Debates of Dec. 15th, 2021

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to position a teacher as a victim, but she herself said that she did not consider it a religious symbol but a political symbol of opposition to Bill 101.

She was hired and assigned to a classroom after Bill 21 was passed, but the Prime Minister is commending the Liberal Party's ambassador to the UN for insulting Quebec.

Is the Prime Minister planning to fund challenges to Bill 21?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois finds itself in a tricky position because thousands of Quebeckers are asking themselves some tough questions. They are wondering if, in a free society, a person should lose their job because of their religion.

The Bloc has no choice but to do what it always does: try to turn this into a federal-provincial issue and attack the government in Ottawa instead of listening to Quebeckers who have genuine concerns about freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom to practise one's religion in a free society.

I know Quebeckers are asking themselves these questions. Why is the Bloc not doing the same?

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

Mr. Speaker, I wonder why I am tempted to again tell the Prime Minister to grow a spine. Should Quebec hold a referendum on Bill 21? What happens then?

Would the Prime Minister have the courage of confronting Bill 21, after shying away from it in the federal election, and of saying that he will not have the courage to confront Bill 21 in the Quebec election?

Does he have the courage to admit that it is because he is afraid of Quebec public opinion, which is largely in favour of Quebec secularism?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec and Canada are already secular societies.

We do not ask police officers or judges about their religion, because we know that whatever religion someone practises in their personal life should not prevent them from practising a profession or having an important role in our society.

That is what we are defending, and that is precisely why Quebeckers are asking themselves some questions. They are wondering how, in a free society, their government can legislate on freedom of expression and freedom of conscience, and how someone can lose their job because they are Muslim.

Natural Resources

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after cancelling the Keystone pipeline and challenging Line 5, the United States finds itself in the same boat as Canada, with soaring fuel prices as winter sets in. To deal with this lack of fuel and inflation, President Biden has begged human rights-abusing oil cartel countries to increase their oil production.

Will the Prime Minister admit that his delays, obstruction and lack of ability to get energy infrastructure built in Canada have led to massive fuel inflation that has Canadians paying a lot for energy from climate-destroying countries?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, after years of a Conservative government that was focused on “drill, baby, drill” but unable to get pipelines built, this is the government that is actually getting TMX built to access new markets for our oil resources.

At the same time, we recognize that we need to reduce our carbon emissions and invest in the oil workers in Alberta and elsewhere, so we can transform our energy mix to be more low-carbon, to reach net zero and to support good jobs.

The Conservative Party is stuck in its failed past while we look to the future.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians do not have the luxury of the Prime Minister's privileged future. No one is going to magically buy them an electric vehicle in the next couple of weeks. Nobody is going to magically build them an LRT in the next couple of weeks. They are struggling to pay their fuel costs now. The Prime Minister has failed to provide them with low-cost carbon alternatives, and his lack of action on energy infrastructure has driven up prices.

The Americans are releasing oil from their strategic energy reserve in order to bring prices down. We do not have one here. Could the Prime Minister tell us what Canada's plan is to lower fuel costs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our plan from the beginning of this pandemic has been to have Canadians' backs now and into the future. That is exactly what we are doing, not only by supporting them now with initiatives that are making life more affordable, but also by recognizing that the direction our world is going in is toward lower-carbon emissions. Therefore, our investments in clean technology, our investments in renewables and our investments in fighting climate change are what is going to guarantee a better present and future for all Canadians.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister just said is that he has spent Canada into oblivion to make our prices higher for consumers. That is insane. Come on.

Right now, Canadians are struggling to pay for gas. They do not have the ability to magically buy an electric car. We need to get fuel prices under control. Last year, the Prime Minister voted against a bill to reduce fuel price costs for farmers.

Could the Prime Minister tell Canadians what he is going to materially do, after failing to build pipelines, to lower fuel costs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of Conservative failure on pipelines, we have actually invested in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, and we are taking the profits from that pipeline to invest in the green transformation of our economy—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am going to have to interrupt the Right Hon. Prime Minister. I am having a hard time hearing his answer.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to hear the Conservatives continuing to double down on their anti-climate-change agenda and their oil and gas lobbying efforts to try to hold Canadians in the past, instead of recognizing that supporting them right now with a price on pollution that puts more money in their pockets than before and moves us forward into the future is the right—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, somebody in Papineau who is struggling to pay for a tank of gas is not an oil and gas lobbyist; they are one of his constituents. He owes it to them to not only provide low-carbon alternatives, which he has failed to provide, but also to reduce their fuel costs.

The Prime Minister has failed on all these fronts. He has failed to buy energy infrastructure. He is perfectly fine with having that tank of gas come in from Saudi Arabia, where women are not seen as people. He should have a plan that both sees Canadian energy lower the cost of fuel and ensures that we have climate action.

