Debates of Jan. 27th, 2020

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is an old phrase, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I can say that my absence from this place has only made my fondness for it grow stronger over the last four years. It is great to be back here representing the great riding of Dufferin—Caledon. I want to quickly do a shout-out to our former member of Parliament, David Tilson, who retired and represented this riding so well from 2005 to 2019.

Unfortunately, I am going to say that this throne speech does not represent the riding of Dufferin—Caledon nearly as well as David Tilson did or how I hope to represent it. I am going to talk about three things that the throne speech either ignores or really gives short shrift to. These three things are infrastructure, rural broadband and agriculture.

When we talk about infrastructure, there is no mention in the throne speech of investing in transit for rural and small communities in this country. Let me say that these communities desperately need investments in infrastructure and in transit.

Let me give an example. Orangeville, one of the municipalities in my riding, is trying to buy new buses to expand bus routes. The current government is one that allegedly cares about climate change. Why would the Liberals not be investing in transit?

The project is $2.1 million. The provincial government has stepped up with $667,000, its one-third share. It is in the bank. Where is the answer from the federal government? As of January of this year, the Orangeville transit task force has told me it has heard crickets from the current government. It is disrespectful and it is neglecting small communities.

One of the things my constituents talk about is exactly that: the need for transit and the need for investments. The government seems to be able to invest in all kinds of things, allegedly. The deficit is $20 billion or $25 billion a year, but there is absolutely nothing for rural Canada and small-town Canada when we talk about transit. In addition to that, the Liberal government cancelled the transit tax credit, which was always a benefit.

In the riding of Dufferin—Caledon, there are critical infrastructure deficits for small municipalities. I held a town hall meeting in Shelburne, another small municipality in my riding, last week. In Shelburne, people are talking about the urgent need for investments in bridges and roads in their communities.

The Township of Melancthon is an agriculture-based municipality. It has 248 kilometres of roads as well as 51 bridges and other structures. The municipality had an engineering report come out in 2019 dealing with roads, bridges and culverts that desperately need repair. Many of them are at the absolute end of their lifespan. It will take $6 million just to deal with that problem. When they deal with all of their infrastructure needs, including roads, bridges and culverts, it is another $6.6 million over 10 years.

This is a township that has an annual budget of $4 million. How is it going to repair these bridges? Where was the mention in the throne speech, the Liberals' document to outline the priorities for this country over the next four years? There was not a single mention.

In the Township of Amaranth, eight bridges have to be replaced in the next year alone, which is $5.3 million. Its annual budget is also approximately $4 million.

Are these types of critically needed investments mentioned by the government in its throne speech? They are absolutely not there, yet the government will talk about what the Liberals would call a buyback of guns as part of their program.

They are not buying back. They would require law-abiding Canadians to sell their guns to the government with estimated costs of $250 million to $1 billion to buy these things back, force people to sell them back to the government, which will add nothing to public safety because these are law-abiding citizens. However, the Liberals do not have any money for small and rural municipalities. That is disgraceful, and they should be doing better.

At my town hall meeting, the frustration and the anger from small-town Canada and rural Canada are palpable. Those people are not being heard by the government. They are not mentioned in the throne speech and they know they are not a priority.

What people do know is that the priority of the government is to buy votes in the larger urban centres. That is all it cares about. In the rest of Canada, it is too bad, so sad.

With respect to rural broadband, I used to represent a riding in Brampton. Someone can drive 15 minutes north from Brampton into Caledon and guess what. There is almost no broadband. Cellular service is awful and rural broadband is awful. Again, was this mentioned in the throne speech? This is a critical infrastructure investment across this country and it does not even get a mention, not even a small little blurb.

I talked to the farmers in my riding. They have to drive into town to Tim Hortons to download software upgrades for their machinery and equipment. That is a wonderful solution, is it not?

They have to do the same thing if they want their children to get access to homework and other online tools that all school districts now provide. They have to leave their house and drive to Tim Hortons where they can get reliable Wi-Fi. Where was that again in the throne speech? It was just completely ignored.

