Debates of Oct. 24th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that inflation has come down yet again in Canada.

If he wants to talk about taxes, I will remind him that it was our federal government that lowered taxes not just once, but twice, for the middle class. Once again, both times, the Conservatives voted against a tax cut. That makes no sense. The Conservatives are not worth the risk.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec was the province most affected by inflation for the fourth month in a row, yet the Bloc Québécois continues to support a radical increase in the Liberal government's second carbon tax. It is costly to vote for the Bloc when we are at a point where people are sleeping in their cars.

After eight long years of disastrous Liberal mismanagement, backed by the NDP and now the Bloc, Quebeckers want the chance to choose a new Prime Minister.

When will we get to bring back common sense?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the Conservative Party is a world expert in the art of speaking out of both sides of its mouth.

In 2012, the current leader of the Conservative Party led the charge in the House of Commons to eviscerate the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, while claiming that it would not hurt the environment. We know what he thinks about the problems with greenhouse gas emissions and the environment in Canada.

We have no lessons to learn from a party that speaks out of both sides of its mouth.

Housing

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians have lost hope in owning a home and having enough money to raise their families and pay their bills. Hope has given way to worry and despair. A new Angus Reid survey reveals that almost 80% of Canadians are worried about rising mortgage interest rates.

The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. When will the NDP-Liberal government end its inflationary spending so that Canadians can fix the housing market?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the Conservatives understand the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.

We continue to make the investments necessary to build homes for Canadians, which the Conservatives decry as inflationary spending. They oppose spending on affordable housing. They oppose investments that are going to change the way that cities build homes. When we cut taxes to make it cheaper to build homes for Canadians, they propose to put them back on.

Canadians have two very clear choices: to make the investments necessary to address the housing crisis or to cut, cut, cut. I know where I stand. The Conservatives are not worth the risk. We will make the investments necessary.

Small Business

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, small businesses are struggling to survive. Increased payroll taxes, a punishing carbon tax, red tape, and labour shortages are crushing them. It is no wonder that Restaurants Canada reports that one-third of restaurants are operating at a loss.

Will the government stop its attack on restaurants, rein in inflationary spending and end the punishing tax hikes so restaurants can keep their doors open?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of entrepreneurs, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for joining me in attending events for programs our government has funded, which Conservative colleagues have voted against. He was able to see the real, live, tangible examples of success stories.

Our government believes in empowering young entrepreneurs and has committed nearly $60 million to future entrepreneurs who provide loans, mentorship and education to Canadian entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 39.

Now that my hon. colleague has witnessed the benefits of our investments, perhaps he and the Conservatives can stop voting against support for young entrepreneurs, which will take Canada backward.

Housing

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Winnipeg Salvation Army announced 60 urgent shelter beds to meet the needs of refugee claimants. Winnipeg Centre is where most refugees and refugee claimants first settle in Manitoba, and there is a severe shortage of rent-geared-to-income homes to house refugees and their families.

While the Liberals fail to act, newcomers in my community are sleeping in shelters or on the streets. Will the Liberals make major investments in deeply affordable housing so that everyone has a roof over their head?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, when we have debates in this chamber around housing policy, it is really important. I thank the hon. member for her focus on continuing to support some of society's most vulnerable.

We work with different populations who are struggling, including vulnerable newcomers, including women fleeing domestic violence, including other people who simply cannot find a place to stay. We have doubled the funding for homelessness support through the Reaching Home program and will continue to make the investments necessary to protect some of the country's most vulnerable people as we approach the winter months.

It is important that we take care of our most vulnerable, and I appreciate the NDP's support in this regard.

Northern Affairs

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, in Nunavut, one bottle of orange juice is $24 and one can of chicken soup is $10. Nutrition north is subsidizing corporate greed. It is not lowering grocery prices.

Last weekend, the NDP leader and I heard from Nunavummiut. They said they can barely make ends meet. Meanwhile, the North West Company continues to report sky-high profits.

When will the Liberals introduce an excess profits tax and reform nutrition north so it can help people, not CEOs?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for that very important question. Nutrition north is an important program. That is why we announced $163 million of new money for nutrition north in the last year. Of that, a significant amount of money will go to the harvester support grant, which encourages people in the north and indigenous nations to do traditional harvesting, hunting and food sharing. This year alone, the grant supported 15,000 harvesters, 410 hunts and harvests, and over 717 food-sharing initiatives.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is already well on its way to becoming a global leader in the production of electric vehicles and EV battery manufacturing. Unfortunately, the Conservative Party has its eyes closed to this. Just last week, the Conservative member for Sarnia—Lambton repeated the absurd myth in this House that EVs routinely catch on fire and do not work in the winter. Meanwhile, in eastern Ontario, we recently saw one of North America's largest investments in EV battery manufacturing.

Can the minister tell us why the government sees these investments as being so important for Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for a great question and for his leadership. He is actually right. I am very pleased to report to this House that Umicore from Belgium chose Canada to have its plant in North America.

