Debates of Nov. 29th, 2022

Public Safety

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that all the criteria were properly met. We respected the rights of all Canadians in an important process. We also thought it was a good idea, when we established the criteria with the Rouleau commission, to ask the commission for suggestions and opinions on the possibility of modernizing the Emergencies Act, to listen to the experts. That is why we are looking forward to Justice Rouleau's recommendations.

Carbon Pricing

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Speaker, first the Liberals promised not to raise the carbon tax, and then they tripled the tax. Then they said Canadians would get more money back when they paid the carbon tax. That was proven false. Then the Liberals promised the carbon tax would lower emissions, but emissions went up.

When will the Liberal government stop misleading Canadians and cancel the failed carbon tax?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House a number of times, affordability is extremely important to all members of the House. This government has taken very significant actions to address that, but I would also say that eight out of 10 Canadian families actually get more money back from the carbon tax, from the price on pollution, than they actually pay.

In terms of misleading the House, I would ask the hon. member who asked the question about what he campaigned on in the last campaign, which included putting a price on pollution. I am not sure exactly how he explains that to his constituents. Misleading? Yes, that is very much misleading.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have no compassion for workers struggling to make ends meet. They are going to make things even harder for small and medium-sized businesses in January when they raise taxes. Worse still, Liberal policies are hurting businesses in Beauce that hire foreign workers and spend thousands of dollars recruiting them with no certainty that they will be able to keep them on for the duration of their contract.

When will the government realize it has to help our small and medium-sized businesses by fixing this problem and by cancelling the tax hikes?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would say on this side of the House that every day we think about what we can do to help Canadians and to help those small businesses. We have cut taxes for small businesses throughout the pandemic. We have helped them keep their staff on staff. We saw many businesses pivot to being e-commerce friendly so that they can help their customers.

On this side of the House, every day is about helping small businesses. We will keep doing that.

Seniors

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in only one month, 1.5 million individuals used the food bank. The fact is that a lot of seniors now depend on the food bank for survival. Unfortunately, due to the Liberal government's careless spending practices, life for people who founded this country is no longer affordable.

For our seniors, who raised us, fed us and cared for us, will the Liberal government show compassion and stop the tripling of the carbon tax on food, gas and home heating, yes or no?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned the word “fact”, so let us look at some facts.

The fact is that when the Conservative Party was in power, its plan for seniors was to raise the age of retirement to 67.

The fact is that the first thing we did on this side was to reverse that back to 65.

The fact is that the party opposite has opposed every single measure our government has put forward to support seniors, including the increase to the guaranteed income supplement, including the 10% increase to the old age security, and including our enhancements to the CPP.

We will not take any lessons from the party opposite on seniors. We are going to continue to deliver for them.

Gender-Based Violence

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, November 25 marked the beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. This year's theme, “It's Not Just”, reminds us of both the injustice of gender-based violence and how often society dismisses or minimizes behaviours and beliefs that contribute to its pervasiveness.

Can the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth share what our government is doing to address the injustices and provide support to those experiencing gender-based violence?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, to anyone experiencing gender-based violence, we see them and we hear them. We know crisis lines are being used more than ever across the country, and we have responded. We have entered into agreements to fund crisis lines with Nova Scotia, Yukon, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We are committed to expanding those services in the coming days.

I have to tell members, I am honoured to continue to do this work in every province and in every territory, and to know that if a person needs help, there is someone to listen on the other end of a crisis line.

Health

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this Liberal government has shown us that it is always lagging behind and in reaction mode. It lacks vision. No other country has a shortage of children's Tylenol and Advil like Canada. What are parents doing to save their children? They are going to the hospital. CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal is 150% over capacity. We have known about this problem since April.

My question is simple: Why is the Liberal government always lagging behind?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we all share the concerns of parents, grandparents, and teachers about our children's health across Canada.

With respect to lagging behind, perhaps my colleague did not carefully listen to the most recent news. Almost two weeks ago, we announced the emergency import of more than one million units of children's medication. Last week, we announced the shipment of 500,000 units in the next few weeks.

I would be pleased to keep my colleague up to date if he would like.

