Debates of Oct. 6th, 2022

Ethics

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is everyone done?

I would ask the Prime Minister to start from the top, please.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a lot of ink was spilled and there was a lot of admiration for the effectiveness of the Leader of the Opposition's campaign to become leader, using social media, using clever videos. We all marvelled at his admiration for old wood, but what we did not see was his choice to include deliberating reaching out to far-right organizations, including hateful anti-women organizations, to try and advance his own political gains. He has played too close to the line with extremists for too long.

Now that he has gotten caught, will he admit it, will he apologize, will he take responsibility?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, here is what the Prime Minister intends to do at Roxham Road: increase the number of immigrants to Quebec, without Quebec's consent; secure contracts for generous Liberal Party donors; and, now, address the labour shortage by bringing in highly vulnerable workers who do not speak French and who will not get work permits for over a year.

Is it not obvious that there is absolutely nothing humanitarian about the Prime Minister's Roxham Road policy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that immigration is crucial to our economy. As the member opposite already knows, Quebec sets its own immigration targets. Last year, we welcomed over 50,000 new permanent residents to Quebec. We will always work closely with the Government of Quebec to welcome immigrants, grow our economy and ensure that the French language and Quebec culture stay vibrant.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to speak out against policies that promote what is known as “cheap labour”. Instead of investing half a billion dollars in hiring qualified public servants at the Department of Immigration, the government is spending it on buildings and contracts, including an undisclosed amount that went to big Liberal Party donors.

Will the Prime Minister order the immediate tabling of complete, unredacted versions of all the contracts awarded in relation to Roxham Road since 2017?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois keeps saying Quebec should have more immigration powers, but Quebec actually has a lot of immigration powers, more than any other province.

The fact is, Quebec could take in a lot more immigrants than it currently does. It could make sure they all speak French. It has all sorts of powers, and we are here to work with Quebec to keep building the Quebec nation and Canada as a whole through immigration, by protecting the French language and by creating economic growth for all.

The Economy

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with rising prices, people are being squeezed, and they are having trouble making ends meet at the end of the month. Big bosses are profiting off human suffering to line their own pockets, and that sickens me.

The CEO of Sobeys makes $8 million, the CEO of Metro makes $5 million, and the CEO of Loblaws also makes $5 million. These profits are up 17% to 27%.

PWhile people are being forced to cut back on their food purchases, the Liberals are letting big companies get rich at the expense of ordinary Canadians.

Will the Liberals take action to stop “greedflation” and rein in the greed of large grocery chains?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that it is unacceptable to see families paying more than ever for their groceries while grocery chains are making record profits.

That is why we are putting more money in Canadians' pockets through the goods and services tax credit, the $500 payment to renters, and the money we are giving low-income families for dental care. We are calling on all parties to support this measure. We are also committed to strengthening the Competition Act to better protect consumers.

We will continue to be there for Canadians.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, he should have said “thanks to the NDP” that these measures are in place to actually help Canadians, but there are just pretty words from the Prime Minister when it comes to helping Canadians through this “greedflation” crisis.

The CEOs of big grocery stores are bragging about their massive profits on the backs of families. The Empire CEO bragged “we improved them”, and he is $8 million richer. Galen Weston of Loblaws is proud of achieving strong top-line growth. He has $5 million more. These CEOs line their pockets while families struggle to feed their kids.

When will the Liberals act to stop this profiteering and stop this corporate greed?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable that corporate CEOs and grocery store CEOs are earning record profits while Canadians are paying more for groceries. That is why we are focused on putting more money back in the pockets of Canadians through the GST credit, the $500 for renters and more money for dental care for kids from low-income families.

We thank the parties in the House that are supporting this and call on the Conservatives to support us in delivering dental care for kids from low-income families. We cannot understand why the Conservatives continue to stand against that. These are measures that will help low-income families at a very difficult time. Why can this whole House not come together and support dental care for kids?

Sports

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has chosen to protect Hockey Canada instead of women who are victims of sexual assault. The government has known since 2018 that there was a problem at Hockey Canada, but it deliberately looked the other way.

On behalf of all these victims who were let down by Hockey Canada, we demand to know why the government turned a blind eye to these multiple sexual assaults.

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking all necessary steps to hold Hockey Canada's leadership to account. We have broadened the scope of the financial audit to 2016 so as to obtain all the necessary information, to be sure that no public funds were used to settle sexual assault cases.

