Debates of Feb. 3rd, 2022

COVID-19 Protests

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.

The Ottawa Police Service and the Parliamentary Protective Service are the ones responsible for the areas affected by the protests. If the municipality requests assistance, the RCMP will be ready to respond, as they did at the beginning of this protest. The RCMP will continue to support law enforcement in managing the disruption so that all residents and people working downtown feel safe.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Ottawa police are expecting more protesters on the weekend. We know that the trucks are equipped to stay for weeks, even months. We know that the organizers are receiving money from international sources. This is a planned occupation and the federal government is leaving Ottawa and its residents to fend for themselves. That is what is happening, and it is even encouraging people to do the same in Quebec City.

Rather than allow the situation to escalate, when will the Minister of Public Safety take the lead in managing the crisis?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the RCMP has been there since the beginning of the protest to provide resources and money. There are several agreements between the RCMP and the Ottawa police.

These are independent decisions because they are operations. We have to respect the fact that the government, here in the House, does not make the decisions. These are independent decisions. I know that my colleague understands that.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the crisis is not going to resolve itself.

The Minister of Public Safety needs to set up an official crisis task force with all police forces, the Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa. He needs to provide a daily update on the situation, the way a real leader would do in a crisis. He needs to make sure the public sees that there is a real pilot at the controls. The situation is getting worse every day. He must not wait until things get violent before stepping in.

Will the minister set up and lead a crisis task force?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I respect my colleague's point of view, and even the concerns of Ottawa residents, many of whom are suffering from numerous disruptions because of the protest.

The protesters' message has been delivered. Everyone understood, but now it is time to clear out, respect the process and respect the freedoms of the people who live in Ottawa.

The Economy

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the increase in the cost of living has hit a 30-year high with 4.8% inflation, a 27% increase in the cost of housing in a single year and a 33% increase in the price of gas. I am not even talking about the cost of groceries, which is skyrocketing. More than one in two families is afraid of not being able to feed their children, and food banks are overwhelmed by the demand.

When will the Prime Minister present a concrete action plan to combat the rising cost of living in Canada?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to denigrate the Canadian economy with a false narrative.

I will therefore take this opportunity to announce some good news. This week, Statistics Canada released new data showing that our GDP increased by 0.6% last November. That is the sixth consecutive month of growth and it means that, before omicron, our economy had completely recovered from the pandemic.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when I listen to the minister, I really feel like she is completely out of touch with the reality of Canadians. I invite her to visit my riding and come with me to see the families who are now knocking at the doors of food banks because they cannot make ends meet. The cost of living is skyrocketing in every area, including the basics of food, shelter and clothing.

People do not want to be given numbers or hear about what is happening in other parts of the world. They want to hear about what the government can do to lower the cost of living for all Canadians. Period.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, there may be a reason why the numbers, the data and the international comparisons do not please the Conservatives. That is because there is a stark contrast with what happened during the recession in 2008. It took roughly four more months for real GDP to recover after the 2008 recession, whereas we have already recovered all the jobs that were lost.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is talking and putting everyone to sleep, but that does not change the fact that Canadians' wallets are getting thinner every day as the Liberals spend taxpayers' money.

I have a very simple question for the Minister of Finance. Can she tell me whether she agrees with her Prime Minister, who thinks that budgets balance themselves, or does she believe that the government needs to take concrete measures to manage the money that taxpayers have given them? Will something be done to lower the cost of living and control—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. The hon. Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to talk about the concrete measures we have taken, such as the Canada child benefit and the child care plan.

Today, we joined the Province of Manitoba to announce that we are lowering fees for more than 12,000 more children. That is 12,000 families who will pay less for child care. That is a concrete measure. We are very serious about addressing the issue of cost of living for families across Canada, and we are keeping our promises to them.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, over the last five years, more than 25,000 Canadians have died of toxic drug overdoses and the pandemic has only made things worse. In my home province of B.C., drug toxicity is the leading cause of death for those aged 19 to 39. That is why I proposed the bill to decriminalize personal possession and increase access to harm reduction and treatment. It is essential to deal with this crisis and save lives now.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister recognized that this is a health issue. Today it is still a criminal issue. Will he do the right thing and support my bill for a health-based approach to substance use?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, like the member opposite, our government recognizes that problematic substance use is a health issue. We are working very hard to divert people who use drugs away from the criminal justice system. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada issued guidance stating that alternatives to prosecution should be considered for simple possession offences.