The lack of service is killing small businesses in my riding and in ridings similar to it all across this country, and the response from the government is absolutely nothing. After winning an election a party is supposed to govern for all the people in the country, not just the people who gave it votes. I would ask my friends across the aisle to please rethink the strategy toward rural and small-town Canada, because it is suffering under the government.

Again, the Province of Ontario is stepping up to help with this. It is investing $315 million over five years for unserved and underserved areas. This is expected to generate up to $1 billion of total investments when it is matched by the private sector. These are the kinds of investments that the government should be making, not spending $250 million to $1 billion forcing law-abiding gun owners to sell their legally purchased guns back to the government.

The final point I want to raise is with respect to agriculture and farmers. Again, farming was almost completely neglected in the throne speech. Farmers are facing huge challenges, not just in my riding but all across the country. I would love it if members of the government would come and sit down in my community and hear what the farmers have to say.

These are hard-working people, hard-working families who are suffering as a result of a lack of access to markets for soy and canola. They are suffering as a result of a carbon tax to dry their corn and dry their wheat. This was a very wet year in Ontario. If one wanted to get corn processed one had to dry it, and the carbon tax that is being charged to farmers to dry their corn and grain is highway robbery. They cannot afford it. They are struggling and they do not even merit a mention in the throne speech.

The U.S. government is stepping up for its soy and canola farmers. It has a $28-billion market facilitation program. I asked the minister about this back in December. She said they were going to talk, meet, do this and do that. Now we are at the end of January and there has still been no substantive action taken on this.

In Ontario, we lost processing capacity for the beef industry. This is critical. In talking with some of the farming families in my riding, I can tell my colleagues that when they looked for an alternate place to have their cattle processed, they were told in November that it would be handled in April.

Those families have to pay to feed their cattle for the next five months at cost. Also, the cattle are going to be oversized and the families are going to have to pay more in penalties to have the cattle processed. What is the response from the government? What has it done? Was it mentioned in the throne speech? These are hard-working Canadian families who are suffering and they do not even deem a mention in the throne speech. It is having a devastating effect.

I have to say that I will be voting against this throne speech as there is absolutely nothing in it for the residents of my riding and for residents across this country in small towns and rural communities.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, coming from a rural community myself in Nova Scotia, and given that the member for Dufferin—Caledon mentioned agriculture, I want him to rest assured that there are members on this side who are focused on those issues. I look forward to working collaboratively with him in the days ahead.

The crux of his speech was about infrastructure. I do not know if this member was paying attention for the last four years, but there have been historic investments on this side of the aisle in terms of investments in Canada.

Four times the amount of infrastructure projects have been approved in the last four years alone, versus the Harper government from 2011 to 2015. We have doubled the gas tax infrastructure. I assume his municipality would be a part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities; we have put more money into that.

While the member may suggest that we are not investing, I ask him to look at the investments we have made in the last four years, investments that he and his opposition voted against.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for Melancthon county the gas tax is $91,000 this year. That is $91,000 for six million dollars' worth of infrastructure that is desperately needed.

Maybe all this infrastructure money is flowing into ridings like his and Liberal-held ridings in Toronto, but I will say that after meeting with the reeves and councillors and wardens in the rural municipalities that I represent, I learned the money is not flowing to them. That is the issue, and that is what I am here for, to fight for them and to make sure that they get some fair share of the giant deficit that the Liberal government is running.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

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

I am from a rural riding too. I wonder if my colleague would be prepared to vote with the Bloc Québécois in defence of supply management, or at least what is left of it, in order to protect our agricultural sector.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the riding of Dufferin—Caledon, we have a large dairy industry and I am absolutely fully supportive of supply management. We will always vote in favour of it.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am really glad to hear my colleague represent the topic of agriculture, because it was sadly lacking in the throne speech. I have now had the opportunity to serve as our party's agriculture critic for the last two years.

I too represent a rural riding that has a very long and storied history in agriculture that goes back beyond Confederation. One thing that we heard from farmers is that they are very much on the front lines of climate change. That happened repeatedly at the Standing Committee on Agriculture.

