Debates of March 22nd, 2023

Housing

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition for actually talking about concrete ideas. For a long time, his only recommendation to help Canadians was to invest in Bitcoin, as that would help them avoid inflation. Now he is talking about credible opportunities to help Canadians.

What is nice, though, is that the idea of density around transit hubs is something we are already moving forward on and have invested in over the past few years. We know how important that is, but I will remind the member opposite that, in order to invest in density around transit hubs, one has to invest in public transit, which his government never did and which we have continued to do to record levels.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the difference is that, like housing, we actually got it built. What I am proposing is not to dream about housing around transit, but to actually require every single federally funded transit station be pre-approved for high-density housing so our young people and our seniors can live right next to the bus and train.

He does not like that idea, but how about this one? He has 37,000 buildings, many of them largely empty, big, ugly buildings. Why does he not sell off 15% of them so we can convert those into affordable housing for our young people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, part of question period and answer period needs to be taking “yes” for an answer. I said yes. Not only do we like the idea of density around public transit spaces, but we have been doing it for years. We have been putting it in our agreements with municipalities as we invest historic amounts in public transit.

The former Conservative government refused to invest in any infrastructure larger than a doorknob or an economic action plan sign. We are continuing to invest in significant public transit, including with a permanent public transit fund, something the Conservatives have again campaigned against.

We will continue to be there to invest in Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' very first infrastructure project was to install a doorknob in the Prime Minister's Office when they took office.

Speaking of housing—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. We want to hear the questions as much as we want to hear the answers, so I am going to ask everyone to take a deep breath and calm down.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, but sometimes I even crack myself up here.

The Prime Minister is presiding over a 37,000-building empire with these big, ugly, largely empty buildings. Why does he not sell off 15%, which is 6,000 buildings, so we can convert them into affordable housing for our young people so they can actually have a roof over their head and a place to call home?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, this is an idea we are already moving forward with, looking at federal properties and how we can convert them either through the rapid housing process or by working with municipalities to deliver more affordable housing.

I am very pleased to see the member opposite moving off his recommendation on buying Bitcoin as a way of avoiding inflation, and actually putting forward concrete ideas. It is great to have a real debate over ideas. I wish he had paid attention to the ideas we have so he can maybe propose different ones or perhaps better ones.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the only ideas the Prime Minister has put forward on housing are to double the rent, double the mortgage costs and double the down payments on the backs of hard-working Canadians who are paying more tax than ever.

On April 1, he wants to raise the cost of housing even more by increasing the cost of home heating, a monthly expense that goes with owning a home. This is at a time when seniors are already choosing, making the heartbreaking decision, between eating and heating. He wants to triple the carbon tax.

Will he cancel his plan to raise taxes on our seniors, our workers and our farmers and get his hands out of their pockets?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as of April, the places across the country that have the carbon backstop in place will receive more money. We are delivering more money than what the price on pollution costs average families across this country, because we know that people want to see us both fighting climate change and preparing for the economy and challenges of the future while making things more affordable for Canadians. That is why our climate action incentive puts more money back into the pockets of people in his riding and people right across the country in backstop areas.

We will continue to fight climate change and support affordability for Canadians.

Employment

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act proposes a plan to create good jobs and protect the environment. Sadly, the Prime Minister has not shown the same leadership here in Canada. We need a plan that creates good jobs and good union jobs and also protects the environment. Sadly, if that plan is not here, we are going to lose jobs in Canada, and that is a serious threat.

Will the Prime Minister make a commitment today that the budget will include a plan to respond to the IRA, and, in addition, that any investments that go to corporations are tied, with guaranteed strings attached, to creating jobs in communities?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to say that, over the past eight years, it has been an honour and a pleasure to work so closely with organized labour across this country.

We have been able to build opportunities for middle-class Canadians right across the country by standing up for unions, by ensuring that, first of all, we reverse the anti-union legislation the Conservatives had put forward under Stephen Harper, but more than that, that we build for a stronger future in partnership. We have invested in union training and better opportunities for apprenticeships. We have partnered with unions on infrastructure builds. We will continue to draw in investments from around the world, whether it is Volkswagen, Michelin, Dofasco, or any number of investments across the country—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Veterans Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is giving $560 million to a company owned by Loblaws to deliver services for veterans, but the services are not adequate. They are not meeting the needs of veterans. It is clear that the contract is not doing what is necessary to provide veterans with the dignity and respect they need.

