Debates of Dec. 13th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is wrong on the facts. Under the previous Conservative government, we actually reduced emissions while growing the economy. We did it through technology and not taxes.

By the way, I said earlier that Canada ranked 58th out of 64. There is a new publication of the ranking and Canada is now 62nd out of 67. In fact, we have fallen. The higher the tax, the worse the ranking.

Will the Prime Minister finally get rid of his tax plan and come up with an environment plan?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are on track to surpass the Harper government's 2030 target and the latest emissions projections show Canada is on track to achieving our government's new, ambitious and achievable 2030 climate goal.

Our plan is working. We are seeing companies around the world invest in Canada. We were the third-largest country in terms of foreign direct investment in the world earlier this year because people are noticing Canada's leadership on fighting against climate change, but that party continues to vote against measures to support our farmers, measures to invest in a cleaner economy and measures to protect Canadians and their economy from the challenges of the future.

We will be there for Canadians.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there are two solitudes in our approach to asylum seekers.

On one side, Quebec is taking in half of Canada's asylum seekers. We do not hesitate to do so. We first deliver services at our own expense and then we ask the federal government to reimburse the $460‑million bill. We take care of the people first and then we deal with the money.

On the other side, the federal government offers no services. When it comes time to pay, it tells us that it is not an ATM. Lucky thing Quebeckers do not take the same approach toward asylum seekers.

Will the Prime Minister contribute his share and reimburse Quebeckers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every year, we provide hundreds of millions of dollars to Quebec to help with the integration of newcomers. This includes money for francization.

Our immigration program will continue to strengthen the immigration system and extend the benefits of immigration to communities in Quebec and across the country. Immigration is essential for helping businesses, finding the workers they need and continuing to grow the economy.

We will always work closely with the Government of Quebec, whether on immigration, housing or the economy.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, asylum seekers are a federal responsibility.

Instead of repeating that Ottawa is not an ATM, it is time for the federal government to stop treating Quebeckers like a credit card. The entire cost of services for asylum seekers is being foisted on us. Now the bill is due, and the Prime Minister has to pay it. True to form, however, he is running away. He does not like paying his debts. We know him, and he does not like doing that. We will not give up.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for asylum seekers, show some respect and reimburse Quebec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Quebec for years to help it take in asylum seekers.

We recognize how generous Quebeckers have been and how much they have been there for asylum seekers. Yes, we will continue to be there to help. Canada is a welcoming country, but also a country that must ensure that everyone is properly protected when people arrive, even asylum seekers.

Yes, we will continue to work with Quebec. We will continue to be there to support asylum seekers because it is the right thing to do.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing. According to the Bank of Canada, housing is the least affordable it has been in 41 years. He has doubled the price of rent across the country.

Now, renting a single room in a shared apartment costs more than it did for the entire apartment when the Prime Minister first took office. Evictions in Quebec have increased by 132%. That is the main cause of homelessness.

Will the Prime Minister finally reverse the policies that create bloated bureaucracy and drive up inflation, both of which cause homelessness in Quebec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader has made his thinking clear by stating that the federal government should get out of the business of building affordable housing. However, we will not follow his irresponsible advice.

Perhaps that is why last week his party voted against funding to build 71,000 new apartments. It also voted against more than 15,000 new homes for our most vulnerable.

As the team showed last week, we will not allow the Conservatives' partisan games to undermine our efforts to provide housing for all.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, all those apartments have one thing in common: They do not exist. These are just more promises.

Eight years ago, the Prime Minister promised to spend $87 billion on affordable housing. As a result, rents and mortgage payments doubled. Now, evictions have increased by 132% in Quebec. The main cause of homelessness is evictions after eight years of this Prime Minister.

When will he recognize that creating bloated bureaucracy and driving up inflation do not help with housing?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Conservative Party voted against 71,000 new apartments. They voted against 15,000 affordable housing units. Now their excuse is to say that since the housing does not yet exist, they can vote against it. Come on. They clearly do not understand that it is a government's responsibility to invest for a better future, to solve problems.

He just wants to increase anxiety. He does not want to come up with solutions for Canadians. On this side of the House, we will stand up for Canadians despite the Conservatives, who oppose all these measures.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is doing the same thing he has done for eight years. He spent $87 billion on housing affordability to double housing costs. We have fewer homes per capita than we did when he took office, the fewest homes of any country in the G7. He doubled the rent, doubled mortgage payments and doubled the needed down payment to the point where the Bank of Canada reports this week that Canada has the worst housing affordability in 41 years, and rentals.ca reveals that it is now more expensive to rent one room in a shared apartment than it was eight years ago to rent the entire apartment for oneself.

