Debates of Feb. 8th, 2022

Health

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I want to remind hon. members that some of you do not realize how strong your voices are. Even if they are muffled with face masks, they really echo through. I ask members to respect each other and not shout at each other.

[An hon. member]

Sorry, Mr. Speaker.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Apology accepted.

The hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

COVID-19 Protests

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on the Liberal government's watch, online platforms were used to fund the ongoing occupation in Ottawa. Millions of dollars have been raised for convoy organizers whose stated purpose is to overthrow the government. Canadians are rightly concerned that these platforms have become tools used to help foreign actors undermining our democracy. In response to the lack of federal leadership, I brought a motion to the public safety committee to examine how this could be allowed to happen.

Will the government ensure that foreign funds and anonymous donations are never again used to help those attacking our democracy?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my hon. colleague for the impending work he will do in conjunction with the committee on standing public safety matters.

This is a very important matter. Certainly over the course of the last number of days, we have seen GoFundMe take appropriate actions in asking the right questions about where certain funds were coming from and what they would be used for. Certainly to that extent, the committee will be looking at this issue very closely.

We all need to be seized with the landscape as it exists around foreign interference, and any funds that may be used to undermine public safety.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about being seized with urgency, but it is 12 days that health care workers, small business owners, Ottawa residents and others have been harassed by some members of the convoy. Far-right extremists in the U.S. and elsewhere are trying to bring their radical views to Canada. They are funding extremists. They are empowering racism and anti-Semitism, and they are threatening to overthrow our government.

Why has it taken so long to respond to this ongoing crisis and the foreign-funded interference that is threatening our citizens, our country and our democracy?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that we have very strong laws to prevent the kind of illegal conduct she has referred to. Any funds that would go toward undermining public safety, national security or indeed our democracy will be taken with the utmost seriousness by our law enforcement as well as our intelligence community.

I look forward to the work that the committee will do. We will receive the report in this chamber, and we will continue to unite around the need to ensure our laws are upheld. Yes, we will have vigorous debates, but always in accordance with the rule of law.

Telecommunications

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

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized to my constituents in Kitchener—Conestoga and to all Canadians how crucial it is to have access to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet. Investments in broadband connectivity create jobs and improve access to online learning and health care services.

Can the Minister of Rural Economic Development provide an update to this House on the government's progress in delivering high-speed Internet across this country?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, families and businesses without access to affordable and high-speed Internet were faced with additional challenges accessing online learning, putting their businesses online and connecting with loved ones.

In the last few weeks alone, we have announced over $8 million in funding to projects to connect an additional 4,000 households throughout rural Canada. We have a plan to connect every Canadian to high-speed Internet all across the country, and we are delivering on that plan.

The Economy

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the rising cost of living continues to affect the everyday lives of my constituents in Beauce.

With inflation at a record high, Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. The lack of leadership from this government is unbelievable. The price of gas in Beauce has hit $1.60 per litre. Grocery bills are going up by 5% to 7%, which adds up to $1,000 for a family of four.

The people of Beauce want answers. Why is the government not looking for ways to help Canadians through the final stages of this pandemic?

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

Mr. Speaker, we do not need any lectures from the Conservatives about helping the most vulnerable Canadians cope with the cost of living.

We created the Canada child benefit, which is indexed to inflation and has brought 300,000 children out of poverty.

Our government increased the guaranteed income supplement, which is also indexed to inflation and which has helped more than 900,000 seniors.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing this government knows how to do is stick to its talking points. Sure, seniors get the guaranteed income supplement, but, let us be honest, indexing falls far short of the inflation rate we are seeing.

What should I say to constituents of mine who do not get the guaranteed income supplement or to seniors in my riding who can barely pay the rent?

Instead of upping income tax to cover its excessive spending, when will the government wake up and get serious about helping Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are at it again with their false economic narrative.

The fact is, Canada is resilient, and our economy is strongly recovering from the COVID‑19 recession. Our GDP grew 5.4% in the third quarter, outperforming the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Australia.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, polls say that fewer than one in five Canadians expect their financial situation to improve this year. Almost 60% of Canadians are having a tough time putting food on their tables, and the average family grocery bill will go up $1,000 this year. Constituents are emailing me copies of the highest home heating bills they have ever received, and payroll taxes will take about $700 off the average family's paycheques this year. People are being squeezed.

Why is the government not addressing the unmanageable squeeze that is being put on hard-working families, making it difficult every day to just pay for basic necessities?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable Canadians. It was our government that introduced the CCB, which is indexed for inflation and which has already lifted almost 300,000 children out of poverty. It is our government that increased the GIS. That is also indexed to inflation, and it has helped over 900,000 seniors.

When we formed government in 2015, more than five million Canadians lived in poverty. By 2019, that number had dropped to 3.7 million.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of King—Vaughan, constituents are concerned with keeping their homes. Years ago, I worked in banking and met many people returning the keys to their houses because they simply could not afford to make the payments with the skyrocketing interest.

What has the government done to ensure we do not go back to the 1980s and 1990s, a time when we saw many Canadians lose their homes?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Since 2015, our government has invested nearly $30 billion for affordable housing, brought in Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, and we have a plan worth over $70 billion, which has already helped over one million Canadians find the homes that they need.

We have more work to do, and we will work with provinces and territories, and municipalities as well, to make sure we are building more housing supply to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.

Seniors

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for the past eight months, the government has been making cuts to the guaranteed income supplement for seniors who received CERB. We are talking about seniors who have to work part time to pay for the basics, such as their rent or medication.

This morning, after eight months, the government introduced a bill to right this wrong. Do my colleagues know when this bill will come into force? It will be in June.

If the situation of seniors is serious enough to give rise to a bill, why is the government continuing to make cuts until June?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we know just how difficult this pandemic has been on seniors, and on this side of the House, we have been there to support them. As announced in the fiscal update, we will be delivering a one-time payment to fully compensate those affected in 2020, and today we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating GIS going forward.

I hope that we can count on all parties' support to quickly pass this bill to prevent any future reduction in GIS for low-income vulnerable seniors who took pandemic benefits. I hope we can all get behind this.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by the time this government stops making cuts to the guaranteed income supplement for seniors, the government will have been depriving them of the basic essentials for 11 months.

During those 11 months, inflation had time to reach the highest levels in 30 years. For 11 months, seniors had to leave more and more food on the shelves at the grocery store because it is too expensive. Their rent has probably gone up. For 11 months, all of their expenses went up while the government cut their benefits.

Is this how seniors deserve to be treated?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, our government's priority has been there to support those most vulnerable, especially those seniors, and that is why we worked so hard to strengthen income security for seniors, including the increases to the GIS, which has helped over 900,000 low-income seniors. That is also why we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating GIS going forward. We are also making major investments through a one-time payment for seniors affected.

On this side of the House, we will always be there for seniors.

Justice

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, for 130 days the government has refused to fill the position of the federal ombudsman for victims of crime. To be clear, the ombudsman's job is to make sure the federal government meets its responsibilities to victims. The government is still pushing ahead with legislation that would make life easier for violent criminals by eliminating mandatory jail time, all while this critical role for victims is being silenced.

Could the minister tell the House why this important position remains empty?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, indeed we share that concern for helping, protecting and working with victims of crime to ensure that the criminal justice system works not only more efficiently, but also more empathetically and passionately with respect—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The member for Salaberry—Suroît is rising on a point of order.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the interpreter is unable to do their job properly because the sound quality is poor.