Debates of Oct. 5th, 2022

Taxation

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, the Prime Minister's plan is not working. A government report came out today, stating that the food inflation rate is 11%, that nearly nine million Canadians are now cutting back on the amount of food they buy because of inflation, and that the vast majority of those people are women. In addition, 2.5 million Canadians are skipping meals and paying for groceries with a credit card without knowing when they will be able to pay it off.

Will the Prime Minister commit to not raising taxes on Quebeckers and Canadians on January 1?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know how much Canadians are struggling with inflation, which is a global phenomenon. That is why we are helping them in a concrete way by increasing the GST/HST credit, a measure the Conservatives finally chose to support after having criticized it so harshly.

I would now ask the Conservatives whether they will also support our proposals to help low-income renters and help low-income families with dental care for their children. We know how meaningful this help will be for families. Will the Conservatives finally support us on this?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, what is happening at Roxham Road is, first and foremost, a humanitarian issue.

The humanitarian thing to do would be to have migrants come in through regular border crossings, not put them in handcuffs and expose them to human smugglers and criminals. Would it not be better to invest half a billion dollars or more to hire qualified staff at the Department of Immigration rather than spend it on walls?

Would that not be the humanitarian thing to do rather than send them back or deport them after they have made a good life for themselves in Quebec or in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is indeed a land of values, generosity and openness to the world.

Every step of the way, we ensure respect for Canada's foundational principles and values. We work with the U.S. government every day to improve the safe third country agreement. When people come to Canada, we make sure we follow the rules and protect them at the same time. We are here to support Quebec, which is doing a lot of work in relation to Roxham Road. We will always stand up for our values and our system.

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

Mr. Speaker, under the circumstances, I would like to mention the presence of the member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

I will now talk about trios. In Quebec, there are now three big political players. On immigration and the French language, the Prime Minister is in the minority there too.

Is Roxham Road not a humanitarian issue that sometimes gives the government ideological comfort when, in reality, it is a way of giving money and contracts to friends of the Liberal Party?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before the Prime Minister answers the question, I would like to remind members that they must refer to their colleagues by their title, position or riding.

Furthermore, they must not allude to the presence or absence of a member in the House. We know that members sometimes have commitments outside the House. A member's absence from the House does not mean that they are not doing their job; they may be fulfilling other responsibilities.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the best immigration systems in the world. Furthermore, we have the advantage of having a population and a Parliament that are very much in favour of immigration. That is a significant asset on this planet in the current geopolitical context.

The reality is that we have a labour shortage. We need to create population growth, and we will welcome even more immigrants. The reality is that we must do so using a fair and rigorous system that is rooted in our values. That is what we always try to do.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, gas prices hit $2.40 a litre in Vancouver. They just jumped 10¢ a litre in one day in other markets. What is the NDP-Liberal solution? It is more price gouging. The costly coalition voted to triple the tax on gasoline and other essentials. The biggest price gougers in Canada are these two parties that form this costly coalition.

When they do triple the tax, how much will it cost across Canada to buy a litre of gas?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, six years ago this government moved forward to make sure pollution was no longer free anywhere in this country. That is a core part of fighting climate change. At the same time as we moved forward with a price on pollution across the country, we ensured we returned more money than the average family pays out with that price on pollution in the areas in which it applies. That is how we ensure we are fighting climate change and putting more money in Canadians' pockets who need it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that is factually false. His own Parliamentary Budget Officer said that in the four provinces where the rebates exist, 60% of people pay more in carbon tax costs than they get back in rebates. In six provinces out of 10, they do not get any rebate at all, even though the federal government will force those provinces to triple the tax after a vote by the costly coalition of the NDP and Liberals.

How much will eastern Canadian rural families be forced to pay in higher taxes on their home heating when the Prime Minister triples the carbon tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what eastern Canadians are saying right now, and this is what they told me, is that they are worried for the fact that there are going to be more intense storms in the coming years, and that their kids and their grandkids are going to face a world in which extreme weather events are increasingly frequent, which will threaten not just their communities and not just their way of life but their very future.

The fact is we need to continue to step up in the fight against climate change, which is something Conservative politicians do not seem to understand. The model we have of putting a price on pollution returns more money every year to families who need it. That is the model we have. That is how we are helping Canadians as we fight climate change.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is not working. He has not hit a single, solitary climate target since he brought in this tax. According to the Liberal Premier of Newfoundland, rural families will have seen an 80% increase in their home heating costs when the carbon tax kicks in there. Forty per cent of Atlantic Canadians live in energy poverty. The Prime Minister can insult these people and call them polluters while he jets around in his private jet, or he can recognize that heating one's home in January in rural Newfoundland is a basic necessity.

