Debates of Feb. 2nd, 2023

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, no, none of those Canadians created inflation. The Prime Minister created inflation. He doubled our national debt, adding $500 billion of inflationary debt, more debt than all other prime ministers combined.

What did that do? That inflated the price of everything, especially real estate, and delivered the single worst housing bubble anywhere in the world right in Toronto. Toronto is more overpriced than Singapore, Manhattan and London, England. Now the cost of a mortgage has doubled across the country, and the cost of rent has doubled in our biggest markets as well. This is a homegrown problem.

Will the Liberals finally take responsibility for causing it?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, will the leader of the official opposition take responsibility for voting against the housing accelerator fund, a program to build more supply and make sure we speed up processes to make sure we build more homes for Canadians? Will the leader of the official opposition take responsibility for voting against the tax-free first home savings account of up to $40,000 to enable first-time homebuyers to buy homes? Will the leader of the official opposition take responsibility for voting against the foreign ban on Canadian residential real estate?

Whether it is on supply or whether it is on rental supports for Canadians, the leader of the official opposition votes against all of them.

Health

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of growing poverty and desperation, more and more Canadians are suffering with depression. Some of them are going to food banks, asking for help ending their lives, not because they are sick but because life has become so miserable and they want to end their lives altogether.

The government has suggested veterans should end their lives instead of getting the help they need. Now the Liberals have announced that, a year from today, they will introduce measures to end the lives of people who are depressed.

Will the Liberals recognize that we need to treat depression and give people hope for better lives rather than ending their lives?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is totally irresponsible for the Leader of the Opposition to misrepresent what this means.

All of the assessors and providers of MAID are purposely trained to eliminate people who are suicidal. This is for—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. Hon. minister, please proceed. You have 10 seconds left.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side, and with the support of the expert panel and so many Canadians, will continue to develop and provide the kind of mental health supports necessary for people who are depressed, but the people—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for La Prairie.

Government Appointments

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the leader of the Bloc Québécois met with the federal representative to combat Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby.

Ms. Elghawaby, who has the full support of the Prime Minister, has made headlines since her appointment for numerous statements against Quebeckers. Even the Quebec Liberal lieutenant was insulted. The National Assembly has asked for her resignation. She cannot stay.

Will the Prime Minister finally rectify the situation and ask for her resignation?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, our government's position is clear. We know that Quebeckers oppose all forms of racism and hate.

The special representative has already clarified her comments and apologized for the impact they had on Quebeckers. I refer the member to her statements on this matter.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, not only is Ms. Elghawaby the wrong person for the job, but the job itself is a problem. Wrong person for the wrong job. Everyone realizes that the purpose of this role is to convince people that Bill 21 is evil, that Quebec is racist and that secularism is Islamophobic. That is not true. Rather than building bridges between communities, this kind of role builds barriers.

Will the Prime Minister back down and get rid of the position of special representative to combat Islamophobia?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, I was with the Prime Minister on Sunday in Quebec City, and we saw that Quebeckers from all walks of life stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslim Canadians on the sombre occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting.

The appointment of the special representative to combat Islamophobia is a recognition of and builds on the foundation of leadership of Quebeckers and Canadians to fight racism and discrimination in all its forms. The special representative has clarified and apologized for the impact of her remarks, and she has shown very clearly a willingness to work with all Canadians to combat Islamophobia.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would like to remind members that we are in the middle of question period, and I am hearing conversations happen. It is nice that everybody is getting along and talking, but if members have a conversation to have, if you do not mind, maybe just go into the hallway and come back once you have had your discussion.

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie.

Public Services and Procurement

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals funnelled over $100 million into McKinsey's coffers, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Millions have gone to KPMG, Deloitte and their ilk. Not only is this a waste of taxpayer dollars, but it takes away from our public service. It is a form of privatization. In the meantime, the Liberals are being stingy at the bargaining table. Our public service employees deserve respect.

Why do the Liberals have millions of dollars for their consulting firm friends but nothing for public service employees?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked me and my colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, to get to the bottom of this, and that is what we will do.

It is important to know that we are upholding the highest standards of openness, transparency and fiscal accountability. We will continue to support Canadians by making sure they have good jobs and good services. That is how we are going to keep supporting Canadians.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve accountability and transparency from the government. They deserve answers on Conservatives' and Liberals' long-standing partnership with expensive consulting firms when Canada has one of the best public services. McKinsey is just the tip of the iceberg. That is why New Democrats are calling to investigate firms that have been raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from the government, like Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Will the Liberals and Conservatives both agree to stop giving piles of public money to their friends at consulting firms and support a full investigation into government outsourcing?

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly in this House, we are committed to ensuring that our government contracts stand up to the highest standards.

I will be testifying on Monday at the government operations committee, along with my officials, and I look forward to answering the opposition's questions more fulsomely at that time.

The Economy

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister and the government, Canadians are suffering. Mortgage payments have doubled, rents have increased across the country at the highest pace in the last 30 years. The cost of groceries has skyrocketed. Everything is more expensive because of the government's inflationary and uncontrolled spending.

Will Liberals now admit that their economic polices over the last eight years have not worked, and it is time to change course to help Canadians get through the mess that the Liberals created?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity, during the course of the other questions, to reflect on the question that was posed by the Leader of the Opposition.

I would suggest that the leader think about the assertion that anybody supports anybody taking their life. When there are difficult times and when we are talking about issues like MAID, it is below this place to assume that any person anywhere in this country supports the idea of suicide as a way through dark times.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is the disastrous economic policy of the government for the last eight years that has left people in complete despair. It has actually caused the 40-year-high inflation that we see now and has forced the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates again. Over 70% of Canadians say that they may not be able to keep up with these rate increases.

Will the government realize that its economic policies over the last eight years have been wrong, they are not working, and it is time to change course and help Canadians get through the mess that it created?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know how to get through tough times. We pull together. We support each other. We do not leave people alone.

The Conservative ideology is this: “Canadians, you are on your own. Businesses, let the markets decide. Seniors, do not worry, go into your savings, pay for your own rent and your own groceries.” The Conservatives have no plan on climate change, on building the economy or on affordability. They have buzzwords, catchphrases and nonsense economics. They have no plan. We do.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, people are truly struggling, and everyone knows it except the Liberals. The common question on talk shows is what people are cutting back on due to inflation, and the answers are heartbreaking. What is even more disturbing is that the Liberals want to blame the global market for their inability to manage people's money. Tiff Macklem said, in October, “inflation in Canada increasingly reflects what's happening in Canada.”

When will the Liberals take accountability, responsibility and fix what they have broken?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is all fine and good to cherry-pick the comments of the Governor of the Bank of Canada, but let us actually look at the last statement from the governor of the bank, who clearly said that he will pause rate increases—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order.

The hon. minister can please continue.