Debates of Oct. 7th, 2022

Public Services and Procurement

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, the government has already announced that the app is now not mandatory and it is voluntary. The app was put in place at the beginning of the pandemic to save lives. The app was used appropriately for the last two years and now the government has allowed the app to be voluntary in order to expedite people moving forward at the border more quickly.

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

Madam Speaker, the app must have been created in order to line someone's pockets. Let us break it down: $54 million works out to one million hours for an engineer, a professional, at $50 an hour. That means 31,000 weeks of work, which is 596 years of work for one person, or 596 people working for one year to create the app.

The facts speak for themselves. Someone pocketed a bunch of cash in this deal, but the Liberals refuse to say who that was. Was it friends of the Liberalist?

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, we will not apologize for an app that saved lives. The app was put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the health of Canadians. Thousands of lives were saved as a result of actions taken by the government to protect the health of Canadians.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, Canadians are worried about the effects of the climate emergency and Putin's illegal invasion into Ukraine. Now Canada's chief of the defence staff has made an unprecedented call to immediately halt non-essential activities in the armed forces. Our forces have a personnel crisis. One in 10 positions are not filled and we are only receiving half the applicants we need. On sexual misconduct, the government has failed to implement numerous judicial reports.

When will the government take real steps to properly invest in recruitment so Canadians can be supported abroad and at home?

[Bryan May, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, making sure that our Canadian Armed Forces have the right number of people, the capabilities and the culture that it needs to meet current and emerging threats is our highest priority. The reconstitution directive and retention strategy will help ensure that we can grow and retain talent so that our Canadian Armed Forces can continue to serve Canadians. We remain focused on enabling lasting culture change, creating the best recruitment practices and procuring the right equipment for our Canadian Armed Forces.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, in yesterday's report from the Special Committee on Afghanistan, the government said it agreed that applications for Afghans who served Canada must be processed immediately, yet Afghans who applied almost two years ago are still waiting for a response. To make matters worse, the Liberals are sticking to an arbitrary cap and new applications are no longer being accepted. Meanwhile, I continue to receive urgent pleas from Afghans being hunted down by the Taliban. Some have disappeared.

Will the government commit today to lift the arbitrary cap for Afghans and immediately expedite their processing?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question, and for her passion and advocacy on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. I share her concern about their vulnerability and that is why we advanced one of the most substantial commitments, and in fact, the most substantial on a per capita basis, to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan refugees by the end of next year.

I am so pleased to share with the House that a couple of weeks ago, we crossed an important milestone. We now have more than 20,000 Afghan refugees living safely in Canada. We are not done. We are going to do everything we can to make good on our commitment no matter what it takes.

Climate Change

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Madam Speaker, families in Calgary Skyview and across the province are struggling with the high cost of goods. Albertans are working hard to support their families with groceries, rent and school supplies. On Friday, October 14, all Albertans will be receiving fall climate action incentive rebate cheques, which, for a family of four, will amount to around $270. When we add up all the payments over the course of the year, it comes to over $1,070.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change inform this House where else in Canada Canadians are receiving these cheques and what they are—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Calgary Skyview for his climate advocacy. He will know the federal pollution pricing system is a win-win. It puts more money back in families' pockets, while fighting climate change. These quarterly payments add up to major support for families facing affordability challenges. Over the course of the year, a family of four will receive up to $745 in Ontario, $832 in Manitoba and $1,100 in Alberta. This money is helping families make ends meet, while helping build a healthy, economic and environmental future for their kids.

Taxation

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

Madam Speaker, the reality is that this government is going to take even more money out of Canadians' paycheques. People are drowning. Everything is so expensive. House prices have gone up 21% in the Quebec City region alone. A pound of butter, from a well-known brand in Quebec, now retails for $8.49.

Instead of showing contempt for citizens who are struggling to get by, will the government commit to cancelling its plan to raise taxes?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, our deal to lower taxes for Canadians is very clear, and our plan to fight inflation and make life more affordable is very clear.

We have reduced child care costs; we will double the GST credit; we will provide a $500 housing top-up; and we will provide access to dental care assistance for the most vulnerable youth under the age of 12

This is what responsible leadership looks like. We hope the Conservatives will join us in passing Bill C-31.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Madam Speaker, on top of record Liberal deficits, record inflation and a tripling of the carbon tax, now this tax-and-spend Liberal government is coming after workers' paycheques and taking more. This week, we learned that the average Canadian family now spends more on taxes than they spend on the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing combined. Canadians are desperate.

