House of Commons Hansard #8 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, there were one million job vacancies in Canada in September. The labour shortage is another factor affecting the cost of living. Nothing is being done about the labour shortage.
When will this government address the problem in order to help Canadians?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, what we are seeing is that our economy is recovering even more quickly than that of the United States, and more jobs have returned in Canada than in the U.S. and elsewhere.
At the same time, we know that the labour shortage we experienced during the pandemic is ongoing, and that is why we are taking action on immigration, training, investments in families, job creation and investments in small business. We are there to help our economy recover quickly.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, many educational institutions in Quebec want to welcome francophone students from Africa. Thousands of French-speaking African students want to attend schools in Quebec in full compliance with the rules.
Unfortunately, Canadian immigration services reject them over 80% of the time. This rate is out or line with the rejection rate for students of any other origin, and the pretext given is that African students may not want to return home when they are done. Those are some serious accusations, a form of discrimination that should not be tolerated. It is harmful to our exchanges and to development in Africa.
Will the Prime Minister raise the matter with immigration services?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that these reports are quite troubling. Discrimination is unacceptable in any form, and we will not tolerate any systemic discrimination in our programs.
To ensure that our programs and services treat everyone fairly, we are conducting a detailed review of their impacts. We will continue to work closely with the provinces, including Quebec, of course, to ensure that our immigration system is robust and fair to everyone.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, those were some nice empty words.
The real impact, which is still happening today, is that the government is hurting French, it is hurting educational institutions in Quebec, it is hurting francophone Africa and it is hurting those students. Eighty percent of them are being rejected. That is discrimination.
Do I understand correctly that the Prime Minister is describing the behaviour of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as systemic racism?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Bloc Québécois and some others, we have recognized that systemic racism exists in all of our institutions in this country. Ever since we recognized it, we have been working hard to eliminate it and to transform our immigration system and all of our other systems to ensure they are fair and can recognize their inherent biases. That is the work that we are doing, and we take it very seriously.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the omicron variant is deeply troubling to Canadians. People are worried about their families and their communities. This variant has also shown very clearly that we will not be able to beat this pandemic unless the entire world is vaccinated.
Why does the Prime Minister continue to defend the interests and profits of wealthy pharmaceutical companies rather than ensuring that every country in the world can produce vaccines in their home countries so they can vaccinate their populations?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we are working to ensure that countries across the world have access to COVID-19 vaccines through our investments in the COVAX facility. We were one of the early adopters and leaders in investing to make sure that vaccine equity across the world is real. Furthermore, Canada is taking leadership at the World Trade Organization to work with the international community on ensuring that the global trading system contributes to removing barriers to vaccine access. We are advancing progress on these issues, which include IP, yes, but also supply chain, production and export restrictions.
We will be there to help end this pandemic everywhere, because without that, we cannot end it anywhere.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is literally continuing to defend the profits of pharmaceutical companies.
The omicron variant of COVID-19 is deeply troubling. People are worried about their families and their communities. The variant has shown that the entire world must be vaccinated to beat this pandemic.
Why does the Prime Minister continue to defend the profits of major pharmaceutical companies rather than defending the interests of poorer countries so that they can produce vaccines themselves?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the member opposite, and not just because he uses “literally” metaphorically.
Canada is taking leadership at the World Trade Organization, and we are working with the international community to ensure that the trading system contributes to removing barriers to vaccine access.
We are advancing progress on these issues, which include—
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I am going to interrupt the Prime Minister, because I cannot hear his response. I would therefore ask him to start over so we can all hear his response.
Again, the right hon. Prime Minister.
Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, we are all concerned about the omicron variant. That is why we will continue to be there to help people get vaccinated around the world.
With respect to the World Trade Organization, we are working with the international community to contribute to removing barriers to vaccine access. We are advancing progress on these issues, which include intellectual property, but also the supply chain, production and export restrictions.
We are committed to finding solutions to accelerate the equitable production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Speaker, the average home price in Canada right now is $717,000. Want to know what it was last year? It was $606,000. That is an 18.2% increase. In 2015, when the Prime Minister came into office, it was $450,000.
Under what metric in the world can the Prime Minister explain that his plan is working?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, from 2015 onwards, we began to invest in housing in this country, which had been underinvested in by the federal government for many years. We came forward with the national housing strategy in 2017 that has led to hundreds of thousands of families getting into new homes. We further built on initiatives like the first-time home buyer incentive and the rapid housing initiative. We have just put forward a $4-billion investment toward municipalities to help build more supply. This contrasts with the Conservative plan to give tax breaks to wealthy landlords.
We are acting to fight this housing crisis.
