Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2023

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, a relationship is a two-way street. Yes, we received the letter, but responsibility for asylum seekers is shared with Quebec. It is shared with all the provinces and territories.

I could also send a bill for $450 million to Quebec. We have sent Quebec $600 million. There is also a $700-million fund under the Quebec-Canada accord that grows every year. Whatever Quebec's immigration levels are, Quebec must assume its responsibility. We are prepared to sit down and discuss this with our respective finance ministers.

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

Mr. Speaker, if we look at the Constitution, we see that asylum seekers fall under federal jurisdiction. The federal government not only is not providing the services, but it is refusing to pay.

It is always the same thing with the Liberals when it comes to immigration and refugees. They say that they defend asylum seekers, but only when it comes time to make fine speeches. When it is time to truly welcome these people, the Liberals are not there. There is no service or reimbursement.

Quebec provides asylum seekers the services they need. Now, will the federal government do the one job that it is paid to do and reimburse Quebec?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, a lesson on the Constitution from the Bloc Québécois, I will leave it at that. What I can say is that, last year, we gave $700 million to Quebec under the Canada-Quebec accord. We gave it more this year. We even gave it too much without asking for any of it back.

All I am saying is let us have a reasonable discussion with our respective finance ministers. Let us sit down and lay our cards on the table and have a mature discussion.

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

Mr. Speaker, I can tell him about discussions. The Quebec minister for Canadian relations said, and I quote:

The current policy of the federal government is: “We decide. You pay.” Ottawa prides itself on being the most generous country, one that welcomes all those who are suffering, but Quebeckers are the ones who have to pay. It makes no sense. This is definitely not a responsible policy.

That is what the Quebec minister for Canadian relations said. Quebec is welcoming and generous to asylum seekers. All it is asking for is the resources to continue to be that way.

When will the government reimburse Quebec?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I will give the same answer to the same question. Let us not forget that, in addition to the lump sum social transfer that is sent to all of the provinces, we are sending more and more money to Quebec every year under the Canada-Quebec accord, regardless of the levels in Quebec.

Quebec has a role to play in welcoming asylum seekers and all immigrants. We are prepared to sit down with Quebec to have a mature discussion between two responsible governments.

Carbon Pricing

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, life has never been so unaffordable. While Canadians struggle, he is quadrupling his carbon tax, which will raise the price of everything. He is just not worth the cost.

The Liberal-NDP government can pass Conservative Bill C-234, create another carbon tax carve-out for farmers and make food cheaper. The Prime Minister's environment minister has threatened to resign if it passes.

Will the Prime Minister accept his resignation and pass C-234 so Canadians can put food on their tables?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, in the House, Conservatives had a choice. They had a choice to vote in favour of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Instead, they are the only party in the House that did not do that. In fact, they have made the issue of the environment a red herring.

Even Ukraine today clarified that there is no price on pollution in this free trade agreement. The Conservatives are misleading Canadians. On this side of the House, we are standing and supporting Ukraine. We will continue to do that. The Conservatives cannot say the same.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of their failed carbon tax, food bank lineups are longer than they have ever been and Canadians are going hungry. Now they want to impose this Liberal carbon tax on Ukraine. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

Conservative Bill C-234 would deliver lower food prices for Canadians by removing the carbon tax on our farmers. Ministers are panicking and begging senators to block it.

Will the Prime Minister tell his ministers to back off, put Canadians first and let his appointed senators pass Bill C-234 so Canadian families can feed themselves?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate because I do not think the member opposite was listening to the previous response. In fact, today, Ukraine said that there is no price on pollution in the agreement. Therefore, it continues to be an absolute red herring and mistruth from the members opposite as to why they are not supporting the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement.

It is another demonstration of how irresponsible, how reckless and how risky it would be for the Conservatives to be in power, because they simply cannot share the true reasoning behind their decisions with Canadians. They just cannot be trusted.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Prime Minister still does not understand that he can quickly cut food prices. The Conservatives, on the other hand, get it.

