Debates of Jan. 28th, 2019

Housing

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say that our government believes very strongly in the right of every Canadian to have a safe, affordable and accessible home. That is why, since 2015, we have invested $5.7 billion in addition to the dollars already forecast to help a million families in Canada have access to a safe and affordable home, and that is why, in November 2017, we announced the first-ever national housing strategy, which is going to reduce chronic homelessness by at least 50% and renew federal leadership and partnership in housing.

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are now three weeks into the state of emergency, the deplorable humanitarian crisis in Cat Lake. Temperatures have plunged to -55°, we have hundreds of people huddled in squalid conditions, people are at risk, and yet the best the minister has been able to do after three weeks is to promise to send some bureaucrats to check on the situation. That is not going to cut it.

What steps will the minister take to meet with the leadership, to put in place an emergency response team now and to visit Cat Lake so he can see the deplorable conditions that the people of Cat Lake are living in? What will he do?

[Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, first nations communities are of utmost importance. I have spoken with Chief Keewaykapow and I have affirmed our commitment to working with Cat Lake to address the community's housing needs. Officials will be meeting with the leadership there tomorrow to work on an action plan to help them work on the serious challenges that they confront. We will continue working in partnership with first nations communities to advance their priorities and to support community-led solutions.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to brag about his vast family fortune, but since he has never had to balance a family budget, he thinks budgets balance themselves. That is why he promised that the budget would be balanced by 2019. Now he is saying it is going to take another 20 years. It is obvious that taxes will increase as a result of this massive, out-of-control deficit.

When will the Prime Minister admit that his deficits are costing Canadians a lot of money?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite the contrary. We lowered taxes for the middle class. In Carleton, for example, 30,000 middle-class Canadians have seen their taxes cut. On top of that, 16,000 people in that riding are receiving the Canada child benefit. That is what is really going on with middle class Canadians. We have made life better for them and we will continue to invest in the middle class to improve our economy and make things better for these people.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Actually, Mr. Speaker, he has raised taxes on the middle class by $800, taking away the child benefit, the tuition tax credit, the tax credit for kids' sports. He took away the tuition tax credit for textbooks. He took away the education tax credit. That does not even include the carbon tax. We ain't seen nothing yet. This massive Liberal deficit will lead to even more massive tax hikes after the election.

Why will the Liberals not admit that Canadians will pay the price for their increased debt?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are getting the benefit from the choice they made.

Let us be very specific. Canadians who live in the riding of Carleton, 30,000 of them, have had a reduction in their taxes. One cannot pick and choose benefits. The fact of the matter is that the introduction of the Canada child benefit together with the reduction in taxes means that people are better off. There are 16,000 children in the Carleton region who are getting about $4 million more than they were before this government came into power.

We are going to continue to make investments. The good news is that our approach is working and our economy is doing well.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr, Speaker, the Liberals targeted soccer moms with tax increases when they took away the children's fitness tax credit. They targeted students with tax increases when they cancelled the education and textbook tax credits. They targeted passengers with tax increases when they took away the transit tax credit. That does not even include the carbon tax on heat, groceries and gas, nor does it include higher payroll taxes. It will only get worse.

This massive Liberal deficit will lead to higher taxes for Canadians. Why will they not tell people that before the election?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in fact what Canadians chose in 2015 was a government that was going to make investments as opposed to an approach that was going to bring in austerity, to actually put us in a situation where we were trying to balance the budget on the backs of Canadians by either raising taxes or cutting benefits.

We have a plan, investing in Canadians. The question is: What would be the Conservative plan? Would it be to cut the Canada child benefit, or would it be to raise taxes on middle-class Canadians? We have been clear. We are helping middle-class Canadians. We would like to hear what they would plan on doing.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when we originally brought in the child benefit, three things happened: one, the budget was balanced; two, we lowered taxes rather than raising them, as the Liberal government is now doing; and three, Liberals claimed wrongly that parents would just blow it all on beer and popcorn. After all these years, they have finally come around to our point of view on that particular issue. Unfortunately, they have taxed away the benefit with higher taxes in other areas.

Will they admit that it will only get worse when this present deficit turns into future tax increases?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the fictional world inhabited by the member for Carleton, he pretends that things that are true are not true.

