Debates of Nov. 21st, 2023

Carbon Pricing

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

Mr. Speaker, last year, the finance minister promised to balance the budget in her false hopes update. She then did a massive flip-flop and promised to balance the budget in the year never. The Prime Minister did a massive flip-flop recently too, on his carbon tax scam, when he gave a temporary carve-out for Canadians in Atlantic Canada, where his poll numbers were tanking. That is 3% of Canadians.

After eight years, the Liberal-NDP government is not worth the cost and still plans on quadrupling it. Why not pause quadrupling the carbon tax in today's failing economic update and call a carbon tax election so that Canadians can decide?

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

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague often neglects to mention a whole range of important facts. The price on pollution is an important component of a broad approach to fighting climate change. It is done in a manner that addresses affordability concerns. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back than they pay.

With respect to home heating oil, it is a specific case. We are focused on ensuring that we do it in a manner that will help us drive the fight against climate change while ensuring affordability for Canadians. It is a responsible and thoughtful approach to public policy, something we never hear from the Conservatives.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada's best climate change plan is going to be a change in government under the common-sense Conservative leader as prime minister.

Two million Canadians are going to a food bank in a single month. One in five is skipping meals. Food inflation is out of control. Failed woke policies like the carbon tax are driving up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. While the NDP-Liberals continue to miss every single climate change target they set for themselves, Canadians get less in these phony rebates, and they still plan on quadrupling it.

Why not put a pause on quadrupling the carbon tax and go to an election so Canadians can decide on the carbon tax themselves?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side, and for Canadians across this country but particularly in Ontario, when we hear the words “common sense” and “Conservatives”, we get the shivers. We remember the time when they cut services to education, when they cut services to health care and when they cut important services for water that led to deaths in Walkerton. When we hear “common-sense Conservatives”, we know that means cuts for Canadians and harms to Canadians, and nothing good comes of it.

Finance

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, grocery and home heating bills continue to rise, as do rent and mortgage payments. Scotiabank has said that inflationary government deficits are to blame. If our deficit-maker-in-chief was to show fiscal responsibility, it would drop interest rates by 2% and save the average family $700 a month off their mortgage.

Does the Prime Minister understand his deficits are making it difficult for people to afford basic necessities like food and housing, or does he think all Canadians are auditioning for Les Mis?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member opposite and inform the House that this morning Statistics Canada indicated that inflation has dropped yet again in this country. It is now at 3.1%. Canada continues to have the lowest deficit among all G7 countries.

With respect to the report my hon. colleague cites, the report indicates that it is provincial spending, not federal, and COVID supports that have resulted in the statistics he is citing. The facts are important.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if we all quiet down, we can already hear the fiscal engines in the background starting to rev up, as the only solution for inflationary spending for the Prime Minister is more inflationary spending.

The Conservative leader has challenged the Prime Minister to stop his carbon tax hikes, reduce his deficits and build homes, not bureaucracy. Will the government address these issues in the mini-budget today, or will it reject this common-sense plan and show that the only thing not subject to rising inflation in Canada is the competence of the NDP-Liberal government?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister stated just a few moments ago, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will be tabling the fall economic statement at 4 p.m. in this House. All members, including the member opposite, will have a chance to look at all the numbers, and we will have a chance in this House to debate the economic plan our government has put forward.

I would remind the member opposite, as he talks of deficits, that Canada continues to have the lowest deficit among all G7 countries. We will continue to be fiscally responsible.

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of Liberal inflationary spending, the Prime Minister is not worth what inflation is costing Quebeckers. In October, Quebec's inflation rate of 4.2% was the worst in Canada yet again.

According to Scotiabank's calculations, government overspending has added two percentage points to interest rates in Canada, raising monthly mortgage payments by $700.

In today's mini-budget, will the Liberal Prime Minister announce a plan and a deadline for balancing the budget to bring interest rates down so Canadians and Quebeckers can keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the fall economic statement will be tabled at 4 p.m., not long from now. My hon. colleague will have a chance to look at the numbers then.

Right now, however, I can confirm that Canada will continue to have the lowest deficit in the G7.

We will continue to be fiscally responsible.

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

Mr. Speaker, today's figures showed us that rents have increased by more than 9% in Quebec in the past year.

This morning, the Journal de Montréal reported that a homeless 30-year-old Sherbrooke man is getting ready to spend his first winter on the street.

After eight years of Liberal inflationary spending, we fail to understand why the Bloc Québécois would want two more years of the same, plus a drastic increase in the carbon tax. The Bloc Québécois clearly only cares about the balance of power, not a balanced budget.

Did the Prime Minister persuade the Bloc Québécois to let him keep recklessly spending billions of dollars, or will he finally listen to Conservative common sense and balance the budget?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives tell us that they are worried about people and about Canadians, but they could not care less about what is happening. They could not care less about torrential rainfall, floods, forest fires or what is going on. They want us to back away from investing in climate change. They want to take us backwards, step by step, with cuts.

We will not let that happen. We will not go back to the Stone Age.

