Debates of Nov. 29th, 2022

British Pensioners in Canada

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the pensions of approximately 125,000 U.K. expats currently living in Canada are still frozen. These pensions are frozen because the U.K. government and Canada do not have a reciprocal social security agreement.

As a result, British pensioners living in Canada are being punished, such as 83-year-old Peter Sanguinetti, who served in the Dorset Regiment and was stationed in the West Indies. He now needs to work part time as a school bus driver because his pension has been frozen at a mere 90 pounds per week. There is also 97-year-old Anne Puckridge, who moved to Calgary to live near her daughters, but because of this cruel and indefensible policy, Anne receives just 72 pounds a week.

Simply put, people who have worked all their lives in the United Kingdom and paid into the United Kingdom system deserve to be treated fairly. The U.K. government needs to get around the table, agree to a new reciprocal agreement and end this injustice.

Nizar Ladha

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Nizar Ladha, a prominent Newfoundland and Labrador psychiatrist and mental health activist, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on November 12 at the age of 80.

St. John's, and the entire province, has lost a true friend and an advocate for vulnerable persons. Simply put, he was kind, decent and caring to all. He fought against the stigma of mental illness long before it was openly talked about, and he was a remarkable trailblazer.

Dr. Ladha practised general and forensic psychiatry for nearly 50 years, served as the president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and was an associate professor at Memorial University's school of medicine.

I am honoured to have known Nizar and can personally speak to his passion and advocacy for the dignity and respect of all persons. I send my deepest condolences to his wife, Dr. Linda lnkpen; their three sons, Justin, Michael and Jonathan; and their families. He will be remembered fondly.

Gender-Based Violence

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week was the start of commemorating 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. The campaign strives to eliminate all types of gender-based violence through education and through action.

Ending gender-based violence and intimate partner violence in our communities will take all of us. It does not occur in a vacuum, but rather in a society that condones and encourages it. Change is possible when we take collective responsibility. It takes courage for women to come forward, but it is not reasonable to expect survivors to be the only ones to lead the change.

We need more male allies, so I ask men to stand up to help break this cycle and question complicity within the systems of violence. As silence is one form of complicity, men must speak up when they hear oppressive language or comments. From amplifying the voices of survivors to supporting women's organizations, we can all act to empower survivors, reduce and prevent violence against women and girls, and protect women's rights.

Rural Canadians

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

Mr. Speaker, rural Canadians are at a breaking point under the Liberal government's carbon tax. They are the Canadians who are lining up at food banks because grocery prices are too high. They are the Canadians who cannot afford to drive to the city because gas prices are too expensive. They are the Canadians who are wearing winter jackets inside because home heating has emptied their savings account.

The Liberal government does not care about these rural Canadians. When speaking about the carbon tax, the government's own member said, “There needs to be a bit of pain there. That's the point of it.”

Rural Canadians are out of money, and the Liberal government is out of touch. Only the Conservatives will fight for rural Canada and cancel the painful carbon tax.

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, November 29 is recognized by the United Nations as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It was on this day in 1947 that the UN adopted the partition resolution calling for the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish state and an Arab state. Of the two states to be created under this resolution, only one has so far come into being. On this day, we express solidarity with the Palestinian people who still wait, decades later, for their right to self-determination.

We call on all governments, including Canada, to stand up and champion the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to have the same human rights that we hold dear to ourselves and for a just and fair two-state solution to be negotiated.

As chair of the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group, I will continue to be a voice for justice and human rights for the people of Palestine.

The Economy

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government says that inflation in Canada is not its fault. Blowing up people's mortgage payments is not its fault. High interest rates are not its fault. If one cannot afford gas, groceries or home heating, it is not its fault either. However, now we know the truth.

The Governor of the Bank of Canada has confirmed “inflation in Canada increasingly reflects what's happening in Canada.” Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney even said, “[Inflation] is quite broad...most of it is now domestically generated inflation.”

The truth is that the cost of government is driving up the cost of living. The more the Liberals spend, the more things cost. Just last week, the Governor of the Bank of Canada admitted as much when he confirmed that, if government spending had been just half of what it was during the pandemic, we would be seeing lower inflation today. He said that inflation is costing each Canadian an extra $3,500 per year.

