Debates of Oct. 20th, 2022

The Economy

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to our great surprise today, the Minister of Finance is now taking inspiration from the Leader of the Opposition's speeches. She realizes that budgets do not balance themselves and is asking ministers to find savings before proposing new programs. Hallelujah.

The problem is that she should have listened to the member for Carleton much sooner.

The Liberals added $100 billion to the national debt before COVID-19, and they added $500 billion to the national debt before Russia's war on Ukraine, $200 billion of which was completely unrelated to COVID-19. How can they be trusted to manage the inflation they themselves have created?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the Conservative member is so interested in the correspondence between the finance minister and her colleagues.

There is no question that our plan is based on fiscal responsibility. We delivered a budget that has been recognized by all the experts as fiscally responsible and we are seeing the results. Our inflation rate is much lower than that of our partners around the world.

We will continue to make sure we spend responsibly.

Taxation

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, let us talk about fiscal responsibility.

The Prime Minister said in his inaugural speech that interest rates would remain low for decades to come. I remember that the Liberals promised to run small deficits because we had the means and said interest rates were going to remain low and that it was no big deal to continue to rack up debt. The Liberals added $100 billion to the debt even before COVID-19. That is the reality.

Today, they are asking Canadians to take them at their word when they say that they are going to manage inflation and lead them out of this crisis. No, Canadians no longer trust them. The Liberals are not capable of managing the crisis.

When will you abandon your plan to hurt Canadians by raising taxes yet again?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would remind members that they need to ask their questions through the Chair not directly to the Chair.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I think my Conservative colleague is too excited about attacking the Bank of Canada and the independence of our financial institutions.

We, on this side of the House, believe in the independence of our institutions. It was a Conservative government, led by Brian Mulroney, that set the Bank of Canada's targets. We think that was a good idea.

Democratic Institutions

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister gives the Governor General a pension. I do not know one Bloc member who would not give up their pension. Tomorrow, we will bring about independence.

Now that the minister is here in the House, he could also act accordingly. I will remind him that he swore an oath to the British Crown. To whom is he loyal? To Charles III or to the public?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, as an MP from Quebec and a proud Quebecker, I am here to fight and to work for the well-being of Quebeckers, as are all my Quebec colleagues. That is why, on this side of the House, we are focusing on the rising cost of living, access to housing, assistance for child care and health care. Those are our priorities. If the Bloc members want to debate that, so be it, but as long as we are here, we will tackle the real priorities of all Quebeckers.

Public Safety

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to be a Bloc MP. It was not just a lack of coordination between governments that allowed the trucker convoy to stay in Ottawa for 24 days, it was a lack of leadership. The request from the City of Ottawa was simple: It wanted 1,800 police officers, from anywhere possible.

How many did the federal government send? It sent 250 RCMP officers out of the 1,800 that had been requested. The majority of those officers were deployed not to the streets of Ottawa, but in front of the Prime Minister's house and Parliament.

If the Prime Minister truly believed that the situation was serious enough to warrant protecting his home, did he not think that it was equally justified to protect the public?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, during the illegal occupation last winter, people across the country were hurting, not just in Ottawa but across the entire country. Canadians' freedom to feel safe in their homes was threatened. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act. It was the right thing to do, and it worked to end this illegal occupation in Ottawa and across the country.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government sat on its hands for three weeks before finally invoking the Emergencies Act.

Today we found out from the commission that all of its excuses for using the most extreme of last resorts were false. Yesterday, CSIS testified that there was no foreign funding behind the convoy. The Ontario Provincial Police demonstrated today that there was no credible extremist violence. Every government excuse was false.

Is it not true that the federal government's lack of leadership for three weeks was the only reason for invoking the Emergencies Act?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member has forgotten what it was like during that time and what the federal government was doing. We were working with the provinces, including the province of Quebec, as well as working with the Ottawa Police Service and police services across the country.

Even the premier of Ontario, the Conservative premier, has said that he was standing shoulder to shoulder with the Prime Minister. We invoked the Emergencies Act to keep Canadians safe, and it worked.

Carbon Pricing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, more than 60% of Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, and food bank use is up by 20%. Housing prices have doubled under the Prime Minister, and now he wants to make it more expensive for struggling Canadians to heat their homes by tripling the carbon tax. Families will struggle to keep the heat on in February in Canada.

