Debates of March 28th, 2023

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the former Liberal finance minister, Bill Morneau, the future Liberal leader, Mark Carney, the current Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, and now the Minister of Finance have all admitted that deficits and added debt fuel inflation.

When presenting the last budget, the Minister of Finance stated that they were absolutely determined to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, that it had to continue decreasing, and that it was a line they would not cross.

Is the Prime Minister going to cross that line today?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the members opposite cannot wait to see the budget. I can assure them that our priority is to help Canadians.

We will be there with targeted measures that will help Canadians with the cost of living. We will be there with health care services and more money for the provinces to provide dental care assistance, which the Conservatives voted against. We will also create jobs for the middle class in a growing green economy.

Those are the government's priorities. We will continue to be there for people.

Public Safety

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, here is what has happened over the last three days in Canada: On Saturday night, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a Toronto subway in an unprovoked attack by a repeat offender. On Sunday evening, a father was stabbed to death outside a Vancouver Starbucks with his wife and daughter present. On Sunday night, a man was stabbed on a Toronto city bus and taken to hospital. On Monday night, a sergeant, a police officer, was killed near Trois-Rivières. In addition, in the early morning of this day, a young girl was shot to death in Calgary.

This is part of the 32% increase in violent crime since the Prime Minister took office.

Will he reverse the policies that caused it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians, we are deeply concerned with some of the very heinous crimes that we have seen over the past number of days, with the increase in violent attacks on innocent Canadians and on those serving the public through law enforcement. It is extremely concerning.

That is why we will continue to be there to make investments in public safety.

Unlike Conservatives, who cut funding for police officers, we have invested in public safety. We have invested in municipal police officers, as we have invested in community safety programs, strengthened gun control and continued to strengthen consequences for violent offenders.

We will continue to be there to keep Canadians safe.

Justice

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, people are tired of hearing about his concern. They want to know what he is going to do to reverse the damage he has caused.

He brought in a bail system that allows repeat violent offenders back on the street again and again, sometimes released the very same day. In Vancouver, the same 40 violent offenders were arrested 6,000 times in a year. That is 150 arrests per criminal each year, as a direct result of the Prime Minister's easy bail system.

Will he replace bail with jail for repeat violent offenders?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work on bail reform, including working with the provinces to ensure that we have a fair, responsible system that keeps Canadians safe right across the country.

If the member opposite were really serious about moving forward on keeping communities safe, he would back our upcoming Bill C-21 at third reading to make sure that we are keeping assault weapons out of the hands of people across the country, strengthening gun control to freeze handguns and continuing to move forward.

Instead of being in the pockets of the NRA, we are focused on Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is unbelievable. He thinks that a hunter in Nunavut is responsible for the stabbings in downtown Vancouver. That is ridiculous.

Under his policy of targeting law-abiding citizens, while we are allowing repeat violent offenders to go out on the street again and again, we have seen a 32% increase in violent offences. In fact, one of the detectives close to the case in Toronto said that the offender was out again on numerous releases, with probation and prohibited bail. If one can name it, he has been released on it.

This is a full-scale justice system failure. Will the Prime Minister reverse it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, amidst all this tragedy, it is interesting to see the lengths to which the Conservative leader will go to avoid talking about his desire to weaken gun control in this country and bring assault weapons back into the communities where they were banned over the past couple of years by the government.

We have put a freeze on handguns in the market across the country. We are strengthening gun control, and every step of the way, the Conservative Party stands against it.

That is why I am asking Conservatives, with their concerns about public safety right now: Will they step up and accelerate the passage of Bill C-21 when it comes back to the House for third reading?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when we were in office, in the last year, there were 124,000 fewer violent crimes than there were last year. Violent crimes, including murders, have skyrocketed under this policy of the Liberal Prime Minister.

He is targeting law-abiding hunters and farmers rather than the repeat violent offenders who are committing the crime. Why would the Prime Minister not look at the evidence, which has demonstrated that our streets have now turned into war zones after eight years of his policy? Will he replace bail with jail for repeat violent offenders?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite himself brought up what they did under the Harper government in those years.

What they did was loosen gun control laws. What they did was make it easier for people to buy assault-style weapons. That led to direct increases in gun ownership, and unfortunately, in violent crime across the country.

That is why we are trying to bring back stronger gun control legislation, despite the Conservatives' ideological opposition to gun control. We will continue to put the safety of Canadians and their communities first. We will continue with stronger gun control laws right across the country.

Democratic Institutions

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about interference. Media reports have alleged that a Liberal MP advised a Chinese diplomat to halt the release of Canadians in China. On Friday, The Globe and Mail reported that the Prime Minister had been informed of that conversation in 2021, but he did not consider it serious enough to intervene. However, it was serious enough for the Liberal MP to leave the caucus. It was serious enough for several sources to leak the information. It was serious enough for the media to publish it.

Is everyone else wrong to think this is serious, or is this another example of the Prime Minister's poor judgment?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague should pay careful attention to the facts he presents here in the House. He should check his facts, because it is important not to mislead the House.

