Debates of May 1st, 2023

Canada Revenue Agency

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, how can benefits be delayed if they do not even know about them? The incompetent Prime Minister spent 50% more on bureaucracy and still ended up with the biggest federal public service strike in history.

Today is the tax-filing deadline, and Canada Revenue Agency employees are still on the picket line without a deal. Taxpayers and small business owners in Saskatoon are calling the CRA with questions, but their calls are not answered. Canadians are going to miss out on benefits, be penalized or miss the tax-filing deadline altogether.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and extend the tax-filing deadline?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the vast majority of Canadians have been filling their taxes online, which is important to note. On a case-by-case basis, it is possible for Canadians to see interest relief and penalties alleviated. Again, I emphasize that it is on a case-by-case basis.

I find it a bit rich that the member forgets the record of the Harper government, which time and time again disrespected, in particular, CRA employees in a variety of ways, such as by cutting their budget and intervening in their mechanisms when it came to the investigation of charities and the like. The Conservatives politicized the process. We will not do that on this side.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is the last day for filing our federal tax return with the revenue agency still mired in a strike caused by the Prime Minister's Liberal incompetence.

A cascade of delays, like dominos, is penalizing thousands of honest Canadians and dedicated workers.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility and guarantee that he will give Canadians additional time to file their tax returns?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about Liberal competence.

Yesterday, we managed to get four agreements with the core public administration. That means we have an agreement that is fair for employees and reasonable for Canadians.

We are continuing to negotiate with the Canada Revenue Agency. I am convinced that we will get the best agreement for the CRA at the bargaining table.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, as of today, 35,000 CRA workers are still on strike fighting for a fair deal. The government is showing its true colours, seemingly blaming everyone who let this fester for almost two years.

With the tax deadline having just passed, the government made the asinine decision to not extend it, putting Canadians at risk of penalties. Instead of going with the obvious solution, which is to offer CRA workers a fair deal, the government has decided to hold Canadians hostage due to its own incompetence.

When will the Liberals deliver a fair deal to CRA workers?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we just landed a deal with the four public agreements for the core public service, and we are continuing to work with the CRA to make sure we have a deal negotiated at the table.

We have a reasonable deal for Canadians that is fair for public servants, and we will continue to work very hard at the table to get that next deal.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, young Canadian scientists have walked off the job today. They have not seen a wage increase in 20 years.

Here on Parliament Hill and at universities across the country, thousands of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are rallying for the wages they deserve. Rising living costs are forcing young Canadian scientists to abandon their studies, leave the country or live in poverty. They deserve better, and Canada needs them to stay.

Will the government finally increase graduate scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships and index them to the cost of living?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House realizes that talent is our greatest asset. I would like to thank our young scientists, researchers and students across the nation who are making differences in science and studies around the country.

No one in the House has questioned our commitment to science. We have invested $16 billion since 2016. More recently, on Friday, I made a historic announcement of $1.4 billion in the Canada first research section. We want to go from world class to world leading, and we need our young scientists to do that.

Health

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we recognize the beginning of Mental Health Week 2023, we remain committed to promoting positive mental health for everyone, including the 2SLGBTQI+ community, indigenous people and people of colour, groups that have already faced disproportionate challenges to their mental health due to discrimination and social exclusion.

Could the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions please update the House on the recent support provided to community-based projects focused on mental health promotion?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Scarborough—Agincourt for all her important work on this file.

This morning, we kicked off Mental Health Week by announcing $2.8 million in funding to the Community-Based Research Centre. With this funding, CBRC investigators are delivering focused, community-based programs that foster important resources for good mental health, including mental health literacy, social connection and problem-solving skills to the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.

Today's funding will enable more people with lived and living experience, frontline workers and experts to support the mental health of this community.

Democratic Institutions

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's intelligence agency warned the Liberal government that Beijing was the foremost offender for perpetrating foreign influence on Canadians and that it feared no repercussions from the Liberals.

In fact, a Beijing-backed donation of $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation was designed to influence the Prime Minister. What did he do in response? He appointed two former Trudeau Foundation board members to investigate: $140,000 bought a blind eye from the Prime Minister.

How can Canadians believe anything he says about foreign influence or about the Trudeau Foundation?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we are in an inflection point in history where Liberal democracies are under direct attack. We are seeing it in Europe. We are seeing it all over the world. The objective of those dictatorships is not to elect a political party; it is to destroy democracy.

History will look back to this hour when we were called to stand up against tyranny and we were called to stand shoulder to shoulder against interference. They will ask who did the hard work of standing up against foreign interference and who played games with it. They will ask who sowed fear and division, and who worked to make sure that we protected our democracy.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, who sowed fear and division? The Prime Minister? Who has been standing, but taking no action? The Prime Minister.

