Debates of June 11th, 2021

Public Safety

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, a committee that is comprised of parliamentarians from both houses and across all parties is indeed a parliamentary committee. It is important that the member opposite not try to mislead Canadians and not try to play chicken with national security. This is not a game. Those documents have been provided to the committee, fully unredacted, in a place where it is safe to review them.

The Economy

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this involves Quebec's business community.

In Bill C‑30, the Bloc Québécois cut funding to the office responsible for establishing a Canada-wide securities commission. It is a small victory, but a great relief for our economy as we have been fighting for 40 years to prevent the federal government from collapsing Montreal's financial sector for Toronto's benefit. We have not yet won. The Liberals are trying to reinstate funding for the office with an amendment to Bill C‑30.

Will they withdraw this amendment, or do they intend to start another war with Quebec over securities?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Securities Transition Office has supported efforts to establish a cooperative capital markets regulatory system.

We are proposing providing the office $12 million in funding over two years to continue supporting the government's efforts to establish a cooperative capital markets regulatory system. This is a good thing for the entire country.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the parliamentary secretary on his French. Hats off to him. I do not congratulate him on his comments, however, because what he said is not good for Quebec's economy, and everyone agrees on that.

Everyone knows that the Liberals are looking at their election timetable and getting as excited as a kid in a candy store. I do not understand why they are reopening the securities regulator fight in Bill C‑30. I do not understand why they want to go to war with the Quebec business community at a time when our businesses want to focus on the economic recovery. I do not understand why they are prepared to fight for funding for an office that is pointless if the Liberals listen to what Quebec wants.

Are the Liberals that invested in wiping out Montreal's financial hub?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, there is no impact on Quebec's jurisdiction. We understand Quebec's position very well. The Deputy Prime Minister has had constructive discussions on this subject with Minister Eric Girard.

I think it is good for the entire country to be able to do things that help us have a common economy. For example, consider trade between the provinces and territories, where there is an opportunity to combat money laundering. It is a good idea for the entire country.

Government Policies

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, across Canada, religious, ethnic and cultural communities are hurting. In recent weeks, we have seen toxic hate on social media and in our streets. We have seen hate-driven vandalism, violence and murder.

Canadians expect members of the House and the parties they represent to calm, not inflame, intercommunal discord and discrimination. Why, then, have the Liberals welcomed a floor-crossing MP, disciplined by her former party for inflammatory, misguided and intemperate remarks against Israel?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, our government will always work to ensure we work with all Canadians.

The member recognizes that Canadians are hurting right now. It has been a very challenging couple of weeks, actually months and years. We know there is quite the racist history within Canada, and right now is a time for us to work together.

That is why we have Canada's anti-racism strategy. That is why we are having conversations with all groups, because it will take every single Canadian from coast to coast to coast to counter hate. Hate does not belong in Canada.

I hope the member will join us in this much-needed battle.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to that non-answer, let me offer the reaction of an hon. former colleague of the House, Michael Levitt, now CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. He wrote:

As a former Liberal MP I’m disappointed and concerned by the news that [the] MP [for Fredericton] has crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus, given her inflammatory one-sided and divisive rhetoric during the recent conflict between Israel and the terror group Hamas.

Is the Liberal government really so desperate in its rush to attempt re-election?

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I am not sure the question is actually a matter for the operational elements of the government. I do see the minister is rising to respond, so we will go to him.

The hon. minister.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the position of the Liberal government is extremely clear on the question of the apartheid label. We reject it categorically. It is not part of our approach with respect to Israel or the Jewish community. We, of course, are completely against any anti-Semitism that would be displayed by any Canadian citizen.

Housing

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a national housing crisis, and it is getting worse.

With the lowest per capita housing supply in the G7, Canada simply does not have enough houses. In my GTA riding, housing prices have skyrocketed by over 25% in the last year, with the average price now over $1 million. Canadians cannot find places to live and they are losing hope they will ever own a home.

When will the government take real action to help Canadians achieve a more secure housing future?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I will note that the Conservative member who asked that question has proposed taxing primary residences and changing the capital gains tax. That was alerted to the House in debate earlier this week. It is an astonishing reversal of position for the Conservatives.

We have done a number of different things, for example, the tax on vacant homes and offshore ownership, in terms of beneficial ownership and new rules around disclosure to help fight money laundering, as well as our $72 billion national housing strategy. To put this in perspective, in the last six months, through the rapid housing initiative, we have secured and built more homes in six months than the previous Conservative government did in its last two years—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the national housing crisis, it is about the facts.

