Debates of Dec. 2nd, 2021

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, I give my colleague my sympathies for the loss that he described early in his speech.

I also come from a province where oil and gas is, of course, very important to our economy. We are seeing very little investment in the oil and gas sector because we have not shown, in Canada, that we are doing what we can to take carbon out of the barrel.

Does the member see a way that we could use our oil and gas subsidies in this country to invest in our sectors so that they could be removing the carbon from the barrel? Is there a way we could use those subsidies to invest in renewable energies and make the sector more attractive to international investors, but also make sure that the people in Alberta and across Canada are able to keep working?

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Madam Speaker, if there is one barrel of oil produced in this world, it should be Canadian oil. We have ethical, low-carbon oil and we need to support our own people right here. Europe is sourcing ethical oil. Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest-carbon oil in the world and it needs to be supported.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand today to represent the people of the Bay of Quinte. I am extremely proud to have been elected the first Conservative member for my riding. I want to thank all the volunteers who worked hard putting their time into the election, especially my campaign manager Susan Smith. We know how much work it is, especially to manage me.

As many members of the House know, it is also a family affair. My mother Heather was one of the greatest volunteers. She is an Atlantic Canadian. She was born in Fredericton and grew up in Prince Edward Island. It is no surprise that door knocking is just easy for Maritimers. My kids were all involved as well. Jack is eight, Patrick is seven and Zooey is four. My biggest thanks go to my wife Allyson. Most of us know that the biggest sacrifice in this job is our families and especially our partners. I am not sure if this was meant to scare us, but our first training in this work was a work-life balance seminar, where I was told that 75% of MPs end up getting divorced. That is a big number. I moved right next to my father-in-law in Ottawa, which he has said is a blessing and a curse, so time will tell. It is a big sacrifice to have us away from our families. My biggest thanks and love go to my wife Allyson, who is home with my children right now sacrificing her time for us so that we can make this region and country a better place.

My wife and her family are from Thunder Bay, or T-Bay as they affectionately call it. Thunder Bay residents are extremely strong people. I went there once in the winter and can say that they are so tough because it is so cold in January. My wife lives by the motto “always choose love”. In 2015, we lost our son Teddy at birth to a congenital heart defect. Every year there are thousands of Canadians who experience the terror of infant loss or miscarriage. Allyson was instrumental in our region for being a voice to women who experience loss. She wrote a blog called alwayschooselove.net and she continues to be a tireless advocate for women. She is a light for so many, and I love her dearly.

I would also be amiss to not talk about my grandfather and father, who were both political candidates provincially, in 1975 and 2003 respectively, for the provincial Conservative Party and who did not get to represent their constituents. This proves that the third time is the charm. My grandmother Audrey said that she was happy to be alive to see a Williams elected to the House. Both have immensely contributed to our region. My grandfather Don Williams was an entrepreneur. He operated Stirling Motors from 1956 for 20 years and then successfully started Williams Hotels, which he still runs today. He raised awareness for organ donation in Canada, having received one of the first heart transplants in the first decade, in 1991. As well, he supported Camp Quin-Mo-Lac and many local charities. He would always tell people to sign their donor cards. My grandfather taught me tenacity.

My father John Williams became the mayor of Quinte West for eight years and then was the honorary colonel of CFB 8 Wing in Trenton. My father passed away in 2020, but would have loved to have been here. He lived by the motto “get 'er done”. My father, alongside long-time Liberal MPP Hugh O'Neil, created the Afghanistan memorial in Bain Park in Quinte West, having attended every repatriation ceremony during the Afghanistan war, and was instrumental in the creation of the Highway of Heroes on Highway 401 to commemorate those men and women of our military.

As an MP, I look forward to the challenge of representing my constituents in this House and feel very privileged to be here in this place.

Never before have we had the challenges we face in this country. We all know that we live in the best country on the planet. Our standard of living, history, culture and freedoms are among the most revered in the world. However, we have some persistent problems facing Canadians right now. Inflation is the highest in 20 years. I have had calls from seniors this week who cannot decide whether to pay for groceries or rent. We consistently hear that employment is back to pre-COVID levels, yet we have heard of well over a million job vacancies in this country. I can say we have 2,500 skilled jobs we cannot fill in the Bay of Quinte today. We have had restaurants shut down for up to two weeks.

