Debates of Oct. 25th, 2022

Government Contracts

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, we recently learned the Liberal government spent $54 million on the ArriveCAN app, an application experts say could have been created for $200,000. In a document signed off by the government, we were given a list of companies that were contracted to do the work.

Last week, one of those companies came forward, saying it does not do this kind of work and did not receive a penny, proving the Liberals gave false information to Canadians. With two more companies coming forward, we now know millions of dollars are missing. Let us think about that: Millions of dollars over budget and millions of dollars unaccounted for. Canadians know the scandal-ridden Liberal government cannot be trusted. They also know Liberal insiders are the ones who benefit.

While transparency and accountability are not the government's strong suit, Canadians have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent and who got rich.

Municipal Elections

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I join my Ottawa caucus colleagues to congratulate Mark Sutcliffe, the new mayor of our nation's capital. Mark is a community leader. He has an incredible capacity to bring people together, to listen and to be a mayor for all of Ottawa.

I also want to thank Catherine McKenney for running a strong campaign and really having a positive vision for our community. We thank Catherine for their public service. I also want to congratulate all councillors and school board trustees who have been elected to represent our community.

Lastly, big thanks to Jim Watson, the outgoing mayor of Ottawa, for his decades of public service. Our city is better because of members of our community getting out there and voting to make sure Ottawa is one of the best cities to live in our country.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after causing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years with $500 billion in inflationary deficits, the Prime Minister is trying to blame the rest of the world. However, the future Liberal leader, Mark Carney said that inflation is principally a domestic story. Inflation is mostly caused by domestic factors.

Should the Liberals believe their current leader or their future leader?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know very well that global pressures cause inflation. These consist mainly of supply chain disruptions, the cost of oil and pressure on food prices caused by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. That is why we have taken concrete steps to help Canadians by providing GST rebates, assistance for children's dental care and assistance for low-income renters.

However, we do not understand why Conservatives continue to oppose measures that will help Canadian households.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister loves to blame the war by Russia against Ukraine, but less than 0.3% of our trade is with those countries. In fact, the things they make are things we already have here, energy and food, if the Prime Minister would get out of the way and let Canadians produce it.

Maybe that is why Mark Carney disagrees with him. He said of inflation, “It’s quite broad, so it’s not all imported inflation. In fact, most of it is now domestically generated inflation.”

The Prime Minister is responsible for that inflation. Why will he not take responsibility?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know Canadians are struggling with the ability to pay their bills and support their families, and that they have concerns regarding the months ahead. That is why we have stepped up to help them. We are delivering help through the doubling of the GST rebate over six months, with a cheque that should arrive in the coming weeks in Canadians' bank accounts. At the same time, we are moving forward with support for low-income renters and with help for kids under 12, to send them to the dentist.

Unfortunately, despite the Conservative leader's rhetoric, he is not supporting dental and support for renters. Why is he not supporting them?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is the half trillion dollars of inflationary deficits that have bid up the cost of the goods we buy and the interest we pay. Inflationary taxes are making it worse, including a tripling of the carbon tax, which will raise home heating prices.

Maybe that is why Mark Carney, the future leader of the Liberal Party, is saying, “Really, inflation is principally a domestic story.” He disagrees that it can all be blamed on the rest of the world. Who should the Liberals believe, their current leader or their future one?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we listen to Canadians, who are talking about the fact they are having trouble paying for groceries and paying their bills and are worried about what the winter is going to look like. That is why we have stepped up as a government to deliver cheques to support them in the coming weeks, with a GST rebate that is going to help 11 million households and measures to help low-income families pay the rent and send their kids to the dentist. Why is the Conservative Party, which says it cares about affordability, not stepping up to support on rental and dental? Why will it not support Canadians?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has built a house of debt. He doubled Canada's debt. He added more debt than all Canadian prime ministers combined. He flooded our financial and mortgage system with easy cash, which bid up house prices, forcing Canadians to pay over a million dollars for the average home in Toronto or Vancouver. Now the bill is coming due tomorrow, and interest rates are expected to go up half to three-quarters of a point. Those same Canadians who the Prime Minister forced to over-leverage themselves will be hit with an uppercut of surprise higher interest rates that his government said would never happen. How could he have been so irresponsible?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Leader of the Opposition disagreed with us, but we chose to have Canadians' backs through the worst pandemic and economic crisis in generations. We were there with supports for workers and small businesses. We were there with supports for seniors and young people. We were there to support Canadians, not just because it was the right thing to do, but also because it was the smart thing to do to ensure that our economy would come back faster, which it has, faster than many of our peer countries.

This is why we know that supporting Canadians is the best way to build a strong future. Why are the Conservatives not supporting dental and rental for Canadians who need them?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he did not have Canadians' backs. He went behind their backs so he could give $54 million for the disastrous ArriveCAN app, which we did not need. It did not work, and developers could have designed it in a single weekend.

The Prime Minister went behind Canadians' backs to give out half a billion dollars to the WE Charity organization. He went behind Canadians' backs to give out CERB cheques to prisoners and public servants who were actually on the payroll at the time.

These monstrous deficits would not be quite so bad if he had not wasted so much money. Why did the Prime Minister waste so much and leave Canadians with so little?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the lesson for most Canadians from the pandemic we have all been going through is that Canadians are there for each other. We support each other through times of difficulty, and when we do that, we actually do better than if we had all tried to go our own way.

