Jonathan Rowe · TranslatePolitics.ca

Oral Questions

Natural Resources

2026-06-17

“I want the government to spend on projects in my riding, not other places. My riding deserves the money.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I do not think Saint Pierre and Miquelon was even mentioned in that answer. I do not think that answer is very good for the next generation or very comforting to the next generation. Critical minerals, for example, are critical to the country's development and future. It seems that the Liberal government claims to spend millions of dollars in hard-to-reach places that require huge construction of roads, ports and highways. If these are national building projects, why does the government not invest in critical minerals in Newfoundland and Labrador, including in Port Hope Simpson, which is already at tidewater, already has highways and already has the infrastructure and everything needed to succeed?

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Oral Questions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

2026-06-17

“I read a thing. People are coming from France, a rich place, saying they need asylum. It seems fishy. Are they playing us? The minister should explain why these people go all the way to my island if they really need help.”

Statements by Members

Tourism in Newfoundland

2026-06-17

“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. That's good. Visit my province.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, summer is just around the corner, and there is no better place to be than on the Rock. Whether people want to go to Swift Current to see a world-class car collection, to Bonavista to see the icebergs, to the Burin Peninsula to hear the great stories of the famous pirates or to Lumsden to experience the best beaches north of Cuba, we have something for the whole family. If people cannot swim, they can take a boat ride to experience the whales in Port Rexton or the puffins in Elliston, or explore the secret underground bunkers. No matter where people go, I am sure they will experience the warm hospitality of my fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. They will hear great jokes and eat delicious meals. This summer, they might even be able to catch a cod on a Wednesday afternoon. To end their trip, they can cool down and grab a brewski in the famous town of Dildo. Come on out. Catch the ferry or take a flight and come on home to the Rock.

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Oral Questions

Labour

2026-06-12

“You're in charge of those ferries! We're in a recession and businesses are hurting. Nobody can afford a strike. Make a fair deal and end this!”

“Those ferries are a lifeline for Newfoundland. But the union's been without a contract for months. Trudeau says he's a great dealmaker but now there's a strike looming. Does he not care enough to fix it or is he just bad at making deals?”

Government Orders

2026-06-11

“You said you don't want to ban religious texts. But one of your cabinet ministers said there are hateful passages in them. So now I'm going to exaggerate and make you sound ridiculous. Should governments make a list of banned Bible verses? That'll show people how unreasonable you are.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, when I was around my riding and hearing concerns from people, a lot of people defended the Liberals, saying, “Clearly it is not their intent to ban religious texts. We are just trying to prevent hate here.” However, what is interesting is that a Liberal cabinet minister has said that there are passages in religious texts that are clearly hateful. This came from a Liberal cabinet minister, so obviously that is the intent of the government. I am wondering if the member could explain this: Should we make a list, as governments, to give to pastors and people of religious faiths so they have examples of verses that they know they are not allowed to say in churches and synagogues without getting handcuffed?

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Government Orders

Main Estimates, 2026-27

2026-06-08

“I want to cheer for more aerospace spending in Quebec. But Liberals spent too much building a launch pad. Newfoundland built one for less. You wasted money that should go to my province instead.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I agree. Quebec especially has been a leader in the aerospace industry, with Bombardier's building airplanes. It has been amazing, what we have done in Canada. We have so much to be proud of. Again, I do not think the mistake is investing. I think the mistake is wasting that money. We built a launch pad that is almost identical to the pictures I have seen and to what I have seen when I have been there. It is an almost identical launch pad, for 5% of the price, in Newfoundland and Labrador. This is not about what we are spending money on. It is how you are wasting the money, giving it to Liberal insiders. I apologize, Mr. Speaker. It was not you who wasted the money. It was the Liberals. I made a mistake.

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“You're right, the Liberals take money from Quebec and from the West and then they play favorites in how they spend it. We agree the Liberals are the problem here. We should take their power to decide away.”

“I'm filling time repeating what I just did instead of making a new point. I'm sad the other member attacked me back instead of answering how my party's expensive space plan helps Canada. That's all I'll say.”