The wet weather that we have seen, which has resulted in the high cost of drying grain, is going to continue in the future. We are going to see more adverse weather affecting farmers who will see their crops be affected by climate change. There are tools available, like business risk-management programs, that can take care of the high costs.

I am wondering, given the fact that farmers are facing this challenge head on, what his answer is to his constituents in fighting climate change. What policies does he think can actually help them weather these storms?

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, farmers are always great stewards of the land and they are always very interested in making sure that we have an environment that allows them to farm both sustainably and responsibly. One thing I am not in favour of is a carbon tax, because it is going to do absolutely nothing to affect climate change.

What we have to realize, in this House and in this country, is that climate change is global. We can reduce our emissions to zero in this country and all that CO2 space will be used up by China with its growing emissions in six months.

If there is not concerted international action with respect to the big emitters around the world, nothing we do in this country is going to prevent the harmful effects of climate change, and that is where the Liberal government needs to start working.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member said there was nothing in the throne speech about agriculture, but the throne speech and the election platform include a commitment to create a Canadian water agency. I would suspect that a great focus of that agency will be on water and agriculture. We know that water is the lifeblood of agriculture, so if we can solve irrigation challenges, we can give a boost to agriculture.

Does the member not agree that this is one element of a strategy for addressing agricultural concerns?

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a broken clock is right twice a day. Coming up with one program that might address one small thing actually does not address any of the needs of the farming community in my riding and ridings all across this country. There is nothing on soy and canola. There is nothing to help farmers in the beef industry in Ontario. These are the critical things that are going on in my riding right now. While that might be a great program, that and a $1.50 will get the farmers in my riding a double-double and nothing else.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time this evening with the hon. member for Pickering—Uxbridge.

This is my second opportunity to speak in response to the throne speech. I appreciate this opportunity to explain why I think all MPs should vote in favour this evening.

I want to begin this speech talking about climate change, which was a predominant theme in the Speech from the Throne, and rightfully so, given its importance to all of us, not only here in Canada but across the world.

This past weekend, I held pre-budget consultations in my riding of Kings—Hants. The consensus was clear. People are expecting their government to do more as part of a global effort. This is key. Not only does Canada need to continue along its path of transition, we need to build an international framework to put pressure on countries that have not yet taken this issue seriously.

I also believe it is important that we recognize the important role the private sector will play in ensuring we meet our international targets. Incentives, like the 50% corporate tax cut for companies focused on zero-emissions technologies, will help to ensure Canadian ingenuity and technology is at the forefront of the necessary work ahead. I suspect this should resonate with many of my opposition colleagues, particularly Her Majesty's loyal opposition, who highlighted this point last month.

In Kings—Hants, we are home to the highest tides in the world in the Bay of Fundy. We are very fortunate to be able to call this place home and are well positioned to bring tourists from around the world to Nova Scotia. However, the highest tides in the world are also a stark reminder that, with rising sea levels, our coastal communities are vulnerable. For me, this is a reminder every day of the important work that needs to continue.

Canada is a trading nation and the export of our products and services around the world is important to maintaining quality jobs and ensuring a high standard of living for our people. The Speech from the Throne outlined the importance of CUSMA. This week, I know debate will begin on the ratification of this important piece of legislation.

I want the House to understand the importance of international trade for Kings—Hants. The Annapolis Valley is known for our delicious apples, particularly the Honeycrisp variety, which our farmers and processors ship around the world, particularly to the United States. We are home to a Michelin plant that produces tires, many of which are sent to the United States as part of an integrated supply chain. Our sawmills export lumber for residential home building and construction. I could go on, but simply put, whether we are discussing Kings—Hants or any other of the 337 ridings in this country, CUSMA represents a crucial trade deal with our largest partner.

To those who would criticize our work on this important file, I remind them that the former interim leader of the Conservative Party has openly said that this is the best deal that could have been struck. I expect all parliamentarians to ensure Canadian jobs and our economy are not put at risk unnecessarily by delaying the ratification of this legislation.