How much will he impose in extra costs on those families when he—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians want to see a better future for their kids and for their grandkids. That only happens if we continue not just to fight against climate change but to invest in the jobs and the transformation of our economy that is going to be needed to ensure good careers for them and good opportunities for those communities and families.

That is what our plan to fight climate change does. The Conservative Party chooses to deny that climate change exists and refuses to put forward a plan to fight climate change. That is not what Atlantic Canadians, or indeed any Canadians, need.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not have a climate plan; he has a tax plan. His climate promises have failed every single year, and now he has a tax hike on farmers. I asked him how much a farm family would have to pay, and he did not have an answer. Here is the answer: That family will pay more, which means more of the food production will be sent other ways, to other countries, where they have lower environmental standards. That food will then have to be shipped, trained and trucked back to Canada, adding more pollution and leaving us more dependent on foreign farmers.

Why does the Prime Minister want to drive pollution up, farm production out and jobs down?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I could just as well ask why the Leader of the Opposition wants to make pollution free again. The reality is that farm families, like all families across the country, are worried about their kids and their kids' futures. They are worried about the land that sustains us and this extraordinary country that provides us all so much.

That is why we need to be better stewards of the land all together, which is why we are moving forward with a strong plan to fight climate change that includes supports for farm families and supports for the agricultural industry as we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and as we create good jobs and a good future for all Canadians.

The Economy

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that wages have absolutely not kept up with inflation, and there is no evidence to suggest that high wages in any way contribute to inflation. However, there is mounting evidence that corporate greed is driving up the cost of living. Given that, it is outrageous for the Bank of Canada to tell employers not to increase workers' wages.

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does he agree with the Bank of Canada that employers should not be increasing wages to keep up with inflation?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know how much inflation, this global phenomenon, is hurting Canadian families. That is why it is important to get inflation under control. That is why we have measures to support Canadians, whether it is with the GST rebate, which is delivering for Canadians across this country, whether it is support for low-income rentals or whether it is support for families with low incomes who want to get dental care for their kids. We know that those will be real supports for Canadians while at the same time not driving up or contributing to further inflation. We need to make sure we are getting inflation down as quickly as possible. That is the focus that the Bank of Canada has given. That is the focus of this government.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, since the Prime Minister is unclear on where he stands, let me speak directly to workers and let them know that we stand on their side for better wages. If the only response to inflation and the cost of living going up is for the Bank of Canada to increase interest rates, that will only mean more pain. It will mean more pain for families paying their mortgage and more pain for people buying their groceries on credit cards.

We know that corporate greed is driving up the cost of living. Will the Prime Minister tackle corporate greed?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know the leader of the New Democrats cares about our institutions, and I know he did not mean to slight the independence of the Bank of Canada. We have strong, rigorous institutions in this country that make determinations around how to best serve and fight inflation. We support them in their independent work.

At the same time, in this House, we have a responsibility to be delivering for Canadians, which is why we are moving forward with a GST credit that is going to help millions of Canadian families, and moving forward with support for renters and dental support for low-income families that I certainly hope, like the NDP, the Conservatives will choose to support.

Climate Change

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, hurricane Fiona was a stark reminder of the work we need to do here in this chamber, and an example of the fact that in times of crisis, Canadians come together. The truth is that these once-in-a-generation storms are happening nearly every year. Our oceans are warming, and comments like the one from the Conservative member for Battlefords—Lloydminster, who asked why the carbon price did not prevent hurricane Fiona, are not rooted in reality.

Can the Prime Minister please address why we need to fight climate change?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. John's East for her question and her passionate advocacy for all Newfoundlanders. I have spoken with a number of Atlantic Canadians and Quebeckers since the storm whose lives have been forever altered by hurricane Fiona. Their feedback to me was clear: We have to use every tool we have and work together to fight climate change, even as we support them and rebuild in their provinces.

In order for us to continue the fight against climate change, the leader of the Conservative Party needs to accept some core facts, like that climate change is real and we have to keep doing more to fight it.

Foreign Affairs

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is the IRGC a terrorist group, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have recognized that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. We continue to move forward in holding the IRGC to account, including by putting sanctions on a number of its top leaders to ensure that they cannot take safe haven or buy property in Canada.

We will continue to hold this bloodthirsty regime to account as young Iranians, and people around the world with them, stand in defence of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we do not need drama. We do not need acting.

This group killed 55 Canadian citizens, whose only crime was to get on a plane, whereafter they were shot out of the sky by a terrorist organization that can still legally operate in Canada because the Prime Minister has not put it on the list of terrorists.

Again, yes or no, is the IRGC a terrorist organization?