We introduced a common-sense bill, namely Bill C‑234, which would exempt farmers from the carbon tax. However, the costly Bloc-Liberal coalition wants to drastically increase the carbon tax. It is costly to vote for the Bloc Québécois.

Liberal ministers, meanwhile, are upset and begging senators to delay the bill's passage in the Senate. When will the Prime Minister tell his senators to pass Bill C‑234 so farmers can feed our people?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, do you know what is contributing to higher food prices? Climate change, droughts and floods. The Conservatives would not dare mention climate change, and they would not even be able to spell those words if they had to. They want to set us back on climate change, which would have a direct impact on food prices.

We will not listen to them, and we will not go back to the Stone Age.

Housing

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast need affordable homes today. People are living in tent encampments, being evicted from their homes or trapped paying sky-high rents.

The Liberals continue to delay and disappoint. In their fall economic statement, by delaying funding until 2025 means that affordable homes will not be built for at least another seven years. This is absurd and completely out of touch.

Will the Prime Minister commit to roll out the money now so that shovels can get into the ground to build the homes that Canadians desperately need?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her concern and her continued support for people in need of housing urgently.

I am pleased to share with her that there are existing programs that have money that continue to support the construction of new homes both in the market and for affordable housing for low-income families. What we have done in the fall economic statement is demonstrate our long-term commitment so that people who are making decisions to go ahead with projects will apply for their building permits now and will get their designs done now.

I am pleased to share that the Co-operative Housing Federation indicated that the statement “shows action from the federal government to support more non-market and affordable housing.” It was pleased with the new investments, including $1 billion in affordable housing for co-op, non-profit and social housing.

Indigenous Affairs

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Parliament unanimously supported my motion recognizing missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people as a Canada-wide emergency. However, how many times is MMIWG mentioned in the Liberals' fall economic statement? Zero. Earlier this year, the government slashed $150 million from women's shelters.

Major municipalities have called gender-based violence an epidemic. Therefore, can the government explain why it is ignoring MMIWG and slashing money from women's shelters?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her ongoing advocacy on this issue.

Addressing the ongoing violence against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people is a whole-of-government approach that requires living up to our moral obligations as a country and the calls for justice. That is why in budget 2023 we have invested $125 million to implement the national action plan for MMIWG to ensure accountability by establishing an oversight mechanism and support the National Family and Survivors Circle.

We will continue to work with families to ensure we address the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

International Trade

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Conservative Party, under its leader, does not support Ukraine. He has not advocated for more military, financial or humanitarian support for Ukraine. He has not called out the vicious acts of genocide. This week, that leader and every MP in his caucus voted against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement.

The Conservatives are trying to blame their decision on a mention of carbon—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order, please. The hon. member has about 12 seconds left on the clock. I am hoping he can get to the issue of business of the government.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative members are trying to blame their vote against the agreement on language about carbon pricing, which is a red herring, because Ukraine has had carbon pricing since 2011 and it needs it to get into the EU.

Could the Minister of International Trade share with Canadians why this agreement is so important to Canada—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Once again, members know that the speakership issued a ruling in terms of having questions that are relevant either to the business of the government or to business of committees that can be posed to committee chairs or to members of the Board of Internal Economy.

The hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets.

Automotive Industry

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberals are desperately trying to claim that they had no choice but to allow 1,600, taxpayer-funded foreign replacement workers come to Canada to work at the new battery plant in Windsor. The $15-billion taxpayer subsidy means that each family in Canada is paying $1,000 to subsidize these foreign replacement workers. After eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister release the contract to prove taxpayer-funded foreign replacement workers are banned?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the question by the hon. member for Etobicoke Centre. I thank him for his advocacy. I was proud to join with him to vote in favour of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. President Zelenskyy wanted this agreement. This is an important agreement—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order. The question was posed by the member for South Shore—St. Margarets. I am certain the hon. minister is going to respond to the question at hand.

The hon. minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am proud, on this side of the House, that we voted in favour of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. Canadian businesses have asked for it. They want to be a part of rebuilding Ukraine. On this side of the House, we are supporting Ukraine. I am disappointed—