Debates of Nov. 6th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

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

Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives continue to spread misinformation in this chamber. This pause on the price on pollution on home heating oil applies right across the country, despite what the Conservatives keep saying.

What is particularly concerning, and I think I speak on behalf of every Ontario member of Parliament and many Ontario residents, is every time they say “common sense” it brings up terrible memories of the Mike Harris years, when not only did they slash public services but they slashed them in such incredible ways that it led to things like Walkerton.

Ontarians remember, and they are not going to elect common-sense Conservatives again.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here is just how out of touch and tone-deaf the Liberals are. When asked if she would support giving the same pause on home heating back home, their own minister, right from Thunder Bay—Superior North, said that they do not have the same challenges in northern Ontario that we see in Atlantic Canada.

I visited Thunder Bay last week, and let me say that it gets very cold there, too, just like in Atlantic Canada.

After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the cost of living crisis there is so bad that the regional food bank cannot keep up with the surging demand, now at 12,000 people.

Will the Prime Minister let his Thunder Bay MPs vote to give residents fair treatment and take the tax off, so they can keep the heat on?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative provincial finance minister of Ontario knows that pensions matter for the people of Ontario.

That is why he wrote me a letter asking me to convene a meeting of all provincial finance ministers to defend our pensions. Will the Conservative MPs from Ontario be equally courageous and responsible in defending the pensions of the people of Ontario, and support our effort to keep the pensions of all Canadians safe?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask all members, especially the member for Battle River—Crowfoot, to please listen to the responses that are to offered. I would ask all members to listen to that member when that member does take the floor.

The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.

Foreign Affairs

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Palestinian Canadians in my riding did everything possible to work with Global Affairs Canada to get their loved ones out of Gaza. They put all of their hopes on Sunday's evacuation, only to hear nothing from Canadian officials.

The bombardments are getting more intense. My constituents, their families, Canadian citizens are trapped. They need the government to stand for human rights and to protect lives. The heads of 18 UN agencies and NGOs and my constituents are calling for a ceasefire. Why not the Prime Minister?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Gaza is dire. Many Canadians are worried about their loved ones. What is happening on the ground is fluid and unpredictable, and we know there are delays at the Rafah crossing for all countries.

I want to reassure Canadians that we are in regular contact with Egypt and Israel to push for Canadians to leave as soon as possible. We continually try to reach all Canadians, permanent residents and their immediate family members to convey the latest information.

We continue to call for humanitarian pauses, for Canadians to get out, for aid to get in and for all hostages to be released.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 18 United Nations agencies and international NGOs, including Unicef and Save the Children, called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, expressing shock and horror at the mounting death toll from the conflicts, saying that it is a “graveyard for children”.

“It’s been 30 days. Enough is enough,” the UN and the NGO heads said in a rare joint statement. “This must stop now.”

When will the Liberal government finally do what most of the world has called for, and that is demand an immediate ceasefire to save the children right now?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, we unequivocally condemn the Hamas terrorist attack. The price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. What is unfolding in Gaza is a human tragedy.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been to the region twice to oversee our efforts to help Canadians, but also to de-escalate the situation. That is why we continue to call for international humanitarian law to be upheld and for humanitarian pauses, so Canadians can leave, humanitarian aid can get in and all hostages can be released.

Canada is committed to a goal of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Families, Children and Social Development

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, we know that many Canadian families are struggling to make ends meet. This is particularly the case in Yukon, where more than half of families spend over 30% of their income on housing.

The Minister of National Revenue recently made an important announcement alongside Ms. Tracy-Anne McPhee, the Yukon Minister of Health and Social Services.

Can the Minister of National Revenue inform the House of this announcement and how it will affect our Yukon families?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce that Yukon families can now apply for the Canada child benefit when registering for the birth of their newborn through the automated benefits application service of the Yukon Vital Statistics office. It is the quickest and easiest way to apply for and receive the benefit, which is more than $5,500 on average per year for Yukon families.

Carbon Pricing

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, this Prime Minister, who is not worth the cost, has found a new partner to help him stay in power for the next two years. Yes, the costly new Bloc-Liberal coalition will soon vote against our common-sense motion to pause Canadians' pain and pause the carbon tax on all forms of home heating. It is costly to vote Bloc. In today's La Presse, the Bloc leader confirms that he has no qualms about propping up the Liberal Prime Minister for the next two years.

What concessions has the Prime Minister made to secure the Bloc's unconditional support?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we seem to be in a time machine. The Conservatives want to roll back fundamental rights and women's rights. They want to back down on banning assault weapons. They want to turn back the clock on the fight against climate change. They probably cannot even spell “climate change”. Simply put, they want to take us back to the Stone Age.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to get a stone-age government.