Will the Prime Minister show some compassion for those struggling to heat their homes and cancel his plan to triple the carbon tax?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote from the Parliamentary Budget Officer's last report on pricing, not what the Conservative Party is saying about it, but what the Parliamentary Budget Officer actually said. He said, “we project most households will see a net gain, receiving more in rebates from federal carbon pricing...than the total amount they pay in federal fuel charges”.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, these are the falsehoods and failures of a tax plan disguised as an environmental plan. In four provinces, Canadians pay more in carbon taxes than they get back, and in the rest of the provinces, they do not get anything at all. Worse, the government has not hit a single environmental target. Emissions have gone up. If it were serious about making life more affordable, instead of freezing seniors, it would scrap the taxes.

When will it scrap the carbon tax?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, maybe it is time for the Conservative Party of Canada to come clean with the House and Canadians and admit to all that the fuel charge that will come into effect in 2023 will not come into effect before April, at the very earliest. This is April of 2023, so it will have no impact whatsoever on the cost of heating our homes over the winter.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in this country is pretty bad. Food prices are up 11.4%, houses are unaffordable and young people are sleeping in their parents' basements.

Winter is coming, and we know how harsh winter is in Canada. Heating our homes is not a luxury.

Today we are calling on the government to exempt all forms of home heating fuel from the carbon tax for all Canadians

Will the government support us?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to enlighten my colleague on the other side about the difference between federal carbon pricing and the Quebec government's cap and trade system.

The Quebec government has no planned increases because the Quebec system works on a cap and trade basis, and the cap is the part that goes down. It is not related to the price. I would be pleased to explain the difference between the two to my colleague.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Pakistani government is cracking down on Afghans with threats of deportation and imprisonment by the end of the year. As they wait for the special immigration measure application to be processed, many Afghans' 60-day visas have already expired. For others, they will expire soon.

Processing delays and the arbitrary cap that limits the number of Afghans who served Canada who can get to safety are going to cost lives. The situation is more urgent than ever. What action is the government taking to ensure Afghans who served Canada are not thrown into prison or sent back to the Taliban?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, listen, we remain firm on our commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals to Canada and to do this as quickly and safely as possible. We are processing applications day and night for Afghan refugees, and we have mobilized our entire workforce in helping.

What I am most proud of is that, as of just a few days ago, 311 Afghans can now call Canada home. We have almost 23,000 Afghans here, and we will continue to work with Afghans. Our government is fully committed—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay.

Climate Change

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, people are struggling with the destruction caused by the climate emergency, and it is only going to get worse. A report by the Canadian Climate Institute reveals that the federal government needs to take greater action. By 2025, Canada will see an annual $25-billion loss to GDP, and it will only get worse every year. CCI found that proactive measures are the best way to reduce those losses, but the Liberals are far behind.

Will the government stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and redirect those billions of dollars to help communities prepare for climate change?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. Climate change is a very pressing issue, which is why our government is working hand in hand with colleagues, provinces, territories, indigenous leadership and municipalities to build the first-ever national adaptation plan so Canadians are better prepared to fight climate change.

Yes, we are in the process of meeting our commitment to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies two years earlier than all of our G20 partners. This will be done by next year. These subsidies have already gone down from $12 billion to $4 billion just at EDC in the last few years.

Small Business

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I announced a $1.4 million investment in Racer Machinery International. This investment by our government will create and maintain 31 jobs in the Kitchener area.

Could the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario update the House on how our government has supported businesses such as Racer?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I am rising in the House as the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and I wish to acknowledge that I am honoured, excited and grateful to take on this new role.

I want to thank the member for Kitchener South—Hespeler for her advocacy for small businesses. Our government knows that when we invest in small businesses such as Racer, it creates jobs and strengthens our economy. Supports like this will help entrepreneurs reach their full potential, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Small Business Week.

Justice

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is in. The Liberals' soft-on-crime approach is not working. Violent crime is up 32% in Canada since they took office, yet incredibly, Bill C-5 would eliminate mandatory jail time for serious firearm and drug offences, even the offence of assaulting a police officer with a weapon.

For the sake of our communities, police officers and all law-abiding Canadians, I ask them to please, do the right thing. Will the minister withdraw his soft-on-crime Bill C-5?