Canadians expect their government to be focused on growing the economy and creating the conditions for the private sector to create jobs. Over the last four years, this government, in partnership with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, has created over one million jobs, including 35,000 in December and 340,000 for 2019 alone, many of which were full-time work.

I was pleased to see that an emphasis was put on the economy in the Speech from the Throne, and I want to focus on two topics that I believe will be important in the days to come.

The commitment to cut red tape for business owners is excellent. It is an initiative that was launched by my predecessor during the last Parliament, when he was the president of the Treasury Board.

I think it is a good thing for us to take every chance we get to make it easier for business owners and entrepreneurs to interact with our government.

In Kings—Hants, the seasonal agricultural worker program is an important federal tool to ensure our farmers have access to the labour they need to grow their businesses and ensure our Canadian agricultural products reach markets both domestically and around the world. While this program is absolutely crucial, I believe there are ways we can streamline the process to make it even easier for our farmers and applicants in our communities.

That leads me to my second point. One of the priority issues I hear about in Kings—Hants is access to labour and having the workforce to fill the jobs required to grow our economy in rural Nova Scotia. In order to ensure we have vibrant rural communities and a workforce that will ensure they remain viable, we need to continue to focus on bringing immigrants from around the world to Canada, who will bring their energy and talents to not only drive our economy forward but also make our communities even better places to live.

I want to highlight a specific example of a couple in my riding of Kings—Hants, Chris and Melissa Velden, who immigrated from Germany to Summerville, a small community located on the Bay of Fundy in Hants County. They brought a work ethic and vision second to none and in the process, have started the Flying Apron Inn & Cookery. One key feature of their business is the ability to dine on the ocean floor at the highest tides in the world at Burntcoat Head Park in East Hants. Every year, in under one minute, 120 couples from around the world reserve their right to have this unique opportunity. In fact, their business was recently highlighted in the weekend edition of The Globe and Mail's must-do tourist experiences. This is but one small example of the benefit of ensuring Canada continues to attract talented people from across the globe to our shores.

Health care is a priority for Canadians across the country, especially in rural communities in Atlantic Canada.

In the region I represent, there was a coordination effort between the local government, provincial authorities and the chamber of commerce to ensure a coordinated recruitment process to attract and retain family doctors.

While, of course, the administration of health care is a provincial responsibility, the federal government plays an important role in partnering with the provinces. This government has contributed more money to Nova Scotia than ever before to support health care, but we know there remain challenges. I know our government will continue to do more to ensure the health and safety of Canadians across the country.

I want to highlight other important points in the Speech from the Throne. With respect to working with indigenous peoples, no other government in Canada's history has taken this relationship more seriously, and we know that the work will continue in the days to come.

On the natural resources sector, our primary industries across the country provide important jobs and revenue to support public spending on areas such as health care, infrastructure and education. In Nova Scotia, it is the forestry sector that faces uncertainty at the moment and I am happy to know that our government is focusing on ensuring a sustainable industry moving forward.

Investing in the middle class has been a priority for the government since 2015. The results are indisputable: almost one million people have been lifted out of poverty and more than one million jobs have been created. The unemployment rate is proof of the government's economic stewardship.

I am pleased to see that our government will continue to focus its efforts in this area.

The Speech from the Throne contains important priorities for Canadians from to coast to coast to coast. It speaks to the needs of Canadians, regardless of where they call home, and I hope all members will be supporting this speech at tonight's vote.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for his first speech in the House of Commons and welcome him here.

I noted one thing he said. He talked about taking this debate on climate change to other countries so they would take it more seriously. I am wondering what the member thinks that leaders of billions of people around the world are not understanding about the climate crisis at this point in time. I wonder if it could perhaps be because getting people out of poverty is one of the most important items on their agenda at this point in time. The access to inexpensive power and environmental fuel is probably a much more important step than virtue-signalling about what fuel we are producing.

In that vein, would the member and his province commit to getting Canadian resources, such as natural gas and other environmentally friendly hydrocarbons, to markets in areas around the world where we would drastically reduce the impact of CO2 in a closed environmental system?

