Debates of Sept. 22nd, 2022

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, we worked closely with the Quebec government, Mr. Legault's government, to create a path for the guardian angels.

These refugees worked on the front lines of our public health system. That is just one example of how refugees have made very positive contributions.

At the same time, we will continue to strengthen the integrity of our borders by making investments in additional resources for CBSA and for all police services because, on this side of the House, we believe in a fair and equitable system.

Justice

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday, the justice minister defended the Liberals' decision to eliminate mandatory jail times for crimes like robbery with a firearm, extortion with a firearm, weapons trafficking and drive-by shootings. This was the very same day that his constituents in Montreal learned of yet another fatal shooting, this time at the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadians, a place where hockey fans and parents should be able to take their children and know they are safe.

When will the government act to protect Canadians and ensure that repeat violent offenders are put behind bars?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, serious crimes will always carry serious consequences. That is the basic principle.

What we are trying to do with Bill C-5 is to make sure we can concentrate our resources on those serious crimes, whether in the judicial system or in enforcing our police—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am having a hard time hearing and I am sure the hon. member for Fundy Royal was having a hard time.

Would the hon. minister mind starting from the top so we can all get the answer?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fundamental point is that serious crimes will always carry serious consequences. What we are doing with Bill C-5 is ensuring that we have more resources to focus on those serious crimes and ensuring that our police authorities have more tools in their tool kit to deal with them.

A former justice of the Supreme Court, Michael Moldaver, in an article he published this week, told us that we should go precisely in that direction, to focus our resources on those serious crimes and incarcerate less people, and nobody can accuse Justice Moldaver of being soft on crime.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect that criminals convicted of sexual assault, kidnapping and human trafficking serve their sentence from behind bars, but not these soft-on-crime Liberals, with their do no crime Bill C-5, which incredibly allows criminals convicted of these and other serious offences to serve their sentence from home.

Could the Liberals explain how letting loose into the community the likes of sexual predators, kidnappers and human traffickers protects public safety?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, serious crimes, such as those described by my hon. colleague, will always carry serious consequences. What Bill C-5 would do is that in cases where a sentence would be less than two years and, most important, there would no threat to public safety or public security, it would allow for a better alternative to incarceration in those cases. This precisely allows us to focus our resources in the criminal justice system on those serious crimes, which we all agree we need to treat quite seriously.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians still cannot believe that this Prime Minister wants to abolish minimum sentences for crimes such as illegally importing firearms, discharging a firearm with intent and committing robbery with a firearm.

With the upsurge in violent incidents and murders happening in broad daylight, the people of Montreal are living in fear. Meanwhile, members of street gangs and organized crime are delighted. They can hardly wait for Bill C-5 to be passed. It gives criminals more freedom and, in the meantime, people are staying home because they are afraid.

Will the Prime Minister promise to withdraw Bill C‑5?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is quite the opposite of what the hon. member is saying.

Serious crimes will always have serious consequences in our system. What we are doing with Bill C-5 is abolishing an ineffective strategy that clogged up the criminal justice system, so we can focus on serious crimes that should have serious consequences.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians and Quebeckers deserve to feel safe in their communities. The tragedies caused by gun violence over the past few months only highlight how important it is to take measures to combat gun violence.

Can the Minister of Public Safety tell us about the measures our government is taking to create safer communities?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question and I share her concerns.

We are working in close co-operation with the Government of Quebec and municipal leaders such as Mayor Valérie Plante to make Quebec's communities safer. We have invested $46 million in supporting Quebec police forces and $42 million to prevent young people from turning to crime and to address the root causes of gun violence. We are continuing to invest in strengthening our border to prevent illegal gun trafficking. We will be there for Montreal.

Taxation

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of the Liberal government is driving up the cost of living.

Over the past number of months, I have met with too many constituents who are barely getting by. They are finding it more difficult to pay their bills, feed their families and are worried about losing their homes. In short, there is too much month left at the end of the money. They simply cannot afford higher taxes.

Will the Prime Minister cancel his planned tax increases?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is important to be clear with Canadians what is actually being discussed. Canadians understand that the CPP and EI contributions that every working Canadian makes are how we all pay for our retirement and how we create a safety net for all Canadians in case they lose their jobs.

