Debates of May 11th, 2022

Diversity and Inclusion

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government must be doing something right for Quebeckers if the Bloc Québécois has to try to pick a fight over something as innocuous as a prayer in the House of Commons.

We will continue to focus on helping Quebeckers and all Canadians. We will be there, as we were during the pandemic, with $8 out of every $10 of all assistance sent to Quebec coming directly from the federal government. We will continue to be there to help people with what matters to them, while the Bloc continues to pick a fight.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am so desperate to pick a fight that I, too, am on the verge of tears.

In the meantime, I have a very simple question that should give the Prime Minister pause. If state secularism is so unimportant, why is he spending Canada's resources to challenge a legitimate Quebec law that all Quebeckers agree with?

That must mean it is in fact important. Why not just let Quebec do what it will and let members choose their religion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, now we are finally getting to the big debate on secularism that the Bloc would like to import from Quebec to the House of Commons.

The reality is that we will always be there to defend the rights of all Canadians and of different religions because that is what makes our country strong. Our communities, our Parliament and our country will always be resilient because of our diversity.

We will continue to be there to defend fundamental rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for all Canadians.

Foreign Affairs

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that the Liberals will tax anything and anyone, even vulnerable Afghans. The Toronto Sun has reported that 50 Afghans who worked at Canada’s embassy in Kabul were taxed 50% on their pensions and severance money, and the government wanted more. None of that money was earned in Canada. They were Afghan citizens, and they had already paid income tax in Afghanistan.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and return the money that was taken from these vulnerable Afghans?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 20 years now, Canada has been there for Afghanistan, giving support with our Canadian Armed Forces, with our humanitarian aid and through the work Canadians continue to do to resettle Afghan refugees. We will continue to be there to support vulnerable Afghans and to support the families of people who have supported Canada over many years. We will continue to do what is right by them all.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this has failed wonderfully. As the Taliban hunted for heads outdoors, the Prime Minister kept his ministers busy hunting for votes at doors. After nine months, only 31% of the promised Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada. At the Afghan committee, the defence department stated that 3,800 Afghan files were referred to IRCC, but only 900 have arrived. Where are the other 2,900 applications? Did the government lose them in the Liberal-made immigration backlog, or are they not as important as other refugees when it comes to photo ops?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we remain firm in our commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees to Canada, and we are working tirelessly to bring them home to Canada as quickly and safely as possible. In the last month alone, more than 2,400 Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada, with hundreds more arriving every week. We have now welcomed over 12,000 Afghan refugees to Canada. I was very pleased to meet with representatives of the Afghan community last Friday in Hamilton.

We will continue to support families seeking a better life by remaining the open and welcoming country that Canadians expect us to be. It is something we will always stand for. We believe in stronger immigration for all Canadians.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's lawyers are stuck in Afghanistan. There are 28 of them. They worked for the Canadian embassy, and they are being hunted by the Taliban because they worked for Canada. The foreign affairs department passed along their names to the immigration department so they could escape to freedom and to Canada, but the immigration department has yet to process their applications. This has been going on for eight months, which should be plenty of time to fix this problem. When will this problem be fixed?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in December of 2021, we opened a pathway to permanent residence for extended family members of previously resettled Afghan interpreters. We know that many of their families may face danger because of the work of their loved ones. That is why we are sparing no effort in our work to reunite families.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government announced that it planned to grant asylum to more than 40,000 Afghans, but we must also give priority to the Afghan interpreters who risked their lives to help the Canadian soldiers who were deployed there over 10 years. The interpreters have not been able to come, however, because the minister has made ridiculous demands, such as requiring travel documents that cannot be accessed without the help of Taliban terrorists.

We want to know two things. One, exactly how many interpreters worked for Canada, including their family members; and two, how many of them are already in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we remain firm in our commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees in Canada, and we are working tirelessly to bring them home to Canada as quickly and safely as possible.

In the last month alone, more than 2,500 Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada, with hundreds more arriving every week. We have now welcomed over 12,600 Afghan refugees to Canada, and we will continue to do what it takes to bring in even more.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our health care system is on the brink. We are seeing long waits for emergency rooms and long wait-lists for surgical procedures. These wait-lists are out of control. Our health care workers are exhausted, overworked and under-resourced, and while our health care system is struggling, the Prime Minister will not even meet with the premiers to discuss how we protect our public health care system.

We need an injection of long-term, stable funding to defend our public health care system. Why will the Prime Minister not meet with the premiers to discuss how we save our health care system?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, we have invested and worked with provinces and territories to keep Canadians safe from COVID-19, committing over $69 billion in new spending on health care-related measures. We procured enough vaccines for everyone. We have delivered billions of items of PPE. We have sent out rapid tests across the country. We announced a one-time top-up of $2 billion to help clear the surgery and diagnostic backlogs created and made worse by the pandemic, and we will continue to work with provinces and territories to strengthen our health care system for all Canadians, both for today and tomorrow.

