Debates of April 15th, 2024

Carbon Tax

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are going hungry.

Feed Nova Scotia reports that food bank usage is up 26%, with increased visits as high as 50% in Cape Breton. In Sydney, food banks are experiencing record-breaking increases in the number of new clients, with new visits up 80%. The Souls Harbour Rescue Mission kitchen is up 280%.

Instead of providing relief to Canadians, the government has hiked its costly carbon tax on Nova Scotians by 23%. The Liberals do not understand that if we tax the farmer who grows the food, the trucker who trucks the food and the retailer who sells the food, we tax all those who buy the food. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

The Conservatives have a solution, and that is to axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form. To be clear, the Conservatives want the entire carbon tax axed, but in the meantime let us at least provide some relief to Canadians by immediately passing Bill C-234.

Carbon Pricing

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, Canada was obviously on the wrong track with respect to carbon emissions. The Conservatives did not have a climate plan, pollution was free and emissions continued to rise.

Today, thanks to the work accomplished across the country, including the north, Canada's emissions have dropped by 8%. For the very first time, we are on the right track to meet our 2026 climate target.

My constituents in Yukon expect commitment on climate action. The price on pollution encourages us to find greener alternatives in our day-to-day lives while we benefit from the rebate, and the plan is working. A family of four in Whitehorse will receive over $1,200 through the Yukon carbon rebate this year, while a family of four living in rural Yukon gets $1,488 in automatic quarterly payments.

If there is one thing going up, it is the temperature. On this side of the House, we are reducing emissions while making life better for Canadians.

Hockey

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to be from northern Ontario is to live and breathe hockey.

Whether at local arenas, frozen ponds or in the streets, we love our national hockey game. However, it has been a difficult year for hockey in Elliot Lake.

The Centennial Arena was forced to shut its doors in September due to structural damage. The communities of Blind River and Massey stepped up to give our youth a place to play in the short term, but these youth deserve an arena in their own hometown. Organizers rallied through voting campaigns, and I rise to thank all of those across the country who helped Elliot Lake be crowned Kraft Hockeyville 2024, giving them $250,000 toward arena repairs and a pre-season NHL game.

However, that is not all. Last week, former Elliot Lake residents Jamie and Jo-Ann Armstrong donated $300,000, which kicked off a campaign to raise another $200,000 for repairs to the arena so that next year the Elliot Lake Vikings and the Elliot Lake minor hockey leagues can be back on home ice.

Now that is a hat trick of which to be proud.

Oath to the King

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to begin by commending the member for Madawaska—Restigouche for his courage and determination in fighting to ensure that members who do not wish to do so no longer have to swear an oath to the king when they are sworn in.

The history of Acadia is the history of a people who were persecuted by the British Crown. Thousands of Acadians died when they were deported during the Great Upheaval. The Liberal ministers are saying that that is not important, that there are things that matter more than Acadians' pride and honour and that talking about the monarchy is a waste of time.

Quite frankly, that is embarrassing coming from a party that claims to be democratic and anti-colonial. However, it is not as embarrassing as seeing the Conservatives behave like rowdy bar patrons at 3 a.m. shouting “God save the King”. They are proud of the fact that they are governed by a foreign monarch, a king by right of birth. I call that voluntary servitude.

The member for Madawaska—Restigouche deserved better than the sorry spectacle that exposed some members' lack of sensitivity toward Acadians. It is shameful.

Finance

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, both the Bank of Canada and a former Liberal finance minister told the Prime Minister that he was pressing on the inflationary gas pedal with his spending that ballooned interest rates, but he did not listen. As a result, the Bank of Canada went on the most aggressive interest rate hike campaign in Canadian history.

The Prime Minister is leaving behind a legacy like no other. Under his regime, rent, mortgage payments and down payments have doubled; record deficits have driven interest rates sky-high; and food bank usage is at a record high. On April 1, he increased the carbon tax by 23%, which is causing even more pain in the pocketbooks of Canadians.

Common-sense Conservatives will not agree to support the budget unless the Prime Minister axes the carbon tax on food, builds homes not bureaucracy and caps the spending. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.

Carbon Pricing

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I watched a video from a proud Albertan, who did her family's taxes and got over $800 back through the Canada carbon rebate. Her family even got a little bump. They lived in a rural environment. She said that she probably ended up better off with that transfer. Who said this? Premier Danielle Smith.

While she should be supporting Albertans, the Conservative premier of my province is now playing politics, and since April 1 has even reinstated her 13¢-per-litre gas tax.

Our government instead is doubling down on protecting the environment, slashing emissions and putting more money in the pockets of hard-working Canadians.

The Canada carbon rebate gives eight out of 10 families more money than they pay in carbon pricing. Canada is also on track to meet its climate target for the first time ever. The carbon pricing alone will account for a third of our emission reductions by 2030. Carbon pricing is not just a feel-good measure; it is something that works.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. This Prime Minister is not worth the cost of interest rates after eight years. The government is going to spend more on interest on our national debt than on health. That is more money for bankers and less money for nurses.

When will the Prime Minister accept my common-sense plan to fix the budget by finding a dollar in savings for every dollar of new spending to lower the interest rates for Canadians?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, is that common sense? That is more like nonsense. He wants to make cuts to programs that support the middle class. He wants to make cuts to the program that helps build housing. He wants to make cuts to the program seeking to protect our environment. That is not common sense. It is incompetence.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about incompetence, yet he is the one who has lost a million Canadians and is the worst immigration minister in our country's history. His own Prime Minister even admitted that his management of the immigration system has been out of control. They say that is why the cost of housing has doubled. Now they are inflating costs even more. Inflationary deficits have added two percentage points to interest rates, which works out to $6,000 for a family with a $300,000 mortgage.

