Debates of Nov. 29th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, these are the questions that producers and families right across the country are asking. They are facing an uncertain future with increased climate change and with increased challenges from global supply chains, including those related to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, which the Conservatives seem to be on the wrong side of.

We are going to continue to work with farmers and with agricultural producers across the country to invest and innovate while being able to continue to feed Canadians for decades to come, despite a changing climate.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after I asked the question twice, he said, yes, these are the questions that Canadian farmers are asking. Finally, he has gotten that far. The Medeiros farm is paying $100,000 in carbon taxes. That is one farm. He wants to quadruple that to well over $400,000.

I am asking him once again, how is that farm going to pay that tax? Is it going to raise prices on consumers or cut production so we buy more foreign food from polluting countries? Which one is it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize this reality. That is why we are working with farmers and industries across this country to adapt to the reality of climate change and the challenges of global supply chains.

I can say we will reach out to that farm community, and we will reach out to that farm, to talk to them about how they can meet the coming challenges in the coming years. We will follow up with them and ensure we are doing everything we can to support them into a changing future.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is even more progress. Now he says he is going to follow up with Carleton Mushroom Farms. This is a farm that pays $100,000 in carbon taxes. Now he wants to quadruple it to $400,000. It does not have any alternative sources. It either powers its operations with natural gas or propane, just like farmers have to dry their grains and heat their barns using those same fuel sources. There are no alternatives.

When the Prime Minister follows up with Carleton Mushroom Farms, how is he going to advise it to pay the $400,000 carbon tax bill he is sending them? Is it by raising prices on consumers or by cutting food production so we buy foreign food from polluting countries?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing about the sustainable practices that Carleton Mushroom Farms is already putting into place, and working with it on how we can continue to move forward on supporting it into a brighter future.

We recognize the reality of climate change on this side of the House at least, and we know that is going to bring challenges to families such as the Medeiros family. We are going to be there to support them, just like we are supporting farm families right across the country.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, $2 billion to boost English in Quebec since 1995: That is what the federal government has done for official languages in Quebec. That is not all, however; the Prime Minister is investing another $800 million in his action plan for official languages, and English is again reaping the benefits.

How many times do we need to say it? French is the language in decline in Quebec. The anglicization of Quebec is alive and well. Will the Prime Minister do something for Quebec and redirect our tax money to supporting the French language?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, protecting our two official languages across the country is a major priority for this government. That is why we are investing in protecting our official languages minorities across the country. The fact is that we are doing a lot more to protect French, including sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Quebec every year to support francization.

We will always be there to protect French across the country, including in Quebec. Our government is the first federal government to recognize the precariousness of French in Quebec and we are going to be there to support and defend it.

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

Mr. Speaker, how many times do we need to say it? English is not a minority language.

We are surrounded by 360 million anglophones in North America. Even Quebeckers speak English because bilingualism in Canada is a francophone thing. In Quebec, we are fighting tooth and nail to protect the French language and indigenous languages. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is undoing everything we have done by handing out yet another $800 million for English in Quebec.

When will he stop promoting the anglicization of Quebec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is yet more nonsense from the Bloc Québécois, which is picking fights and trying to scare people.

The fact is, we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Quebec every year to support francization. We are here to protect both of our official languages everywhere in this country, which means that, even though the Bloc could not care less about francophones outside Quebec, we will continue to be there for them, and we will continue to protect our two official languages in minority situations no matter where they are in this country.

Automotive Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister announced $15 billion for one battery plant. For context, that works out to $1,000 in costs for every single Canadian family. When reports came out that the jobs were going to foreign replacement workers, he called it disinformation. The next day, his minister said that there was one. Then they said that there were a few, and then the company said that there would be 900.

Yesterday, his Minister of Employment said that he is going to do an investigation and get to the bottom of it. What has Sherlock Holmes been able to find?

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I would like to remind all members to not engage, as much as possible, in using mock names for ministers.

The right hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again we see the extent to which the Leader of the Opposition will go to explain why he stands against investments that are going to create tens of thousands of great jobs across Windsor and St. Thomas, in Montérégie in Quebec with Northvolt, and right across the country in battery supply chains. He is opposed to investments that strengthen the future of our communities because he does not believe in climate change, but we know, and Canadians know, that these investments make a difference. In terms of jobs, there will be 2,300 local Canadian construction jobs and 2,500 permanent Canadian jobs just for the Stellantis investment.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we would sign contracts that ensure Canadian tax dollars only ever go to Canadian workers.