Our comprehensive approach builds on the action of $700 million in investments to community-led harm reduction, treatment and prevention projects. We will continue to work with this member and do everything we can to save lives and end this national public health crisis.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, the COVID pandemic has exposed the dangerous results of underfunding Canada's health care system. Overburdened ICU wards, burnt-out staff, cancelled surgeries, excessive wait times for diagnostic tests and millions of Canadians without a family doctor, mental health care or prescription medicines are impossible to deny, but this is not surprising. The federal share of health care spending has plummeted from 50% to just 22% today.

Will the government provide national leadership at the upcoming premiers meeting and increase the Canada health transfer to ensure the long-term funding needed to protect Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I was proud to hear my colleague and want to congratulate him for speaking about the serious challenges we have around health human resources. I had a meeting just about two hours ago, one more with my colleagues of health ministers across Canada. We all agreed that we have to work together, not only to repair the damages created by COVID-19 but to build a stronger health care system to look after the long-term health care needs of Canadians.

The Economy

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I was speaking to Melissa, a young professional who lives in my riding, last night. She shared with me that she supports our generational investments in affordable housing, in fighting climate change and in child care, but she is worried about the impact of this spending on our long-term economic future.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance explain to the House and Canadians the ways in which this generational investment in fighting climate change, in affordable housing and in child care actually helps to support our long-term growth and our future economic prosperity?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his advocacy on behalf of his constituency.

Our government has invested over $70 billion in our national housing strategy, over $100 billion towards climate action and clean growth, and $30 billion in early learning and child care, including a deal with B.C. that will get us to $10-a-day daycare in five years. These investments not only make life more affordable; they drive economic growth. Thanks to our AAA credit rating and our declining debt-to-GDP ratio, our financial situation is sound.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, inflation is at a 30-year high, pay cheques are getting smaller due to increased CPP rates and household debt is at a record high. I asked the Prime Minister what would happen if interest rates go up and people cannot afford their payments anymore.

Does he have a plan or does he just have more empty words disconnected from Canadians' realities?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yet again, I would like to point to the fact that Conservatives are pushing a false economic narrative. The reality is that Canadians are resilient. Thanks to the ingenuity and the strength of Canadians, our economy has staged a remarkable recovery from the COVID recession. We lost three million jobs at the depth of the crisis. We have now recovered 108% of those jobs. The economy shrank by 17%. We are now back to pre-COVID levels. I congratulate Canadians.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the slower the finance minister responds to questions of real concern does not make the matters any less urgent. To the federal government, our payments on debt servicing alone are growing faster than our health care transfers. If interest rates go up when affordability has never been worse, what would happen?

The Prime Minister and finance minister believe that budgets balance themselves, but payments will not pay themselves. What is their plan to help Canadians cope with rising gas prices, inflation and everything else?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite referred to federal public debt charges, so let me offer him some reassurance. First of all, this fall, Moody's and S&P reaffirmed our AAA credit rating. Second, as I detailed in the economic and fiscal update, nearly half of our bond issuance will be long-term bonds. That is up from 15% of bonds issued in 2019-20 that had a maturity of 10 years or longer. Our public debt charges as a percentage of GDP are 0.9% this fiscal year. That is the lowest in 100 years.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister had no answer for the feed shortage crisis in western Canada and that is unacceptable. This is an animal health crisis that needs to be addressed immediately. Trucking mandates have cut off the vital feed supply from the United States and now an interprovincial trucking mandate could put our last lifeline, Hay West, in jeopardy.

Is the Liberal government really going to make matters worse and implement an interprovincial trucking mandate? If that is the case, what does the minister suggest that desperate livestock producers feed the animals in their care?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, my heart goes out to the farmers and ranchers who are affected by the historic drought of last summer. We are working hard with the provinces and the industry to provide them the support they need and I am in constant contact with the president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and the president of the Canadian Pork Council on this issue. We are providing $500 million through the AgriRecovery program and $4 million to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture for the Hay West initiative.

Housing

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, this is a false narrative.

Barrie house prices in December have averaged $855,000, which is a year-over-year increase of 30%, putting more and more young people out of the housing market. The price of gas this morning at Costco in Barrie was $1.488. A year ago, it was $1.068. This is not a false narrative. Families and seniors are anxious about the growing cost of groceries, heating and life. Their budgets are being stretched.

Affordability anxiety is real and Canadians feel it getting worse. The Liberals have created this problem. Why are they not solving it? Is it because their rich friends are getting rich by—