OTTAWA, ON –The Hon. Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, issued the following statement on Journey to Freedom Day:

“Today marks the sixth Journey to Freedom Day, when we commemorate the thousands of Vietnamese boat people who fled a violent communist takeover and found peace and freedom in Canada.

“After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, countless Vietnamese people fled communism and left behind their war-torn country in boats, unsure of their destination or future. Bravely facing perilous waters, thousands of these refugees lost their lives at sea from starvation, pirates, and deadly storms, but it did not break their courage to find a new home.

“It was under the previous Conservative government that the Journey to Freedom Day Act was passed, championed by the Honourable Senator Thanh Hai Ngo, the first Senator of Vietnamese descent. Canada’s compassionate response and humanitarian aid in welcoming over 120,000 Vietnamese refugees, resulted in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees awarding Canada with the Nansen Refugee Award. This marked the only time in history that the prestigious medal was awarded to an entire nation.

“After successfully resettling refugees in all ten provinces and two territories, today Canada is proud to be home to one of the largest Vietnamese diasporas. Canadians of Vietnamese descent have contributed tremendously to our country in all aspects of life – raising families, building businesses, and serving as professionals, first responders, clergy, and in many other capacities.

“On behalf of Canada’s Conservatives, I am proud to commemorate this day.” 

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For more information, please contact:

Julie Pham

(613) 947-9932

[email protected]

OTTAWA, ON –The Hon. Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, issued the following statement on Journey to Freedom Day:

“Today marks the sixth Journey to Freedom Day, when we commemorate the thousands of Vietnamese boat people who fled a violent communist takeover and found peace and freedom in Canada.

“After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, countless Vietnamese people fled communism and left behind their war-torn country in boats, unsure of their destination or future. Bravely facing perilous waters, thousands of these refugees lost their lives at sea from starvation, pirates, and deadly storms, but it did not break their courage to find a new home.

“It was under the previous Conservative government that the Journey to Freedom Day Act was passed, championed by the Honourable Senator Thanh Hai Ngo, the first Senator of Vietnamese descent. Canada’s compassionate response and humanitarian aid in welcoming over 120,000 Vietnamese refugees, resulted in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees awarding Canada with the Nansen Refugee Award. This marked the only time in history that the prestigious medal was awarded to an entire nation.

“After successfully resettling refugees in all ten provinces and two territories, today Canada is proud to be home to one of the largest Vietnamese diasporas. Canadians of Vietnamese descent have contributed tremendously to our country in all aspects of life – raising families, building businesses, and serving as professionals, first responders, clergy, and in many other capacities.

“On behalf of Canada’s Conservatives, I am proud to commemorate this day.” 

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For more information, please contact:

Julie Pham

(613) 947-9932

[email protected]

The Conservative Party of Canada’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) met today to discuss the resumption of the 2020 Leadership Election. On March 26, the LEOC suspended the race due to the impact COVID-19 related health guidelines and government mandated closures were having on key processes needed to complete the race.

The LEOC took the time over the course of that suspension to re-evaluate the timeline needed to complete the race, and has concluded the Leadership Election can resume with adjustments to accommodate current circumstances, effective immediately. The membership deadline of May 15 will remain unchanged. The process will proceed with mail ballots, as required by the Party Constitution, and all ballots will need to be completed and received by August 21.  The result will be announced as soon as those ballots can be properly processed and examined by scrutineers while respecting any health guidelines in place at that time.

The safety and health of volunteers has been top of mind for the LEOC, and while the date to announce a new leader will be largely dependent on what health guidelines and government orders are in place in August, the LEOC has committed to monitoring the situation closely, and will look to confirm the announcement details in the coming weeks.

Party members will be consulted on their preferred path forward

“The Conservative Party’s National Council met Thursday night to discuss options around holding the party’s Policy Convention in November. After considering several factors, it was unanimously decided to postpone the convention, with a new date to be approved later by the Council.

“Among the options the party could consider are holding it later in 2021, or, if health guidelines don’t allow for a gathering as sizable as our convention, the possibility of hosting a virtual convention, as many other organizations are planning to do. However, before any decision is taken, party members will be canvassed through a survey to help National Council determine how and when they’d prefer to proceed with a convention.

