Debates of Nov. 24th, 2021

The Economy

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad we are talking about the inflation challenge that many countries are facing. Let me point out that we dedicated a lot of the throne speech to talking about our solutions, such as $10-a-day child care across the country and investments to address the housing crisis. Federal Conservatives are against those kinds of investments and initiatives. They swore they would rip up the child care agreements that will help families.

We will take action to help families bear the cost of living.

Employment

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, was there any mention of solutions for the economy? The labour shortage is real, but the Liberals are ignoring it. Quebec is full of signs that say, “we are hiring”, but the Prime Minister has no plan to address this problem. He obviously has no solution, because the labour shortage was not even mentioned once in the Speech from the Throne.

How does the Prime Minister justify to entrepreneurs and small businesses that he does not recognize the labour shortage problem in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our Speech from the Throne focused on major issues facing Canadians, including the labour shortage. We know that the priorities Canadians want us to focus on are to put COVID‑19 behind us, rebuild a strong and inclusive economy for everyone, make progress in the fight against climate change by creating new, innovative jobs in the green sectors, and work on reconciliation.

That is exactly what we will do. Yes, we will increase immigration levels. Yes, we will invest in training. Yes, we will help address this labour shortage, which was an issue before the pandemic and still is today.

Health

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is the beginning of a new Parliament, which will certainly give us the opportunity to work together. Sometimes, for the good of the people, working together might mean shaking things up a little. We will do that, if necessary.

Health is the top priority for Canadians and Quebeckers. For Quebec and the provinces, that means health care funding and increasing health transfers.

The Bloc Québécois proposed replacing the traditional, secretive first ministers meetings with a public summit on health. It would be a summit on health care funding in which all of the premiers, the Prime Minister and the health ministers would participate openly and publicly, to ensure that the media and regular Canadians would understand the issues and proposals.

Did the Prime Minister consider the Bloc Québécois's proposal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize that our health care system and our health care workers helped Canadians get through this pandemic. As a result, we have a plan to eliminate delays in the system, build better mental health and long-term care facilities, and hire up to 7,500 more doctors and nurses in partnership with the provinces.

We made sure that the provincial and territorial health care systems are able to provide care by allocating an additional $4 billion in budget 2021. We will continue to be there to invest in the health care system, respect provincial jurisdictions and ensure the best health care for Canadians across the country.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, but I have concerns about the word “partnership”, which sounds a lot like “conditions”, to me. While I am at it, I also have serious concerns about the word “plan”, based on what we saw during the election campaign.

However, can the Prime Minister tell us, in all seriousness, whether he thinks that the horrific tragedies during the pandemic were the fault and responsibility of the provinces and Quebec? Does he think or is he claiming that he would have done better?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am not looking to blame anyone for the horrific tragedies that befell people across the country. We all fully realize that we need to work together to ensure that all seniors in this country get the best support. That is exactly why we are willing to work with the provinces and territories.

People just want their parents and grandparents to get the proper care. We will work in partnership with the provinces to invest and ensure the safety of seniors across the country.

Climate Change

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are in a climate crisis and we need to act urgently. This climate crisis also presents an opportunity to create good jobs for workers, but not if we do not have a plan. This throne speech completely misses the opportunity to have a plan for workers.

Why did the Prime Minister abandon workers, without a plan to create good-paying jobs that would help us fight the climate crisis? Why is there no plan for workers in this throne speech to fight the climate crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, just a few months ago, all parties had an opportunity to put forward their plans to fight climate change and to grow the Canadian economy. I was extremely pleased to see that the support for the Liberal plan on growing the economy and on fighting climate change was recognized by top scientists, by top environmental leaders like B.C.'s Andrew Weaver and by economists like Mark Jaccard. The kinds of investments and plan that we have put forward and have continued to build on in the throne speech were recognized as the strongest plan for the economy and to fight climate change by all experts.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are in a climate crisis, and we must act immediately.

One thing we can do is eliminate subsidies to the oil industry. The government has promised to do this, but at the moment it is investing 14 times more in fossil fuels than in renewable energy.

Will the Prime Minister commit to completely eliminating oil subsidies in order to invest the money in renewable energy to tackle the climate crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have been committed for many years to eliminating subsidies to the oil industry, and we will even do so before the target date of 2025 because we know it is important.

A plan has also been put forward to put an absolute limit on emissions from the oil and gas industry and to gradually reduce emissions until we achieve net-zero emissions in 2050, following the advice of scientists.

That is the plan that the Liberal Party put forward; unfortunately for the NDP, it was much stronger than the plan they presented in the last election.

The Economy

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday’s speech was just more Liberal broken promises. However, what it did not talk about was the rising cost of everything in this country: gasoline, groceries, rent and clothing. Everything that Canadians need for their basic needs is going through the roof.

My question for the Prime Minister is simple. When was the last time he went and filled up his tank with gas? When has he gone to a grocery store? When has he gone to a hardware store? Does he know what a loaf of bread costs now, or maybe a can of beans or a package of bacon?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the conversations I have had with Canadians over the past number of months, two things kept coming back as their greatest concerns. One was the rising cost of child care and how much it costs their family. Two was the concern about the housing crisis we are living in.