I am extremely concerned that Beijing is not at all concerned about repercussions for foreign interference in our democracy. Between the intimidation of MPs and Chinese Canadians by the Communist regime and now knowing money was directed by Beijing to the Trudeau Foundation to influence the Prime Minister, then the appointment of a past director of the Trudeau Foundation as special rapporteur to investigate interference, this whole situation stinks.

How does the Prime Minister expect us to believe anything he says about the Trudeau Foundation or about preventing foreign inference in our democracy?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask the member opposite, whether it is Russia or China, our collective response to that threat on our democracy, the democracy that the member opposite has tried to defend and protect her whole life, the democracy that I have worked to try to defend and protect my whole life, how do we work together to counter that.

Instead of trying to score partisan political points, or find ways to extract partisan advantage or imply somehow that anybody is advantaged by autocrats who attempt to destroy democracy, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder, side by side against it.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me tell the House how the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, CSIS, explained to the Prime Minister what China thinks of us. China sees Canada as a high-priority target for influencing legislators, business executives and diaspora communities in Canada. CSIS also said that Beijing is the foremost perpetrator of foreign interference in Canada. It could not be any clearer. The Prime Minister knew it.

He also knew that by accepting financial contributions from the Communist regime, the Trudeau Foundation made it easier for the Chinese government to run its influence operations.

Does he agree with the former CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, who spoke out against all of this?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes the issue of foreign interference very seriously. That is why we have already brought in new powers for the intelligence community. That is why we continue to make investments to add people to protect not only our democratic institutions, but also Canadians.

I hope that we can do this work together with the Conservatives, because this is not a partisan issue.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is all well and good for the minister to announce a few million dollars to work with in the future. The problem we have is finding out that the government and the Prime Minister have known what is going on for several years now. They know that China is a critical threat. I am not making this up; the CSIS reports say as much.

Can the Prime Minister now tell us whether he knew that the Trudeau Foundation was influenced by the donation it received and that the transaction was intended to influence operations in Canada, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, China wants Canada to be divided. Russia wants Canada to be divided. Dictatorships want democracy to be divided.

I am confident that every member of this House believes in the importance of democracy. We must all fight together for our democracy and assure Canadians that our democracy is strong.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there have been few opportunities in recent history to debate the possibility of cutting ties between Canada, including Quebec, and the British monarchy. The patriation of the Constitution, the death of Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III are rare examples.

According to Angus Reid, a majority of Canadians, not just Quebeckers, believe the time has come to get rid of an outdated, backward-looking institution that is incompatible with the fundamental principle of democracy, namely that we are all equal.

When is the government going to finally get rid of the monarchy?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, today we have the option of discussing the fight against climate change, health, dental care and ways to help our seniors and our families, but the Bloc Québécois has different priorities. Its priority is the monarchy, a constitutional review and days, weeks and months of sitting down with everyone here to debate the issue.

It might be the Bloc Québécois's priority, but it is not the priority of Quebeckers or Canadians.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is a proponent of the status quo. If people say they want nothing to do with the King, the Prime Minister replies that there are other more important files.

He should simply admit that the Liberals are monarchists and then have an honest debate, as we do with the Conservatives. Instead, he tells those who reject the monarchy that it is not a priority and that he has better things to do.

If the monarchy is not a priority, why is the Prime Minister going to the coronation of Canada's King instead of going to his own party's convention?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for mentioning our convention. Thousands of Liberals will be coming from across the country to talk about the future of our country and take the time to reflect about government.

Once again, instead of debating issues vital to the development of our society and preparing the future of our children, the Bloc wants to come to the House and talk about constitutional change.

The Bloc Québécois has one obsession: Canada's Constitution. Our obsession is to make our society better.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, the Neufchâtel neighbourhood of Quebec City is home to Amélie et Frédérick, a community assistance organization and food bank that has seen an increase in demand.

The same is true of the community fridge in Loretteville, the Val Bon Coeur community fridge in Val‑Bélair and the Boîte à FringAL community fridge in Ancienne‑Lorette. People who were donating food two years ago are now coming in to get it. We are in a G7 country, but there are people who do not have enough to eat.

When will this Prime Minister finally stand up, step off his private jet and really try to understand the needs of all Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we agree that more needs to be done to help Canadians, especially at times like these, when we are just recovering from the pandemic and inflation rates are quite high.

That is why our budget addresses the priorities of Canadians. It helps those who really need it. It will help improve our health and dental care across the country and create the clean economy of the future that will enable us to meet our net-zero targets.

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

Mr. Speaker, 1.5 million Canadians are using food banks.

Today, the reality is that rent costs twice as much as it did eight years ago. For Canadians, mortgages currently cost twice as much as they did eight years ago, when the Liberals took office. Something is wrong here in Canada.

Meanwhile, what are we seeing? We are seeing the Prime Minister living large and jet setting off to New York and back.

What we are asking is that the Prime Minister come down off his tower, come back down to earth and tell Canadians what he will actually do to help them.