Debates of Nov. 6th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows well that we have billions of dollars in budget 2023 for carbon capture use and storage. We have green and clean electricity regulations and money that will benefit Alberta.

That member does not want people to know that he is one of the CPC silent 30 who have not come to the aid Albertans. He is not defending the Canada pension plan. He does not care that the Conservative Government of Alberta is scaring pensioners. He is silent. We are going to protect pensions. That is our job, and we are going to do it every day.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister plans on quadrupling the tax on gas, groceries and home heating. He gave 3% of Canadians a pause on the carbon tax for home heating where his poll numbers were tanking and his MPs were revolting. The Liberal rural affairs minister said that if people in the Prairies wanted a pause on the tax, they should elect more Liberals. The MP for Calgary Skyview is a Liberal, but his constituents do not get the pause.

Will the Prime Minister let that member mail in a free vote on our common-sense Conservative motion to take the tax off and keep the heat on and shove this carbon tax where the Prime Minister's poll numbers are, in the gutter?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, that is another silent Conservative on the issue of pensions in Alberta. What a shame to be a Calgary Conservative.

Let us talk about Conservative priorities coming out of Alberta. Instead of building housing, instead of growing our economy, instead of actually doing the work of Albertans, what are the priorities of the UCP AGM? Turning back protections for LGBTQ2 people, taking our province back. They actually voted in favour of conspiracy theories when it comes to voting machines and 15-minute cities. They are out of touch, reckless and not worth the cost.

Canadian Heritage

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of our homegrown creators in Quebec and Canada. Last week, Montrealers once again welcomed people from around the world to Cinemania, a festival that has enjoyed nearly three decades of success and that shines a spotlight on some of the amazing francophone voices and creations that Canada has to offer.

Can the minister tell us about the important agreement she signed on Friday?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right.

Last week, Canada welcomed the President of Switzerland on Canadian soil for the first time ever. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed a modernized audiovisual co-production treaty with President Berset. The treaty will help increase the number of film, television and video projects produced in collaboration, with much bigger budgets. This is excellent news for our creators in Canada and for the entire audiovisual industry, whose work is world class.

We will continue to support our audiovisual sector because we know how important it is to Canada.

Carbon Pricing

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister plans to quadruple the tax on heat, gas and groceries, but now he has decided to pause the pain for just 3% of families in areas where he is plummeting in the polls.

The Liberal rural affairs minister said that if people in the Prairies wanted a pause on the tax, they should have elected more Liberals. However, the people in Saint Boniface—Saint Vital did elect a Liberal MP, and yet his constituents are not getting the pause.

Therefore, the question is this. Will the Prime Minister allow the MP for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital to freely vote to take the tax off and keep the heat on for his constituents?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the member is talking about a national program to get rid of polluting, expensive home heating oil and to transition those homes with free heat pumps. This national program is applicable across Canada. It is applicable in Manitoba where there are thousands of people who use home heating oil. It is great for the environment. It is great for affordability. I plan to support this.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister plans to quadruple the tax on heat, gas and groceries, but then he decided to pause the pain for 3% of families in areas where he was plummeting in the polls and his MPs were revolting. The Liberal rural affairs minister actually said that if people in the Prairies wanted a pause on the tax, they should have elected more Liberals. However, here is the thing. The people in Winnipeg South Centre did elect a Liberal MP, and yet his constituents are not getting the pause.

Will the Prime Minister allow that MP for Winnipeg South Centre a free vote to take the tax off and keep the heat on for people in his community?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would like to encourage all members to please hold their comments until they have the floor to ask a question or to give an answer. That way we can hear everything that is going on from one end of the House to the other end of the House.

The hon. minister.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is time for that member to stop spreading misinformation. This is a national program that aims to transition from expensive environmentally damaging home heating oil into free heating pumps. This is a national policy that is applicable across Canada. There are thousands of homes in Manitoba that are eligible for the program. This is great for the environment and it is great for affordability.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, every day, the member for Winnipeg North gets up in this place and talks and talks and says absolutely nothing.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Once again, before I return to the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, I will ask all colleagues to please when they have the floor, use it, but when they do not have the floor, listen to the person who does.

I would like to give the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman the opportunity to start his question from the top.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, every day, the member for Winnipeg North gets up and all he does is talk and talk. Only the Liberals like it because he says absolutely nothing.

