Debates of Dec. 12th, 2023

Housing

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the dream of home ownership has become a nightmare. Today, mortgages have become unmanageable, devouring two-thirds of the average Canadian's monthly income for a typical Canadian home. I have heard from far too many families in Waterdown and Binbrook that are now teetering on the brink, because their monthly payments are up thousands. It is all because of the Liberals' reckless spending and deficits.

Young Canadians who are not yet in the market have totally given up. Saving for a down payment used to be achievable with a few years of hard work, but now it takes 25 years, which is what it used to take to pay off the entire home. This proves once again that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

Rents, mortgages and down payments have doubled. It is double trouble.

However, hope is on the way. Common-sense Conservatives have a plan to build homes, not bureaucracy, and restore the dream of home ownership for Canadians once again. Let us bring it home.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our government is continuing to invest in affordable housing.

In 2017, our Prime Minister launched a badly needed $80-billion national housing strategy to fill the big gaps left by the previous Conservative government's denial of federal responsibility for housing. Countless Canadians remember what life was like during Prime Minister Harper's “decade of darkness”.

Last week showed that today's Conservative leader is cut from the same cloth. On Thursday and Friday, Conservative MPs voted against funding indigenous housing, funding 15,000 permanent affordable homes, constructing 71,000 rental homes and so much more.

Our government is working to strengthen the economy by supporting the middle class and those seeking to join it. While in Mr. Harper's cabinet, today's Conservative leader worked to undermine Canada's electoral democracy and shred our social safety net.

The Conservative leader is simply not worth the risk.

Carbon Tax

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this government, food, housing and gas prices have never been higher, and with the governing Bloc-Liberal coalition intent on drastically increasing the carbon tax, prices are only going to go up.

I am so sick and tired of hearing these two parties say that the carbon tax does not impact Quebec. The second carbon tax will increase the price of gasoline by 17¢ per litre. Quebeckers also have to pay higher prices on products brought in from other provinces, because the price of the carbon tax is passed on indirectly.

The Conservatives want the carbon tax to be eliminated in all provinces and territories. We knew right from the start that this was not an environmental plan, but a tax plan. Our party put forward motion after motion, but the Bloc-Liberal coalition opposed every single one.

Conservatives will continue to fight to remove the carbon tax on farmers and Canadian families, restore common sense in the next election and show these two parties what Canadians really want: affordable housing and a well-stocked fridge.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians hate the carbon tax. We see premiers suing the government, first nations taking the government to court and people lined up in breadlines at the food bank, because they cannot afford to eat.

Farmers feed this country. They do not understand why the Prime Minister continues to tax the inputs they must purchase to grow food. They are taxes that their competitors do not pay, yet the Liberal rural affairs minister has just made a spectacle of herself, stating that the country needs to vote for more Liberals if people want an exemption to this unfair tax.

The Prime Minister has instructed his appointed senators to gut the Conservative bill to remove carbon taxes on farmers, and we have the NDP leader willing to vote against farmers in the House of Commons to keep the Prime Minister in power. Canadians agree: The Prime Minister and the NDP-Liberal government are just not worth the cost.

Mental Health and Addictions

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week's 30-hour circus put on by the Conservatives cost Canadian taxpayers nearly $2 million. While I was happy to sit in the House with my colleagues to ensure that the services that Canadians need most were passed and protected, Conservatives spent their night voting against Canadians.

Let me tell members one of their most shocking votes against communities such as my riding of London West. Conservatives voted to cut the funding to combat the toxic drug overdose crisis. They voted against substance use prevention programs for youth and the new national suicide crisis hotline.

The toxic drug crisis has claimed too many Canadian lives, and the risk that the opposition will cause an already struggling population to plunge into crisis is too high. Cutting a bilingual, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate support for suicide prevention would be a risk that Canadians cannot afford to take right now.

On this side of the House, we are going to keep fighting to make sure that Canadians have access to the mental health and addictions support that they need most, when they need it.

Food Security

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are suffering from a food insecurity crisis that is jeopardizing our constituents' fundamental right to food.

The pillars of that right, namely availability, adequacy and accessibility, are compromised not only in my riding, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, but also across the country.