We cannot say it any more clearly. For people who earn between $45,000 and $90,000, we reduced taxes in that category by 7%, which means that people earning up to $200,000 or so actually have reduced taxes; but for the one per cent, we did increase taxes. For people who are raising their children, we gave them the Canada child benefit, much improved. Nine out of 10 families are better off with $2,000 more this year than in 2015. The facts are clear.

Indigenous Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that Canada must eliminate all forms of discrimination that indigenous women face under the Indian Act. We had that debate two years ago and the government's term is coming to an end.

Will the Prime Minister finally keep the promise he made four years ago and repeal all legislation unilaterally imposed on first nations?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, gender equality is a fundamental human right.

Bill S-3 eliminates gender discrimination arising from the Indian Act. We have appointed Ms. Dumont-Smith as the minister's special representative. She will work with our partners on a plan to remove the 1951 cut-off date and make more extensive changes to the registration, membership and citizenship of—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after Ms. Meng was arrested, did the government immediately make representations to the Chinese authorities explaining its actions or did it just calmly wait for the situation to blow up?

Mr. McCallum's departure is just the latest example of the government's lack of preparation. This chaos is unacceptable.

How can Canadians have confidence in a government that is flying by the seat of its pants when dealing with a global superpower?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government has done a great deal of work on this file.

Our top priority is the well-being and safety of the Canadians detained by China. We now have the support of many of our allies, such as Australia, the European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Spain. All these countries have openly supported the Canadian position.

Small Business

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has proven that it is a strong advocate for small businesses and is committed to helping them start up, scale up and access new markets. As a small business owner myself in my riding of Kitchener Centre, I know that small businesses employ so many of my constituents and keep our economy strong.

Could the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion tell the House what our government has done to make it easier for our small businesses?

[Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government has lowered the small business tax to 9%, giving small business owners up to $7,500 in savings. We have also cut red tape by removing 450 administrative burdens, making it easier for businesses to do business. We are working hard for Canada's small businesses because they are the backbone of our Canadian economy.

Foreign Affairs

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have lost confidence in the Prime Minister's ability to stand up for our interests abroad.

The number of diplomatic disasters continues to rise. His trip to India was a failure, he has angered our partners in the Asia-Pacific region, he failed with NAFTA, and now our relations with China are in trouble. He fired his ambassador, and his Minister of Foreign Affairs is nowhere to be found, even though there are lives at stake. Canadians are paying for the Prime Minister's failures.

Does he even have a plan for China?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to China, our top priority is the safety and well-being of the Canadians detained in China. This is a priority for the Prime Minister, for me and for the entire government. These arbitrary detentions are unacceptable to Canadians and to the international community.

The Prime Minister and I have both spoken to a number of international partners. We will stand by the statements of support we have received from many countries.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have lost confidence that the Prime Minister can lead our country on the world stage. His list of diplomatic disasters is rising. It includes his appalling India trip. He has infuriated our Asia-Pacific trade partners. He failed Canada on NAFTA. Now our relationship with China is in tatters. He fired his ambassador. His foreign affairs minister is missing in action.

The consequences are dire. Lives are hanging in the balance. Canadians are paying for the failures of the Prime Minister. Does he even have a plan for China?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there are so many false claims in that question that it is hard to even know where to start. However, let me try.

When it comes to our partners in the Asia-Pacific, Canada is proud to have signed the CPTPP, which is entering into force. In fact, we are the only G7 country with trade agreements with every other G7 country. That is a diplomatic and trade triumph.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou took place on December 1, but the Prime Minister received an unprecedented special briefing several days before this high-profile arrest.

My questions are simple. On what date was the Prime Minister first briefed and by whom?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to Meng Wanzhou, let me be very clear about the Government of Canada's position. First of all, Canada is a rule-of-law country and we are conducting a fair, unbiased and transparent legal proceeding. In fact, Madam Meng is currently on bail, as the court has ruled. There has been, as is correct, no political involvement in the process. Canada respects our international legal commitments, including our extradition treaty with the United States.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I guess if I want straight answers on China, I should ask John McCallum.McCallum's comments show that the Liberal government has played politics with this serious diplomatic dispute with China from the start.

Therefore, was the justice minister demoted for speaking truth to power to uphold the rule of law and stop the political games being played by the Prime Minister and his hand-picked ambassador?