House of Commons Hansard #129 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was money.
Lisa Marie Barron NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know when the government will finally return our coastal waters back to wild salmon. Polluting, open-net fish farms destroy ecosystems and livelihoods, but Liberals and Conservatives keep putting profits before communities.
This week, Washington state said no to fish farms. Now the B.C. Sechelt First Nation said no to fish farms, but Liberals keep saying yes to rich CEOs.
When will the Liberals get fish farms out of the water with a transition for workers?
Joyce Murray LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the member that protecting wild salmon and their habitat is my top priority. This transition is already under way. We have already removed fish farms from the Discovery Islands. There are others that indigenous communities have asked to be moved and have been moved away, so this transition is under way. We will have a plan by June 2023 as to how we will proceed further in protecting our very precious wild salmon.
Wilson Miao Liberal Richmond Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, as we continue to recover from the pandemic, employers are actively looking to fill many thousands of vacant positions in sectors across the country. In my riding of Richmond Centre, hospitals like the Richmond Hospital are searching for more workers to meet the increasing demand for health care services.
Could the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship give us an update on how the government could help Richmond Hospital and other hospitals across Canada get the people they need to better serve Canadians?
Sean Fraser LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Richmond Centre, who put together a round table with employers in his community when I had the chance to visit him. They told us very clearly that employers needed access to labour if they were going to meet the needs of their clients and customers.
I am pleased to share with the House that yesterday a new national occupation classification system was put in place that will allow 16 new occupations to take part in federal immigration streams. They include nurse aids and orderlies, truck drivers and others in the transportation sector, heavy equipment operators, chefs and many more. We are going to continue to advance measures to bring workers into jobs so we can grow our economy and support communities.
Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton Mill Woods, AB
Mr. Speaker, whether delivering gravel, groceries or lumber, our Canadian truckers are an essential part of our supply chain and Canadian economy.
However, because of the Liberals' inflation crisis, the cost of operating those trucks has skyrocketed to the point where some companies are having to park their trucks. They are actually losing money by working.
What is the Liberal solution to this supply chain crisis? They are going to triple the carbon tax. How does that even make sense?
Omar Alghabra LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that over the last couple of years, with economic disruptions around the world, our supply chains at home and around the world have been impacted.
Our government is taking action. I have been meeting with truck companies and truck drivers, helping them to find new truck drivers and making sure they have the support they need. They were telling me that those occupiers in Ottawa and at the borders did not represent the trucking industry, and they were disappointed that the Conservatives were supporting them in their illegal actions.
Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton Mill Woods, AB
Mr. Speaker, there is something seriously wrong in our country when working more actually makes people lose money.
To fight inflation, we need to reduce the cost of transporting goods. However, when the Liberals triple the carbon tax, that will make everything more expensive to deliver, which will make goods more expensive.
I am going to ask this again. When will the Liberals stop their tax hikes and stop beating up on our truckers?
Omar Alghabra LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are out of touch. They are out of touch with what is happening in the global economy. They are out of touch with what is happening here at home. They are out of touch with what is happening with climate change.
Our government, however, is focused on helping Canadians, on helping Canadian businesses and on helping truck drivers. We remain focused on doing the right thing to support our economy and to support Canadians during this difficult and challenging time.
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Mr. Speaker, time and again Liberals stand in this place and point to other countries as an excuse for the cost of living crisis in Canada. Future leader of the Liberal of Party, Mark Carney, disagrees with them.
This is now a made-in-Canada problem. Contrary to what the Prime Minister and his deputy believe, they cannot get out of the mess they have made by borrowing more money.
With $170,000 added to the debt every minute, every minute counts. When will the Liberals cancel their out-of-control inflationary spending?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, our government will never apologize for the compassionate support that we are providing to the most vulnerable Canadians.
We have found a balance between that targeted compassionate support and fiscal responsibility. I am going to give some data points. Moody's has reaffirmed Canada's AAA credit rating with a stable outlook. That means that Canada is the third-largest AAA rated economy in the world. Let me also remind the House that we have the lowest deficit in the G7 and the lowest debt-to-GDP.
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Mr. Speaker, here is what the government should be apologizing for, and it is the wasteful spending record; $54 million on the arrive scam app; $400,000 for the Prime Minister's delegation to London, including a $6,000-a-night suite; CERB cheques to prisoners and organized crime; a $237 million contract for ventilators to a Liberal insider; and we now know it has paid more than half a billion dollars in damages for its mismanagement of the Phoenix pay system.
When will the Liberal government stop its wasteful inflationary spending?
Sean Fraser LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, if people actually tune into this place over a couple of months, they will realize that the economic argument the Conservatives have been making is self-defeating. On the one hand, the Conservatives say that people are in need of more help and at every opportunity they oppose measures that will give more help to people.
From the very beginning of my time in office in 2015, they have opposed measures that actually deliver cash supports to households. The Conservatives opposed the tax cut for the middle class. They opposed investments in the Canada child benefit. They are now arguing against protecting the Canada pension plan and strengthening EI.
