Debates of June 23rd, 2022

The Economy

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order.

I want to remind hon. members to use language judiciously, as though they were in a classroom talking to students. I am sure nobody would want to hear language like that in a classroom. There are children watching this program, so let us try to keep it clean.

Order.

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely understands that fiscal restraint is an important part of our fight against inflation.

That is what we put forward in the budget in April, as recognized by S&P with our AAA credit rating. In fact, Canada is tied with the U.S. for the fastest rate of fiscal consolidation of debt and deficit reduction in the G7.

I know that the member opposite ran in the election last year and I would like to remind him that on the campaign trail, they actually proposed more spending and a bigger deficit than we did.

Infrastructure

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is stealing $350 million that it had promised to the municipalities for their green infrastructure and public transit in an agreement signed with Quebec. The federal government went back on its word and pocketed the cash.

The Bloc Québécois has already denounced the situation, and now the Union des municipalités du Québec and the mayor of Montreal are calling for the agreement to be respected. When the money promised in a signed agreement is not paid, that is theft. Will the government finally hand over the $350 million we are entitled to?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's question.

Of course, we remain in contact with the Government of Quebec on a number of priorities, including the federal fund that the hon. member referred to. We will confirm and finalize the details of that federal agreement so as to build on all the success and achievements of our collaboration with the Government of Quebec.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago in committee, the minister said that Quebec would not get one cent of that $350 million. Today, other people are saying that they want that money.

Not only did Ottawa steal $350 million by reneging on the deal, it also unilaterally moved up the deadline for submitting infrastructure projects.

Consequently, Quebec has just nine months left to hurry up and submit all potential projects in order not to lose the $4 billion to which it is entitled. If it does not, Ottawa will do the same thing: pocket the rest of the money and abandon municipal infrastructure and public transit projects to fight climate change.

My question is the following: Will the government give us the money to which municipalities and Quebec are entitled?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Madam Speaker, let us talk about the agreement. The agreement that Quebec signed actually agreed to put forward the projects that it wanted to see us support and make a priority. We would love to see the infrastructure dollars identified for Quebec get out the door.

Is the member opposite actually suggesting that there are no infrastructure needs in all of Quebec over the next three years? I would suggest that there are significant needs that Quebec could put forward that Quebeckers would love to see us contribute to. We hope that the Quebec government will honour its agreement and put forward those priorities so that we can get these funds out the door and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Banff—Airdrie.

The Economy

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the apple does not fall far from the tree. The last time inflation was this high, the Prime Minister’s father was in office.

A recent Ipsos poll reveals that 72% of Canadian families with kids are worried about putting food on the table, and Food Banks Canada is already reporting that 23% of Canadians are eating less than they should be due to rising food costs. There are many great family traditions, but making Canadians poorer should not be one of them.

When will the government learn from the past and fix inflation before it gets worse?

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

Mr. Speaker, we absolutely recognize that affordability is a real challenge for many Canadian families. That is why we are so glad that in this year's budget and in last year's budget, we put in place affordability measures that are coming on tap now, that are supporting Canadian families today in meaningful ways.

Let me talk about the Canada workers benefit. This is for our most vulnerable working poor, with $2,400 arriving, starting in April.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, as my father always said, “Trudeau times were tough times back in the eighties.” We have the highest inflation rate since 1983, at 7.7%. We have heard the tired old talking points and we know the finance minister's only solution is to increase spending and raise taxes. That is simply not working. Now, more than 72% of Canadians are finding it hard to make their paycheque last until the end of the month.

The government cares only about its rich friends and elitist donors. It is really out of touch with the realties of families across Saskatchewan. Is that not the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, when I was growing up, the saying was actually “Tory times are tough times”, and that is what Canadians in the Prairies understand. I want to tell colleagues what is out of touch. What is—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am just going to interrupt. I am having a hard time hearing. I have speakers on all sides of me here and it is very tough to hear. I am just going to ask everybody to calm down. By the sounds of it, everybody wants to get back to the part of the country that they come from so that they can be with their constituents. Let us see if we can get this done peacefully and nicely so that we can all go off and say goodbye for the summer.

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let me tell colleagues what is really out of touch. What is out of touch is not to understand that the single most important thing for the vast majority of Canadians is to have a job. That is why we will never apologize for a relentlessly jobs-focused approach to the post-COVID recovery, with 117% of jobs recovered, compared to just 96% in the U.S.

Government Services

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals want to make inflation about international events beyond their control. They blame Russia for the rising costs of food and gas. They blame travellers for their airport mess. They blame Canadians for waiting too long to renew their passports. They blame individual complexities for the immigration backlog. Skyrocketing housing is not their fault either. The government is quick to take credit when things are good and blame everyone else when Canadians are struggling.

Can anyone on the other side answer a basic question and at least tell us when they plan on bringing people back to work to fix their chaos?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite owes the hard-working public servants an apology, because when it comes to Service Canada, they have been back in the office for months serving Canadians. These are the same people who delivered—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am going to have to wait a moment. Please let me know when we can continue.

I think we can continue.

The hon. minister.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite owes the hard-working public servants an apology, because they have been working day in and day out to serve Canadians. I understand that Canadians are frustrated. There are a lot of challenges right now and this government is working hard to serve them.

The only thing that I can conjure up from that member's response is that, unlike hard-working people across this country, when Conservative members of Parliament were working from home, they were not working.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Once again, I know tensions are high and that everybody is looking forward to getting out of this place, but let us please be judicious when we use our words.

The hon. member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this year, planting season was stressful and filled with uncertainty for our farmers. The increase in the cost of inputs limited our producers' ability to invest in their operations.

Given this particular context, can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food inform the House of the most recent measures implemented to help our farmers?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I have good news for farmers today.

I am announcing that we will be increasing the interest-free portion of the advance payments program, for a total of $61 million for over years. The interest-free portion will increase from $100,000 to $250,000.

Public Safety

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, RCMP Superintendent Campbell's notes reveal Commissioner Lucki told the RCMP that she had promised the former minister of public safety and the Prime Minister's Office the force would disclose which firearms were used in the mass shooting to advance the government's pending gun control legislation. Former RCMP commissioner Paulson says Superintendent Campbell is “one of the best investigators in the force and a highly reliable officer with tremendous integrity. You won’t find a practicing police officer who will speak ill of Darren Campbell.”

Does the minister believe Superintendent Campbell?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe we will not find a former police officer who speaks ill of him either, and I am not speaking ill of him in any way.

I would point members to the commissioner's statement, in which she said, “It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting [event]”. She also said, “I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected”. There was no interference in this case.