House of Commons Hansard #130 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was inflation.

Topics

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Sudbury.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

Viviane LaPointe Liberal Sudbury, ON

Madam Speaker, we all know that the diversification of export markets for our agricultural products is crucial for the development of the sector and that the Indo-Pacific region has high growth potential.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell the House about the most recent initiative to facilitate our agriculture exports to that region?

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

Noon

Compton—Stanstead Québec

Liberal

Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to announce that just a few hours ago the Prime Minister announced the creation of an Indo-Pacific office for agriculture and agri-food. That is excellent news for our agricultural producers and our exporters of excellent Canadian food, as we know. The team will be able to help them remove trade barriers, diversify markets, increase exports, grow our economy and obviously continue to contribute to global food security.

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Gary Vidal Conservative Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK

Madam Speaker, imagine the people watching the answers this morning while having to choose between heating and eating in a cold Saskatchewan winter. Imagine them ordering small amounts of heating fuel that last only a few days, because they simply cannot afford any more. Imagine their desperation. Suppliers are lowering their delivery thresholds and are compassionately extending credit to people, knowing they may never get paid.

Will the current NDP-Liberal coalition commit to ending its plan to triple the carbon tax on home heating fuel, gas and groceries, or does it simply not care?

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, I am thinking, and I think all of us are thinking, about hard-working Canadian families today. The families I am thinking about are those making $90,000 or less who, until now, have had to make a tough choice between buying groceries and paying their rent or taking their kid to the dentist. For those families we have some relief today. What we are saying is they can take their kid under 12 to the dentist and they will get $650 to do it.

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK

Madam Speaker, according to Regina Food Bank CEO, John Bailey, food bank use in Saskatchewan is up 37% this year. More fully employed working families are turning to food banks just to make ends meet, and with winter on the way and home heating costs set to rise, the problem will only get worse.

Will the Liberals end their inflationary spending and cancel their plan to triple taxes on groceries, gas and home heating?

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, we absolutely agree that hard-working Canadian families need some support now, and that is why I am just astonished that the Conservatives opposed dental care for kids under 12. I am astonished that they opposed sending $500 to two million Canadian families struggling to pay their rent, but they do have a chance to do the right thing. Hard-working Canadian families do need help, and that is why we are enhancing the Canada workers benefit with $2,400 to a working family. I hope that—

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Yellowhead.

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Gerald Soroka Conservative Yellowhead, AB

Madam Speaker, government members continue to blame everyone else but themselves for the affordability crisis plaguing Canadians across the country. The NDP-Liberals stay in luxurious $6,000-a-night hotels and tell Canadians to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions, as if saving $14 a month will afford groceries, gas and home heating.

When will the government stop the tax hikes and stop its inflationary spending already?

TaxationOral Questions

Noon

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about hard-working Canadians, unionized working Canadians. Our government believes in supporting them, and that is why one of the first things we did was repeal anti-worker Harper legislation: Bill C-377 and Bill C-525. If the Conservatives really want to support Canadian working people, they should promise never again to put forward anti-worker legislation.

Dental CareOral Questions

Noon

Liberal

Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC

Madam Speaker, I also want to highlight the great news we received yesterday that Bill C-31 received royal assent. While the Conservatives opposed the bill, to prevent kids from receiving affordable dental care this year, the government stood up for Canadian families and put forward real solutions to make life more affordable. These are solutions, not slogans.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health highlight how the government is delivering on dental care for Canadian families and also for families in my riding?

Dental CareOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Milton Ontario

Liberal

Adam van Koeverden LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport

Madam Speaker, it is a real honour and privilege to stand on behalf of the Minister of Health today and thank and congratulate the member for Pontiac for her hard work and advocacy, particularly for Canadians living in rural communities across the country.