Housing is a disaster right now, with prices doubling in the past year. Prince Edward County, in my region, had one of the highest jumps in housing costs in the last year, at 170%, with the average price last month at $1.2 million. How could anyone who is 25 or 30 years old afford a house at $1.2 million?

What are the solutions? I am a Conservative because I believe that Conservatives believe in the dignity of us as Canadians to be individuals, and that as Canadian individuals we have the right to be free, live free and pursue that which motivates us the most, not because man or government says it is the right thing to do, but because it is our God-given natural right. I also believe that to fix our inflation on housing and other things caused by the overprinting of our money, we need to be producing more of the things money buys. That means homes. It means freeing up home builders to build the things that Canadians need. It means unleashing Canadian innovation and making things in Canada.

I come from rural Canada. If we are to fix the persistent problems facing Canadians and build the next decade into a time when Canada can lead the world, then we need to focus on urban and rural Canada producing more of the things that money buys. To fix our inflation nation, we need to become an innovation nation to produce more wealth. That means allowing individuals to pursue what motivates them and ensuring that the government assists individuals to make, grow, dream and do things in Canada so that individuals making things in a free and enterprise-motivated economy will create wealth and jobs, reversing inflation and ensuring Canada does not see any more decline.

This is not just in urban Canada, where there are 94 cities with over 100,000 people, but in rural Canada, where there are over 3,700 municipalities. The key to Canada's growth is not just in urban Canada, but in rural Canada. An innovation nation includes all 3,700 municipalities, its regions and its more than 600 first nations, Métis and Inuit reserves.

In 2018, I was part of Canada's first Canadian Rural Innovation Summit in Belleville, at which we hosted the thinkers, dreamers and doers to talk about empowering Canada's rural regions, accelerating businesses and growing our Canadian innovation share. We have an alarming rural out-migration number. Eighty per cent of our youth in rural areas end up leaving the rural areas to go to urban centres because that is where the jobs are. I lost many of my friends growing up, as they left for bigger city centres. We need youth in our regions and in our rural regions. Some say youth are the voice of tomorrow. I believe that youth in this country are the voice of today. How can we truly listen to our children if they continue to leave the place we call home? How can they stay in the place we want them to call home when they cannot afford the home?

We need a great rebuild of what will make Canada thrive: its rural regions. These are regions like the Bay of Quinte that have so much potential. It is potential I know how to unlock and potential we saw in 2018 when we hosted Canada's first Canadian Rural Innovation Summit. We need to start demanding the best from Canada and that specifically means the best from rural Canada.

Right now we are not seeing entrepreneurs create the greatest wealth they can in Canada across all regions, rural and urban. We need to strengthen the innovation in this country and protect Canadian ideas and enterprise. Our intellectual property, the measure of intellectual ideas that translate into wealth in this country, is massively underperforming that of other nations. In 2019, prior to COVID-19, Canada produced $39 billion in IP. That is not bad, but compare that with the Americans, who produced $6.6 trillion of IP, or 169 times that of Canada, when they only have 10 times the population.

We are not protecting the stuff that creates the stuff that creates wealth and kills inflation: homes; technology; our natural resources, including our softwood lumber industry; and new world-leading clean energy, including our clean, ethical oil and natural gas and advanced manufacturing. Ontario made a great announcement this morning that a new modular nuclear power unit is being developed in the province. It is going to create a large amount of GDP for the province and Canada. Innovation means improving what we are doing in the world and here in Canada, and we can do so much more.

Members cannot see it but I am wearing red socks. I wear red socks because red represents the colour of our flag and the sacrifice that has been made by our soldiers to ensure that this is a free, democratic country, and because I believe that just like yesterday when the House came together on Bill C-4, the House can and will come together more often in Canada. Our people depend on it.

God bless Canada. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Madam Speaker, being the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River, I want to sincerely congratulate the member for Bay of Quinte for his election. He must be a good guy, given he is married to someone from Thunder Bay. I am sure that when his kids started playing hockey it came natural to them.

