Debates of Oct. 6th, 2022

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, monetary policy is, of course, the province of the Bank of Canada, whose independence we on this side of the House respect.

We know that times are tough for Canadian families. That is why I am really glad today that we in this House have overcome petty, partisan squabbles and are coming together to support the GST tax credit. It is going to get nearly $500 to Canadian families that need it the most. It is time to do the same thing on dental care for kids and on rental support.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Liberals' inflationary taxes, Canadians are so poor now, they are less than $200 away from being unable to pay their monthly bills. This Liberal government is turning a blind eye to the cost of living, but Canadians have tightened their belts as far as they could.

Can the Prime Minister tell us whether he will scrap the triple tax on gas, food and home heating?

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

Mr. Speaker, we fully understand that affordability and the cost of living are important and difficult issues for many Canadian families. That is why I am so happy today that the House is going to vote unanimously for our idea, our plan to deliver inflation relief payments. It is the right thing to do.

Now, we must come together once more for children's dental care.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, from January to August of this year, the RCMP intercepted 23,196 asylum seekers at Roxham Road. These were men, women and children, most of whom were fleeing poverty. These 23,196 people were welcomed to Canada by the police. Then they were either detained or taken by the police to file a claim for refugee status.

My question is simple: Is this really how Canada should be welcoming refugees?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, closing Roxham Road is not a solution for our borders. It would not solve the overall problem. As the member opposite knows, Canada shares the longest demilitarized border in the world. Roxham Road gives officials an opportunity to obtain identification documents from these asylum claimants and prevent dangerous crossings.

We need to modernize the safe third country agreement, and that is what we are doing.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP intercepted 23,196 refugee claimants at Roxham Road in 2022 alone. At the same time, 499 refugee claimants were processed through regular land border crossings. Border officers are dealing with 2% of refugee claimants, even though that is their job, and the RCMP at Roxham Road are dealing with the other 98%.

Again, my question is simple. Would we not be better served at the borders if customs officers dealt with customs and police officers dealt with, say, illegal weapons trafficking, for example?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, it is important.

The solutions proposed by the Bloc Québécois would simply move the problem from one place to another. The safe third country agreement is an important bilateral tool for managing refugee claims at the land border between Canada and the United States. Contrary to what the member opposite believes, the agreement is a bilateral one. It is essential to work with our partners in the United States, and we will continue to support those who are very vulnerable.

Taxation

[Terry Dowdall, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, prices are out of control in Canada. Businesses are raising prices to keep up with costs, individuals are cutting back on groceries, families are renewing their mortgages to find out that their payments are double and seniors are panicked about being able to afford their heating fuel. Canadians know that rebate cheques do not cover these costs. We need a government committed to lowering costs.

Will the Liberal government cancel its plan to triple the taxes on gas, groceries and home heating?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the challenges that seniors are facing and our government has been there for them. To now help seniors who are struggling, we are doubling the GST credit. That means seniors will receive an extra $230 in their pockets. Nearly two million low-income renters who are struggling with their rent will receive $500. We also increased old age security for seniors aged 75 by 10%.

On this side of the House, we are going to continue to create an economy that works for everyone, including seniors.

Public Safety

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's priorities are descending into farce. It will not allow U.S. officers into Canada to reopen NEXUS offices even though we have an agreement and the United States is an ally. Meanwhile, Iranian officers freely come to this country to intimidate Canadians because it will not list the IRGC, and now we find out that police officers from the People's Republic of China are operating out of three offices illegally opened in Canada, intimidating Canadians.

What is the government doing about these illegal police stations in Toronto?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be unequivocally clear that we continue to condemn, in the strongest terms, the brutal killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran. We will continue to ensure that we are taking every appropriate action to hold those who did this responsible for their transgressions. We stand with the women. We stand with everyone who is advocating for human rights.

Speaking of women's rights, now would be a fine moment for the Conservatives to stand up and apologize for the way they exploited technology to proliferate hate among anti-women, misogynistic groups. Today is the day to do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, according to the National Post, the Chinese Communist regime has opened at least three police stations on Canadian soil to monitor the Chinese Canadian diaspora.

Beijing maintains that the stations exist simply to assist expats in completing administrative tasks such as renewing driver's licences, but the Chinese Communist regime is not known for telling the truth. This is not the first time that we or the Prime Minister have heard about Chinese communists harassing Canadians.