Will the government give them a glimmer of hope and cancel its tax hikes on January 1 on workers' paycheques?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, let us be clear on what the member opposite and the Conservative Party are talking about. They are talking about employment insurance, and they are talking about the Canada pension plan. When we are talking about employment insurance, that is insurance that workers pay into in the event that they lose their jobs. The Conservatives are talking about slashing that fund. When we talk about the Canada pension plan, that is something Canadians pay into to have retirement security.

We have talked about the Conservatives having a heart. I hope they have one when it comes to people who lose their jobs and Canadian retirees.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Madam Speaker, as families across Canada begin their Thanksgiving weekend, all they should be worried about is where they are going to get their favourite local pumpkin pie. Instead, they are worried about making ends meet. Why? It is because the average Canadian family now spends more on taxes than they do on food, shelter and clothing combined. The last thing they can afford are even more taxes.

Will the Liberal government cancel its planned January 1 tax hikes on Canadian paycheques?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, what the Conservatives are talking about is cutting EI and cutting the Canada pension plan. These are two of the most important programs that we have in the social safety net in Canada. They support workers who lose their jobs and they support retirees.

As we go into this Thanksgiving weekend, I hope that Conservatives can think about families and can think about the people that they would hurt if these measures do not move forward.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Madam Speaker, people in my community are deeply concerned about the rapid rise in the cost of living. The average Canadian family now pays more in taxes than on the basic necessities of life. Under the Liberal government, things are about to get worse with the tripling of the carbon tax and, on top of that, a hike in payroll taxes. The last thing Canadian families need is even more taxes to pay.

Will the government to commit to cancelling its plan to increase taxes on Canadian paycheques?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, the fact of the matter is that EI premiums have been lower under this government than they were at any time when the Conservatives were in power under the Leader of the Opposition.

The other fact of the matter is that this government has returned more money to the pockets of hard-working middle-class and low-income families than the Conservatives did, with the Canada child benefit, the tax cut for the middle class and support for early learning and child care. Returning the climate action rebate is another important one.

Now the Conservatives have an opportunity to support us on rental and dental. I hope that they do.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, the government will have to change its tone on Roxham Road. We have the right to ask why it is not shutting down human smuggling networks. We have the right to ask why it is refusing to close a loophole that allows asylum seekers to be exploited. We have the right to ask why it takes years to process refugee families' claims. That is our right; more importantly, it is our duty.

When will the government do something about what is actually happening at Roxham Road instead of lecturing Quebeckers?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Madam Speaker, we need to revamp our asylum system, but there is no magic solution.

Closing Roxham Road is not a good solution; that would just move the problem elsewhere. Suspending the safe third country agreement would have the opposite effect. What we need to do is modernize the agreement, and that is what we are doing. We are working with the United States to find a sustainable, permanent solution. We have to keep working with the provincial government in Quebec.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, if the federal government were taking a humanitarian approach at Roxham Road, it would not be squaring off against refugee advocacy groups before the Supreme Court. Because of the government's inaction, people who should be welcomed with open arms are forced to sneak across the border. As a result, they are being extorted by criminals and arrested by the RCMP at the border. This would all end if the government would suspend the safe third country agreement. Migrants could cross at official border crossings.

Why does the government prefer to fight refugees in court to protect the agreement rather than protect families?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Madam Speaker, we are going to continue to work to improve the situation at Roxham Road, but we have international and domestic legal obligations that we are following to the letter.

We are trying to process people in a humane way, to recognize that human beings who are coming into Canada are sometimes very vulnerable. We are going to meet our legal obligations while we work toward a permanent solution, which requires us to negotiate an agreement with the United States of America.

We are seized with this issue. We are going to continue our work to make sure that we abide by our obligations and do right by some of the vulnerable people who are seeking refuge here in Canada.

Public Safety

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Madam Speaker, in June I asked the public safety minister about equipping RCMP cruisers with defibrillators, which would cost only $10 million and save 300 lives per year. He responded that the RCMP have “invested hundreds of millions” in life-saving equipment, which begs the question why the government does not take 10 million of those dollars and use them for the device that would, dollar for dollar, save the most lives, by a wide margin.

Here is the answer. Records shows that the last time a minister bothered to speak to the department about defibrillators was when Stephen Harper was the prime minister.

Will the Prime Minister finally place defibrillators in RCMP cruisers and save 300 lives a year?

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his continued advocacy on this issue. Our priority is keeping Canadians safe, and we will continue to work with the RCMP to prioritize equipment and capabilities within the police service to ensure that Canadians are kept safe.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Madam Speaker, it has been reported that the Chinese communist regime is operating at least three illegal police stations in Canada, threatening Chinese Canadians and even coercing some to return to China.

As we learn more, what is the government doing about these illegal Chinese communist-sponsored police stations, which constitute an assault on Canadian sovereignty?