The Prime Minister is out of touch and Canadians are out of money. Instead of creating more cash, it is time to create more of what cash buys.

Government Priorities

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, how do we encourage someone when they are discouraged? Can hope be restored when everything feels broken? So many Canadians have given so much in the worst of these recent times.

Our nurses and doctors put their lives on the line, sacrificed time with their families, and were championed as heroes by this government until they revealed their personal medical choice.

Farmers across Canada, who are cutting edge and the best in the world, are burdened with Liberal high taxes and tariffs. Veterans who were promised that they and their families would be cared for are now being informed by VAC employees that they can use MAID to end their lives.

Canadian Armed Forces members served for all of our freedoms, until the Liberal election call, when they were forced to retire. Our truckers became a voice of pride for millions of Canadians although they were labelled fringe, racists, misogynists by the Prime Minister.

There is a wonderful proverb that says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Everything feels broken. Do not lose hope. We will fix it.

Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation Community Organizations

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am surely not the only one who has been hearing the music and songs of the holiday season playing in the shops, and who is seeing their calendars fill up with dinners and gatherings with family, friends and constituents. The holiday season is also the time of year when community organizations are busy helping the poorest members of our society. The number of successful fundraising campaigns in Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation is a testament to the enormous generosity of the people in my community.

The 32nd edition of the Lachute charity drive was held on November 19. The event raised over $29,000, which is a new record, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the people of that community in the Argenteuil RCM. I want to congratulate the event's honorary chair, the municipal councillor Hugo Lajoie, as well as the Centre d'entraide de Lachute and all the volunteers.

A few more charity drives are planned for our riding, and I encourage everyone to contribute just as generously.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order.

I would like to remind everyone that Standing Order 31s are in process. I am sure the hon. members want to be heard to let other members know what is going on that is important them.

The hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.

Doug Kimoto

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

Mr. Speaker, Doug Kimoto spent almost 60 years dedicated to commercial salmon trolling and his family's livelihood on the west coast of Vancouver Island. He was a tireless advocate for the salmon trolling industry and for salmon enhancement.

In 1985, Doug's industry was sacrificed in Canada's Pacific Salmon Treaty with the United States, which resulted in a 50% cut in the Chinook catch for which the Government of Canada received $30 million in compensation.

Doug Kimoto passed away last year, without receiving one cent of this compensation. He equated his treatment by the Canadian government in his fishing career with the way his own Japanese-Canadian family was treated in 1942.

To this day, DFO has still not spent more than $10 million of the Pacific salmon treaty settlement, while Doug Kimoto lost half of his income from 2008 to 2019 as a result.

Doug Kimoto was a proud Canadian who fought hard for the commercial salmon trolling industry and the compensation he and his fellow fishers were owed. Their treatment by the Canadian government has been a national disgrace. Doug is gone but not forgotten. His fight will not end until there is justice for the west coast commercial salmon fishers.

Vanier Cup

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec City lives for football. I am talking about Laval University's Rouge et Or team, which went for the win and brought home its 11th Vanier Cup. I have to mention Kevin Mital's standout performance, which earned him the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canada's top university player. I also want to congratulate head coach Glen Constantin on his 10th Vanier Cup victory.

The Vanier Cup is not the only win for schools in the Quebec City area. There were victories at all levels. The Séminaire Saint‑François Blizzard won the Juvenile Division 1 Bol d'Or, and the Limoilou Titans won the College Division 1 Bol d'Or. No doubt about it, the best football is played in Quebec, with all due respect to my colleagues.

This success is due to the incredible teamwork of the coaches, players, support staff and parents. We are so proud of the Rouge et Or, the Blizzard and the Limoilou Titans.

Well done.

The Economy

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot afford their homes. A house is not simply four walls and a roof. A house is the single largest investment most Canadians will ever own. Even more important, a home is a place where people start their families, where they celebrate with family and mark some of the most important events of their lives.