Monthly mortgage prices have increased from an average of $330 to $2,500. For many in the GTA, the cost of housing exceeds 75% of their income and owning a home is out of reach as it takes over 277 months to save for a down payment. The Royal Bank says that calls for forceful action to cool the frenzied real estate market have been mostly ignored.

When will the government act to make housing a priority?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, this government has been acting since the day we took office in 2015. A $72 billion investment into the housing sector delivers market rental solutions to families so they can rent cheaper and therefore save to get into the housing market. Our first-time home buyer program has helped more than 10,000 Canadians acquire their first property.

Our move to end chronic homelessness, as I said, has delivered 4,770 units of housing in the last six months, which is almost exactly what the Conservatives did over the last two years in office. We did it while also maintaining subsidies for co-ops, also building new housing, also repairing housing and also making sure that the reaching home dollars more than doubled, in fact, are now at half a billion dollars a year for the next three years.

Our government's record on housing is clear. The Conservatives lack leadership—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.

Health

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last month, Edmontonians grieved the death of three men who died in a downtown park in broad daylight after a suspected overdose. In 2020, Alberta had record numbers of drug-related deaths. In 2021, this horrifying trend continues. EMS responded to 55 overdose calls in just 48 hours last week.

The UCP have cut safe injection sites and funding, and this week it announced a nasal naloxone pilot, a move experts say is a redundant distraction and not enough to respond to the crisis.

The federal government is piloting SUAP safe supply pilots in other provinces. Why not in Alberta?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, first, I share the member opposite's dismay and attack on treating substance use as a health condition and not one of criminality. That is in fact what our government has done since we were elected in 2015.

We have restored harm reduction through the Canada drug strategy. We have ensured that communities across the country from coast to coast have access to funding for harm reduction and other treatment options. We will continue to provide funding, including through the money in budget 2021, to community-based programs that treat substance users with dignity and with hope.

Tourism Industry

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only country in the G7 without a restart plan for international travel. For some small tourism operations in northwest B.C., more than 90% of their clients come from the U.S.

They have already lost one tourism season and many have had to use their savings to keep their staff on. If there is a chance they can salvage part of the coming tourism season, they need time to prepare. The government needs to explain its plan to begin lifting travel restrictions safely.

Could the minister tell Canadians what restrictions will apply to fully vaccinated travellers?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. As he knows, protecting the health and safety of Canadians will always be a top priority in our efforts to get through this pandemic.

We have taken measures for travellers, including testing before and after arrival. We have taken a progressive approach that we adjust to follow the latest public health advice.

We are working in close collaboration with our international partners on a coordinated approach to safely reopening travel.

Government Policies

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, the community of London, Ontario was the site of an atrocious act of terrorism. Four lives were lost, taken, and a child was left in the hospital, all this loss because a visible Muslim family went for a walk and someone filled with hate killed them. Many Canadian Muslims are once again living with fear that they too could be targeted simply for being a Muslim. This is unacceptable.

Could the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth please tell the House how our government is tackling Islamophobia, to create a safer—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. minister.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the loved ones of the Afzaal family and to Fayez who remains in hospital. Our government knows we need to act against Islamophobia. We are doing this through Canada's anti-racism strategy, adding white supremacist groups to Canada's terror listing, increased funding to protect places of worship and community spaces.

More is needed, which is why we will lead a national summit on combatting all forms of hate, including a national summit on combatting Islamophobia, also advocated for by the hard-working member for Scarborough Centre.

We will continue to work with partners to tackle all forms of hate in Canada and to create a safer and more inclusive Canada for all.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Nav Canada handed out $7 million in bonuses, this after laying off 700 workers and increasing airline fees by 30%. These emergency funds were meant to keep workers employed, not to hand out to executives.

Will the minister start standing up for Canada's aviation workers and demand that these bonuses are paid back?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is completely unacceptable for companies to be extending bonuses to wealthy executives when they are in receipt of public money designed for workers. I am pleased to share with the hon. member that we have designed the program in a way that is going to help combat this particular trend.

In particular, I would point out that companies need to prove, with the Canada emergency wage subsidy, that every penny they claim is actually going to their workers. In addition, we have adopted a new rule with respect to budget 2021 that will see any company that increases its executive compensation going forward beyond pre-pandemic levels being required to pay back monies received through the wage subsidy. These benefits are for workers, and that is where they should go.