House of Commons Hansard #9 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was housing.

Topics

VolunteerismStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start off by thanking the good people of Sydney—Victoria for re-electing me as their member of Parliament.

Cape Bretoners are known for their generosity and community spirit. Today, I would like to commend a remarkable young woman and Cape Breton’s 2021 citizen of the year, Alyssa Rose.

Years ago, Alyssa was a patient at the IWK Health Centre, one of the most important specialized health centres for youth, women and families across the Maritimes. While there, she underwent an intense procedure to remove a brain tumour.

Alyssa was so moved by the work done by the doctors at the IWK that she was compelled to find some way to give back; over the last three years, Alyssa has raised over $33,000 for the IWK Health Centre. Her sense of selflessness, charity and community service are exactly the qualities Cape Bretoners chose to honour when they voted her citizen of the year.

Congratulations to Alyssa.

AgricultureStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to return to this House as the member for Red Deer—Mountain View. I am so thankful to the family members, friends and volunteers who supported me. It is, of course, with much pride that I stand for all of my constituents in this chamber.

Our community held two incredible national events last month at Red Deer's Westerner Park. Agri-trade is one of Canada's premier agricultural events. It features the very best in equipment, technology and services, and showcases true farmer ingenuity. We also hosted the 47th Canadian Finals Rodeo, which not only is a vital part of our western heritage but also highlights how sports and agriculture are key to our growing economy.

Agriculture is also the backbone of our nation's economy. Events such as these foster the grassroots relationship that connects us to the legacy of Alberta farmers, who put food on our tables and preserve our environment. I am so proud to be part of a community that is a global leader in food safety and innovation.

Totten Mine RescueStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Viviane LaPointe Liberal Sudbury, ON

Mr. Speaker, recently, in my riding of Sudbury, 39 miners were underground at Vale’s Totten mine when an accident damaged the elevator.

The miners were working more than 1,200 metres underground. A plan was carried out to bring all the miners back to the surface.

The climb to safety took three days to complete, with all 39 miners brought to the surface without injury or harm. I want to recognize and thank everyone involved in rescuing the miners: 56 Vale mine rescue members, Vale, Vale CISM, United Steelworkers Local 6500, Ontario Mine Rescue, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, NEOMO staff and Sudbury EMS.

I also want to recognize the 39 workers and their family members, who remained calm through a trying situation.

Nothing is more important than for all our workers to safely complete their work day and get home to their families.

Media Food DriveStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC

Mr. Speaker, as of today, the Media Food Drive, also known as the guignolée des médias, is under way across most of Quebec. The goal is to collect donations to help less fortunate individuals and families as the holidays draw near. Every year for the past 22 years, except last year, media organizations are out on the streets, creating a festive atmosphere, asking passersby for donations, and cultivating the generosity of Quebeckers who are more than willing to give money and non-perishable food items. Many merchants pitch in by collecting food donations. Cash donations can also be made at guignolée.ca.

Over 100 community organizations will then redistribute the proceeds of Quebeckers' solidarity to individuals and families. This year, because of the pandemic, the cost of living and grocery bills have been going up faster than ever, and food insecurity affects thousands of people in Quebec.

The Bloc encourages Quebeckers to give as much as they are able to so everyone can enjoy happy holiday celebrations.

Châteauguay—LacolleStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

Mr. Speaker, it will surprise no one here to hear me thank the people of Châteauguay—Lacolle from the bottom of my heart for once again putting their trust in me, in our Liberal government and in our Prime Minister, the right hon. member for Papineau.

Yes, it will surprise no one here to know how proud I am to have been witness to how the checks and balances in our democratic system work. Yes, every vote counts.

Now that the election is over, I will repeat what I told my constituents. No matter their political stripe, I represent everyone in Châteauguay—Lacolle.

I hope that, with the support of colleagues on both sides of the House, our riding will soon be renamed Châteauguay—Les Jardins‑de‑Napierville.

