Debates of Nov. 22nd, 2023

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what is up? Rent is up. Rates are up. Taxes are up. Debt is up. Time is up for the current government. After eight years, it is not worth the cost and now this Prime Minister takes on another $20 billion of inflationary spending. This will bring up the interest payments on our debt to a record-smashing $51 billion a year. With two million Canadians eating at a food bank every month and many facing the loss of their home, why will the Liberals not cancel this inflationary scam and replace it with a plan to balance the budget and bring down interest rates and inflation?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's fall economic statement demonstrates the next phase in our plan to make sure that we have an economy that works for everyone. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that Canada's growth will lead the G7 in 2024. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. While we are building housing, while we are moving on with our clean tax credits and while we are making sure that adoptive parents can have the benefits they need, do people know what is up? It is the end of support of the Conservative Party for Ukrainians in this country and in Ukraine, as the Conservatives vote against the Canada-Ukraine free trade deal. I say shame on them.

Foreign Affairs

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, actually what is up is that the Prime Minister has once again betrayed Ukraine. He betrayed Ukraine when he gave Putin that big turbine to pump his gas and fund his war. He betrayed Ukraine when he refused to sell Canadian gas to break European dependence on Putin. He betrayed Ukraine by failing to vet someone celebrated in the House who turned out to be a Nazi. He is betraying Ukraine with this terrible agreement to force a carbon tax on Ukrainians that would destroy their ability to fight a war and rebuild their economy. We would axe the tax and stand unequivocally with Ukrainians in their fight for freedom.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would ask the member for St. Albert—Edmonton to please restrain himself.

The hon. government House leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, if that were true, the members of the official opposition would have voted in favour of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, an agreement that I will note the Government of Ukraine asked Canada to do with them in a time of utmost need when they are facing an illegal war of aggression from Russia. Instead of supporting Ukrainians, instead of truly standing up for their fight for freedom, they voted against it on a red herring.

Canadians need to ask what the Conservatives are doing. There is only one party that has betrayed Ukraine and that is the Conservatives.

Finance

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I hope that things will go as smoothly as possible at the border, particularly in the current global context.

That being said, yesterday, the government delivered an economic statement. Smile, good people. Bring out the marching band and have a parade. You are saved. The problem is that there is no substance to the economic statement. There is absolutely nothing in there. The Liberals are failing businesses, seniors and the homeless.

Are we to understand that things are only going to get worse before they get better?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague. We are also very concerned about the situation at the border, and we will be monitoring it very closely.

With regard to yesterday's fall economic statement, it is very clear that we are going to continue our partnership with the Government of Quebec, which is going to match the $900 million that we have allocated to housing. The green economy tax credits will also include biomass, which is very important for Quebec.

Yesterday's economic statement is good for Quebeckers and Canadians. It is good for everyone.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been rehashing the same $900 million for two years now to try to look good. That announcement certainly predates yesterday's economic statement. That response only underscores how vacuous the economic statement is.

We have a saying where I come from that goes something like this: If you cannot help, at least do no harm. The government is creating a department of housing, infrastructure and communities. It is more like the department of interference and intrusion. There is no money involved, just massive interference.

If the government cannot help, will it at least stop doing harm?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, it is a pleasure to work with Quebec.

I recently signed an agreement with Minister Duranceau, my counterpart in the Government of Quebec, that provides for funding of $900 million from the federal government and the same amount from the Quebec government. The agreement aims to build an additional 23,000 housing units. It is an opportunity for us to work together.

I will continue working to build housing throughout Quebec and across the country.

Public Safety

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to express my deep concern about the incident we just learned about at the Rainbow Bridge crossing between Canada and the United States. I want to acknowledge the work of the first responders. We also want to express our deep concern for those who, as reports have indicated, may be injured and for the potential fatalities as well.

What is the update on Canada's assistance in the investigation and any other steps to support those who have been impacted?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply concerned about what we have all learned recently happened at the Peace Bridge between Canada and the United States. As the Prime Minister mentioned, this happened very recently. He and the Minister of Public Safety are being updated as we speak.

We will share information with the House, and indeed with all Canadians, as we get more information, but at this time, we want to express our deep condolences to the people and families who have lost loved ones. We will continue to be engaged in this very serious and worrisome matter.