“The decision to postpone was not one taken lightly, and to ensure it was the prudent decision to make we considered a number of items. Factors such as the deadline for Conservative leadership votes to be received makes it logistically difficult to hold delegate selection meetings as our focus during the summer will be getting ballots out to members and ensuring every eligible ballot is received by HQ, cast and counted.

“Also, with the election of a new leader to be announced after August 21, a new convention date will give our new leader more time to provide direction for the party and guidance in convention planning.

“Additionally, National Council recognizes that attending conventions are a significant expense for many party members and felt holding the convention at a future date would better reflect the realities of the significant economic downturn in Canada.

“Finally, and very importantly, we are unable to predict what sort of travel and gathering restrictions could still be in place by November 2020 for conventions of our size that typically attract thousands of delegates and other guests, so choosing to postpone now rather than pushing the decision later ensures minimum impact for our members and the party.

“National Council will always act in the best interests of the party and our members, and part of that is to consider and plan for all contingencies – so this made the decision necessary. We will start our outreach in the coming weeks to begin gathering members’ views.”

Luc Berthold, Conservative Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Communities, issued the following statement after receiving confirmation from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada that they will conduct an audit of the Liberal government’s Investing in Canada Plan:
 
“Yesterday, I was pleased to receive a letter from Sylvain Ricard, the Interim Auditor General of Canada, confirming that his office will conduct an audit of the Liberals’ Investing in Canada Plan. Last month, Conservatives passed a motion in the House of Commons calling on the Auditor General to investigate the Liberals’ $186.7 billion infrastructure plan, given their lack of transparency and accountability to Canadians.
 
“The Liberals’ record on infrastructure is abysmal. In 2015, Justin Trudeau promised to run small, temporary deficits in order to invest in infrastructure that would grow the economy, but Canadians now know that was not true. Multiple reports from the Parliamentary Budget Officer have also shown what lengths the Liberals will go to hide how their announced infrastructure funding has actually been used.
 
“I am pleased that the Auditor General has respected the will of Parliament and agreed to conduct this important audit, which Liberal Members of Parliament tried to block. Canada’s Conservatives will continue to use our strengthened Opposition to ensure that the government is transparent and accountable to Canadians.”

Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Glen Motz Associate Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, issued the following statement today regarding Huawei and Canada’s 5G network:
 
“For months the Trudeau Liberals have ignored Canada’s security agencies and refused to take a position on Huawei and its possible participation in Canada’s 5G network for purely partisan political reasons.  This has put Canada offside with our G7 allies and threatens the future of Five Eyes intelligence sharing.
 
“On the same day a major telecommunications company announced their intention to launch a 5G network in Canada later this year using Huawei Technologies, the United States charged Huawei with 16 counts, including ‘conspiracy to steal trade secrets’.  This should concern all Canadians.
 
“Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government must take immediate action to protect our national security and Canadians’ privacy and ban Huawei from Canada’s 5G network.”

The Hon. Candice Bergen, House Leader for Canada’s Official Opposition, released the following statement highlighting the accomplishments of Canada’s Conservatives during the first week of the parliamentary session:
 
“This week, we made it clear to the Trudeau Liberals that there will be no free rides this parliamentary session. Through our actions this week, the Conservative team has followed through on our promise to use our strengthened opposition to deliver results for Canadians.
 
“Despite the opposition of Justin Trudeau, we passed our second supply day motion, calling for the Liberal government’s infrastructure plan to be audited by the Auditor General.
 
“With the seriousness of the coronavirus and the concern that many Canadians have with the outbreak of this virus, our Conservative caucus knew that action had to be taken. That is why Canada’s Conservatives put forward a motion in the House of Commons, which passed unanimously, to immediately recall the Health Committee to address this outbreak.
 
“Conservatives also took leadership in standing up for Taiwan and advocating for its observer status in the World Health Organization during the outbreak of coronavirus. After repeated questions, Justin Trudeau reluctantly changed his position and supported Taiwan receiving observer status.
 
