Debates of April 6th, 2022

Finance

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that was a really long “no”.

The NDP-Liberals, just like the Prime Minister just did, always talk about big spending and top-down government programs, but the results are record prices for fertilizer, for fuel and food, for heating and for housing. Rural Canadians pay a rural tax of over $1,500 just to travel for medical care. None of those are luxuries. Farmers cannot change the distance to their fields or to the store. Rural jobs are not in office towers that are walking distance from home.

Why do the NDP-Liberals always either ignore or hurt rural Canadians with their tax, spend and fail agenda?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past number of years we have continued to be there for rural Canadians, whether it is through investments in agriculture, whether it is support for small communities; whether it is reaching out to resource communities to prepare for the future. We will continue to stand by Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We will not simply fall back on slogans and easy solutions like the Conservatives do. We will work hand in hand with rural Canadians and indeed people from coast to coast to coast to build the kind of future we know everyone deserves to offer their kids and their grandkids.

Housing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, housing in the GTA is scarce and expensive, and it is getting worse. Home prices have doubled under this government, and Canada still has the fewest homes per capita of any G7 country. The government will muse about their so-called plans to fund affordable housing just to have their new NDP dance partners at every level of government oppose actual development of this housing.

When will the Prime Minister tell Canadians why he thinks only those with a trust fund deserve the dream of home ownership?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over 10 years the previous Conservative government withdrew the federal government's engagement in housing, and therefore we had to pick up an awful lot of slack since 2015. With the national housing strategy in 2017—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Order. Let us hear the answers, please.

The hon. Prime Minister can start again.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Conservatives choosing to underinvest in housing, for the past seven years we have been making up the slack by investing in communities, by investing in a national housing strategy worth around $72 billion now and by continuing to move forward to support people in the GTA and across the country to be able to afford their homes, afford their rents and move forward in a responsible way.

That is what we have been focused on. That is what we will continue to do.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, more spending does not equal results. It equals more inflation, and Canadians cannot afford a home. Canada's fiscal house is on fire, and the NDP is pushing the Liberals to throw $1.68 gasoline on it. Canadians know one thing about the upcoming budget: It is going to be expensive.

Will the Prime Minister have the courage to tell Canadians that he could not get the trust of the majority of voters, so he decided to spend taxpayers' money and buy his majority here?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about results. Our investments in housing across this country have helped over two million families get the housing they need, have supported the creation and repair of over 440,000 homes and have invested to increase rental units by over 71,000, but we know there is more to do, which is why we will not be listening to Conservative politicians when they tell us to cut supports to Canadians. Instead we are going to continue to invest responsibly in families to help them build a better future for themselves and future generations.

Health

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois and the Prime Minister may disagree on health transfers, but we need to listen to what health care workers are telling us.

On Monday, all health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, physios and support staff, called for a sustainable, unconditional increase in health transfers. They all denounced the federal government's underfunding and said that the government's one-time, conditional payments do not work. More than anything, they want to be heard.

Will the Prime Minister host a public summit on health care funding for health care personnel?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have worked with the provinces and territories throughout the pandemic to protect Canadians against COVID‑19.

We have invested more than $63 billion extra in the health care system because of the pandemic, because we knew that we had to be there for Canadians and we knew it was important to support health care personnel.

We will continue to be there to invest, to work with the provinces and territories, and, most importantly, to deliver on what Canadians expect from our health care systems across the country.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot dismiss out of hand the expertise of those responsible for health care. They are the backbone of the health care system.

Today, these men and women are calling for a substantial, recurrent, no-strings-attached increase in federal funding. They want to plan the future of health care. They want predictability.

Why will the Prime Minister not immediately commit to participating in a summit with them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for two years, we have celebrated our health care heroes who have done an outstanding job of supporting Canadians during the pandemic.

We also listened to them. We heard that more investments are required and, more importantly, that our health care workers need better results and more support.

That is why we are going to be there. We promised to be there to increase health transfers, but we are going to do it in partnership with the provinces and territories to ensure that we get those results for workers and Canadians.

Foreign Affairs

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, has the blood of Ukrainians on his hands as his soldiers have raped, tortured and slaughtered innocent civilians. These atrocities are war crimes and crimes against humanity. Putin must be stopped and Canada must do more to help. It is reported that President Zelenskyy directly asked Canada for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, but the Prime Minister said no.

