Debates of April 28th, 2023

Government Priorities

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Madam Speaker, while inflation, interest rates and housing prices spiralled out of control, the Prime Minister took a vacation. While Canadians from coast to coast commemorated the first truth and reconciliation day, the Prime Minister took a vacation. While our airports and passport office line-ups were out of control, the Prime Minister took a vacation. Now, while we face the largest public sector strike in Canadian history, the Prime Minister; and I will let members figure out the next line. We know that the Prime Minister is not used to hard work, but can he at least pretend like he is trying?

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

Madam Speaker, let us look at the facts. Canada's inflation rate has either remained flat or decreased, now nine months in a row. At the same time, our economy has added, and wait for it, 865,000 full-time jobs with 35,000 in March alone. While the Conservatives lack the confidence to invest in our country, Canadians know that the investments we are making are going to put this country on a solid path to prosperity for generations to come.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Madam Speaker, there they go again, telling Canadians that they have never had it so good. Do they really think that hard-working Canadians are that stupid? We have the highest inflation rate in 40 years. We have the highest interest rates in a generation. We have the most expensive housing on record. That is not an answer.

Young people cannot buy homes, single mothers cannot buy food and workers cannot buy gas. The Prime Minister is not working and neither is his government. Does anyone over there really think Canadians will not notice?

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

Madam Speaker, I know the Conservatives do not like the facts. It is a problem when one is a Conservative and the truth gets in the way of a good story.

The reality is that we have had unemployment levels at 5%. We had 865,000 jobs created since the worst time of the pandemic. Our recovery is at 126%, which is faster than the United States. We have the fastest-growing economy in the G7. When it comes to that former government's record on poverty, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Over 700,000 people have been lifted out of poverty since we formed government.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals have made this mess and now they are trying to tell Canadians that they are going to be the ones who clean it up. All we hear from them is more spending, more taxes and more government: the very things that got us into this mess in the first place.

Crime is out of control in our biggest cities. There is a 32% increase. Young people cannot buy homes because the price has doubled under the Liberals' watch and groceries face double-digit inflation. The house is on fire and the Liberals are showing up with a flamethrower. Anybody who thinks this will work is indulging in pure madness. Will the Liberals come to their senses and get out of the way?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Actually, Madam Speaker, when the country was on fire, so to speak, because we were experiencing the biggest health and economic challenge in a generation because of the COVID pandemic, our government came with a fire extinguisher. We were there to support millions of Canadians, whether through the Canada emergency response benefit, whether through the Canada emergency business account or whether was through the Canada emergency wage subsidy. What about the millions of vaccines that we provided to Canadians and the additional support we provided to provinces and territories to get us through the pandemic?

Labour

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

Madam Speaker, while the Prime Minister is living large in New York with his jet-setting lifestyle, Canadians are being impacted by the ongoing public service strike.

In my riding, Ms. Hamel, a mother with a three-year-old, was planning a trip. Unfortunately, she did not receive the passport she needed in time, by a matter of hours. She wrote, “I cried, I asked to stay and wait, but I was thrown out without any empathy. They just kept a three-year-old from going on a family vacation”.

That is the reality for Canadians.

When is the Prime Minister going to personally step up to the plate and resolve the current conflict? When is he going to sit down at the table and get to work?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question. Unfortunately, by law, passports are not considered essential.

I am being honest with Canadians in telling them that passport applications cannot be processed during the strike. However, we understand that this has an impact on the lives of Canadians. That is precisely why we are at the bargaining table with the union.

We want to resolve this strike quickly because it is having a real impact on Canadians.

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

Madam Speaker, that is precisely why it is time that the Prime Minister assumed his responsibilities as head of the government.

The government has been negotiating for 10 days and has nothing to show for it. It is time to change tactics, otherwise another 10 days will pass without any results.

Ms. Hamel is disgusted, discouraged, angry and sad. She wrote to me about her poor child who was so eager to go on a beach vacation.

For Ms. Hamel and for the thousands of Canadians who are currently suffering as a result of the strike, when will the Prime Minister sit down at the table and act like a prime minister?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Madam Speaker, we are at the bargaining table with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. I can say that our goal is to resume normal operations as soon as possible. The government is committed to negotiating an agreement that is reasonable for public servants and fair for Canadians. I can say that the negotiators are still talking. The government is at the table, and we are negotiating in good faith.

Official Languages

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, in Quebec, French is declining as the language spoken at work. French is declining as the language spoken at home. The proportion of people whose first official language learned is French is declining. In short, French is declining across Quebec.