During the pandemic, the Conservatives did not just oppose some of our measures, their new leader held a press conference to say that he would not support big fat government programs that kept my neighbours fed and a roof over their heads.
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is right there in the economic update. The federal government decided that Quebec municipalities may lose $2.7 billion in infrastructure funding if they do not submit their proposals in 2023 instead of 2025, as originally planned.
In a public statement today, the Union des municipalités du Québec asked the federal government to change its mind so they do not lose the infrastructure dollars they need.
Will the federal government listen to Quebec's municipalities and reinstate the 2025 deadline set out in the agreement it signed with Quebec?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors
Mr. Speaker, several provinces and territories have successfully allocated the vast majority of their available funding, but some provinces have yet to allocate over 50% of the federal funding earmarked for their jurisdictions. Canadians from coast to coast to coast have benefited from the significant infrastructure investments that our government continues to make.
Since 2016, we have invested in over 81,000 infrastructure projects. I am happy to say that most recently we made an investment in the Burnside Transit Centre eco-rebuild project of $20.8 million in Nova Scotia.
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite was reading from the wrong notes again. Maybe he did not understand that the Government of Quebec and the federal government signed an agreement stating that municipalities have until 2025 to submit proposals. We are talking $2.7 billion—
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I will ask the member to start over. I myself had trouble hearing him, so I imagine the person who is supposed to answer did too.
I see there is also a problem with the interpretation.
Now that everything is working, I invite the hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères to start over.
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Mr. Speaker, I was saying that I hope the next time the member opposite will use the right talking points when answering me.
I was saying that the Quebec government cannot believe it. The government opposite has decided to rip up a signed agreement stating that cities had until 2025 to submit projects. Now, $2.7 billion is at stake. We are being told that we are in the wrong. We are in the wrong because we thought the agreement would be respected. That is rich, is it not? The Union des municipalités du Québec has just said that they will be severely penalized by this.
Will the government reconsider its position, respect our cities, stop its bullying and reinstate the 2025 deadline?
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that my colleague has used inappropriate language. I invite him to be cautious when using certain words.
We work very well with Quebec. With regard to infrastructure, we are making progress on many projects. We have made progress on day care, health, housing, high-speed Internet and the fight against homelessness. We will continue to work with Quebec. We will continue to support Quebec, no matter what the Bloc Québécois thinks. Even if he does not like it, we will continue to work with Quebec.
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals violent crime is up 32% and the devastating opioid crisis is claiming 21 lives per day. Despite these facts, the out-of-touch Liberals are pushing their soft-on-crime Bill C-5 through the Senate today. This bill puts drug traffickers and serious firearms offenders back on the street to continue to harm Canadians.
Will the minister take this opportunity to withdraw his soft-on-crime Bill C-5?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, indeed, I think today will be a historic day in which we turn the page on failed Conservative so-called tough-on-crime policies that have only served to overincarcerate indigenous and Black peoples in our criminal justice system and have clogged up the criminal justice system.
We are making changes in order to focus on more serious crime in order to make sure that serious crimes get serious punishments. Bill C-5 is a first and historic step.
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Mr. Speaker, the minister acts as if these are victimless crimes. The fact of the matter is that the communities that are being victimized by violent criminals and drug traffickers deserve justice. They deserve to feel safe. The minister ignores the fact that just two weeks ago the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality and the appropriateness of these very penalties.
In light of that fact, and in light of the constitutionality of making sure that violent offenders and drug traffickers serve time in jail and not from the comfort of their own homes, will he withdraw this soft-on-crime bill?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is indeed correct to point out that the return of conditional sentence orders is a critically important part of this bill. It will allow us not only to focus on serious sentences for people who deserve serious sentences, but also to allow flexibility for those people who do not pose a threat to public security and order. Those people can be better served, and their victims and communities can be better served, through other forms of punishment. That is what Bill C-5 will allow us to do once again.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the violent crime rate in Canada was 1,070 per 100,000 inhabitants.
After seven long years under this Liberal government, the rate has increased by 32%. Things will only get worse when Bill C-5, which is backed by the NDP and even the Bloc Québécois, abolishes minimum sentences for illegally importing firearms. What message are we sending to people who live in at-risk communities? We are simply telling them good luck.
Can the Prime Minister do the right thing and scrap this bill?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, this is indeed an historic day for Canada, because we are turning the page on the completely failed policies of the former Conservative government. These tough-on-crime policies did not work, clogged up the system and disproportionately punished indigenous and black people in the justice system.
We are putting the emphasis on serious crimes with serious sentences. We will continue to do so with this historic bill.
Lena Metlege Diab Liberal Halifax West, NS
Mr. Speaker, as the world gathers in Tunisia this weekend for the Sommet de la Francophonie, it is important to reflect on how our government is protecting the French language and culture here in Canada.
Since 2015, the government has been making historic investments to support official language minority communities, and it is the first government to recognize its obligation to protect and promote French across the country.
Could the Minister of Official Languages tell us how the government continues to ensure the future of the French language across Canada?