Well, the Conservatives, who pretend to know what Canadians are going through, promised to cut our plan on child care, to scrap it entirely, when families need the thousands of dollars that our deal for $10 a day would bring them. Their plan on housing was to give tax breaks to wealthy landlords so they could sell their homes. That does not make sense.

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I am trying to hear the questions, and the responses and answers. I just want to make sure that everybody wants to hear them as well. Okay. We are good to proceed.

The hon. member for Portage—Lisgar.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, let me answer that question for the Prime Minister. A year ago, a pack of bacon was about five dollars. Today, to go and buy even a no-name brand, and everybody knows what a no-name brand is except maybe the Prime Minister, it is almost eight dollars.

People without children, seniors and those who have school-aged children are buying bacon, bread, eggs and clothing and pay rent, and this is costing them. It is very disappointing to have a Prime Minister who is so out of touch that the only thing he might be worried about is if the cost of surfboards goes up. I guess he will worry about that.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that there is a crisis going on with inflation in this country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, while the Conservatives try to score cheap political points, we are focused on Canadians.

We will continue to work hand in hand with the provinces, including Conservative provinces like Alberta, that realize moving forward on $10-a-day child care, and indeed cutting child care costs in half for families as soon as this coming January, will make a huge difference in affordability for families. On top of that, we are moving forward to make even more investments in countering the housing crisis because we know those are two big issues that Canadians are struggling with. However, there are more that we will continue to work with them on.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the other thing that is inflating is the Prime Minister's arrogance and disconnect. It is very disappointing to see.

The Prime Minister said he does not care about monetary policy. Well, that is clear because his monetary policy is causing massive inflation in Canada. He might try to say that it is happening everywhere, but it is worse in Canada for people without children, people with school-aged children and seniors. There are Canadians who are struggling with it.

When will the Prime Minister stop just talking about day care and talk about the fact that the cost of everything in this country is going up and he does not seem to realize it or want to address it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately we see once again the conservative ideology of this federal party slip through as they talk disparagingly about things, saying, “Oh, stop talking about child care; start talking about things that matter to people.” I am sorry, but the investments that Canadians need, and indeed the Conservative premiers across the country recognize, are supporting families. This is not just good for moms and not just good for kids. It is good for the entire economy as we see greater workplace participation. That, unfortunately, is what Conservatives yet again do not get because of their ideology.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, here is the reality of the situation: Today, 200,000 jobs in Quebec remain unfilled because of the labour shortage. This has cost our businesses $18 billion because there are not enough employees, and 70% of our businesses are turning down contracts. That is Canada's economic reality: a labour shortage.

Yesterday, in the Speech from the Throne, absolutely nothing was said about this.

Why is the Prime Minister pretending that nothing is happening when our businesses are suffering from a labour shortage right now?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservative Party is very focused on problems without offering any solutions.

In the Speech from the Throne, we focused on solutions instead. For example, for the past year our borders have been closed due to the pandemic; now we are going to invest even more in immigration by working with the provinces to bring more labour into the country while investing in opportunities like day care to ensure that, in the decades to come, we have a robust labour market where there are no labour shortages.

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

Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but feel suspicious when the Prime Minister talks about the border, because if anyone has completely mismanaged the border, it is the current Prime Minister.

Familiprix's head office is in my riding. This morning, I spoke to the boss, and there are currently 212 job vacancies due to the lack of workers. In Bellechasse, my new colleague's riding, 50 jobs are available at Exceldor because of the labour shortage.

Yesterday, there was nothing at all in the Speech from the Throne.

What does the Prime Minister have to say to business owners facing the reality of a labour shortage?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know very well that there are huge challenges with respect to labour shortages across the country. That is why we are working with the provinces and business owners to find solutions. Whether it is immigration, skills training or investments in education and day care, we are going to create a system and make sure we have more opportunities for business owners.

The reality is that the Conservatives complained that assistance for workers was holding things up and creating the shortage. However, our assistance is now much more targeted, yet the shortage is still going, so we are going to continue to work on it.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, another economic reality all Canadian families are facing is the rising cost of living.

The inflation rate is 4.7%. It has not been that high since 2003. In yesterday's throne speech, the Governor General made just one single mention, in dubious French, of the word “inflation”. As we all know, the Prime Minister has stated that budgets balance themselves.

Does the Prime Minister think the inflation rate will lower itself?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, inflation is affecting countries all around the world, and Canada is doing better than many of its peers, including the United States. This is a big challenge for people, and that is why, in yesterday's throne speech, we focused not only on the problem, but also on solutions.

We know investments in affordable housing and the affordability of housing along with investments in child care centres, including the creation of 37,000 new child care spaces in Quebec, will help families deal with the cost of living.

We have more to do, and we will always be there with solutions for families.

Climate Change

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change attended COP26 with some very good intentions, and I commend them for that.

COP26 was being hailed as the last chance saloon, but we are still facing challenges related to oil and gas.

While the government claims to have ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, the oil industry is bragging that it hopes or expects to increase drilling by 25% in 2022.

Is that consistent with the government's objectives?