Debates of March 7th, 2023

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, inflation was not caused by all of the support measures that we put in place to help people get through the pandemic, regardless of the Conservative Party's far-fetched economic theories. What we are not going to hear from the other side of the House is a plan.

The Conservatives do not have a plan for the economy. They do not have a plan for housing. They do not even believe in climate change, so they definitely do not have a plan for that.

On this side of the House, we believe in Canadians. We believe in having a plan and we are going to follow our plan to support Canadians.

Democratic Institutions

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs voted in favour of an independent public inquiry chaired by a commission member chosen with the agreement of all the parties represented in the House.

The Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Conservatives were able to set partisanship aside. What is important here is public confidence in our electoral system, not partisanship.

Does the government really believe it will restore public confidence with a secret committee and a rapporteur who reports directly to the Prime Minister?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said a few moments ago, we share the concern of all our colleagues over the importance of strengthening our democratic institutions with respect to interference by foreign states, including China.

We have taken action on several fronts and put a number of measures in place. We will continue to further reinforce our democratic institutions, precisely as Canadians expect from a responsible and transparent government.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a democracy, candidates are not guaranteed to win an election, but they must be assured that the election is conducted by the book, without cheating, without money received on the sly, without people being bullied into voting, and without foreign interference. That is democracy.

These conditions make it possible to accept the results of elections. If the public loses confidence in the electoral system, democracy is weakened. That is why we need an independent public inquiry.

Why is the Prime Minister stubbornly refusing this inquiry?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's concerns.

That is why we created two independent panels that verified that the 2019 and 2021 elections were free and fair. Now, we will follow a process managed by a special rapporteur. The rapporteur will table recommendations that the government will follow.

Yes, this is very important. We will continue to protect our democratic institutions.

The Economy

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, CIBC is the first bank to show that, on 20% of its mortgages, the monthly payment does not cover interest and increases what the borrowers owe on top of their original mortgages. Does the Minister of Finance agree that, inevitably, these higher debts must be paid down?

That is something that borrowers cannot afford now, let alone at a higher cost later. If she believes that is true, why does she continue to relentlessly borrow and spend when it is not only inflationary but also a debt that Canadians cannot afford today, let alone tomorrow?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue on our prudent fiscal track that we laid down in the fall economic statement and in budget 2022.

It is intriguing that the Conservatives are having a little laugh fest today because—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order.

The hon. minister can take it from the top so we can hear the whole answer, please.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Perhaps we should go back to the past, Mr. Speaker, and talk about nine years of stagflation during the Harper government, when the Canadian economy did not grow more than 1% or maybe 1.2%. Which country in the world is positioned to lead the G7 in growth next year? It is Canada. Is that good enough for Canadians who are struggling with inflation? No. That is why we have affordability measures in place.

They voted against them. We are voting with Canadians. They can hem and haw. We are here for Canadians.

Housing

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not buying the house of debt that the minister is selling.

Kelowna is now recognized as one of Canada's top-five highest rents, and it shows. The Minister of Housing has failed to house the homeless on the streets of Kelowna. With rentals and home prices doubling, there is no way that his policies can help them, let alone the middle class and those working to join it.

Does the minister understand that he has failed the people of Kelowna? If so, will he move out of his office today to make room for someone else, or is he waiting for an eviction notice from the Prime Minister?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is really rich to hear rhetoric coming from the other side, when they have voted against every single measure that we have put in place to help Canadian renters. When we put together the Canada housing benefit, they voted against it. When we introduced a $500 top-up payment that is going to almost two million Canadian renters, they not only voted against it, but they also played procedural games last fall in the House to delay payments that were going to almost two million Canadian renters to help them with the cost of rent.

Canadians can see through their rhetoric.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, property and housing prices have skyrocketed.

Interest rate hikes have dealt a major blow to homeowners. The average cost of a mortgage in Canada has more than doubled. It is now $3,000 per month. As a result, young families cannot afford to buy a home, young adults are camping out in their parents' basements and students are staying in shelters.

When will this Prime Minister acknowledge the problems he has caused, show some compassion and finally help Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan in place to help first-time homebuyers access the dream of home ownership. We are building more supply by working with the municipalities and provinces to get more barriers out of the way and to build more housing across the housing spectrum. What do they do? They vote against all these measures.

