Debates of May 17th, 2022

The Economy

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. I have two pieces of good news for him.

We are investing record amounts in the energy transition, more than has ever been spent in the history of Canada, more than every G7 and G20 country. We are investing more in the green transition as part of our economic recovery plan than any other G20 country.

We committed to eliminating the fossil fuel subsidy by 2023, two years sooner than all our G20 partners.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, we are seeing more and more shootings by street gangs. There were three in Laval last week.

The Quebec association of police chiefs does not support Bill C‑5, and for good reasons. In addition, the Montreal police service reports that there has been an incident involving a firearm every two days since the beginning of 2022.

Does this mean that the Prime Minister follows expert advice only when it suits him?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that there are many tragedies caused by firearms. That is precisely why we want to take real action and why we are doing more.

Last year, the CACP seized a record number of firearms, and this is partly due to the federal government's investments at the border. All that the Conservatives did was oppose these investments. It makes no sense.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister is deliberately conflating two different matters. We are talking about Bill C‑5, which would change the law so that the offences of using a firearm during a robbery, discharging a firearm with intent or being in possession of an unlawful firearm will no longer carry a minimum sentence.

Street gangs are making fools of us all. This is sheer hypocrisy. Can the minister talk about Bill C‑5 and stop talking about the other gun problem?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Let us not get this confused. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with lower-risk first-time offenders who need help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They targeted the vulnerable and racialized Canadians.

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it is Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, but the Liberals refuse to do even the bare minimum to support them. The government has abandoned its responsibility to victims of crime, but it remains a champion to its friends, the criminals. The Liberals' Bill C-5 would mean lighter sentences for violent gun crimes and that offenders charged with human trafficking and sexual assault would be able to serve their time from the comfort of their own homes.

Why will the Liberals not provide the same sense of security to victims and survivors of crime?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond to this question again.

I want to be very clear: Those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with lower-risk first-time offenders who needed help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They targeted the most vulnerable and racialized Canadians.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that violent crime and gun crime have gone up significantly. Gangs and criminals are running rampant in our streets. Canadians are seeing it with with their own eyes on the news every day.

What is the Liberals' response to this? On one hand, they are eliminating mandatory prison time for criminals who commit dangerous crimes with guns, and on the hand, they are doubling down on restrictions for licensed, trained and vetted law-abiding Canadians, with a new backdoor registry that will do nothing to deal with the real problem, which is gun smuggling and gang activity in our cities.

When will the Liberals start focusing on the real problem?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am wondering when the Conservatives are going to understand what it takes to keep Canadians safe as it relates to gun violence. That means introducing common-sense measures to make sure that guns do not fall into the hands of the wrong people. That means making sure that we support law enforcement so we can stop illegal trafficking at the border. That means making sure that we invest in our communities so we can prevent gun crime from occurring in the first place. The Conservatives are weak, weak, weak on all of those measures.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's targeting of law-abiding firearms owners is actually making our country less safe. Since becoming Prime Minister, we have seen an increase in gang-related homicides committed with firearms and a decrease in penalties for those convicted of gun crimes. Instead of going after the bad guys, he is going to spend limited taxpayer dollars to rebuild the Liberal long-gun registry that goes after the good guys.

Why does the Prime Minister continue to target law-abiding Canadians instead of criminals?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder why the Conservatives do not support common-sense measures when it comes to making sure that guns do not fall into the hands of the wrong people, including criminals.

Why do the Conservatives continue to—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Order. There are a lot of great questions and a lot of great answers. If members want to be on the list, I am sure they can talk to their whips and get on the question list.

The hon. Minister of Public Safety can start again.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, I am wondering when the Conservatives are going to support common-sense measures that make sure guns do not fall into the hands of the wrong people, including criminals.

I am wondering why the Conservatives think that the way to keep Canadians safer is to make AR-15s legal again. These are firearms that were designed for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to kill people. That is why we banned them. That is why we will buy them back to protect Canadians.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's ideological failure on firearms and public safety continues. Their misguided targeting of law-abiding and legal gun owners is now focused on the implementation of another attempt at a gun registry rather than on criminals who illegally obtain firearms that are smuggled into this country to kill on our streets.