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Speaker, what he just said is that he is off-loading all of the responsibility onto the provinces and the municipalities. Who is he going to blame once that fails? It is the provinces and municipalities.
The Conservatives had a plan in the last election to sell off 15% of federal government assets to increase supply. When will the Prime Minister get off his assets and help Canadian families?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives play partisan attacks, we focus on Canadians. We are actually moving forward with a $4-billion investment in municipalities to support the rapid advancement of housing and the building of supply. We are even working beyond the rapid housing initiative that we have moved forward. We have signed landmark deals with the provinces across the country on investing in housing. We will continue to be there for first-time homebuyers with a dedicated program and with the ability to reduce costs on closing for ownership.
There are many initiatives we are putting forward because we know there is not one silver bullet to fix this. It is a comprehensive approach, and that is what we are doing.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the more the Prime Minister spends, the more it costs. Housing prices have gone from $450,000 under the last year of the Conservative government to $716,000 under the government, up 32% in just over a year. We now have the biggest housing bubble in the world outside of New Zealand, and Toronto and Vancouver are the fifth- and second-most expensive housing markets in the world, ahead of Manhattan, San Francisco, London and others.
If the Prime Minister is not to blame, then exactly what is causing this housing price inflation?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, one has to at least recognize that the Conservatives are consistent in their approach and that they want to do less whenever they are confronted with a problem.
Canadians are challenged with a housing crisis right now, and we are moving forward with programs to help first-time homebuyers and to invest money into municipalities so they can cut red tape and build more supply. We will work with the provinces on initiatives that are going to bring forward more housing and tie it into rapid transit. These are initiatives we are putting forward.
The Conservatives answer, “Well, you have to do less.” That is unfortunately the kind of austerity that they continue to push, despite the fact that Canadians need help.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, it cost less to own a home. The average family could buy a place for $450,000, not the $720,000 of today. Why are prices rising so suddenly? Well, the number of wealthy landlords buying houses went up by 100% since March 2020, according to the Bank of Canada. What happened in March 2020? That was when the government began printing money, flooding the mortgage system and ballooning housing costs.
When will the Liberals stop flooding the market with cheap cash for wealthy landlords?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
First of all, Mr. Speaker, I recommend that the member opposite take a careful look at the Bank of Canada's independent mandate around monetary policy, which on this side of the House we respect.
Second, it is interesting that the member opposite brings up wealthy landlords, because the heart of the plan they put forward and he defended in the last election was about giving wealthy landlords a tax break to help them sell their buildings, with nothing for families, nothing for affordable housing. That was the Conservative plan, and again they are complaining that we are doing too much to help families. We will keep doing more.
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, while the Government of Quebec is pulling out all the stops and launching Opération main-d’oeuvre, a game plan to address the labour shortage, this government is just sitting on the sidelines and does not appear to understand the situation. Our companies are slowing down production, and that is because they do not have enough workers to fill the 280,000 jobs currently vacant in Quebec.
Will the Prime Minister show some leadership, take a cue from Quebec, and take the labour shortage seriously?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, although the labour shortage is real, it was there before the pandemic began. That is why we have continued to boost federal immigration levels for the past several years. That is why we are going to keep making greater investments in immigration and job training in order to help young people who have been hit by the pandemic. We will invest in the growth of small businesses so that they can pay better wages.
We will be there to help the economy rebound, and that means addressing the labour shortage.
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, we do not want speeches and words; we want action.
With respect to immigration, last week I told the House about Rotobec, a company in my riding that is currently trying to fill 30 jobs, including a dozen through immigration. It was confirmed to me today that, once again, Rotobec will have to wait months and months before it can fill these job vacancies and bring in these newcomers.
What is the Prime Minister waiting for to help our businesses and finally take action to address the delays in processing immigrant worker applications?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to point out that my hon. colleague should talk to her hon. colleague from Carleton, who complains that we are doing too much. She wants us to do more. That is what we will continue to do. We recognize how important it is to invest even more in immigration and to speed up the arrival of new Canadians. Yes, for a year and a half, the pandemic forced us to close our borders, but we are going to catch up, bring more people into Canada, and create growth for everyone.
We will work with Quebec and the other provinces to address the labour shortage.
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, when the federal government banned irregular border crossings at Roxham Road, asylum seekers began to use other, more perilous routes, even if it meant putting themselves in danger. Something had to be done. What did the government do? Did it suspend the safe third country agreement so that asylum seekers could use regular, secure border crossings? No. Instead, it reopened Roxham Road. It reopened Roxham Road, so we are back to square one with the same situation as before the pandemic.
Would the Prime Minister agree that that is not the solution?