Debates of Dec. 8th, 2022

Carbon Pricing

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians woke up yesterday morning to news that is the stuff of nightmares. The Bank of Canada announced an increase in the interest rate, the seventh increase in a year, thanks to the Liberals and their inflationary spending.

For a family with an average mortgage, that represents $7,000 more in interest per year and then they still need to heat their home. We know that the carbon tax applies to residential heating.

Will the Prime Minister cancel this tax so that Canadians do not freeze in their own homes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are all concerned about the rising cost of living for Canadians, but on this side of the House we are providing help to Canadians. The Conservatives continue to oppose it.

We are there with help for dental care for children, we are there with help for low-income renters, we are there to ensure more affordable child care across the country. We will continue to be there for people, even though the Conservative Party continues to vote against our measures to help people.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty ironic to hear the Liberals say that they understand Canadians' suffering when they have no problem handing out $32 billion in benefits to dead people and prisoners. What they need to understand is that we live in Canada. In winter, the temperature can drop to -45°C, and we are expecting record-breaking cold temperatures. Heating their homes in winter is not a luxury for Canadians.

Will the Prime Minister promise to do the only honourable thing left, which is to cancel the carbon tax so Canadians can stay warm?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to see the Conservatives once again attacking the assistance we are providing to citizens, such as CERB. The member just ridiculed CERB. The reality is that, during the pandemic, the direct assistance we provided to Canadians and small businesses, to Quebeckers and Canadians all across our country, was essential not just to get through the pandemic, but to ensure that our economy bounces back as quickly as possible.

We were there despite the Conservatives' opposition, and we will continue to be there to support Canadians.

Public Services and Procurement

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the contract the government awarded to Sinclair Technologies, which is partly owned by Chinese interests accused of espionage, is extremely troubling. We know that the contract was just cancelled, but the government still gave a Chinese government-owned company access to the RCMP's classified frequencies. The contract was for a filtering system that ensures the confidentiality of the communications of the Prime Minister and foreign heads of state visiting Canada.

No one thought any security checks were in order. Can the Prime Minister explain this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our eyes are always open when it comes to threats from hostile actors. We are very concerned about what happened with these contracts with Sinclair Technologies, and our government is looking at them carefully. We will take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our national security, and we will put measures in place to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about those measures. The federal government has a Crown corporation whose mandate is to monitor communications security. It is called the CSE, the Communications Security Establishment. Nobody in government thought to ask CSE experts to assess the national security risk associated with this contract, which gave a company accused of espionage in the U.S. access to the RCMP's secret frequencies.

Nobody in government thought to ask the CSE to look into this. What is the Prime Minister's explanation for that?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we are concerned about the situation. That is why we asked the minister and officials to review two things. First, what should we do to ensure the integrity and security of our communications at this point? Second, how can we improve our systems to avoid problems like this going forward?

Health

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while sick children are suffering and our children's hospitals are overflowing, the Prime Minister is trying to blend into the background. Worried parents are filling the waiting rooms with their little ones, but this Prime Minister is nowhere to be found. People are looking for him, but no one can find him. This is not the time to play “Where's Waldo”.

At Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal, at the Centre mère-enfant Soleil in Quebec City and everywhere else, the crisis is reaching unprecedented levels. Our public system needs help. There is nothing scarier for a parent than having a sick child. Why is the health of our children not a priority for this Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as a parent, I fully understand the concerns about families whose children require pediatric care. We are committed to ensuring that all families have access to the essential care and medications their children need. We will continue to work hand in hand with the provinces and territories to improve health care and deliver real results for Canadians. People know that our health care systems need improvement. The federal government will be there to ensure that the provinces deliver results for children and families.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is not present. That is the problem.

Ontario hospitals are so overwhelmed with sick kids that they are calling in the Red Cross. Staff at the Alberta Children's Hospital are worried that a child might die waiting for care because it is overrun with patients. Across Canada, the situation is dire and parents are horrified, but the Liberals are missing in action and Conservative premiers are moving to privatize health care.

Canadians expect leadership from their Prime Minister in a time of crisis. When will he call an urgent meeting with the premiers so our children get the care they need and deserve?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will always defend our public health care system. We believe that all a person should need to get health care in Canada is a health card, not a credit card. That is why we are making sure that in our discussions with the provinces, as we pour more money than ever before into health care systems, we are asking for better outcomes and concrete results. We are making sure that Canadians get the health care they need.

We know the system is failing far too many Canadians right across the country. We will be there to ensure there are significant improvements.

Finance

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have taken wasteful spending to the next level, whether it is tens of billions of dollars in wasteful COVID benefits, $54 million on the arrive scam app or $6,000 a night for a luxury hotel room for the Prime Minister. The Liberals have no problem reaching into the pockets of Canadians, taking their money and throwing it on the inflationary fire they lit.