The fact is that we have always taken the allegations we heard very seriously. We have always taken action and made sure that action was taken when necessary. Rather than playing partisan games, we will continue to rely on the experts and authorities to get the job done and keep Canadians safe. We are not looking to score political points, which is unfortunately what the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party are trying to do.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should pay more attention to his credibility, because credibility is key.

Every piece of information that the Prime Minister has received from intelligence services about Chinese interference since 2019 goes in one ear and out the other. Whether it is out of complacency or naivety, we are not sure. The truth is that he does not have the credibility to lead the investigation. He does not have the credibility to choose the commissioner, let alone the rapporteur. He does not have the credibility to give any sort of mandate.

The only credible move is for him to launch an independent public inquiry. When will he wake up?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc is clearly spoiling for a fight, trying to make political attacks. The reality is that if the Bloc is concerned about anyone's credibility in the House, they can rely on an independent expert like the former governor general, who will be able to decide if we need a public inquiry. He will be able to determine what kind of inquiry is required and what resources it will take to reassure Canadians. It is precisely because of the partisan games that are too often played here that we are relying on credible, independent experts. That is what is needed to tackle a serious issue like this.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Ukrainians fleeing from Russia's brutal illegal war are looking to start over and build a new life in Canada.

However, the Liberals' emergency travel measures have a three-year limit, meaning that Ukrainians cannot participate in most trade apprenticeships. Ukrainians are effectively being shut out of the trades because of this limit. It is wrong, and union leaders like Scott Crichton from IBEW 424 want this to change.

Will the Liberal government remove the limit so that Ukrainians could train and work in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to sit down with union leaders, including that of the IBEW, across the country.

I have had an opportunity to thank them directly for all the incredible leadership they are showing in training Ukrainians and other new arrivals in this country. This will help Ukrainians to contribute fully to this country that is offering so much and is going to benefit so much from their being here.

We will continue to work hand in hand with union leadership and union members right across the country on creating growth for the middle class, on creating a strong future for our communities, and yes, on helping people fleeing war and violence all around the world. On that point, this government is close friends with unions and will continue to be.

Seniors

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with the cost of food and housing soaring, Canadian seniors are being left behind. In my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, seniors tell me they cannot make ends meet. To make matters worse, for seniors who are disproportionately women, widowed or single, costs are even harder to keep up with, yet they pay more in taxes than their coupled counterparts.

Will the Prime Minister end these discriminatory tax rules, implement equitable tax benefits and finally start supporting seniors?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the very first things we did was significantly increase the GIS for the most vulnerable single seniors because we knew that was something we needed. Unfortunately, the NDP actually voted against that measure.

We continued over the past years by doubling the GST tax credit and putting more money back in the pockets of seniors, and by providing nearly two million low-income renters with financial relief, including seniors. We permanently increased the OAS for seniors age 75 and up, and we restored the age of eligibility for OAS back to 65 from the 67 that Conservatives raised it to.

On this side of the House, we will continue to be there for seniors. Whether it is through COVID or through housing affordability, we will be there.

Public Safety

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, a moment ago, I listed four stabbing deaths that have happened in the last three days, including that of a police officer, and the Prime Minister glibly got up and said he was going to ban hunting rifles. Stabbings happen with knives, not hunting rifles. Perhaps that is why we see a 32% increase in violent crime since the Prime Minister took office. He is not looking at logic or facts. It is the criminals wielding the knives who are doing the killing.

Does he really believe that banning the rifles of rural hunters will stop knife crime in big cities?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe and Canadians must be able to feel safe in their communities. That is why, on March 10, I met with my provincial and territorial counterparts to work on bail reform to include repeat, violent offenders and to include crimes with knives. We have a plan. I invite the hon. member to read the joint communiqué that came out of that federal, provincial and territorial meeting of justice and public safety ministers. We are moving ahead with that plan.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister, who did not have the guts to get up and answer.

A moment ago, I listed four murders and near murders that happened with knives in the last three days. This is part of a massive crime wave that the Prime Minister's catch-and-release bail system has unleashed right across the country. We did not have crime like this before he took office. His solution is to ban hunting rifles in rural communities.

I ask him again, does he really believe that banning hunting rifles in rural communities will stop knife crime in downtown cities?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the provinces and territories with respect to bail reform since last October. We appreciate that there is a concern out there among Canadians. There is a desire to be safe, and there is a desire to feel safe. That is why—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I am going to interrupt the hon. minister.

The hon. minister can start from the top. I missed the beginning.

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with justice ministers and public safety ministers from the provinces and territories since last October. We appreciate that Canadians need to feel safe and Canadians have a right to be safe, which is why we have been working together on bail reform to address repeat offenders, violent crime, crime with knives and crime with guns. We are moving ahead with that plan, as we have stated in the joint communiqué. This is a problem that will be solved by working together.

The Economy

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, taxes have never been higher and the Liberals are awash with higher revenues from their inflationary deficits. After eight years of the Prime Minister, the price of a home has doubled. The price of rent has doubled. The price of an average mortgage payment has doubled. Credit card debt has never been higher. Food bank use is at a record high. By all accounts, this is not a record that anyone should aspire to.

The government's solution seems to be more deficits, more debt and more inflation. The Prime Minister has an opportunity at 4 p.m. today. Will he commit to no deficits and no new taxes?