When will he realize that ballooning inflation and the bureaucracy does not build homes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when will the leader of the official opposition understand that voting against the construction of 71,000 new homes through the apartment construction loan program is not going to help anyone and that voting against the construction of 12,000 new affordable homes through the rapid housing initiative will not help Canadians.

He chose to play partisan games last week in trying to shut down this House through a MAGA-inspired approach while we continue to stand up for Canadians and deliver on the things they need. While they play partisan games, we will continue to fight for Canadians.

Tourism Industry

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry exists in all regions of the country and is also the second-largest employer in rural areas. Forty per cent of tourism jobs are in rural areas.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House how the government is supporting the millions of workers in the tourism industry?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Sudbury for her excellent question and hard work.

Last week, the Conservative Party voted against programs to support Canadians and turned its back on the two million workers in the tourism industry. The Conservatives voted against funding to support the growth of tourism in Canada. Workers in that industry deserve better. Unlike the Conservatives, who only support workers in their ad campaigns, we, on this side of the House, will continue to support workers in the tourism industry.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Maclean's magazine reports, “Two jobs, no money: How mortgage rates have pushed one Toronto father to the brink”. Two years into their mortgage, their biweekly payments have reached $2,268, now paying more than $5,000 a month to live in a 900-square foot townhouse, and $3,500 of that goes to interest.

All of his spending programs have doubled the cost of housing and, according to the Bank of Nova Scotia, have boosted interest rates another 2%.

Will he realize the damage he is doing in causing Canadians unsupportable, unsustainable mortgage payments?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the challenges Canadians are facing, and on this side of the House, we have chosen to invest to support them: to create new affordable housing, to create new apartments.

As much as the Leader of the Opposition loves to rise in this House to talk about Canadians' suffering, he will not rise in this House to support solutions to Canadians' challenges. He rose in the House to vote against 71,000 new rental homes through the apartment construction loan program. He rose in this House to vote against 12,000 new affordable homes through the rapid housing initiative. He likes to instrumentalize Canadians. He will not solve for them.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I voted against an approach that has spent $87 billion on affordable housing, to double the cost of housing. He thinks that if he is expensive, he is excused for his failures. Failing is bad. Failing expensively is even worse.

Our common-sense plan would require cities to permit 15% more housing, as a condition of getting their financing. Give them bonuses if they beat the target, link the dollars they get for transit to requirements for apartments around them and sell off 6,000 federal buildings and thousands of acres of federal land to build.

Why can he not get behind that common-sense plan?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, inflation has gone up, interest rates have gone up, food prices have gone up, energy prices have gone up, all linked to the ongoing war that Russia is waging in Ukraine. We recognize that on this side of the House and we are acting, not just to bring down prices here at home, but to stand with Ukraine in our fight against Russia. Unfortunately, the leader of the official opposition, who referred to Ukraine as a far away land refuses to stand up to deliver for Ukraine.

On this side of the House, we will always be there for Ukraine.

Foreign Affairs

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is not there for Ukraine. He is there for himself. When Conservatives demanded that the government provide lethal weapons, before Putin's invasion when they most needed them, he said no. When Conservatives kicked Putin out of the G8 and made it the G7, he said no. What he said yes to was to give Putin an exported, big, powerful turbine to pump his gas and fill his war chest, and to export detonators used for Russian mines that blow up Ukrainians. That is not being there for Ukrainians.

We will stand for Ukrainians and for Canadians.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to find ourselves in an argument about which side of the House is more supportive of Ukraine because one of the strengths that Canada has had on the world stage these past difficult two years is that we have said there is no debate around support for Ukraine in Canada, like there is in other countries where MAGA-inspired far-right movements are undermining support for Ukraine.

The Conservative Party of Canada has an opportunity to reverse its position in opposing the Ukraine free trade deal that Zelenskyy is asking for. Will they vote in favour of Ukraine free trade?

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been clear as to where we stand on the war in Ukraine. We understand that the Ukrainian people are not just fighting for their own freedom and survival, but are also fighting for us, and that we need to be fighting for them.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan to wait his turn to ask a question.

I will also ask the member for Provencher to keep it down so we can have the question asked.

The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre, from the top, please.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear where the government stands on Ukraine. We understand that the Ukrainian people are not only fighting for their own freedom and survival, but are also fighting for us, and that we need to be fighting for them.

It is also clear where Conservative MPs stand. Their leader has never advocated military, financial or humanitarian support for Ukraine. They voted against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. Yesterday, the leader of the Conservative Party dismissively referred to Ukraine as a faraway foreign land. Under this leader, the Conservative—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!