Housing

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, if someone wanted to hear the Prime Minister talk about his plan to make life more affordable, they had to pay $1,700, or $850 if they were under age 35. That is $850 to hear him tell young people struggling with the cost of rent to wait another two years for affordable housing.

Why does the Prime Minister think it is okay to make people wait two years for affordable housing?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful that the hon. member raised affordable housing for young people. So many young people are taking advantage of the first home savings account. Just the other day, I was talking to a young woman in my riding. She and her partner have saved, doing so with tax-free savings, and just moved into their first home. There is an uptick on this. More and more young people are able to do this, and it is changing a lot of lives.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, who is not worth the cost after eight years, promised us that all the money he was adding to the debt would never cost anything because interest rates were low.

Now we know that the amount the government is going to spend next year to cover interest on the debt has doubled to $52 billion. That is more than we spend on health care and twice as much as we spend on the military.

Why is the Prime Minister taking money from soldiers and nurses and giving it to bankers?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we tabled our fall economic statement, which shows the very solid foundations of our economy.

I would like to come back to what the Conservative leader himself is proposing. The Conservatives' austerity plan does not resonate with either Quebeckers or Canadians. I would like to know why he refuses to say what he will cut. Will he cut help for seniors? Will he cut support measures for families and children? Will he cut dental care? That is what Canadians want to know.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister was doubling our national debt, adding more debt than all previous 22 prime ministers combined, he claimed there would be no cost because interest rates, he said, were low, but those low interest rates are gone and the debt is still here. Yesterday, we learned that interest on the debt has gone up by over 100%, to $52.4 billion. That is more than the $52.1 billion we spend on health care and double what we spend on the military.

Why is the Prime Minister taking money from nurses and soldiers and giving it to bankers and bondholders?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we tabled the fall economic update, which shows the solid foundations of our fiscal frame and shows that we were able to maintain fiscal responsibility while being compassionate and being there for Canadians.

We are building more homes and we are building them faster. We are changing competition laws in order to stabilize prices in this country. What the Conservatives are proposing are cuts and austerity. They want to claw back supports to families and claw back supports to our seniors. That is not what Canadians need and that is not what Canadians deserve.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, fear and falsehoods are the only things the Liberals can use to distract from their disastrous record. They are the ones clawing back from seniors and families with their quadrupling of the carbon tax. It is the first time in Canadian history we have seven million people who are skipping meals because they cannot afford to eat, and two million people, a record-smashing number, are now eating at food banks.

There is a common-sense solution, which is Conservative Bill C-234 to take taxes off the farmers who feed us. Will the Prime Minister back down again, stop fighting this common-sense bill and stop taxing our farmers so that our people can afford to eat?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we are the government that decided the retirement age should go back to the age of 65 from the age of 67, which was a decision that side of the House made when its leader was in Davos, Switzerland, but let us stay in Europe for a second to talk about the appalling decision of these so-called Conservatives to turn down a free trade agreement with a beacon of democracy such as Ukraine.

What is up with that party? That is what Canadians want to know, and no one is buying this carbon tax excuse. What is up?

International Trade

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the pathological obsession these Liberals have with carbon taxes has now reached a level that is sick. This is how sick they are on the carbon tax. They would use Ukraine's vulnerability in the middle of the war to impose their destructive carbon tax on the people of Ukraine and make it harder for them to rebuild after the war. We already know that the Prime Minister was used as a tool for Russian propaganda when he brought a Nazi into the House of Commons.

Why is he trying to damage the Ukrainian economy with a destructive carbon tax in this terrible deal?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, the only ones who are not supporting Ukraine are the Conservatives. Let us be clear. The Canada-Ukraine free trade deal does not impose a price on pollution on Ukraine. Why is that? It is because Ukraine already has a price on pollution. It has had it since—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Ukraine can fight the war and fight climate change. We are here to support it because the Conservatives are not.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if it were already there, they would not have needed to put it in the deal. We negotiated the free trade deal with Ukraine. We support free trade with Ukraine. We are the only party that supports a real trade agreement with Ukraine that would include supplying it with Canadian-made defence equipment, which they voted against yesterday. They voted against supplying Ukraine with clean Canadian energy that would repower their economy.

Let us get this straight. They are against selling Canadian munitions to fight the Russian attackers, but they are in favour of imposing a carbon tax on Ukrainians. That is nuts.