“We forced the Trudeau Liberals to be transparent on a number of issues, through the tabling of over 230 Order Paper Questions. Due to this work, we learned that the Liberals spent more than $1.4 million dollars fighting Mark Norman in court, that the Middle Class Minister cannot define the middle class, and wasted $51,500 of taxpayers money on lavish food and drinks aboard the airbus on Justin Trudeau’s roundtrip to Paris.

“These tangible results show how we are fighting for the interests of Canadians in Ottawa. We will continue to make the case every single day for why our country needs a Conservative Government: for a stronger position on the world stage; for respect for taxpayers’ dollar; and for a united country."
 

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For more information, please contact:
 
Nathan Ellis
[email protected]  
(613) 720-9245

An online petition sponsored by Glen Motz, Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner and Associate Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, that opposes the Liberals’ plan to ban ‘military-style assault rifles’ through an Order in Council and bypass the democratic process of the House of Commons has become the most-signed e-petition in Canadian history.

The petition has garnered unprecedented support with more than 139,000 signatures as of January 31, 2020, and remains open until February 15, 2020. This petition surpasses a previous petition sponsored by Nathan Cullen in 2017 that was presented to the House with 130,452 signatures.

“Canadians have been very clear. They want action on crime, action on gangs and action on illegal firearms, and they want it now,” said MP Motz, a former police officer with the Medicine Hat Police Service. “Making law-abiding members of our communities follow even more rules will not help solve gun crime."

“The Liberals’ policies are targeting law-abiding firearms owners instead of criminals and gangs which are the real issues,” Motz added, “It’s much harder and more difficult to go after the gang members and the illegally trafficked firearms, but that is the difficult work that Conservatives have always been prepared to do.”

Concerned Canadians have until February 15, 2020 to sign the e-Petition, which can be found here: www.e2341.ca
 

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For more information:

Sean O’Leary
Office of Glen Motz, MP
613-294-0519

Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Erin O’Toole, Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, James Bezan, Shadow Minister for National Defence, Pierre Paul-Hus, Shadow Minister for Public Safety, and Todd Doherty, Shadow Minister for Transport, issued the following statement calling on the Trudeau Liberals to take immediate action regarding the developing situation in Iran:

“Last night, the Iranian regime took responsibility for shooting down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. As a result, 176 people including 57 Canadians lost their lives and their friends and families are hurting and reeling from the loss. 

“Justin Trudeau and the Liberals must take immediate action to ensure those responsible are held accountable for this terrible atrocity. 

“Canada’s Conservatives call on the Trudeau Liberals to take the following measures: 

1. Immediately implement the Conservative motion passed by Parliament in 2018 to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. 
2. Demand Iran compensate all victims of the crash, repatriate their remains, and hold the perpetrators of this atrocity accountable.
3. Be prepared to impose Magnitsky Sanctions on Iran if they don’t fully cooperate with the international investigation. 

“The fact that 57 Canadians lost their lives due to an Iranian missile requires action by the Trudeau Liberals. The status quo is unacceptable. The actions listed above represent a measured response to ensure that the families of the victims receive justice. 

“The Iranian regime must not get a free pass after killing 57 Canadians. Canada’s Conservatives will continue to advocate for the appropriate and measured response necessary to ensure that Iran is held accountable and the families of the victims receive the justice they deserve.” 

The Honourable Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, issued this statement marking the one year anniversary of the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by the Chinese government:

“A year ago today two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were arbitrarily and unlawfully detained by the Chinese government. While in prison, these two Canadians have been subject to near torturous conditions, including the confiscation of Mr. Kovrig’s reading glasses.

“During this time Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government have demonstrated gross incompetence and poor judgement on this important file.

“The appointment of former Liberal cabinet Minister and now disgraced ambassador to China, John McCallum, made the situation between the Chinese government and Canada even worse. Justin Trudeau then failed to appoint an ambassador to China for months, putting a freeze on relations between our two countries. And lastly, while two Canadians sit in a Chinese government prison, a Liberal Minister thought it was a good idea to travel to China to promote Canadian investment. 

“These actions show an unserious government unable to handle this important file. I will continue to call for Justin Trudeau to personally intervene on this vital issue and hold him accountable for the numerous mistakes he has made in the failed attempt to secure the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.”