Taxation

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the minister has not gone to the pharmacy in the past few days because the shelves are empty. His government has been aware of the problem since April.

Let us talk about the economy. We are entering into a recession and the Liberals are raising taxes. They do not have the heart to lend a hand to Canadians. What more will it take? Consumer insolvency has increased by 22%. One in six businesses are considering closing their doors. The average credit card balance is at a record high of over $2,000. Requests for help at food banks are skyrocketing.

Will the Liberals listen to reason and stop increasing taxes?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague across the way that the best slogan for the Conservative Party has always been and will always be chop, chop, chop.

They are the ones who have not accepted any program we have presented. They do not agree with the Canada child benefit, the Canada workers benefit or the help for seniors.

We have no lessons to learn from the Conservatives.

The Economy

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has created a mess. Everything it touches is broken: the arrive scam app, huge passport backlogs, NEXUS at a standstill and the fact that 1.5 million Canadians used a food bank in a single month. Seniors are telling me they are skipping meals, and they are not alone. One in five Canadians are skipping meals.

This is all thanks to the Liberals' inflationary spending, and it is completely unacceptable. When will the government stop making life hard for Canadians and give them back control of their lives?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, on this side of the House we understand how hard life is for Canadians right now, which is why we have put forward significant benefits to help Canadians. Whether that be the Canada child benefit, the Canada dental benefit, the Canada housing benefit or an increase to the Canada workers benefit, we are there for Canadians at every single stage of their lives because we understand that these are difficult times right now.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my colleagues opposite. The Conservatives have voted against Canadians and against supporting Canadians every single time. If they want to join us and help Canadians, they are welcome to do that.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is working day and night to ensure that Afghans and their families who helped Canada's mission to help women and girls read and write, maintain peace and build democracy in Afghanistan will have a safe haven here. We know the Taliban is trying to reverse this progress and making it harder for those fleeing persecution to escape the country. Can the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship give us an update on how Canada is stepping up to provide safe passage to Afghans who are most in need of protection?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his continued advocacy to support some of the world's most vulnerable people.

The circumstances in Afghanistan are absolutely heartbreaking. That is why Canada made one of the most substantial commitments of any country in the world to welcome at least 40,000 Afghan refugees. I am so thrilled to share with my colleague that Canada has now welcomed more than 25,000 Afghan refugees, who are safe and have been given a second lease on life here in Canada.

They are here wanting to make a difference. I have met women judges and parliamentarians. I have met members of the LGBTQ2+ community. I have met people who have served alongside the Canadian Armed Forces to help us in our time of need. It is our turn to help them, and that is exactly what we are going to continue to do.

Canada Post Corporation

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are already dealing with the high costs of food and utilities, and now they will have to pay a whopping 39.5% fuel fee on Canada Post packages this holiday season. It is price gouging, and the government is approving it.

It is already hard to be away from loved ones during the holidays, and the Prime Minister is making it worse by allowing a Crown corporation to gouge families. Will the Prime Minister stop piling costs onto families and cancel Canada Post's holiday surcharge?

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the member opposite is aware, the Canada Post Corporation operates at arm's length from the government, but we have regular conversations with Canada Post officials in terms of their initiatives. We monitor this very closely. I am in communication with the board, and I commit to the member that I will continue that type of conversation.

Air Transportation

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, three people in my riding died in a tragic float-plane crash off the coast of Port Hardy. Travel by air and water are a reality in communities like mine, and that is why we need reliable information from the weather stations. Safety is at risk when they are not working.

The owner of the plane showed me his letters to Transport Canada, desperately requesting that weather stations be fixed. Some were not working for months and even years. What is the Minister of Transport doing to ensure that those weather stations are properly maintained and working?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, safety in the aviation sector is our number one priority. The government and I are working with Transport Canada, with our stakeholders and with all airline operators to make sure we maintain the highest level of safety in Canada and around the world. I am willing to work with my colleague and other members of the House to ensure that we maintain the highest level in our standards of safety.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

That is all the time we have for oral question period.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, during question period, I quoted a document entitled “Briefing for the Prime Minister on Foreign Interference”.

I am asking for the collaboration and unanimous consent of the House to table one of the many documents that were submitted to us by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in this regard.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.