“I want the government to explain why this spaceport costs so much more than another one. Show us it's a good use of taxpayer money. Canada already spends too much and our debt is too high.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, “to infinity and beyond”. Am I talking about a space program or our deficit? Perhaps I am talking about both. Kids all over Canada look up to Buzz Lightyear and Chris Hadfield about the stars and what is beyond them. Whether they are real astronauts or fictional astronauts, Canadians look up to these role models. Canada has a great history being a part of our space exploration, such as the Alouette I, which was launched under former Conservative Prime Minister Diefenbaker, making Canada the third country to design and build a satellite; and the Canadarm, an impressive robotic arm used in the space shuttle and the International Space Station. Even Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, was educated right here in Canada. We have a lot of achievements to be proud of and Canada is certainly swinging well above its weight, including Newfoundland and Labrador. In my riding, in the town of St. Lawrence, we actually have a launch pad. We have the NordSpace launch pad. Last year, many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and scientists from around the world gathered in St. Lawrence to watch NordSpace have its first test launch. The best part is the inauguration mission was called “Getting Screeched In”. NordSpace is a 100% Canadian-owned company, investing in our province and defence, with a planned expansion opening a new office in St. John's for mission controls. This is good because Canada needs a strong space force. GPS, Internet, communications and many essential components of society and our military are in space. We need to have the ability to provide those services and protect those services for Canadians. Space is no longer just about exploration and discovery. It is about national security, economic growth, scientific advancement and innovation. The countries that lead in space will help shape the future. Canada was and always should be among those leaders. Our engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs have demonstrated time and time again that they can compete with the best in the world. However, what they need is a government that supports innovation responsibly, spends taxpayer dollars wisely and ensures that invested dollars provide value for Canadians. I have spent a few days researching NordSpace, its company and business models. It seems that it received a mere $10 million. With that money, it built a nice road, a nice spaceport, developed its technology and even had a test launch. Let us compare that to the spaceport on everyone's mind: Nova Scotia's Maritime Launch Services. Maritime Launch Services was incorporated in 2016, but things did not get spicy until this year and Canadians are concerned. We have heard that there is a $200-million deal with Maritime Launch Services, but we seem to have very little detail on what that includes. So far, all that seems to be included in this $200-million deal is a concrete pad in the middle of a gravel pit. Being the inquisitive man that I am, I got on a plane and went to Canso, Nova Scotia, to see this launch pad for myself. After a short three‑kilometre walk, it was easy to see some of the concerns. Being only three kilometres away from the town, I could actually see homes from the launch pad. I can see why the people of the town of Canso are raising concerns. There were signs all over town petitioning against the construction of this launch pad so close to their homes. In addition, there was not much there. It was an underwhelming experience. There was a sea can, a work trailer and a small concrete pad. Honestly, it was no larger than my driveway. It is not much of a piece of land. It sure seems to be an expensive piece of land at that. The company is renting the land from Nova Scotia for less than $15,000 per year and then it seems like it is billing the Department of National Defence $20 million a year and National Defence will not even own it when it is completed. To add fuel to this rocket, I am hearing that the federal government backdated this lease for a full year. How does that happen? I would be the happiest landlord in the world if I had tenants who said, “I will backdate my lease and pay for a full year before I move in.” That would be fantastic. Coincidentally, this lucrative lease came just in time to save the day. It is rumoured that this company was on the verge of bankruptcy before receiving this deal. If that is not bad enough, as soon as the deal got signed, some shareholders cashed out and dumped that stock at a ballooned price. Not only did they get bailed out, but they also got rich. They got rich off Canadian taxpayer dollars, and that is exactly why transparency matters. Canadians are not opposed to investing in infrastructure. Canadians are not opposed to investing in innovation. Canadians are not opposed to building a stronger space industry, but Canadians are opposed to writing a blank cheque without being told where the money is going. When governments spend public money, they have a duty to show their work. They have a duty to explain the costs, justify their decisions and demonstrate the results. If this project is truly in the best interest of Canadians, the government should have no problem releasing the details of that lease and letting the facts speak for themselves. I am not here just to complain and point fingers. I am here to ask questions, to raise the issue, to get to the bottom of this for Canadians. Really, I am standing here to give the Liberals a chance to explain themselves, a chance to release the lease, a chance to release the details of this funding, to explain to Canadians how they can justify spending over $200 million on a space pad in Nova Scotia while a nearly identical one was built in Newfoundland for only 5% of the cost. Canadians have a right to know. These are large amounts of money we are talking about here. This is not a $16 orange juice or even a $200,000 luxury airplane room service for the Prime Minister's private jet. This is $200 million, million with a capital M. This spaceport is costing Canadians over $54,000 a day for the next 10 years, and $54,000 is more than what an average Canadian makes in a year. The median salary for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians is less than $35,000 a year. Conservatives know that Canadians have a right to transparency, a right to know how the Liberal government is spending their dollars. I am sincerely hoping the Liberals can stand up and tell Canadians, convince Canadians, show Canadians that this is not another Liberal green slush fund or another Liberal WE scandal, where Liberal insiders and Trudeau's family receive millions of taxpayer dollars. However, so far, from this side of the House, things are looking pretty fishy. Many Canadians would even argue that this entire spending is a waste. Why should the Canadian taxpayer pay for a second launch pad in Atlantic Canada, when there is a perfectly functional and nearly identical launch pad already constructed and used in Atlantic Canada? Certainly, it would cost much less than $200 million to transport those rockets to the spaceport in my riding. These are the questions, the simple questions Canadians are asking, and we want to hear good answers, so let us hear it. If there is a sound business case, let us see it. If this is truly a wise investment, then release the details to allow Canadians to judge for themselves. Until then, Canadians will continue to wonder why so much money is being spent with so few answers being provided. Unfortunately, rockets are not the only thing going to infinity and beyond. It is also Canada's deficit. We spend more money on interest payments than the federal government spends in health care payments. We spend more money servicing the deficit than we receive in GST. This means the 5% we all spend on everything at the store goes straight to the bankers. The Prime Minister's budget has generational debt. By 2029, over 12% of our budget will be used to service the debt. For every eight dollars we take in, a dollar will be used to service the debt. This is massive. Debt is looming over the next generation of Canadians, risking our entire economy's future, and it is not because Canadians are not paying taxes. We are paying way more than enough taxes. It is because the taxes are not being used wisely. This, my friends, is why this economy is not flying. It is simply falling with style.