Food insecurity in Ontario has been steadily increasing, from 7.8% in 2008 to 18% in 2022. Feed Ontario reports a 36% rise in food bank visits last year, soaring by 101% compared to prepandemic levels.

Among the most affected are 41.7% of first nations on-reserve households, followed by single mothers, at a distressing 41%. Moreover, over one-third of food bank users are children.

Parliament needs to implement a national school lunch program and a guaranteed livable basic income, as well as to crack down on corporate greed. Let us all affirm our commitment to a society where every citizen lives in dignity, free from the spectre of food insecurity.

Danielle Gamelin

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to take a few moments to pay tribute to Danielle Gamelin, director general of Fondation Santé Bécancour–Nicolet–Yamaska.

From the time she started running that organization eight years ago, she proceeded to restructuring internal operations to improve efficiency and organizing fundraisers to stabilize the organization's financial health. What is more, she has reached out many times to the municipalities, the two RCMs, the chamber of commerce and every organization that offers health care services or community services so that the foundation can effectively meet their needs.

Ms. Gamelin is a woman of conviction. She is persuasive, inspiring, genuine, audacious and extremely disciplined. May she stay at the head of the Fondation Santé Bécancour–Nicolet–Yamaska for a long time to come. This entire beautiful region thanks her very much.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last night, the industry committee heard from a former employee of the Prime Minister's green slush fund about $150 million of taxpayer money being misappropriated. Canadian tax dollars were funnelled to companies with Liberal insiders.

The witness said, “[an] embarrassing lack of oversight...allowed these problems to persist”, and there was an “egregious cover-up of the truth.” There were “breaches of...conflict of interest.”

Millions were approved for companies owned or operated by board members. A staggering level of incompetence, willful ignorance and corruption was shown. The minister and the Privy Council Office actively engaged with altering memos before they were sent.

After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, it is obvious that they are not worth the cost. The Liberals will take care of their friends; Conservatives will continue to push for accountability and answers. When will Canadians get back the missing millions from Liberal insiders?

Jim Carr

[Ben Carr, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today marks one year since the death of my father, Jim Carr. My dad had a deep respect for our institutions. He believed in the possibility borne from civil, yet rigorous debate; hard work; and confidence in what we can accomplish when working together.

His morals and values were guided by a faith in people. The proudest of his accomplishments was the last one: In his final days, he stood in this chamber, just a few seats from the one I occupy today, to advance the greening of the Prairie economy. He said during debate on the bill that, if he had a favourite part, it was that which required a report back to Parliament. Yesterday, the bill's framework was tabled in the House.

Dad's final moments here saw him surrounded by people he loved, in a place he loved, working to improve the well-being of everyone from the region he loved. He lived by what our dear Auntie Fran would say, that it all comes down to attitude. She would say that “the glass always had to be half-full” and that one should be full of life. That he was.

Whenever the time may come that I look back at my own parliamentary career and judge its successes and shortcomings, I hope that I will be able to genuinely say that I have lived up to the standard that he set for us all. We miss him.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is inflating grocery prices and forcing 28,000 young Quebeckers to write letters to Opération Père Noël asking for food instead of gifts. Meanwhile, he is also spending $1 billion on a green slush fund where public servants are saying that the money is being given to friends and wasted.

Now, a whistle-blower and former employee is saying that the minister lied to the committee about the scandal.

Why did this minister cover up the scandal and Liberal waste?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader's plan to shut down Parliament last week failed. All his 30-hour temper tantrum achieved was to show Canadians his party's true colours and cost taxpayers $2 million in wasteful spending.

The Conservative Party tried to reduce access to affordable child care, cut construction of affordable housing and make cuts to the police and the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Conservatives want to bring us back to the Stone Age, but we are going to meet Canadians' needs.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was about the Prime Minister's billion-dollar green slush fund scandal. We already know that, while he is forcing two million Canadians to a food bank, doubling housing costs and quadrupling the carbon tax, he has a billion-dollar fund that its own bureaucrats say reminds them of the sponsorship scandal and where its executives were giving money to their own companies.

Yesterday, a courageous whistle-blower testified the Prime Minister's innovation minister “lied” to the committee. Why are the minister and his boss, the Prime Minister, covering up this scandal and waste of Canadian tax dollars?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is not surprising that the Conservative leader does not want to talk about his failed Republican-style plan to shut down Parliament last week. All his 30-hour temper tantrum achieved was to show Canadians the party's true colours and cost Canadians $2 million in wasteful spending.