Border Security

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what Radio-Canada has uncovered is very serious. Mexican drug cartels are engaging in human trafficking at Canadian borders. The federal government cannot allow criminal organizations to exploit migrants.

That is not all. The RCMP confirmed that the crossings the cartels are using for human trafficking are the same ones they use for weapons and narcotics trafficking. Needless to say, the federal government cannot allow Mexican cartels to set up shop at our borders.

When will the government take back control of Canada's borders?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. We will never allow cartels to take control of our borders. However, the member must be careful not to exaggerate when asking questions.

Our government is very concerned about what Radio-Canada has found. That is exactly why we are working more with our law enforcement agencies, the Canada Border Services Agency and, most importantly, our American partners to combat what my colleague was talking about. I have full confidence in the work of the RCMP and border services.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question was not exaggerated, but the government's complacency sure is.

Cartels will not stop at committing crimes at the border. They are directly involved in crime in Quebec. Radio-Canada revealed that South Americans who entered our territory with fake Mexican passports organized a burglary ring in Quebec. According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, they come to the country for the sole purpose of stealing from people. The Montreal police even called Quebec an easy target because of the porous border.

I have one simple question. What will the federal government do to regain control over the borders?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to keep fighting organized crime in a number of ways. We have invested more—$400 million more—to give our law enforcement agencies, the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP the tools they need to work with their partners in Quebec and the United States to fight organized crime coming into the country.

My colleague is well aware that I have discussed this with Minister Bonnardel. We will be taking further action with Quebec and our U.S. partners because we take this threat very seriously.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government cannot allow cartels to exploit migrants. It cannot let them spread misinformation on social media in order to take thousands of dollars from these less fortunate people. It cannot let them put these people at risk of imprisonment in Canada and the United States.

As we speak, there are vulnerable people making their way to Canada based on lies, people who are being robbed and arrested.

When will the government put an end to this exploitation?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we fully share our colleague's concerns about the exploitation of these individuals.

The Prime Minister raised the issue of irregular migration with the President of Mexico. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is also in discussion with her counterparts in the United States and Mexico. I myself have had this discussion with the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, precisely to ensure that all possible measures are in place to prevent exactly what my colleague just mentioned.

Housing

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to make housing more affordable for Canadians, but we know that was not totally true. After eight years of the Liberal government, rent has doubled, housing prices have skyrocketed, doubling as well, and mortgage payments have gone through the roof. In fact, today, Scotiabank confirmed that mortgage rates have increased by 2% just due to the government's overspending.

With no other factors considered, just the government's overspending, mortgage rates have gone up by 2%, which means, on average, $700 a month extra on a family's mortgage. When will the government do the responsible thing and rein in its spending so that Canadians can afford to put a roof over their heads?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, in order to address the national housing crisis, we are making the investments necessary to get Canada building again. I have good news for my colleague: It is working. When we look at the Statistics Canada report from yesterday, we see significant increases in the investments in residential construction. In fact, the heading of the section from the report is “Strong gains in residential investment”, indicating a nearly 8% increase just this past month.

We have a plan to continue to cut costs for home builders and to make the investments necessary to get the homes built that the economy and families that live in them need.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what Liberal report the hon. member is reading from, but the statistic is that fewer homes are being built and investment in the market is down by 14% for new construction. That is a fact. Added to that, rent is doubling for Canadians, mortgages are skyrocketing and housing prices have also doubled.

Canadians cannot afford to house themselves. Their mortgage rates are up by an average of $700 a month, and that is only due to the government's overspending. Just due to its overspending alone, with no other factors considered, mortgage rates are up $700 a month.

When will the government rein it in, do the responsible thing and allow Canadians to afford a roof over the heads?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to my hon. colleague, she just does not have her numbers right. She is entitled to her own opinion but certainly not to her own facts. I will tell colleagues specifically what Stats Canada indicated. It is not some Liberal organization; it operates independently. It indicated this month that investment and residential building went up 7.3%, single-family home investment increased 6.4% and multi-unit construction rose 8.2%.

If the Conservatives are concerned about the housing crisis, why are they committed to cutting funding for homebuilding and to raise taxes on home builders?

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, rent has doubled, house prices have doubled and mortgage payments are up 150%. Just now, Statistics Canada shows that investment in housing construction is down 14%. It turns out that photo ops with the housing minister in a hard hat do not build homes. Who knew?

Will the government end their photo ops so Canadians can get houses built?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating that there are accusations of using photo ops for political gain when the leader of the Conservative Party, when he was the minister, actually violated the election rules for a photo op when he showed up wearing a Conservative party logo when he was there on behalf of the government at that time.

With respect to my hon. colleague, he has the facts wrong. Stats Canada has indicated that we are seeing an increase in housing investments in the residential sector. Housing starts are up. In fact, we are on pace to build more than 50,000 additional homes, over and above the record that the Conservatives achieved while they were in government.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservative leader was the minister of housing, a typical family home cost only $450,000. Investment in housing construction is down 14% under the minister today. Rent has doubled. House prices have doubled, and mortgage payments are up 150%.

Will the government end their photo ops so Canadians can get houses built?