Will the government reduce the deficit, cut interest rates so Canadians can keep their homes?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, six is the number Canadians at home need to remember. The man we just heard, the Conservative leader, the one who wants to advise Canada on what plans to make, managed to build six units of affordable housing when he was the minister responsible for housing. I have said it before and I will say it again: We will not take any lessons from the Conservatives. On this side, we have a plan to build homes, create jobs and create prosperity. Canadians know that slogans do not build homes, they do not build prosperity and they will not help Canadians.

Every day is a good day to fight for Canadians. That is what we are going to do.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. This Prime Minister is not worth the cost of interest.

According to Scotiabank, the Prime Minister's deficits are adding two full percentage points extra in interest costs for the average family. That works out to about $6,000 for a modest mortgage of $300,000. That is six grand in extra mortgage payments from these deficits alone. Will they finally wake up to the fact that this NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition seems to know the cost of everything but the value of absolutely nothing. Does he not see value in the measures that are building more homes in this country? Does he not see value in programs that are going to put food on the table for hungry kids through a school food program? He continues to oppose measures that are helping students with the cost of their education and families with the cost of housing.

We will continue to put measures on the table to make life more affordable for middle-class Canadians and do right by a generation of young people who have been priced out of the housing market. It is a shame his policies would have the exact opposite effect.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot see the value of homes and food that do not exist after eight years. The Liberals have a food program that, after eight years, has no food, and an affordable housing program that has doubled housing costs. They are not worth the cost, and now their deficits are driving up the interest obligations for the average family. For a family with a $500,000 mortgage, deficits are adding 10 grand in additional interest payments per year. When will they realize that, after eight years, this NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about homes that do not exist, perhaps we should look at the 800,000 affordable housing units that were lost while he was housing minister. Perhaps we should examine the fact that, while he was minister, zero new apartments were supported by the federal government and a total of only six affordable housing units were built nationwide.

Now, he likes to talk a big game, but let us look at the plan he is putting on the table. He wants to raise taxes on home construction and cut funding for the cities that are making it easier to build homes.

We have advanced programs that are going not just to build more homes but to allow people to save up more money for their down payment and reduce their monthly mortgage costs when they go to enter the housing market for the first time.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

As there was a problem with the French interpretation, I am going to ask the minister to repeat his answer because a fair number of members did not understand him.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member wants to talk about homes that do not exist. Let us talk about the 800,000 affordable housing units that were lost when he was last in government. Let us talk about the fact that when he was actually housing minister, he got zero apartments built with the support of the federal government. Let us look at the fact that across the entire country, he was able to get a total of only six affordable housing units built.

He talks a big game, but he does literally nothing for people who need to get into the housing market. We have new measures that help people who are renting now and measures that will make it easier for people to save up for a down payment and reduce their monthly mortgage costs if they want to own a home in this country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, more proof the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost is that he picked the most incompetent immigration minister in Canadian history and put him in charge of housing. This is the guy who lost track of a million people, who is blamed by his fellow cabinet colleagues for causing the housing crisis and who presides over the most expensive housing market in Canadian history.

When I was minister, the average rent was $950, and we built hundreds of thousands of units at that affordable price, so why will he not learn from our smashing success in 2015 in keeping costs low, by axing the tax and building the homes?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, at the time, they expressed opposition to our plan to welcome 40,000 Afghan refugees who fought alongside the Canadian Armed Forces. They seem still to have problems with the fact that we opened our door to vulnerable Ukrainians.

However, let us actually focus on the housing issue right now. The member talks a big game about housing, but he plans to raise tax—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order, please.

I ask members on all sides of the House to please come to order.

The hon. minister has the floor.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, they get antsy when they are confronted with their actual record. Let us take a look at what he got done: only six affordable units across the entire country; he lost 800,000 more; he built zero new apartments. Now he wants to raise taxes on home building and cut funding for the communities that are getting them built.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have an urgent message for anyone who still believes that we should ignore jurisdictions and let the federal government decide everything.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has proven that when the federal government interferes in housing, an exclusive jurisdiction of Quebec, Quebeckers receive only 14% of the funding, although we make up 22% of the population. The situation is even worse when the federal government chooses its own projects, such as affordable housing. In that case, we get only 6% of the money, even though we represent 22% of the population.

When the feds interfere, Quebeckers do not get their fair share, starting with the less fortunate.

Who would agree to be ripped off like that?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, everyone has their own priorities.

We are talking about investing in housing, but the Bloc members are saying no, they need a referendum. We are talking about investing in our young people and our seniors. The Bloc says they need a referendum. We are talking about ensuring that kids no longer go to school hungry. The Bloc says no, and that the solution to everything is a referendum.

While they are preparing for a referendum, we are preparing for the future.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense.

When the federal government meddles in Quebec's jurisdictions, Quebeckers always get shortchanged. Housing is a perfect example. We represent 22% of the population, yet we got 14% of the funds and only 6% of affordable housing.

Not only do we never receive our fair share, but the last budget is going to add insult to injury. The feds are going to impose new conditions on the additional $6 billion of our money that they are promising for housing.

Why not simply hand over Quebeckers' fair share of the housing money, no conditions attached? Can he answer that question?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, we are working with Quebec to ensure that it receives its fair share of the housing funds.

For example, we have reached an agreement with Quebec on the housing accelerator program. We are providing $900 million in federal funds and Quebec is investing $900 million. That adds up to $1.8 billion and 8,000 affordable housing units.

We are moving forward with programs to ensure that Quebec receives support, like everywhere else in the country.