The Prime Minister has failed on both fronts. Why?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to fail to understand that we do not have a plan for the future of our economy if we do not have a plan for the future of our environment, to fight climate change. That is exactly what we have led on, including with a price on pollution that returns more money to the average Canadian family than it costs them in a given year.

On top of that, we are moving forward with real supports for families and for communities as we challenge the rising price of goods. That is what we are continuing to do. As we finish with this pandemic for good, we need to keep focused on the things that matter for Canadians.

Housing

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a housing crisis going on. The cost of housing has increased by almost 25% in one year. It is impossible to find affordable housing. Despite that, the Prime Minister did not include anything in the economic update to tackle this crisis.

Why is the Prime Minister refusing to deal with the housing crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we clearly stated that this government's priority is affordable housing and access to home ownership.

We will help municipalities build more and better housing more quickly with programs such as the housing accelerator fund. We will also help families buy their first home sooner with a more flexible first-time home buyer incentive and a new rent-to-own program. We will reduce closing costs for new buyers.

The economic update presented yesterday outlines our plan to put a national tax on non-resident, non-Canadian owned residential real estate in Canada.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, those are great measures, but the Prime Minister had an opportunity to put them in place, to put them forward.

Not only are Canadians dealing with the omicron variant, but they are dealing with inflation that is driving up the cost of living. They are dealing with a housing crisis that makes it impossible to find a home they can afford.

The Prime Minister promised to take some actions, and we are saying, “Take those actions.” Will the Prime Minister fulfill his own promises to ban blind bidding? Will the Prime Minister put a tax on foreign buyers? Will the Prime Minister finally put a tax on property flippers? Why has he not done it already?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's update includes our plan to implement a national tax on non-resident, non-Canadian-owned residential real estate in Canada.

We are moving forward on our commitments, including helping families buy their first homes sooner with a more flexible first-time homebuyer incentive and a new rent-to-own program, and by reducing closing costs. We are helping municipalities build more and better homes faster, with programs like the housing accelerator funds. We are continuing to support Canadians, because we promised to have their backs, and that is exactly what we are doing.

Seniors

[Heath MacDonald, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, my riding of Malpeque is home to many seniors who are on fixed incomes and who are concerned about their economic security in these uncertain times. Unfortunately, many low-income seniors who rely on the guaranteed income supplement saw their benefits rolled back if they collected the Canada emergency response benefit. Seniors I have spoken to now understand this was an unintended effect of the unprecedented urgent support programs that the government rolled out.

I am hoping the Prime Minister will be able to update the House and seniors in my riding on how we plan to address this issue and ensure that seniors have the support they need moving forward.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Malpeque for his hard work.

Yesterday's economic and fiscal update demonstrated to Canadians our government's plan to finish the fight against COVID-19 and ensure our economic recovery leaves no one behind. To do exactly that, we will be investing in a one-time payment to these affected seniors, to alleviate financial hardship for GIS recipients who received CERB in 2020.

We will always be there for seniors, and seniors know they can count on the Liberal government.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, asked about the $120,000 year-over-year increase in housing prices, the top economists for The Canadian Real Estate Association say this is the biggest gain of all time and that certainly in dollars it is far larger than anything that has ever happened. Why is this? We cannot blame supply chains, because land does not have supply chains. We cannot blame COVID, because almost all of the houses in Canada were built before COVID happened. In fact, the things that drive house prices, namely wages, immigration and GDP, are all down.

If the underlying means with which to buy housing are all down, why is it that real estate prices are up by record amounts?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear that housing affordability and home ownership are priorities for this government. We will help municipalities build more and better homes faster with programs like the housing accelerator fund. We will also help families buy their first home sooner with a more flexible first-time homebuyer incentive and a new rent-to-own program, and by reducing housing closing costs.

Yesterday's update includes our plan to implement a national tax on non-resident, non-Canadian-owned residential real estate in Canada, and we will keep being there to have Canadians' backs as they deal with the rising cost of housing.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the question is: Why did housing prices go up so much with wages, GDP and immigration down? With all of the housing supply being right here in Canada, not linked to a so-called global supply chain, what is causing this eye-popping record increase in the cost of owning a house?

It just so happens that prices started rising right when the government began printing $400 billion of new cash into the financial system, $200 billion of which went into increased mortgage lending, with the investor class getting the preponderance of that new money.

Why did the Prime Minister give so much to the “have yachts” and take from the have-nots?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why in 2017 we moved forward with a national housing strategy. Since 2015, our government has supported the creation of nearly 100,000 new units, repaired over 300,000 more across all housing programs and helped more families get the housing they need.

By supporting families through programs like the rapid housing initiative, the first-time homebuyer incentive and the Canada housing benefit, we are continuing to help Canadians, but those are all programs the Conservative Party voted against.