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Oral Questions

The Economy

2026-06-02

“You are ignoring the real problems. People are losing jobs and drowning in debt. But the government keeps pretending and spending. How much worse does it have to get for you to admit your plan isn't working?”

“The economy is shrinking. Businesses are closing. The Prime Minister is ignoring it. I want the government to admit its policies caused a recession.”

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-28

“I think the bill is too big and controls too much. I want the government to make it smaller. I'm exaggerating and naming extreme cases to say it goes too far.”

“I want to know if the NDP thinks this tax is revenge against Donald Trump, or if they just want the tax for its own sake. I don't care what the motive is, I just want to highlight that the NDP wants this tax.”

Oral Questions

Fisheries and Oceans

2026-05-27

“I want the Prime Minister to go to the wharves and justify his fishy deal. He bragged about selling out the automotive industry to save seafood, but he only saved two species. Other seafoods still have 25% tariffs. This puts Canadian jobs at risk.”

Oral Questions

Finance

2026-05-01

“The government cannot fix rising costs by spending more borrowed money. Spending our way out of inflation is the Prime Minister's failed plan. He should stop and let the economy recover on its own.”

“The Liberals spend too much. They said they would be responsible, but they keep going deeper in debt. Deficits mean Canadians can't afford ordinary things like coffee. The government needs to stop spending so much.”

