House of Commons Hansard #132 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was public.
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has just returned from the Sommet de la Francophonie, which was held in Tunisia. He earnestly reiterated the importance of protecting and promoting French. However, it is just like the environment at COP27: Canada says one thing, but does the opposite in reality.
Did the Liberal Prime Minister explain to his allies in la Francophonie why his Bill C‑13 allows the continued anglicization of Quebec, the only francophone state in North America?
Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, our government is the first government to recognize that French is in decline across the country, including in Quebec.
That is why we are implementing an ambitious bill with teeth to ensure that we can do our part to reverse the decline of French and support our official language minority communities. The Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party have been playing political games in committee for the past few weeks.
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Mr. Speaker, I do not understand why they do not want to move forward with a bill that will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians.
Official LanguagesOral Questions
The Speaker Anthony Rota
I would like to remind the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier that just because he is not looking at me does not mean that I cannot see him yelling in the House.
The hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île.
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Mr. Speaker, I hope that the countries of la Francophonie do anything but follow Canada's example when it comes to promoting French. If they follow Canada's lead, they will be introducing bills like Bill C-13 to allow for a shift toward English in the workplace. They will be banning 80% of francophone African students and thinking it is okay if francophone public servants feel uncomfortable working in their own language.
Do the Liberals realize that, if other countries follow their lead, it will weaken la Francophonie throughout the world?
Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, what we need right now are partners in the opposition to help us move forward with our bill, which will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians.
However, what are we seeing right now? Once again, the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives are playing political games. I do not understand why they do not want to move forward with Bill C-13, which will give francophones in Quebec the opportunity to work in French at federally regulated private businesses. That will also be the case in regions outside of Quebec with a strong francophone presence.
I am at a complete loss for words, and I do not understand them.
Kyle Seeback Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Speaker, gang-related homicides are up 92% since 2015. I ask members to let that sink in. There were 124,000 more violent crimes this past year than in 2015.
When will the Liberal government learn that its hug-a-thug approach to crime in this country is literally costing Canadians their lives? If we listen to the Liberals, everything is fine. Will they abandon this soft-on-crime approach?
Pam Damoff LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, the timing of that question could not be better because this afternoon we are starting clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-21, which would be transformational legislation when it comes to gun control in this country.
However, that is not all we are doing. We are also ensuring that communities have the resources they need to support young people from starting involvement with gangs. We have put a billion dollars into the border to make sure that we are bolstering our border to prevent guns from being smuggled. We know that we need a multi-faceted approach, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, according to the mayor of Laval, most of the criminal activity in his city is linked to illegal firearms and organized crime.
He says that better border control is needed to stop illegal weapons from being smuggled in. However, in the Prime Minister's fantasy world, the solution is to take guns away from hunters and relax penalties for criminals.
When will he put the safety of Canadians first, instead of coddling criminals?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, for the first time in Canadian history, we have repealed certain mandatory minimum sentences. This means that we are turning the page on the failures of the Conservative Party and its failed tough-on-crime policies.
As my colleague just mentioned, today we are beginning clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-21, which will help tackle the problem of handguns and assault weapons in Canada. We need to put resources towards that in order to fight crime in Canada.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, it is the Liberals who have failed. Statistics Canada just released a report showing that homicides have increased over the past three years and that 40% were gang-related. More specifically, the rate of gang-related homicides was the highest in 16 years.
Street gangs are elated because they know that the Liberals are going eliminate minimum sentences, for example with Bill C‑5. Street gangs are laughing their heads off. They know very well that they will end up doing what they want and committing crimes.
When will the Prime Minister take things seriously for once, stop saying things that are not true and ensure that the streets are safe across Canada?
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, it is the other side of the House that is saying things that are not true.
After years of Conservative rule, when cuts were made to border services and police departments that fought gangs and gun imports, we have completely reversed the Conservatives' policy. We are investing in border control and anti-gang programs. We are increasing maximum sentences for importing firearms.
We are headed in the right direction. We will make Canada safe.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian representatives at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference worked hard with developed and developing countries to come to an agreement that every country could buy into.