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it really has to be both. We need to continue to move forward on the transition, and I hope the member opposite recognizes this needs to happen, but we also have to balance this against affordability.

I live in a riding that is quite rural. When I was on the doorsteps, affordability remained a challenge for Canadians. The right hon. Prime Minister talks about balancing the economy and climate change and fighting it, but we need to do both.

The price on pollution allows us to establish a framework, one which could be coordinated around the world within our international community. Letting the market decide who pays for this is inherently a Conservative idea. Why would Conservatives not believe in something that allows the market to decide instead of trying to get government to force its way into solving this problem?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's well-thought-out comments. We hear a great deal about the fact that virtually from day one this government has given very special attention to Canada's middle class. We have seen tax breaks. In 2015, the first legislation introduced dealt with tax breaks. Additional tax breaks are going to be coming up in this budget. We have seen the enhancement of social programs, such as the Canada child benefit and so forth.

Could the member reflect on the importance of the middle class and give us his thoughts on that from his constituency perspective?

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague hits on something that is really important for me. I grew up in what could be best described as a working class family. My father was a truck driver. My mom was an administrative assistant at the local school. There were times when I was younger when we would go to the grocery store and if my father had made a purchase that day and had not told my mother, there was not enough money to pay for the groceries.

When I look at my ideology and why I sit on this side of the chamber, in 2015 we were a government that was focused on supporting middle income people who needed help the most.

In Kings—Hants, many people talk about the Canada child benefit, but one mother in particular in a small community in Canning was moved to tears by the Canada child benefit. It meant she could pay for groceries for her two young girls and ensure they had opportunities to be involved in recreation. That has been the mandate of this government and it will continue to be. I am proud to be part of it.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has many beautiful parts and Kings—Hants is one of those. I visited that riding a number of times even before the member was born. However, it is an agricultural area and one of the things in the throne speech that was missed was agriculture. Agriculture is critically important to the member's riding as it is to mine. My constituents were aggravated and upset by the lack of commitment to agriculture in the throne speech.

Maybe the member could respond to that.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is always nice to find members in the House who come from a rural community and know the importance of agriculture to the entire Canadian economy.

The member was spot on. Kings—Hants is a region that is heavily reliant on agriculture. We have to remember that the Speech from the Throne is a high level document that outlines high level priorities. Agriculture was mentioned.

I know the Minister of Agriculture is committed and is working hard on this front. I look forward to working with the member opposite to ensure that both our communities and their respective agricultural sectors can have a prosperous future in the days ahead.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak to the Speech from the Throne, the roadmap that will be guiding the government.

However, first, as I am rising for the first time in our 43rd Parliament, I would like to take a moment to thank my constituents of Pickering—Uxbridge for re-electing me as their member of Parliament. I am incredibly honoured to be here, and I will continue to work hard to make my community and this country a better place to live. I would also like to thank the countless volunteers who helped with my campaign. Their strong desire and ambition to improve our beautiful country was inspiring, and it is something I will remember and carry with me throughout my time here.

No campaign can be done without family, so I want to highlight in particular my mother Doreen, who has been by my side knocking on doors since my first election in 2006. It is with her help that I am here today, and I am forever grateful.

During these past months, I had the pleasure of meeting constituents across my riding to hear about the issues that mattered most to them. Thanks to their support, I am here today to speak about our government's priorities and how we will deliver for them.

The concern I heard the most while knocking on doors was clearly climate change. From children to seniors, students to parents, the current state and future of our environment is of grave concern. Natural disasters are on the rise, the earth is warming and animals are becoming endangered. The days of inaction are over. I am glad to see in the Speech from the Throne that our government has concrete, tangible goals to combat climate change.

What I am most proud to see, though, is that our government's strong plan to fight climate change does so in a manner that also grows the economy and improves affordability for Canadians.

We are currently at a point in time where Canada has the opportunity to become a leader in the low-carbon economy and to spur green economic growth at home and help develop it abroad, making a difference not only here in our country but also around the world.