The Conservative Party tried to cut affordable child care, cut construction of affordable housing, defund the police and defund Canada's armed forces. While they want to bring us back to the Stone Age, we will stay focused on Canadians.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be forced to eat stone soup this winter after the Prime Minister gave us the worst food price inflation in 40 years, and we have two million Canadians, a record-smashing number, lined up at food banks. I know the Prime Minister is desperate to avoid defending his own track record, or worse yet, his quadrupling of the carbon tax.

There is a common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, in the Senate up for the vote today. Will the Prime Minister stop blocking the bill and axe the tax so our farmers can feed families?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada had the opportunity to support affordability measures for Canadians, but instead, its members chose to take 30 hours attacking the most vulnerable. During the Conservative leader's $2-million temper tantrum, they gladly stood against veterans experiencing homelessness, against emergency shelters for women and girls, against indigenous housing, and against rapid affordable housing construction. They even tried to prevent support for those who lost their homes in hurricane Fiona. That leader is reckless and should be ashamed.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the Prime Minister is not spending money on any of those things. He has a food program that does not feed kids. It feeds bureaucracies and creates frameworks that kids cannot eat. He has a housing affordability program that doubles the cost of housing, a housing accelerator that has not built a single house and a carbon tax that has not reduced emissions.

Instead of spending billions on programs that cause inflation and do nothing but sound pretty, why will he not axe the tax on our farmers so they can feed Canadians this winter?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, whether the Leader of the Opposition makes a homemade video about it or not, a key factor contributing to food inflation around the world is Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. That party has been playing right into the Kremlin's hands by voting against Operation Unifier, by voting against funding for military aid to Ukraine and by voting at every opportunity, including again this morning, against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement that Ukrainians have been asking for. We will never abandon Ukraine, unlike the Conservative leader, who showed Canadians—

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is desperate to distract from the misery he has caused here at home. I wonder if he could, just for once, think about Canadians instead of thinking about himself.

We have two million Canadians lined up for food banks, which is a record-smashing number. He has doubled the cost of housing. He wants to quadruple the carbon tax. Nine in 10 young people say that they will never be able to afford a home. We understand that, with this miserable record, he does not want to talk about Canada or Canadians. He would rather spread falsehoods about faraway foreign lands. Will he not stand up for once for Canada? Will he not axe the tax so our families can—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader's partisan vitriol and performance games are hurting Canadians. Let us talk about the Conservatives' record directly.

When it came to 988, the suicide crisis help line, how did they vote? They voted against it.

When it came to the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass, how did they vote? They voted against it.

When it came to the new Montreal Holocaust Museum on the first night of Hanukkah, how did they vote? They voted against it.

There is clearly nothing this Conservative leader will not compromise.

Dental Care

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I tried to understand the government's new dental care program, but it is not simple. There are three types of dental insurance: private insurance for those who have it, the federal program and Quebec's program. However, there is only one jurisdiction, and that belongs to Quebec.

Since it should be easy to explain if it is simple, and since the Liberal government keeps compulsively tossing candy to the NDP to try to keep its government going a little longer, can the Prime Minister at least explain his hodgepodge of a dental program to us?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is funny that the Bloc Québécois leader mentions candy, because we have a dental plan to help children who have cavities. We have brought in a plan that will help families across the country who are unable to send their children to the dentist right now. Starting next year, we will be there for seniors with dental care. We will be there for young people under 18 who need dental care and cannot afford it. Eventually, we will cover all Canadians who cannot afford to pay for dental care.

We know that oral health is important for overall health, and we are there to help families.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is pretty much what we were told about dental health back in grade three, but that does not explain the program. However, I get that it is hard to explain.

The government announced a slapdash program that puts the private sector front and centre, which is surprising coming from the NDP, and that interferes in an area under Quebec's jurisdiction, although that part is no shocker coming from either the Liberals or the NDP.

When the Prime Minister authorized the announcement of the dental care program, was it the health of Canadians he had in mind, or the strength, survival and ideology of his alliance with the NDP?