I was interested in the member's comments about businesses in his riding not being able to find employees. As he may know, we have the same problem in Thunder Bay, and I think this is a common problem across Canada. However, we are bringing in 400,000 immigrants this year. Maybe that is not enough. What is his and his party's stance on immigration levels?

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, to the hon. member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River, I even learned how to play boot hockey, which apparently is something they play there. I love Thunder Bay; it is great. However, I love it in July more than in January.

We are absolutely for more immigration. In our platform during the campaign, we talked about skilled immigration and ensuring we have the labour needed to help our companies grow. Our country will not grow if our companies are not growing and if we are not providing jobs to Canadians and those who are entering this country to ensure we are growing it.

We talk about GDP for this nation. Fifty per cent of our GDP is from natural resources, so we need to make sure we have employees who allow those industries to thrive. As I said, for rural innovation, we need workers to grow companies. It is as simple as that. Growing companies creates more wealth, it contributes to our GDP and it will help solve the inflation crisis we have.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I was bothered by something in my colleague's speech, in which he admits that rents in his riding have doubled and people are having a hard time finding housing. That is a widespread problem throughout Quebec and Canada.

Then again, my colleague believes that the solution is to build more houses. However, we do not need houses. At present, 500,000 households in Quebec have an urgent need for housing because they spend 30% or more of their income on housing or because their home is often unhealthy, too large or too small. That is the current problem.

Building more houses is not in itself a bad idea. In the last Parliament, we worked on improving certain Liberal programs that were inadequate. However, there is still more to do. For example, there is a first-time homebuyer program that, while not a bad program, is too restrictive and has seen no uptake from buyers.

What is missing is the massive investment required to house the poor, the most vulnerable, women who are victims of domestic violence, people with mental health and addiction problems and those who are homeless. The Bloc Québécois is proposing that the government immediately invest 1% of its budget to house people. There are 40,000 households—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member, but I remind him that he had the floor for a question and not a speech.

The hon. member for Bay of Quinte.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, I agree with part of what my hon. colleague said. We have massive social problems. We have problems with rent and housing. However, the solution is not more money. That is what is causing the biggest problem right now, which is inflation. People cannot afford anything.

The answer is supply. We need to be supplying more homes and, yes, we need to look at working across party lines to ensure that how we create housing is not just a federal government issue. It is going to mean working with our provinces, including Quebec, and with our municipalities to ensure that we allow our builders to build homes.

The member also mentioned mental health, addictions and poverty. Right now they are all caused and exacerbated by rising costs, which are caused by—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I need to allow for a brief question. I am sorry. I want to remind members to keep their questions within a minute for the first two and then 30 seconds after that.

I would ask the member for Courtenay—Alberni to be very brief with his question so we can get a brief answer and move to the next speaker.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I first want to congratulate my colleague, and I want to thank him for talking about the cost of public service on our families. I really appreciate that.

He talked about wealth leaving rural Canada. Too often, wealth starts in rural Canada and leaves rural Canada. He talked about housing. In the early 1990s, 10% of our housing was non-market housing. Now it is less than 4%. In Europe it is 30%. Non-market housing is the solution.

The Liberal-Conservative coalition and free-market solutions are not going to solve the housing problem. They are leaving a legacy of thousands and thousands of people homeless in my riding and across the country—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Again, I would ask members to be mindful of time.

The hon. member for Bay of Quinte can give a brief response.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am not going to repeat what I have already said on cash, its infusion and what the costs are, but this morning there was an article that said Ottawa has yet to account for $600 billion of its spending from last year, and now the government wants to spend more of it.

We know why these prices have gone up. We know why everything is exacerbated. We need to get those numbers and we need to get them right away in order to fix everything else.

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

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with my hon. colleague from Mississauga—Erin Mills.

It is an absolute privilege to be back here in the House to bring the voice, perspective and views of the good people of Kings—Hants. Of course, this is the second time I have had the privilege of being elected as the member of Parliament for Kings—Hants, and although it is not my first time speaking in the 44th Parliament, I want to take the opportunity to thank the residents of Kings—Hants for placing their confidence in me to be their voice and their member of Parliament.