The only way to find out if anything the Prime Minister says on this $15-billion deal is true would be for him to release the contract. Yesterday, common-sense Conservatives put forward a motion to that effect. Liberals amended the motion to say that there should be “no notes”, “no...recording devices” and that all copies would be destroyed.

What in this $15-billion contract is the Prime Minister so determined to hide?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Leader of the Opposition has not had many jobs other than an MP for the past 19 years, but the reality is that there are commercial and competitive reasons to be careful about the—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

Order, please.

The right hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he has had 19 years as a member of Parliament. Perhaps we need to make sure that they understand commercial sensitivities to guarantee good jobs for Canadians.

Our investments have been supported by labour unions and are supported by local leadership, which understands we are building jobs not only for right now but also for coming generations. Working hand in hand with companies to make those investments in Canada is what this government is focused on.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what he is focused on is diverting Canadian tax dollars away from union workers in places such as Windsor to foreign replacement workers from South Korea. Canada's Building Trades Unions said that its members could do all the work the Prime Minister has chosen to outsource to foreign workers, and they will lose $300 million in wages as a result of the replacement workers the Prime Minister intends to bring in.

If anything the Prime Minister is saying about this $15-billion contract is true, why is he so afraid to release the contract?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, training up an already world-class Canadian workforce in more innovative and highly specialized machinery is good for the thousands of long-term, quality jobs that Canadians are gaining with these investments.

It is obvious that the Conservative leader is yet again looking for a slogan to justify his ideological opposition to investing in Canadians' futures. His crusade against facts shows us once again that he will do anything to advance his own personal political interests, even if that means ignoring the likes of Unifor and other unions and ripping up Canadian jobs.

International Trade

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister with respect to Bill C-57.

This fall, as the Ukrainian people fight to defend themselves against Russia's genocidal invasion, the Canadian government has signed a historic, modernized Canada- Ukraine free trade agreement with the Government of Ukraine. It is important to remember that the Ukrainian people are not just fighting for their own freedom and survival; they are also fighting for us, and we need to be fighting for them.

Most MPs voted in favour of the free trade agreement, but every single Conservative MP voted against it. They voted unanimously against supporting Ukraine.

My question for the Prime Minister is, will he share with Canadians why the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement is so important to Canada and to Ukraine?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his long-standing commitment to the Ukrainian people.

While Ukrainians are fighting for freedom and their very right to exist, the Conservative leader is pandering to far right, Republican-style politics that are creeping into his party. By voting against a crucial bill for Ukraine, the leader is playing into the Kremlin's hands.

On this side of the House, without question, we will never back down in our support of Ukraine.

Slava Ukraini.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister could not care less about Ukraine. He only cares about the fact that he is losing the carbon tax debate so badly that he would suggest that anyone who is against the carbon tax is against Ukraine.

The exact opposite is true. He is not bringing in a free trade agreement with Ukraine; we already have a free trade agreement with Ukraine, which Conservatives initiated and he had no part in.

Will the Prime Minister stop trying to distract from his losing debate on the carbon tax and on the suffering Canadians here at home, and finally take responsibility for all the misery he is causing?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, not only does the Leader of the Opposition think he knows better than everyone else in the House, but he also thinks he knows better than Volodymyr Zelenskyy what Ukraine needs right now.

President Zelenskyy and his government are asking us to pass the modernizing of the Canada-Ukraine free trade deal. The Leader of the Opposition is saying, “No, no, no. We don't support, because it would impose a carbon price on Ukrainians.” Of course, the fact that the Ukrainian embassy is pointing out that it would do no such thing and, that indeed, they have had a price on pollution for years now, is proof that he is just trying to make an ideological argument.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's ideological argument is that he would block selling Canadian natural gas in order to force Europeans to buy Russian gas. He would give the money to the Kremlin rather than give it to Canadian workers. He exported a gigantic turbine to Putin to pump gas into Europe and fund the war over there. Meanwhile, he imposes a carbon tax here at home.

He can try all he wants to impose the carbon tax through a trade agreement or by delaying the carbon tax election, but here are the facts: I will win the carbon tax election, and I will axe the tax. When will the Prime Minister get it through his head?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we recognize that even as the world is in a complicated place because of multiple global factors, like Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, we need to stay focused on being there for Canadians, both now and into the future.

That is exactly what we are doing. Our recent fall economic statement delivers more housing for Canadians right across the country, delivers stability and competition in grocery prices and builds on the jobs and careers that Canadians are going to be able to benefit from in a net-zero world.

The Conservative Party's climate denialism is not building a stronger economy for Canadians.