This past September, during the climate action strike that took place in Uxbridge, I heard calls from members of my community to reduce greenhouse emissions and plastic pollution. These are two main contributors to climate change and need to be addressed in a smart and efficient manner.

At the climate action strike, I was proud to share that in the previous Parliament our government put a price on pollution. Through this effective pricing mechanism, we are reducing greenhouse emissions and encouraging innovation, overall creating an environment that is cleaner and healthier and an economy that is more diverse and robust.

This measure also puts more money in the pockets of Canadians through the climate action incentive by holding the large emitters accountable for their pollution. It is estimated that a family of four in Ontario is receiving $307 a year as a result of this rebate, which is more than the average family of that size is paying. As a result, the price mechanism and rebate are encouraging Canadians and businesses to make decisions that reduce their carbon footprint, such as investing in greener infrastructure and technologies.

Over the coming term I look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen our price inclusion plan, a measure that one of the 2018 winners of the Nobel Prize for economics wrote about and continues to support, as it leads to economic growth.

My community was also glad to hear that we plan on taking action to further reduce plastic pollution. Single-use plastics are currently being found in overwhelming amounts in our landfills, shorelines and oceans, threatening the health of our wildlife and environment. I plan to work hard with our government to further strengthen our legislation to reduce plastic pollution and support the industries that are finding innovative solutions to address this issue.

The Speech from the Throne also set out a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. This ambitious but necessary target will see our government implementing measures that help Canadians make their homes more energy efficient and therefore more cost effective. It will help Canada to be the best place to start and grow clean-tech companies.

Climate change may be our generation's greatest challenge, but it can also be our economy's greatest opportunity. I am proud to see our government acknowledging and embracing the situation. By continuing to invest in Canadians, our country will become a leader and innovator in the low-carbon industry.

Over the past four years, we have seen an incredible amount of growth in our economy. In 2019 alone, we saw the lowest unemployment rate on record, and since the Liberals took office, over one million jobs have been created. It is because of our smart investments and meaningful legislation that more Canadians are working, businesses are growing and our economy is diversifying.

In the last Parliament, our government introduced the Canada child benefit. This generous, tax-free benefit is giving more money to the families who need it most and has been credited with lifting almost 300,000 children out of poverty.

During my time back home, I heard the stories and saw the real success of these developments in my community. For example, families in Pickering—Uxbridge have been receiving payments of $550 on average every month, which is benefiting 10,180 families and 17,820 children. Thanks to this tax-free benefit, families are able to put this money toward the things they need most, from nutritional food, to winter clothing, to paying bills, to enrolling in extracurricular activities. Putting money directly in the hands of parents allows them to use it in ways that better suit their needs.

However, I know there is still more work for us to do, and I am proud that this government is continuing to support Canadians in all walks of life. By further strengthening the Canada child benefit, our government will continue to support Canadian families by helping them worry less about finances and focus more on spending valuable time together.

The rising cost of living is a major concern for the residents of Pickering—Uxbridge, and I am proud to share with them that in our first week back, we tabled legislation to amend the Income Tax Act to lower taxes for the middle class while ensuring that the wealthiest Canadians do not benefit. Once this is fully rolled out, nearly 20 million Canadians will benefit, saving a single person close to $300 a year in taxes and a couple or family close to $600. This tax cut would help Canadians put more money toward groceries, schooling or retirement.

I am also aware that there is a strong need for affordable housing in the Durham region. During the last Parliament, the region saw a great investment, with over $78.6 million in funding, which is being put toward building and repairing 2,535 units. Even with this investment, there continues to be a strong demand for affordable housing.

The Speech from the Throne states that the government plans to continue its critical investments in affordable housing. Ensuring Canadians have a safe and secure place to call home is how we help Canadians realize their full potential, and when that happens, we all benefit. The value of having a home is far greater than just financial. These are the kinds of measures and investments that will truly make a difference in my community, and they will help grow our middle class and help hard-working Canadians keep more of their hard-earned money.

