Debates of Nov. 15th, 2022

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, emergency rooms are full across the country, and parents are afraid there is no room for their sick children. I spoke with a parent who had to wait 12 hours to see a doctor for their child who was having trouble breathing. The Liberal government is looking for someone to blame instead of taking action.

Why do the government and the Prime Minister want to let kids suffer rather than taking action to fix the problem?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that every one of us, every member of the House, understands how precious our Canadian children are. I want to assure all Canadian mothers and fathers that our children are a priority.

With regard to health care, I want to point out that federal support this year will amount to $45.2 billion, which is an increase of 4.8%.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there has been a crisis brewing in our health care system for weeks and weeks, particularly when it comes to kids, and the government has not been there to protect kids.

We know that what is going on is terrifying for parents. We have heard really heartbreaking stories of parents rushing to the emergency rooms with kids who are struggling to breathe, children who have had to be resuscitated in emergency rooms, and parents wondering if there will be any space for their kids in the emergency room.

What does the government have to say? What does the Prime Minister have to say to parents who are worried that, if their kids are sick, there is not going to be a place for them in the emergency room?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the leader of the NDP for raising that really important question.

I just want to start by saying I am absolutely sure that every single MP in the House cares so much about Canada's children. We know they are the most precious people we have in this country.

I also want to say that our government understands the challenges our health care system is facing. Our Minister of Health did some important work with his provincial and territorial colleagues last week. Let me just point out that the federal health transfer this year will be $45.2 billion—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, while the finance minister cancels her Disney+ subscription to miraculously save Canadians from going to food banks, her government continues to tax Canadians to infinity and beyond.

Proving how out of touch she really is, she goes on the Liberal-friendly CBC to say the carbon tax is helping Canadians. The reality is that emissions are up and the carbon tax is only helping her government's greed while the cost of heating homes is doubling.

Why will the costly coalition not axe the tax on home heating and give Canadians a break?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we know what is really out of touch.

What is out of touch is to advise Canadians, Canadians who are legitimately concerned about inflation, and say to them, “I have a magic solution to your problems”, and advise those worried Canadians to invest in crypto. That is what the Leader of the Opposition did.

If a Canadian had listened to him, had listened to that advice, a $10,000 investment would be worth just $3,500 today. They should apologize.

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

Mr. Speaker, that answer was almost as bad as the finance minister telling the one in five Canadians skipping meals to not worry, but to just cancel their Disney+ subscription and everything should be fine.

Canadians are crying out for help, pleading for the Liberals to stop the increases in taxes and inflation. The Liberals responded by calling them polluters and increasing the carbon tax. The only one getting rich off the carbon tax is her government.

The Liberals are out of touch. Canadians are out of money. Why would the Liberals not give some relief to Canadians cancel their plans to triple the carbon tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians need today is a government that is prepared to support them, is prepared to be compassionate and also fiscally responsible, and does not reach for easy populous advice, like investing in crypto. Canadians need a government that understands that people need real support today.

That is why we are going to stick with our plan. We are going to send those GST cheques to 11 million households. We are going to send the Canada workers benefit to hard-working Canadians. We are going to eliminate interest on Canada student loans.

Infrastructure

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yet again we have more Liberal waste.

Fortis, a billion-dollar corporation, was promised $655 million for the Lake Erie connector project to get an electricity cable built. The Canada Infrastructure Bank, which is a taxpayer-funded bank, has never completed even one project. Now we discover, one and a half years later, that the Fortis deal has been cancelled due to financial volatility and inflation.

What happened to the $655 million that the Liberals promised this failed project? How much did taxpayers lose?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating my colleague on her appointment as the infrastructure critic for the official opposition. I obviously look forward to working with her on these important issues.

We have a fundamental difference with respect to the Conservative Party. They did not believe there was a role for the Infrastructure Bank in helping bring access to private capital and institutional investments for things as important as investing in clean energy and greening our electricity grid.

We will continue to prioritize these important investments because we think Canadians are counting on us to do that.