At a time of global economic uncertainty, it is the height of irresponsibility for the Conservatives to suggest that we as a country stop putting money away for our retirement and for a rainy day.

[Jake Stewart, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the government's carbon tax would mean a massive price increase to home heating oil compared to a year ago.

To quote the Liberal Premier of Newfoundland:

Users of furnace oil in the Province tend to be older, live in rural areas and have lower incomes, lower than the provincial average. An increase in heating costs of 60 percent in one year already imposes considerable economic hardship and stress on these residents.

Will the government cancel its planned tax increases on gas, home heating and groceries today?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives used to believe in market mechanisms and pricing to reduce pollution. Stephen Harper did before he did not. The member for Durham did before his party abandoned it and, in fact, abandoned him. The Conservatives have flip-flopped all over the place.

However, I want to applaud one Conservative, the member for New Brunswick Southwest, who says his province should go back to using the federal carbon price because at least it comes with rebates. I agree with that hon. member.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are looking for hope.

Every day, Conservatives stand up in the House to tell the stories of real Canadians who are facing the worst financial struggles of their lives, thanks to the mismanagement of the government.

Day after day in the House, the Liberals stand up to tell us how well Canadians are doing. Talk about a government being tone deaf and out of touch with Canadians.

Will the government finally give Canadians hope and cancel the planned tax increases on paycheques?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the MP from Saskatchewan. Our government understands that Canadians need some support in the tough times we are going through right now.

Apparently his colleague, the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, agrees with us. He understands that our doubling of the GST tax credit will provide important relief for Canadian families.

I would like to believe that the member who just spoke really cares for his constituents. I hope he will show that by supporting this useful measure.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, recently, Canadian seafood and fishers have been targeted by an American organization questioning our efforts to protect the North Atlantic right whale. Can the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans outline the measures her department has taken working with fishers to protect North Atlantic right whales?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Egmont for his deep commitment to fish harvesters.

Canada has world-class fisheries and that is thanks to our fish harvesters. With measures like dynamic closures, removing ghost gear and whale-safe gear innovations, Canadian harvesters are very committed to protecting right whales, and it is working. It turns out that thanks to their efforts, there has not been a whale mortality in Canadian waters for three years. That is Canada's record and we can all be proud of it.

Post-Secondary Education

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a generation of Canadians is struggling. From the cost of living to the student debt crisis, Canadian students and recent grads are falling behind. Instead of helping them get by, the federal government has collected billions of dollars in student loan payments since 2020. As a result, 65,000 Canadians have defaulted on their student loans.

This out-of-touch Liberal government refuses to give young Canadians a break. When will the Liberal government start tackling the affordability crisis and cancel student debt?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, young Canadian students are the future of Canada. With budget 2022, we are investing $26 million over four years to increase the maximum amount of forgivable Canada loans by 50% in rural communities for health care workers.

We have had students' backs every step of the way. Through budget 2021, we made federal student loans interest-free until March 2023. We also doubled Canada student grants and extended the skills boost top-up to help young Canadians really get through the pandemic.

We are absolutely committed to permanently eliminating the federal interest on students loans and Canada apprentice loans, and we will continue to help young Canadians.

Taxation

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are in a climate catastrophe while oil and gas companies make record profits on the backs of regular people. As raised earlier, the UN Secretary-General is now calling for a windfall tax on these profits, yet the federal government continues to do the opposite, giving more public funds to the very companies responsible for the crisis.

When will the government listen to the UN and apply to oil and gas the same windfall tax it has to banks and life insurers?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we share the hon. member's concern and his commitment to the climate crisis and to addressing it. That is why we are spending $9.1 billion on our emissions reduction plan, which is an ambitious sector-by-sector path for Canada to reach its 2030 emissions on our way to net zero by 2050. It has broad support from environmental groups, from industry to farmers. It is going to deliver clean air, a healthy environment and a strong economy.

[Jake Stewart, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Today in question period, the official opposition cited a March 22 report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer that shows the carbon tax will be a net cost to Canadian families. I am seeking unanimous consent—