Low-Carbon Energy IndustryStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

Mr. Speaker, today I want to highlight project clear horizon, a large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage infrastructure project led by the City of Medicine Hat with strong corporate support from both Methanex and CF Industries. The scale of this project is expected to capture approximately three million tonnes of CO2 annually, and includes the ability to produce hydrogen.

Project clear horizon is the largest single business retention and expansion opportunity in southeast Alberta. Methanex and CF Industries are two of the largest employers and taxpayers in the region, but escalating carbon prices will make current operations uneconomical. Carbon capture is a developing industry that requires substantial government support. Project clear horizon represents the future of Canada's low-carbon energy industry.

I call on the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to join me in advocating for the approval and full government support of this environmentally responsible project.

Low-Carbon Energy IndustryStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Order.

I just want to remind hon. members that statements by members are being made. It is very important we all listen to them, so that we hear what is going on in individual ridings.

The hon. member for Cape Breton—Canso.

AUS Soccer ChampionsStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Mike Kelloway Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS

Mr. Speaker, about a month ago I attended the AUS soccer championships, hosted here at Cape Breton University. Today it is with great pride that I rise in the House for the first time this session to congratulate the Cape Breton University men's soccer team on its fifth consecutive AUS championship, establishing a sporting dynasty in the Atlantic region.

It was two weeks ago that the team was here in Ottawa, where it played in the national semifinals and captured the bronze medal following a thrilling weekend on the pitch. After close to 18 months away from the game, this season was an impressive one for our Capers. It is thanks to their determination, commitment and passion for the sport that the Capers made students, staff, alumni and the community proud once again.

I look forward to following their action again next year, and I say, “Go Capers, go!”

VolunteerismStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize some amazing Queen's University students from my riding of Kingston and the Islands.

Last week, Queen's University's varsity leadership council ran a food drive to help support Martha's Table, a local non-profit that provides free nutritious meals and personal hygiene products to members of the Kingston community. This initiative was led by the council's co-presidents: Sydney Hutchinson, one of the women's water polo team members, and Colton Celetano of the men's lacrosse team.

In total, this involved 21 different varsity teams that put together 60 baskets of food and hygiene products. Each basket included 21 items and is enough for a family of four. I know that every day there are many Queen's students just like Sydney and Colton, who quietly go and serve our community to help make it an even better place. They do not do it for recognition or reward; they simply do it because it is the right thing to do and they want to help.

I thank Sydney, Colton and all the varsity athletes who participated, for stepping up for their community.

Simcoe-GreyStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Terry Dowdall Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the first time in the 44th Parliament.

I want to thank the good people of Simcoe—Grey for once again putting their trust in me to be their voice here in Ottawa. I also want to thank my wife, Colleen; my two daughters, Lexi and Sarah; my EDA; and the many volunteers who helped get me back to this special place.

In the last Parliament, my constituents talked to me a lot about the need for high-speed Internet, more support for seniors and more support for small businesses. These remain top priorities, but the issue I am hearing about more than ever now is the record levels of debt in Canada and the overall rise in the cost of living. My constituents are concerned about the price of groceries, the cost to heat their homes and affording their mortgages if interest rates were to rise in the present market.

The current government put us in this situation, and, like many Canadians, I want to see a real plan to get out: a Conservative plan.

Markham—UnionvilleStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Chiang Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand for the first time in this House and humbled to be the newly elected member of Parliament for Markham—Unionville.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my constituents for placing their trust and support in me. As a retired police officer, representing them is a privilege that I will not take lightly.

I would like to take this time to acknowledge and thank the people who stood by my side and helped me get to this position. My dedicated and hard-working campaign team had conversations on doorsteps that helped amplify the voices of Canadians and carry our movement forward.

My wife of 40 years, Monica, my three adult children and their spouses, and my six grandchildren have always remained by my side and supported me in all my endeavours. I cannot thank them enough and would not be where I am today without them.

Today I pledge to the people of Markham—Unionville that I will work tirelessly to represent everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or orientation. I will fight to make sure our communities are safe, healthy and inclusive for all Canadians.