Adjournment Proceedings

2026-04-30

“The government can't tax itself into prosperity. You can't spend your way out of inflation. But this government keeps trying. Taking four cents off diesel is a joke. You're getting more than that in GST from higher prices. Diesel ships everything. It's the core of our economy. Conservatives wanted to take 25 cents off, get rid of all those taxes to give people a break. We could cover the cost with oil and gas royalties. Canada has some of the best oil and gas in the world.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, the government cannot tax itself into prosperity and it cannot spend its way out of inflation. That is what is very frustrating, because both of these approaches seem to be what this government keeps trying to do. It is so upside down and backwards. Four cents on diesel is almost a joke. The government is probably getting more than four cents on the GST because of the price increase. It is almost a joke. Diesel is what ships our food. It is what ships all the products in Canada. In a lot of ways, it is almost the core of the Canadian economy. The Conservatives wanted to take 25¢ off, to take it all off and reduce all those taxes to give people at home a break. We could offset those costs with all the royalties that Canada is getting from our oil and gas while supplying our allies with some of the best oil and gas in the world.

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“I'm filling time by rehashing old attacks on Trudeau's spending. I think people voted for the current Prime Minister to fix affordability. But he's spending more than Trudeau did. That's why inflation happened. Inflation makes people's lives harder. Conservatives warned this would happen. Now the current Prime Minister is making excuses and blaming other people instead of taking responsibility. He should look in the mirror, not out the window for scapegoats.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the privilege to speak here today. A few weeks ago, I asked a question in the House about affordability. The premise of that question was that under Trudeau, there was a lot of spending, and inflation went up, and then a new Prime Minister came along, promised to run on affordability, had a banker's resume and was going to fix the country and bring down inflation. Unfortunately, we actually see a budget that is spending more than Justin Trudeau. It is so disappointing to see that. I think some Canadians are starting to feel duped now that these budgets are out. Inflation is caused by printing money, essentially. The more money there is in the system, and the goods remain the same, the more cost it is per good. This is what our Conservative leader was talking about. Just before COVID, and during Trudeau's big spending frenzy, our Conservative leader kept talking over and over about how the more we spend, the more inflation goes up and the more interest goes up. What happened? Interest went up. People's mortgages have gone up because of it. Rents have gone up because of it. Rents have gone up in Newfoundland 10% year over year, partially because interest rates are going up, and then we have inflation going up as well. It is very disappointing because people in Canada are making relatively the same wage. They are working harder but not getting ahead. They are working more and not getting ahead, because this government is spending more, and it is so disappointing. There is a graph in the budget on page 11 that shows how the deficit-to-GDP ratio actually increased after the current Prime Minister was elected. It has been a full year from when he was elected until now, and it increased significantly. It just blows my mind, as that is the opposite of what the Prime Minister campaigned on. A third of Atlantic Canadians are saying they cannot even afford to pay their bills now. Every time we point to the Harper decade and point to how Canadians could afford food back then, they could get by and perhaps even afford a trip throughout the world for vacation at that point, the excuse is always, “Well, oil prices were high. Times were good, oil prices were high, and things were great.” They do not mention that we were in the 2008 economic crisis. No, oil prices saved Canada. Okay, maybe that is true, but what is interesting is that now when we mention inflation, the Liberals will say, “Well, inflation is because of the war in Iran. With the war in Iran, the price of oil is going up, and so things are becoming more expensive, and inflation is going up.” Which is it? I mean, it is so frustrating. Canada does better when the price of oil goes up. We get revenues. The Canadian economy should be predicted to do better because of that. It is so frustrating to see this double, two-way argument. It seems like the Liberals are trying to blame everybody and anybody they can. First they blamed Trudeau, and then they axed him. Then they blamed Trump. Now that things are, “Oh, you know, who cares? We can't talk to Trump,” they get to blame the war with Iran. This is what I want to know. When will the Liberals stop looking out their window trying to find a scapegoat to blame this inflation on, rather than looking in a mirror, holding themselves accountable and asking who was running this country for the past decade when inflation got out of hand?

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Oral Questions

Finance

2026-04-29

“The other guys spend too much and it's making us poorer. Canadians pay more to bankers than for health care now. We should stop giving so much money to bankers and start putting it into health care instead.”