Taxation

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not good enough. That is not a good enough answer. The project was cancelled because of inflation, which the Liberal Party caused. While Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, the government cannot account for $655 million.

It is wasteful spending like this $35-billion Infrastructure Bank that is causing inflation, and the Liberals are financing it all on the backs of Canadians by tripling their carbon tax.

When will the government stop their reckless spending and cancel their plan to triple the tax on suffering Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to spend a moment talking about inflation and our government's fiscally responsible approach.

I am going to quote The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail is not always that supportive of our government's policies, but here is what The Globe and Mail had to say—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am sure the hon. member for Haldimand—Norfolk wants to hear the answer to her question.

I will let the Deputy Prime Minister continue, and hopefully we do not have to restart from the beginning, because we want to make sure we hear it.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here is what The Globe and Mail had to say about the fall economic statement: “It is, broadly speaking, the right approach.... Canada [has] the slimmest government shortfall in the G7. In inflation-fighting terms, that has Liberal fiscal policy looking pretty good”.

Climate Change

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the best way to help Canadian families deal with inflation is to leave more money in their pockets and, above all, not increase taxes. The Liberal government, however, wants to triple the carbon tax in just a few months.

I have a very simple question for the Deputy Prime Minister. Yesterday, at COP27, a report on the best performing countries in the fight against climate change was tabled. This report lists 63 countries. Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell us, after seven years of Liberal governance, where Canada is on the list of the 63 best performing countries in the fight against climate change?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talks about leaving money in Canadians' pockets, but every time we introduce measures to give more money to Canadians, the Conservatives vote against them.

With respect to climate action, we return more money to the provinces where pollution pricing is in place.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I will ask the minister to start again.

I am sure the hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, who is sitting near me, did not hear the answer because of the background noise.

I ask the minister to start again.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, over the past seven years, there have been several occasions when we brought in measures to keep more money in Canadians' pockets.

It is a shame, but the Conservatives voted against those measures every time, whether we are talking about climate-related cheques or benefits for Canadians.

There have been several occasions when they could have supported us and supported Canadians.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite amazing, they have had two opportunities to provide a number and they cannot even begin to give us an answer that might make sense.

She does not know the answer or is pretending not to know, but we do. Canada, after seven years of a Liberal government, ranks 58 out of 63 when it comes to fighting climate change.

This is the same gang that boasted seven years ago that Canada was back.

The truth is that Canada is way back.

That is the reality.

Maybe one day the Liberals will understand one thing: Taxes will not help cut pollution, but they will cut into Canadians' wallets.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, there is a limit to how much a party can contradict itself. The Conservatives keep saying that we are doing too much, that we should not put a price on pollution, that we should not be so ambitious on the environment, but now they are telling us that we are not doing enough. The Conservatives have no credibility whatsoever when it comes to climate change. There are limits, even for them, when it comes to talking out of both sides of their mouths.

Health

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pediatric emergency rooms in Quebec are overflowing as we speak. Children are being sent 150 kilometres from home because there is no room for them at the hospital. It is time the minister stopped saying that it is futile to ask for health care funding. Let us ask the parents of these children if it is futile. It is time for the federal government to stop it with its bureaucratic power trip, its arrogance and its bickering and to hand over the additional $28 billion in health care transfers that Quebec and all the provinces are calling for. What will it take for the government to understand that this is urgent?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, we share the concerns of parents and caregivers about their inability to find children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen. We have secured an additional foreign supply of children's acetaminophen that will be available for sale at retail and community pharmacies in the coming weeks to help address the immediate situation.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, sometimes the answer should actually match the question. That needs to be made clear to our colleague.

The federal government can clearly see that the health care system is underfunded. Everyone can see that the elastic is about to snap. People are at the end of their rope, but what the federal government fails to see is that it is the one that must do more. Quebec allocates 43% of its annual budget to health care. That is nearly half. As for the federal government, not even 9% of its total budget goes to health transfers. There is flexibility on the federal front, but not in Quebec City. When will the Liberals finally and permanently increase health transfers?