Life has become unaffordable under the mismanagement of the Liberals. Will they stop their wasteful inflationary spending so that Canadians do not have to decide whether to feed their families or heat their homes?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the 13 million Canadians who got individual COVID benefits would agree that this was wasteful spending. We were there for them from the beginning when they needed it, and the Auditor General agreed. She said that we were able to get money into the hands of Canadians quickly, that the money was well spent and helped people stay home safely, and that we avoided significant economic and social consequences.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they absolutely got tens of billions of dollars into the hands of prisoners and the deceased very quickly. That is wasted money. It is money that the Liberals need to account for.

At the same time, we have heard from Ipsos polling this week that the majority of Canadians are scared they will not be able to put enough food on the table or put gas in the car to get to work. Four in 10 Canadians are worried that they are going to lose their jobs in an economy under the Liberals.

They have created a Canada where Canadians are afraid every day. Will they end their wasteful spending so that Canadians can feed their families and heat their homes?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, we have created and are creating a Canada where Canadians are there for each other and where the government is there for them in their times of need.

At the height of the pandemic, nine million Canadians accessed CERB. We will not apologize for being there for Canadians when they needed us. We start from a place of compassion and from a place of trust. That does not mean there are not controls in place, but unlike the Conservatives, we trust Canadians and we are going to be there for them when they need it.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there was $54 million for an arrive scam app, but the Liberals do not know who got rich. There is $4.5 billion to cut chronic homelessness by 50%, yet tent cities continue to increase across this country. The latest is that $4.6 billion went to COVID relief to people who did not even qualify.

The Liberals continue to spend billions and billions of Canadian taxpayers' money, so how do they have the audacity to expect them to pay for their incompetence?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, how ironic is it that the Conservative Party of Canada's strategy to combat an affordability crisis is to do less for Canadians in their time of need? It comes as no surprise to me because at the beginning of the pandemic, their leader started with a press conference where he said these “big, fat government programs” would not receive the support of the Conservative Party.

Those programs kept food on the table for my neighbours and a roof over the heads of their children. Those programs kept open the doors of small businesses in my community, and the owners were able to keep the lights on. Those programs kept workers on payroll, which allowed them to afford the cost of living and, at the same time, maintain the benefits that their employer provided for them.

I regret none of these programs. We would do it again because it was the right thing to do then and it is the right thing to do now.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' inability to listen is inconceivable. We are not saying that this did not help people. They are not accounting for nearly $30 billion that the Auditor General is calling for them to investigate. Who are they listening to when 1.5 billion people used a food bank, children are starving and people are dying by suicide? We are not saying that.

When will they listen, have some humble pie and quit their inflationary spending?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, whether the Conservatives like it or not, the Auditor General really did say in her report that the programs we put in place helped save lives and jobs.

We demonstrated courage. We looked after our economy. I have met many people in the community who have told me that they are glad the Liberals were in power during the pandemic. It would have been disastrous for them had the Conservatives been in power.

We will continue to look after Canadians.

The Economy

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it cost Canadian families a record amount to feed themselves in the last year, and unfortunately it is only going to get worse.

A new report confirms that it will cost over $1,000 more for Canadian families to put groceries on the table this year, driving their food costs to over $16,000 per year. Canadians who used to donate to the food bank are now lining up to use the food bank.

Why do the Liberals not put an end to their inflationary policies and stop driving up the cost of everything, so that Canadians can afford to feed their families again?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is because of the actions of the government and the measures that we have put in place that two million fewer Canadians are living in poverty today.

In just a few days' time, Canadians will be able to apply for a new rental benefit. This is a direct payment that would help Canadians make ends meet, and this is targeted spending in order to help vulnerable Canadians. Experts have all agreed that this is not inflationary spending. This is being there for Canadians.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal program and plan is a total and complete failure. Food inflation is at a 40-year high. One in five Canadians are skipping meals to try to make ends meet; 1.5 million Canadians used the food bank in one month alone, and 500,000 of them were children.

Canadians cannot afford these Liberal inflationary policies. They cannot afford to feed their families. Why do the Liberals not stop with the inflationary spending, stop making everything more expensive, and let Canadians get back to providing for their families?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians cannot afford is bad financial advice from the Conservatives opposite. If Canadians had taken their advice and invested in crypto, they would have seen their savings wiped out.

Instead, on this side of the House, we have been there to support Canadians. The Canada child benefit has lifted over 450,000 children out of poverty since 2015. Two million fewer Canadians are living in poverty thanks to the investments that the government has made in Canadians.

We trust Canadians; we believe in Canadians, and we are going to keep investing in them. I just wish the members opposite would do the same.

Financial Institutions

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, urged banks to join the fight against climate change. He wants them to do one simple thing: Come up with verifiable plans for a swift transition to renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Canada's big banks are among the top 20 fossil fuel backers in the world. A lot of oil money comes from Canadian banks.

Will the government implement measures to encourage banks, our banks, to focus on renewable energy?