All members of the House will certainly appreciate that when we get into public life, there has to be people in our corner. First and foremost is our family, so I would like to take the opportunity to thank my fiancée Kimberly. She is my rock. There are challenges when we need to be in Ottawa and are having busy nights on the road meeting constituents, so I thank her. To my mom, my grandmothers and my entire family, I have the best support system one could ask for. I could not be here without them.

I also thank my campaign manager, Kristina Shannon. She and I went to high school together. She has had work experience with Premier McNeil in Nova Scotia. Dale Palmeter, before her, worked on my campaign in 2019. Without them, I would not be the member of Parliament standing here in the House.

I also want to thank all the volunteers, and not only those on my team, whom of course I am very thankful for. Democracy relies upon volunteers getting behind candidates of all stripes to contribute to something bigger than themselves. To the volunteers for the candidates in Kings—Hants and indeed across the country, I give my thanks for their work and commitment to democracy.

I want to quickly describe Kings—Hants to my colleagues and to Canadians who might be watching. It is largely a rural riding. The area of Kings—Hants, and East Hants particularly, includes communities that I would describe as suburban. They are about 40 minutes outside of Halifax. There are some large rural townships, but also areas that are extremely rural, where there could be a kilometre between houses.

I call it a mini Canada. There are three indigenous communities: Sipekne'katik, Annapolis Valley First Nation and Glooscap First Nation. We are home to the highest tides in the world. We have a burgeoning wine sector too, so to members of Parliament and Canadians who enjoy a nice glass of wine, please consider supporting the Nova Scotia wine industry. It is very robust.

We are also what I would call the agriculture heartland of Atlantic Canada. We have the most supply-managed farms east of Quebec, a number of horticulture-based businesses and are known for the Annapolis Valley apple. Of course, we have Acadia University, which has drawn significant alumni and people from across the world and indeed across the country. There is also the Michelin plant in the Annapolis Valley and of course Halifax Stanfield, which is just outside the perimeter of Kings—Hants but is indeed a major employer in the area. Finally, we are the birthplace of hockey, in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

The Speech from the Throne is a document that, as my colleagues would know, is very broad in nature. It puts out the principles the government hopes to achieve in the days ahead. I want to take some time to highlight things I heard on doorsteps and that I hope parliamentarians in the House will work collaboratively to help advance in the days ahead.

First and foremost is labour and immigration. Our government was there throughout the pandemic to make sure there were supports in place for small businesses and individuals. The fact that 101% of the jobs we lost during the pandemic have been returned is a marquee element that shows we have been successful in that domain, and especially successful given the pandemic and the challenges of immigration over the past two years.

As we have heard in the House, across the country labour is a major issue, and I know the government will be focused on this in the days ahead. One area of particular interest to me is the seasonal agricultural worker program. Over 1,500 people from countries such as Jamaica and Mexico come to the Annapolis Valley, and particularly to Kings—Hants, to support the agriculture sector every day.

In our platform, there was a commitment to an express entry program and the ability to reduce administrative red tape. This will not only help the employees coming from their countries of origin, but also help the employers in the farming community. As a member of Parliament, I will be working closely with the government to help implement this in the days ahead.

Let us talk about housing. We know that housing is a major challenge in urban communities, but indeed it is in rural as well. One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that, during the height of it, many individuals, who are working-class professionals, who have families, chose to move from urban locations to rural parts of our country. That is extremely beneficial for the long-term demographic outlook of rural communities across Canada, but it has put a pressure on our housing supply.

I will give one example. I remember in the 2019 election, I was on the Hants shore. It is an area that largely has an older demographic. There were a number of houses that were for sale, and they had been for sale for quite some time. There is no real estate available on the Hants shore right now, and housing prices are up 40%.

I know our government will be working hard on this issue, but I do want to highlight that this is not just a Government of Canada issue. This is going to require all three levels of government between the federal, provincial and municipal leaders. We know that indigenous communities have to be part of that conversation, the private sector and indeed non-profits in terms of the work that we have to do.