However, the Liberals' official languages action plan invests hundreds of millions of dollars in promoting English in Quebec. The entire portion available for Quebec focuses on English. Can the Liberals explain how providing huge amounts of funding for English in Quebec will slow the decline of French?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I will ask the Bloc Québécois to be more open-minded. It is quite possible to defend French, and defend it vigorously, without attacking, offending, intimidating and criticizing the anglophone community. Whether we are anglophone or francophone, we are all Quebeckers.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, I do not need lessons from anyone when it comes to being open-minded.

We heard a real gem from the Minister of Official Languages yesterday. She said her action plan does not provide funding for English, it provides funding for the vitality of Quebec's English-speaking community. That changes everything.

Nearly 30% of people mainly use English at work in Montreal. Meanwhile, the use of French as a main language has dropped by 13% in the communications sector and by 11% in the finance sector. In short, the vitality of the English language seems to be doing just fine.

Why are the Liberals investing in English when we keep reminding them that French is the language that is at risk?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, we are investing in many ways to strengthen French. We are investing in our official languages plan and we are investing in culture, more specifically in television production, literature and elsewhere.

That being said, I repeat that the Bloc Québécois should be a bit more open-minded and stop trying to pit anglophones and francophones against each other. I would like them to understand something once and for all: Whether anglophone or francophone, we are all Quebeckers.

Labour

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

Madam Speaker, we are all aware of the Prime Minister's irrepressible and nearly pathological desire to rub elbows with the rich and famous, but now is not the time for champagne and selfies with Hollywood actors.

This is day 10 of the biggest strike in Canada's history. Some 150,000 people, mostly women, are in the streets standing up for their working conditions and their purchasing power. Is the Prime Minister so out of touch that he does not understand that these workers are fighting just to avoid getting poorer?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Madam Speaker, as I just said, we are still at the bargaining table. The Canadian government is negotiating in good faith. The unions are also still at the table. I know full well that this is important. We recognize that it is important for public servants to provide services. We need to give them a salary that is fair, but also find a solution that is fair for Canadians.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, today, as we mark the National Day of Mourning, we remember all those killed or injured on the job.

It has been over 20 years since the Westray act was passed. It provides a legal framework for workplace health and safety, and it imposes serious penalties on unsafe workplaces. However, the Liberals have refused to properly educate law enforcement or take steps to enforce it. It is shameful for all workers who continue to be put in dangerous situations.

Why does the government continue to ignore workers who deserve protections on the job? Will it enforce the Westray act?

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour]

Madam Speaker, I wish to pass on my sympathies to the member. I heard his S. O. 31 about his father's passing while on the job. One worker's death is too many workers' deaths.

Workers have the right to refuse unsafe work if they feel their life, health or safety is at risk. Employers have the duty and responsibility to protect the health and safety of workers. They are encouraged to seek guidance from the appropriate channels, including the Public Health Agency of Canada, industry associations and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. They must do this. Protecting lives and preventing illness are a top priority.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Madam Speaker, it takes a special kind of incompetence to ramp up federal spending on the public service by over 50% and end up with the largest public service sector strike in Canadian history. The Liberals are spending $22 billion more on employees and wages but taxpayers are receiving fewer services, in some cases no services, from government workers.

When will the Liberal government get its employees back to work and protect Canadian taxpayers from more debt and high taxes?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Madam Speaker, first of all, it is really important to state that both parties are at the negotiating table. The federal government is negotiating in good faith.

I know that my receding hairline might give an indication that I am a little bit long in the tooth, but I have a bit of a memory and I do remember when those on the other side of the aisle were in government. What did they do every time workers tried to have a collective agreement? They legislated them back to work.

We believe in having a negotiated settlement that is fair for workers and reasonable for Canadians.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Madam Speaker, the largest public strike is happening not because of the Conservatives. We delivered on our promises. We did not have a general strike of federal workers while we were balancing the books and cutting taxes for families and businesses. We were able to manage the federal government and keep delivering services to Canadians. The Liberals had two years to come to an agreement with the public service. Now 150,000 workers are out on strike.

Again, when will the Prime Minister and the government get back to work?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, the only thing the Conservatives did when they were in government was that they balanced the books on the backs of Canadians. They did nothing when it came to helping Canadians get out of poverty. In contrast, what we have done is help lift 450,000 children and a total of 2.7 million Canadians out of poverty. At the height of the COVID crisis, do members know what we did? We were there for every single Canadian, whether through wage supports or through services.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals could not organize a birthday party. We have seen it time and time again with inflation, passports, airports, cost of living and housing. Now there is the largest public service strike in history, despite increasing spending on the bureaucracy by $21 billion. There is no planning ahead. There is no leadership and no respect for taxpayers.

Canadians just want their government back to work. Why is it that the Liberal government never knows where the puck is going?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from that side of the aisle. Did members see what happened when President Biden was in the House? When the president spoke about women, they cowered. When the president spoke about unions, they would not even stand up. Not only do they not respect collective bargaining, but they ran a government that had economic stagnation for nine years.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!