Will the government admit that this contract is botched and is failing veterans, and cancel it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to do what the NDP suggests, which is what the Conservatives did many years ago and cut services to veterans. We saw what happened when the Conservative government shuttered nine veterans services offices so they could nickel and dime those who had served this country. The NDP proposes that we cut services to veterans. We are not going to do that. We are going to continue to be there to invest in supports for our veterans, as we have since the very beginning, with over $10 billion in fresh investments to support veterans.

There is lots more to do, but we owe duty of care to our veterans. That is why we will continue to step up despite the requests of the opposition to cut services for veterans.

Automotive Industry

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of neglect under the Harper Government, the Canadian auto sector is finally re-emerging as a global leader. When asked about the opposition leader's criticisms of the Volkswagen investment our government has attracted to Canada, the Ontario premier shrugged them off and characterized them as political comments. Even the Conservative premier of Ontario knows that this is a good outcome and that federal Liberals are bringing jobs home to Ontario.

Can the Prime Minister please elaborate on what this means for Canada and Canadian workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we join the member for London West and all Canadians in celebrating the fact that Volkswagen chose St. Thomas, Ontario, for their first-ever battery factory in North America.

This historic investment is a major vote of confidence in Canadian workers and in Canadians' battery ecosystem. It shows that our country is a green supplier of choice. That is why it was so puzzling to see the opposition leader criticize this announcement, even as members of his own caucus celebrated our landmark step forward for Canadian jobs and Canadian families.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's carbon tax costs families more than they get back in rebates in every single province it applies in, according to his own Parliamentary Budget Officer. Now we learn from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that “Despite collecting billions in carbon tax revenues, the federal government has returned less than 1% of the promised proceeds to small businesses”. This job-killing tax is driving up the costs on small local businesses that support communities right across the country.

Will the Prime Minister tell us how much an average corner store owned by a ma and pa would get back in rebates for all the carbon tax they are going to pay on their heat?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is increasingly clear that the Conservatives are struggling to continue with their anti-climate change arguments. They do not think that fighting climate change is a way of growing the economy.

We are seeing investments come in from around the world. We are seeing Canadians understand that innovation and clean solutions are part and parcel of not just a stronger future for our economy in general but their jobs, their careers and their kids' careers.

We are going to continue to show leadership around the world in drawing in green investments while we support small businesses with some of the lowest small business taxes in the world. These are things that we will continue to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, from corner stores to car mechanics, they have to pay this carbon tax. I asked the Prime Minister how much they get back. He would not answer because, of course, the answer is zero. It is a gigantic tax grab. It is also a tax on food. When one taxes the farmers who make the food and the truckers who transport it, one taxes the people who eat it at the end of the supply chain.

Carleton Mushroom Farms, just half an hour south of here, employs 100 people. Their carbon tax bill for the month of July was $9,000. Does the government they expect them to put that on customer's food bills?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the Leader of the Opposition truly thinks that the third time is the charm. Twice already they have tried to campaign against putting a price on pollution. They have campaigned against having a plan to fight climate change and grow the economy. They have failed the first two times. Maybe this time they will get it right, and Canadians will realize that climate change is a scam, according to the Conservative members.

The fact is Canadians know that fighting climate change and growing the economy, while supporting families and investing in small businesses, is the only path forward. The fact that they are continuing to stand against that is really a shame.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is not a climate plan. It is a tax plan. He has not met a single emissions target since he became Prime Minister. All he has managed to do is suck more money out of the pockets of Canadians. It is enough to make a man drink, but he is taxing that too.

I have in my hands a letter from Canadian breweries workers. These are union workers who say Canada is experiencing the highest cost-of-living increases in a generation. This is squeezing family budgets and making workers in the brewery sector nervous about their jobs. They are calling on the Prime Minister to cancel his planned tax increase on beer and spirits. Will he listen to these union workers and cancel the tax hike?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have always recognized the important contributions that Canadian wine, beer and spirits producers make to the Canadian economy. It is why we cut taxes for small businesses and eliminated the excise duty on low-alcohol beer.

We will continue to be there for small businesses right across the country, even as we promote extraordinary Canadian products like Canadian wine, beer and spirits.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is raising taxes on gasoline, heating, electricity, food, family income, on all sorts of things, and now he is raising taxes again, this time on beer and alcohol.

The unions that represent the workers who produce these alcoholic beverages in Canada say that this will impact their jobs, their wages and the cost of living of all Canadians.

Will he finally listen to the unionized workers and announce that he will cancel this tax hike for Canadians?