The reality is that if people own a variable mortgage or if they have just renewed their mortgage, their interest rate payments have doubled. We must get these inflationary policies under control.

I call upon the government to stop deficit spending and to get interest rates and inflation under control. However, the Liberals cannot help themselves. They just want to spend and spend. The only way that Canadians will be able to retain their homes is for the Prime Minister to lose his taxpayer-funded house.

Housing

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, housing is a human right. I am proud of our government that is investing in building affordable and social housing in our communities. In fact, these investments in building new homes are taking place now.

Just last week, I was honoured to announce funding for 240 new affordable homes in my community of Ottawa Centre, along with our Minister of Housing. This includes projects led by CCOC and Ottawa Community Housing, two of the most important not-for-profit housing providers in our city.

Another project from the John Howard Society will offer supportive housing for indigenous women experiencing homelessness. This is all in addition to previous investments by our government since 2015 that add up to almost 2,000 new affordable homes, with over 11,000 retrofitted units just in my community of Ottawa Centre.

Housing is a human right.

Our government will continue its work until every Canadian can find a safe and affordable home. We can end chronic homelessness in our country.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we go to question period, I just want to point out that, yesterday, things got a little noisy and heated. When I called out a certain member, by the sounds of it, and I have to admit when I do make a mistake, I called out the wrong member. My apologies go out to the hon. member for Edmonton West for calling him out incorrectly.

I want to ask everyone to not shout out or do what I perceived him to do yesterday and help me not make mistakes again today.

Democratic Institutions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, did our intelligence services, public servants or police inform the Prime Minister of Beijing's interference in our elections, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are very serious about the importance of combatting foreign interference, including Chinese interference.

I can reassure the member and all Canadians that the 2019 and 2021 elections were not interfered with in a way that would have significantly changed the outcome of the election. That is what the independent committee's report said.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, now the Prime Minister has used words to obscure the answer. He says that there was not interference in a significant way that would have changed the outcome. Was there any interference of any kind?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as our intelligence services have highlighted many times in many different fora for Canadians, interference in Canadians' affairs by foreign powers is an ongoing thing. Whether it is cyber interference, whether it is interference with communities in Canada, whether it is attempts to influence the media, these are things that take place on an ongoing basis and things that our intelligence agencies and police agencies work very hard to counter. However, Canadians can be reassured that the integrity of our elections was not compromised.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he still will not answer the question. The question was specifically about whether intelligence, law enforcement or public servants briefed him or in any way informed him of any interference in any of our elections.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, back in 2019, we established a non-partisan independent group of top civil servants and intelligence officials to ensure that the integrity of our elections would not be compromised. They watched and reported in the 2019 election. They watched and reported in the 2021 election. In both cases, they confirmed that the integrity of our elections was not compromised.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was not whether the election was compromised. The question was whether officials in intelligence, law enforcement or the public service at any time informed the Prime Minister of allegations of any interference in our elections, yes or no.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite brought in the element of allegations of interference. I can confirm, based on the news reports that a number of people have been remarking on for the past number of weeks, that I have never gotten any information from any of our security agencies, or police officers, or intelligence officials or public servants of a federal candidate receiving money from China, as the allegations highlighted.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was not whether he heard allegations of money from China going to a candidate. Obviously, money does not travel on a big ship from the other side of the Pacific, go to the shore and then be delivered to a candidate. That is obviously a denial of an absurdity.

The question is whether the Prime Minister ever got information from the public service, the police or intelligence bodies on any interference of any kind by Beijing in our elections.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I got a report back from our panel of experts established in the national security agencies to report back on whether our elections were subject to foreign interference and they confirmed that the elections were held in full integrity and the outcome was not impacted. Canadians can have full confidence in the integrity of our elections in 2019 and 2021.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my fear is that it will be even more confusing in French.

The head of the RCMP says that they did not investigate then, but that they are investigating now. In addition, the security agencies say that they informed the Prime Minister.

I hope there are no members in the House who benefited from illegal financing. There could be as many as 11. No one wants that to be the case.

In order to protect democracy and trust in our institutions, should the Prime Minister not reveal which ridings were targeted?