Senator Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition

Honourable senators, it is so good to see that, depending on whether it suits our purposes or not, our principles about leave as well as other things can change as they need to. We certainly appreciate that. Not to put a damper on anything, but I have about a 75-minute speech here, so that puts us to what time? Sorry, colleagues, the rest of you may not be able to speak. You may as well go home, and Senator Gold and I will take care of the rest of the business. I was reminded by my lovel…

Honourable senators, I rise to speak to Bill C-19, “Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1.” It feels good to be on the right side of the angels again on this speech. It actually wasn’t a bad experience, Senator Gold, to vote with you. We should try that more often. Honourable senators, I will not be long on this, I assure you. Senator Marshall gave an absolutely crackerjack, excellent rundown of the many problems with this bill in her excellent speech. There are many problems, and I th…

Honourable senators, let me begin by apologizing for doing this at this late hour, but the government leader rightfully reminded me that we had agreed to finish this debate today. I will try to keep my remarks short. I will probably not entertain questions, just in case somebody wants to prolong it. Let me begin my remarks by quoting something that Senator McCallum said during one of the many marathon clause-by-clause meetings on this bill. Her sentiments have become a constant refrain…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Motion No. 41. As you know, this motion is very similar to Motion No. 42, which we will also be debating later this day. I oppose both of these motions for the same reasons and will thus make most of my remarks on the motion before us now, although my arguments apply equally to both motions. The motion before us now is asking: That, in accordance with rule 10-11(1), the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages be authorized to exam…

Honourable senators, I’m rising to speak to Bill S-201, voting age, as the opposition critic to this legislation. It has been adjourned in Senator Dean’s name, and of course, if he would like it to be adjourned in his name again, I would be happy with that, but I will leave that for him to decide. Colleagues, on October 23, 1969, the government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Although the change was made with little public consultation, it was broadly ac…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the motion to continue hybrid sittings in the Senate. I am sure that it will come as no surprise to you that I am very opposed to this motion. I believe that we have lost all sense of perspective with this pandemic and that we are now failing to fulfill our duties as senators. I acknowledge that there are ongoing challenges and uncertainties with the pandemic, but treating the Senate like it is a long-term care home is an insult to taxpayers…

Honourable senators, I rise to speak to Bill S-5, known by its short title as the strengthening environmental protection for a healthier Canada act. Our colleague Senator Kutcher, the sponsor of the bill, pointed out that the long title is a mouthful, so I will take his lead and just refer to it as Bill S-5. Given what we have been through these last two years, it is hard to imagine anyone being opposed to legislation or anything else that looks to provide all Canadians with as health…

Honourable senators, I hope Canadians heard Senator Mercer questioning their sanity as depending on who they voted for. I believe Canadians are always right when they vote, and they have always been right when they have elected a Conservative government, as well. Surely to goodness, I would expect that even our fine senators from Nova Scotia would agree that Canadians are right when they elect any government. Now I’m going to talk about this bill. Senator Cordy talked about the good i…

Honourable senators, I also rise today to speak on the government’s motion for confirmation of a declaration of emergency. Let me begin, colleagues, by saying this: The Conservative Party of Canada stands for law and order. We always have and we always will. I am very happy, as I am sure you all are, that the blockades were lifted rather peacefully and without extensive damage to property. I salute the great work of our police forces and the restraint shown by the large majority of pr…