Debates of Oct. 18th, 2023

Grocery Industry

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, before Thanksgiving, the Minister of Industry said that prices for groceries were coming down and that Canadians just needed to check out grocery flyers. Now the minister is backtracking and saying that, well, he is not sure because the grocery CEOs' plans are too secret.

If the minister cannot get answers, then we will. Will the minister of grocery flyers support our motion to summon the grocery CEOs back to Parliament?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I am really surprised in a way by the question. We did something that has never been done in Canadian history. We called the five grocery CEOs to Ottawa and expressed the frustration of 40 million Canadians about the price of groceries. I would urge all members of this House to give the same message that I gave: Make sure they help Canadians and help us to stabilize prices in Canada. That is what Canadians expect.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the minister's plan to ask them nicely is not working.

Let me summarize the situation. Earlier, the minister said that prices in the flyers are dropping but, now, he does not know how CEOs plan to stabilize prices because their plans are too secret. It is quite clear that the minister does not have a plan, so we are going to give him one.

We have moved a new motion to force the CEOs of the big grocery stores to appear before the committee again. Will the government support it, yes or no?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the leader of the NDP asked me that question. Not only is this what we proposed, but I even wrote to the committee chair asking him to invite the CEOs of Canada's major grocery store chains to come and explain their plan to Canadians.

I am happy to answer his question, because we were the ones who asked the chair of the parliamentary committee to invite the CEOs to come and explain themselves to Canadians.

Foreign Affairs

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government is saying that it has not been briefed on verified intelligence confirmed by the President of the United States that has led to the retraction of media reports around the world about yesterday's explosion by IRGC-backed terrorists, who killed innocent civilians in Gaza.

After eight years, is the relationship with our closest allies, our Five Eyes partners, so damaged that they do not even share with Canada what they have already told the rest of the world?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Gaza is a tragedy. The loss of Palestinian lives is absolutely horrifying. This is an unthinkable act, and it is imperative that innocent Palestinians be protected and that international law be upheld.

Finance

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Business Council of Canada is warning the Liberal-NDP government that it can no longer run large, permanent deficits without fear. After eight long years, the Prime Minister has added more debt than every government between 1867 and 2015 combined, creating 40-year highs in inflation and the fastest interest rate hikes ever. There is a massive fear of a looming mortgage default crisis if the Liberals do not balance the budget now. He is just not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister stand up today and support our common-sense, fiscally responsible motion to bring in balanced budgets so that Canadians can keep their homes?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talks about fear. There is also fear among Canadians that the Conservatives are going to cut programs they rely on.

This week, Canada child benefit cheques will arrive at Canadians' doors and in the member's riding of Calgary Forest Lawn. That means individuals will get up to $10,000 lowered from their child care fees. There are 400,000 families in Calgary Forest Lawn who will get the Canada child benefit cheques.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised that interest rates were going to remain low and Canadians believed him, so they went out, bought homes and took out mortgages, but after eight years of Liberal inflationary deficits, interest rates are at a 30-year high, and many Canadian families are now finding that they cannot pay their mortgage.

In fact, the Business Council of Canada just said that governments cannot permanently run deficits without fear. Will the finance minister stop running her inflationary deficits so that interest rates will come down and Canadian families will not lose their homes?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to correct the record. There are actually 400,000 families in Alberta collecting the Canada child benefit cheques. Those cheques are coming out this week.

Under what the Conservatives are proposing, they would have those cheques completely removed. They would be cutting those supports for Canadians. I will remind members that, while we continue to support Canadians, here in Canada we are also running the lowest deficit among all G7 countries.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is only one cut that we are going to make. We are going to cut about 80 members from that side of the House when we form a common sense Conservative government. When we do that, we would address the concerns, such as the ship-worker in Vancouver who is paying $7,500 a month for a mortgage.

What do they say? They talk about an AAA credit rating. How out of touch are they? They are gaslighting Canadians.