We have also required Hockey Canada to become a signatory to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner so that it can investigate the culture.

We will not back down. Hockey Canada must be held accountable for the sexual assaults within its organization.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has known for four years about the heinous allegations of sexual assault against eight players from team Canada. Hockey Canada received $14 million from 2020 to 2021 from the Liberal government. Hockey Canada has paid millions to pay off sexual assault claimants.

My question is for the Prime Minister, who claims to be a feminist. How is covering up sexual assault helping women?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, after hearing today's story about how the Conservatives are mobilizing an organization that promotes violence against women, it is a bit shameful the questions they are asking today.

Taxation

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in contrast, the Conservative leader has condemned these actions and has actually asked the Prime Minister to hold himself to account for his actions, so I expect that.

In my riding, they have actually had a nice fall. Harvest is done. They are looking through their bills. They are saying, “Oh my God, everything is more expensive due to this Liberal carbon tax.” This has meant that they have less money to feed their families, to take care of their livestock and to pay for their heat.

Will the Prime Minister cancel his plan to triple the carbon tax? Can he not understand that Canadians cannot afford it?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the member opposite works hard with his constituents and I am glad that he is congratulating them for their harvest. I would like to congratulate them too.

Canada's farmers work hard and the people of rural Saskatchewan work hard. We know that times are hard and that is why I am delighted that, today, the House will vote to support the GST tax credit. That is going to get nearly $500 to the hard-working Saskatchewan families the member opposite represents.

Small Business

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

Mr. Speaker, today, our leader stood up and condemned everything that the Liberals were calling him out for today. In contrast, not a single Liberal has called out their leader for the racist blackface that he wore—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order.

If I could have everyone calm down, I just want to make sure that everybody hears the question so that when the minister or the Prime Minister answers, everyone can hear that as well.

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

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

Mr. Speaker, rising interest rates are crushing over 70% of small businesses, according to a report by the CFIB. Small businesses in my riding are being squeezed by rising taxes, record-high inflation, the labour crisis and punishing interest rates.

When will the government wake up and get off of the necks of our small businesses and job creators?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for this important question about the small business entrepreneurs that are at the heart of the Canadian economy. What we have been doing in the past three years is supporting small business entrepreneurs through the pandemic, with targeted support for wage subsidies and access to finance to support them and their employees.

What we are doing since the pandemic is targeting entrepreneurs that will promote inclusive recovery. That means women entrepreneurs. That means Black entrepreneurs. That means indigenous entrepreneurs. What we are doing is understanding that small businesses will carry us through and out of this pandemic, and that is where our priority lies.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, any type of help is being vaporized by the inflation that they have created. This Thanksgiving, the Liberals are serving Canadians with high inflation, leaving families to turn to food banks and homeless shelters at an alarming rate. Next Thanksgiving, the Liberals will serve Canadians a turducken of tax by tripling the carbon tax on groceries, home heating and filling up one's tank.

Will the government have some mercy, stop serving suffering to Canadians and cancel its plans to triple the carbon tax?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is a few days before Thanksgiving and I absolutely agree that now is the time for all of us to have a lot of compassion. That is why I am glad that we have overcome partisan division, and today, together, we are going to vote for the GST tax rebate. That is going to get nearly $500 to Canadian families who need it.

I want to encourage all of us to take another step. Let us support Canadian kids under 12 whose parents cannot afford to take them to the dentist. How is that okay? Let us vote for this measure too and get it through in record time.

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

Mr. Speaker, next Thanksgiving, Canadians, after the tripling of the carbon tax, will be paying around $2,300 out of their own pockets. That is just next year. Students are some of the hardest hit by the Liberal government's inflationary economic policies and failed carbon tax. While missing every single emissions reduction target, it is punishing Canadians for the crime of heating their homes or just driving to work. The Liberals are driving students to food banks and to sleeping in homeless shelters at alarming rates.

Will the Liberals get off of the backs and out of the back pockets of students and Canadians and cancel their plan to triple the carbon tax?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, young Canadians and students are the future of Canada. With budget 2022, we are investing $26 million over four years to increase the maximum amount of forgivable Canada student loans by 50% for health care workers in rural and remote communities. We have had students' backs all along the way and we remain committed to permanently eliminating the federal interest on Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans.

We will help young Canadians transition into the workforce.