Debates of Oct. 6th, 2023

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that all of us have a teacher, or many, in mind who shaped our future in significant ways. The Prime Minister's awards for teaching excellence in science, technology and math recognize elementary and high school teachers across the country who have meaningfully contributed to the lives of their students by supporting and mentoring them in school.

Today and every day, we should continue to recognize the impactful role that educators play in setting their students up for success in their future endeavours.

We give our thanks to teachers.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the ArriveCan scandal is back in the news and reports are that the two-man operation that made $11 million off the arrive scam were running a scheme that now has officials being investigated by the RCMP.

After eight years of the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government, Liberal insiders are getting rich and Canadians are seeing that the Prime Minister just is not worth the cost.

When will the Prime Minister stop putting Liberal insiders and his friends first and start looking out for the needs of Canadians?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we expect that all contracts issued follow the laws and regulations of this country. Any allegations of misconduct will be investigated. Let me assure all Canadians that the government is looking forward to any results of these reviews and recommendations, but misconduct and wrongdoing will have consequences.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, you will have to excuse us if we are not just going to take their word for it.

What we want to hear from the government is that the NDP-Liberal coalition is going to vote in favour of an investigation at the government operations committee so that Canadians can have transparency and answers. This $54-million boondoggle that saw insiders getting rich while Canadians are lined up at food banks is absolutely unacceptable. Now, with the Mounties knocking at the door, they are saying, “Please, just trust us and we're going to make sure all the rules were followed.” They were not followed before and we do not trust that they are going to make sure that they are followed now.

Will the out-of-touch Prime Minister have his NDP-Liberal government—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we trust our law enforcement agencies, like the RCMP, to investigate any wrongdoing. We do not think that Conservative members who want to make political clickbait out of this actually get to the bottom of any sort of wrongdoing. We take allegations very seriously. We are going to ensure that investigations move forward with integrity and not for Conservative political gain. Wrongdoing will have consequences.

Public Safety

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of investigation, for five months, the Liberals have pulled out all the stops to prevent an investigation into the shocking and incomprehensible transfer of notorious killer Paul Bernardo from a maximum-security prison. Victims' families were not even informed of the transfer until it was already under way; so much for victims' rights.

The trust of Canadians and victims' families in our justice system has been shattered by this failure and it is up to us in this House to restore that trust. When will the Liberals stop preventing accountability, and let the public safety committee investigate?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that it was actually our motion, which many parties agreed to, to conduct a study on the issue of transfers. The Conservatives are in damage control right now because they voted against it. I find it appalling that the Conservative members would use the issue of one of the most heinous crimes against women as a way to fundraise and create clickbait. If they want to conduct this study, then support the motion that we put on the floor to do so.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is that Liberal member and her colleagues who voted against the Conservative motion to bring victims' representatives to committee two times. The Liberals do not want an investigation; they want a whitewash. I wish I did not have to stand in this House and ask those questions today. I wish that killer, Paul Bernardo, was sitting in a maximum-security prison today. I wish that the Liberal government had not stood by and let this transfer happen, but it did.

Canadians deserve answers. Victims' families deserve to know why and how this was allowed to happen. The Liberals can let us get those answers by letting the public safety committee investigate. Will they, yes or no?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we supported and put forward a motion to study these very transfers. The Conservatives use heinous crimes and the suffering of women and violence against women as a way to block government legislation. Bill C-20 would have tangible results to protect women in the workplace with respect to sexual harassment. The Conservatives time and time again use clickbait, instead of real action to protect women.

Families, Children and Social Development

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when groceries are more expensive than ever, I want to take us back to the last election campaign. The Liberals promised Quebec and the provinces $1 billion over five years to fund school meal programs. We have heard nothing about it ever since. With inflation squeezing families, it is high time the Liberals kept that promise.

When will the government give Quebec and the provinces the $1 billion promised for school meal programs?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that life for Canadians is a little tough right now. We will continue to work together to improve the situation. We will continue to work with all the provinces and Quebec to help on various fronts, particularly on the issue of food for children. We will continue to work together to do just that.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last year there were already 1.8 million children living with food insecurity and the price of food has only continued to rise. It is high time we helped these children.

In Quebec, we already have quality organizations that are just waiting for the funding the Liberals had promised. Needless to say, Quebeckers are siding with the organizations. Some 84% of people want the Liberals to keep their promise.

