Debates of March 21st, 2023

Democratic Institutions

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his loyal Liberal caucus keep trying to distract, divide and cover up their failure to protect Canadians from foreign interference. Canadians deserve to know the truth about Beijing's interference in our elections. We need to learn exactly what the Prime Minister knew and what was done to defend our democracy.

Will the Prime Minister finally identify all 11 federal candidates who received funding from Beijing, yes or no?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague and all members in this chamber that we take foreign interference very seriously, which is why we have put in the people, the authorities, the resources and the technology to protect all of our institutions, including most especially our elections. It is why last week we appointed Mr. Johnston, a former governor general appointed by Stephen Harper no less. He is unimpeachable and has the ability to put forward concrete recommendations, including and up to a public inquiry, which, if he does, this government will respect, because we take the work of protecting our democratic institutions very seriously, and we are committed to continuing to do that.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the truth Canadians expect.

Just recently, Global News revealed that two high-level national security reports before and after the 2019 election suggest the Prime Minister's Office was warned about Chinese government officials and the direct funding they were giving to Liberal candidates. However, the Prime Minister continues to express that this information was never shared with him directly.

The question now is simple: Who in the Prime Minister's Office deliberately and intentionally withheld the information from him, and will he be terminating that person, yes or no?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, this is a government that believes in taking foreign interference with the utmost seriousness, which is why we have raised the bar when it comes to being transparent in how we are doing that work, through the creation of NSICOP, through the creation of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and now with Mr. Johnston's appointment as the special rapporteur. He will put forward the next best practical steps so that we can continue to reinforce our democratic institutions, including our elections.

This is not a partisan issue. It is one that all members should unite behind, and I hope that will include the Conservatives as well.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we see this over and over again: skirt, deflect; skirt, deflect; skirt, deflect. At the end of the day, I find this all very perplexing. We know there have been reports given by CSIS to the Prime Minister's Office. Somehow those reports did not make it to the Prime Minister's ears. At least that is what he tells us.

My question for the Prime Minister is this: Was he not even just a little curious as to who the individuals were who withheld that information from him? Would he not want to know, or did he already know and simply did not need to ask?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the mandate that has been given to Mr. Johnston will allow him to look into all of the questions and concerns that have been raised around the elections in 2019 and 2021. I will highlight the fact that two independent panels have already verified that those elections were free and fair. Now Mr. Johnston will continue to work with all parliamentarians and with the committees and bodies charged with the responsibility of protecting our national security so that we can shine a light on the way we protect our elections. That is precisely what this government is focused on. I hope Conservatives will join in that effort. This is not a partisan issue. It is a—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the media reported that CSIS informed staff in the Prime Minister's Office that Liberal candidates were receiving money and support from Beijing and that nothing had been done about it.

Does the Prime Minister really expect Canadians to believe that he did not demand answers from those who withheld this information from him, or did he not ask because he already knew the information?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is fully aware that our government has taken the threat of foreign interference seriously from the very beginning. That is why we put in place a series of measures that enabled a panel of senior officials chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council to confirm that the 2019 and 2021 elections were indeed free and democratic.

We have strengthened the measures already in place. Mr. Johnston will provide an analysis and make recommendations if there are other measures we can implement to continue to ensure that there is no foreign interference in our elections.

Grocery Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, now that the New Democrats have forced an end to the government filibuster at committee and secured the testimony of the Prime Minister's chief of staff, I think we owe it to Canadians to make a little more time in this place to talk about the issues affecting them in the pocketbook, like grocery prices, for instance. Even as inflation begins to slow, grocery prices continue to rise at an outpaced rate, and grocery companies are walking away with all of that in profit while Canadians are cash-strapped.

The solution is to impose a windfall tax on grocery companies that are overcharging Canadians for their groceries as a clear signal that they will not get to walk away with that money and that the money will be reinvested in Canadians who are staring down the barrel of a recession.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member will know, the inflation rate today for February was posted at 5.2%. That is still too high, and we are going to continue to support Canadians who need the support when they need it most. In our country, tax fairness is a fundamental principle of taxation. That is why we insisted that insurance companies and banks pay more with the Canada recovery dividend, 1.5% more, on income over $1 billion.

We will continue to watch very closely what the grocery companies are doing, and we will continue to be there fighting on the side of Canadians.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the IPCC just gave another dire warning: If we do not act now, the devastating consequences of the climate crisis will only get worse. President Biden just announced a budget that eliminates billions of dollars in U.S. fossil fuel subsidies and invests that money in the low-carbon economy. This is what leadership looks like. Other countries are stepping up to the plate, but the Liberals want to keep giving billions to rich oil and gas CEOs.