In addition to that, it has been more than year since their leader took the helm of leadership, and they do not have a housing plan. They do not have a plan in place. They do not have the voting record. When they were in government, they spent meagre amounts of money. Every time that we try to put measures in place to help Canadians across the housing spectrum, they vote against them.

Canadians can see through that.

Justice

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government has made significant efforts to recognize historic wrongs and the criminalization of vulnerable communities across Canada.

Today, as part of those efforts, the government reaffirmed its commitment to all women and the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities by adding several offences to the list of those eligible for expungement.

Can the Minister of Public Safety inform the House of the positive impact this announcement will have on Canadians?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

We need to recognize the historic injustices that wrongly targeted vulnerable communities. That is why we are making abortion-related, bawdy house and indecency-based offences eligible for expungement.

This is about recognizing the legacy of discrimination suffered by women and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community while protecting their right to choose and access safe reproductive health care. This is one more step toward building a compassionate, inclusive and diverse country.

Canadian Heritage

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-11 is an unnecessary and grotesque overreach of government control. It censors what Canadians can see, hear and post online. The minister has said that this bill is about “support[ing] Canadian culture”, but that is actually not true. The bill stifles creators' voices. In fact, subject matter experts have said that it likens Canada to countries like China or North Korea.

Will the Prime Minister stop this damning overreach and kill Bill C-11?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives had options. They could have sided with Canadians. They could have sided with our music creators, film producers or actors. However, they decided to side with the tech giants by abandoning the cultural sector. This is a shame.

There is another thing: I do not think they understand the bill. I am not even sure they read it, even a year later, because if someone reads the bill, it is very clear. It is simply asking streamers to support our culture. They understand that. Everybody understands that but the Conservatives.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the member opposite to listen to Canadians. When they came to the House of Commons and the Senate, they said the same thing over and over again. They said creators, content experts and Canadians at large do not want this bill. It stifles their voices, prevents Canadian culture from being furthered and likens us to places like North Korea and China. It is a terrible bill; it needs to be killed.

Will the minister concede to Canadian voices, give them the power and stop this terrible legislation?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I have to hand it to my colleague: She is very creative, which is good in the cultural sector. If we listen to people in the music sector and the film industry, they are all behind this bill. Streamers make a lot of money, which is fine. We are happy for them. However, the bill asks streamers to contribute to the creation of more music, film and television from here. It is good for Canadians but not for the Conservatives.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that this Liberal government likes to be in control. It clearly demonstrated that yesterday when it created a secret committee with secret hearings, secret evidence and secret findings. That is absolute control.

This government is showing that same need for control with the CRTC act. However, there is one thing that this government cannot control, and that is Quebec's desire to be heard.

Could the minister convene the parliamentary committee so that Quebec can explain its position?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is from Quebec. I think he is pretty great. We are from the same province.

Did he talk to the Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo, ADISQ, which supports the bill? Did he talk to the Union des artistes, which also supports this bill?

People in music, film and television all support it. Even Quebec supports it. Why? Because it is good for Quebec culture and for culture in Canada.

The Conservatives do not like it because they do not care about culture. We care about culture. We are protecting it and we will always protect it.

Seniors

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, seniors around the world and in Canada were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Conscious of the lessons we have learned from the pandemic and given Canada's rapidly aging population, can the Minister of Seniors update the House on the work that she is doing with Canada's international partners to advance the rights and interests of older individuals, both here at home and abroad?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from St. John's East for that important question and for her ongoing advocacy for seniors. I am happy to inform the House that, this week, Canada joined the UN open-ended working group on aging. Canada will be using this opportunity to advance seniors' human rights and efforts to support seniors around the world. Canada is a global leader in supporting seniors, with a robust pension plan and universal health care system. We look forward to sharing our experience and working collaboratively to improve the lives of seniors both here and around the world.

Infrastructure

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Prince Rupert is home to one of North America's fastest-growing ports, but the City of Prince Rupert is struggling to maintain the basic infrastructure needed for a growing workforce. In December, the city declared a local state of emergency after several water main breaks, and now city officials fear the catastrophic failure of the city's water infrastructure. The B.C. government has already pledged support, and it has written to the minister of infrastructure to ask for federal help.

Why will the Liberal government not step up and help this city in crisis?