Will they cut these inflationary deficits and get interest rates under control, yes or no?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear the member of the opposition speak about Seaspan. It is a very important member of the business community in my riding of North Vancouver.

I was very pleased, a couple of years ago, to join the Prime Minister to announce the commitment to build an additional 18 Coast Guard vessels, worth almost $16 billion, which will provide well-paid employment for the employees of Seaspan for decades to come.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to create good economic jobs. We are going to ensure economic opportunities for Canadians. We are going to ensure affordability at the same time.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask, once again, for members to please refrain from taking the floor when they have not been recognized by the Chair and to allow questions to be answered so colleagues can hear them.

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is going to be a wave of mortgage renewals in the coming months. The Royal Bank of Canada, for one, will be renewing 41% of its mortgages. Non-stop interest rate hikes will make that difficult. Inflation is driving mortgage costs up by 30% every month. After eight years of the Prime Minister, everything is broken.

Can he explain to people how they are supposed to pay their mortgage and not end up homeless?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Statistics Canada shared some good news: Inflation is down again here in Canada. Our government is working to help Canadians struggling to make ends meet. In fact, here in the House, we introduced a bill that parliamentarians are studying and that will stabilize grocery prices across Canada. The Conservatives are playing political games with measures that will help Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where she got that good news from. According to Statistics Canada, inflation in Quebec has jumped to 4.8%. Quebec has had the highest inflation rate in Canada for four consecutive months. Food price inflation stands at 6.7%. After eight years under this Prime Minister, supported by his Bloc Québécois friends, people are literally struggling to feed their families. Are these the sunny ways he promised eight years ago? This Liberal government is not worth the cost.

Does the Prime Minister acknowledge that it is shameful that, in Canada in 2023, people are having trouble feeding themselves?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, affordability also means putting a roof over the heads of all Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing on this side of the House. Just this morning, CMHC reported a 98% increase in housing starts. The programs we have implemented will help all Canadians have a roof over their heads. That is exactly what we are going to do.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights, Canada will be one of the global drivers of oil production in 2024. Forget about the green transition. Canada will be one of the largest oil developers on the planet.

The Conservatives applaud when we talk about this, but this is not their record. It is the Liberals'. It is under the Liberal watch that oil production is increasing by 10% in the midst of a climate crisis. It is under the Liberal watch that Canada will produce 500,000 more barrels of oil a day.

Is that really the legacy that the Liberals want to leave?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before the minister answers the question, I would like to ask the member for Calgary Signal Hill to please wait his turn to be recognized by the Chair if he would like to take the floor.

The hon. minister.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change. We must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in every sector of the economy.

We have a very detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and grow a prosperous, low-carbon economy. We will continue to do that.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada will be a global driver of oil production in 2024, on the strength of Trans Mountain.

Thanks to Trans Mountain, Canada will shatter oil production records and, therefore, pollution records. However, taxpayers are footing the bill for Trans Mountain. It is costing us $30.9 billion, or roughly $800 per person, babies included. The Liberals are charging each of us $800 to pollute more, not including the cost of subsidies or natural disasters.

How dare the Liberals ask Quebeckers to pay more to pollute more?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

I wonder why she has nothing to say about what the government has recently done. We recently announced the largest private investment in Quebec's history, known as Northvolt, precisely to manufacture batteries and electric vehicles.

My colleague should have focused on this issue, because Quebec will not only become a champion of the auto industry, but also a champion of the green economy. This is exactly what we are doing.

Housing

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over and over, the Liberal-NDP government promised interest rates would not go up, but after eight miserable years of the Prime Minister, Canadians know that is not true. Mortgage defaults and forced home sales are on the rise.

Lindsay is one of hundreds who wrote to me to tell me about her skyrocketing mortgage rate. She is paying an extra $1,250 a month. She does not have an extra $1,250 a month.

The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost, so when will he stop his inflationary spending so Canadians like Lindsay can keep their home?