Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2016

Health

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during our 10 years in power, nobody ever heard any of the provincial health ministers attack the federal government.

Not long ago, we said that we would reduce the provincial transfer increase from 6% to 3%. That must have been a pretty good idea because the Liberals are doing the same thing. We want them to respect provincial jurisdiction. This government is showing contempt for the Canadian federation by interfering in areas under provincial jurisdiction, such as the environment, by imposing a carbon tax, and health.

Will the government stop encroaching on provincial jurisdiction?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative Party members have shown that they are completely unaware of what is going on in this country.

For 10 years, the provinces and their ministers complained about the federal government's failure to return phone calls, its refusal to meet with provincial representatives, and its unwillingness to work with the provinces on issues that matter to Canadians.

Our approach is one of collaboration, co-operation, and engagement with the provinces. We respect their jurisdiction, and we are working with them to solve the problems that Canadians want us to solve.

The Environment

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian families are struggling to make ends meet. The last thing they need is a massive carbon tax forced down their throats. Thankfully, many premiers have stood up for struggling Canadians. In March, the provinces and territories rejected the Prime Minister's plan for higher taxes. Now he is asking this House to sign off on a massive tax grab without provincial or territorial buy-in. Why is the Prime Minister bent on using a sledgehammer to force a carbon tax grab on struggling Canadians families?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of total lack of leadership from the previous Conservative government, we rolled up our sleeves and sat down with the provinces to talk about how we were going to face the important challenges that Canadians in our country are facing. That is why we agreed in the Vancouver declaration that putting a price on carbon pollution was an essential part of moving forward on reducing our emissions and fighting climate change while growing a stronger economy. That is exactly what we have announced today.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is running roughshod over the provinces and territories. He should listen to the Quebec environment minister, who said that a national carbon tax does not respect provincial jurisdictions. The Prime Minister promised to work with the provinces and territories but now has decided to go it alone and impose higher taxes on Canadian families. What ever happened to co-operative federalism? Why are the Liberals forcing a massive tax grab on hard-working Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that in order to build a strong economy, we have to protect the environment. This is what the previous government simply did not understand.

The way to do that is to work with the provinces and respect their jurisdictions. I can highlight the Premier of Quebec, who just pointed out that our approach on carbon pricing respects provincial jurisdictions.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Let us have some quiet.

The hon. member for Trois-Rivières.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, many Quebeckers and Canadians thought they voted for real change, including when it comes to climate change. During the last election campaign, the Liberals committed to working with the provinces to set national greenhouse gas reduction targets. Now this Prime Minister is getting ready to ratify the Paris agreement with the same sorry targets we had under Stephen Harper.

Can the Prime Minister explain this about-face to Quebeckers and Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we just announced our approach, which is to work with the provinces to put a price on carbon across the country. Eighty-five per cent of Canada's economic activity takes places in provinces already equipped with some kind of carbon pricing mechanism. We are going to increase that to 100% with a price of $50 per tonne of emissions in 2025.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is just more of the same. Under this Prime Minister, environmental assessments still use the same parameters set by the Harper government. With the Liberals and Conservatives it is six of one and half a dozen of the other. They have the same targets, the same plan, and the same environmental assessment system.

How can the Prime Minister justify approving development projects using Mr. Harper's environmental assessment system?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again, we see that the Conservative Party and the NDP do not understand that we need to build a strong economy and protect the environment at the same time. New Democrats do not want to grow the economy and the Conservatives do not want to protect the environment. The Liberal Party understands that Canadians expect the government to protect the environment and build a strong economy at the same time.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister himself admits that the Liberal government failed to implement Kyoto because it had no plan. Now the government claims to have an action plan, but it is based on what they dubbed Stephen Harper's catastrophic reduction targets. The Prime Minister has announced a price on carbon so low it cannot possibly guarantee any reductions in greenhouse gases.

How can Canadians believe that the Prime Minister has learned anything from the previous Liberal failure under Kyoto?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again we see that neither the New Democrats nor the Conservatives understand that we need to build a strong economy and protect the environment at the same time. For the New Democrats, we are not doing enough to protect the environment. For the Conservatives, we are not doing enough to build a strong economy.

