Debates of June 21st, 2022

COVID-19 Response Measures

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, how we work in Parliament is determined by parliamentarians working together to determine the Standing Orders and how best to represent constituents and to be there for Canadians to debate, talk about and pass important legislation. We have seen the Conservatives consistently use obstructionist tactics to try to slow down gun control measures, to slow down child care and to slow down supports for Canadians in every possible way they can.

We will continue to do our work, to be accountable and to engage with Canadians in every way possible.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we go to the next question, I just want to remind everyone that we want to hear the questions and the answers. I want to make sure that everybody calms down. I know everybody is excited because next week we will be in our ridings and we are looking forward to being with constituents. However, right now we are representing them here in the House and we want them to be proud of us.

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

Passports

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the only one here making it harder for Canadians to travel is the Prime Minister himself. The only thing preventing Canadians from having access to a document as important as the passport is the Prime Minister's incompetence.

The passport situation is a national crisis. According to columnist Mario Dumont, who spent the night at the Guy‑Favreau complex to get a passport for his daughter, people in line are being treated like cattle. That is not true. Cattle farmers never leave their animals without water. There is a big difference.

How can the Prime Minister be so bad at delivering services from his government?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know that this is a difficult, stressful and completely unacceptable situation. Canadians have started travelling again and we are seeing an increase in the number of passport applications.

We have created new centres to increase processing capacity. We have hired 600 new employees and will be hiring 600 more. We created a new online appointment tool and we will continue to work night and day to get more passports out to Canadians. We recognize that this is a problem and we will fix it.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have been getting the same answer for three weeks, yet absolutely nothing has been done. Canada normally processed 90,000 passports a week before COVID‑19. Now it cannot manage to process 48,000 a week. What is the problem?

Everything this Prime Minister touches goes wrong. All he has to say in response to the passport issue are the same talking points he was giving us two or three weeks ago. The Prime Minister has never had to line up for a passport. He does not need to wait when he returns to the country from a vacation.

Why is he okay with making all Canadians wait?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are doing everything we can to ensure that Canadians can get their passport on time.

We have issued more than 360,000 passports since April 1. Fully 100% of passport office counters are open. Employees continue to work overtime every day and on weekends to process applications and we are getting help from staff at Employment and Social Development Canada on the weekends.

We will continue to do everything necessary to resolve this situation for Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, it is chaos. There are people sleeping outside for three nights and paying the price for delays caused by the government. Journalists are even being removed from passport offices under police supervision.

Can the Prime Minister show some courage, get a backbone, as they say, and tell the House that he is responsible for this fiasco?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we understand that there has been a surge of passport renewal applications since travel restrictions were lifted, which is why Passport Canada staff have been working day and night to issue passports to Canadians.

We understand that people are facing unacceptable delays and an extremely difficult situation, but we are continuing our work every day to resolve this situation, and we will resolve it.

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

Mr. Speaker, he was the only one who did not realize that there would be a surge of applications.

When the Prime Minister travels, he has a chartered plane paid for by taxpayers, and someone takes care of his passport. He even has friends who invite him to the tropics, all expenses paid.

When ordinary taxpayers travel, they save up to be able to go on vacation or to try to reunite with their family. They submit their passport application, and the Prime Minister tells them they might not be able to go.

Before leaving on his trip this week, does the Prime Minister want to try sleeping in the rain for two days?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in January, we began hiring hundreds of new employees for passport services, because we saw this coming.

Workers are swamped. There is a huge number of passport applications, and we are increasing the number of employees and resources, and accelerating solutions for passport delivery so that Canadians can travel this summer and see their families. That is exactly what we want to do for Canadians, and that is what we are going to fix.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, over 10,000 days have passed since the people of Neskantaga have had clean drinking water. That is over 10,000 days without something that people count as normal in communities across this country. The people of Neskantaga have not had clean drinking water for over two decades. This is a complete and abject failure of leadership.

The government has to acknowledge that this failure must be remedied. When will the government ensure that the people of Neskantaga and all first peoples of this land have access to clean drinking water?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Leader of the NDP for asking a question on indigenous issues on this National Indigenous Peoples Day.

It is extremely important that we deliver clean water to people right across the country. That is why we made a commitment on ending long-term boil water advisories. When we got into office in 2015, there were 109 in place. We have now lifted over 120, but there are more to do. I can assure members that in every community where there is a long-term boil water advisory, there is also a plan, a project manager and the resources in order to lift that drinking water advisory for good.

We will continue the work to make sure we are creating real opportunities for indigenous peoples across this country.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, yesterday the government announced billions for Arctic defence. Arctic sovereignty is always colonial and patriarchal. The High Arctic relocatees who live in Grise Fiord and Resolute can attest to being sent there without the resources they needed to survive and thrive.

Investments in the north need to help northerners access safe housing, clean drinking water and fresh food. Current investments are not working. How will Nunavummiut benefit from the billions being invested in Arctic defence?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know that protection of sovereignty in our Arctic happens and passes through the people who have lived there for millennia.