We are going to vote on a motion that calls on the government to pause all carbon taxes on home heating for all Canadians. The Bloc Québécois has picked sides: It wants to drastically increase carbon taxes. It is throwing its support behind the Prime Minister, who imposed a second carbon tax that will add 20¢ to the cost of every litre of gas sold in Quebec. Voting for the Bloc is costly.

What did the Prime Minister promise his new partner in this costly Bloc-Liberal coalition, a coalition that is going to radically hike taxes at the expense of all Quebeckers?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, for once, I agree with my colleague. He just confirmed that we are headed for a stone-age government. Those were his words. We are headed back in time. We are returning to the past. This is a step backwards in terms of fundamental rights, gun control and the fight against climate change. He clearly said that were were heading back to the Stone Age. That is appalling.

We will never go back.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, the Bloc Québécois is lending moral support to the Liberal Party, to this government. Who would have thought? Come to think of it, though, it is true that the two parties do share some commonalities, given that their proposals on global warming have divided Canadians. That is exactly what the Bloc wants to do: sow division and pick fights. The Bloc also wants to radically increase the carbon tax. Is this going to inspire those folks?

My question for the Bloc leader or his Liberal representative is very simple. Will members be allowed to vote for common sense?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague was the last, and I do mean the very last person, to speak in the National Assembly before the carbon exchange was adopted.

That legislation passed by unanimous consent in Quebec. If my colleague did not like it, why did he not speak up at that time? Why did he save his opposition until today? He did not break unanimity at the time. What has changed for my colleague in recent years?

He too wants to go back to the Stone Age. We will not go there.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is another reason why the Bloc Québécois might be buddying up to the Liberal Party. Have members seen the Parti Québécois's year one budget?

Four pages of that budget talk about how the Liberal government's poor management has become an argument for independence. No, we certainly do not want to go back to the Stone Ages of the Pierre Trudeau era, that is for sure.

Will the Bloc Québécois representative in the Liberal government rise and assure all members of the House that they will be allowed to vote using their common sense?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, every time a Conservative member rises in the House, I can sense something fishy going on.

They are incapable of telling the truth. They are incapable of taking responsibility for what they did in the past. That is a shame for my colleagues from Quebec. These people supported the carbon exchange. We should be proud of what has been done in Quebec and proud of wanting to protect the environment across the country.

Small Business

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, more than 221,000 SMEs could go bankrupt if the federal government does not extend the deadlines for them to repay CEBA loans without losing subsidies. We are not talking about billion-dollar multinationals here. These are small businesses that contribute to the vitality of each of our regions.

In my constituency of Rivière-du-Nord, 213 SMEs have alerted the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that they are in danger of going bankrupt.

When will the minister finally offer businesses the extension they are asking for and stop a wave of bankruptcies that she will have on her conscience?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, we have already given small businesses an extra year to qualify for the forgivable portion of the loan.

Since they asked for more help, we are offering them more flexibility on refinancing, more time to access loan forgiveness and a one-year extension on the repayment deadline.

We are always there for our small businesses, unlike the Conservative leader, who wants to take us back to the Stone Age.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is even worse in Trois-Rivières. There are 288 SMEs there that have said they will go bankrupt if the federal government does not defer payment of the CEBA loans for a year without them losing any subsidies. That would mean 288 bankrupt businesses. Imagine the number of job losses that would represent.

The minister must not allow this to happen through her failure to act. Does she know how many bankruptcies are likely to occur in her region? How can she possibly explain to these business owners that she is going to abandon them instead of offering them the one-year deferral they are asking for?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to have created a program that has provided $49 billion in support to our SMEs across the country.

The important thing to note today is that SMEs have until December 31, 2026, to repay the loan in full. That is an important date to keep in mind. We are here for our SMEs in Quebec and across Canada.

Carbon Pricing

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, food banks can no longer keep up with demand, it is hard to pay mortgages, and groceries are getting more and more expensive. Now, the Bloc Québécois is rescuing the Liberals in order to maintain the carbon tax on the backs of Quebeckers and Canadians. Voting for the Bloc is costly.

I am wondering if the Liberals are forming the expensive new Bloc- Liberal coalition to raise taxes on the backs of Quebeckers.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I must explain once again that there is no federal carbon tax in Quebec. Canadians are concerned about the cost of living and climate change. Any serious government must have a plan for both. These Conservatives are not worth the risk. That is why we on this side of the House have created a system.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Alberta got shafted yet again. With Liberal support collapsing in Atlantic Canada, the desperate Prime Minister gave Atlantic Canadians a pause on his punitive carbon tax on home heating while Albertans got nothing.

Today, the Liberal minister from Edmonton Centre has a choice. Will he support our common-sense Conservative motion to axe the tax on home heating or will he once again sell out his constituents to his boss, the Prime Minister?