The government has shifted from their self-proclaimed evidence-based decision-making to decision-based evidence-making. When will the minister finally wake up to the fact that his failures are costing Canadians lives?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, I have visited my hon. colleague's riding. I have met with the law-abiding shooters and hunters, and we have great respect for those individuals because we know they value safety.

The measures we have introduced are common sense. They are about making sure that guns do not fall into the hands of the wrong people, including criminals. The measures we have introduced on this side of the House ensure that AR-15s have no place in our communities. The measures we have introduced on this side of the House are to invest in communities and prevent gun crime from occurring in the first place. I wish my hon. colleague would support those measures. It is the right thing to do.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we recently saw a number of Liberal MPs protesting against Quebec's language laws and calling them discriminatory.

However, the real discrimination is at the federal level, and francophones are the victims. Francophones are systematically under-represented in the federal public service, where anglophones hold 81% of the positions. At the very highest levels, everything is done in English. Interestingly, there are no Liberal MPs out in the streets condemning that.

Why?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, respect for official languages is not only an obligation and a priority for our government, but it is also essential for the effective delivery of federal services.

We are committed to providing these services in accordance with our official languages obligations. We will ensure that public service positions are designated bilingual, where appropriate, and that an appropriate level of bilingualism is required. This is essential to creating and maintaining a workplace that encourages the use of both official languages.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government appointed a unilingual anglophone as Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, the only bilingual province in Canada.

A New Brunswick court has ruled that this appointment is unconstitutional, but—surprise, surprise—the federal government has announced that it will be appealing the decision. The Liberals want to spend public money to preserve their right to make unilingual English appointments in Canada's only bilingual province.

Instead of castigating Quebec, will the Liberal government stop its war against French?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

Our government remains firmly committed to protecting and promoting French across the country.

The decision to appeal the ruling of the Court of Queen's Bench does not in any way compromise our commitment to protecting and promoting linguistic duality, which includes our modernization of the Official Languages Act.

Going forward, our government is firmly committed to ensuring that all of New Brunswick's lieutenant governors are bilingual.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals who were protesting Bill 96 on Saturday are not upset today to learn that 81% of jobs in the senior federal public service go to anglophones.

They never criticized the appointment of a unilingual anglophone lieutenant governor in New Brunswick. They said nothing when their government threatened to take to court francophones from British Columbia who were calling for services in French. They never spoke out about their government's 80% refusal rate for French-speaking students from Africa.

Where were these superstars when it came time to stand up for francophones?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I have said this many times. As the Minister of Official Languages, promoting and protecting French is a top priority.

That is why I was so pleased when we reintroduced our bill to modernize the Official Languages Act on March 1. This bill has teeth and will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians.

I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all parties in the House will work with us to ensure that we can pass Bill C-13 as quickly as possible.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, rising gas prices are directly impacting all Canadians.

A recent survey indicated that two-thirds of Canadians will forgo travelling far from home this summer. The impact is also being felt on store shelves. Goods cost more to produce and transport and, of course, consumers are the ones who end up paying the price.

Who is actually profiting? The government. For every litre of gasoline sold, more than 60 cents goes into the government's coffers.

My question is simple. When will the government lower taxes?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us be realistic. There is no evidence that cutting taxes will benefit consumers.

Here are the facts. The government created the Canada child benefit, and the Conservatives voted against it. The government introduced indexing for seniors' health, and the Conservatives voted against it. The government put $6,000 in students' pockets, and the Conservatives voted against that.

They vote against Canadians; we vote for Canadians. Those are the facts.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as gas prices soar across the country, the government's response is tone deaf and even at times condescending. It shrugs off astronomical gas prices, even though federal taxes contribute to inflation. It says the carbon tax rebate outweighs the cost, but we know that is just not true. The majority of Ontario families are worse off, businesses that ship goods are worse off and farmers do not get a rebate. They are worse off by thousands of dollars a month.

As we listen to the government talk about how good high gas prices are, the question is simple: How high does it want them to go?