That is why, in our investments in northern security, in our investments in NORAD modernization, the Nunavummiut, the Premier of Nunavut P.J. Akeeagok and others, including Natan Obed and the ITK, have been involved in these discussions. We know that as we build infrastructure for safety and protection in the north, we need to be hand-in-hand with the people who live there and create benefits for them as well as we invest in safety in the north.

That is what we will continue to do, hand-in-hand, in the true spirit of partnership and reconciliation.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has continually gotten inflation wrong.

First she said deflation was the concern. Then she said inflation was transitory—wrong and wronger. Now she says she is considering cutting taxes at the pumps. Good. When Alberta did this, it reduced its inflation rate as higher energy prices drive inflation.

Every G7 country is doing something on gas prices. When will she start fighting inflation and give Canadians a break at the pumps, or is she that content to be the wrongest person in the room at the next G7?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me just point out that, when Canada meets our G7 partners, we are the envy of our peer countries.

The IMF, the OECD and Moody's have all pointed out that Canada is expected to have the strongest rate of growth this year and next year in the G7, and we have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and the fastest rate of fiscal consolidation.

When it comes to affordability, our government is taking meaningful steps, starting with the OAS benefit going up this summer.

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

Mr. Speaker, these speNDP-Liberals love warning labels so much, there should have been a mandatory “this product causes inflation and will be harmful to your economy” sticker on the last budget.

This Minister of Finance is fond of saying that her government “can walk and chew gum at the same time”. Okay, then, could she explain to the House how she can inject a post-COVID-19 stimulus of $100 billion into the economy and fight inflation at the same time?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the verdict of some objective experts when it comes to Canada's government policy.

I am going to start with S&P, the ratings agency whose job it is to judge fiscal responsibility. After I tabled the budget in April, S&P confirmed Canada's AAA rating with a stable outlook going forward. Let me also point out that Canada, today, is tied with the U.S. for the fastest rate of fiscal consolidation in the G7, that means bringing down the deficit. That is fiscal responsibility, and it is appropriate.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the current NDP-Liberal budget spending is the most outside of a crisis in three decades. It is driving runaway costs of living and rising inflation. Food is up 9.7% since last year, the biggest jump since the eighties. Gas is a record high, over $2 a litre across Canada. It is almost $3 a litre in big cities like Vancouver and Montreal. It is hard in rural areas too. Since last year, fertilizer is up 44%, feed is up 8% and farm fuel is up 32%.

Why do the Liberals not care that Canadians are really struggling right now just to get by?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely understands the challenges Canadians are facing today with the cost of living, but let me actually remind the member opposite of a statement that one of her colleagues made during the private members' statements just a moment ago. One of her colleagues pointed out that higher food prices today are being driven by Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have to remember who is responsible for the challenges that Canadians are facing today.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals racked up more debt than every other government before it, combined. That puts all Canadians on the hook and they are worried whether they can make it. Scotiabank says the Liberals “are doing nothing of any significance to slow inflation at the moment” and “missed their chance to nip it in the bud”, the inflation they caused. RBC and BMO predict tomorrow’s inflation to be 7.4%, over double from May last year. Liberal spending caused this skyrocketing inflation and is forcing Canadians to choose between heating and eating.

Why do the NDP-Liberals always make things so much worse for working everyday Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me take another opportunity to point out to Canadians listening to us that Canada is tied with the United States in the G7 for the fastest rate of fiscal consolidation and the fastest rate of bringing down our deficit.

Canadians know inflation is a global phenomenon. It is driven by Putin's war in Ukraine. It is driven by China's COVID-zero policies. I will give some numbers to back that up. Our latest inflation number is 6.8% in Canada. That is lower than the U.S., which is at 8.6%; Germany at 7.4%; the U.K. at 9.0%; and the OECD average of 9.2%.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Radio-Canada's Daniel Leblanc reported this morning that the Canada Revenue Agency closed the criminal investigation into a tax evasion scheme by KPMG a year ago. At noon, KPMG confirmed that it had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Members will recall that, in 2017, the Minister of National Revenue stated, and I quote, “We’re going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to catch them. When everything comes out publicly, it will be easier.”

I have a very simple question for the Minister of National Revenue. She has known for a year that this case was closed, so why did she not speak to anyone about it?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased and very surprised to my colleague opposite's enthusiasm for tackling tax evasion.

He knows very well that I cannot comment on specific cases. Furthermore, my colleague should know that the Canada Revenue Agency conducts its investigations independently. I do not intervene in investigations, nor do I conduct them.

We will continue to work hard to address tax evasion in Canada and abroad.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is the same minister who, weeks ago, kept telling us that the net was tightening. The reality is that she is the one getting caught up in the net.

In 2017, she said that she was going to make this public and that the whole truth would come out. The investigation has been over for a year and the minister said that once everything was public, it would all become clearer and they would comment on it. Now, for a whole year, she has said nothing.

Why, once again, is the government refusing to get to the bottom of this? Why, when it is time to talk, do its representatives have nothing to say?