Debates of Oct. 4th, 2023

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are happy to co-operate, but we are just looking for one little detail. There are 37,000 federal buildings representing 6.2 million square metres of space. The Prime Minister promised, eight years ago, that he would repurpose some of that space to create homes. How many have been created?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, like I said, our national housing strategy has supported in the delivery of homes for close to two million Canadian families. We are going to continue to do the work necessary, working with partners in municipalities and provinces on delivering housing solutions.

One part of the solution is eliminating the GST on new rental construction, and that is something that the Conservatives could support right now if they were to stop obstructing and slowing down debate on the bill we put forward for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a problem with the microphone. The Prime Minister did not hear the question.

There are 37,000 federal buildings, six million-plus square metres, that could be converted into housing, not to mention thousands of acres of federal land. The Prime Minister agreed that could be done because he promised it eight years ago. After eight years of doubling housing costs, can he tell us how many homes have been created by repurposing federal buildings and lands? I would like just the number, please.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past years, we have invested close to $40 billion to build and renovate close to half a million homes. That is 500,000 homes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not need to answer because my deputy leader did an Order Paper question and asked the government to tell us how many homes have resulted from repurposing land and buildings of the federal government. The number is 13. It is not 1,300, or 13,000, but 13 homes. That is two homes per year. How many millennia would it take then to build the 3.5 million homes we need for Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition continues to play rhetorical games, we are focused on building the range of solutions we are going to need to actually solve this housing crisis, which involves things such as removing GST from purpose-built rental construction; moving forward with the rental construction financing initiative, which we have been working on for a number of years now and delivering on; moving forward with the housing accelerator fund, with $4 billion for municipalities like Vaughan, London and the Lower Mainland to build new homes; and continuing to work on making the rental market safer for all Canadians. These are things we will continue to do because Canadians are counting on all of us.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP is hiring unilingual anglophone executives to fill high-ranking bilingual positions. Not only do these people not speak French, but they are also not taking French lessons. The RCMP is blatantly violating the Official Languages Act. When even the police break the law, there is a problem high up in the ranks.

Despite the reform of the Official Languages Act, there is still a culture of contempt for French within the federal government.

Will the Prime Minister remind the RCMP that it has to obey the law?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. The principle of bilingualism is fundamental for this government, and we modernized the Official Languages Act with the coming into force of Bill C-13 this year.

We expect the RCMP to respect this principle and to hire bilingual staff to fill bilingual positions. I know that the Minister of Public Safety will be speaking with the RCMP commissioner directly this afternoon.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not very convincing.

This situation with the RCMP is a perfect example of the federal government's culture of contempt for French. The RCMP hiring unilingual anglophones is one thing. That these people are not taking French classes is another thing. The worst part is that no one even thought about requiring them to take classes. No one even thought about the optics and making an effort to enforce the legislation, not even after the fact, and not even to save face. That is a culture of contempt.

Does the Prime Minister get it now and will he intervene?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the Minister of Public Safety will speak directly with the commissioner of the RCMP this afternoon.

We share this concern. We expect federal institutions like the RCMP to follow the Official Languages Act. That is what we will all expect.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight long miserable years of the Prime Minister, he is not worth the cost of energy.

In Nova Scotia, 2,800 people have had their power cut off, and today, the Nova Scotia government reported that 37% of Nova Scotians now live in energy poverty because of the Prime Minister's carbon tax, which he now wants to quadruple, up to 61¢ a litre.

Will the Prime Minister at least let his Atlantic caucus have a free vote on our motion to axe the tax and bring home lower prices?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party refuses to understand that our plan to fight climate change is, above everything else, a plan on affordability.

Eight out 10 Canadians are better off with this price on pollution in the jurisdictions where it has been brought in. This means that, even as we fight climate change, which is something Atlantic Canadians know all too well is important with hurricanes such as Fiona and the wildfires we saw this summer, we are putting more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians.

This is how we fight climate change and support Canadians at the same time, while Conservatives want to take away cheques, such as the climate action incentive.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight long, painful, costly years, this carbon tax is not worth the cost.

It is not just me saying it. The Liberal member for Avalon has said, “We're punishing the rural areas of our country and the most vulnerable people in our society.” Other Liberal MPs like to go back to Atlantic Canada and say they disagree with the Prime Minister's plan to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre. Unfortunately, they lose their spines when they get to the House of Commons.

Will the Prime Minister stop bullying them and let them have a free vote so we can pass our motion to axe the tax and bring home lower prices?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I spent a lot of time with rural Canadians this summer, and they were heartbroken over the wildfires that had devastated their communities, the record floods, the record heat waves and the droughts, which everyone—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in all the conversations I have had with rural Canadians across the country this summer, they were devastated by the impacts of record wildfires, floods, droughts and heat waves.

They see the impact of climate change, and they know that we need to continue to fight climate change while putting money back in their pockets. That is exactly what our price on pollution does. That is what we are going to continue to do instead of eliminating—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, hiding out and going surfing in Tofino does not count as spending time with rural Canadians.

Obviously the Prime Minister is not listening to what they have to say because, after eight years, his carbon tax is not worth the cost. He now wants to quadruple the tax to 61¢ a litre. Even the Liberal Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on him to axe the tax. It agrees with me.

Will the Prime Minister listen to the Liberal Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and his own Liberal caucus from Atlantic Canada, and axe the tax?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before the Prime Minister responds, I would like to inform colleagues that, in the week following the parliamentary break, the speakers will be issuing some reflective guidelines as to the types of things that we should mention or not mention so as to not derange the House.

The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I suggest that the Leader of the Opposition speak to people in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, who are seeing historic investments from Germany, which is looking at them because of the investments in hydrogen, in the clean economy and offshore wind.

I suggest that he speak to his member from St. Thomas, Ontario, where the Volkswagen plant is going to land because of the historic leadership we have shown in clean electricity and drawing in innovation investments. Members have not heard the leader of the official opposition talk at all about the benefits of that investment in Volkswagen because he has no plans for the future of the economy.

Climate Change

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when fighting climate change is a priority, Canadians from coast to coast to coast are calling for concrete action concerning the development of new technology.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House what the government is doing to promote the growth of green industries not only in Canada, but also in Quebec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Laval—Les Îles for his question and his excellent work.

It just so happens that last week I had the pleasure of joining Premier Legault and the Minister of Innovation to announce the historic agreement with Northvolt. Our government is working tirelessly to attract investors to Canada so that we can create more jobs and drive economic growth across the country.

With this announcement, we are strengthening Quebec's position in the auto sector for the next 20, 30, 50 years and well beyond. It is the very first electric vehicle battery plant in Quebec. This is excellent news for Quebec and for Quebeckers.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when one taxes the fuel of the farmers who make the food and the fuel of the truckers who ship the food, then one taxes all those who buy the food. After eight years, the Prime Minister's carbon tax is just not worth the cost, but he has not received the memo.

Now he wants to quadruple the tax to 61¢ a litre with firm support from the NDP. Both parties are motivated by greed, government greed, to take more and more money away from the poor and working class families who were hit hardest by this tax. Will they stop the greed and vote with us today to axe the tax so we can bring home lower prices?