House of Commons Hansard #163 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was seniors.
Gerald Soroka Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current Liberal Prime Minister, Gianne, a small business owner in Entwistle, is struggling under the oppressive carbon tax. With the cost of food, heating and fuel skyrocketing, it is becoming harder for Gianne and countless Canadians across the country to make ends meet. Conservatives will continue to keep the heat on and fight this tax to help all Canadians, like Gianne.
When will the government axe the carbon tax?
Rachel Bendayan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the price on pollution our government introduced, or if the Conservatives prefer to call it a carbon tax, I am happy to do so, is actually a market-based mechanism. It is a capitalism-based mechanism that all experts agree is the most effective at fighting climate change. Even the Conservative Party temporarily campaigned on a price on pollution. I think we can all agree that this is the most effective way to fight climate change, and that Canadians are asking us to fight climate change in order to protect our planet for the future and for our children.
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current Prime Minister, Canadians can no longer afford to eat, heat or house themselves. The situation is about to get worse. With the tripling of the carbon tax, seniors must choose between eating and heating. Conservatives will fight to turn the tax off, so seniors can keep the heat on.
I ask the Prime Minister this: Will he show compassion and remove the carbon tax?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors
Mr. Speaker, after seven years and three months, we have been able to make significant progress for seniors. Members should not take my word for it. They should take that member's word for it. The Conservative member for King—Vaughan, just last week, highlighted at committee how poverty rates dramatically decreased since we formed government in 2015. When we came into government, we made a decision to invest in seniors. We immediately reinstated the age of retirement back to 65. That member would have had seniors work two full years to get the benefits they paid into for decades.
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Mr. Speaker, if the member had listened to the entire question, he would have answered it properly. They cut out the part where I asked how much CERB impacted that figure. That is what Stats Canada asked.
Sheila, a senior from Midland, would like to know why the government refuses to answer questions. Seniors demand accountability from the Liberal government. It is all talk and no action.
Will the Prime Minister understand the benefit that seniors have brought to this country, show some compassion and let the Conservatives come and fix what the Liberal government has broken?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors
Mr. Speaker, every day the Conservatives stand up and pretend to care about seniors. Day in and day out, month in and month out, and year in and year out since 2015, they have stood to vote against everything we have done for seniors in this country. For seven years and three months, they cannot stand up every year and vote against the things we do for seniors and then pretend to care about seniors.
Canadian seniors know a whole lot better.
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Mr. Speaker, tax season is coming. Year after year, millions of Canadians file their tax returns, and in doing so they gain access to multiple benefits that make a real difference in their lives. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue tell us more about the importance, but also the advantages, of filing our tax returns on time?
Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, let me commend the member, who brings to this House 29 years of experience as an educator in his community. He has years of experience as a mayor and, most recently, he was co-chair of the seniors caucus on this side of the aisle.
He is right. On the 20th of this month, Canadians can begin filing their taxes. It is absolutely essential to do so to get access to vital benefits, including the Canada child benefit, the Canada dental benefit and the Canada workers benefit, among many other examples.
They have until May 1 to do so. It is vital to the social safety net, but it is vital to Canadian individuals and families, too.
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, New Democrats pushed the Liberals to deliver a one-time $500 housing benefit to low-income renters, but now the Liberals are saying that people on income assistance or disability assistance, whose rent is paid directly to landlords, are not eligible. They are among the most vulnerable in our community. We are in the middle of a housing crisis, and families are struggling to afford to buy food with the rising cost of living.
They need this help now. Will the Liberals stop penalizing people on income assistance or disability assistance and withdraw this discriminatory requirement?
Soraya Martinez Ferrada LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion (Housing)
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her work on housing, particularly with regard to the benefit and the $500 top-up that we introduced.
There has been no change to the eligibility criteria that all of us agreed on last October, with the exception of the Conservatives. I look forward to working with the member to ensure that the benefit will go to those most in need.
Mike Morrice Green Kitchener Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, this week, I met with Syrian community members in Waterloo Region who are reeling from the loss of loved ones in last week's earthquake. Those who survived this disaster are without access to hospitals, medicine, food, heating, electricity or clean water.
Syrian and Turkish Canadians are desperate to bring their loved ones to safety, but they need Canada's help today. They are calling on the government to expedite existing immigration files and make it easier to sponsor their family members.
When will the Minister of Immigration make this happen?
Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to all of the people and families who are affected by this horrible earthquake that has taken place in Turkey and in Syria.
I have been in touch with many Canadian NGOs that are either working in Syria or trying to get support into Syria. Our government has already pledged a matching fund of an additional $10 million.
I can assure the member that our government will be doing more.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
Earlier, during oral question period, in response to a question from my colleague, the member for Yellowhead, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance and member for Outremont, who we appreciate very much, said that the Conservatives were talking about the carbon tax. I would like to point out that every time we talk about this tax, we are talking about the Liberal carbon tax.
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont
That is not a point of order.
The hon. member for Foothills is rising on a point of order.
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, when I asked a question to the Minister of Agriculture about the impact of the carbon tax on farms, she accused me of spreading misinformation and misquoting. She did the same thing to my colleague for Battle River—Crowfoot.
I know that the Speaker has been asked to rule on a point of order from my colleague for Calgary Shepard, but I would like unanimous consent to table a document. It is a report published by four Canadian universities, entitled “Canada's Food Price Report”, which, on page 15, states, “It will see the cost per tonne of GHG emissions increase by $15 per year....”—
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont
I am already hearing “no” from a number of members.
The hon. member for Foothills.
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Mr. Speaker, this is about understanding the size of the carbon tax compared to the impact it has on farmers.
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont
I am hearing “no” from a number of members.
The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
During oral question period, in response to a question from my colleague the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, the member for St. Catharines made reference to a member's presence or absence in the House. I would like to remind the member that we cannot do that.
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Mr. Speaker, on that point of order, today is the member for St. Catharines's birthday, and I think he just slipped up in celebrating his birthday.
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, if I did, it was unintentional. I do apologize to the House.
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont
That was the one real point of order that we actually had.
However, happy birthday to the member for St. Catharines.
We also have a point of order from the hon. member for Fredericton.
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Mr. Speaker, during the period for Statements by Members, I was delivering something that meant a lot to me, and there was a significant amount of noise in the chamber. I would ask for unanimous consent to redeliver my member's statement.