According to the Liberal rural affairs minister, the member for Winnipeg North failed to stand up and fight for Manitobans. Because of him, Manitobans have been left out in the cold. They cannot afford to heat and eat after eight miserable years of the Prime Minister and his punitive carbon tax.

Manitobans and the useless Liberal MPs are not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister allow the member for—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would have liked to have heard the end of the the hon. member's question. Unfortunately, his time had expired, and then some. This is the reason why it is important for both sides of the House to allow a member to ask a question without interrupting, so we can hear the question and the member can profit from the full time to which the member would be entitled.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member wants to hear more from me and I am happy to oblige.

At the end of the day, I want to remind members across the way of something that is an issue with the Conservative Party. I always say those members are like a fish on a dock, flip-flopping all over the place. That applies with respect to the carbon price too.

I will tell members what the leader of the Conservative Party does not tell Canadians. He would take away the rebate. That would take money out of the pockets of 80% of the constituents of Winnipeg North, the people I represent. Shame on the leader of the official opposition for being so reckless and risky.

Justice

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I join Canadians from across the country in giving a warm welcome and congratulations to our newest Supreme Court Justice, Mary T. Moreau. Justice Moreau was selected by the independent advisory council, nominated by the Prime Minister, and will be sworn in to her new position today. Justice Moreau is a fellow western Canadian from Alberta, who will serve Canadians well in this important role.

Could the Minister of Justice and Attorney General inform the House as to what makes Justice Moreau the right fit for our Supreme Court, and how will her appointment enhance our country's legal system?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Moreau is a proud Franco-Albertan and previous chief justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta. She has a wealth of experience as a trial lawyer as well as nearly 30 years of experience as a judge. She is a talented legal mind, an outstanding jurist and an expert in criminal law. Her appointment is a milestone for our country. With Justice Moreau, the judges on Canada's Supreme Court are now represented by a majority of women for the first time in Canadian history.

Veterans Affairs

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, women veterans will be attending commemoration services this week. Many of them will be asked if the medals they are wearing belonged to their husband, or their son or their father. Too often, they feel invisible and diminished when they should feel acknowledged and respected for their service. This must change.

Will the minister commit today to ensuring the participation of women veterans in Remembrance Day commemorations this year?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is our government's commitment, and I can assure the member on behalf of the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, that women will always participate in Remembrance Day ceremonies. Their participation is a must.

Public Safety

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are witnessing the glorification of terrorism and incitement of hatred against the Jewish community at pro-Hamas terror rallies across our country.

At a Queen's Park rally in Toronto, genocidal slogans called for violent acts against innocent civilians. B'nai Brith has reported these rallies that support a listed terrorist organization.

Why has the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada been silent on such grotesque displays of anti-Semitism and incitement? Has he asked his provincial and territorial counterparts to enforce Canada's hate propaganda laws? Canadians believe in the rule of law, not in mob rule.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are far from being silent. Our government has condemned all incitements to violence, all expressions of hate. I regularly talk to federal law enforcement authorities, such as the RCMP and CSIS, to understand what they are doing with provincial, territorial and municipal partners to keep all communities safe.

Today, I announced enhancements to the security infrastructure program to help all communities, which are understandably concerned for their safety, to better prepare for and discourage any potential acts of violence. We are there to keep all communities safe, and we will continue to do the important work that all Canadians expect of us.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As you said in your statement a number of weeks ago, a well-placed heckle is certainly within the context of what decorum is in this place. However, what was not said during that time is the inability for members to take photographs.

During a previous state visit, the member for Kingston and the Islands was quite notably recording what was taking place in the House. However, what was found today is that at the time of 2:36:18 p.m., the member for Etobicoke Centre, while on camera, showing up on CPAC and ParlVu for all to see, appeared to be filming the proceedings of this place while the member for Milton was responding to a question.

I would ask that you look at the video and that the member apologize for so wilfully disregarding the order and decorum that we expect of all in this place, to ensure that we can take our debate seriously here.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on that same point, I just want to confirm that at no time when the mace has been on the table have I ever taken a video in the House. I am fully aware of the rules.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point of order. I just want to point you to a ruling. Forgive me, as I am spontaneously on my feet and do not recall the date, but I recall the member for Carleton doing a very similar thing, taking a recording as he was leaving the House of Commons. Therefore, I would exhort you to look at that incident and the ruling that followed it for guidance in this case.