Debates of May 2nd, 2022

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, we cannot trust these Liberals. They tell hopeful millennials who make good wages and are stuck in their parents' basement, time after time, that they will act on housing affordability.

Let us take blind bidding. These Liberals promised that they would ban it. Outside of making it a criminal offence, it is clearly an area that is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. Will the minister admit today that their election promise to ban blind bidding in the last election was false right from the start, or are they planning to start criminalizing real estate agents who take blind bids on behalf of their clients?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion (Housing)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

We on this side of the House are well aware that the dream that Canadians have of owning a home is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. One of the many measures in our budget is about working on a home buyers' bill of rights in collaboration with the provinces and territories, because on this side of the House, we believe that housing is a right, and that is what we want to work on.

I would encourage the member and all his colleagues to vote for the measures in budget 2022. That is leadership.

The Economy

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada now has the third highest inflation rate in the G7 at 6.7%.

What this means for Canadians, in concrete terms, is that if they did not get a 6.7% wage increase in the past year, they became poorer. On top of that, the cost of groceries has gone up 8.7% over the past year, and that is the second highest rate in the G7. It seems as though the minister is wearing rose-coloured glasses while making her budget forecasts. Obviously, it is not working.

When will she change her approach and start acting for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

I am glad the Conservatives are finally admitting that inflation is really a global phenomenon. Canadians understand that very well. The latest inflation rate reported for Canada was 6.7%. In the United States, it is 8.5%. For the OECD, it is 7.7% and for the eurozone, it is 7.3%.

Putin and COVID-19 caused inflation.

Housing

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, housing affordability in Canada is so bad that it is now affecting our military families. It is so bad in CFB Trenton, Canada’s largest air force base, in my riding, that currently 360 families are on a waiting list for housing on the base. Military families that cannot afford homes in the community now do not have anywhere to live, and this is affecting our ability to retain and attract military personnel.

My question for the Minister of Defence is this: How much of the $15 billion in the budget for the military is going to create housing for our Canadian military families?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we are making critical, major investments in personnel, equipment and infrastructure that will support continental defence, will support military families, and will support equipment and resources for the Canadian Armed Forces. We agree that the lives of military families, as well as CAF personnel themselves, are of the utmost importance. That is why budget 2022 committed $8 billion toward increased defence spending, and that is on top of a 70% increase under “Strong, Secure, Engaged”.

The Environment

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a scathing report from the environment commissioner showed that Infrastructure Canada is no longer accurately tracking emissions for the projects it funds. Local communities depend on this data. They are on the front lines of climate change and are committed to meeting climate targets. They need the federal government to provide reliable information, as well as the stable funding they have been requesting.

How can the Liberal government claim to support local communities when it is not even tracking the climate impacts of the infrastructure it funds?

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

Mr. Speaker, we welcome the findings of the commissioner's report. We believe, like him, that Canada should always do better when it comes to fighting climate change.

Specifically on infrastructure, we are doing things that have never been seen before in Canada, such as using infrastructure dollars to invest in nature-based solutions. All across the country, this is one of the best ways not only to fight climate change but to mitigate the impacts of climate change and adapt to those impacts.

Public Safety

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Peguis First Nation is once again facing devastating flooding and unprecedented water levels, with 900 people evacuated and over 600 homes impacted.

In 2009 and 2011, the Manitoba NDP government and the federal government supported Peguis. Today, the situation is worse. This is a climate emergency. Peguis needs support now, including from the military, which has stepped up for first nations during emergencies.

Will the federal government work with Peguis and the province to ensure they get all the help they need, including urgent military support now?

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned that Peguis First Nation is experiencing flooding events again this year.

They have been impacted significantly by previous flooding, and their communities have been working to rebuild their homes and their community. The Canadian Red Cross and Indigenous Services Canada are working with Chief Hudson to evacuate residents as required. We will continue to work with the community to ensure that they have the resources and supports they need, as this is an active event.

Official Languages

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, francophones outside Quebec need strong institutions to help their communities grow and prosper. Francophones in Sudbury and northern Ontario would like to see the University of Sudbury return to its francophone roots as an autonomous French-language university under the principle of governance by and for the francophone community.

Can the Minister of Official Languages tell the House how this government is turning that dream into reality?

[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 her important question.

Our government understands that we need to invest in the institutions that support our official language minority communities, in particular the French-language education system. Last Friday, I had the privilege of joining my colleagues from Nickel Belt and Sudbury in announcing that our government will contribute over $2 million to the University of Sudbury. This money will strengthen the university's capacity and ensure it has the right tools to train the next generation of francophone leaders.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, around the world there is consensus that we are moving into the endemic phase of COVID-19. Unfortunately, federal employees continue to be left behind. In Canada, federal mandates persist and many employees are losing their jobs because of their personal choice. This would include approximately 1,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who we now know cannot find housing, at a time when recruitment and retention are already at an alarmingly low rate.