Actions speak louder than words, and our government has clearly demonstrated its commitment to Canadians, as this speech outlines a plan that addresses their concerns and will make our country a better place to call home. By addressing climate change and investing in Canadians, we are innovating, driving the economy, creating jobs and improving our environment for future generations. This is a win-win solution and a direction I am glad to see our government continuing to take.

I was re-elected to be the member of Parliament for Pickering—Uxbridge because my constituents know I will continue to voice the changes we would like to see in our country and communities. I am proud that the Speech from the Throne has laid out an ambitious plan for our government and it is one that I am proud to support. It will bring about meaningful change not only for our generation but for generations to come.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the member for her support of the Speech from the Throne. I latched on to two things she said very clearly: actions speak louder than words and we are looking for a win-win scenario here. I love these platitudes, but actions do speak louder than words.

Could the member across the way demonstrate what happened, for instance, when New Zealand committed to carbon reductions? They were finalized at the beginning of 2020 and how far along did they get? New Zealand recommitted to 2050 because it is further down the road.

Where is the win-win scenario from holding up infrastructure for resource delivery to markets with an opaque regulatory regime that reduces the amount we receive for resources at ports to a level far below the world price for those resources? That is a failure of government and is obviously a failure for our economy and country going forward.

Could the member comment on how all that spells win-win as far as the government's agenda goes?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let me talk about a few actions from the Conservative Party. Let us go back to a time when the Conservatives had the lowest growth since the Great Depression. They had no plan for climate change in 10 years in office and they continue to have no plan for climate change, hence one of the main reasons they continue to remain on that side of the House.

The Conservatives continue to remain out of touch with Canadians, while on this side of the House we are growing the economy, with over one million jobs created, while tackling climate change. We are ensuring that we are going to reduce emissions and that generations to come will be proud of us.

It is time for the Conservatives to get with the program and care about what Canadians are talking about, and that is addressing climate change while growing the economy.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the last two speeches, which were given by the member for Kings—Hants and the member for Pickering—Uxbridge. They both spoke a lot about the environment. They were bragging about all the green investments they are making. However, the report submitted to the UN on December 31 indicates that Canada will not meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Does the member know how Canada will turn things around and meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is refreshing to actually get a question about climate change and on taking more action on this critical issue.

One of the most effective ways to address emissions is by putting a price on pollution, which is precisely what we did in this government, but there is no question that we have to do more. I encourage all parties on all sides of the House to come together to come up with innovative ideas on how we can reduce emissions, but we have to make sure that we are keeping in touch with average Canadian families and ensure that we do this in a meaningful way that also focuses on affordability while growing the economy.

We have a unique opportunity, and I encourage all members to help us move forward and deliver on what Canadians expect.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member just said that we need new ideas and that all parties need to participate in the fight against climate change. During the election campaign, the Bloc Québécois promised to introduce a bill in the House of Commons that would enshrine the Canadian government's Paris commitments in law, thereby forcing the government to keep its commitments and meet the targets.

Is the member willing to vote in favour of such a bill?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think anyone in the House would have to see a bill before agreeing to support it. However, if the member looks at our platform in the last election, not only did we talk about supporting the UN declaration on emissions and ensuring that we meet the targets by 2050, but we also talked about ensuring that governments and future parliaments also hold true to these targets.

This is going to be a multi-generational change, one that future governments are going to have tackle, but we are going to be leaders. We are going to continue to lead on this file and continue to grow the economy as we have done during the last four years.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Yellowhead.

It is of course an honour to be speaking today with my distinguished colleagues surrounding me, and making my maiden speech in the House of Commons. I am especially pleased to be responding to this throne speech.

I must begin where it all starts and ends, and that is with the hard-working, very welcoming and completely engaged people who make up the many amazing communities of Parry Sound—Muskoka. I want to thank them for their support and their trust and for giving me what is really the opportunity of a lifetime to serve in this chamber. I promise to not let them down.

I am also blessed to have multiple families, including the Koop family and the Schaal family. I want to thank my brother Mike Koop and his tireless wife Kirsty for all their help in my campaign. I want to thank Susan and Dr. Peter Schaal for their endless support and love as well.