Yesterday we heard the Conservatives mislead the House on global carbon pricing.
Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change set the record straight?
Steven Guilbeault LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, this is not the first false statement on climate change coming from the Conservatives in the House. Yesterday we heard them say that not one country had accepted the global carbon pricing challenge.
Let me set the record straight. Chile, the European Commission, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea—I nearly forgot Germany and the United Kingdom, the world's fourth- and fifth-largest economies—are all countries that accepted our pollution pricing challenge.
Jeremy Patzer Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals break everything that they touch. In 2015, there were 15 LNG projects proposed for Canada. Zero have been built. Energy east and Keystone XL could have provided paycheques for Canadians rather than dollars for dictators. Neither project was built. In 2015, they inherited a balanced budget, only to spend their way to an inflationary crisis not seen in decades.
When will the Liberals quit breaking everything that they touch and, instead, let Canadians have back control of their lives?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in this House, it is extremely important that we are moving forward in a way that will build a strong economy in a lower-carbon universe, ensuring that there are good jobs and economic opportunities for our children. It is also important that we are ensuring that good projects actually can move ahead. We have moved forward to reform the environmental assessment process after the Conservatives changed it significantly and created chaos with respect to actually moving through that project.
It is also important, I would say, and as I said before in this House, that we are addressing climate change, that we are doing so in a manner that is going to promote economic opportunity and prosperity going forward, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Terry Dowdall Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canada is broken. Inflation is at a 40-year high. Small business insolvencies are up. Mortgage renewals will cost, on average, $7,000 more per year. The government could help by cutting carbon and home heating taxes. Liberals claim to have an environmental plan, and it is broken. In fact, Canada was ranked 58th this week in the climate change performance index behind Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran.
Will the Liberal government stop making it hard for Canadians and allow them to take back control of their lives?
Steven Guilbeault LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, these are more alternative facts on climate change in the House today. Emissions have gone down in 2019 and in 2020.
Let me talk about the rebate payments that we announced this morning. A family of four in Nova Scotia will get, four times a year, $248. In Prince Edward Island, a family of four will get $240, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, a family of four will get $328. They will get that four times a year.
We are there to have Canadians' backs and fight climate change.
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal coalition is breaking records. Inflation is at a 40-year high, food prices are rising at the fastest pace in 40 years and we are seeing the highest usage of food banks on record. Canadians want to take back control of their lives, but the NDP-Liberal government keeps fuelling the cost of living crisis.
Will the Prime Minister quite making things harder for Canadians who just want to put food on the table?
Randy Boissonnault LiberalMinister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have a golden opportunity today, minutes from now, to do the right thing and support Canadians by helping first-time homebuyers, by making sure that students do not have any more interest on their student loans and by making sure that we reduce taxes on small businesses. Are they going to break the hearts of Canadians or do the right thing and support them? The choice is theirs. We will always stand on Canadians' side on this side of the House.
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Mr. Speaker, we all know that community organizations and non-profits were hit hard by the pandemic, with charitable organizations stepping up to help their communities despite the financial pressures they have experienced. That is why our government announced, in budget 2021, that we would help them help Canadians in need.
Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development update the House on the community services recovery fund and how our government is supporting the charitable sector from coast to coast to coast to get back on its feet as we move past the pandemic?
Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families
Mr. Speaker, today I was really pleased to announce the $400-million community services recovery fund for the charitable and not-for-profit sector here in Canada. We are going to be working with national funders, the Red Cross, community foundations in Canada and the United Way to deliver this to folks and organizations on the front lines of delivering the most important services right across this country.
I encourage all members to let organizations in their communities know that they can—
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, today is National Housing Day, and one in five Canadians cannot afford a safe place to call home. The Liberals are completely out of touch. They are building homes that families cannot afford and have done little to end homelessness. The cost of rent has soared all over the country. The average one bedroom in Toronto is now over $2,500, and in Vancouver it is $2,600.
The Liberals opened the door for housing profiteering, displacing seniors, people with disabilities and low-income renters. Why are the Liberals treating housing like a stock market instead of a necessity?