Will the Liberals stop dragging Canada backwards and finally end fossil fuel subsidies?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of complete inaction by the opposition when it was in government, we are showing that leadership. The IPCC is right: Climate change is real. Climate change is urgent, and we are taking action. That is why we need to continue doing what we are doing. We put a price on carbon pollution. We have an emissions reduction plan that speaks to how we are going to reduce emissions across all sectors of our economy. We have committed to ending all fossil fuel subsidies for unabated fossil fuels.

Foreign Affairs

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has now been over a year since Russia began its devastating further full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is important to remember that this invasion is a threat not just to Ukraine's security but also to Canada's national security, to NATO and to countries around the world.

Despite Putin’s war crimes and unrelenting aggression, today Ukraine stands strong. In my view, Canada's military aid, including our training of the Ukrainian armed forces, has played an essential role in Ukraine's progress on the ground.

Could the Minister of National Defence share with Canadians the impact she believes that Canada’s training has had on the ground, on the battlefield in Ukraine?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, the Canadian Armed Forces have trained over 35,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces. We are training Ukrainians in England. We are training Ukrainian engineers in Poland, and we are training them on the use of the Leopard 2A4 battle tank.

As President von der Leyen said, the Canadian Armed Forces have been instrumental in terms of the resilience being shown on the battlefield in Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine as it fights for its democracy, sovereignty and stability.

Carbon Pricing

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight long years under this tax and spend Liberal Prime Minister, many Canadians are sinking into debt. They cannot afford food, heat or shelter.

On April 1 of this year, the Liberals are determined to make life even more difficult for struggling Canadians by increasing the carbon tax. It is more money out of their pockets. Canadians are spent.

When will the government cancel this cruel and callous carbon tax?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in the House, affordability is extremely important to every member in every party here. We have taken significant steps, including doubling of the GST tax credit, enhancement of the workers benefit, investments in energy efficiency and a number of other things to address affordability issues.

Eight out of 10 Canadian families will get more money back than they pay with respect to the price on pollution. It is, in effect, an affordability measure in itself. Canadians not only expect their politicians to be smart and thoughtful and to address affordability issues but also to believe in and address climate change.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that empty answer is not giving any reassurances to struggling Canadians like John and Judy in my riding. They are just one senior couple among many who built this country. How does the government repay them? It has increased the tax on their already ludicrously high heating bill by nearly 20%.

The Prime Minister needs to stand up today and justify this unnecessary and completely avoidable tax hike to John, Judy and the countless other Canadians suffering under this carbon tax.

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, we will not take any lessons from the party opposite. Its plan for seniors was to raise the age of retirement to 67. The first thing we did was to restore that back to 65. Unlike the party opposite, we have been investing in seniors by increasing their old age security and guaranteed income supplement. These are all measures the party opposed.

We have had the backs of seniors before, and we are going to continue to make sure we support seniors.

The Economy

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under the Prime Minister, Canadians have never been more indebted. Wasteful government spending has driven up the costs of heating, housing and food. We know that Canadians can no longer feed themselves because food banks are overwhelmed.

In fact, in a recent visit to a community food bank in my riding, I was shocked to see people lined up out the door to get food. On April 1, it is going to get worse because the completely tone-deaf Liberal government is going to increase the carbon tax.

When will the Prime Minister finally get out of the way so that we can fix what he broke?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is Canadians who decide who is in government and not Conservative members of Parliament. However, let us be clear that 2.7 million fewer Canadians are in poverty today than when the Conservatives were in government.

When it comes to supporting Canadians, we have been there, whether it is supporting children with the Canada child benefit, supporting seniors with the guaranteed income supplement, increasing the GIS or old age security for those over 75 or the Canada workers benefit. In fact, when it comes to supporting food banks, our government has been there. We are there through the community support services recovery fund. We are going to be there for Canadians, and we are going to be there for the organizations—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Northumberland—Peterborough South.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would sincerely invite this member to come down to the Food Share Food Bank in Cobourg, meet with these individuals and tell them that life has never been so good because that is just not true.

The truth of the matter is the Liberal government is as incompetent at fighting the affordability crisis as it is at climate change. It fails to meet every target. It continues to make life more and more expensive for Canadians.

When will the Prime Minister finally get out of the way so that we can fix what they broke?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives are as worried as we are about how Canadians are doing, then they should explain why, every time we want to help Canadians who need it most, they vote against the measures that could truly help them.

For example, when we offered a $500 top-up to Canadians who are struggling to pay rent, the Conservatives voted against it; when we permanently got rid of federal interest on student loans, the Conservatives voted against it.

They should explain why they refuse to help Canadians during these difficult times.

Health

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the ink on the health transfers agreement is not even dry and the federal government is already making cuts.

It has announced $82 million in cuts to health care funding, and half of those cuts will be made in Quebec. Ottawa is taking $41 million out of our health care system. The minister must know that all our health centres are in crisis. At this time, the ER in Lachine has been partly closed since February. In the Outaouais, the ER occupancy rate is at 200%.

How can anyone be so heartless as to make cuts to emergency rooms at this time?