Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2023

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent; he is an honourable man.

If he wants to convince his colleagues to do one thing for Canadians before Christmas, he must convince them to vote for Bill C-56. This is a bill that will help with affordability, reform the Competition Act after 36 years and allow us to stabilize prices in Canada.

I know my colleague is a man of influence. Will he be strong enough to influence his colleagues to do one thing for Canadians before Christmas?

Health

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in its economic statement, the federal government seeks to encroach upon Quebec's jurisdiction over labour.

It wants to force interprovincial mobility on workers, especially health care workers. Otherwise, it is cutting health care funding. It forgot one thing, though: Things are done in French in Quebec.

For us, the plan means that bilingual workers from Quebec will be able to work elsewhere in Canada, but the workers who come to Quebec from unilingual anglophone provinces will be unilingual English doctors. In Quebec, things are done in French. This cannot work.

Instead of undermining quality of care in Quebec, could the federal government just mind its own business?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my Bloc Québécois colleague, but he is completely wrong on this.

We transfer more than $700 million a year for immigration to Quebec. Most of that money is used to teach French to those arriving in Quebec. That includes anglophones who want to learn French.

We are there for labour mobility. We are there to train people in the language of their choice. We are there in partnership with Quebec every day.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is right there in black and white: The government is threatening to cut health transfers if we refuse to swap our francophone workers for unilingual English doctors. Quebec does not need unilingual English doctors. We need doctors who can speak French and provide care in French. We need doctors that Quebeckers can explain their health problems to in their own language.

If the federal government wants to be useful, all it has to do is increase health transfers, and we will hire doctors.

Will the government stop taking Quebeckers' money and blackmailing them?

Enough is enough.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, how very like the Bloc Québécois. It says that Ontarians should stay in Ontario, British Columbians should stay in British Columbia, and Quebeckers should stay in Quebec and talk only to each other.

We can work together. We can exchange workers. We can exchange doctors and collaborate. The Bloc Québécois always wants it to be one against the other. It does not have to be like that. Canada is much stronger than the sum of its provinces. We can work together.

The Bloc Québécois does not like that, but that is the truth.

Grocery Industry

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Minister of Industry was begging grocery store owners to lower their prices. First he asked them to be nice and then he loudly declared victory. He said to check the flyers because there were specials on.

In an interview with TVA, Metro's CEO said, “We didn't change our prices.... Nothing has changed since the meeting”. It is unbelievable. The only price that has dropped is the price of turkey, and that is because of Thanksgiving.

Who is the real turkey here? Is it the consumer, for paying too much, or is it the Minister of Industry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to resort to rhetoric like my colleague. One thing is clear, however: I will always stand up for the millions of Canadians out there. That is exactly what I did.

For the first time in history, a minister called industry giants to a meeting, told them that 40 million Canadians were outraged and asked them to help us stabilize prices.

If my colleague wants to do something for Canadians between now and Christmas, if he wants to give them a Christmas gift, he should convince his colleagues to vote for Bill C‑56. We are going to reform competition and stabilize prices in Canada, and we are going to keep fighting for Canadians.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I almost feel a little sorry for the minister. He made such a big deal out of his meeting with the grocery CEOs, and now Metro has admitted that it had zero impact on food prices. Any Canadian who has been watching food prices soar could have told the Liberal government that. Instead of standing up to CEOs, the minister has danced around price gouging for two years. The Liberal plan is not working.

With the holidays coming, prices are only going to get worse, so will the government support the NDP's bill to lower food prices and end the gouging?

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

Mr. Speaker, I find it shocking that the hon. member would not stand with the government when we are standing up for Canadians. I remember an NDP that would stand for consumers, stand for Canadians and stand for our country.

I enjoy the member. Instead of criticizing, he should join us and fight for Canadians and express the outrage of millions of Canadians. That is what we did. That is what we will continue to do.

[Larry Brock]

Oh, oh!

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I hope he is going to vote for Bill C-56 to make sure we have more competition in this country.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before I proceed to the member for Calgary Forest Lawn, I want to ask the member for Brantford—Brant to please only use his voice when it is his time to.

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn has the floor.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, this week's Liberal-NDP inflation-fuelling false hopes update is not worth the cost. Prices are up, rents are up, debt is up and taxes are up, and after eight years, time is up for the Prime Minister. The $20 billion of new inflationary spending is ballooning the debt. Next year, the Prime Minister will spend more tax dollars on the interest to his debt than on health transfers.