Finally, I want to congratulate all re-elected and newly elected members to this House, and I hope to work with everyone in this House.

Lobster Fishing SeasonStatements By Members

December 2nd, 2021 / 2:15 p.m.

Conservative

Chris d'Entremont Conservative West Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, yesterday morning, after two days of delay, fishermen in LFA 33 and 34 kicked off their lobster fishing season. For them, from generation to generation, being a fisherman is not just a job. It is a passion and a reason to live, and they are very proud of it.

Today it is with the same pride that I can express to them my deep admiration and respect for what they do, wish them an excellent season, and above all, ask them to stay safe on the water and keep in mind all the fishers we have unfortunately lost over the years.

I also want to take this opportunity on behalf of my family and staff to wish my constituents of West Nova, as well as my colleagues in this chamber, a very merry Christmas. May everyone's gatherings be joyful, and may they please remain cautious during their travels.

I wish my constituents in West Nova and my colleagues in the House a merry Christmas with their friends and family.

May everyone's holidays be joyful, healthy and, above all, safe, so we can get the new year started on the right foot.

Portage—LisgarStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this 44th Parliament to thank the people of Portage—Lisgar for choosing me as their MP for the fifth time. I am so grateful for their trust.

It has been a difficult time for my riding. Some in the riding feared the vaccine and distrust government, but many more have confidence in their doctors' and experts' advice. This was a divisive issue during the election and still is.

That is why today I recommit in this House to do all I can, as their MP, to be a leader who brings people together, to listen, to be kind and respectful, and to exemplify the Christian values I was taught growing up in southern Manitoba.

People in my area, and Mennonites especially, are known for their generosity and love for their neighbour. These values have not changed. Although I do not have all the answers to these challenges, I do know this: No pandemic will stop the eternal legacy that the people of my region of southern Manitoba have been destined to fulfill. In the words of Paul, when all else fades, when all else fails, love never fails.

Conversion TherapyStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

NDP

Blake Desjarlais NDP Edmonton Griesbach, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the historic event that took place in this chamber yesterday. As a two-spirit person and newly elected member of this House, seeing my colleagues put aside our partisan differences to pass this long-overdue ban on conversion therapy fills me with hope.

Kinana'skomitina'wa'w, members of this House. In particular, I would like to thank the Minister of Justice for tabling this landmark legislation, the member for Fundy Royal for his unanimous consent motion, and the NDP member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, whose years of tireless work made this bill possible.

Most importantly, I wish to thank the survivors from the 2SLGBTQI community, who never gave up the fight to ensure this harmful practice was banned. This is their victory.

Conversion therapy is wrong; it is harmful and it needs to be banned. I call on our colleagues in the Senate to now move just as quickly to pass Bill C-4 into law.

International Day for the Abolition of SlaveryStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Bloc

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC

Mr. Speaker, today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. I want to take this opportunity to talk about the Uighurs, a people who are victims of slavery.

At least 500,000 Uighurs are being forced to work in cotton fields in China. No less than one in five articles of cotton clothing sold in the world is made in part by Uighur slave labour. Yes, I said one in five articles of clothing. Tragically, the Uighurs are being subjected to a genocide, and forced labour and slavery is just one horrific part of that.

Despite this, the Government of Canada is bowing to China. Yesterday, it refused to use the Olympic Games to put diplomatic pressure on China to authorize an investigation into the abuses inflicted on Uighurs.

Today, I am reaching out to my Liberal colleagues.

I know that they are aware of what is going on. I have spoken with them. I know there are many of them who would prefer us to stand up to China. I am calling on them to reflect, because today, on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, their government is sitting on the wrong side of history.

The EconomyStatements By Members

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Lianne Rood Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON

Mr. Speaker,

Please allow me this delineation.
I have heard it said that this crisis throughout our great nation is nothing more than just inflation.
I remember prorogation and attempts to hinder accountability beneath our station.
We should take it as humiliation to see Canada's economy suffer from such stagnation.
The people demand compensation from a government that does not show trepidation to bankrupt future generations.
Oh how we will come to see this reprobation and how it has been said without hesitation.
It could have been better had we shown conservation, instead of a continuation of the poor excuse of “it is just inflation.”