Is the story reported by the National Post accurate? Will the Prime Minister give us some real information about what he is doing about it?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government has a clear track record of providing all the tools necessary for our national security apparatus to combat the kind of foreign interference and threats to national security that my colleague across the aisle talks about. It was the last Conservative government that cut nearly a billion dollars out of that national security apparatus. We restored those cuts because we know it is important and paramount to protect Canadians from all threats, and we will continue to do that.

Diversity and Inclusion

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, these days, we are more aware of the conditions facing Black communities in Canada. That is why the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion launched a call for proposals this week for organizations to implement the Black-led philanthropic endowment fund announced by our government.

Can the minister tell the House how this fund will support Black communities?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

Black-led and Black-serving organizations are crucial to our fight against systemic racism. That is why our government created the Black-led philanthropic endowment fund. This fund will be managed by a Black-led organization. We will continue to build a more inclusive and equitable Canada.

Foreign Affairs

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was asked four times yesterday if he believed the IRGC is a terrorist organization. They shot down a plane, killing 55 Canadians. They have intimidated Iranian families right here on Canadian soil. They have killed thousands of their own people. They have raped and murdered women and girls and have terrorized the world.

If the Prime Minister cannot bring himself to call the IRGC terrorists, who does he think are the terrorists?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think every member of this House stands to condemn the heinous actions of the Iranian regime. We stand in solidarity with women, particularly Mahsa Amini, and all of the people who have been subjected to the tremendous terror of this regime. That is why we have said that Iran is a state sponsor of terror and we will continue to take every action necessary to ensure that Iran's crimes are punished.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we do not have the strongest sanctions in the world but we should. They killed 55 Canadians. The Prime Minister stood in this House in 2018 and voted to ban the IRGC from Canada, and yesterday he could not even bring himself to call them terrorists.

For all the families of the victims of flight PS752, all the women protesting in the streets and the Iranian Canadian community being terrorized by the IRGC despots who are in Canada organizing, planning and raising money, when will the government show some courage and call a terrorist a terrorist?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we want real action that will actually target where danger lies. We do not have time for jargon and rhetoric. We do not have time to try to make a political spectacle out of this. Real people are hurting. Real Canadians have been hurt.

We will continue to take every action possible to make sure that we target very specifically those who commit heinous crimes. That is what we will do on this side of the House.

[Jake Stewart, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, look at what is going on here today. We have a government that cannot say the IRGC is a terrorist group. We know from Bill C-5 that the Liberals are weak on crime. Now we know they are weak on terrorism. The IRGC fired a missile at a civilian airliner, murdering 176 people, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents. This is personal for this country.

I have a simple question for the government. If the members of the IRGC are not terrorists, then who are?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House say with a very clear voice that Iran is a state that supports terror. We will continue to call out those who are responsible for all the transgressions of human rights. We will continue to stand with the families who are advocating for women's rights.

Conservatives want to talk about being weak on law and order. When are Conservatives going to finally wake up and do what is right when it comes to combatting gun violence in our communities? Their only plan is to make assault-style rifles available again. That is wrong. On this side of the House, we will continue to do what is necessary to protect the health and safety of Canadians and to protect human rights around the world.

Health

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, diabetes is a serious chronic disease, and it is one of the most common, affecting millions of Canadians. It poses extensive challenges for those living with it, and for their families and communities. Yesterday, a framework for diabetes in Canada was tabled, marking a pivotal moment in our ongoing efforts to support Canadians impacted by this disease.

Can the Minister of Health tell the House how this will contribute to our efforts to better support and collaborate with those impacted by diabetes in Canada?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member for Brampton South for her outstanding work, including the work she did to proceed yesterday with the announcement of the first-ever framework for diabetes. That same work is going to support the lives of millions of Canadians living with diabetes, their caregivers, their families, their friends and their health care professionals, with better access to diagnostic services, treatment and prevention services.

We are going to support the work of all those who help people living with diabetes and all those who care for them.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, Nunavummiut deserve a government that takes indigenous mental health seriously. It is not enough for the government to announce only $11 million for the national Inuit suicide prevention strategy, despite committing to $228 million for indigenous mental health. Indigenous people rightfully expect more from the government, which continues to be all talk with no action.

Will the government finally commit to the culturally appropriate indigenous mental health funding it promised?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for her constant advocacy for equity and for indigenous-led and indigenous-designed mental wellness strategies. In fact, that is what we were announcing today with Natan Obed, president of ITK. We announced an additional top-up of $11 million for the work ITK is doing with partners across the territories.

I will say that promise is being shown in these indigenous-led approaches. It was an honour to be with ITK president, Natan Obed, today to announce that the federal government will top up the funding ITK has by $11 million.