Will the Prime Minister commit to sending Harpoon missiles to Ukraine today, not weeks from now but today, and help save Odessa?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the news of the senseless murders and systemic sexual violence toward innocent civilians in Bucha and elsewhere across Ukraine is egregious and appalling. We have seen throughout this conflict the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure by Russia across Ukraine.

We do believe that these crimes are war crimes and crimes against humanity. We are pursuing multiple international legal avenues in support of Ukraine, including at the International Criminal Court, and yes, we will continue to offer military aid to the Ukrainian forces.

Health

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister has not met his commitment to Canadians for 7,500 doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners. Oddly enough, at the health committee, we heard from the College of Family Physicians of Canada that we need at least 3,000 to 4,000 family doctors alone. Also, the Canadian Nurses Association states we are short about 60,000 nurses.

In this budget, will the spend-DP-Liberal Prime Minister admit he is failing Canadians from Springhill to Tidnish, to Stewiacke, all of Nova Scotia and all Canadians, and commit to sustainable and predictable health care funding?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again we see the Conservatives are asking us to invest more in supporting Canadians while at the same decrying that we are investing anything to support Canadians.

Over the past two years, we invested an extra $63 billion in health care supports for Canadians, and we have committed to working in partnership with provinces and territories to deliver both more investments and more results for Canadians when it comes to health care. We look forward to working with provinces and territories as partners as we deliver the support for Canadians that they very much need and deserve.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed on trade compensation for dairy, wine, spirits and beer producers and P.E.I. potato farmers. They continue to fail Canadian agriculture with a punishing carbon tax. Let us review. The Liberals said the carbon tax would reduce emissions. That is false as emissions have gone up. The Liberals said that the carbon tax would be revenue-neutral. It is shocking, but that is false. We know that farmers will get pennies on the dollar for what they pay in a carbon tax. In a time of a global food crisis, we should unleashing Canadian agriculture, not sabotaging it.

In tomorrow's budget, will the Liberals admit this is a failure on the carbon tax? Will they do the right thing and will they exempt Canadian agriculture from the farm-killing carbon tax, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about the facts. The price on pollution means more money in Canadians' pockets and less pollution in our air. Even the member for New Brunswick Southwest acknowledged that our plan helps lower-income households the most, and we know that eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back than what they spend.

I spent significant time speaking with our agricultural workers and farmers and they have said that they know the world is changing. They need support to fight climate change and the price on pollution is part of moving forward hand in hand with farmers to build a better future for their kids, for their grandkids and all of Canada.

News Media Industry

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are living in an information age. With the Internet, news from around the world is available at the blink of an eye.

That being said, we must admit that there is an imbalance of power. For years now, hundreds of local news outlets have had to close their doors for lack of revenue, while the web giants literally have a monopoly on advertising revenue.

What is our government doing to provide a counterbalance?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Saint‑Léonard—Saint‑Michel for her question and her hard work.

The bill we have introduced will strengthen independent journalism across Canada. Web giants will compensate journalists when they use their content, while ensuring a transparent approach that protects the freedom of the press. This is essential for journalism, it is essential for all communities that rely on their local media, and most importantly, it is essential for our democracy.

Climate Change

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, “Trying to get trendy and virtue signal and involve yourself in political demagoguery doesn't achieve anything”. Who said that? It was former Liberal MP Dan McTeague at the environment committee yesterday, talking about attacks on the oil and gas sector. That statement applies nicely to the Prime Minister's emissions reduction plan. Energy costs are up. Greenhouse gas emissions are up. Canadian pocketbooks are empty. Virtue signalling does not work.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that all he has given Canadians is economic pain with no environmental gain?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, we see the Conservatives take no seriousness in regard to the climate change challenges. We have again and again seen from these Conservatives that they want to make pollution free again. They want to continue to ignore the impacts today of climate change and ignore impacts on future generations, whereas we know that investing in reducing emissions and investing in transforming our economy to be more innovative and clean is the best way to ensure a strong future for all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister and I have a different definition of what investing is. This is what the Liberals' investments have done. They spent $60 billion since 2016 to reduce carbon emissions and, guess what. They have gone up. Now he is talking about a $100-billion investment. If it went up 27 megatonnes with a $60-billion spend, how much will emissions go up with this alleged $100-billion spend?

Why does the Prime Minister not just admit that it is not working, it is not fixing the environment and it is costing Canadians billions?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservative politicians prove that math and science are simply not their strong suits. We will continue to follow the science. We will continue to prepare Canadians, communities and workers for the transformation of our economy, for the reduction—