Why is the Prime Minister giving more money to bankers and bondholders while Canadians go broke and hungry?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite's question gives me an opportunity to let him know what is up. What is up in this country is home construction. Our fall economic statement has indicated that we are building more homes from coast to coast to coast, right across this great country, because that is what Canadians need right now. It also contains important measures that will strengthen competition in this country and help stabilize prices. What is down is inflation in Canada.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, she wants to talk about housing. The only thing they did for housing was change the name of the housing department. Canadians want results; they do not want more photo ops. Rents are up and mortgages are up. The needed down payment for a house has doubled. After eight years, the Liberal-NDP government is not worth the cost.

When will they stop the photo ops and build more homes, not more bureaucracy?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating and clear that the hon. member has not read the document. He seems to have missed $15 billion in low-cost loans, which is going to get Canada building. He missed a $1-billion investment to keep affordable housing going. He missed the fact that we are cracking down on short-term rentals to release tens of thousands of homes to increase supply.

When I look at their plan, they want to raise taxes on home builders by putting the GST back on, they want to cut funding for cities that build homes with the housing accelerator fund and they want to add layers of bureaucracy to do it. We are going to do what it takes to get more homes built. I invite the Conservatives to join us.

Finance

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, everything is up. Mortgages are up, rent payments are up, inflation is up, groceries are up and taxes are up, yet the Bank of Canada has asked for help keeping inflation down. It has asked for governments to limit their spending growth to 2.5% each year, except guess what the government just announced: An increase in growth of spending of over 5% for next year.

Is the minister trying to make misery go up for Canadians too?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can hardly believe that the Conservatives are talking about taxes. We reduced taxes for middle-class Canadians on two occasions, and the entire Conservative caucus, every single Conservative member, voted against lowering taxes for the Canadians who needed it most.

The fall economic statement we put forward this week shows the strong fundamentals of our fiscal frame. We have the lowest deficit among all G7 countries and we will have the highest growth in 2024 among all G7 countries. We are proud of our record. We are continuing to be there for Canadians.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's record is inflationary deficits driving up the cost of living. In fact, one year ago, the finance minister stood in the House and presented a plan that would balance the budget in 2027. When asked whether that was by mistake or by design, the minister took great boastfulness in saying that it was deliberate and by design. Except now we learn that the budget will be balanced in the year never.

Does the government actually have a plan to ever balance the budget and bring down inflationary deficits so Canadians can keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, what is up is our ranking in the world. What is up are the number of jobs that we have created in the country. What is up is the prosperity in the country.

We rank third in the world now for foreign direct investment. We have seen landmark investments in the auto sector, in the mining sector, in biomanufacturing, in steel and in aluminum.

Canada is winning on the world stage, while the Conservatives want to bring us back to the Stone Age.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, we know that prices are up, rent is up, mortgage rates, taxes are up, and we know Canadians are fed up with the current government.

Just this week, the government chose to spend an additional $20 billion, which go toward our overall national debt load. This means that now just the interest will cost Canadians $51 billion per year. That is enough to build 25 new hospitals and hire a whole host of new doctors. Imagine the difference that would make for Canadians.

Why is the Prime Minister choosing to support wealthy bankers instead of the health care needs of Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, when we unveiled our plan to build more homes across the country faster, the Conservative leader called that disgusting. When the Conservatives talk about the spending that they would cut, they are talking about removing supports that Canadians need. They are talking about taking away the benefits that Canadians rely on, benefits for seniors, for families and for people who need them most.

The plan of austerity that the Conservatives are proposing is not worth the risk.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member did not respond to my question, so perhaps she did not understand it. I will ask it again.

There are $51 billion spent every single year just on interest toward our national debt. That is enough to build more than 25 brand new hospitals and hire a whole host of new doctors. It is twice as much as what the government is willing to spend on our national defence.

Are the men and women who wear a uniform and protect our front line not worth more than the out-of-control spending spree that the government selfishly takes upon itself?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Here is the inconvenient truth, Mr. Speaker. In order for the party opposite to do what it is talking about, it would have to cut massively into every aspect of the federal government.

The member talked about health care. We are making historic investments right now to ensure that the health care system is public and there for Canadians. When we heard about common-sense Conservatives in Ontario, we saw a direct attack against public health care.

Will those members cut dental care? Will they cut the transfers? Will they cut the critical supports that are there in health care and promotion? Exactly what kinds of cuts are they going to do?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, asylum seekers are the responsibility of the federal government. That is why Quebec wants to be reimbursed for the services we provide, including housing and social services.

The federal government refuses to reimburse Quebec. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said, and I quote, “I don't have $400 million just lying around”.

First of all, it is not $400 million; it is $460 million. Second, when the time came to help asylum seekers, Quebec managed to come up with the $460 million, so the minister will just have to come up with it, as well.

Will he reimburse Quebec?