The reality is, being there for each other has gotten us to where we are today, with a strong economy. It has given us the ability to step up to directly support those who need it with GST rebates, and dental and rental supports. These are, again, the dental and rental supports Conservatives are opposed to.

Democratic Institutions

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

Mr. Speaker, for the Prime Minister, submission to the monarchy is not important. However, as an intelligent man, the Prime Minister can think about more than one subject in a day. As an intelligent politician and, of course, a man of the theatre, he can pretend that he does not. It is a shame, but he is going to have to vote tomorrow.

Does he support Canada's status as a lackey state of the British Crown? In our neck of the woods, an insincere oath is said to count for nothing. When the Prime Minister takes an oath to the British Crown, is he sincere?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has all day to talk about the concerns of Quebeckers and Canadians. They could talk about the cost of living, inflation, the work we can do together in the House to meet Canadians' expectations.

No, the Bloc Québécois—surprise, surprise—wants to reopen the Constitution. God knows that is not what Quebeckers or Canadians are concerned about these days.

We are going to stay grounded in the reality that Canadians are facing, in what they need. We will continue to be there for all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, we will give him the benefit of the doubt. We will assume he is sincere when he takes his oath to the King because who would want an MP, let alone a Prime Minister, who is insincere? What good would that do?

As such, we assume the Prime Minister, all MPs, the Conservatives, everyone, are all sincere when they take an oath of allegiance—allegiance, mind you—to the British Crown.

Torn between the Crown and the people, between allegiance and democracy, will they serve the foreign king?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know nobody challenged the Bloc Québécois leader's sincerity when he took his oath to the British Crown.

The truth is, Canadians are more focused on the problems they are facing, problems like climate change, global instability and the cost of living. That is what we choose to talk about.

The Bloc Québécois wants to reopen the Constitution. We are going to stay focused on what matters to Canadians. That is what we will continue to do. Serving Canadians in one of the most stable democracies in the world is what is best for Canadians.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec as elsewhere in Canada, emergency rooms are overflowing. Many Quebecers have had to wait more than 20 hours to be taken care of. One person has died because of the delays. Health care workers are tired; they need help.

When will this Prime Minister stop hiding and protect our health care system?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the last two years of this pandemic, we have invested an additional $72 billion, on top of the $40 billion we send to the provinces each year for health systems. That is an additional $72 billion to help with health care across the country.

As per our commitment, we are discussing with the provinces and territories to continue investing more money in health. I know that all Canadians want real results, and that is what we all expect.

Taxation

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, big oil and gas are profiteering from inflation. They are making record profits, all the while Canadians are faced with energy prices that will increase, on average, between 50% and 100%. Home heating in Canada is essential.

If the Prime Minister wanted to, he could today make a difference in the lives of Canadians this upcoming winter. Will he remove GST from home heating and provide support to Canadians, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are directly helping 11 million households with a doubling of the GST rebate, which is going to help them with hundreds of dollars as they approach this winter to be able to cover the costs of various bills. We are also stepping up with support for Canadians who need dental care for their kids under 12. We are stepping up with support for low-income renters.

We are going to continue to be there for Canadians, including with a price on pollution that puts more money back in Canadians' pockets in the provinces where it is being imposed. This is how we stick up for Canadians.

The Economy

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister would have people believe she had a financial epiphany recently. We are not sure the Prime Minister has started thinking about monetary policy just yet, but this is a start. She finally admits the fiscal disaster her government created is not working, and the only way to fix Liberal inflation is to rein in spending.

Canadians are skeptical, though, given the Liberals are the ones who caused this inflation in the first place. Did the finance minister really wake up to reality, or was this peer pressure?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among G7 countries, and Canada has the lowest deficit among G7 countries. Our deficit is hovering around 1%. That is nearly deficit zero.

We have been fiscally responsible since well before the new Conservative leader was elected. In fact, we have been fiscally responsible to ensure that Canada would weather this inflationary storm better than most other countries.

The inflation numbers we are seeing among our peers are much higher than we are seeing here in Canada, and in Canada, we have an affordability plan that will help Canadians.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying the price for her government's fiscal mismanagement and Liberal inflation. There was $110 billion spent before COVID and half a trillion dollars spent over the last few years, $200 billion of which was not even COVID related.

Canadians' kitchen cabinets are bare, while the Liberal cabinet keeps spending more money and filling the cabinets of Liberal friends, but now, all of a sudden, the finance minister is telling her government to finally think about its inflationary spending habits. How can Canadians trust arsonists to put out the fire they started in the first place?

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

Mr. Speaker, many of our allies are seeing inflation at a rate above 10%. We here in Canada are faring relatively better, but we are still seeing prices rise, which is why we put forward a comprehensive affordability plan.

However, I would like to get back to something the Conservative leader said in the House. He said, “It is true that dumb governments...all have inflation problems.” That statement is dangerous for many reasons.

Canada is a trading nation. We export more than we import. To say that our closest trading partners are led by dumb governments is to risk harm to the economy and to millions upon millions of Canadian jobs.

These are serious times. Serious times deserve—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Lakeland.