International Day for the Abolition of SlaveryStatements By Members

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

Mr. Speaker, the great William Faulkner wrote “The past is never dead. It's not even past”. Unfortunately, we see that reflected in the scourge of slavery.

Today is the United Nations International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Slavery still exists today. Its modern forms include sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced marriages and the recruitment of children in armed conflict.

Slavery was abolished in Canada in 1834, freeing indigenous and Black people from this most disgusting form of abuse. However, according to the latest estimates, more than 40 million people are still victims of modern slavery. Nearly three-quarters are women and girls, and more than one-quarter are children.

We, as Canadian parliamentarians, who are among the most privileged in the world, must speak out against modern slavery at every opportunity and use every tool at our disposal to act wisely. The world is watching, especially those under the yoke of slavery.

The EconomyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Durham Ontario

Conservative

Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, news is just leaking out about more massive spending plans from the Liberal government that just recently acknowledged its role in the inflation crisis. Reuters news is reporting the finance minister will only give limited information in her fiscal update. The government has already refused to account for $600 billion of its spending and now it is planning to spend more without any accountability.

Why is the government covering up its out-of-control spending?

The EconomyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to answer an economic question from the leader of the official opposition. It gives me the chance to congratulate him for agreeing last week with Stephen Poloz and the majority of serious economists that “inflation is a global phenomenon”.

The member for Durham seems to now have lost his nerve, but I guess flip-flops from the Conservative leader are no surprise to Canadian voters or, indeed, to the Conservative caucus.

The EconomyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Durham Ontario

Conservative

Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, that comes as quite an ironic response from the only Canadian parliamentarian flagged by Twitter for misleading Canadians.

As the minister once said, better is always possible, so better is always possible for the Prime Minister. I have a simple question for her. Prices are going up across the board. She has the opportunity to ask the Bank of Canada to get inflation back down to 2%. Will she do it? Yes or no.

The EconomyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives seem not to understand a very basic economic distinction: the difference between monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary policy decisions about interest rates and the money supply are the province of the Bank of Canada. It is fiscal policy decisions about spending and taxation which is the job of the government.

I think Canadians would be right to ask themselves whether a party that does not even understand this basic distinction could ever be trusted in government.

The EconomyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Durham Ontario

Conservative

Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, I am hoping one basic economic equation that the finance minister will inform her Prime Minister of after six years is that budgets clearly do not balance themselves, do they, finance minister?

New data in August from Statistics Canada said that we had 24% more business failures. Thousands of family-owned businesses are struggling. Inflation is hitting small business, too. On January 1, the minister is going to raise payroll taxes on those family-owned businesses.

How many more small businesses are going to have to close before the Liberal minister learns her basic economics?

The EconomyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, over the past 10 days we have heard a lot from the Conservatives about government spending, which they now deem to have been excessive, but just a few weeks ago, on the campaign trail, the Conservatives proposed government spending in this fiscal year that was higher than what we proposed. While we proposed a deficit of $156.9 billion for 2021-22, the Conservatives proposed a $168-billion deficit.

Therefore, could the party of flip-flops please tell Canadians what its position is today?

The EconomyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Durham Ontario

Conservative

Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, inflation is creeping out everywhere in this country. In fact, a few years ago the Prime Minister said he would never run a deficit greater than $10 billion. Inflation has led that commitment to be that he is never going to run a deficit greater than $500 billion.

When will the finance minister and the government commit to Canadians, who are seeing the inflation crisis price them out of their own homes and neighbourhoods, to finally balance a budget?

The EconomyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, The Economist released its annual ranking of the most expensive cities to live in around the world this week. Here are the top 10: Tel Aviv, Paris, Singapore, Zurich, Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka. What do these 10 cities have in common? None of them are in Canada.