When will they give Quebec and the provinces the billion dollars they promised for children's lunches?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable that there are children in this country, whoever and wherever they may be, who are having trouble getting enough to eat. Everyone must have access to food. There is no denying that we need to keep working with the provinces and we will continue to work closely with them to fix the situation. That is very important to all of us here.

Finance

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's banking regulator has reported that one in five mortgages at three banks are in negative amortization. In simple terms, homeowners cannot afford to pay their mortgages.

Mortgage rates have increased at the fastest pace in history because of the Liberal government's failed policies. Deficits lead to inflation, which leads to higher interest rates, which, as should be obvious to the NDP-Liberal coalition right now, lead to higher mortgage costs.

When are the Liberals going to acknowledge the pain their broken economic policies are causing Canadians and end these massive deficits?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts, because that is something we do on this side of the House.

Inflation is half of what it was last July. We know for a fact that over one million jobs have been created since the pandemic, almost 64,000 jobs in September alone. We know that life is challenging for Canadians, but we also know the steps that are being taken are going to make life more affordable for Canadians. That is the work that we are doing on this of the House.

If the Conservatives care about Canadians and about affordability, why do they keep voting against every single measure we put forward to make life more affordable for Canadians?

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the member across the way uses selective statistics. Yes, 64,000 jobs were created in September, but that is because there are fewer people actually working full time. The actual number of hours worked has gone down by 0.2%, in the same report.

Many Canadian homeowners are now clearly underwater on their mortgage payments, and the number is growing by 100,000 per month. After eight years, a home affordability crisis is upon us. It is obvious that the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the increasing cost.

Sooner than later, please, will the government get out of the way so Conservatives could fix what it has so obviously broken?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, if we look at the history of Conservative mismanagement of the finances of this country, Canadians should be grateful that there is no Conservative government currently in control.

The reality is that under this government our AAA credit rating continues to be the hallmark. If members look at the G7, we continue to lead. We continue to be a strong player in terms of where our credit rating lies, in terms of where inflation numbers and, most importantly, in terms of the supports we are giving Canadians to help them today.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when we say that the cost of living is going up, we are not making it up. This week, Le Journal de Québec said, “‘It is a real disaster!’ Requests for food assistance are being denied for the first time in 37 years”.

That is a sign that our society has a serious problem. Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois wants to radically increase the second carbon tax. Should this government not show a little more compassion and help our food banks? That is just common sense.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to understand how it is common sense to impose a moratorium on renewable energy projects that will create tens of thousands of jobs and generate tens of billions of dollars. That is what the Conservative Party of Canada supports. That is what the Premier of Alberta is doing.

My question for the Conservatives is this. Will they block renewable energy projects in Quebec? Will they block renewable energy projects in Ontario? Will they block renewable energy projects in the Atlantic provinces? That is my question for them.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our Liberal government is a proud defender of Canada's supply management system. The dairy sector is an important pillar in communities across Quebec and a key economic driver. We know that the government is committed to fully and fairly compensating producers and processors who have lost market share as a result of recent trade agreements.

How is the government helping the dairy industry in Quebec and across the country?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, promise made, promise kept.

Last week, the minister and I announced $333 million for dairy processors in response to the issue of the non-fat solids structures. This is good news for our dairy producers. It is good news for our dairy processors. It is good news for Quebec, and it is good news for Canada.

Health

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal approach to addiction is not worth the risk. According to Durham Region Health, opioid deaths have gone up almost 700% under the NDP-Liberal government. Our loved ones are suffering and dying under this dangerous safe supply experiment.

There are three Liberal MPs in Durham region and one of them is now the Minister of Health. “Safe supply” is a nice marketing slogan, but it is not worth the cost.

Does the minister really consider a 700% increase in deaths safe?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this week is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and this is the first question we have had this week from the Conservatives asking about the well-being of Canadians.

I will answer the member by saying this. On this side of the House, we do not put in a false narrative between harm reduction and treatment. We look at Canadians and where they need help each and every day. On the overdose and toxic drug supply in this country, we will continue to use every tool we have: prevention, harm reduction, law enforcement and treatment. We will be there to save lives.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not a false narrative. It is 13 addiction expert. She should read the letters and take their advice, which clearly states, “We believe that it is irresponsible for Unsupervised Free Government Funded Hydromorphone to be allowed to continue.”

In Oshawa I witnessed this travesty first-hand. In the first four months alone, there have been 2,541 calls for service to downtown Oshawa. After eight years, it is not that the NDP-Liberal government has done nothing; it has actually made it worse.

This reckless approach is not worth the cost. When are they going to end it?