Let us talk about climate change. I just mentioned that Kings—Hants is home to the highest tides in the world. What a constant, every day reminder of the important work that needs to be done. Over the past two elections this has been a predominant theme. I have heard from my constituents the need for the government to do more and to move hard in that direction.

On the heels of COP26, we know that there has to be more work to be done to be able to protect 1.5°C of global warming. The forest fires in western Canada combined with the flooding that we have seen in British Columbia, but not just British Columbia, as they are also in my province of Nova Scotia and indeed in Newfoundland and Labrador, I think is a reminder for all Canadians, indeed all parliamentarians, that we need to be collectively working in this regard.

Our government has promised and has mentioned in the Speech from the Throne caps on the oil and gas production and the emissions associated with such, the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and the development of EV vehicles. These are going to be crucial in the days ahead for us to be able to meet our target.

As a member of Parliament, what I intend to focus on is the way we can work with the agriculture community to help reduce their emissions. Farmers are doing incredible work, but at the same time, we need to be able to do more. That is where I will put my focus. I also think we need to be mindful of how we can draw private sector investment in and how the government can make that happen because government investment in subsidy can only go so far.

I mentioned I have three indigenous communities. We just had the Speech from the Throne delivered from the first indigenous Governor General in Canada's history. I want to particularly focus on indigenous housing, infrastructure and investment in social programming. I look forward to building relationships with chiefs and council that are there and to be able to move that forward.

In my view as a parliamentarian, the two biggest challenges we will all face in the 44th Parliament, those that will be on the heels as we work our way out of this pandemic, will be twofold: One, growing our economy to make sure that the expenses we took on during the pandemic are sustainable when coupled with the investments the government is planning in the days ahead; and, two, addressing climate change and reducing emissions. Both of those require real attention to investments on how to grow the economy.

I want to mention agriculture. As I said, it is the backbone of the economy in Kings—Hants, and I would argue it is the backbone of the economy in Canada. One in eight jobs in Canada are tied to the agriculture sector. It is a $130-billion industry. We have tremendous opportunity to be able to expand that to not only feed Canada but the world. I look at things like the Barton Report and the ways that government can move ahead.

That is where I will be putting my attention. I am pleased to see that there was a commitment around business risk management. To help drive the wine industry in Canada, we have put $101 million in that. That will matter in Kings—Hants and supply managed farms. We were there for farmers at the height of the negotiations of the new CUSMA. We will be there to make sure that they are protected in the days ahead.

Two quick points I would say before I finish are, first, the importance of child care, and what that is going to mean to the people in Kings—Hants, and indeed to people across the country, to get parents back to work and help make sure that it is affordable. Finally, we need to work on ways that we can increase interprovincial trade and reduce barriers in light of global protectionism.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, in my colleague's riding, much like mine, agriculture is the main driver of the economy. Over the last 20 years, farmers have been making changes to their farming practices to make farming more sustainable. In fact, in a worldwide index, Canada has the most sustainable farming in the world.

Prior to the election, the government said it was going to have a 30% emissions reduction on fertilizer, but it has not said anything about how it is going to do that. Farmers in my riding are extremely concerned about this because, without the use of fertilizer, the amount of crops they can grow will go down, our exports will go down and food insecurity will become a problem. Also, as we pursue biofuels as the next wave, we will need more canola to meet that demand, but we are going to see less canola grown because of a 30% emissions reduction in fertilizer.

I wonder if the member has any information he would like to share with the House about how this might be accomplished by the government, so we can get some certainty for our producers.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the member and I share an understanding of the importance of the agricultural sector to the entire country.

On the question on fertilizer reduction, I have had conversations with Fertilizer Canada about ways we could move that forward. We know that the work being done by Environment and Climate Change Canada right now, as it relates to carbon offsets, is going to be an important part of that.

We have to work as a government to bridge that gap between recognizing the work farmers are already doing, while at the same time, asking them to be a part of the solution and do even more. I certainly want to highlight that there was $130 million in the last budget for this, whether it was in business risk management, being there for our dairy farmers or some of the initiatives around climate and agriculture.

Those are all important measures, and I look forward to working with the member to advance them in the days ahead.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in his speech, our colleague spoke about how important it is to reduce greenhouse gases and about what his government has done.