On which date is the government going to give Canadians a federal plan to lift these mandates?

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

Mr. Speaker, having a vaccinated workforce makes our workforce and our communities safer. We asked employees of the federal public service to attest to their vaccination status and they stepped up: 99% of public servants have attested to being fully vaccinated. We are currently reviewing this policy and will be back to Parliament to share our decision.

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

Mr. Speaker, at the health committee, Dr. Isaac Bogoch stated that this complicated science the Minister of Health keeps referring to with respect to mandates could be summarized in one page. We also heard again that there is going to be a regular review of these mandates. Where is it?

When is the Prime Minister going to be transparent and make us all aware of the scientific benchmarks and government reviews, and release Canadians who have disagreed with him from these vindictive and overly punitive mandates?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his collaboration on the health committee. I would like to acknowledge that he has served for many years not only in the Canadian Armed Forces, but also as a family doctor. He knows that today we know more about COVID‑19 than ever before and are in a very different place than we were two years ago. We have safe and effective vaccines and a highly vaccinated population. We also have new treatments that can help patients from getting seriously ill.

Our government will keep making decisions, as we have been over the past couple of weeks. It would be nice if the Conservatives would acknowledge that things have been changing over these last couple of weeks. We will continue to adjust our advice and public health measures based on the evolution of this virus.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are in a different place, but there are nearly four million Canadians whose charter rights are still being violated. They cannot leave or enter the country and cannot even travel domestically, even though all of the provinces have lifted their vaccine mandates. They are being prevented from visiting relatives, who in some cases are dying.

Will the transport minister admit that vaccinated and unvaccinated people can both get and transmit COVID and that there is no longer any justification for violating the charter rights of Canadians?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the last two years have been very difficult on Canadians. We have had lockdowns. We have had public health measures. People lost their jobs because of the uncertainty of the pandemic. Governments around the world, provincial governments and municipal governments were all grappling with doing the right things to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Many decisions included vaccination mandates and other public health measures. We are seeing that our government and other governments are slowly adjusting these measures. We will continue to consult our experts as we review those decisions.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are two years in and the testing of incoming international travellers is creating significant bottlenecks at Canadian airports. Many Canadians still cannot travel. The public servants who could be working from home to clear the current government's backlog on just about every single service it offers have been cast aside.

The ideological crusade of the government is having an impact on our reputation. When will it admit that it got it wrong and lift the ineffective and now obviously vindictive federal mandates?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservative Party does not agree with our government's decisions when it comes to public health measures. However, talking down vaccines and public health measures is not a wise thing to do to bring Canadians along. We can debate the need for those measures, but calling them vindictive is unwise. I call on my hon. colleague to realize that we are doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of Canadians. If the Conservatives disagree with us, they can argue that with the health experts.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is the same thing every spring.

Just as predictable as the return of warm weather is the return of federal delays in processing temporary foreign workers. Once again, the same farmers must pay for the same market studies. Once again, the arrival of workers is delayed and farmers are afraid they will miss their chance to harvest their crops.

As Albert Einstein said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. When will Ottawa finally put an end to this tradition of failure and transfer the program to Quebec?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we know that immigration is vital to fighting the labour shortage. IRCC is prioritizing work permit processing for in-demand occupations in industries such as health, agriculture, food and seafood production.

In the first quarter of 2022, we processed more than 100,000 applications for work permits. That is nearly double the number of work permits processed in the same period last year.

We will continue to ensure that Canadian employers have access to the workers they need to ensure the economic recovery of Canada and Quebec.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has proposed plenty of possible solutions.

At the very least, the federal government could eliminate the requirement for the same market impact assessments every year when everyone knows there is a labour shortage. It could speed up foreign workers' arrival in Canada by collecting their biometrics here. It could deal with their work permits once they arrive in the country.

There are plenty of things that the government could do, but it refuses to do better. Since it is refusing to take care of temporary foreign workers, why not let Quebec take on that responsibility?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the temporary foreign worker program is vital to the Canadian economy.

Employers should be able to get decisions regarding workers' contracts. That is why we are taking additional measures to address the labour shortage.

We are moving the cap on low-wage positions for employers in seasonal industries. We are extending LMIA validity from nine to 18 months, and we are expanding flexibility for LMIA applications in low-wage occupations. We are also increasing the maximum employment duration for high-wage and global talent streams from two to three years. We will continue collaborating with employers to ensure—

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

The hon. member for Beauce.