The fact is that Canadians know that we are doing both simultaneously. With the resource development Canadians need for good jobs, and with the strong action on carbon emission reduction that Canadians expect, the Liberal government has it right.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has approved an LNG project under Stephen Harper's environmental assessment system, a project that will add 10,000 additional tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.

It has been reported today that the Liberal government has also broken its promise to create green jobs, particularly for youth.

Can the Prime Minister stand up and explain his dissolving commitment to a clean energy future?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the historic announcement we made today that Canada will be pricing carbon right across the country, up to $50 per tonne by 2022, is demonstrating that we understand that building a strong economy requires us to protect the environment. It also requires us to think about the green, clean jobs we need to create to build opportunities for Canadians from coast to coast to coast to participate in the new economy that the world expects.

That is exactly what we are doing. That is exactly the leadership we showed today. It builds a strong economy and protects the environment at the same time.

Finance

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Finance finally woke up to the fact that Canadians are having a difficult time with household costs. What he fails to realize, though, is that the biggest obstacle happens to be his high-tax policies and their complete desire to make sure Canadians do not have the ability to save anything.

When will the minister realize that the only way to make home ownership accessible to Canadians is by giving them a low-tax environment and actually allowing them to save for a down payment?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, for middle-class Canadians buying a home is probably the most important investment they will make in their lifetimes. Since increasing the down payment requirement in December, the minister has been doing a deep dive with his provincial and municipal counterparts.

I am proud to say that what he announced today were preventive measures to ensure long-term stability in the housing market in Canada. These will do three things. They will bring consistency to the mortgage rules, they will improve tax fairness, and they will protect taxpayers. That is what Canadians expect of us. That is what we will deliver.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what he does not get is that Canadians cannot actually save up for this down payment the Liberals are trying squelch down even more. The reality is that even if they get that down payment, under a Liberal government home ownership becomes very difficult and quite expensive because every new day there is a new tax coming our way. Maybe the Liberals should take a lesson from their friend here in Ontario, the premier, who has clued into the fact that raising hydro costs actually ticks people off.

When will this Liberal minister realize this and stop committing to this new plan for a carbon tax?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the hon. member would like to hear it again. The first thing we did was to reduce taxes for nine million Canadians. That is the first thing that this government did.

What we have announced today are preventive measures to ensure long-term stability in the housing market. That is what Canadians expect of us. That will bring consistency to the mortgage rules, improve tax fairness by closing loopholes, and protect taxpayers. That is working for Canadians. That is working for the housing market. That is this government.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a very objective report which indicates that the government has completely lost control of the public purse.

In the first three months of this year, the government spent almost 6% more than the previous Conservative government. That is almost three times the rate of inflation, and that is unacceptable.

Why is the government not managing the public purse like a responsible head of a family would?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my honourable colleague for his question.

We are managing the economy like a responsible family man would. The first thing we did was reduce taxes for the middle class. Next, we introduced the Canada child benefit, and we will now bolster the Canada pension plan while making historic investments in infrastructure and innovation.

Canada is leading the way. That is what the head of the International Monetary fund said, and that is what stakeholders around the world are saying. Canada is leading the way on inclusive growth.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite.

A responsible head of a family would not run staggering deficits like this government is doing. A responsible head of a family would control public spending, unlike what this government is doing.

A responsible head of a family would not, as the Prime Minister so rightly said a few moments ago, impose a new tax on Canadian taxpayers.

These people are the winners of the triple crown in government mismanagement.

When will they take the bull by the horns and finally run the country properly?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a responsible family man plans for the long term.

That is exactly what this government did by investing in infrastructure for future generations, introducing the Canada child benefit, and enhancing the Canada pension plan.

I would say to my hon. colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent that this government is acting like a responsible family man. We are making investments for the children of tomorrow and today's middle class.

Employment

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Albertans are anxious and they are feeling abandoned by the Liberals. Today we launched the Alberta jobs task force because clearly the Liberals are unwilling to do anything. Their only response has been to say “hang in there”. The job situation in Alberta is far past crisis, yet the Liberals refuse to recognize how important the economy is in Alberta. Can any of the four Alberta Liberals explain why they refuse to stand up to the Prime Minister and say that a strong Alberta is a strong Canada?