I genuinely wonder if he has read the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development. This report was damning for his government, especially when it comes to the emissions reduction fund, which goes entirely to the oil and gas industry. The Liberal government is trying to convince us that we will be able to increase production if we reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector.

I have seen this kind of cynical behaviour before, back in the 1990s, when cigarette companies were claiming that there was a light cigarette that was healthy.

I wonder if this is something the average Liberal can understand: Focusing on oil is not the way to combat climate change.

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the fourth-largest producer of oil and gas in the world. Although the Bloc member, whose goal is to create sovereignty for Quebec in this country, may not recognize its importance, oil and gas are 25% of Canada's exports.

Our government is focused on ways we could reduce emissions associated with production in the oil and gas sector. We do not have the ability to control production elements. That is a provincial domain. He should respect that as a member of the Bloc. They certainly call for it a lot in the House.

We are focused on reducing emissions, and we recognize that a transition will happen, but it is not going to happen overnight. We are committed to Canadians workers and to being able to move both climate and our economy forward together.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke a little about small businesses.

The heart of Winnipeg Centre is absolutely made up of small businesses, and they are barely making ends meet because they did what needed to be done to keep our communities safe.

Currently, the CEBA loan repayment is set to be due December 2022. We are still in a pandemic. This will gut businesses. Is my hon. colleague open to expanding the repayment date for the CEBA loans until at least 2024?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member hit has it right on the head. Our government was there throughout the pandemic and continues to be there with the introduction of Bill C-2, which would support the hardest-hit businesses across the country.

We did put the program in place to end on December 31, 2022. The fact of the matter is, that is something we could look at. Our fiscal framework will be challenged because we have just gone through the pandemic. We do have to focus on supporting small businesses, but I will leave that for the Minister of Finance to ultimately make her decision.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During his intervention today, the member for Kings—Hants said that the birthplace of hockey was in Nova Scotia. I would direct him to a CBC article from January 6, 2016, which disputes that. It states the birthplace is actually Kingston, Ontario.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

That is not a point of order. Nor do I agree with the statement of the member.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. While I certainly respect the point of order just raised by the member for Kingston and the Islands, I would have to fundamentally disagree. I would point him to the historians who have seen that it was based in Nova Scotia.

He and I can take this outside the House. I certainly appreciate him raising it for the Hansard.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

While I appreciate the points of order, they are not points order. They are debate.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Mississauga—Erin Mills.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in the House today to speak in response to the Speech from the Throne.

Last week our government outlined a comprehensive plan to move our country forward and finish the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 20 months, our federal government has remained focused on doing whatever it takes to support Canadians. In an unprecedented crisis, we took unprecedented action, and through our federal programs, we have kept food on the table for nearly nine million Canadians through CERB and the CRB, helped more than 700,000 small businesses stay afloat and protected over 3.9 million Canadian jobs.

There are local businesses in my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills that had a very successful Black Friday weekend, only because they had our support to survive. Now, as we move forward, we must focus on economic recovery. That means focusing on jobs, affordability, taking stronger action against climate change, moving forward toward a path of reconciliation and ensuring everyone has access to health care. Last week's Speech from the Throne highlighted just that.

It is no secret that housing prices have risen drastically across the country over the years, and we are feeling the impact in my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills. Since I was first elected in 2015, hundred of constituents in Erin Mills have written to me to share their concerns about the rising cost of living, and our efforts for Canada's economic recovery must continue to focus on affordability.

From day one, our government has made housing a clear priority. We launched Canada's first national housing strategy and invested more than $72 billion over 10 years, starting in 2017, to ensure Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home. To date, our housing strategy has supported the creation of over 100,000 new units and repaired over 300,000 more.

As we continue to address supply issues, our government has helped put home ownership back in reach for Canadians with a more flexible first-time home buyer incentive, a new rent-to-own program and a reduction in closing costs for first-time buyers. In the term ahead, I look forward to working with our new Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion to push ahead on the home buyers' bill of rights, which would help ensure that the process of purchasing and selling one's home is fair and transparent. We are taking action because each and every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home.