Telecommunications

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Rogers and Shaw merger will only result in massive layoffs of workers and increased prices for Canadians when Canadians already pay some of the highest prices for cellular and Internet services in the world. The Competition Bureau opposes this merger because it knows it is going to be bad for Canadians.

Why does the Prime Minister not oppose this merger as well?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians have long faced some of the highest bills for cellphones and wireless in the world. That is why we made a commitment a number of years ago to reduce the cost of cellphone bills in this country by 25%, and we did exactly that.

Canadians continue to save money because we increased competition. We continue to ensure that Canadians are given proper services and reliable Internet and cellphone services, and we will continue to make 10 times the amount of investments in a few years that the Conservatives made over 10 years.

Foreign Affairs

[James Maloney, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, residents in my riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore continue to watch in horror as Russia pursues its war of aggression against Ukraine. The courage shown by the people of Ukraine is inspiring. Canadians expect our government to do everything it can to support their fight for freedom and democracy.

Can the Prime Minister update this House on his recent visit to Kyiv with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, including the raising of our flag above the Canadian embassy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore for his solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

I recently travelled to Kyiv with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to announce the reopening of our embassy. I met with President Zelenskyy to discuss how we can help them defend their democracy and bore witness to the atrocities committed by Russian forces.

I think all Canadians are extremely proud to see the maple leaf flying once again over the streets of Kyiv.

The Economy

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the cost-of-living crisis under the Liberal government is getting more and more dire. Gas prices across the country have skyrocketed, and we know it will only worsen over the coming weeks. In places such as Vancouver, the average price of gas is $2.23 a litre. Canadians simply cannot afford for it to keep rising.

When will the government finally take this crisis seriously and provide Canadians with some much-needed relief?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the global inflation crisis, caused first by the pandemic and second by Vladimir Putin's illegal war in Ukraine, is putting far too much pressure on families, including with the rise in gas prices. Canadians deserve more support. Instead, the Conservative Party has opposed policies that put money directly back into Canadians' pockets. They voted against cutting taxes for the middle class. They voted against cutting child care fees in half this year. They voted against more support for families, seniors and students. Also, by opposing our price on pollution, they opposed giving more money to eight out of 10 Canadian families in the places where we brought in the price on pollution.

Natural Resources

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can learn that we can have both. If we did not have the unconstitutional Bill C-69 limiting our Canadian oil and gas exports, then Canadians would actually be able to afford to fill up their tanks so they could go to work and take their kids to school. When will the Prime Minister take responsibility for his role in this cost-of-living crisis and finally stop making life harder for the average Canadian?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, Stephen Harper tried to create large projects in this country to solve problems by ramming them through by gutting environmental protections, and big surprise, nothing got done because Canadians know that the environment and the economy need to go together. We brought forward Bill C-69, which actually protects the environment and gives clarity to companies.

We have been able to move forward on large projects since. Canadians know the environment and the economy go together. Why do Conservative politicians not know this?

Small Business

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

Mr. Speaker, Bill Seabrook has owned Belmont Engine Repair for 30 years. He serves farmers, seniors and everyday Canadians. The cost of fuel is crippling his company, and like all small businesses, his increased costs will be downloaded to the already struggling customer.

People are having to choose between buying food, gas or rent. I know the Prime Minister has never been in a situation of such hardship, nor does he know the cost of these necessities. How would he advise my constituents? Should they choose to buy gas, rent or food?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government has always had the backs of small businesses by lowering small business taxes to 9%. We have moved forward with budget 2022 and allowing businesses and workers to succeed by reducing costs, by supporting made-in-Canada innovation and by investing in a sustainable future.

We are supporting entrepreneurs and businesses as they start up and scale up across Canada and around the world. Through this pandemic, we had the backs of small businesses with the CEBA and with the wage subsidy, things that the Conservatives regularly railed against. We will continue to support small businesses during this difficult time.

Housing

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the right thing to do is to make home ownership a possibility for aspiring Canadian homeowners.

Right now, in the Quebec City region, property and house prices have gone up 21%. Even with a good job, home ownership is not a given. Young families are completely giving up on their dream of owning a home. Unfortunately, the Liberals are unsympathetic to their plight.

Will this government be remembered as a government of shattered dreams?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, housing prices are a real concern, especially for middle-class Canadians hoping to afford their first homes.

That is why budget 2022 makes investments to double housing construction over the next decade, help Canadians buy their first home, curb unfair practices that drive up the price of housing, and support the construction of affordable housing.

We are taking action and we will continue to take action to help Canadians buy their first homes.