Debates of Nov. 30th, 2023

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister has sucked the joy out of Christmas for children and replaced it with misery. Across Quebec, 27,000 youngsters have asked for a gift as part of the 29th annual Opération Père Noël. One of the letters reads, “I'm 13 years old and I would like a gift card to buy something so we can have a good meal on Christmas.” The fact that young people are asking for boots and snowsuits is unheard of, according to the co-ordinator.

When will the Prime Minister reverse his inflationary taxes and deficits so our children can experience the joy of Christmas?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always invest in our economy and help vulnerable Canadians at the same time. That is why our Canada child benefit has lifted almost 500,000 children out of poverty. That is why we put in place $10-a-day child care. It is so families can go back to work. That is why we are stabilizing grocery prices with the law we introduced in the House today, and we encourage every member of the House to vote in favour of it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Minister of Environment is imposing a tax that punishes single mothers, farmers and small businesses. Meanwhile, we learn that he has flown 60,000 kilometres around the world, in business class of course. His climate change co-ordinator has flown the equivalent of circling the Earth four times.

When will the government stop with the hypocrisy and taxes?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think any Canadians who are watching us will see where the real hypocrisy is happening. The Conservative leader has been against all of our investments in green energy, including green aluminum, green steel and battery plants across the country. I have never heard the Leader of the Opposition speak in favour of the Canadian economy, the energy transition or Canadian workers.

On this side of the House, we will always fight for workers and for the green economy.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, we have entered the next phase of the Prime Minister's economic misery. We have seen “just inflation”, and today we have learned that Canada is in a state of stagflation as our economy has shrunk by 1.1% in the most recent quarter while the American economy boomed at 5%. This is the result of high taxes, big deficits and crippling red tape. At the same time as prices are rising for Canadians, their wages are falling. The economy is now smaller than it was on a per capita basis five years ago.

Why is the American economy roaring while the Prime Minister's economy is snoring?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, despite the trite rhymes coming from the other side of the House, I would like to remind everybody in the House that we actually have an economic plan, unlike the opposition. Our GDP today is at 4.1% above prepandemic levels. That is higher than Italy, the European Union, France and Germany, and the IMF projects that Canada will have the highest economic growth in the G7 in 2024. That is an economic plan at work.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the economy is smaller today than it was five years ago on a per capita basis, and the IMF projects Canada will have the worst economic growth over the next six years and the next 40 years. This is the result of high tax hypocrisy.

It has come out that the environment minister, after punishing single moms, small business owners and farmers for heating their homes and driving their vehicles, has flown 60,000 kilometres. His climate change chair has flown the equivalent of going around the world four times, and now they are off with 70,000 other people at an air-conditioned dome in the desert in a petrostate. Why will they not park the jet, end the hypocrisy and axe the tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is one number that the Conservative leader will not talk about. It is that Canada ranked third in the world for foreign direct investment.

Yesterday, Dow Chemical announced one of its largest investments in 126 years in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. This is going to be thousands of jobs and hundreds of thousands of hours of construction. This is how one leads the economy. This is how one leads a country. This is how one leads to bring investment to this country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think he wants to lead the party, while his Prime Minister leads the economy into a ditch.

The high tax hypocrisy knows no bounds. Now first nations are speaking up. First there were the revolting Liberal MPs, who were worried about losing their seats because of the Prime Minister's tax on home heat. Then it was other premiers refusing to collect the tax. Then it was farmers fighting for their ability to produce food without taxes, and now it is first nations. Over 100 first nations communities have taken the government to court because it is violating the rights of our first people with the carbon tax on rural and remote people.

When will the Liberals stop violating the constitutional rights of first nations and axe the tax?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, they are not “our first people”. They are first nations, which are independent first nations. This government for—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Listen to that, Mr. Speaker. The colonialism from the Conservatives in this place will just not quit.

Mr. Speaker, I will say that, on this side, we respect first nations. We know that they are leaders. That is why we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in first nations to ensure equity in water, child welfare and housing, and we will continue to do so.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for La Prairie.

[An hon. member]

It is called hypocrisy.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Would the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot please wait his turn to ask a question?

The hon. member for La Prairie.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec alone takes in as many asylum seekers as all the other provinces combined. Believe it or not, it has cost Quebeckers $460 million, even though asylum claims fall under federal jurisdiction.

Quebeckers should not have to foot the bill on their own on behalf of Canadians. They also do not deserve the arrogance being shown by the Minister of Immigration, who is from Quebec, I might add, and who likes to say that Ottawa is not an ATM.

It is a shame that we have to go over the head of a minister from Quebec in order to find a solution that respects Quebeckers, but that is what we have to do. We have no choice. I am therefore appealing to the Minister of Finance. Will she reimburse Quebeckers?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there is a global migration crisis, and Canada is part of it. We have a moral obligation to act. Responsibility for asylum seekers is shared between Quebec and Canada, and this is an ongoing conversation between us.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it took a minister from New Brunswick for the federal government to finally realize how generous Quebeckers have been to asylum seekers. On Tuesday, the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs recognized that Quebec's public services and community organizations are overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Quebeckers spent $460 million on asylum seekers even though that is a federal government responsibility. On Tuesday, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said he would talk to his colleague, the Minister of Finance. Has he done so? When will he send that $460‑million cheque to Quebec?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad my colleague recognizes the work that my colleague and friend, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, has done.

There was a very positive meeting with Minister Roberge in Quebec City. I myself meet regularly with various ministers in Mr. Legault's government. That means we have a robust collaborative relationship.

The Bloc Québécois wants to convince us that things are not working, that there is conflict here, but the only conflict is the one the Bloc Québécois is trying to provoke among Quebeckers. There is no conflict because we are working together.

Public Safety

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the U.S. officially charged an Indian government employee with attempting to assassinate a member of the Sikh community in New York. The target was on the very same list as Sikh Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was murdered in Surrey. These new allegations make Sikh Canadians feel even more unsafe. Meanwhile, the Conservative leader is siding with the Modi government and blaming Canada.

What is the government doing to ensure the safety of Sikh Canadians amid these serious allegations?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP, with its policing partners across the country, are very engaged with the Sikh community and other communities across the country, which understandably feel an increased threat level with respect to what the U.S. justice department filed in a court in the United States yesterday.

It is obviously a source of concern. It is understandable in the Sikh community. The RCMP continues to collaborate with American law enforcement partners and will do everything necessary to ensure the safety of Canadians.

Families, Children and Social Development

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts sank when we learned that, this year, children in Quebec are asking Santa Claus for warm clothes and food instead of gifts. Opération père Noël is reporting a record increase in requests for basic items. So far, it has received 27,000 requests, up 2,000 from last year. That says a lot about the economic difficulties that families are facing.

How is the government going to tackle this crisis?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are here to continue building an economy that works for everyone. That is why we introduced a bill in the House today to build the economy for children, seniors and small businesses and to lower the cost of groceries.

That is our plan. I encourage everyone in the House to vote for our plan.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in an interview with CFRA's Bill Carroll, Dr. Barry Dworkin reported the case of a United Kingdom doctor who came to Canada, fully qualified and ready to practise, who was denied the ability to take a work simply because she was self-employed, which is an obvious paperwork snafu.

She joins the 20,000 immigrants to Canada who are doctors who cannot work, and the 32,000 nurses. Why will the government not take my common-sense plan to bring in a blue seal professional standard that would allow immigrant doctors, nurses and other professionals to quickly prove they are qualified, get to work, earn powerful cheques and serve patients in need?

[Paul Chiang, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we are working in partnership with the Ontario government to help re-establish all foreign doctors, making sure they can get accredited.