As I was knocking on doors over this summer, I met Janet. She is a nurse and a working mother in my riding with two young children. While she has worked on the front lines of this pandemic, she has relied on child care programs to ensure that her children are taken care of. Between the long hours at work and the costs of these services, she has been struggling to get by. For parents like Janet, our government's plan to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system is a game changer. We have backed this plan with $30 billion and earned acclaim from stakeholders across Canada.

Our government has always prioritized investing in early learning and child care because it is the right and smart thing to do, not only for parents, but also for our economy. We have signed agreements with Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and, most recently, Alberta. For parents in these jurisdictions, it means that their child care fees will be cut in half by the end of the coming year and reduced to just $10 a day by 2026.

Suffice to say, we in Erin Mills are all waiting for Ontario and other remaining provinces to come to the table. Our government will remain focused on making life better and more affordable for all Canadians.

This summer we were shocked, horrified and heart-broken by the discovery of unmarked graves and burial sites located near former residential schools. These graves, and countless more waiting to be found, confirm the stories that survivors have been telling for generations. As Canadians, we still have a lot to learn about this undertold part of our country and a lot of work ahead of us. To move forward on the path of reconciliation, we need to ensure that the truths and history of these tragedies are never forgotten.

Our government is committed to continuing to support indigenous peoples in these communities by investing in a distinction-based mental health and wellness strategy, accelerating work on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQ people, and appointing a special interlocutor to advance justice for those impacted by residential schools. We must push forward to complete the remaining Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action under federal responsibility, and continue pushing the other named parties and levels of government to do their part.

I would like to turn my attention to the climate crisis. On that, our government's position has never wavered. Climate change is real, and it is among the greatest challenges of our generation and future generations. That is why we are taking action by increasing the price on pollution and putting more money into the pockets of Canadians. We are investing in public transit, developing alternative energies such as hydrogen, and making zero-emission vehicles more affordable and accessible for everyone. Building something new takes time, and it takes investment. Canadians want us to make the investments today to build a cleaner economy, and that is what we are doing to reach that goal of a clean energy grid from coast to coast to coast, and net zero by 2050.

Residents in Erin Mills are done debating the legitimacy of the climate crisis and so am I. Canadians want all parties, at all levels of government including provinces and municipalities, to get on board and take this seriously. If we work together and continue to push our ambitions higher, we can make Canada the proof that a clean future is possible. Our children are watching.

Earlier this month, I heard from Ms. Chen's grade 10 class at Meadowvale Secondary School, asking our government to take action on mental health. I could not agree more. At the onset of the pandemic, we created the Wellness Together portal to provide free, confidential support to Canadians of all ages. Within the first two weeks that portal had received over 1.2 million calls. That tells us we need to continue to make mental health more accessible for all.

We have invested $100 million to support mental health projects across Canada, and over the next five years we intend to invest $4.5 billion to expand access to mental health services. To oversee these investments, our Prime Minister has appointed the first ever federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. This is the same person who not long ago helped build the Public Health Agency of Canada. For our youth, seniors, frontline workers, BIPOC communities and Canadians of all walks of life, we must ensure that mental health supports are ready and available when they need them.

I have only scratched the surface of what our plan will deliver for Canadians. When I look to the future, we are building a cleaner, more affordable and more resilient Canada for everyone. I am optimistic. I am optimistic because, yesterday, we saw what the House is capable of when we put partisanship aside for the sake of Canadians. If we can move forward in that spirit of unity and co-operation, we can get this done.

It is an honour to be back in this chamber representing my wonderful riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills, and I look forward to working on this progressive agenda with members across the chamber to ensure we move forward together toward a better and more prosperous Canada for everyone. It all starts with this throne speech.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one issue that is very important to the people of the riding of Kenora and right across northern Ontario, and that I do not believe was mentioned once in the throne speech, is access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet. We know that this is no longer a luxury. It is essential, especially as more Canadians attend school or work or even access government services from home. In the last campaign, our party put forward a comprehensive plan to connect all households in Canada by 2025 to high-speed Internet.

Is the member able to commit, on behalf of her government, to meeting that deadline?