Like all the members in this chamber, I had a lot of help getting here and I owe a debt of gratitude to so many outstanding people. I give my thanks to Myke Malone and Kirsten Baker, my outstanding campaign managers. I give a special thanks as well to my campaign chair, Holly Thompson, and to Liam Broad, who helped staff our Parry Sound office under the guidance of my campaign mom, Bev LeDrew.

In Huntsville, Laurie Davison managed our office while her husband Rick worked on signs with the help of so many volunteers like Ned Joiner, who has been there for every one of my municipal campaigns. I thank them all for putting in so many hours on my behalf.

I also want to thank the Lubbelinkhof family, Paul, Greg, Krista and Dick. I might add that Dick, at the age of 80, put up 100 signs the day the writ dropped.

I also met cousins I never knew I had, like my cousin Art Aitchison in McKellar. Who knew he was an election sign guru, but he was.

Bruce Hemphill in Gravenhurst put up so many signs his wrist had to go into a cast at the end of the campaign.

Of course, I send huge thanks to my Muskoka dream team of Kim Sasson, Tami Mattice and Kelly Draper, door knockers extraordinaire.

All of these folks, along with Gord Haugh, Gail Finnson, Keith Montgomery, Landon French, Kirby Hall, Michelle Fraser, Jeff Watson, Geordie Merton and so many others, I thank from the very bottom of my heart.

Our nation is seized with challenges, including national unity, pipelines and infrastructure. There are immense pressures on health care and education. There is the declining state of our economy. Internationally, we are at odds with China and most certainly Iran. If ever there were a time for strong, principled leadership, it would be now.

We came out of the last election a divided nation: east and west, rural and urban, young and old. We are divided on the environment, on energy, on social issues and on our place in the world. If ever there were a time for inspired leadership, it would be now. If ever there were a time to start bringing Canadians together, it would have been in the government's throne speech.

I was not expecting miracles, not from the current government. However, I was expecting at least some acknowledgement of the problems and some understanding of the great need to bring Canadians together. Instead, we got business as usual. We got a lot of words and very little action.

I got into public life to change that kind of thinking. I am here to bring people together, not divide them. I am here to find real solutions to real problems and not to score cheap political points. My family and friends did not work so hard for me, and the people of Parry Sound—Muskoka certainly did not vote for me, for just more business as usual. I believe Canadians deserve much better than that, and I believe we members of Parliament can do better than that.

I do not pretend to have all the answers, but I have learned a few things after 25 years in public life. First, I have learned that communication is, first and foremost, about listening. Second, there are always more than two sides to every issue. Third, there is nothing we Canadians cannot achieve if we reject the divisive politics of region against region, urban versus rural, and rally to those great nation-building values upon which we have built the greatest nation on earth: freedom, opportunity, support for those in need and our devotion to fairness and justice in this tumultuous world.

That is the kind of can-do attitude that has always served my constituency well, whether it was the outstanding work by my predecessors, such as the legendary Stan Darling and more recently Tony Clement, or whether it was rolling up my sleeves with my fellow mayors, such as Graydon Smith in Bracebridge or John Klink, the district chair, to build Muskoka's health and transportation infrastructure.

Parry Sound—Muskoka has always succeeded when we work as a team. We must do this for Canada. Let us put aside the petty partisanship and rally behind real leadership that is willing, able and ready to bring this country together. I am not convinced the government's throne speech does that and yet I know that Canadians deserve better.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member on his first speech in the House. He mentioned his predecessor Tony Clement. I hope the member is benefiting from the great infrastructure, the gazebo, that Tony Clement built in his riding.

My question is related to the member's comments about coming together and trying to heal a nation that is divided in some areas. In my view, and I have been here for four years, that division has been stoked over and over by opposition members over issues like a price on pollution. They seem to come to the table with only one suggestion, which is to get rid of it, or they will keep stoking the fire.

The reality of the situation is I really take that member at his word in his desire and passion to do everything he is talking about when it comes to working together, but we have not seen that. Is he committing to a new approach by the opposition to genuinely work with the government to better that relationship and the relationship throughout the country?