The plant is going to create 600 jobs in Loyalist Township near Kingston, but it is also going to produce enough battery materials for 800,000 electric vehicles. There will be a piece of Kingston and Loyalist in every car in North America.

We are building the car of the future, something that the do-nothing opposition would never be able to do.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, when there are now cover-ups about his cover-ups, it is clear he is not worth the cost.

Yesterday, the NDP-Liberal government sent its members to shut down the testimony from the RCMP commissioner about the investigation into the Prime Minister's SNC-Lavalin scandal. This is the same investigation where he blocked the release of documents when they were investigating whether or not he obstructed justice.

My question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

On what date will the commissioner of the RCMP appear at the committee?

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot begin to tell everyone my profound disappointment in the fact that the NDP-Liberal coalition chose to shut down and adjourn the meeting before it happened.

I can assure members that proper notice was given. In fact, I emailed the vice-chairs of the committee, as well as other committee members, 72 hours before the meeting occurred. I took advantage, in my position as chair, to invite the RCMP given the latest information that had been released.

The public safety minister suggested that if we had any questions for the RCMP, we pose questions to its members. I took that opportunity. I cannot tell the member when the next opportunity will be, but I hope it is soon.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I hope they were paying attention. That is the first time we have had a question answered in this House in eight years.

The Prime Minister and the public safety minister both said that the RCMP commissioner was the one to answer questions. He was sitting at the table yesterday, and they adjourned the meeting as part of their ongoing cover-up. They blocked him just like the Prime Minister is blocking the release of documents in the criminal investigation concerning him. After eight years of the Prime Minister and his detrimental effect on our democratic institutions, it is clear that he is not worth the cost.

To the leader of the NDP, is protecting the Prime Minister from criminal investigations part of the coalition deal?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

As I mentioned before after a previous question, opposition leaders are not invited to answer. Only members of the government, parliamentary secretaries or chairs of committees can.

To answer this question, I recognize the hon. House leader.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, committees are in charge of their own business and they make those decisions themselves.

If he wants to talk about democratic institutions and criminal investigations, I will remind him that it was a member of the governing Conservatives who was arrested for violating election laws and actually went to jail. The member should be careful as he is casting stones in glass houses.

Public Services and Procurement

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, damning new information revealed today shows that ArriveCAN contractors submitted receipts to the government for a company that does not even exist. This investigation already includes allegations of identity theft, forged resumés, contractual theft, fraudulent billing, price-fixing and collusion in the creation of the $54-million ArriveCAN app. How much worse can this boondoggle get?

I have a simple question: Which Liberal insiders got rich?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as colleagues know very well, we expect public servants, at all times, to follow the appropriate Treasury Board contracting practices.

My colleague would know that, in this case, the Canada Border Services Agency, as part of its internal audit, uncovered information that it subsequently referred to the appropriate police authorities. That is exactly what has to happen in these cases. We should let the RCMP do whatever work it thinks is appropriate in this concerning circumstance.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP and the Liberals are desperate to protect their Prime Minister.

Yesterday, they prevented the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, from testifying on the SNC-Lavalin affair. I was flabbergasted to see that the Bloc Québécois also voted for the cover up to protect the Prime Minister. The RCMP was investigating the Prime Minister's obstruction of justice and SNC-Lavalin's fraud.

When nothing is done to clean up corruption, it is costly. When the Bloc helps hide the truth, it is costly. Voting for the Bloc is costly.

Why is the Prime Minister so afraid of the RCMP? Why does he need the Bloc vote to cover up his involvement in the SNC-Lavalin affair?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague is well aware, committees are masters of their own domain. They make their own decisions. Clearly, this has always been the case. I hope my colleague will respond responsibly.

Aerospace Industry

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are proud of their aerospace sector, and especially proud of Bombardier.

Bombardier has developed outstanding expertise over the years, and has turned Joseph‑Armand's company into a key international player in aircraft construction. However, when the time comes for Ottawa to modernize its Aurora maritime patrol aircraft, it turns to Boeing, no tender process needed. With no call for tenders, the government is investing in the United States while dismissing Quebec's expertise out of hand.

Why is Ottawa not issuing a call for tenders to modernize its fleet?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me to speak about the importance of aeronautics in Quebec. It is a point of pride for us.

In recent years, we have made significant investments not only in businesses, but also, and just as importantly, in middle-class employees, to ensure that they can continue to pay their families' bills and contribute to technological and economic development in Quebec and across the country.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, give me a break. Aeronautics industry leaders are on Parliament Hill today. The director of the International Aeronautics and Civil Aviation Observatory, people representing machinists and UNIFOR, and even the former commander of the RCAF are here. They have all the answers to any question the government might ask. They have all the information that proves that, when it comes to aeronautics, they have the know-how. They are competitive. They believe in themselves, with good reason. All they want is a fair process.

Will Ottawa backtrack and issue a call for tenders?