Indeed, with the royal assent to Bill C-31, over half a million kids will visit the dentist this and next year, kids who do not have dental insurance and otherwise would not have been able to visit the dentist. This is an affordability measure. This is a health care measure. This is how we take care of families on this side of the House. This will have positive impacts across this country, including for families right across the river in Pontiac.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

NDP

Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Madam Speaker, over the past few weeks, the Liberal government has met several times with its Indian counterparts, but we have seen no statements from the government calling out the ongoing persecution of minorities in India, including Sikhs, Muslims, women and other minority groups. The Indian government must respect the human rights of all Indian citizens, and Canada must call it out when those rights are denied.

At a time when the Indo-Pacific region is becoming more important than ever, why is Canada remaining silent on the horrendous human rights abuses taking place in India?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Brampton East Ontario

Liberal

Maninder Sidhu LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Madam Speaker, Canada attaches great importance to the protection and promotion of human rights globally, including in India. Canada and India share many values, including a commitment to democracy and strong people-to-people ties. This provides the basis for frank and respectful dialogue on issues, including human rights, which the Minister of Foreign Affairs has raised with her foreign counterpart.

Families, Children and Social DevelopmentOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Madam Speaker, this Sunday is World Children's Day. It is observed internationally.

My constituent Raffi, whom many members will know, is an advocate for children's rights and for Canada to be a child-honouring society, yet the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has repeatedly asked Canada to live up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child by putting in place an advocate or an ombudsman at the national level to advocate for children, their well-being and their rights.

Can the government update us as to whether there has been any progress in moving toward the creation of a national point person to advocate for our children?

Families, Children and Social DevelopmentOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Windsor—Tecumseh Ontario

Liberal

Irek Kusmierczyk LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment

Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her tireless advocacy on behalf of children from coast to coast to coast.

We are committed to protecting children's rights and providing the support they need to live up to their full potential. To support children, we introduced the Canada child benefit, which has lifted over 435,000 children out of poverty. We are building a nationwide system of high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care. We are consulting with Canadians on a national school food policy to help ensure children are well nourished. We are providing up to $1,300 over two years through a Canada dental benefit for children under 12.

We will keep listening to children, as well as child and youth advocates, and we will continue to explore more options to incorporate a children's rights lens into our policy-making.

Families, Children and Social DevelopmentOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

Bryan May Liberal Cambridge, ON

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

During question period, I witnessed a non-member of Parliament come to the window door across from me, wave to somebody in the House and start taking photographs with a camera. I think this is an opportunity to mention to all members of the House what the rules are when they have their staff in the House or visitors, and to remind them that those kinds of things are not allowed.

Families, Children and Social DevelopmentOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

I appreciate the hon. member's reminder. Absolutely, we know that picture-taking is not allowed in the chamber, and I would like everybody to remind their staffers of said rules.

Families, Children and Social DevelopmentOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, just to add to that point of order, it is well established that when the mace is on the table, pictures in the chamber are not permitted, so if there were pictures being taken from a caucus room, that should be looked into.

Families, Children and Social DevelopmentOral Questions

12:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

Certainly, those pictures should be destroyed.

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 12 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Vaccine MandatesPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise and proud to stand to present petition e-4072. This petition was signed by 8,129 Canadians and it hopes to effect change for tens of thousands more Canadians.

The petition calls on the government to remove the ROE codes that identify unvaccinated employees. It also calls for the government to retroactively reinstate eligibility for Canadian EI benefits that were harshly taken away from them because of a personal decision not to be vaccinated. Workers are forced to pay EI, yet the government unjustly chose to strip the rights of Canadians to receive these benefits. These actions caused financial hardship to Canadians who were just exercising their personal freedoms.

On a personal note, I want to thank Dan Janssen for bringing this petition forward. Dan is a member of the Machinists Union. He and I do not always politically align, but on this issue we do.

Vaccine MandatesPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont

The member for Mégantic—L'Érable on a point of order.

Vaccine MandatesPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, I just want to reassure all members of the House that the messages about taking photos through the lobby windows have been heard and that the photographs that were taken have been deleted.

Vaccine MandatesPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont

I thank the hon. member for reporting that to the House.

Once again, that is something that must not be done in the House or even in the lobbies.