the risk and put up the capital to expand and offer better services to Canada. We could say the same thing about open banking right now as well, and the same policies apply to infrastructure. The government announced, in the budget last year, the build communities strong fund as a major investment in those fields. The program does allocate $6 billion directly for regionally significant projects, including climate adaptation and flood protection infrastructure. I implore the House of Commons not to forget Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley when they think of the allocation of that money. In my riding in the Fraser Valley, the Trans Mountain pipeline sends 37% of its oil across the flood zone into the United States. That is billions of dollars into the coffers every single year to the Government of Canada. The recent Enbridge pipeline expansion goes right through the flood zone as well. We have a major border crossing, we have an international airport, and we have a Southern Railway line that brings billions of dollars of Canadian goods into America every year, benefiting our country, yet since the floods in 2021, we have not received any infrastructure dollars to protect one of the most important economic regions in all of Canada. Again, I ask the government to not forget about the Fraser Valley. The government needs it to accomplish its goals. Canada needs our region to build up better.”

In response to a question from Mario Beaulieu

“Canada lost 112,300 jobs in the first three months of this year, and 485,000 more Canadians are unemployed under this Prime Minister. How is his lack of concern for job losses hurting our economy?”

“Madam Speaker, recently, there were 112,300 job losses in the first three months of this year alone, with 485,000 more Canadians unemployed since the member for Nepean became the Prime Minister. What is the economic impact of a Prime Minister who does not take our job losses seriously in Canada?”